“Hijabii” vs bikini: A rebuttal

Salam ‘alaikum,
So I got the following message in my inbox. I felt insulted by the whole thing so I decided to write a rebuttal (follows).

—Hijabii vs bikini—
By Dr. Henry Makow..

On my wall, I have a picture of a Muslim woman shrouded in a Hijab.

Beside it is a picture of an American beauty contestant, wearing nothing but a bikini.

One woman is totally hidden from the public; the other is totally exposed. These two extremes say a great deal about the clash of so-called “civilizations.”

My Eid outfit

Salaam ‘alaikum,
Eid mubarak! Most of these items (except the shoes) are approximations of what I already have at home, not the real thing. But they are close enough!
Wassalaam,
Callista

First attempt at Polyvore – my brown outfit

Salaam ‘alaikum,
I have discovered Polyvore and here is my first attempt, using my brown outfit.
Wassalaam,
Callista

Current trends

Assalamu ‘alaikum,

OK ladies, let’s talk fashion. Has anyone been out to the stores lately? Is anyone else really disturbed by the new trends? In my area, there seems to be a really bad case of pregnant-cropped-babydoll meets 80’s flashy, gaudy ick. While out shopping for jackets the other day I found — I kid you not, I swear — a denim (dark wash) cropped (to the ribcage) babydoll/empire waist, double-breasted, belted jacket with elbow-length bell (yes, bell!!) sleeves and a Peter Pan collar. I mean, who buys this stuff? Who wears it? And don’t get me going on the bright or metallic bags. Or the bright rolled-short-sleeve jackets that have the boxiest, most masculine cuts? I thought we all (including the fashion industry) learned a thing or two from the 80’s. At least I was hoping. *sigh* And I could go on all day about all the babydoll everything — sweaters, cardigans, shirts, blouses — is there any store carrying plain ol’ blouses these days? You know, with those magical things called buttons?

And at least in my area there is a severe shortage of normal spring jackets. I take that back. There is a shortage of any spring jackets, period. I’ve even seen very few windbreakers. What are people supposed to do? I was looking for what I thought would be an easy find — a simple safari-type (single or double breasted) belted spring jacket/trench light enough that it could also be used as a suit jacket. Well I didn’t find any trenches, period. Or raincoats, or car coats or anything. How disappointing.

You see, fellas, this is why women must spend so much time shopping. In order to build a decent wardrobe, she has to dig and hunt and paw through all of the garbage the fashion industry packs the stores with to find the normal stuff. When she finds it, she must hope that it fits, that the color is right, that it is well made and of good quality, and then finally make sure that it’s a reasonable price. Men have it so easy. The shirts, jackets, pants, etc. basically all have the same cut. They just have to make sure that the measurements are right and they like the color. There is not all this trendy, gaudy, silly nonsense. Give us a break!

Wassalam,
Callista

An old friend

Assalamu ‘alaikum,

Last night I went to my first Dar-ul-Qur’an class in over a year. It’s been months since I opened the Qur’an. At first I was a bit leery, but then as I looked over the familiar surahs and began to read and run the words over my tongue and lips, I was filled with comfort and familiarity, as if greeting an old friend I haven’t seen in a while. I can hardly describe the way it made me feel. SubhanAllah, how can one feel this way about a book and in an unfamiliar language? The Qur’an is no ordinary book, and indeed I think I’ve read somewhere that it can have this effect on people, perhaps within its very pages. I guess I didn’t believe enough, or didn’t think that it was meant to be taken literally. SubhanAllah.

Wassalam,
Callista

Changes…

Assalamu ‘alaikum,
I have not logged into WordPress for a while and wow, everything is different!

You’ll also notice that I’ve changed my name. “Maha Abdo” was a pseudonym for several reasons and now it is no longer necessary, and I’ve gone with my given name “Callista” in a quest to reclaim my identity and figure out who I am again.

I have a new life now, and a new career involved in international development and ultimately trying to eradicate world hunger alhamdullillah.

I’m sorry if my absence was missed but insha’Allah but as I’ve finally logged back in I’ll take this as a good sign. I’m starting to regain my interest in things that used to interest me, which is also a good sign. Insha’Allah I’ll also feel the urge to begin blogging again.

Wassalam,
Callista

I love my brother

Assalamu alaikum,

Do you love the Prophet Muhammad (alayhi salatu wassalam) more than you love your parents, your siblings, yourself? It is a goal we should strive for as Muslims.

My new baby

Assalamu alaikum,

I have been waiting for over a year for her, and she’s finally here… Alhamdullillah!

I am not afraid!

Assalamu alaikum,

Today I deleted the first comment that informed me they were going to link me on their site. This site is some crazy site that I’m not even going to talk about (I wouldn’t know how to begin to explain it and I really didn’t get the point or message–here’s a tip: your point, if you have one, should be near the top of the page and clear to see) and it has some garbage about Islam on it. I saw links to some of my fellow blogging sisters there too.

You know what? Go ahead! If you want to link me, that’s great. The more traffic I get, the more people get to hear from an intelligent, Western, female Muslim convert. The more people will be exposed to a real-life, everyday person practicing Islam who is not crazy. The more people who will learn about the beautiful religion of Islam and be warned that God is the Truth and there is no Power or Might save Him!

I just cannot believe how people waste their time hating other people, other faiths. They wish we (and Islam) would just go away. You will not succeed. You cannot. God will Protect His Religion. Why don’t people just mind their own business?

So, if you want to link to me, go ahead. I am not afraid of questions or comments from non-Muslims or even hateful attacks. I have a delete button, after all. And I know everyone will have to answer to a Higher Power one day, so no matter what you do to me in this life, I know God will take care of it in the end. You know what they say, what goes around comes around. And, as was pointed out so eloquently on this particular site, Jesus (alayhi salam) made the same point: He basically said to rejoice when you are attacked for adhering to the Truth, because there will be a Great Reward in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Truly there are Signs for those Who Reflect. (Qur’an, many places)

Wassalam,
Callista

Truly He is the Provider!

Assalamu alaikum,

SubhanAllah. Today, I didn’t have any food cooked for myself to eat except some soup, and I came home really hungry. Remember how I was whining about people giving me food? So ungrateful!! I hope Allah forgives me insha’Allah *sigh*. Anyway, 2 (TWO!!) sisters spontaneously called me up, requesting to bring me food they had generously made for me today after work. (I’m talking, salad, rice, chicken, mahshi, makshi, dessert…) Masha’Allah, alhamdullillah! (and it wasn’t an overly generous amount, so insha’Allah I’ll be able to finish it off and not have to throw any away!)

And, just yesterday I was thinking to myself that I needed a blue shyla to go with my one blue shirt that I own (the only color blue that actually looks good on me). Now, I have nowhere to go hijab shopping and don’t have a clue as to the next time I’d be able to go or where. Guess what fell into my lap today? Out of absolutely nowhere.

I guess sometimes we need a little nudge to let us know that He really, truly is paying attention, even to our tiniest whispers to ourselves, that seem meaningless to us at the time. And maybe, it is just to let us know He’s there, so we can turn to Him in repentance and hope. And to remind us that He is the one who Provides, and no one else. He Alone. La ilaha illa Allah!

Wassalam,
Callista