Sunday Surkhi--Mangoes diplomacy for Pakistan

 Yes, Pakistani Mangoes are in the news folks.
Praised as delicious by no less than Mrs.Hilary Clinton, the foreign secretary of USA and she recommended these mangoes be started and introduced to the Americans, yes.
Of course there is that old competition with Indian mangoes cannot be overstated but like us, when you have tasted the juicy-pulpy sweet and super sweet mangoes from Pakistan, the competition gets reduced to which one from Pakistan. All the famous names of Tota paree, Dusehri and such disintegrate into oblivion
 I cant wait for Pakistani mangoes to appear in the grocery stores of America. Watch carefully in Food Lion Pigly Wigly, etc etc.
Man! you dont know what you are missing
Thanks Mrs Clinton, we appreciate your gesture and may be you will get the supply soon for Chelsae's 2 Million Dollar wedding, That would be most appropriate gift for your daughter on this auspicious occasion. The guests will remember for the rest of their lives the taste of Pakistani mangoes, the fruit for the regalia and royals. Chacha Ghalib rightly gave this variety of fruits  the regal position
"The king of the fruits" is the only fit fruit for the kings.


Please visit my Urdu blog at http://saugoreebsc.blogspot.com/ and my Hindi blog at http://wahajuana.blogspot.com/

Sunday Surkhi--'d'awa' of IAR vs others'

 Islamic Association of Raleigh has a D'awa commmittee
 First what is this d'awa. Urdu speaking people know it as D'awat, meaning invitation (because they pronounce the T of this type of "Ta" that Arabic speaking make the T as silent when ending the word and would pronounce it only when it connects with another word like in"d'awat-ul-Islam")
 In Urdu d'awa is pronounced when it means very different because it  ends in Ya instead of Ta the difference in shapes is given here  دعوۃ  - دعوےا
 I am taking note of the experiences of the persons who are conducting the 'booth for Islam'. Very good results so far, mashaallah they were well prepared for all kinds of visitors and they are learning. The best thing I read, (and knew) was--THEY WERE THERE.
 You dont have to say anything in favor of Islam. just be there.
 ONLY answer questions if asked, and yes the commonest thing ( we all watch on TV) is "salvation", because  that is all their interest is. Every Christian is assured of salvation whereas the Muslim is never assured of salvation or anything.
  Today (7/19/10) a woman came to my door, I answered the door bell. She was African American plumpish lighter color and smiling. I was handed over a piece of paper with the caption
"Draw closer to God"
 I thanked her. Later I read the paper that was an invitation to attend Jehova's Witness's programs to be held at RBC center next month. This is not the first time I found Jehova's witness going door to door.
I remember my patient who liked me very much so he talked about Jesus  PBUH and salvation and God with trinity but could not convince me (I refrained from introducing anything more than Tawheed)
 In the end he said he will pray for me, so I thanked him.

Please visit my Urdu blog at http://saugoreebsc.blogspot.com/

Jum'ah Journal

 A "mosque study" is proposed which will be useful to define further activities as well as give the present leadership in the masajid of USA a guiding plan to conduct their affairs. This is really unique and correctly described as "unprecedented".
 A committee representing a broad range of community professional and academic institutions to oversee such "mosque Study" has started activities this month to last till September 2010. It should be very interesting.
 "The Mosque Study will provide useful information and insights for community leaders and organizations as well as the academic community to assist them in both scholarly research as well as community development," states ISNA Secretary General Safaa Zarzour.

Information included in the U.S. Mosque Study 2010 will be collected from online surveys and phone or in-person interviews.  The survey will be available online and will address a range of issues, including: quality of mosque programs, mission and identity of the mosque, diversity and needs of mosque participants, leadership and organizational dynamics and history of the organization.

A random sample of mosque leaders from around the country will be selected to participate in interviews to discover the perceptions of Muslim religious leaders on a variety of substantive issues, including: Muslim involvement in American civic life, involvement of women and young adults in mosques, concerns about radicalization in the community and evaluations of mosque staffing.

Zarzour states, "This collaboration of academic, professional, and community institutions is unprecedented and reflects the desire of all sponsors to produce credible, valid, useful results from this study for the benefit of everyone."

 So watch out dear leaders.

Please visit my Urdu blog at http://saugoreebsc.blogspot.com/ 

Sunday Surkhi--Real killer Doc

  I had not heard this story before that I heard today and it was more than shocking.
 In Manchester, England a doctor was arrested 1998 for changing the will of an old lady who died under his 'care'
"I leave everything to Dr. Shipman who was kind and caring for me during all my illness"
The Jury found him guilty of act of fraud and he was sentenced to some time for punishment but death was not considered murder. Many people had suspicions he was killing and a new investigation was launched but before he was arrested again he had killed three more.
Investigations revealed he had taken more than 200 lives amlost all old women and old men, but there was one 4 yr. old child also.
  His mother died of cancer at the time he was teenager and probably he developed a "revenge" that carried out on his patients and may be he adopted medicalo carrier for that perpose. he was well-liked by patients and colleagues and his wife with 4 children
 Then you see lot of investigation of his colleagues their opinions and statements how they failed to suspect as he was so well-educated and clever in carrying our his killings. This is reported to be the worst of the serial killers who ever lived.
 Shocking as it is to listen to the details, you cannot help wondering how a killer can hide himself under so much of "ordinary life" that no partners, no spouse or children could suspect. Even in the prison he spent 4 years being a popular 'Doc" making happy all the inmates before he took one more life - his own, hanged himself in the prison one day. Doctor Harold Shipman, amazing story but true. He surpasses Kevorkian.
 He was  really "evil". That brings me to the "non-evil" caring doctors who kill or assist in killing their patients in most countries (where it is "allowed") with permission of the patient and families and in one country even without the permission. Under such circumstances when an old man of 80 or do goes to his doctor for treatment of his chest pain and cough, he may not know whether his doctor is going to treat his bronchitis or he is likely to be "shipped" to the other world by the kind and "non-evil" doctor.
 What kind of ethics?

Please visit my Urdu blog at http://saugoreebsc.blogspot.com/ and my Hindi blog at http://wahajuana.blogspot.com/

Jum'ah Journal-"Unwholesome food"

 My old blog excerpt here (copied for you)

Monday, September 24, 2007

Step-by-step prohibition

Chapter 16, Verse 67 (Al-Qur'an)
"And from the fruits of datepalm and the vine, ye get out STRONG DRINK and WHOLESOME FOOD; behold in this there is a sign for those who are wise."
Ch. II, Verse 219,
"They ask thee concerning wine and gambling, say, "in them there is sin and some profit but the sin is greater than profit"
Ch.IV, Verse 43
"O ye who believe, approach not prayers in a state of intoxication, until ye understand what ye say......"
Ch. V, Verse 90:                                                                          -----------------------------------
"O ye who believe, intoxicants and gambling, sacrificing to stones and divination by arrows are an abomination of Satan's handiwork, eschew such abomination that ye may prosper."
  
I have highlighted the part I wish to talk about. Just bear with me, as I have a lot to tell
First I want to tell you my own experience with Alcohol as a child (Oh! not drinking). I was in my village where some people used to come for shopping and FUN. There was a room, not far from our home where they would get together for cards and GAMBLING. Many Hindus (for they had more money) and some Muslims (only some who had money) would play for money and fun. That may be followed by DRINKING, which was seen as uncommon in Muslims. Because of their 'garrulousness' and misbehavior, I was frightened of them. Indeed one time there was altercation leading up to physical assaulting with axe and one fellow had a thumb almost cut off. (Our village had a dispensary also where there was a Sikh Doctor). Some more accidental confrontation with another "drunk" made me more frightened.
  So, when I was in college and heard some 'advanced' students 'drinking' I was surprised. I had indeed grown up considering drinking not only prohibition but also 'abominable' as it would cause a grown man to behave silly, childish and unbecoming. The persons with such behavior did not have good reputation.
When I came to the West you can guess my surprise when I saw in parties doctors including consultants (England) behaving funny and childish etc. and it was quite acceptable in the society, because these 'persons' would be back in their serious roles without even with some hinting at the "unbecoming' behavior of theirs.
 I could then understand the meanings of this part of the verse, "UNTIL YE UNDERSTAND WHAT YE SAY". Anyway I want to throw some more light on this. I know that the physicians are familiar with the effects of alcohol on the human mind as we learnt in our pharmacology classes-- the first effect (mild) would be "dizzy and delightful feeling" and then confusion will begin etc. etc. But what the first effects do; are that natural inhibitions are relaxed, what the man has learnt to control gets erased and the results are--that kind of behavior. (Many youngmen try to get he young women they are 'dating' for their sexual advances and such behavior of 'taking advantage' of the drunk girls is considered somewhat acceptable/OK or usual). What our old friend Baba Ghalib was saying:
ہم سے کھل جاءو بوقت مے پرستی ایک دن
ورنہ ہم چھیڑیں گے رکھ کے عذر مستی ایک دن
(You can see the whole poem on my Urdu blog)
 Ghalib is telling his "girl friend that--open up with me when I am drinking otherwise , I will"tease you" someday under the pretense of being drunk"
 
 Anyway, let me continue on that subject. Wake County Physician's Magazine (July ,10) gives some "news" about HOPS BEER (may be more popular in Australia?) Some scientific observations (In Canada) are noted in a research' report of Uri A. Girly, Ph D that there is significant (and perhaps 'harmful') amount of "Phyto-estrogens" in the hops beer. Let me write down the summery of observations after drinking 6-8 schooners in one hour.
 Anyway what Dr Girly (Concentrate on the name first) is saying about  phystoestrogens('fighto-estrogens")
 is that persons taking large amounts of this beer:
1. Argued over nothing
2.Refused to apologize when obviously wrong
3.Talked excessively
4. Became overly emotional
6.Could not drive
7. Failed to think rationally
8 Had to sit down while urinating (again concentrate on the 'girly' and fighto-estrogens)
    Of course nothing new for the physicians (except for the sitting down position for micturition) but for your amusement I have made my own 'additions'.  (Have I digressed from the aya quoted above too much?.)
 Well, the doctor with the name Girly has cautioned the men drinking such beer about the possible 'feminizing effects'. (Please do not get alarmed, but these phyto (from plant) estrogens can act like and/or fight the effects of body estrogens because of their close similarity with the chemical structure of estrogens. These are seen in many leguminous plants and are present in soy beans too, so it may be better for males-especially male children- to avoid 'vegetable protein' processed foods)

Please visit my Urdu blog at http://saugoreebsc.blogspot.com/ and my Hindi blog at http://wahajuana.blogspot.com/

Sunday Surkhi-Iraq-Afghanistan-and--

Overheard the discussion on TV
 "We won in Iraq, but we have to keep enough ground forces....."
"We had similar situation as in Korea, or Germany"
Then my question is what next, may be Pakistan, the worry being if the nukes get into wrong hands of Taliban, a genuine worry. So far the Pakistan Army has done a good job of keeping it preserved from such hands. But that is not the point of my question. How many other countries we can hold with democracy or whatever you call it, our type of government, but Iraq , for instance has had centuries old connections with Iran and not just shia only. There is lot of cultural overlap. One of these days they are gpoing to say to us
"Get the hell out of here"
 Our type of government does not suit them or any other country for that matter.
 Try taking a shalwar and long shirt and the turban off a Taliban for example and shave off or decrease his beard etc. Teach him English also and eveything else but can you make him American?
 He will always remain Taliban at heart.
 I feel that our leadership has to come to terms with reality and start seeing things as they are and not what they should be. There is going to be some day a wake up call for us and I hope it is not--repeat-- it is not like pearl harbour or 9/11.

Please visit my Urdu blog at http://saugoreebsc.blogspot.com/ and my Hindi blog at http://wahajuana.blogspot.com/