When I was in 4th grade my teacher read this famous children’s book to our class: The Witches By Roald Dahl. The book is about a young boy who spends time with his grandmother and learned about real life witches from her. He even learned how to spot a real witch through a collection of symptoms.
In this list of symptoms, there were a few physical characteristics that really stuck to the memory of my classmates and I. Witches were bald, with large nostrils and hated children. Click for more!
In my college’s Muslim Student Association (MSA) there was a brother named Kawsar. Kawsar was a first generation Bangladeshi American. He had moved to the United States at age 17 and brought with him conservative Islamic values. He grew out his beard to honor Prophet Muhammad and dressed in traditional Islamic garments every day.
When I had met Kawsar he was very timid, shy. He would walk very nervously and always lower his gaze. He seldom spoke and had a strong Bangladeshi accent.
Kawsar’s confidence improved when he began to go to the gym. His style began to change from one of traditional Islamic garments to fitted T-shirts and jeans. He began to trim his beard to have a groomed clean look. Exercise gave him confidence. Click for more!
I also did a Podcast Episode on this here.
The Following is a personal narrative of my own experience many years ago. Names were changed.
Spring 2010:
“Ladies and gentlemen, there is an express train on the F line two stops away,” said the automated subway message. I stood on the platform waiting for my train ride home. Surah Yasin was playing on my iPod Touch. Ah, this Surah, so beautiful. It is the heart of the Quran, according to scholars of today. MashAllah, I thought. Allah truly gifted us with the Quran and its mysterious beauty. I hope I can understand this beauty some day. Click to keep on reading!
