Yes We Can't

All this time I had been apathetic only to find that the one short period of time in my life that I actually care enough to vote I am not able to. I was thinking about the comment by our friend on the meaning of revolution and change being a long process. Why can't people let go of impatience, noticing first within themselves, how it is with patience and perseverence that we can get where we want and if we don't get there, at least we can be comfortable knowing that at least we tried. *sigh*
It's a nice day...anyone for a walk...?

Off she goes back to her off-ice she goes back to her off she goes...

T here is no room, nor no need for the metropolises to swallow me, or for office corridors to salute and suffocate me. There is no longer need for me to be the walking talking mannequin, the Statue of the Liberally Unfree. The more I stay here the more I become “I” but my “I” does not see, nor hear anything beyond the smog that clogs its inner vision, bemoaning this city of decadence.

So off I go to the foothills of Blue Ridge Mountains, the Appalachians, to that small town with a plethora of antique shops, arched stone bridges over beautiful lakes, raw moonlight and bold starlight as I dance to the reunion with home. Nature awaits me folks, and after I am done living life out here in the middle of this nothingness called Northern Virginia, I want to venture out and become the somebody who became a nobody and from whom no one hears again. I’ll be the blue sky when you look out your office cubicle, the dew drops when you walk across the field to go to your classroom, the organic grapefruit when you dig into your McDonalds. Yes sir, ma’am and mademoiselle, of I go to my home.

The Legends of the Last Name Bani

Since I was a child, I’ve always wondered how my family got this unique last name, Bani. My great great grandfather was originally from Mali but somehow ended up in Sudan. Since then, many rumors about his mysterious name change from Abu-baker to Bani were circulating around my family. First, my father told me a story about the Bani River in Mali and how we originated from a small Fulani village near there. When Abu-baker came from Mali with his family to Sudan, they all adopted the last name Bani to stay connected to their place of origin.

Then, a few years later, my uncle told me a different story of our last name. He said that during the early 1900s, Abu-baker settled in Sudan after a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. He knew only a few words in Arabic but there were two phrases that he mixed up “What’s your name?” and “How are you?” Whenever someone would ask “What’s your name?” he would reply “Bani”. The word bani means healthy in Arabic. Over time, people started calling him by that name and for over a century it’s been officially our last name.

My older brother, on the other hand, told me a similar story about Abu-baker’s name change. On his way back from the pilgrimage, Abu-baker got a chronic illness and had to settle in Sudan. People in the village nicknamed him Bani to contradict the fact that he was chronically ill. Till today the name change remains a mystery, but I’ll surely pass these stories down to the future Bani generation.

Social Isolation "Unhealthy"

The United States of America was founded on the basis of cultural individualism. For the American culture that believes in the “I” identity and not the “we” or “us”, social isolation became one of its core sociology problems. Shankar Vedantam, in her Social Isolation Growing in U.S. article, claims that a new study concluded that we are growing into a more fragmented society, where intimate social ties are shrinking or nonexistent. Therefore, People in our nation today, who are socially isolated, in bad times suffer from loneliness, which indirectly leads to morbidity and in some instances even mortality. There are many things that factor into this social isolation, for example, modern technology, cultural diversity, and the drive for individual achievements.

Intimate social ties, are now replaced by modern technology communications. Emails, chatrooms, telephones, and cable T.V replaced our day to day human interactions. In addition, it is causing us to interact with many people across the globe superficially instead of having a small circle of people that we know very well and trust. The internet, for example, gives people tools to create and illusionary environment that feeds into their social isolation. Moreover, emails, which replaced visiting relatives and friends, are limited in communicating emotions. If you browse through the internet you will find many e-cards websites that readily package for you condolence, congrats, or even ‘I’m sorry’ cards. Emails are not the best way to express feelings, confront people, or even solve a conflict. On the other hand, Internet social networking, not only is it a factor in social isolation, it is a dangerous way to replace human interactions. In these social networks, also known as chatrooms, people do not meet face to face, which can lead to creating illusionary personalities. This way of communication, preferred by many sexual predators, can endanger vulnerable people. Therefore, regardless of its other benefits, this technology is fragmenting families and social circles.

Cable television, in addition to new attitudes toward religion, and a desire for personal and individualistic freedom, induces desires for sexual freedoms, which is now accepted by most young Americans. During the 1960’s, the ideology of “free love”, which is now freely aired on T.V, was touted by radicals. Now, this great discovery of Cable T.V. became a factor for this social isolation problem. For instance, watching T.V or movies in your free time, replaces going out with friends or even having a conversation with your family members. In addition, movies and T.V shows sometimes teaches us wrong approaches to dealing with our problems and gives us wrong pictures of what our lives should look like. Especially romantic movies that paint us an illusionary picture of love cause people to feel even lonelier.

Another factor for the growth of social isolation in the United States is our cultural diversity. The American society encourages people to stand out, be unique and express themselves. This encouraged people from community based cultures to immigrate here. This land is great for people who believe in independence. Generally speaking, diversity is beautiful, when a person goes to the mall or even stands in a grocery store line they will see different customs, looks, and sometimes even hear different languages. Americans in urban cities generally are friendly. But at the same time the majority has a fear from foreigners and minority groups. This fear widens the cultural gaps making the problem even worse. People from different cultures, especially recent immigrants, are committed to their own personal beliefs and cultures, therefore impeding the process of blending in. Furthermore, after the event of September 11 many Americans are even more afraid of foreigners. This fear has helped fragment social ties between Americans and immigrants, and increases the rate of social isolation.

Last but not least, spending too much time at work is a factor in this social isolation problem. In a culture that believes that relying or being dependent on others for survival is shameful, people are encouraged to have their own personal achievements and to rely on themselves. In Shankar Vednatam’s article, Social isolation growing in U.S., Smith-Lovin claimed that increased professional responsibilities, including working two or more jobs to make ends meet, and long commutes leave many people too exhausted to seek social, as well as family connections. Most Americans are workaholic, either because they love to work to achieve their personal goals, or because they live in an individualistic society, therefore, they must work in order to survive. In both cases, workers became more and more isolated from society. Those on the top 20% of the population are addicted to work just as a drug addict in need of his drug. They can spend hours and hours at the office without thinking about going and spend that time with their family, watch television, or even talk to their friends. Being a workaholic leads to high levels of stress, nervousness, and even anxiety. This top percentage of society usually is financially stable, but they still choose to work harder and for longer hours to earn more money. The middle class and the poor in this country are forced to work more than one jobs, and for longer hours to provide for their families, also leading to high levels of stress. Therefore, regardless of why people work, in ends up isolating people from normal everyday life interactions.

To conclude, during these past decades social isolation is increasing because of these three factors, modern technology, cultural diversity which leads to not trusting one another, and spending too much time at work to the point where they end up not having anytime left for their social life. Therefore, I think Americans should consciously make an effort to minimally use modern technology. In addition, living in communities that encourages and facilitates neighbor to neighbor interactions might help concealing this fragmented society. For the top class in society consciously working only the required hours and valuing family will solve the social isolation problem. On the other hand, I personally think that raising the minimum wage would help the poor and middle class people work fewer hours and make time for their social life.

Consumed By Thy Hijab :)

***Taking humphrey's CULTURE blog a step further... I would like to share this***

"Full coverage," not your typical fashion show prerequisite, was the theme at a "fashion seminar" recently hosted by Nordstrom at the tony Tysons Corner Center mall in McLean, Va. The show, called "Interpreting Hot Trends for Veiled and Conservative Women," was perhaps the first high-fashion hijab event sponsored by corporate America. The target: well-heeled Muslim women living in the suburbs of Northern Virginia, where mansions and mosques are filled with rich Muslim immigrants, an increasing number of whom shop at Tysons Corner. The Nordstrom show is part of a growing trend: Western retailers and designers are beginning to market directly to Muslim women.

In 2000, for instance, European designers Yves Saint-Laurent and Jean-Paul Gaultier showed at the International Festival of African Fashion in Niger while ultraconservative Muslims paraded through the streets in protest of the "satanic" presentation. A 2004 Hermes ad featured two women with the dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin of many Middle Easterners and wearing the company's iconic scarves wrapped around their heads in the Muslim style of hijab. (When asked, the Hermes advertising department would say only that its marketing pitch is "global.")

And a little over a week ago, French designer Judith Duriez, co-owner of the Dubai-based company Arabesque, debuted her fall 2005 collection of "sheilas" (veils) and "abayas" (gowns) for the cloaked Muslim woman. These fashions, traditional long black gowns (the color is one rule Duriez refuses to break), are enhanced by non-traditional accents such as mother-of-pearl trimmings and chiffon ribbons. Retailers have likely caught on to the fact that conservative Muslim women are as interested in fashion as any other women and that, as a population numbering at least 500 million -- an estimated half of which cover up regularly -- they constitute a large, and potentially lucrative, untapped market. Indeed, to anyone who's paying attention, it's evident that

Muslim women are going to great lengths (and in some cases spending a substantial amount of money) in an attempt to reconcile their religious mandate to dress modestly with their desire to look fashionable. Many women interpret the idea of "hijab" -- the term comes from the Arabic word "hajaba," which is translated as "to cover," and is used generally to refer to modesty, and more specifically, to mean headscarves and formless gowns -- quite liberally. They wear Diane Von Furstenberg mini-dresses over Levi jeans or rapper-style do-rags as headscarves. Other women don scarves by designers such as Christian Dior, Hermes, Gucci, and Dolce & Gabbana. And even the traditional dress is no longer black and shapeless but comes in various cuts, colors, patterns, and textures: slim-cut, baggy, silk, chiffon, fringed, fur-cuffed, hand-painted, and even embroidered with rhinestones and feathers.

The trend would be just another marketing gimmick, except that the hijab is not merely an article of clothing, but a politically charged symbol. The hijab, as most people know by now, has become emblematic of an ideological and political movement that promotes a puritanical interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia. In this interpretation, it is "haram," or illegal, for a women to reveal her arms, legs, or any bodily curves. In the most conservative circles, revealing the face, ankles, neckline, and hands is also verboten. (The Quran, while calling for modesty, does not mandate that women wear hair scarves or long gowns.) To attend the fashion seminar, I had to go undercover in more ways than one. Nordstrom's publicity department called the show a "private event" that was closed to the press.

When I asked why, I was told the company hadn't "media trained" its sales representatives. What if, God forbid, a Nordstrom saleswoman pitched a gauzy scarf that left a woman's hair visible? I'm a Muslim woman, but I don't cover my hair except when I go into mosques with a hoodie over my head in a look I call "ghetto hijab." So, at the diner across the street, I draped a hot pink scarf from the Tie Rack over my head and covered my body in a flower-patterned Nine West trench coat -- more Grace Kelly than hijabi Muslim, but it worked -- and prepared to see what Nordstrom thought was in fashion for the veiled-and-shrouded set.

The morning of the event, about 100 women -- their hair covered by scarves, their bodies cloaked in abayas or burqas, and at least two of them with their faces fully veiled -- pulled into the Tysons Corner parking lot in Volvos, BMWs, and Lexus sedans. In liberal Muslim circles, these women are sometimes derisively called "hijabis." The chicest among them -- those who wear silk Hermes scarves and long Barneys jackets -- are dubbed "fashionable fundies" (as in "fundamentalists"). The women call themselves "muhajabah," or "women of hijab." The women and I slid into chairs set up at the top of the store's escalators, a few feet away from a display of slinky Nicole Miller gowns. The Nordstrom sales team was composed mostly of non-Muslim Americans, but there was one Muslim saleswoman with a scarf pulled up high over a bun in her hair.

A chipper Nordstrom saleswoman in an appropriately modest business suit opened the show by pointing to a row of mannequins outfitted in what she called "the latest fall trends." There was a full-length Eileen Fisher skirt: "It allows for full coverage," she emphasized. And a black Anne Klein jacket: "It closes up high," the sales lady stressed. Finally, a $425 green-and-black Tesori tweed coat: "Just perfect for your unique style." In other words, it would cover the contour of a woman's butt -- another no-no to reveal. The Nordstrom Web site promotes the jacket as a "tailored fit," but that wasn't part of the sales pitch here. But something was obviously missing. A saleswoman stepped forward: "Of course, we have scarves!" Of course! Each mannequin had a scarf wrapped around its neck, ready to be pulled up. There were also broaches, which were said to be "perfect for pinning up scarves." A Muslim woman in the audience snickered at the effect of one broach atop a headscarf; it looked like a cake decoration. Of course, the most puritanical Muslims would say that hijab is not meant to be flashy. According to these men and women, it's supposed to be the sartorial equivalent of a burlap sack, not a trimly tailored Anne Klein jacket. It's supposed to be black, not trendy colors like fuchsia and teal.

Preachers from New Jersey to California rail at the pulpit against women who put too much fashion in their hijab. To quote one rant on a conservative Muslim Web site: "Everyday we see our Muslim sisters proudly displaying names and initials on their clothing. … What are they advertising? CD, YSL, D&G," -- as in Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent and Dolce & Gabbana -- "How ironic that the most modest of dressing -- the cloak and scarf -- should become contaminated by advertising the names of some of the most shameless and perverted people in the world." But women will no doubt continue to thwart such dictates in a desire to look stylish while remaining pious. And it may be Muslims themselves, versed in the nuances and requirements of the hijab, who will be best equipped to introduce it to the world of high fashion.

Next month, Femmes Arabes, a magazine for Arab women, will sponsor a fashion show in Montreal featuring caftans -- long flowing garments popular among Muslim women in North Africa -- designed by five Canadian designers and five Arab designers; it held a similar show last year. And Eve N Black, a Dubai-based boutique founded by Muslim fashion designer Mohammad Bahrami, sells abayas that cost anywhere from $1,500 to $10,000 and are often displayed with matching shoes and purses. (If she spends $6,500 or more, a woman can get a copyright for her personal abaya design.) If the Nordstrom event made one thing clear, it was that it's not easy to combine high fashion with religion. While one woman walked away with a long orange duster sweater, women on both sides of the figurative catwalk were grumbling unhappily. A Moroccan woman found a black polka-dotted top inappropriate because of its "three-quarter-length sleeves." Sleeves, according to the strictest standards of hijab, must extend to the wrists. A George Mason University law school student groused that a black Anne Klein skirt was "too short" because it hit the calves. A young scarved woman became frustrated that she wasn't able to find "an A-line skirt without a slit." And the Nordstrom cashiers mumbled to each other they weren't ringing up enough sales. Indeed, the fashion seminar, to borrow a phrase from the fashion world, was a definite miss.

Ms. Nomani

Tsk Tsk Tsk is all I have to say :)