Mezbauddin Mahtab's Blog, page 17
January 26, 2016
Frustrating Reponses When Talking of "Islamic" Mortgage
I will be blunt - whenever I see an ad for an "Islamic" mortgage, or a commercial on how to finance your house "the halal way", my scam alert meter activates. They go through all these fancy brochures explaining their methodology (why? how long does it take to explain how you are lending me money and making a profit?) and at the end of the day, it's interest - just called differently ("profit rate" - whose profit? How do I - the buyer, the borrower - have a "profit rate"?).
The fact that it's...
The fact that it's...
January 18, 2016
Most Irritating South Asian Habits
Don't misquote me - being South Asian is a great thing. I used to joke with my wife that there are two types of people in this world. Desi - and those who wish they were desi.
Of course, being the huge multi cultural amalgam that South Asia is, there are some ... shall we say ... extremely irritating habits that we have that I absolutely, with all my heart, hate. So let's be controversial and list them.
1. Not taking off your shoes or sandals when entering someone's house.
I am going to cal...
Of course, being the huge multi cultural amalgam that South Asia is, there are some ... shall we say ... extremely irritating habits that we have that I absolutely, with all my heart, hate. So let's be controversial and list them.
1. Not taking off your shoes or sandals when entering someone's house.
I am going to cal...
December 28, 2015
Bajirao Mastani The Latest in a Revisionist Agenda
Bajirao Mastani is the latest attempt by a revisionist agenda of corporate India to highlight any non-Muslim figures in the history of India. Before recent times, the fact remains that the glory of India has always been under Muslim rule for over the last 1000 years - from the Delhi Sultanate to the Mughal empire.Yet the Indian media only highlights Akbar (and to some extent Shah Jahan) because Akbar was the least Muslim of the lot. He founded his own religion (Dil Ilahi) and married a Rajput...
December 14, 2015
A Guide for my Pakistani Friends About 1971
Realize that no matter how close we are, 1971 is a sensitive topic. Never, even jokingly, refer to modern Bangladesh as 'East Pakistan'. In fact, NEVER joke about 1971.Realize that we do not blame you personally or hold you personally responsible for 1971 in any way. We do, however, blame your government for trying to whitewash history and pretend nothing happened.Never say, 'oh, but both sides committed atrocities'. The scale does not even compare. It's like the Nazis saying, after they have...
November 18, 2015
Back To The Future For Geocities
Nostalgia seems to be pretty big nowadays. Today I was surprised to see an article on nostalgia for Web 1.0.
Er, Web 1.0, you ask. What is that?
That used to be the day. This was the internet of the late 90s and early 2000s. Those were the days before Google took shape (I remember using Alta Vista search engine) and blogging was just lurking around the corner. If you wanted a website, you had to build your own. You had to know HTML, DHTML and perhaps JavaScript (nowadays you just need a bl...
Er, Web 1.0, you ask. What is that?
That used to be the day. This was the internet of the late 90s and early 2000s. Those were the days before Google took shape (I remember using Alta Vista search engine) and blogging was just lurking around the corner. If you wanted a website, you had to build your own. You had to know HTML, DHTML and perhaps JavaScript (nowadays you just need a bl...
November 16, 2015
Shaming "Child" Marriage
I recently saw this picture on my Facebook feed along with a caption "What a shame".
I decided to push on this. Why is it a shame? If both parties (and let's be real here - the older man would have no reason to say no, so the real question is the bride) have freely, without being forced either by circumstances or their family, have consented to the marriage, where is the shame?
Ah, but look at her age!
The notion that we don't marry young is a fairly modern concept.
Gandhi married when he w...
I decided to push on this. Why is it a shame? If both parties (and let's be real here - the older man would have no reason to say no, so the real question is the bride) have freely, without being forced either by circumstances or their family, have consented to the marriage, where is the shame?
Ah, but look at her age!
The notion that we don't marry young is a fairly modern concept.
Gandhi married when he w...
November 4, 2015
Why the RIS List of Speakers is Inexcusable
On the very same day that Canada's new government took office with a cabinet that was made up of 50% women, the RIS (the Reviving the Islamic Spirit) Convention released its list of luminary speakers at this year's December convention.
RIS is an annual conference held since 2003, and has become one of the largest Islamic conferences in North America, along with ISNA in the USA. Over 20,000 people attended in 2015, making it the largest Islamic conference in Canada. Yet, year after year, there...
RIS is an annual conference held since 2003, and has become one of the largest Islamic conferences in North America, along with ISNA in the USA. Over 20,000 people attended in 2015, making it the largest Islamic conference in Canada. Yet, year after year, there...
November 3, 2015
Minority Rights on the TTC Subway
So on the subway today, as I was preparing to doze off until my stop, an elderly white gentleman seated beside me suddenly turned to me and said, "Excuse me, are you Muslim?"
When I replied in the affirmative, he said, "Can I ask you a question if you don't mind? Why is it that whenever Muslims come here, or to a Western country, they are all very nice about minority rights, but in Muslim countries minorities are treated like garbage?"
It was a very loaded question, and though he was a soft spo...
When I replied in the affirmative, he said, "Can I ask you a question if you don't mind? Why is it that whenever Muslims come here, or to a Western country, they are all very nice about minority rights, but in Muslim countries minorities are treated like garbage?"
It was a very loaded question, and though he was a soft spo...
October 12, 2015
How Life Changes When You Have Kids
No one really, really tells you how your life will change once you have kids. Every one is like, "aww... how sweet! You are going to be parents! Amazing!"
I remember the first time I had to see a diaper change. It was sometime just after the birth of our first born, when I opened his diaper ... and saw "meconium". For the uninitiated, this looked like something they use when paving roads. I looked at my wife and she looked back at me, and we were both like 'we have no idea how to do this'. Tha...
I remember the first time I had to see a diaper change. It was sometime just after the birth of our first born, when I opened his diaper ... and saw "meconium". For the uninitiated, this looked like something they use when paving roads. I looked at my wife and she looked back at me, and we were both like 'we have no idea how to do this'. Tha...
October 5, 2015
Lego with the Son #1
So recently at Walmart I suddenly spotted the Lego set 76026 on clearance, and picked one up.
This Sunday, with no plans but to stay home and rest, I decided I would build this set with my three-year-old son. Yes, I know the set says age 6 and up, but as everyone knows, Lego age ranges are conservative.
I helped him with some of the tougher steps, and soon he was playing with Grodd and Flash.
"Now, remember." I told him. "Grodd the gorilla is the bad guy, and Flash is the good one."
"But ..." He...
This Sunday, with no plans but to stay home and rest, I decided I would build this set with my three-year-old son. Yes, I know the set says age 6 and up, but as everyone knows, Lego age ranges are conservative.
I helped him with some of the tougher steps, and soon he was playing with Grodd and Flash.
"Now, remember." I told him. "Grodd the gorilla is the bad guy, and Flash is the good one."
"But ..." He...
