Arise Sir Andrew and Sir Monty and Sir...

Several news sources report that John Scarlett, ex-Chairman of the joint intelligence committee, who oversaw one of the biggest screwups ever by British intelligence will be rewarded for his work with a Knighthood.

Just to remind readers, the highlight of Scarlett's charimanship was the production of the infamous "dodgy dossier" that claimed that Saddam Hussein could deploy chemical weapons within 45 minutes.

Instances such as this where complete failure is rewarded are mind-boggling because all they do is devalue the prestige associated with the award.

So you never know, if our Cricket team can keep a steady nerve and avoid winning the 5th test match in Australia they may yet be rewarded for their performances down under :D

Marriage questions

Here is an amusing (but also serious) questionnaire that i found at the madina (hat tip: jannah). What would your answers be?

1. I want to get married so...
a. I can have a maid finally
b. I can have a companion in life and Deen
c. I can start on my family of ten
d. I can finally get in good with INS

2. The type of movie I would go see would be...
a. Astaghfirullah
b. LOTR and The Last Samurai
c. Jihad is a real life movie
d. Anything with excessive sex and violence

3. I find Rumi to be...
a. A crazy Dervish
b. Interesting and wise
c. Who's that?
d. The greatest Shaikh of all time

4. I am...
a. Salafi
b. Muslim
c. Wahabbi
d. Sufi

5. I am looking for a girl who...
a. Cooks a mean Biryani
b. Is a good Muslim
c. Looks like Aishwariya Rai
d. Can give birth every year

6. Feminists are...
a. all evil
b. some good, some bad
c. all lesbians
d. really men under cover

7. Muslim girls shouldn't be out after Maghrib because...
a. She should be in the house
b. This is a trick question
c. She should already be at the local club
d. It isn't safe to be out that late

8. If my wife asks me if she looks fat I'd say...
a. Well, you do look as if you put on a few dear.
b. You're beautiful to me.
c. Make an excuse, run away and don't look back.
d. You always look fabulous honey even if obese!

9. I think the West is...
a. Inherently evil
b. Problematic, but has potential
c. The Khalifah waiting for OBL
d. Jannat on earth

10. I am Muslim because..
a. My parents are
b. I choose to be
c. Muslim girls are so hot
d. Pakistan Zindabad

11. I am contacting you so that/because...
a. I can mack some hotties
b. It could be a way to find someone good
c. I'm a fob and you seem so cool
d. My mom made me

12. The place I'd rather be right now...
a. A penthouse apartment with impressive gadgets
b. A cool forest full of silent sunlight
c. A warm beach with lots of people
d. At an intimate dinner for two with my gf/ex

13. I want to marry you because...
a. Heck, you're famous
b. Gee, you're just awesome
c. I'm kind of desperate
d. I heard u got some bling bling

Poking fun at Politically Correct Britain

Allegedly from the Commission for Racial Equality...


Update: An article from today's Guardian about the not-so-Christian roots of what's usually associated with Christmas.

Eid cards

This past Ramadan i bought a blank card and got some local brothers and sisters to sign it with a short message for an imprisoned brother i write to

sometimes. He really appreciated it and i intend to do the same again now that Eid al-Adha is round the corner. The reason i'm mentioning this is to

encourage brothers and sisters who read this blog to do something similar as it raises the spirits of the prisoner and he's reminded that there are people on

the outside who are still thinking of him. Its also not too time consuming to get people to put their name and a short message on a card.

Here are three prisoners i am going to be writing to:

Ali al-Timimi
Alexandria Detention Centre
2001 Mill Road
Alexandria, VA 22314
USA

Randall Todd (Ismail) Royer 46812-083
Rafil A Dhafir 11921-052

Both Dr. Rafil & Ismail can be written to at this address:

FCI Terre Haute
Federal Correctional Institute
PO Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 48708
USA

On another note, do you guys know of anyone who combines knowledge of shari'ah and counselling/psychology? For those who don't know i've been training for about 18 months to become a counsellor, and i want to speak to an academic/professional in this field about how Islamic ethics are combined with this field work. I've heard of a Dr. Abdullah al-Sabeeh at Imam Muhammad bin Saud university - does anyone have his contact details?

And finally, i came across a rumour which would be amazing if it were true (desis only read beyond this point). Everyone has seen Sholay right? And you remember the end scene where the ex-cop Thakur Saab is about to kill Gabbar Singh but the police stop him? Well, apparently in the original Director's cut, Thakur Saab DOES kill him!! The rumour is that the Indian Film Board refused to licence the film with the orignal ending because they reckoned it would be harmful for society if they were to see an ex-cop take the law into his own hands and murder a criminal. Amazing or what?

Some updates

I've been really busy at work working on a big project for a client of ours. Unfortunately, the go-live date keeps on being moved later so each week i think its the last week only to find out that the launch has been delayed another week and there will be another agonising week of testing, re-testing and bug fixing...

Otherwise, on the Islamic scene things are going a bit slow. I haven't attended any weekly classes since before Ramadan, but with the AlKauthar Drops of Dew seminar round the corner at least there will be some good quality da'wah/study to get involved in.

I have an update on Ali al-Timimi's situation. He is alhumdulillah based closer to where his family live now, and he is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Federal courts under whose custody he was being mistreated. Though this is a turn for the better, he is still kept in his cell for 22 hours a day! I don't know if i could stand that.

The other thing is that i had two dreams in the last couple of months. One was of Ali al-Timimi being free and looking in a good state. The other was of Imam Anwar al-Awlaqi who was also free in my dream, but looked like he had undergone some rough treatment - may Allah protect him.

I wish i were a holy man and i could claim that these dreams have a meaning to them, alas, i'm no more than a software developer and can't claim anything. Nevertheless, i hope they are a good omen and i pray that Allah returns these two men (along with all other prisoners unjustly imprisoned) to their families and communities.