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Hoyden about Town has an excellent post reflecting on the brouhaha of a debate around Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and how the rhetoric from right-wing blogs about improving women’s conditions in the Muslim-majority world is a chimera, given how badly women’s experiences in Iraq have become since the complete mess that is the US occupation of an area that has seen some of the world’s most ancient civilisations rise up and fall away.

I wonder though, if the former relatively positive status of women in Iraq was because for whatever reason, Saddam’s Iraq was infinitely more stable in terms of social cohesion than it is now (obviously through less-than-desireable tactics) and the complete breakdown of the fabric of society has left *all* vulnerable populations (women, the elderly, the mentally-handicapped, the disabled, the religious minorities etc.) much worse off.  This is a common experience wherever a society goes into complete chaos, it’s not an “Islamic” experience by any means.

Historically, when Muslim populations faced the disintegration of their societies, i.e. when the Mongols invaded, was for religious reformers to call people back to Islam.  Some of Islam’s most creative minds - Hasan al-Basri, Rumi, Ibn Taymiyya, to name three - came out of socially disruptive circumstances.  It will be fascinating for historians to look back at this period, and discover the ferment for our future bright Muslim luminaries that have come out of resisting the “clash” narrative.

Adib from Lantern Torch has a post up advertising Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri’s talk on the Quest for Spirituality. I have a few books from the Shaykh and masha’Allah he is a real inspiration and comfort to the heart.

Thanks to a comment from LHCrab_Fan, I have been reading up on the care of Hermit Crabs. I discovered that contrary to what the Pet Shop assistant had told me, Hermit Crabs do NOT do well in a plastic tank with a desk lamp to keep them warm.  In fact, they need to have humidity and places to hide and all sorts of other things.

So I went to another petshop and they had a second-hand HUGE glass tank for $50, it just had a little crack in the corner.  So Yaz and I managed to get it into our little Starlet and off we went.  But silly me went and took more advice from this petshop owner.  When I asked about sand to put in the bottom of the tank, she said “oh we just use kitty litter”.  So I bought some kitty litter (which is not the type of thing you can use second-hand haha, so it had to be new) and cleaned the new tank, carefully lined it with the kitty litter and arranged the shells, and various bits and pieces of their habitat, but they don’t like it

I am guessing it is the smell.  The kitty litter has a weird sort of a smell, and the Pippys (Yasmin decided they should all be called Pippy) are not moving around very much.  The temperature is right, but the humidity needs a bit of work.  I think I have to replace the kitty litter though

Riba (usury) is a big no-no in Islam, and for many Muslims that includes the Western banking and finance concept of “interest”. I’m one of those “caught in two worlds” type of Muslims. The practical reality of living in Australia, means that I cannot avoid interest - it’s part and parcel of living in Australia. But I attempt to minimise it as much as possible. I have set my personal account interest to 0% and although I have a credit card, I always pay it completely off before the due-date so that I don’t incur any interest charges.

Recently I came across someone I had met once or twice, who was battling a credit-card debt with a bank. His problem was that he had applied for a credit card with a small credit limit, and the bank had consistently raised his limit until it was a substantial size. The problem, I am guessing, was temptation. Knowing that you can borrow money from the credit card company (by using the credit card) doesn’t mean that you should borrow the money. This person had spent some years battling the bank, claiming that he should only have to pay back the original limit amount, as that was all he had asked for, instead of the increased amount which he actually used. 

The bank, presumably cutting its losses, decided to accept an upfront offer that was considerably less than the person owed, but more than the original credit limit.  The person was now in a pickle, because he had to come up with the agreed amount, pronto.

In Islam, zakat can be used to free a person from debt. But what of the person who doesn’t accept responsibility for the debt he has incurred?  Should he be assisted, or should he “suffer” the natural consequences (bankruptcy) so that he learns the hard lesson, of avoiding debt?  What do you think?

Saturday Night Live: Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford

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