Please go to The Muslimah to read Umm Layth’s impassioned request for submissions and readers for the next Muslimahs Speak Up! Blog Carnival. We would like to make this a regularly scheduled Carnival, dedicated to highlighting the voices of practicing Muslim women, writing about the things that matter to practicing Muslim women.

If you have never read a Muslimahs Speak Up! Blog Carnival, this is a great opportunity for you to broaden your horizons and challenge your perceptions!

Please pass this on!

Thanks alot Rahma…

1. Last movie you saw in a theater? Seriously… I don’t know. It might have been The Chronicles of Narnia… or maybe it was Kung Fu Hustle. I can’t remember which came out last. And yeah, it’s been that long.  ETA: Oh, wait, was Charlie & The Chocolate Factory after those?

2. What book are you reading? See here

3. Favorite board game? Scrabble

4. Favorite magazine? Shambala Sun

5. Favorite smells? Sigh… my husband when he comes home from working in the mechanic shop… oh, wait, that doesn’t happen anymore. Um, I guess vanilla?

6. Favorite sounds? The mureeds of my tariqa when they do dhikr sessions; birds; the Adhan

7. Worst feeling in the world? eh, I’ll come back to this one inshaAllah

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up? Am I late?

9. Favorite fast food place? Popeye’s. But I don’t eat fast food anymore.

10. Future child’s name? Not applicable since I won’t have any more… can I name a grandchild? The Boy says he’s gonna have about 12, so you’d think he could let me name one or two of them…

11. Finish this statement. “If I had lot of money I’d….? Make Hajj, visit my shaykh frequently, endow something… oh, and travel - alot

12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Does my cat count? Seriously though, yes, on occassion, when I’m really really lonely.

13. Storms - cool or scary? Cool

14. Favorite drink/Juice? Mango

15. Finish this statement “If I had the spare time I would….”?  Visit my shaykh frequently (see, I just need a very flexible but very high-paying job…)

16. Do you eat the stems on broccoli? Yes

17. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice? Eh, over that… I did alot of that, pretty much every color, black, blue, purple, magenta, various shades of red, fuschia, blonde (I even briefly had tangerine, and no I don’t mean carrot top, I really mean a peachy-tangerine). Now I am getting beautiful silvery strands, I will never dye it again, inshaAllah.

18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in? Kalamazoo MI, Grand Rapids MI, Hamtramck MI, Chicago IL, Lubbock TX

19. Favorite sports to watch? Futbol - preferrably Latin American and African teams; oh, and Latin American boxing (yes, it’s barbaric, but they have much better sportsmanship than Americans)

20. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?  She has a very pretty and inspiring blog

21. What’s under your bed? Carpet. Seriously, I sleep with a mattress right on the floor.

22. Would you like to be born as yourself again? I’ve never thought about it; I guess so because I can’t think I’d want to be born as anyone else.

23. Morning person, or night owl? Neither. Just lazy. Though I’m currently forcing myself to get up no later than 5. ETA: Oh, I mean 5am… not that I am struggling to be up by five in the evening, LOL.

24. Over easy, or sunny side up? Eww. Scrambled or hard boiled

25. Favorite place to relax? Relax… what is this word?

26. Favorite pie? My mom’s pumpkin pie. Hmm… thanks for bringing it up when it’s out of season… though I’m also very fond of cherry

27. Favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate or mint chocolate chip… or Hagen Daas Dulce de Leche

28. Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first? People hate it when I tag them… I can’t imagine who would jump at this, so we’ll see, inshaAllah.

Hadith Qudsi #30

I’m going to start out just by posting a few of the touching posts from yesterday’s Blog About Palestine Day. I know there were probably many many wonderful posts from bloggers all around the world but obviously I haven’t been able to read the vast majority, so I’m just going to post links to a few in particular that made me cry and reflect.

Via SunniSister - Existence

Via The Muslimah, Via Abul Layth @ Seeking Ilm - Dementia… Stops Her Not From Dhikr

Via Southern Muslimah - Diaspora

Climbing Walls by alajnabiya - Just go read the last several posts

NEW - Mr Moo - A Break For Today

Announcements:

The Open Letters, Open Hearts Anthology is still accepting submissions, and I heard from a little birdy that they are about to extend the deadline again to late June. This is “an anthology-style daw’ah project”, collecting “personal letters from Muslims to family, friends, and others”.

Also, sisters, please don’t forget about the upcoming Muslimahs Speak Up! Blog Carnival, to be graciously hosted at The Muslimah.

Via Speak Collective - INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence Announces New Redesigned Website

Via Online Rihla - The Radical Middle Way Unveils a Redesigned (& Gorgeous!) Website

Via SeekersDigest - Responses from Ingrid Mattson, Zaid Shakir and others to the NYT Op-Ed regarding Obama’s “Apostate” Status

The new group blog Grateful To Allah is up and running; please check it out and consider contributing!

Friday Beneficial Links

Via The Muslimah, Via SeekersDigest, Via Mere Islam - Shaykh Nuh Keller on Good Character - Yes, you may have already seen this by the time you’re seeing it here, but it’s that important!

Via Mind, Body, Soul - Saints Without Sainthood

Via Darvish, Via Dara - The Experiment

Via Ginny’s Thoughts, Via the Manrilla Blog - Marc Manley on The Trouble with Muslim Pundits

Via The Muslimah, Via Deen Quest - A Nafs Challenge

I believe I have just beaten a record for how many times I can cite one person in one post, so the first person who can tell me in comments who I cited the most, and how many times, in this post, I will send you a handmade bookmark of my own design, inshaAllah (p.s. - don’t put your address in the comments if you think you are the first; I’ll email you, okay?).  

In every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decision on the next 7 generations.

Great Law of the Han de Mo San Nee (Iroquois Nation)