So recently I began to invest my energy in a thing called Dawah. Dawah is the arabic term for extending an invitation, but it is generally put in the context of bringing the knowledge of Islam to the people. No, we aren't preachers! And no, we aren't here to convert anybody. We are simply here because we would like people to have a chance to get to know more about us.
And boy, was I in for a ride. I began the Dawah session on bruin walk as any other Friday began- waking up late, intending to go to Spanish, then missing Spanish because I couldn't decide what to wear. On Fridays, we are to put efforts in looking nice and clean, by example of the Prophet, may peace be upon him. And in girl language..that simply means..let's go all out! So anyways, on a crisp Friday afternoon, I felt the air rush through the hoops of my earrings and felt a sense of becoming. I enjoy feeling a part of nature, and this was one of those moments. I finished eating a delicious falafel pita and I was looking forward to my very first time giving Dawah.
Next thing you know there's a homeless guy on a bike. His grin spreads across his face like a clothesline hangs from wall to wall. I noticed missing teeth, and the color of his skin was cooked to a tan. I hated the fact that I assumed he was homeless. So, for my own guilty greivings, I extended a warm welcome to him and handed him a Quran, while tending to a Deustch middle-aged skeptic as I was doing this. He motioned to me as if to shoo a fly, and indicated that he was not interested in reading the Quran.
No. It was not him. It was that he was illiterate. No, he was not illiterate. True--it is fact that if one cannot read, then he is considered, by definition, illiterate. But this man, homeless or not--we will never know, proved to me that he was not homeless. Although I was not able to interact with him myself, my colleague provided an account of his two hour experience talking to him, all while he balanced his two feet on the ground, in between a bicycle, in the middle of bruin walk. As my colleague answered a phone call with "Salamu Alaikum," the homeless man replied "Wa Alaykum As Salam." May Peace Be Upon You, and to you, as well, may peace be upon.
If ever there were a moment where I could light fire on the thoughts I have in my head so that they may diminish from the existence of space and the universe, it would be then. I wished to extinguish all the conceptions we make about homeless people. I wished to express the same happiness that this man displayed, patiently, while learning about Islam. But what had this illiterate to learn? He cannot read but he can respond. He can understand, and he is among us. We are lucky to know him.
I was so fascinated. Among other things, apparently this man also knew of Muhammad and believed he was the last prophet. It takes some Muslims their whole lives to figure that out, with the help of so many aids...and this man dispelled any need for help by his sheer open mindedness and capacity to take knowledge.
I became inspired to the point that I extended another welcome to a man in a straw hat on Sunday. He had to have been over 70 years old. The wrinkles on his face had such deep crevices that I would be able to unfold them and it would be a flat surface. He approached me and I was scattered...in my thoughts and in my apprehension, I simply began talking. He had tears flowing down his cheek, as if the sun struck his eyes, already shriveled to the point where I could only see the striking blue iris and nothing more. And yet another experience. I found out that this man in the straw hat and frumpy clothes was formerly a World Religions teacher and he knew so much, that the most favorable act he did for me was leave me with a joke. He said something about the pharoah and it was a good chuckle.
So I have opened these two books and I began to read.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
To Religion? or Not to Religion? ... and interestingness on CUBA
So I have been having some revelations lately. My main one is that I am on a one man (i mean, one WOMAN) mission to eradicate ignorance. Yes, that means..I have INFECTED Your mind!! muahaha :)
First, I would like to say that I have become spiritually baptized. I love it. I have come to the realization that despite religion, I can survive on the basis of my morals. My internal compass that navigates the instinct to act wrongly or act righteously. It is this compass, I conclude, that tells me to continue to do the good that I do, and stop doing the bad that I do.
I love this...why? Because it brought me to the realization that we ALL have a moral compass within us. I mean, at least, those of us who grew up being punished by our parents on what was wrong and what was right. So, then, what is the need for religion? To regulate our wrongs and rights? To tabulate them? To remind us that some of us are ethically superior than others? No! Religion is simply the act of bringing our morality into consciousness. We use religion to become conscious of our morality or immorality. Case in point: If I steal a small thing, it doesnt matter. Then I do it again, and it doesnt matter. Then, after stealing several small things, I eventually feel uneasy in my tummy because I know I should not be doing this more often. Now, replay this situation with the consciousness of religion. If, at the very first time of theft, I had realized that (in other words, if I had become conscious) of my actions, would I have done it? In my opinion, religion would make me conscious of my actions BECAUSE we are so used to associating fear of punishment with a bad deed, and thus, we become mindful of our actions. Therefore, we all have morality within us, but it is the practice of religion that allows us to be more conscious of our actions. Therefore, people without religion may find it more difficult to be conscious of their immoralities, as they do not have an innate fear of punishment that comes about from religion. True or not true? I would like to know.
Additionally, I would like to take a moment and SHOW you that the SECOND highest doctor to patient ratio in the WORLD is in...CUBA. Yes, Cuba! But many potential doctors are lost due to more lucrative jobs such as taxi driving for the tourism industry since it has higher pay--que lastima! Pero, why do we view "third world" countries such as Cuba with such a US-mentality that they are inferior to us? If you met a Cuban doctor in the US, would you take them seriously? They are JUST as smart as us, but we fail to recognize that. So many potentially SMART cubans could become doctors if they wanted to, but they dont...because taxi driving simply pays more. OPEN YOUR MIND!!!!!!!!!! Look at the world around you. And stop stereotyping!
Medical staff in Cuba
According to the World Health Organization, Cuba provides a doctor for every 170 residents,[53] and has the second highest doctor to patient ratio in the world after Italy.[54]
Medical professionals are not paid high salaries by international standards. In 2002 the mean monthly salary was 261 pesos, 1.5 times the national mean.[55] A doctor’s salary in the late 1990s was equivalent to about US$15–20 per month in purchasing power. Therefore, many prefer to work in different occupations, generally in the lucrative tourist industry (e.g. taxi drivers), where earnings can be 50 to 60 times more.[21] as
The San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, and National Public Radio have all reported on Cuban doctors defecting to other countries.[56] According to the San Francisco Chronicle, one of the reasons that Cuban doctors defect is because their salary in Cuba is only $15 per month. [10]
First, I would like to say that I have become spiritually baptized. I love it. I have come to the realization that despite religion, I can survive on the basis of my morals. My internal compass that navigates the instinct to act wrongly or act righteously. It is this compass, I conclude, that tells me to continue to do the good that I do, and stop doing the bad that I do.
"When I do good, I feel good, when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion." -Abraham Lincoln (stolen from Supreet).
I love this...why? Because it brought me to the realization that we ALL have a moral compass within us. I mean, at least, those of us who grew up being punished by our parents on what was wrong and what was right. So, then, what is the need for religion? To regulate our wrongs and rights? To tabulate them? To remind us that some of us are ethically superior than others? No! Religion is simply the act of bringing our morality into consciousness. We use religion to become conscious of our morality or immorality. Case in point: If I steal a small thing, it doesnt matter. Then I do it again, and it doesnt matter. Then, after stealing several small things, I eventually feel uneasy in my tummy because I know I should not be doing this more often. Now, replay this situation with the consciousness of religion. If, at the very first time of theft, I had realized that (in other words, if I had become conscious) of my actions, would I have done it? In my opinion, religion would make me conscious of my actions BECAUSE we are so used to associating fear of punishment with a bad deed, and thus, we become mindful of our actions. Therefore, we all have morality within us, but it is the practice of religion that allows us to be more conscious of our actions. Therefore, people without religion may find it more difficult to be conscious of their immoralities, as they do not have an innate fear of punishment that comes about from religion. True or not true? I would like to know.
Additionally, I would like to take a moment and SHOW you that the SECOND highest doctor to patient ratio in the WORLD is in...CUBA. Yes, Cuba! But many potential doctors are lost due to more lucrative jobs such as taxi driving for the tourism industry since it has higher pay--que lastima! Pero, why do we view "third world" countries such as Cuba with such a US-mentality that they are inferior to us? If you met a Cuban doctor in the US, would you take them seriously? They are JUST as smart as us, but we fail to recognize that. So many potentially SMART cubans could become doctors if they wanted to, but they dont...because taxi driving simply pays more. OPEN YOUR MIND!!!!!!!!!! Look at the world around you. And stop stereotyping!
Medical staff in Cuba
According to the World Health Organization, Cuba provides a doctor for every 170 residents,[53] and has the second highest doctor to patient ratio in the world after Italy.[54]
Medical professionals are not paid high salaries by international standards. In 2002 the mean monthly salary was 261 pesos, 1.5 times the national mean.[55] A doctor’s salary in the late 1990s was equivalent to about US$15–20 per month in purchasing power. Therefore, many prefer to work in different occupations, generally in the lucrative tourist industry (e.g. taxi drivers), where earnings can be 50 to 60 times more.[21] as
The San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, and National Public Radio have all reported on Cuban doctors defecting to other countries.[56] According to the San Francisco Chronicle, one of the reasons that Cuban doctors defect is because their salary in Cuba is only $15 per month. [10]
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