Tintin's Congo book

Tintin's Congo book moved out of children's section in race row

Thursday July 12, 2007
The Guardian

'Hideous racial prejudice' ... the Commission for Racial Equality's verdict on Tintin in the Congo.

The adventures of Tintin in the Congo will be moved from the children's shelves in Borders bookstores across the country and placed in the adult graphic novels section after the book was criticised for having allegedly racist content.

The book, which includes a scene where Tintin is made chief of an African village because he is a "good white man" and a black woman bowing to Tintin saying: "White man very great ... white mister is big juju man!" was highly offensive, a spokeswoman from the commission said.

"This book contains imagery and words of hideous racial prejudice, where the 'savage natives' look like monkeys and talk like imbeciles," she said.

There ain't no such thing as bad publicity , it's obvious !

Recently , Tintin in Congo was a controversial matter since it displayed the natives as extremely stupid , people who worshiped him and his dog as Gods. While I'm against that , ever since The Commission for Racial Equality called the book "Hideous racial prejudice" , believe it or not , Tintin In Congo sales raised by 3800 % and slipped into No 8 in Amazon.com's to books !

Series 6 - 786

Series.6
"786" - Does it stand for 'Bismillahi Rahmaani Raheem'?

786 is the numerical representation of "Bismillahirrahamaanirraheem" has no religious or Islaamic significance.

The numerals 786 or any other numerals in no way represent 'Bismillaah al-Rahmaan al-Raheem' or other Surahs of the noble Qur'ân and is not the Sunnah either.

CAN NUMBER 786 REPLACE THE HOLY NAME OF ALLAAH?

Allaah say in Qur'ân "Verily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'ân in order that you may understand" (12:2).

We are instructed to recite the Qur'an as can be seen from the following verses: So RECITE as much of the Qur'ân as may be easy (for you),..." (73:20).

Now would one recite the Qur'an if it is reduced to numbers? As an example, we shall reduce the Surah Fatihah to numerical figures for the benefit of the reader.

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem............................................... 787
Al-humdolillaahir rubbuaalamin............................................... 632
Ar-Rahmaan-ur-Raheem....................................................... …618

So can we instead of reciting the whole Surah Fatiha in our Salaah, will it be sufficient to recite some numbers say 2130 for it!!!

This old game of numbers was practised by the ancient Egyptians, as did many other civilisations. Islaam came to ELIMINATE ALL such superstitions, mysteries and numerological mumbo-jumbo. However, Muslims are still enslaved to the number game, and think that 786 represents BISMILLAAHIR RAHMAANIR RAHEEM.

Even Final Messenger Muhammad (pbuh) in his letters to different heads of states and governments, used the noble words at the top. Therefore, whosoever uses 786 with the intention to obtain Allaah's blessings, is a misguided person and any attempt to justify it, is ignorance.

Islaam's foundation is laid on the belief in Tawheed (oneness of God). If we associate anyone with Allaah's exalted names orally or practically, we would be committing an unpardonable sin. Did the Final Messenger (pbuh) and his companions respect the noble Words less than we do?

Series 5 - 99 names of Allaah

Series.5
99 names of Allaah

The Names of Allaah mentioned in the Qur'aan and Sunnah number over one hundred, as several scholars have agreed.
Among these names are 99 that will lead to paradise, Insha' Allaah.

The fact that there are 99 Names leading to paradise is authenticated in the following hadith, although it does not list which Names those are:
• Hadith - Sahih Muslim and Bukhari 8:419, Narrated Abu Huraira : Allaah has ninety-nine Names, i.e., one hundred minus one, and whoever 'ahsaha' [enumerates them, believes in them, ponders their meanings, worships Allaah by them and supplicates with them, and acts by them according to one's belief in them] will enter Paradise; and Allaah is Witr ("Odd", i.e. He is one, and it is an odd number) and loves 'the Witr' (i.e., odd numbers).

However:
Allaah (subhanahu wa ta`ala)'s names are not limited to 99, which is a common misconception. There are a couple of evidences, one is the du`aa where one calls upon Allaah by the names He (subhanahu wa ta`ala) has kept to Himself (obviously not taking these names since Allaah has not revealed them to us);

Points to be noted in this topic:

 Memorize the Names/Attributes of Allaah, subhana watala
 Do dhikr (remembrance of Allaah)
 For example, say "ya" ("Oh") before any of the above Names of Allaah, swt, i.e. say "Ya-Rahman" or "Ya-Raheem (if for Forgiveness) ; similarly call Allaah wit the name corresponding to your need
 Do not use what is marketed as "dhikr beads" (Urdu: Tasbeeh)... use your right hand and count on the inside joints, as our hands will be our witness on the day of judgement
 Meanwhile, modern day Sufi's exploit this list by offering mystical, unsupported advice for the use of each Name (i.e. "say this 100 times in a row over a glass of water, blow on it, and you are guaranteed success..."). There is no evidence whatsoever for such practice

Series 4 - FORBIDDEN NAMES

Series.4
FORBIDDEN NAMES

Naming is an important aspect in our lives and today in our zeal to keep new names we have lost the Sunnah of keeping the names preferred by our Final Messenger

The names which Allaah likes are Abdullah and Abdur Rahman

Below are a list of forbidden names:

• Abd means a Slave and we can only be a slave of Allaah and of nobody else. Similarly Gulam is the Urdu / Persian translation of Abd meaning a slave, hence names such as: 'Abdun-Nabee (slave of the Final Messenger), 'Abdur-Rasool (slave of the Messenger) and 'Abdul - Muttalib - and whatever is like these names are HARAM
• Just the same in meaning are Gulam Muhammad,‘Ghulaamun-Nabee’ and Ghulaamur-Rasool’, OR Gulam Hussain, Gulam Ali, etc are HARAM
• Abu Hurayrah reported that the Final Messenger of Allaah said, "The name most detested by Allaah is 'Malik Al-Amlak' ('King of Kings.')"
• Giving names which are meant to show servitude to Allaah (SWT) but not known to be from Allaah's (SWT) perfect names - like 'Abdul-Mawjood, Abdul-Maqsood and 'Abdus-Sattar and hence cannot be called lawful
• Names of Surahs of the Quran such as: TaHa, Yaseen and other names of Surahs. "The saying of the common people that Yaseen and TaHa are from the names of the Final Messenger (SAW) is not correct, there is no 'Sahih' Hadith about it. Rather they are letters like 'Alif Lam Meem', 'Ha Meem', 'Alif Lam Raa' and the like."

NOW WHAT DO WE DO IF WE HAVE A HARAM NAME:

It is among the Sunnah of our Final Messenger to change detestable and haram names to good ones, as we will be called by our names on the DAY OF JUDGEMENT (Imagine would you want to be called by a haram name on that day?)

 He (SAW) also said to a man, "What is your name?" So he replied: "Hazn." (Roughness). So he (SAW) said: "Rather you are Sahl (Smooth)." (Reported by Al-Bukhari & Abu Dawud)
 ‘Barrah (Pious Woman) to Zaynab (Reported by Muslim)
 The names Abdul-Ka'bah and Abdul-Uzzah were changed upon accepting Islaam

Is Nuh's story only about ANIMALS?

As the Burooj Classes are picking up momentum, I am able to interact and learn more about teaching the children. We have come across the story of Nuh's  Ark and the Flood for the Qamar class (Burooj Kids) 
and is one of my favourite stories to tell the kids. After all, it has animals.

But this is where I stopped and pondered, is the story of Nuh only about animals?

I must admist there are some amazing writers on the blogosphere and I am posting one I came across which realy made so much sence and worth posting here.

A Little God for Little Ears?
posted by Eric Zeller on 27Jul05

Some miscellaneous thoughts on teaching our kids:

Russ and I talked a couple of weeks ago about how the prevelance of fiction in our culture (movies, cartoons, tv, books, etc.) can have an effect of desensitizing kids to the awesome Biblical stories of the supernatural acts of God. Amazing acts like parting the Red Sea, making water come from a rock, feeding 20,000 people, making the dead rise again, (add the miracles of last Prophet - Splitting of moon, water from 
fingers, The Night journey...- Abu Safiyah) etc., are at best no more exciting than whatever is on the Cartoon Network today. There is a difference, though - the Bible stories really happened! They are true! But sometimes kids can have a hard time differentiating.

I associated much of Christian doctrine with children's stories because I grew up in a church. My Sunday school teachers had turned Bible narrative into children's fables. They talked about Noah and the ark because the story had animals in it. They failed to mention that this was when God massacred all of humanity¦ It took me a while to realize that these stories, while often used with children, are not at all children’s stories. I think the devil has tricked us into thinking so much of biblical theology is a story fit for kids. How did we come to think the story of Noah’s ark is appropriate for children? Can you imagine a children’s book about Noah’s ark complete with paintings of people gasping in gallons of water, mothers grasping their children while their bodies go flying down white-rapid rivers, the children’s tiny heads being bashed against rocks or hung up in fallen trees? I don’t think a children’s book like that would sell many copies. (31)

His point is that when for the sake of children we make the OT (old testamant) into cute fun stories, there is a danger that when those children become adults they will think Christianity is just a collection of kids stories. I see this danger as well.

If the Bible were a movie, most of us wouldn’t let our kids watch it. I recently started telling Carrie (2 ys. old) a Bible story every night before bed. We started at Genesis 1:1 and did one section each night. This worked well until we got to chapter 4 and the story of Cain & Abel. She was shocked. She sat straight up in bed. “He killed his brother!?!” I told her yes, that it was an example of how corrupt sin makes us, etc. She seemed to get it. After that things went pretty well until we got to Lot & his daughters.

Could it be that what we need to do in our Sunday Schools (or Youth Ministries, etc.) is to make sure we are not only talking about stories, but about God? I don’t think we need to add lots of gory detail to Sunday School lessons, but we do need to make sure they are not only learning a story, but learning the theology of the story - in the case of the flood, how God despises and judges sin yet is also merciful and faithful. If kids grow up in our churches and know a lot of stories but don’t know God (like Miller at that point in his life), we have failed as teachers.

Even as I am sitting here writing this, I got an e-mail from Charles which included this quote from Ted Tripp:

Your teenagers need something worth living for that is worth dying for. Only one thing is that big: our wonderful God. No matter how much you might feel like a blind person tapping with a cane, try to find your way to show your teens the glory of God. You’ll help them make wise choices. They can’t make wise choices without understanding who God is. They can’t understand what life is about without understanding who God is. They can’t be wise in friendships or circumspect in behavior without understanding who God is. Give them a vision of our dazzling God.

I’m not really sure what the best way is to do this, and I’m sure like parents who have gone before me I will make plenty of missteps in training my kids. But I appreciate Miller’s warning about the harmful effects of sanitizing God.

Audio books are my lifeline while driving. And these are the first thing that I turn to once i my car - after ofcourse the beautiful supplication (which is here). Infact someday i want to blog about the deeper meaning in this supplication. This is something i discovered teaching the kids and boy, do these kids come up with difficult questions.. keeps me on the read all the time.

ok back to Audios, these are some in the pipieline i am so excited about and making a mention of those to remind me to write abt them

1. john taylor gatoo - Education kills creativity in chidlren

I am exicted about this series and its a long one. They say that some perform the best when under a necessity (or wat was that new expression that something is the mother of invention... watever - i think the answer is patent, but u may differ)..

anyways with my daughter growing and she is alreay 11 months, i need to put the system in place and thats why should listen to this one first.


2. hamza yusuf- he is different and not the usual run of the mill talks. imagine talking about aesop fable in his tafseer of Surah Luqman. simply has so much to offer.. and it was in his talk that he mentioned that, every year, come Rabiul Awwal, its a must that we review the Seerah of the final Messener peace on him.

So here is Rabiul Awwal (the 5th month of Islamic calendar).. and i begin my seerah review with Hamza yusuf's tapes.

2.1 Also, Beyond Schooling - anything to do with education is a must listen on my list.

Infact, I have to write a long pending article on the wonderful experience I am having preparing the syllabus for the Qamar (Arabic - moon) class for Burooj Kids Age 3- 6.

3. David Bach-The Automatic Millionaire (CD 1 to 9)

4. Malcom Galdwell - Blink

Series 3: Where is Allah?

Where is Allaah?

It is from the established traditions of Final Messenger Muhammad (peace be on him) to test a person’s faith by asking the question ‘Where is Allaah?’, as understood from his authentic saying when the Final Messenger asked a slave girl, 'Where is Allaah?' .

She said, 'Above the heavens'. Then he asked her, 'Who am I?' She said, 'The Messenger of Allaah. Thereupon, the Messenger ordered to free her and declared her to be a believer. Once a person ascertains the fact that Allaah is above His Arsh, above His seven heavens and not everywhere, then he comes to realize that it is futile to worship anything that he can see or visualize as none of it is his object of worship but Allaah.

The evidence for the statement that Allaah is above the heavens are overwhelming from the Quran as for example
 in Chapter 7:54, "And verily, your Lord is Allaah who created the heaven and earth in six days, and then rose over the 'Throne’;
 and also from traditions of Final Messenger when he went "up" during the miraculous night journey
 or that he pointed his finger "towards the sky" when making Allaah the witness over his final sermon.

This question assumes a fundamental importance as any negation of Allaah’s Attribute is a negation of Allaah Himself. I quote the iman of our times in this regard:

Imaam Abu Hanifah said about a person who says, 'I do not know whether my Rubb is, above the heavens or on earth?' Abu Hanifah, said: 'A person who makes such a statement becomes an apostate because Allaah, the Exalted says, 'The Merciful has ascended above the 'Arsh, and the 'Arsh of Allaah is above His heavens'. It was further asked to Abu Hanifah, 'What if such a person admits, Allaah is above His 'Arsh, but exclaims, I do not know whether His 'Arsh is above the heavens or on earth'. Abu Hanifah responded: 'If he denies that the 'Arsh is above the heavens, he is an apostate.(a disbeliever)"

Series 2: Tawheed al-Asmaa was-Sifaat

InshaAllaah we will begin the basic of Tawheed by a little explanation of the category and related question with it:

Tawheed al-Asmaa was-Sifaat (lit. "Maintaining the Unity of Allaah's Names and Attributes")

Allaah must be referred to according to how He and His Final Messenger (saws) have described Him and to believe in that Allaah has most beautiful of Names and Attributes.

Here we will discuss 4 points:

• Where is Allaah?
  
• Are there only 99 name of Allaah?
  
• Forbidden names of Muslims which are Haram
  
• Is 786 the translation of Bismillah
  

Milad un Nabi - a celebration in disguise?

What's wrong in celebrating the Mawlid? Nothing wrong and nothing new unless you realize this is coming from a self titled Salafi. Then everything has to be wrong.

Ofcourse, I dare admit that I would never be a part of any singing & qawwali Milad celebration but thought let me pause and be more honest with myself.

As I was reading the mails from my old school egroups, there were a dozen or so Birthday messages. This coming just a couple of days after the Milad holidays declared across UAE, made me write this article.

It would be difficult writing back at my school buddies, "hey listen guys, b'day celebrations are not allowed in Islam, so please refrain". Besdies missing the point and not talking about offending them, it would be an excersie in vain. What would I gain anyway. A clear conscience? A removel of guilt and having done my "bit" in uprooting this malicious and evil pratcise that the Muslims have inherited from the white westerners! I would rather convey Tawheed than make an attempt to what would rather be an inconsequential email.

But then Muslims should know and that is why we have to get our neck out and blast them with the "threats of innovation". Bi'da is a nice word to scare them and rub the rubbish off your back.

But the irony of this very situation is, on this very day, a supposedly Bi'da celebration day, most of the scholars (and yes, the Ahle-Hadeeth ones too!) climb on the celebration podioums and speak how important the whole life of our Messenger sallahualhiawasalam is, and not only a day.

How on this very day, do we get an opportunity to reach millions of "others", who would otherwise not tune to listen to any of the scholars with "authentic" information.

Isn't it so surprising that just like the emails from my old school egroup, a b'day was just an occasion to pen in few lines and find out where I am - that we use the Milad for this very purpose in our lives. A reminder to tell us about the greatest man to have ever set foot on in world.

Why, strange enough I was invited to deliver a small talk on the Prophet on the Milad at one of the popular radio FM stations and I spoke, days are not important but we have to remember our Prophet the whole life and then began my speech titled, Prophet as a teacher.

How ironical, isn't?

Series.1 - Why do we need to know Tawheed?

Series.1

Why do we need to know Tawheed?

'What is tawheed?' you ask any Muslim 'Is it the oneness of Allaah?' he would reply 'What's that?' You ask again. 'I'm not too sure' he would say. This is the kind of scenario which the Muslims are involved in, and what a sad state of affairs it is when we cannot even explain the basics of our religion to those around us.

The cure for ignorance is knowledge, and in order to cure ourselves we have to take time-out to learn about this beautiful religion, even if it means reading articles such as this!


The Reality of Tawheed

Literally Tawheed means "making something one". When the term Tawheed is used in reference to Allaah it means that Allaah is One. The opposite of tawheed is 'Shirk' which is to associate partners with Allaah by giving that which belongs to him, to others

So there are 3 categories of Tawheed are:

1. Tawheed ar-Ruboobeeyah (lit. "Maintaining the Unity of Lordship")

2. Tawheed al-Asmaa was-Sifaat (lit. "Maintaining the Unity of Allaah's Names and Attributes")

3. Tawheed al-'Ebaadah (lit. "Maintaining the Unity of Allaah's Worship")

In this series we will Insha Allaah try to keep the point to bare minimum not wasting your time or making the mails unnecessary, and also make the mail in points to be clear and easily readable.

To PATent or not to PATent?

The importance of patents would, perhaps, be best highlighted by the fact that the most prestigious prize in the world, the Nobel Prize, was made possible because of a patent over dynamite granted to Alfred Nobel. Every aspect of human life has been pervaded by patented inventions, from electric lighting (patents held by Edison and Swan) and plastic (patents held by Baekeland), to ballpoint pens (patents held by Biro) and microprocessors (patents held by Intel).

The importance that companies attach to patents can be judged from the fact that IBM expects to file 3,250 patents this year and 64% of the total revenues of Philips come from patent royalties rather than from manufacturing. Pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer and Merck exist because of patents.

A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. In law, a patent is a property right and can be gifted, inherited, assigned, sold or licensed.

Yours Patented.

Should you quit your job or stay put?

Experience is something that cannot be given as a capsule. A one-year experience is worth one year, and a five-year experience is worth five years.

You cannot get five years experience in one year! It is also essential that five years of experience shouldn’t be one year’s experience five times over.

This is what critically plagues the Indian industry. The government is our largest employer; but take the case of, say, a Railways clerk.

While his designation changes from that of a junior to a senior to a head clerk and so on, even after 10 years, the content of his job remains the same. That’s one year’s experience 10 times over.

What is critical is to build expertise as part of experience. There are progressive organisations that identify the potential of its employees and provide them with multiple facets of experience.

At mega-corporations such as GE or Citibank, employees job-hop within the organisation to gain expertise in different domains. What is essential is that as the employee gains experience in different areas, his thinking, his personality and his management skills are honed.

It is this learning that is critical as you grow. One must understand that working life is not about designations but about learning and expertise.

WHERE DO YOU STand?

Manners: The lost art of DRIVING

Manners are going the same way to as the Dodos and the Dinosaurs. And the place where they are most noticeable by their absence are the Dubai roads. It would be very unfair to paint all with the same brush, but unfortunately one cannot help list the Arab vehicles topping the list.

Because they are everywhere. Flashing the lights behind their dark tanned SUVs or using the roads to play some road tricks as if they are participating in the camel races. Next on the offence list are the impatient lot blaring horns even if there is a split second delay on the traffic lights.

We cannot blame a community for the actions of few. But sadly this arrogance can be seen seeping elsewhere too. Why would otherwise a nation known to be so generous become so greedy to extract every ounce of money in terms of house rent or VOIPs.

Usury or interest is prohibited in Islam, but as my colleague laments is pouncing on helpless residents need of shelter lawful money? While taking riba (interest), one is alteast only taking the unlawful from his money at bank, but here someone's savings are being eroded and some children toys are being depleted.

This mad rush of more money, more and more would not end. As Quran puts it, "The mutual increase in amassing wealth, would continue till you reach your graves". The problem with the rat race is, even if you win, you are still a RAT. Remember as one speaker aptly said, “Islam would spread faster, if you drive a little nicer".

Touched by Angel - Surah Maun

Listening to Tafseer of Surah Maun is so beautiful while I drove home.

This short surah that comes to our memory almost in a flash has strong emotions and warnings, that we might not even notice them in our prayers.

But perhaps the most striking emotion that I got from this chapter of the Quran is from its last word (which also is the name of the Surah)
- Al Maun 'small kindness'.

Imagine a kid playing with her 300 crayons with all shades of blue from light, navy, sky, ocean, sky etc. Yet she refuses to share one blue when another kid ask her.. this is small kindness we miss so often in our life.


By sharing a single piece of crayon from the enormous set, we may not even notice one that it is missing but imagine the immense rewards we would achieve from Allaah.

The kid is innocent and would not be held to account. But where would you stand?

Reflecting on this surah and al-maun, I was reminded of the some efforts and lots of hope has created LITTLE CHARITIES. I sincerely hope to make difference in few lives with this project, bi ithnillah.


 

Bottom 5 UAE Brands 2006

The choice of the bottom brands may not be a popular one but some thought have gone into the why of it. They may not even be inconspicuous brand rather they are the ones screaming at you, either from billboards to headlines and perhaps that is why they are noticed, or rather tolerated!
2. Etisalat – Etisalat is definitely not even an also ran if we count people’s favourite brand or firm. Yet the logo and the by word Reach tries to do some damage control, albeit – quite poorly..

If previous Etisalat logo was a dull reminder of whatever they do you got to accept it kind, then the new one reminds me of mint "chloromints". Ones you still need to digest, come whatever may!

Couldn’t think of a better sentence.. however, one of their ads using the logo as a post-it note was smart and well designed!! (sometimes you got to give credit where it is due, even if its Etisalat!!!)




2. du - Whether DU stands for Dubai or Dual (as with Etisalat) or Dubious, is still unknown! However, what I Du know is the logo is a classic example of very poor trademark attorney's work.

Ofcourse, legally a logo can still be copyrighted, but from a pure aesthetic and intellectual property view - the logo should either be Trademarked (TM) or a registered mark (R).
Because this does not appeal to a young and learning IP Agent, that I am, DU makes it to my poor brand of the year.


3. Khaleej Times - A newspaper font, that has a palm tree, a dhow and a chimney (definitely from an oil rig) should actually be very good combination and a fairly decent logo, if not innovative. It reflects the culture and the industry that it thrives on.

So the choice of KT in a poor logo is surprisingly. The nomination has thus other factors too. The choice has more to do with KT being associated with self-glorification, poor journalism and yes, news headlines that leaves little room for imagination san words. The Prophet of Islam is credited with the gift of saying far more with fewer words. KT takes the opposite view.

And when the nation changes its outlook, the logo stands old - the three new symbol could very well be Skyscraper, traffic on SZR and inflation chart that rises are well!
Khaleej Times has made a New Year's resolution to cease its baffling use of headlines. On the morning after the execution of Saddam Hussein, your favourite number one fearless KT opted for the subtle and considered "Bang, bang in Baghdad". How Nice!!


4. Ruwaad - A corporate look at Dubai logos without any Real Estate firms. Seems like eating your pizza without cheese! So had to give it away and there comes a worthy contender - what would you call a 2 months teaser campaign - without any imagination nor a logo that conjures up any emotions.. we call it Ruwaad here

Finally they added a line below the logo: "Iconic property developments". With some blog search, I got this on Ruwaad:
Ruwaad simply means Leaders! Just another pretentious real estate developer who claims leadership over whom exacty...Emaar..your guess!

Compliment: The only place on the net where I finally managed to get the Ruwaad picture was at Nima's blogspot. Thx Nima.


 5. Dubai Media City - DMC a regional hub for media organizations ranging from: news agencies, publishing, online media, advertising, production, and broadcast facilities.

I am sure with all media companies conglomate they could have come up with a better design. Or did they miss the Nose!!

Top 5 UAE brands 2006

5. RAK Bank - Who would expect an unknown bank with a name Ras Al Khaimah making any inroads into the huge banking market of Dubai. That is exactly what RAK bank has managed to do and deservedly entering our list of most recognizable Dubai brand of 2006.

It has underplayed the Dhow (boat) image while managing to garner attention to its simple and unfussy RAK abbreviation in unmistakable red print.


4. Al-Futtain - I am not quite sure if it is an inverted F or an arrow pointing forward, but sure this local company that has created visibility & respect.

Among the many families here in Gulf into diverse business, the Al-Futtaim logo is easily recognisable and more importanty - trusted. Which is exactly what a logo is created for - Identity.


3. Jumeirah - Not to be confused with the Jumeirah beach road or the Jumeirah janes! Rather, Jumeirah International has positioned itself rather well and maitained its distinct style.


When you are associated with landmark as conspicous as Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Madinat Jumeirah etc, it would be too easy to lose out and try doing too many things, ending up with no seperate identity.

This alone is a justification enough to let Jumairah Group pick itself.
Among its many landmarks, the logo for Souq Medinat Jumeirah is credible. Look at the way, Souq is written twice in both Arabic and English.


2. Masafi - Masafi is a village located on the edge of the Hajar Mountains in the United Arab Emirates.The name "Masafi" is Arabic for "pure water", and the village is known for its natural springs.

A simple font, easy to identify logo and a name that associates with water yet is different from the typical Aqua and Oasis types in the region.
Plus its new Fi Masafi? and Do yourself a Flavor! campaigns are sweet & innovative one.


1. Emirates - A brand that truly is international. Emirates with its high budget branding and some high deal sponsers have indeed got to its objective - getting noticed. And the well designed fonts and the Arabic calligraphy does justice to its brand appeal.

A winner indeed.
 

Audio book - Afghanistan

 I have almost into my decade. I mean into the Afghan history in 1978 onwards, when I was born.

As I am approaching the invasion of the Russians, the audio book is getting increasingly interesting. Last week, most of the talk revolved around the British invasion. It is interesting to note, how the world events shaped the British occupation and the effect it had on Afghans.

All of this add to the stories of how no country has ever been able to rule this mountainous country and eventually had to withdraw. What I also learned was that this transition of change of power from an alien force back to the Afghans was neither smooth nor swift.

Rather this was a series of serious of acts of violence, unrest and killings and assasinations in the dangerous terrains as much as the work, grit and resistance of the Afghans.

One wonders how can a country rise which has been invaded by not one, not two but three super powers (British, Russians, US) of our age plus mighty conquerors like the Greeks (Alexader), the Mongols (Chengiz Khan), the Persians (Darayus) and several others. KABUL is indeed a capital that has been ransacked and savaged and it is from this city that a spark can change the world..

Audio book of the week: Afghanistan

 Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Fall of the Taliban

An interesting title and for long I wanted a series to listen to in my car.

Editorial review from Amazon:
This book was very well researched and written. Even if you have very little knowledge of Afghanistan, you can understand and easily read this book. It is full of interesting history, along with it's excellent explanation of the military information.

As I began listening to the first title track, I got lost into the names, battles and locations happening at once between the Persians and the Greeks and was wondering where was it leading me to?

Until, ofcourse, came the name of a 20 something leader - Alexander. Absolutely wonderful. To listen to his ambitions and persuits. Was sorry when I arrived at my office and had to switch my player off but looking forward to his conquest and his march to Afghanistan...

The year that went by - 2006

I love the year endings. No, not for those New year wishes. I don't like them anyway. To me there are just the spiritual wishes, like the Eidain (the two Eids) or the greetings on sighting the Ramadan moon, with the beautiful dua..

But yes I love the end of the year to recollect the top stories of year, the newsmakers, the best and... worst of sports (read Cricket) and ofcourse, looking back at my year end claims and accompolishments.

2007 would be a new calendar year and nothing more. If there ever has to be a new year celebration, it should be the Muharram, but nothing of that sort is reported from the Sunnans.

So we stick to a simple year end best and highs and lows.

3 events that made 2006:
1. 26/11 - The Mumbai local train blast. Yet again,
2. Iraq - all the voilence, the death and the hanging on Eid al-Adha

3. Business - The booming of low-cost airlines 
(I too flew the Air Deccan and was happy to pay 50% less on waht 
otherwise would be the normal fare)
 
3 best books I read in 2006:
1. Monk who sold his Ferrari
Did not read much from the Islamic side and I do miss that part - without a proper library and a hectic schedule with driving to work, I listen to audios instead.
2. Tafsir ibn Katheer - Juz Amma: doing the small tafseer at home, this book is remarkable and interesting.

3. Burooj Stars - well this is definately not a book but a newsletter. This 
however provided me with an oppurtunity to explore read and write a college
mag, my way.

3 best Audio books I heard in 2006:

1. Those who desire Paradie - Bilal Asad
2. Lives of Prophets - Anwar Awlaki
3. Tarjamun Quran - Dr. Israar Ahmed

From the sporing event:
Nothing gets bigger than World Cup football and it is fun only if
a. You have the telecast and
b. friends to share the passion with.
So this time since I had both it was fun. And that is why the greatest sporting event for 2006 would be the Zidane head-butt over Italians winning the world cup.

Personal:
for me, i do not make lot of introspection but i and shazi were thinking of 3 most important things that happened in 2006. u know those number games, that comes in TV. top 5 of year etc.. and just for that fact that Safiyah came in our life (04-05-06), was the number one thing to have happened to us in 2006.

then a distant second was for me about - home. our new home in mumbai to leaving the old one and then furnishing this current one.. all about shelter..

the third one was spending eids. first one at mumbai at the beginning and then the more memorable one was at portblair this october.. so looking back we had a good year.. alhamdulillah

for most part of year or may be 50-50 we (I and Umm Safiyah) were together after begin away for 9 months after safiyah's birth. that was hard on us.. so we were celebrating the new togetherness.. the fights and loves. the naughtiness and the cryings..

of the lows, masha Allaah all lows are life's way of making even. It was perhaps missing out on Yunus's marriage.

Spiritual lows:
1. Not spending the best part of Ramadan in worship. With the travels and being alone and responsible for my family here in Dubai, I missed my taraweehs and the joy of worshipping in Ramadan.
2. No concrete plan for spending the Zakaah money to a use where I can contribute with more than just the money!

a new calendar year bring new hopes and new dreams to achieve.
there would be new spiritual high and new career achievements. there would be new learning in life and yes with our baby's growth, there would always be new bundle of joys our way..