The car came to a halt in front of a small building; an enormous board hung on the roof, emblazoned with the letters, ‘ISCS’. As I was informed, this was the only mosque in Colorado Springs. ‘Islamic Society of Colorado Springs’ was my presumed abbreviation of ISCS. Feeling a twinge of exhilaration at visiting the mosque for the first time in America, I stepped out of the car. My host mom was equally overjoyed to introduce herself to the rudiments of Islamic culture and of course, test the legitimacy of my words about Islam, particularly its key characteristic of ‘purity by heart’.

The place was not swarming with people; however, a myriad of teenage girls had clustered at a distance. No wonder, I was impressed by their attire. They were wearing hijab as they very elegantly await the mosque’s door to open. This led me to contemplation. Indeed, it requires a great deal of steadiness to practice your faith in US, with innumerable distractions at hand. I gaped at my own dress: jeans, shirt and a shawl to cover my body. Unquestionably not a ‘hijab’, nonetheless, an appropriate outfit.

I, along with my host mom, joined the small gathering.

“Assalamualaikum” One of the petite girls greeted me. I was taken aback and apparently, my face betrayed the bewilderment as the girl passed aggravated looks.

“Waalaikumussalam” I responded with a smile.

Later that day, I came to know that a majority of those girls were from Pakistan and had been residing in America since past 10 years or more. As I started a conversation, I was even more captivated at the thought of upholding Islamic values in USA. A new wave of guilt coursed through me as I had been in the states since four months and yet, was already so rapt by the lifestyle. In fact, I had failed to practice Islam properly.

Anyhow, we made our way inside the building. An imperceptible aura of tranquility wafted in the room; the finely laid ground mattresses and the adorned chairs added to the beauty. Shortly, the older members, along with my host mom, headed towards another room, leaving the teenagers behind. The next thing I knew, this was so not Islam. I was grateful my host mom was not with me.

The girls put off their hijab, revealing skin-tight, cleavage-exposing shirts. While one of the teenage girls was wearing a lucid blouse, the other had worn a mini skirt, exposing her extensive, ‘shiny’ legs.  As if this was not enough of a bombshell, they started conversing with each other, passing a string of profanities, later playing ‘I am sexy and I know it’ on their iPods and belly dancing on the beat. Rage? Embarrassment? Shame? Innumerable feelings flooded my entire being and my mind, at a speed of light, began to reflect upon the disrespect towards the mosque and Islam, in general.

In the same mosque, I met a newly converted Muslim lady. She was an American and had embraced Islam two years back. Her clothing shared a similarity to mine, expect that it was accompanied by a head scarf. Not surprisingly, I felt a pang of chagrin at realizing that, in comparison to my own self, she was better informed about Islam. Not only did she possess a greater knowledge but in fact, she was not carrying a two-faced persona with regard to it. In other words, she didn’t want to act ‘Islamic’ to show the world.

This event directs me towards consideration and finally, some conclusions. Firstly, Islam is not confined to your appearance but also one’s intentions by heart. What’s the point of feigning your ‘religious side’ when inside, you are like a rotten apple? Irony! Isn’t it uproarious how a person prays five times a day, yet indulge himself in all kinds of unseemly activities? How is this not hypocrisy? What’s more, for most of us, including me, Islam is an inherent part of our lives. Only the few blessed amongst us understand the true principle and significance behind it. On the contrary, Muslims, who study and later convert to Islam, are more likely to follow its teachings. I bet more than half of our population does not even know the meaning of the word ‘Islam’. Lastly, mosques shouldn’t be built at every other place, especially if the holy purpose of Islam is not being taught. Simply ignominy!
By the way, ‘I am sexy and I know it.’ Like seriously? They were not even sexy.

 
Post by: Faryal Hasan

LAHORE: Former lawmaker Marvi Memon may have joined Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with much fanfare, but that doesn’t mean her inclusion hasn’t led to dissent within party ranks.

On Sunday, according to an official PML-N handout, party president Nawaz Sharif awarded two vacant National Assembly seats to party workers Seema Mohiuddin Jeelani and Shaheen Shafique. According to sources, one of the seats had initially been promised to Memon – but Jeelani had threatened to join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) if the party decided to go ahead with its decision.

Pressed by party workers unhappy at the prospect of Memon being awarded a seat, Nawaz gave the seats to Jeelani and Shafique. The latter is reputed as an inner circle party stalwart.

The two seats in question fell vacant when PML-N’s Nuzhat Sadiq was elected senator, and Memona Hashmi joined PTI.

Memon herself is currently in Matli, Sindh, campaigning for justice for a rape victim from Sindh University.

The PML-N chief, however, has several other issues on his mind as well. Nawaz, after spending two days in Islamabad where he met opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, was expected to leave for Dubai for two days on Sunday night. Sources told The Express Tribune that the purpose of the trip was to meet “international stakeholders”.

PML-N Deputy General Secretary Ahsan Iqbal, however, said that Nawaz was merely going to pay a visit to his daughter.

According to sources, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q’s) sacked provincial president, Amir Muqam, will hold a press conference with Nawaz where he will announce his decision to join the PML-N along with two PML-Q MPAs, dozens of former lawmakers and around 500 general councillors of the party.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2012.
Source http://tribune.com.pk/story/358515/marvi-memon-loses-out-on-vacant-pml-n-seat/

“Rashid is a man who I have the utmost repect for and if he says it’s safe for us to travel there we’d be delighted to,” chairman David Folb said. “We would be honoured to play there, if the Pakistan Cricket Board would have us.”

The country has seen no international cricket on its soil after the armed attack on Sri Lankan cricket team back in 2009. Several cricket teams refused to play on Pakistani soil eventually leading to cancellation of Pakistan’s hosting rights for cricket worldcup 2011 and champions trophy.

Pakistan has reportedly been in talks with a few cricket boards including Bangladesh Cricket Board for the possibility of sending their teams to play on Pakistani soil. Upon success, this will be first international cricket after a long period of 3 years in Pakistan.

Image captured from Geo News screen.

The parents of the Polish girl Anna, thus, arrived in Hyderabad on the invitation of Jibran’s parents and gladly gave their daughter’s hand into wedlock with Jibran after meeting the family. Anna also converted into Islam and changed her name to Hiba.

We at Guppu will keep our visitors posted as the updates are coming in.

Photo Credit: APP via PakistanToday

ISLAMABAD – Asad Shabbir, a 16-year-old blogger and writer, launched his debut novel,”Leo Solay” in an impressive ceremony organised by his alma mater, Berlin International School on Friday.

Read full news item here ..

Omar Cheema , Information Secretary PTI , denied the news about ALLIANCE WITH JAMAT-E-ISLAMI . He further said PTI is not making any alliance at this moment and news aired was a propaganda and has no reality. It is a desperate attempt by the status quo parties to distract people. PTI has not formed alliance with any other party.

The so-called Liberal politicians have always tried to depict PTI and Imran Khan as a radical Islamist. PTI and its chief firmly believes in Islamic values. However they are not going to play the religion card as some other parties did. Azzan Breaks, and the presence of Rock Stars and Music at the PTI’s historic 30th October Jalsa at Minar-e-Pakistan Lahore, made it evident, PTI believes in both Islamic values as well as liberal values. And one can easily keep a balance between the both values.

Read the full news report from Express Tribune..

Read the full report from Asian Human Rights Commission..