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FOR GOD’S SAKE, PEOPLE, spell my name right.  at LEAST when you get an e-mail from me.  because, you know, it’s always written in there.  either i freaking signed the e-mail, or you got an email from my address with my name clearly in it.  THERE IS NO ‘E’!  c?!h&%$r$&i#*(s(*&t!?!  i mean no harm.  you people just don’t know how to read.

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dc is an interesting place to work.  it sounds silly to say, but i just realized how much this city revolves around politics.  people do so much work that you can barely perceive.  i’m still having trouble seeing how it connects to events on the ground (but it must, right?).  rank, schmoozing, precedent, public opinion, closed-door, agenda- all these terms, ideas, entities- inexplicably networked like a jacked up spiderweb.  and the center of it all, or at least what i think is the center- capitol hill.  bullseye- so many aim, so few hit the exact center.

i had it in my head that i wanted to get a library card for The Library (of congress).  because i wanted it.  just because.  (i like having access to things that say you can have access to them).  so i went to get it and the lady says i’m supposed to be doing research and they don’t just give them out to anyone.  hey hey- i can read, and i read the fine print, and it did not say that.  i work a block away, doe eyes, complete honesty, feigned concern- it’s too early in the morning for her to argue with the first girl who walks in the door, and i get the card.  “she doesnt normally do this”- aha! precedence.  but precedence that in such situations, you tactfully do not point out, because once the words leave their mouth is when they realize their error, and that’s when you’ve won.  lucky for me i typed in ‘agriculture’ and ‘religion’ as my preferred topics of research (oh yeah- you have to go through this process of registering for the card, they take your picture, it feels like you’re at the dmv but you can beat the lines), which means that my subjects are in the pretty building.  pretty building = the one tourists ogle at.  now i just have to get up the guts and actually go.   

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http://www.collegescholarships.org/blog/2008/11/06/vote-for-the-winner-of-the-2008-blogging-scholarship/

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jk.  but i do have a real question.  will i continue to get e-mails from you and yourn minions for the next 4 years?  this feels like one listserv i might not be able to shake.

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….wait, no it’s not.  the washington post’s offshoot paper (the express, aka what we all read on the metro) has the title “a new era; obama wins big: racial barriers crumble as democrat becomes first african american to be elected president” which is all good and well and we should certainly be glad, but that shouldn’t be our header, should it?

obamania is just another mania- time to come back down to earth.  i really think this guy will prove to be a good leader (and who wouldnt be, post bush?*), but just being happy about the whole thing won’t really get us anywhere.  the facts are that our economy SUCKS and if it hasn’t affected you yet, it will.  and it will continue for the next 4 years.

*bush: i feel bad for him, honestly.  he’s totally in my du’a.

**palin: no more glass ceiling for this lady; will probably be insanely rich and powerful soon.

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Islam and Homosexuality: Muslim Perspectives at George Washington University

Sunday, October 26
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Marvin Center Grand Ballroom
George Washington University
800 21st St NW
Washington, DC 20052

The Islam and Homosexuality: Muslim Perspectives panel will discuss historical and contemporary Muslim attitudes towards sexuality and gender. The panel will feature Imam Johari Abdul Malik, Director of Outreach at the Dar-al-Hijrah Islamic Center ; Professor Amal Amireh, professor of Women and Gender Studies at George Mason University; Imam Daayiee Abdullah, from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Religious Roundtable; and Hisham Mahmoud, Executive Editor for the Zaytuna Curriculum Series. The panel will be moderated by Zahir Jahmohamed, Advocacy Director for Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA.

Refreshments will be served. Sponsored by Campus Progress, George Washington University Project Nur, American University Project Nur, George Washington University Student Association, George Washington University Program Board, KUSHDC and American University Queers and Allies.

This event is free an open to the public.

The best way for me to describe the event is to sum up each panelists “point” (or at least, what I took to be their point.

Imam Johari: don’t judge each other. in this society, you should be able to do what you want as long as you don’t impose your views on someone else. he used a classic imam johari-lol-nail-biting-eyebrow raising analogy: nobody can tell him pork doesn’t taste good because he used to eat it before he converted. you guess the rest.

Prof Amireh: be wary of associating homophobia with muslims; it could lead to further islamophobia. her example: jews, christians, and muslims were able to unite on one thing in jerusalem: gay bashing.

Imam Daayiee: the qur’an does not condemn homosexuals; the story of lot/lut condemned rape, not sodomy. gays should not be treated like criminals.

Hisham: the qur’an mentions homosexuals/eunuchs and the story of lot/lut codemns sodomy. homosexuals are people too but homosexual acts cannot be condoned.

now, you are free to google these people on your own to determine what kind of validity you would give to their views. in fact i encourage it.

as for me, because, well, this is my blog- hisham pretty much summed up what i think. he mentioned that while there is punishment called for in the case of sodomy, there is no state in the world capable of being called an Islamic one ruled by shari’ah, and therefore there can be no enforcement. also, that punishment, while mentioned in quran/sunnah, is not defined (what the punishment itself should be is not outlined in detail). he also stressed the point that nobody should be dehumanizing anybody, that violence is absolutely unacceptable. i was puzzled as to why imam dayiee got upset in the last couple of minutes- i recall him speaking out of turn to say that gays are treated like criminals and that shouldnt be the case (he was responding to something hisham said, and it seemed very much like he was upset with hisham, though why that would be i’m not sure). later, an older couple i spoke to (with a gay son; he wasn’t in attendance, and i don’t know if they were muslim) said that they really appreciated hisham’s presentation but that he probably didn’t understand how emotionally charged the LGBT community gets about these issues and how even when a muslim leader condemns acts against them, they still understandably are upset with the whole institution. so they brought up a good point, and it made me understand where dayiee was coming from, but i still disagree totally with his analysis. and i’m trying to say that from the perspective of someone who, though muslim and practicing and following ijma’, is willing to hear another view. i acknowledge that i’m inherently biased, but that doesn’t render me incapable of thought. i can understand why one might lash out at an authoritarian figure, even if that figure is noncombative and thoughtful, because of the cumulative negative experiences one has been through in their community. in fact it’s kind of like how quick american muslims are to roll their eyes at the media- even if perhaps they’re pointing something relevant out (though mostly they’re just hot air).

so there it is. the event ended with none of the 5-7 guards having to spring into action. the room was beyond packed (250ish?). they had hummus. i noticed a few people making catty comments/dismissing views (though the apparently orthodox muslims were mostly silent, which i don’t condone either). i spoke to a couple of organizers at the end and i asked them a)when they started organizing this event (last spring); b)if they approached the msa about co-sponsoring it (they did, msa refused), and c)how they thought it went (not so great). i wish there was time for the panelists to address each others points, but i know that it wouldn’t have ended any better. this is an ongoing discussion. i dunno; i’m at a loss as to what we should do practically to alleviate the oh so apparent tensions. my brain always turns to dialogue- discussion circles, to be specific. i’ve blogged about that before; i think it’s one of the only ways to enlighten each other in a personal and noncombative way, even if you end up still disagreeing.

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on a more serious/typical (seriously typical) note, now is the time when my nonchalant “come what may” attitude about presidential elections takes a nosedive out the window. now’s the time when i wonder what the hell is wrong with our nation, society, collective psyche, that we would need hundreds of millions of dollars just to attempt to differentiate the better leader. and through what medium primarily- tv commercials? seriously? to hell with those- honestly, compared to the trash i read in newspapers, it’s almost harmless. i wonder how much those Voices get paid. but pure garbage- we’re knee deep in our own crap and we’re looking for a nice spot to picnic on: fat chance in a frozen over hell, america. yeah that’s the third time (fourth forthcoming) i said hell.

what kind of Great Nation are we, when TINA FEY is better at a potential vp’s job than the vp candidate her freaking self? i laugh at the sketches, but honestly they break my heart at the same time. the absolute bastardization, the whoring, the *parody* of our own supposed democracy- and it’s primetime tv, front and center, and shifting opinions.

i suggest you vote early. that’s cute if you want to vote on november 4th for the sake of ya know, being “with” everyone else, but really? vote early, then go hang out at a polling place on the 4th- people watch, if you must. i’m sure you’ll make some friends. or something. but i can already envision long lines and holdups and complaints (”i didnt think it was gonna be that bad!….i couldn’t find a parking spot!….shouldnt they have organized this better?…you mean i can’t wear an obama shirt to the poll?…) yeah it’s dandy that we have so many new voters, people who’ve never given a flying finger about anything, deciding to participate. but that also means we’re in for a whooole lot of ridiculousness and mild chaos (at least). like, omg, i didn’t know we had to bring our carrd with uss, can’t you just like, look me up? (actually they can, but that’s besides the point you incompetent….future annoyance)

oh yeah, i love people (shaking head no). i genuinely have faith in people (furrowing eyebrows and frowning). I JUST DON’T LIKE THEM AND DON’T TRUST THEM. ok? there. i said it, and i’m kind of sorry but i don’t take that back. you know why? because, don’t kid yourself, you’re not all that. none of us is. don’t take it personal; i just try to keep Trust with the capital T reserved for one entity alone, and it ain’t you honey. it’s not you either, btw.

so yeah, ya know, i’m glad that soooo many people are suddenly interested in electing their president (they kinda forgot about the electoral college, didn’t they), even if it’s for the wrong reasons- hey, at least they got the timing right. just don’t expect to catch me shmoozing and/or patronizing any of them. i bet all those little “i voted” stickers will run out too.

have i sufficiently burst your bubble? God i hope not, but if i have, know that it’s not all hopeless. i mean most of it really is, but not all. there’s still Truth and Beauty and all that junx, ya just won’t find it this time of year.

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if you know a college kid w/a great blog, visit that link and possibly get them hooked up with a scholarship.

edit: if you ARE a college kid with a great blog, apply!  (note: hossino)

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also, it’s finally starting to feel like fall. :) layers, boots, and real leaf colors.

aside: i have this amazing ability to look shady. shady in the homeland-security type way. i mean i know the hijab is part of that, but certainly not all. so i work next to the supreme court, and decided to go see what their cafeteria food was like (so-so…it’s a cafeteria after all). i mean i guess that’s shallow of me- to go there specifically for food. surrounded by History and Justice and…justices…..and i’m there for a sandwich. anyway, i don’t like having to exert uptight body language even in “hallowed” places, so i kinda walk around like i’m at home. does that make sense? stuff like hopping off the third stair from the bottom (instead of stepping down), holding corners as you turn them, looking down instead of up at things, etc. i mean not blatantly disrespectful, just familiar. so i guess that kind of evokes a good amount of attention from guards. haha. also, you’d think tourists might try to poke their heads around corners outside the building or even venture off the old standby benches to find someplace less typical to sit, but…they really don’t. i find that surprising. it’s not just the tourists either, but, well, everyone. in a city so filled with Stuff, you’d think people would look away from placards and sidewalks a little more often. meh. more for me to see.

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