January 30, 2016

  • Roses.

     

    Long stemmed red roses
    A dozen,
    With baby’s breath,...
    Drooping, listless,
    Like a sigh--
    Like a tear hanging
    On my eyelashes,
    Waiting to be rejected.

    ZSA_MD--©

    January 2009

January 26, 2016

  • Constellations and Winter Planets.

    Constellations and winter planets. ( Scavnger Hunt # 5)

    Paper boats in the day
    sparklers at night
    hugs and kisses, sweet memories...
    each like a star in the sky.

    Hugs that felt warm
    smiles that charmed,tender in the cocoon of my breast
    some twinkling stars, others just lying around
    like winter planets, treasured, untouchable.

    And when the stars cry and the ground turns white
    with their tears, I reach into my treasure chest
    and gather them around my soul; not an overwhelming
    presence for others,

    but my own constellations nevertheless!

    Zakiah Sayeed Ali. 1-23-2016.

January 20, 2016

  • Scavenger Hunt #4

    Doctor, Lost recipe, Church.

    Should I be ashamed at the helplessness I feel?
    They tell me I need to “be seen”--
    all it was, was a written two bit, ...
    so what if it came down from my grandmother?
    They should have remembered the ingredients--
    I only made it a billion times, to satisfy their desire.

    Now, a lost recipe, which is probably lying deep
    somewhere among the old books, faded and discolored
    with circular stains of coffee mugs on the dust covers,
    has betrayed my sanity. They say I need to be seen,

    But tell me which doctor would listen to my story
    and not wonder if I have onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s
    disease? Have they not lost a million things that I have given them?
    Why the frowns? Why the “You are so incompetent” looks?
    Why the shrugging of shoulders and the bored body language?

    I need some peace. Need a place where I can bend my head
    and ask for deliverance. Should I go to a church, or mosque
    or a temple to find some solace,
    or should I stay within these walls and pretend that
    they still love me? Was my youth filled
    with difficult choices like these?

    Zakiah Sayeed. 1/19/2016

January 13, 2016

  • A Birthday.

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    Yesterday was my birthday. It was one of the best birthdays I have had. Started the computer in the morning and I saw the Google emblem with the cakes and stuff. So I thought to myself, 'oh wow, some one important has a birthday on the same day!" later on the day, out of curiosity, I checked on the image, and I about fell off my chair that it was for me! How cool is that!!

     

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    I had lunch at the Italian restaurant with my retired colleagues, and all day I received calls from all over the world. I had such a good day. In the evening Sayeed had asked us to go over to his home for dinner. The whole family was there. Dave and Saadia brought me red roses. Don't they look gorgeous? And Sayeed and Shelley got an orchid plant for me. I love the orchids that I have and am so happy to add to my collection. Sayeed also gave me a pair of walking shoes, which I desperately needed.

     

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    Here are the shoes. Fit me perfect.

     

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    Sayeed is such a gourmet cook. He made these awesome steaks on cast iron skillet and baked them in the oven. The marinade and the whole steak was incredibly tender and absolutely to die for. He also had breasts of chicken and parmesan crusted tilapia. Shelley hade made a potato casserole that was out of this world. I have to get the recipe for it. The salad of cherry tomatoes with mozzarella cheese was such a great compliment to the meal along with French bread. It was the best meal on a best Birthday.
    My children always asked me, "what do you want for your birthday?" I really didn't want anything. But last night, being with them, listening to their talk, laughing with them, feeling the heartfelt happiness, that's what I had always wanted. it was such a blessed evening. I cannot thank Sayeed and Shelley enough for making for me the perfect day of my aging years.

     

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    The face book was lit up with hundreds of wishes. They are spilling over into today. I am so blessed,  and am so grateful to God for my beautiful family always.

January 10, 2016

  • OWLS.

    Story about the OWLS.

    (Scavenger Hunt prompt by Leah Steichen Mooney)

    My grandmother was a wise lady. I know that because my father respected her a lot, and every morning he would bend down to touch her feet, asking for blessings. Every single morning! ...
    She sat in one of the corners of the drawing room and would see the birds in the aviary just outside the window. She would tell me about the different birds, which included the doves, love birds, mynahs, bulbul, koel and many others. She would know the warble and cry of each bird, and would tell the domestic help to take care of the birds just by hearing the difference in the tone of their cry.
    One day I asked her about the spotted owl I had seen lurking in the mango groves on the estate. Her brow creased with concern and said, “chee, chee, chee. There won’t be owls on this part of our estate. You didn’t see any owl. You must have imagined!”
    “I did see an owl. It had two huge eyes, and it was full of feathers and it had a short beak,” I said.
    She made Fatima the maid come and take me away, told her to get me cleaned, wash my hair, and let frankincense through my hair as she dried my hair. Then she read verses from the holy book and smothered my entire body with her hands. I asked her what she was doing, and she replied, “Owls are a bad omen. They only live in deserted and desolate areas. The hoot of an owl is a harbinger of bad things to come. Therefore I asked that you be cleansed of the vision and that owl, if there was such a thing as an owl living on these grounds!”
    My grandmother lived for more than eighty years, I grew up in the same house along with my siblings. The homestead still stands there, though it houses Government offices in it, and when mother passed on, the plantation was divided among the servants who had served the family for so many decades.
    I came away to this country, and heard every one oohing and aah-ing about the wise owls and how beautiful they look. But even today, when I see an owl and or hear it hoot or screech, I get a shiver down my spine, and immediately say a few prayers to ward off any evil that might befall us.

    Zakiah Sayeed.

December 30, 2015

  • USPS

    I sent a book of my poetry “Stray Thoughts/ Winged Words to a dear friend in India. She lives in Mumbai. She has been my friend from Xanga and we still keep in touch, even though she is not on it anymore. Some of you may remember her from her Xanga days. She posted with her name Fadia as the ID .

    I sent the book out on the 10th of December, by First Class International Priority Mail. I thought it would take about ten days for it to reach Mumbai where Fadia lives. For the last ten or twelve days I have been tracking the USPS number, and I keep getting the “In Transit” message. I thought that meant that it has reached Mumbai and is stuck in their Customs at the Airport.

    Today I called the main post office here to ask them to check about the package and where the delay was. Do you know what they said? “The package has not left the US Customs. It is still in Chicago.”

    I couldn’t believe it. It was bizarre to say the least. I asked the guy, “So, what now, and when will it get out?” He answered, “It is held in the Customs at the  airport, and we have no way of contacting them or finding out what is going on!”

    Anywhere in the world I could have suspected improper Customs regulations; but would never have doubted our Customs in the US would take so many weeks to send a little book in a manila envelope, to India.

    Needless to say I am disgusted. Calling all people who work at the Customs in Chicago,  "HELP".

December 21, 2015

  • Should I be scared--(part 2)

    Should I be scared, (part 2)

    On Saturday, the 5th of December, the Unitarian Church in Quincy hosted  an event for the public, titled Islam. We were three speakers. I was given the topic about how media misrepresents the true religion. Before the meeting started, I thought I would go over to our Islamic Center and get a few pamphlets and take them with me to the church in case any body was interested in reading about the real religion. I am always trying to educate the public! ;)

    As I drove up, I noticed that our sign to the center was missing. It was put in by the city when we had bought that building; and while the metal post was standing, the sign itself was gone. That scared me, and I drove into the parking lot, hoping that I would find the sign somewhere. But I didn’t find it. After getting the pamphlets from inside the mosque I returned to the Unitarian church. There was a lot of TV coverage, along with reporters from the local news paper, and while talking to them I said that our sign from the mosque was stolen. That became the headline news that evening. Meanwhile I called the Quincy Police Department and told them that while there was no vandalism as such, our sign was removed (stolen). An officer came home and took the report.

    I should let my readers know that the FBI has been extremely helpful to us with regards to the building of the mosque, and sometimes they ask if they  can come and sit at our gathering on Fridays, and have always told us that if ever there was any vandalism, I should let them know. Therefore, I sent an email to our local agent a few days later about the missing sign. That same week, a couple of days after I had sent him the mail, I received an email from the agent, —“the QPD has informed me that they have found the person(s) who have stolen the sign. You will be contacted within 24 hours.”

    My jaw dropped. Honestly, I never thought that we would get the sign back at all. Meanwhile I had an interview on the CBS affiliate radio station about Islam and terrorism and what was real and what was media related fear and hatred. I had been so busy with all these various programs  that I did not mention about the mail from FBI to anyone, not even my husband. The following day after that interview, I received a call from a detective from the police department. He said that he had found the culprits. They were five students, seniors and a junior from the local Catholic High school. They had confessed to the vandalism. Their parents were told about the misdemeanor, and had to come to the station. The officer told me that the parents were extremely angry with the boys, and told them that they had to pay for the new sign which I had already installed, and do other chores for the mosque. I told the officer that I didn’t want anything like that. I just wanted peace in this community, and didn’t want the young men to have their names in the police report or in the newspaper for something like that. I didn’t want them ostracized by their friends or neighbors.

    The following day, the athletic director of the school called me. He told me that he had suspended the students from taking part in the sports. He said that the boys and the parents wanted to meet with me to apologize personally. I didn’t want them to do that. I asked that they can just write a letter and I would read it to the congregation on Friday. He insisted that I come to the school and meet with them.

    So, this past Friday, I went there with my son and met with those students and their parents. The parents were in tears at what the sons had done, and the boys were so ashamed that they couldn’t meet my eyes. While I had options, I knew how much the parents were hurting, and how sorry the ‘stupid’ kids were feeling for doing what they did. The principal of the school was there and asked that I say something. This is what I told them.

    ‘I am not here to advise you. I don’t do advise. I just want you to know that we are a very small Muslim community in one of the finest towns in America. I want to live with peace in my heart, and I hope you all can find peace in yours. I applaud your parents for being here. Ten years from now, you may be teachers, or police officers, or doctors and work alongside Muslims. You have to be righteous. The best person is one who is righteous, and the one who is most righteous, is the one who is most honorable. Period. That’s all I want to say to you. Make your parents proud of you, and let them smile.”

    It was an emotional setting, to say the least. The parents were hugging me and the mothers and fathers were sobbing. I needed to get out of that place before I broke down and bawled along with them. So I said my good bye and as I was leaving, a father held my hand and said, “this was such a lesson in kindness.”

    That touched my heart strings. And now you know the rest of the story!

December 19, 2015

  • Should I be Scared?

    I haven’t been on Xanga or Word press for several weeks. So much has happened in these past three weeks. First the Paris bombing. Then the California massacre.

    When Paris was bombed a day after Beirut was bombed, I was shaken to my roots. All over the country, there was just one mantra being chanted. “Do away with the Muslims. Islam is a violent religion. Vandalize the mosques”. I, in my own way, wanted to reach out to our community and tell them that out of the 1.7 billion Muslims in the world, less than 0.1 % have bombed and killed people here in this country. There have been more deaths from white non Muslim people in this country  (Aurora CO, Sandy Hook, Killing of three Muslim Students in North Carolina by their neighbour, because he didn’t care for their religion or the fact he had issues with the parking spots, and of course the young man who killed nine people in a church earlier this year) than by Muslims. I am not defending the killers. Whoever they are. They are murderers, and they are extremists… mentally stable or otherwise.

    I have got off on a different tangent. My fear after the Paris bombing made me decide that I should write a letter to the local newspaper, and if possible have a Forum about Islam and ask people to come and listen to us. The letter I wrote was very well received, and the Islamic Forum was a block buster. People were hungry to know about Islam, and I thought the best thing to do was to educate. Ignorance causes fear, and that leads to hatred. So on the 5th of December three of us from the Islamic Center spoke to the community. There was a lot of news paper and TV coverage, and the public was extremely receptive to what we had to say. We all spoke against ISIS, which is not an Islamic organization. A true Muslim will never kill an innocent person. If he did, it would be like he killed the entire mankind. No Muslim can kill a woman, a child, destroy plants and crops… all very specifically detailed in the Quran. There is nothing Islamic about ISIS. Those savages are rabid animals, and should never be called Muslims.

    On the morning of our talk, I saw that our sign to the mosque, was missing. It was there for so many years, and suddenly, sometime between the Friday worship services and the morning of Saturday, somebody had removed the sign that said “Islamic Center”, with an arrow pointing to the driveway of the mosque.

    This is getting too long. I have a lot more to say  about this, so I shall post the rest of the story in a day or two.

    I hope you all are doing well and are very happy in the preparation of Christmas.

December 2, 2015

  • Letter to the local news paper

    This letter was published in the paper yesterday.

    To The Editor

    Herald Whig, Quincy IL.

     

    In the aftermath of the Paris, and Beirut, massacre, and at the persuasion of some friends, I am writing this letter to project my feelings to the community here.

    There is so much hatred for Islam and Muslims in this country. People do not understand that the very word Islam, denotes submission. Out of the 1.6 billion or more Muslims, some misguided people, who do not represent Islam, take it upon themselves to create their own cells of hate. These so called Muslims, do not know a word of the Quran it seems. Nowhere in the Book does it say to kill an innocent person. In fact, killing of an innocent, unarmed person, is same as killing the entire mankind. Even in a war, it is decreed that a Muslim CANNOT kill a woman, a child or destroy trees or crops. These murderers call their “Cry of Faith” as Islamic State. Really and truly, there is nothing Islamic about their behavior.
    People in the media have provided a ‘cut and paste’ formula of the various passages from The Quran, stating that It says to kill the infidels. But these people have not read the entire passages of explanations given. The media takes one verse out of context and elaborates on the killing of the infidels. And let me tell you another thing. Christians and Jews are not Infidels according to God’s Words. They are people of the Book. They believe in One God. The Infidels quoted in The Quran, were the idol worshippers who did not believe in the Oneness of God, period. The message in The Holy Book, is to inform and warn, and not to be belligerent towards others. Muslims according to a Hadith, (sayings of the prophet), cannot use the tongue to talk ill about others, or use their hands to hurt others who are innocent.
    So for these ISIS men and women who want to kill at random, there has to be a hell waiting for them. They have not only killed Christians and Jews, they have also killed Muslims! They are a sick and deranged set of rabid animals, who have taken a simple and beautiful religion, as hostage!

    There is a hadith that says, “Kindness is a mark of faith; and whoever is not kind, has no faith”.

     

    Zakiah Sayeed Ali MD.

     

     

     

  • The reason for not being here too much.

    This is the press release by he Unitarian Church. I am very happy that the church is helping me and the other Muslims to speak out. People of Quincy, please come and listen to what we have to say. The more educated we become the less ignorant we are, and therefore less fear and less hatred. This press release should have been in the paper this Saturday, but didn't make the dead line i presume. Therefore I am posting it here.

    November 25, 2015

    The Islamic Center of Quincy an...d the Unitarian Church of Quincy are co-hosting a public forum, Islam: Fact vs Myth, Saturday, December 5, 10:00am-noon at the Unitarian Church, 16th & Hampshire.

    The format will include a panel discussion of the basic tenets of the Islamic faith, myths and common misconceptions, and differences between the teachings of the Qur'an and the recorded sayings of the Prophet Mohammed. Issues related to current events, as well as the role of the media, both traditional and social, will also be addressed. A question-answer session will follow.

    Panelists are Dr. Zakiah Ali, retired Quincy physician; Omaima Ebeid, former adjunct faculty at Culver-Stockton College; and Dr Mohamed El-Bermawy, professor at Culver-Stockton. "We think it is important, especially in the current political climate, to make sure people have accurate information," Ali says.

    "We appreciate the panelists’ interest and willingness to come and discuss Islam in light of the increased terrorist activities around the world. We are hopeful that this event will help promote increased understanding throughout our community," says Lynn Mercurio, chair of the Unitarian Church Social Action Committee.