Moving Windmills

The human being is a remarkable creature ... even the sky is not the limit anymore.

One example for human imagination and determination is presented by William Kamkwmamba from Malawi, who, after seeing a picture of a windmill in a textbook, decided to build one for himself ... just like that :-)

For the video click here.

Considering the fact that many of us cannot even fix the simplest things at our homes, we really should be inspired by this video and try to use our potential more ...

About Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama

When I was a kid, my mom used to watch "A slave Isaura" on TV. I remember that I couldn't watch it for long because I couldn't stand the evilness of the baron. I still tend to cry when I see injustice. Not that much out of sadness but out of pure anger when I cannot do anything about it. That is why I hardly watched Blood Diamond or Schindler's List to the end.

With "A slave Isaura" I was introduced to the struggle of black people in the US. This and the history of the Indians (or rather the end of their history as the white men invaded their lands) were always the two things that came to my mind immediately when I thought of the US (now there is also Bush, of course).

You can imagine therefore how much I like the civil rights movement of the black people. Unfortunately, I could not read a lot about it yet, but I will inshAllah. The following blog entry of Imam Zaid Shakir was therefore a very welcome lecture and analysis as well, because I'm interested in the elections in the US and am counting the days when Bush will finally leave.

Here is the link: Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Barack Obama, and the Fate of America

Purification of the Heart

I started reading the 'Purification of the Heart' by Hamza Yusuf. I loved it from the very first page, that is the acknowledgments section :-)

The introduction is also great. It gives interesting information about the spiritual heart, of which we believe that it is centered in the physical heart.

Excerpt: " The heart is centered slightly to the left of our bodies. Two sacred languages of Arabic and Hebrew are written from right to left, toward the heart, which, as some have noted, mirrors the purpose of writing, namely to affect the heart. "

Excerpt: " We know that the heart starts beating before the brain is fully fashioned, that is, without the benefit of a fully formed central nervous system. The dominant theory states that the central nervous system is what controls the entire human being, with the brain as its center. Yet we also know that the nervous system does not initiate the beat of the heart, but that it is actually self-initiated, or, as we would say, initiated by God. We also know that the heart, should all of its connections to the brain be severed (as they are during a heart transplant), continues to beat. "

In the introduction Hamza Yusuf concludes that as opposed to (mainly) western views that the brain is at the center of our being, it is in fact the heart that is the center of our being, the human consciousness, and conscience.

He says that when we look at the world and ask ourselves wholeheartedly from where all this injustice, hatred, etc. comes that we will find that they are all rooted at or caused by people with diseased hearts.

But the heart is designed to be in a state of calm, it longs for peace and harmony. To insure such a state, we have to examine our hearts, look for diseases and try to cure them. This book contains the description, causes, and cures of 25 diseases of the heart. Enjoy !

Bismillah

because everything starts like that ... they start with God. (Hamza Yusuf)