I was just surfing and read this interview with Dawud W. Ali on Islamonline.net and really liked this question and the accompanying answer-

Name	Heba - Egypt
Profession	English teacher
Question	Do u think that people in the west really want to understand the essence of true Islam or they just believe what they want to believe?
Answer	As Salamu Alaikuk Dear Heba, Thank you for posting. You know - your question is a tough one for me. I really honestly don't now what anybody really believes. People in the west - like people in the east - are products of their environments. Most people I meet upon my travels world-wide are kind hearted, peace seeking people who struggle day to day with wanting to know "the truth" and answers to life's questions. Most people in the west are pretty unaware of what the Qur'an really teaches, but then again why should they be when they see so many of us, and our leaders, who claim to "follow it" behaving the way they do sometimes? If we continue to think in terms of "religions" and what "groups" we belong to, we will never get out of global ignorance. Followers of the Qur'an and the teachings of The Prophets (upon whom be peace) who still persist on looking at "Islam" or "Christianity" or this "ism" or that "ism" as their "religion" will never help bridge barriers of misundersatnding in the mids of others who think with similar mind-sets. It will alwyas be about "Us & Them". We MUST begin to look at faith more organically and with less division. When somebody in the west asks me what my religion is I tell them the truth: I believe in God and follow the Qur'an. That sparks conversation and we usually find we have much in common spiritually....through natural fitra. If I were to say "I am A Muslim" because I feel it is my obligation and duty to mark my territory as a member of the "Muslim" (with capital "M" community) the conversation would have a totally different direction. Doors would close and we'd only get as far as it would take for me to debate news stories about Iraq or Afghanistan. In the end I feel faith is more about action and deeds done for the sake of the pleasure of God, not what I call myself or what community I belong to as my support network. Thank you so much for the food for thought... this is probably the question I will take home with me and ponder over my evening tea at home. Peace. dawud

I really like the part in Bold.

Random pix

The cast(actors and choral speaking team) and crew of "Out there" a WacKOS productions play directed by an acclaimed director(HBA).The Videos should be coming up once I finish the editing.

Life is filled with trials.How many times do we choose to sit down and joke and smile through it all.Nowadays my university is in examination mode and everyone is walking around like they are going to kill each other,snappy and even in presentations everyone is seriously serious.

Yesterday I had to do a presentation for my English for Occupational Purposes class and when in the parts of the video-that my group and I made for the class-that were funny you could see lecturer enjoying herself while everyone was just smiling and laughing quietly-I mean how does someone laugh quietly?-The answer can be found in my class

There is a hadith that says somewhat roughly that if you see something happening that is wrong then stop it with your hands and if you cannot do that then speak out against it and if u cannot do that then say to yourself that it it is bad in your heart and that is the weakest of faith.

Well!

I try and abide by that hadith but sometimes when you speak out against injustice it is the people who you care about taht are hurt and trust me nobody's supports the fallen.

So how?How do we ensure that we stand out against injustice and still maintain our freedom and integrity ?

Aargh!People(Some) suck!

Oh well life goes on.

An update on my novel -after having written the first two pages I have got writer's block and man I now have more respect for the good authors of the world.Writing fiction is harder than non-fiction-take it from an experienced one.


I end this post by this quote by Allama Iqbal


Destiny is the prison and the chain of the ignorant. Understand that destiny is like the water of the Nile: Water before the faithful, blood before the unbeliever. - Allama Iqbal

All praise be to God!!!

I have finally got a place for training in HKL.
I found out yesterday just a little while before the farewell dinner for graduating International Students where I had to to give a speech which was supposed apparently make everyone cry but rather as in usual Haris fashion it made everyone laugh...
I also got Briyani "Drunk" , I mean it was good free food and I hadn't had Lunch so well i went all out and the result was that if I had to take an ABC test I probably wouldn't be able to pass it and if I had to walk on a straight line I would only be able to so it if i clutched my stomach and carefully maneuvered myself.

Btw here is my "sad" speech -it has a lot of grammatical errors so just ignore them and look for the essence which by the way might take a long time to find:-

To the President of Isck and his Committee members ,to the advisor of Isck preent here,to the respected guests and invitees of Isck to this farewell dinner today , I greet you with the Islamic greetings Peace and greetings of Allah (swt) be upon you.

A few days ago I was asked by some of the organising committee to come up and give a touching speech ,they said make them “cry”. Well while I cannot guarantee that I will make everyone cry I can say that I can at least try.

It is an honour to be with you today because as always in any institution it is an honour to address senior(makes them sound old ) members of any educational institution .Likewise it is an honour to address the leaving international members of this university from this campus.When you leave these halls and walls.The guards at the gate will not be the only people who will miss you but we,we the students left behind will also miss your good selves.We will remember that when we came here one year ago,most of us barely knew each other but today one year on most of us know each other much much better.We know about each others favourite haunts and favourite restaurants and unlike in Gombak where we might just know each others faces we also can put names to the faces. These once unfamiliar faces have now become brothers and sisters.

We are like a family ,we are going places but while doing that coupled together with the excitement of going out into the world there is also the feeling of longing, the feeling that we might miss this place not because of the building but rather because of the people that make up these building. These same people who have made our stay here memorable.

And like a family we cover up each other’s faults in front of everyone else and behind the curtains we bicker and fight amongst ourselves like any family would. We thank the seniors for the invaluable advice that they have imparted to us and we pray that 20-30 years down the lane we might all come back here and tell our children that brother so-and-so and sister so-and-so studied here with me and we used to go together to Taj and Alif to break our fast in Ramadan.

We hope and pray that all these memories will stay with us and our seniors as we travel down life’s journey.

We also pray that the seniors remember us and we them in our duas,

Thank You Very Much

Wassalaam

-------------------------------END OF SPEECH---------------------------------------------

Today leaves me with less than 2 weeks to my finals ...ahhhhhhh

Well its been sometime since I last posted a post.

Aaahhh well that is life,I've so very very busy.Now I have started my Final Year Project and I have finals coming up in less than two weeks and after that I will start my practical training inshAllah although God alone knows where,seing as how I don't have a place yet.I also have been so caught with the whirlwing of events that has been Malaysia in the recent elections which was a shocker to say the least,in terms of how many seats the ruling coalition lost.

Life as they say is never easy,but they never tell you why you might end up at 12:30 am in the morning typing a blog post just before you start to study toxicology.

Oh and by the way I took a career test today and found out that I have all the characteristics that do NOT fit Biomedical science.

What a surprise!

It was really funny through because the lady who was doing the course looking at my score and the characteristics that fit and was asking me "umm...what exactly do you do in Bio medical science?", when I replied "a lot of lab work",not only did she look puzzled she looked very worried and told me "seeing as how your are a social person,you have to go and meet people at least 2 or 3 times a week ,otherwise you will be depressed!".

Hmmm...

Anyway here is my FYP schedule that I am very proud (astaghfirullah) of :-

Month(2008)	Week	Work to be done	Comments
MARCH	2	Check schedule and locate previous FYP students samples,as well as study their FYP
	3	Discuss with lab assistants and check availability of solutions and freezers and book lab for short semester
	4	Get papaya(ripe and green) from Temerloh farm. Start preparation of papaya(ripe and green) extract using PBS and water.	Papaya must be peeled the same day and extraction carried out at the same time. Storage can only be done at 4 deg. Cel. In an airtight bag >/ 24hrs. Or at -20 deg. Cel. >/ 1 month Conditions for storage must be the same for both ripe and green papaya.
APRIL	1	-
	2(Weekend)-12th and 13th	Start preparation of papaya(green) extract using PBS and water.
	3(Weekend)-19th and 20th	Finish preparation of papaya(green) extract using PBS and water.
	4(Weekend)-26th and 27th	Start preparation of papaya(ripe) extract using PBS and water.
MAY	1(Weekend)-3rd and 4th	1.)Finish preparation of papaya(ripe) extract using PBS and water 2.)Begin breeding of Gen 0 for mice-2 males and six females
	2(Weekend)-10th and 11th	1.)Check mice –food + water and clean cage
	3(Weekend)-17th and 18th	1.) Check mice –food + water and clean cage
	4(Weekend)-24th and 25th	1.)Check and separate new born mice and label as Gen 1A-discard males and keep females(approx. 5 in number per mouse) 2.)New born mice(female) should number around 30. 3.)check for any deficiencies and keep aside for 6 weeks 4.)Check mice –food + water and clean cage
JUNE	1(Weekend)-7th and 8th	1.)Check all solutions(PBS and water and both concentrations for Zinc-50+100) and start breeding mice for Gen 1B-Two(2) males and six(6) females. 2.)check(food and water) on Gen.1A and clean cages
	2(Weekend)-14th and 15th	1.)Check food and water for Gen. 1A and Gen. 1B (breeding).
	3(Weekend)-21st and 22nd	1.) Check food and water for Gen. 1A and Gen. 1B (breeding).
	4(Weekend)-28th and 29th	1.)Birth of mice of Gen. 1B- Female mice should number around 30,male mice discarded. 2.)Separate Gen 1B from parents and label 3.) Check mice –food + water and clean cage	=>Check Camera and ruler =>Check wound inflicter
JULY	1(Weekend)-5th and 6th and whole week.	1.) Check mice –food + water and clean cage	=>Check Camera and ruler Both must be used for measurement , camera must be used to take pictures from a fixed height for all pictures =>total of 14 mice-for PBS with Zn50(7 for each green and Ripe papaya) =>total of 14 mice for PBS with Zn100 (7 for each green and Ripe papaya)
	2	1.)14th-Start wound(6mm) infliction on Gen. 1A- and apply chemical-PBS(ripe and green) with Zn50 2.) 15th - Start wound (6mm) infliction on Gen. 1A- and apply chemical-PBS with Zn100 –ripe and green papaya. 2.)Check PBS(ripe and green) Zn50 on the 16th ,18th,20th 3.) Check PBS Zn100 (ripe and green papaya extract) on the 17th ,19th,21 st 3.) Check mice –food + water and clean cage	Use camera and ruler
	3+4	1.) Check PBS Zn50 (ripe and green papaya extract) on the 22nd ,24th ,26th,28th 2.) Check PBS Zn100 (ripe and green papaya extract) on the 23rd ,25th ,27th,29th 3.)Dispose of males 4.) Check mice –food + water and clean cage	Use camera and ruler Use camera and ruler
AUGUST	1
	2	1.)Gen 1B matures i.e. is between 6-8 weeks old. 2.)Make wound in Gen. 1B mice 3.)Apply Water Zn50 (ripe and green papaya extract) on the wound , start and check on the 4th ,6th, 8th and 10th . 4.)Apply Water Zn100 (ripe and green papaya extract) on the wound, Start and check on the 5th,7th ,9th	14 mice needed 14 mice needed
	3	1.)Check Water Zn50 (ripe and green papaya extract) on the 12th,14th and 16th 2.)Check Water Zn100 (ripe and green papaya extract) on the 11th ,13th ,15th and 17th .	Use camera and ruler
	4
SEPTEMBER	1
	2	1.) Do SDS Phage(Between PBS ripe and green) 2.) Do SDS Phage(Between PBS ripe and green)
	3	1.)Do SDS Phage(Between Water ripe and green) 2.)Do SDS Phage(Between Water ripe and green)
	4
OCTOBER	1	Start writing thesis+ paper
	2	Continue writing thesis+ paper
	3	Continue writing thesis+ paper
	4	Finish writing thesis+ paper
NOVEMBER	1
	2
	3
	4
DECEMBER	1
	2
	3
	4
Months(2009)
JANUARY	1
	2
	3
	4
FEBRUARY	1
	2
	3
	4
MARCH	1
	2

Anyway it appears that the Mechanisms of toxicity chapter is calling to me...