Duet with M. Nasir & Al-Jawaher

M. Nasir:
My affairs are not yet settled
Till I have found His Light
All I desire on this journey
Is that you send along the Fatihah for me

Michigan, my home state, has a reputation for nurturing right-wing anti-government terrorists. The largest act of domestic terrorism prior to 9/11 was the Oklahoma City bombing that was planned in Michigan and executed in part by Michigan men. They tested their bombs on a farm not far from my parents’ farm in Lapeer County.
Even after that, militia groups continued to thrive in Michigan, which has more active militias than any state in the union but Texas. Now another terrorist cell is in the news, the …

Cicak, Cicak, di dinding
Diam, diam, merayap
Datang seekor nyamuk
Hap! Hap! Lalu di tangkap!
***
Translation and more after the jump.

Buah macang buah kuini,
Masak sebiji dalam daun;
Mengapa begini hatiku ini,
Habis bulan berganti tahun.
A pair of fruits, Machang and Kwini
Each one ripening under its leaves
Oh why does this poor heart of mine feel like this?
Each month of passing has turned into years

arawak is blessed with an abundance of fruit, but mangos are not one of them. The common mango, Mangifera indica, can grow here, but the lack of a significant dry period prevents it from fruiting well. (We have two seasons here: Wet and Very Wet.) …

Malaysia never stops changing. Controversial areas like race, religion, native privilege (bumiputera status), and national language are constantly in a state of flux. Most recently, when I registered the birth of my latest child, I discovered that the birth certificate itself had changed (for the second time), and that now the race of the child was explicitly stated on the birth cert. Prior to this, the race of the mother and father were stated, but not that of the child. I didn’t really know what that …

Among the more dramatic trees in the settled landscapes of Malaysia is the Kekabu or Kapok Tree (Ceiba pentandra), a gargantuan tropical version of the common large-for-Michigan Cottonwood Tree (Populus deltoides) of my youth. A truly massive tree, it grows to easily 100 feet high, with thick strong lateral branches radiating out in whorls at nearly 90 degrees from the trunk. The most striking feature is at ground level: the muscular buttress roots that rise 8, 9, 10 feet out of the ground to join the …

At first, you do it every day, sometimes even twice a day. As time goes by, it is less and less frequent until after many years, once or twice a month feels like a big accomplishment. Blogging! I’m talking about blogging of course. Although my blogging schedule has gotten more and more infrequent, I’ve never felt the urge to shut it down. In Malay, they have a saying that sums it up: “Hidup Segan, Mati Tak Mau”, roughly translated, “Too timid to live, but unwilling …

I got the best birthday present ever yesterday: my wife delivered a healthy baby boy on the 9th of November, my birthday and my uncle’s birthday. His name is Muhammad Imran, born 1.30pm, 3.9kg (that’s a little more than 8 and a half pounds for you non-metric people). We opted for elective C-sec since the baby was transverse and never moved into a head-down position. During the procedure we learned why: the baby’s cord was wrapped around his neck AND wrapped around his leg. …

id Mubarak and Selamat Hari Raya one and all.
It was a very busy, very difficult Ramadan for me. I worked three weeks straight without a day off until the Friday before Eid, barely stepping into my neighborhood musallah all month. I lost around five pounds, putting me to my thinnest since I got married, and yet I’m as out of shape as ever – what’s up with that? As always though, the month is filled with its own blessings. On the work front, I got my …

The fasting month is proceeding apace. This year, I have three children fasting from dawn to dusk, Munirah is fasting from dawn till when she returns from school, and Najihah is fasting from breakfast all the way to lunch. With so many earnest young fasters, the iftar spread is of vital importance to bolster their thinly-spread iman. So every evening on my way home from work, I stop by our friendly neighborhood bazaar/pasar for goodies.
All the specialties of the season are on display: fancy sweets, colorful …