Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $9.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    For the People, By the People
    For the People, By the People
    For the People, By the People
    Ebook107 pages1 hour

    For the People, By the People

    By Sabah Hadi

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A collection of short memoirs reflecting lives which are different, unique, Muslim. Do you want to know what it is to hear the voices of a people who haven't been heard, to hear their stories as they want it to to be told? This book has many voices that speak of many lives, each life shares a common enthusiasm to tell their real stories, of pain, of joy, of being different. Some are narrative, some are tongue in cheek, some are painful to read, some are just plain experiences, some even rants. Of being a Muslim. One at a time. Without being defensive, without fear, with hope, with belief.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSabah Hadi
    Release dateJul 1, 2012
    For the People, By the People

    Related to For the People, By the People

    Related ebooks

    Biography & Memoir For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      “‘I’m ALREADY UGLY,’ is HOW I WRITE ABOUT the day I SHAVED MY HEAD for the OLYMPICS IN MY MEMOIR GODSPEED…“

      Apr 14, 2019

      “I HAD JUST TURNED 18, just qualified for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and could sense I was treated differently as a girl athlete. I felt ugly because of it; unable to perform the impossible expectation of femininity and athletic excellence at

      3 min read

    • Article

      Taslima Nasrin

      May 1, 2020

      Over two decades away from your homeland, Bangladesh, has it in any way become easier for you to come to terms with the description: “writer in exile”? Is it a little easier being Taslima Nasrin? “Honestly, I don’t mind when people refer to me as an

      4 min read

    • Article

      Illustrating #WomenPower

      Mar 13, 2020

      Illustrating #WomenPower
      3 min read

    • Article

      Respecting Women

      Oct 31, 2022

      Respecting Women
      2 min read

    • Article

      The New 2022 Nonfiction

      Aug 17, 2022

      The New 2022 Nonfiction
      13 min read

    • Article

      Beyond The Binary

      Jul 18, 2023

      Beyond The Binary
      4 min read

    • Article

      I. Me. Mine

      Oct 19, 2022

      I. Me. Mine
      4 min read

    • Article

      Indya Moore

      Mar 26, 2021

      Indya Moore
      14 min read

    • Article

      Politeness Or Civility? Alexandra Hudson Untangles The Difference.

      Oct 17, 2023

      For Alexandra Hudson, working in Washington, D.C., was a culture shock. Ms. Hudson hails from Canada, land of the nice, where her mother is a renowned coach of good manners. So when working at a U.S. government agency, she was taken aback by brusque,

      3 min read

    • Article

      Blair Lmani

      Sep 27, 2019

      Blair Lmani
      13 min read

    • Article

      Women’s Plight In The Sahel: A Central Issue In Djaïli Amadou Amal’s Works

      Sep 21, 2024

      Women in Sahel countries face a daily onslaught of abuse that society refuses to address. Only through literature can we break taboos and open a discussion on this matter.

      6 min read

    • Article

      Queen Beauty.

      Nov 1, 2019

      Queen Beauty.
      6 min read

    • Article

      Raise your Voice

      Oct 11, 2020

      Raise your Voice
      14 min read

    • Article

      Quiet Courage

      Jun 12, 2019

      Quiet Courage
      9 min read

    • Article

      Worlds Colliding

      Apr 29, 2019

      Worlds Colliding
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Poet

      Oct 11, 2022

      The Poet
      8 min read

    • Article

      Diversity

      Mar 19, 2019

      Diversity
      21 min read

    • Article

      Mindfulness In Action

      Apr 23, 2019

      Mindfulness In Action
      6 min read

    • Article

      40 We’ll Expand The Definition Of “Chosen Family.”

      May 21, 2019

      When we think of the quintessential chosen family, we usually have a certain picture in mind. Some very Lost Boys- or Breakfast Club-type ensemble of cool misfits, eating Chinese takeout together on Thanksgiving Day in a dirty one-bedroom apartment.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Always Different, Always the Same

      Feb 22, 2022

      The superb science journalist Sharon Begley, who wrote a regular column for Mindful until her untimely death in early 2021, was fond of studies of personality: the different types, how much they’re influenced by our environment and our relationships,

      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for For the People, By the People

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      For the People, By the People - Sabah Hadi

      For The People, By the People

      Muslim voices, Human lives

      Edited by Sabah Hadi

      Smashwords Edition

      ~~~

      Copyright © 2012 Sabah Hadi

      Introduction © 2012 Sabah Hadi

      Cover Photo © Omar Haque. Flickr User: Omar Haque

      Cover image design: Shazia Hadi

      ~~~

      The moral right of Sabah Hadi to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her.

      Follow the editor’s blog at writeract

      All rights reserved.

      ~~~

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      A few words are all you need

      To: those to ask

      Table of Contents

      Table of Contents

      Acknowledgements

      Introduction

      THE JOURNEY BEGINS

      – A free soul

      – The quest for more

      – The Puzzle

      – Many Journeys

      – A Perspective

      THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY

      – Born Equal

      – Land of the Mahatma

      – The Good and the Bad

      – Love is all there is

      – A Mohammedan

      – Being Human

      LIFE AND ITS TESTS

      – Possibilities

      – Thanks to Allah (SWT)

      – Hope

      – Cardio Imam

      GO FOR IT

      – Only one Idea

      – A Flawless life

      – The Fear of the Unknown

      – Family and Law - A Day’s work

      – The Dive

      – Kicking Up Dust

      – A New Sun

      Glossary

      Acknowledgements

      There are so many blessings in our lives; I don’t think words are enough to acknowledge all of them. But try I will, and do justice to all the blessings that have been bestowed upon me in the course of compiling this anthology.

      I will start with giving my thanks and gratitude to the Lord of the Worlds, our creator and Sustainer, the Magnificent, the Merciful. Make me always tread the true path, the path of those whom you have blessed, not those who have transgressed. Without you, and without your infinite grace, I wouldn’t be possible, nothing would have been possible. Not even this book.

      I first put forward the idea for this book to my family: my parents, my brother, sister and my husband. Not necessarily in that order. They are my support system, my pillars of strength in a world that can get cruel and lonely. To you all, I know it is not needed that I say thanks but I want to. Even if some of you had serious misgivings about the book, I am glad you voiced them and I hope that some of those have been put to rest.

      I would like to thank all the contributors who wrote a slice of their life despite being so hard pressed for time. Without you, this book wouldn’t be.

      I have been ten years too late to put my writing out there but better late than never. Pushpa, Fatima you are those precious friends everybody wishes for and so few have. And Tanuja, wherever you might be, you can’t have forgotten the lovely time we shared. To you all, thanks for being my critics- encouraging, cynical, sarcastic and positive. Without you, life would have been such a bore. And to so many others, no less important- you have all been my rocks.

      There are so many in my extended family that have lent me their unconditional support but there are two special people on both sides of the family. My aunt Assiya Kazimi who actually inspired me to start writing and offered to give the first installment for my first Writing Course. My cousin Bushra Alvi who is my writing buddy and a great motivator. May the Lord be forever gracious on you.

      I have, during the course of my writing journey and this anthology met many who have encouraged me, motivated me and egged me on. A big thank you to all.

      Introduction

      Muslims have long been in the spotlight. Not that any great good has come of it. Movies, books, talk shows, infamous role models, debates about oppressed women, scary, bearded men, weird weather- inappropriate dress sense, the list is endless. We are content for the media to take up the role of highlighting the Muslim plight. There are stereotypes and caricatures cut out for our ease and consumption- the Hijabi, the bearded, the stone thrower and the terrorist. It is reflective of our fast food culture. We are provided with the washed, processed, ready- to- eaten perspective and all we do is sit back, relax and gobble it down. No thinking, no experimenting, no exploring, no questioning.

      Where is our human nature which requires us to be inquisitive and curious, to know more than we are fed? Muslims are thought to be immutably linked as suggested by newspaper articles. The reality is that they are not. They are different in their interpretations of their faith; their practices often influenced by culture and new- age trends as are people of other religious faiths. They also have a strong local identity and not just a religious one. However, often they are slotted into boxes and projected as a collective sea of people. Many of them feel absolutely unrecognizable in these projections. Many have never heard of the customs and traditions alluded to them.

      Muslims are either demonized or unrealistically idolized. This book attempts to humanize them. They don’t always have the same story to tell. As Chimamanda Adichie would say, don’t fall for ‘’the danger of a single story’’. And the reason is simple: Muslims are Humans too, like everyone else. They fall, they rise, they make mistakes, and they learn, they have been hurt but they persevere. They may not be perfect. Which only makes them human.

      At this point it is important to ask where are the Muslims? Their reaction to their one-dimensional projection is mostly underground, almost invisible. Some fume, some sigh, others growl, most just go on with their lives. Each time there is a terrorist attack, it is Muslims by default who take the blame. Even if it an Anders Behring Breivik who unleashes terror in Norway, most newspapers including the UK’s Sun call it Al-Qaeda Massacre: NORWAY'S 9/11. We see the same reports again, day after day, stark in their dimensionality. Every time someone takes the decision to cover their hair they are different. If someone sports a beard, they instantly line up in the different queue. If your name starts or ends with a Fatima, Ayesha, Muhammad or Khan, you are propelled into a different league.

      While individuality, uniqueness and the ability to step out of the crowd and have the courage to not be another member of the cattle is admired in other cases, these traits become ‘alien’ when a Muslim exhibits it somehow becomes ‘alien’ hem. It turns into ‘’this is not acceptable’’ action, something which will ‘’not be tolerated here’’.

      Every community has a stereotype, which pigeonholes them and traps them into an image

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1