Taken using a 4th gen iPod Touch… with a little tweaking in iPhoto. It’s annoying how Apple has allowed the iPod to shoot HD video but the photos aren’t up to scratch in terms of quality, as you can easily tell when you view the pic at full size.

For my best friend, SimSim.

Drawn using a Wacom Bamboo Pen in Adobe Illustrator CS5.

Click to enlarge

The hand-drawn illustration is a combination of Arabic & English, spelling the name “Muhammad”. The text are quotes from several authentic narrations describing the physical attributes of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him [props to the Chill Yo Islam Yo blog].

Who speaks better than someone who calls people to God, does what is right, and says, “I am of those devoted to God”? Good and evil cannot be equal. [Prophet], repel evil with what is better and your enemy will become as close as an old and valued friend. But only those who are steadfast in patience, only those who are blessed with great righteousness, will attain such goodness.

Qur’an, 41:33-35

Btw, I’ve realized just how lazy I’ve become wrt my camera. When I bought my first digicam way back in 2002 (a Minolta summit or other), I was so excited by my shiny new purchase, I insisted on fiddling with every manual setting available. These days, I normally shoot on auto-mode. It works out okay in well-lit environments, but the picture quality becomes extremely naff (I mean, more so than I’d expect) in anything less than daylight. I keep reminding myself that I need to figure out the best settings for indoors – especially as I hate using the flash – but bah… laziness.

Then, the other day, I lent my Canon to another sister from the ISoc, and within a few minutes she’d taught me five new things about the camera, like how to control the flash intensity (I had no idea I could do that), and change the aspect ratio to widescreen (though I’ll probably stick to doing that during post-processing). This is one of the few times in my life that I’ve been outgeeked by a fellow Muslimah! I am totally going to leech off of her knowledge, insha’Allah. In a good way.

In other news, the first meeting of the Sisters Film Club went well, masha’Allah, in spite of clashes with the Muslim Medics AGM, and general exam stress all round. We have our sights on the first project, which should be ready for June, insha’Allah. More details as they become declassified for public release.

I snapped this while changing the tapes on my HV20 camcorder. I thought it was a good message.

Anyhoo, I have been discussing the possibility of setting up a film club within my ISoc. I am tempted towards making it a sisters-only gig – mainly cuz I’ve been wanting to recruit a talented woman to help me edit all the footage I have sat on my external hard drive for a while now. Insha’Allah, a fruitful legacy will be born out of my selfish needs.

The good news is that everyone I have spoken to thus far seems keen. The challenges include: a lack of equipment (I seem to be the only one with a camera, and decent editing software), and most of the people with the necessary skills and experience have a Y-chromosome.

The answers to both problems shouldn’t be too difficult to solve, insha’Allah. I think the university TV station is still going; we may be able to tap their resources. And we can always hold training sessions for sisters to pick up basic film-making skills. You mainly learn through doing, anyway; the only formal training I’ve had thus far is a crash course on Final Cut at the Apple Store.

The women-only suggestion is more about pragmatism than anything else. I want it to be a safe-space to learn, and channel creative energy; like a women-only book club, or an art class. I do not believe that men are the ‘enemy’ (though I admit to going through phases in that regard).

I won’t be restricting membership to Imperial students; it’s just easier to establish this kind of thing within the framework of an existing community, such as an ISoc. So if you’re based in London, and are interested in joining in, then stay tuned to this blog. I’ll let you guys know if/when we have our first meeting, insha’Allah.

Your suggestions are welcome.

One of the arguments used by those in favour of the permissibility of music is that Prophet Dawood, ‘alayhis salam, is reported to have used instruments – Allah knows best.

That is why I thought the above lyrics would be quite fitting for my début stage production, based on one of the most fiercely contested fatwas in Islam…

“Music is Haram!”… The Musical

Of course, the score would have to be either voice-only, duff, maybe some b-box… just to ensure neutrality/ respect/ bums on seats. And, cuz, y’know, I also kinda follow the ‘music is not good’ ruling myself. Shh.

You can book your advanced tickets to the hottest show in town (most likely as the theatre will be fire-bombed in protest) by placing a comment in the box below.

The dried henna has now been removed; we’ll see how dark it turns out, insha’Allah. I don’t usually do anything special, like apply henna oil. Mainly because my design is so childish, that I’d like it to wear out as quickly as possible!

Is the Eid-Mendhi association an S.E.Asian thing, or do Arab/ African/ etc sisters apply it at this time of year too?

The following is my personal favourite; click to enlarge.

Jazakallah khair to brother Mohammed for inviting me to Cumbria, and granting my father and I a personalised tour of the area.

I was testing some new AA batteries out on my camera. Their half-life was terrible (a matter of seconds), but I managed to capture this before the camera died.