We used to bump into each other in the elevators of our University’s Arts building as we often used the top floor to perform prayers. When I moved to a more central location to be closer to campus, I started bumping into you in my building, and the superintendent rightfully thought he should introduce us,…
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Background Inspiration and Purpose As promised, I am going to share with you how I made our Ramadan calendar this year. The inspiration came from three main sources: 1) my childhood Christmas advent calendar; 2) Pinterest ideas on gratitude jars, Ramadan calendars, and prayer booklets; 3) my desire to mark this month in a tangible…
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We’re one third of the month through. Here’s some of the progress so far. I promised I would post pictures of any crafts we made this month, so here they are: bookmarks, an advent calendar of gratitude. Below is a link to a guest blog post I wrote for another blogger this…
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Back home in Libya normally kids don’t go to school during Ramadan, that makes it a lot easier to be able to enjoy the month all together as a family, because we can stay up later and go back to sleep after fajr. But here (and in some Muslim countries now) kids go to school,…
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Sara (not her actual name) is one of the most consummate optimists I’ve ever known, I deeply admire her gumption, and I am certain that you will too! This is her story: We met for the first time after the Revolution, at the Caterpillar Café. I think it went well, Alhamdulillah (thank God), I…
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I’ve posted about how to prepare for Ramadan in general. I included tried and tested advice that I’ve accumulated through experience, research, and consultations (in Preparing for Ramadan). This time, I’m going to go deeper into what I really want to do in my own Ramadan. It’s more personal, but you might relate to some…
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For those who don’t know, Ramadan is the name of the month of fasting for Muslims around the world. It’s a lunar month, so it regresses 10-11 days each year. This means that every fifteen years or so, you’ll have fasted in every season of the year. We fast from sunup to sundown: no liquids…
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Allow me to introduce you to an online shop where I have purchased many of my clothes in the last four years. It’s an amazing online shop, with a few actual retail spaces sprinkled across the world. They make very high quality clothing, using the choicest fabrics, the sizes are always right, service is impeccable,…
Read MoreI don’t fit in any box. Trust me, I tried! White? Not quite. Christian? No longer. Jewish? Some say it’s very likely. Muslim? Yes, but no matter how many decades I’ve practiced, I’m still, and always will be “new.” Native? Only if you know me, apparently! Swiss? Yes, of course, but you’d never guess! Canadian?…
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Being of a mixed background, and having lived in so many diverse places, having worn many different hats, I sometimes struggle to pinpoint what is home to me. I can tell you that I most definitely felt at home every time I drove into Cape Breton, seeing all the lakes, the forests, but mostly the…
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