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On Palestine

An educational two sites sent my way (thank you!). First is the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and second is Israel’s 60th Birthday blog that has an excellent Jews-in-solidarity-with-Palestinians blog roll…

The Gift

I was in the middle of a party, eyes dressed accordingly in kohl and mascara and carrying myself around with some level of dignity until I was handed a gift….

Dispatch no3: Toronto Engages in Love & Fertility (because we can’t on our own)

It was my Baby Jane’s special 30th birthday last September (for which I have yet to send her a gift, but I’m now thinking I won’t send it and will…

Quote Unquote

“I sometimes react to making a mistake as if I have betrayed myself. My fear of making a mistake seems to be based on the hidden assumption that I am…

The Axis of Evil (Comedy Tour)

This is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen…because we all know that it’s a rare day when an Arab (and specifically) a Muslim gets to be funny. What…

Bending Over The Line

Being at Bikram Yoga once a weekend allows me to focus my energy and my mind. It forces me to be still and really pull everything together for a minimum…

One Female Canuck With A Broom!

I am having difficulty expressing my extreme excitement re CURLING!. Luckily, I am capable of sitting long enough to write my first review of this fabulous sporting activity. Check back…

Yaznotjaz Hauls It to Ottawa

You all know her as the crazy wonderful woman who lives here and peppers our conversations with ROCKSTARs and HIGHFIVEs: Yasmine, Yasmina, Yaznotjaz. (The table in this photo is a…

Conversations with little girls

This is Deema, my baby cousin aged 12. Last night, we had the following conversation that very nearly made me pee in my pants… Deema: Maha, I need to ask…

Eid Mubarak

I’ve finished my trip to Oman where I saw for the first time ever wild dolphins. They move in the most beautiful symmetry…and I will post videos soon enough, Inshallah….

Dispatch no 1: The Red Sea

Hi & sorry for not writing sooner! I’ve discovered that I suck at writing while on holiday… Long story short, the longer of which I will eventually write about (within the coming…

My 1st Baby Step to Collecting

Caballo Every evening, I walk past the Jason Duval Sussex Studio, and covet the work of a particular artist by the name of Marcelo Suaznabar. The ingredients of his work…

Dispatch no 2, Toronto: The Arrival

“Look outside, pretty lady! I*m standing directly across from no 8 price street! :)” To which, in response, Baby Jane flew out of no 8 Price Street’s doors and ran…

Dispatch no 1, Toronto: Nerd

Seated across from me on the airplane, I knew I recognized him but I couldn’t quite place from which television show. Because…it’s difficult to name That Canadian Actor under the…

Visits with Baby Jane

Baby Jane was giving me ‘directions’ as thus: “Go South – that means down the hill, towards a clock tower, Maha – blablabla” because she knows that directions confuse me…

The perfect weekend

…filled with a lot of coffee, many bagels & cream cheese, Indian cuisine, Thai cuisine, seven movies, late night conversations and late day sleep-ins. My friend’s new apartment is gorgeous…

‘Glam’ Shots (aka ‘If a Moroccan prostitute & a Russian prostitute had a child)

I chose Moroccan and Russian, because they are the crème de la crème and if I am to emulate any hooker, it would be a combination of the two. My…

Greetings from my best friend’s back yard

Where I am looking at these two precious things: Nora May & Trenty (who when I pointed my phone at him gave me this face) We’re about to have dinner…

Dietrich and Aalya

They did it! They did it! They did it! (With only the knowledge of their families.) Alf mabrook!

Exploding chestnuts, flowers & cars

.1. My mouth attracts disaster. A few evenings ago, I roasted chestnuts. I was so tired and in my own head that I didn’t make the cuts in the chestnuts…

Quote of this day

It’s possible I am pushing through solid rock in flintlike layers, as the ore lies, alone; I am such a long way in I see no way through, and no…

‘Marvin Under Glass’

This is my contribution to the world of hilariously pretentious art: Marvin Under Glass. (I am certain Marvin’s great great grandfather served as the muse to Kafka.) I am quite…

Update On Maher Arar

“…our Government (USA) did not admit it was a mistake, but it is worse than a mistake because our Government seems to continue to claim the authority to snatch someone…

Happy Birthday

to me Happy Birthday to me Happy Birthday to me-eeeee Happy Birthday to me I was born at 8.04am years ago today. (Pretty picture courtesy of This Next.)

Eid Mubarak!

To my sisters and brothers: Congratulations! Mabrook! !عید مبارک We did it! WE CAN HAVE MORNING COFFEE AND LUNCH AGAIN! To everyone – defaulted to ‘The World, Including My Sworn…

My Seedo!! My Seedo!! My Seedo!!

Allah yir7amak ya Seedo. I can’t even begin to express how much I miss my Seedo. It’s been years since he passed, but these last couple of weeks have seen…

Gazaweeyah salad: دق (da’ah)

This is my favourite salad, and it is Gazaweeyah (hailing from the Gaza Strip). In Arabic, it’s called دق, pronounced da’ah. I’m uncertain of the specific root of the word…

Interfaith Fast to End the Occupation of Iraq

Someone’s just posted this to my comments section. I’m pulling it up to the front because I think it’s an excellent initiative and I don’t want it to go unnoticed….

Breaking fast in the Ottawa area – a taste of the experience

I’ve received several emails asking me where / how one could experience this with Muslims if they’re not currently living in a Muslim country, or if they don’t have any…

All Night Long

Because every once in a while it’s necessary for me to reinforce publicly the fact that I am a very big nerd. When I was six years old, I choreographed…

Magically Flushing Toilettes

That’s not their real name, but it’s what I’ve been calling them. They’re the super duper clean toilettes that are much too eager to flush all on their own. They’re…

Lulu’s 1st ride!

As promised earlier, here you go…

Introducing Lulu

The Store Don’t let the daunting exterior of Joe Mamma’s dissuade you from entry. Although it appears skateboarder meets snowboarder meets bmxer (the three of whom are dudes) they are…

Neruda

is my favourite poet, and this is my favourite of his poems. It was read to me when I was 22 and I was as moved to sadness then as…

What’s in a name?

A snippet of last night’s conversation – Aalya: “I heard this kid call out ‘PARMINDER! PARMINDER! OVER HERE!’ and so I expected to turn around and see a little Pakistani…

Mama, The Riddler

When mama gets anxious or upset or nervous and tries to communicate in English, she sounds a little like Dr. Seuss. Exhibit A: ‘If I could tell her I would…

Occupation 101

Forget what you think you know. And listen to the voices of the silenced majority. Open your minds and remember Malcolm X’s famed words: “…what I have seen, and experienced,…