You can’t. Walk away from autism, that is, no more than you can walk away from any of your children. For that matter, if you have a child with any sort of disability or sickness (autism, downs syndrome, leukemia, cancer, what have you), the first thing that becomes painfully clear is that your child cannot walk away from what troubles him; therefore, you cannot walk away. Ever. No matter how much you want to at times. And we all do... Read more
When I entered Lil D’s classroom to pick him up the other day, Sanjay* immediately turned around in his study carrel and called out to me: “Mrs. Ali, Mrs. Ali! If Lil D hits himself, will you be mad?” “No, Sanjay, I won’t be mad.” “Mrs. Ali, Mrs. Ali, if Lil D hits one of his friends, will you be mad?” “No Sanjay, I won’t be mad. But I’ll tell him that it’s not nice to hit.” “Mrs. Ali, Mrs.... Read more
The Drew Marshall Show (touted as “Canada’s Most Listened to Spiritual Talk Show“) sent me an email last week, asking if I could recommend one of the great Muslim bloggers on Patheos’ Muslim Portal to come on his show and be his featured “God blogger” for that week’s segment. I pitched to him all the great bloggers we have on the portal that I edit and manage (Svend White, who writes “Akram’s Razor,” Nancy Shehata who writes at “Muslimah in... Read more
I put Lil D on the bus this morning, like I do most school-day mornings. We walk out to the bus, often in semi-darkness before the day has broken, and I escort him to the steps of the bus. The bus matron takes over from there, guiding him to his seat and attaching his harness to the seat. Sometimes he is agitated, upset and crying. Other times he is calm and eager to go. As I silently pray Aytul Kursi (a verse... Read more
How many of you caught the extraordinary “60 Minutes” segment on Palestinian Christians’ exodus from the Holy Land? I heard about it, and today I took the 14 minutes to watch it. It is a very important, compelling piece of journalism from veteran reporter Bob Simon that details how Palestinian Christians are “collateral damage” between political Israel and political Islam. I profess that I am not well-knowledgeable at all in the Israel/Palestinian conflict, but several things stood out to me in... Read more
The field is abuzz with activity, as media trucks gather and high school students and organizers take to the grounds to lay out equipment, set up refreshment tables, make sure wheelchair ramps are in place and do a thousand other important pre-event activities. The sun is shining and temperatures begin to warm up – there’s not a hint of a cloud in the sky. The golf cart is brought to the field and takes a test turn around the track.... Read more
When it comes to Muslim women and hijab (whether we’re talking literally about wearing or not wearing the headscarf and other forms of modest dressing or about the act of modesty), the subject matter has been dissected to death – from how a woman dons the hijab (She’s being too fashionable! Clothes are covering the body but are tight-fitting, so what’s the point? A headscarf is not enough. You must wear a burqa.), to how others perceive the hijab (If you... Read more
I just heard of a new book coming out called Hind’s Hands, about “a big sister who learns coping skills to befriend and lead her younger autistic sister.” Written by Umm Juwayriyah and her eldest daughter, Juwayriyah Ayed, the picture book sounds like something that will be good for my daughter to read. With all the problems Lil D is facing of late, I’ve been hit with some hard questions from his younger sister, Amal, like “Will Allah answer my du’as... Read more
Spring break on the beach: Are we a couple of free-wheeling college students on Daytona Beach? Nah. We’re a family of five (seven with my in-laws included) who decided to come to a beach in South Carolina because it seemed the only place that everyone, especially our eldest son, would have some fun. The question asked of me by so many leading up to this trip was: What do you think will happen? Meaning, our family’s life — in a... Read more
Spring break has started here, and the kids are home. I sent my younger two off to Jummah namaz (Friday prayers) with my inlaws. Lil D and I are hanging at home, doing our own Friday prayer ritual today. With his recent bouts of escapism and wandering, I don’t feel comfortable taking him to the mosque today, so we are doing our own thing at home, and much of that “own thing” has come from the advice I received after... Read more
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