3 Beautiful Things, the “We’re in Your Corner” Edition

1. SORRY. Recently, I learned a humbling — and very important — lesson from a friend: to apologize for things said or acts committed in anger, Read on »

Three Beautiful Things: The “I Don’t Need a Passport to Walk on this Earth” Edition

A vespa the color of tangerines; Madrid, Spain. (YazNotJaz)

3beautifulthings:

1. VESPAS. The past week (or two) has seen a flurry of friends sharing with me photographs of the motor-scooters I love best, and it makes me smile every time. From Baji on her Barcelona travels, to M on the streets of DC, to Hashim traversing the internets and the Midwest, to Umar in the UK, the “Vespa” label in my Gmail account (yes, I have an entire label for vespa references!) has recently seen an unprecedented rise.
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Rent-A-Mahram.com, For All Your Mahram Needs!

Saudi Arabia mandates that a woman needs a male relative, or a mahram to visit Mecca. This leaves many of our sisters empty handed with no ‘umra or hajj visa in hand. Enter Rent-A-Mahram. We provide temporary husband services to cure this injustice. Thousands of single Muslim women (especially converts) who cannot go will now have a companion!

Rent-A-Mahram.com, for all your mahram needs. We also provide background check services on potential mates by bringing baseball bats to our meetings!

Note: No representation is made that the quality of services performed by this mahram are better than the services performed by actual mahram. Dowry, maintenance, and gratification of sexual desires not included.
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Three Beautiful Things: Canada Edition

While my father rarely shared details about his past, he often speaks fondly of his time at the University of Toronto as well as the University of British Columbia. I haven’t visited Vancouver yet (coming soon), but Toronto I’ve visited plenty. From asking for a “double double” at Tim Horton’s, to calling my male companions, ‘guy’ and telling my friend Pari that she is both “Yonge and Dundas,” Toronto provides endless adventure.

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Beautiful Things: Toronto And Getting Lost On Purpose Edition…

“Turn Left, Ahead”

I have no intentions of turning left.

“ Turn Left!“ The sultry female voice commands.

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The Fascinating World Of Muslim Personals On Non-Muslim Sites

If you haven’t already guessed, I find American Muslims fascinating, particularly in the way men and women find partners.

At the age of sixteen or so, I came across my first Muslim matrimonial site. As many women will tell you, these sites are full of intelligent beautiful women and not-so-appealing men.

During that time, sitting at home in the suburbs without any Muslim friends and waiting for college to begin, I spent some time on sites like shaadi.com, islamicmatches.com and muslimwedding.org. I tried them all despite being sixteen and not looking for someone to marry, obviously. (Is that laughter, I hear?).

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Three Beautiful Things Thursday: Koshari Edition

1. Sometime last week, I decided that I would drive to New York City on Friday night and search for one of my favorite Egyptian dishes, koshari. It consists of: Rice, Macaroni, Onions, Lentils, Chickpeas, and Tomato Sauce. These all seem to be basic ingredients, but just as Captain Planet, with their powers combined… watch out!

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