London Olympics Firsts

-- International Olympics Committee had pushed Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations to include women in their Olympics team for the first time.

-- Saudi Arabia names two first female Olympians to compete in the London Olympics, the first in history.  The sportswomen are Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani (judo) and Sarah Attar (800m).

Female Saudi Judo athlete Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani (L) arrives with her father at Heathrow airport in preparation for the 2012 London Olympic Games on July 25, 2012. Source

Sarah Attar. Source

-- And then IOC had to moderate a dispute on what the judoka would wear. It's the first time too for the international judo association to allow athletes with hijab

-- Qatar also sends female Olympian

 Bahiya Mansoor Al Hamad. Found here 

P.S. More London Olympics First

Have You Read Qur'an Today?

Feel the spirit: Several visually-impaired people recite from braille versions of the Qur'an in Medan, North Sumatra. During Ramadhan, many Muslims perform Koran recitation in groups (Antara/Septianda Perdana. Source)

The Highest Civilization

Tawakkul Karman. Photo found here 

“Man in the early times was almost naked, and as his intellect evolved he started wearing clothes. What I am today and what I’m wearing represents the highest level of thought and civilization that man has achieved, and is not regressive. It’s the removal of clothes again that is regressive back to ancient times” 

- Nobel laureate, Tawakkul Karman, in response to journalists who said her hijab was not proportionate with her level of intellect and education. 

P.S. She received the Nobel along with two Liberian women who also cover their hair :)

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman. Photo from here

Masjid Istiqlal Jakarta

Masjid Istiqlal (Independence Mosque) in Jakarta is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. Located right across the Cathedral, the mosque was inaugurated in 1978, 17 years after Indonesia's first president placed the first stone to mark the beginning of the construction. 

The mosque has welcome many visitors -- both commoners and dignitaries -- with the most recent visitor was German chancellor Angela Merkel.  

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited the mosque too. Taken from Tempo

Under the dome of the mosque. Taken from wikipedia

I would like to publish my own pictures of the mosque for this post. Unfortunately I've been pretty tied up with the house chores on the weekend. 

Islamic Pick-Up Lines :)

Found here

Thank You, Postcrossing People!

From thx thx thx

Have you said 'thank you' to someone or something today? 'Thank you' sounds like a simple word, but the effect is powerful. With Ramadhan is a perfect moment to exercise our gratitude, allow me to introduce thx thx thx, a blog that chronicles Leah Dieterich's daily exercise of gratitude. The blogs shows that there is always something to be thankful for.

In the spirit of Ramadhan, I'd like to say thank you to Stefanie from the Netherlands and Arthur from the U.S., two Postcrossing members who sent me beautiful postcards from their hometown. Thank you guys, you made my days! :)

The first postcard came all the way from the Netherlands and I almost screamed when I saw the picture. Tono dan Tini was one of my favorite childhood storybooks! I read this book when I was a kid, because D worked in the publishing company that released the Indonesian translation so he brought one book for me. Stefanie said that in her country, the title was Jip en Janneke. 

The second bore the picture of above-ground tombs in New Orleans cemeteries, often referred to as Cities of the Dead. Since the water table in the area is high, people can not bury the caskets because unpredictable flooding will pop the casket out of the ground. Arthur said that we could take tours to this area. Hm, interesting.

Have a superb Sunday!

P.S. If you want to know more about postcrossing, click here.

Ascetism In Freud's Words

Found here