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Archive: Salaam Chicago
The Death of a Prime Minister
My family and I try to make sense of Bhutto's death from our kitchen table in Islamabad.
By Hafsa Arain | December 28, 2007; 02:35 AM ET | Comments (7)
Goat Heads and Sugar Canes
Sitting on the roof of the farmhouse where my father grew up, about four hours outside of the hustle and bustle of Karachi, we stared at the moon and the starry sky. Eating sugar cane stalks with our teeth so...
By Hafsa Arain | December 24, 2007; 10:35 AM ET | Comments (0)
Lost in Transit
“There is something poetic about being in transit.” A friend said that to me once. If that is true, I have been poetic all my life. Today, I leave my American home for my other home, Pakistan, a country that...
By Hafsa Arain | December 7, 2007; 11:55 AM ET | Comments (2)
TGIF
We don’t need an Awareness Week to be aware of terrorism. We need to be made aware of is why terrorism occurs, and what is its root cause.
By Hafsa Arain | October 26, 2007; 05:04 PM ET | Comments (3)
Bigotry Awareness Week
The flier said Terrorism Awareness Week. Next to the word terrorism was a crescent moon and a star -- a symbol I see in my mosques, in my home, on my Qur’an.
By Hafsa Arain | October 24, 2007; 10:36 AM ET | Comments (10)
Out of the Broom Closet
Sitting under the gold and white ceiling of Carnegie Hall this past Friday, I felt my jaw drop in surprise. It was a cool New York evening, and I was there for one specific reason: to see my favorite author....
By Hafsa Arain | October 22, 2007; 07:37 AM ET | Comments (44)
Exploring the -isms
I have always been intrigued by the definitions of words. One time, when I was younger, my mother caught me with a red copy of Webster’s Dictionary, looking up the largest word I could find to memorize. As I grew...
By Hafsa Arain | October 3, 2007; 06:10 PM ET | Comments (6)
The Hunger Mentality
The preparations going into Ramadan were always more mental than physical. Knowing that you are not going to get to eat anything until exactly 6:59 PM or whatever time the sunset happens to be on that day. A friend of...
By Hafsa Arain | September 17, 2007; 02:37 PM ET | Comments (2)
Holiday Fever
It is that time of year again. Ramadan begins Thursday. I am once again filled with excitement. Why, one would ask, would I be remotely excited about starving myself from sunrise to sundown every day for thirty days? Well, besides...
By Hafsa Arain | September 12, 2007; 03:06 PM ET | Comments (6)
Thoughts Are Free
We wore T-shirts that said “We are all Professor Finkelstein”, chanting together in humid Chicago weather. That morning, we had sat around the Quad, soaking in the sun as well as Finkelstein’s words. He mentioned a song that I quite...
By Hafsa Arain | September 7, 2007; 04:32 PM ET | Comments (33)
Pre-9/11 Nostalgia
There’s this music in the beginning of that Simon & Garfunkel song, “America”. For some reason, it’s nostalgic and hopeful at the same time. Perfect feeling for a song named after our country. I haven’t seen all of America, but...
By Hafsa Arain | August 30, 2007; 08:15 AM ET | Comments (20)
Approaching Another Anniversary
I wonder when I walk down the street, do people see me as an outsider? Do people look at me, and think of all the terrible things people who look like me, who speak like my parents, who worship as...
By Hafsa Arain | August 21, 2007; 12:15 PM ET | Comments (26)
Speculation on Tradition
The summer between my sophomore and junior year feels like it should be more chaotic than it is. I feel like I should be running from unpaid internships to low-paying office jobs, traveling back and forth between friends and family...
By Hafsa Arain | August 9, 2007; 11:26 AM ET | Comments (1)
Saying Goodbye to Harry
As of today, there are ten days remaining until the seventh and final Harry Potter book releases internationally. Ten days until the entire series will end. A part of me will end with it. Harry has followed me through so...
By Hafsa Arain | July 10, 2007; 10:42 AM ET | Comments (4)
Celebrating Beauty
Last night, before the thunderstorm, I sat in Grant Park, mesmerized by the fireworks being shot over Lake Michigan. Amid the claps and cheers that followed, I felt a certain sense of community with these people. Even though there were...
By Hafsa Arain | July 4, 2007; 03:55 PM ET | Comments (1)
Our Need to Change the World
The rain pours down the streets of Chicago. Falling idly from the gray black clouds, it hits each skyscraper with a thud. The thunder booms. Lightening. Puddles of water, murky gray and green from the dirt of sidewalks, stream quickly...
By Hafsa Arain | July 2, 2007; 10:24 AM ET | Comments (5)
Having Conversations
Today marks a day that I have been looking forward to since December. I will see people I haven’t seen in a while, have discussions I’ve been waiting to have. Today, the Jordan Interfaith Action group from Amman, Jordan is...
By Hafsa Arain | June 23, 2007; 10:38 AM ET | Comments (0)
Broken Trust
It’s officially the start of summer for DePaul students. After today, the last final of the school year will be taken, and some will go back to their homes for another few months. Some students will move on to graduate...
By Hafsa Arain | June 16, 2007; 07:34 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Denial of Beliefs
Amid sunshine and the distant screeching of cicadas that have infested the Chicago suburbs, I woke up the morning of my birthday by no means refreshed. The day earlier had consisted of signing a lease for my apartment, going to...
By Hafsa Arain | June 10, 2007; 11:33 AM ET | Comments (10)
The American Imam
In my Islamic World Studies class, we learned the reason for so many generalized stereotypes against Islam and Muslims. The decentralization of the religion, specifically in the majority Sunni Islam, makes it so hard to spread what Islam is really...
By Hafsa Arain | June 5, 2007; 10:12 AM ET | Comments (24)
American Highway an Open Road
There’s something about the Great American Highway. About the hills of Wisconsin, the hills that Illinois land lacks. I love this land, because it teaches me something every time I see it. My family and I sat in a crowded...
By Hafsa Arain | May 30, 2007; 08:10 AM ET | Comments (0)
Listen and Learn
There is something about the voice of Ira Glass on This American Life that has this spark to it. It draws attention. My ears, which succumb so easily to the ticking sounds of the clock during lectures, have no problem...
By Hafsa Arain | May 15, 2007; 01:03 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Internal Jihad
Running from a DePaul Democrats meeting to the Brown Line el train, I dropped my bright green binder for my Peer Theory and Education class on the sidewalk of Fullerton Avenue. Someone stepped on it accidentally. I frowned, wiping off...
By Hafsa Arain | May 4, 2007; 05:03 PM ET | Comments (1)
Black Magic
There is a woman in Georgia named Laura Mallory, and she hates something she doesn’t understand. Something that I cannot get enough of. Something that has inspired me since I was eleven years old. Laura Mallory hates Harry Potter. It...
By Hafsa Arain | May 2, 2007; 07:18 PM ET | Comments (7)
Making and Breaking the Rules
We sat around at Minnies, a diner that was easily becoming our new favorite, holding onto a paper napkin. Scribbled on it was The Rules, a system we had devised to make sure we got what we deserved. That just...
By Hafsa Arain | April 26, 2007; 12:26 PM ET | Comments (17)
The Time to Move On
One week later, and it’s time to move on. College students return to class in Blacksburg, Virginia. And the country goes through the next step in the grieving process. The sadness lies in the fact that someday this will be...
By Hafsa Arain | April 23, 2007; 09:33 PM ET | Comments (4)
The Breaking Point
I woke up this morning to news about a “rambling” killer. Surrounded by ignored biology packets, studying for a forgotten midterm, I stared blankly at the television screen. And for some reason, all I could think was, “He was an...
By Hafsa Arain | April 18, 2007; 11:54 PM ET | Comments (3)
Believing Despite What I'm Seeing
I will never forget April 20, 1999. I remember watching the news during lunch, something I would not do again in school until September 11, 2001. I remember the Columbine High school students running out of the building with their...
By David Waters | April 17, 2007; 02:34 PM ET | Comments (10)
