I was on an Islamic forum last weekend and chanced upon a link. I clicked on it not really knowing what to expect.

It made me cry.

This is a blog about a remarkable young woman named Asma bint Zia ul Haq who met severe trials courageously and stoically. Written by her brother, Omar, the entries are so heartfelt and vivid that one can almost picture this beautiful soul who has passed on. The siblings shared such a sweet relationship that the love truly shines through.

All About Asma

Makes me think… what have *I* done to prepare for the journey?

We did this impromptu lesson some time ago and I thought that some of you might enjoy these links with your kids.

During one of our book hunts, Ms Muffet and I found “Eskimo Boy: Life in an Inupiaq Eskimo Village” by Russ Kendall. It tells of seven-year-old Norman Kokeok, an Inupiaq Eskimo who lives in the village of Shishmaref on Sarichef Island, in the Chukchi Sea, just north of Bering Strait (off the northwest coast of Alaska). Illustrated with large color photographs, this book describes the life of modern-day Eskimos and Alaska. It also includes a glossary of Inupiaq words.

We have read this book so many times that Ms Muffet wants to meet Norman - I tell her that he must be about 19 years old by now!

The book talks about the beautiful Northern Lights and so we did a short lesson on it. Here are some links you may enjoy:

• Auroras: Mysterious Lights In The Sky - clearly my daughter’s fave!
• Auroras - Ghostly Earth-Sun Link
• Auroras - Paintings In The Sky. What Makes Them Happen?
• Nordly’s - Northen Lights
• Everything Alaska’s Aurora Borealis Page - Everything Alaska also has colouring pages, beautiful photographs of Alaskan wilderness and more!
• AuroraWebCam.Com - The Northern Lights international project from Alaska

Ramadhan in Wisconsin was quite painful for us. Several incidents like the shutting down of several relief organisations all in the name of justice made us feel bitter. We decided to leave for good and alhamdulillah, for many reasons I will not elaborate on, it was the right decision.

I think about the efforts of those organisations and I feel a deep respect for their workers. I also feel I don’t do enough and wonder what ever happened to the idealistic girl who longed to devote her life to charity.

Here is a book written by Suleman Ahmer… some of you may have read his story The City, The Girl and The Little Rag Doll at Islaam.Com. He has written a book about his experiences and it is available for download at this website. You can read the book by clicking on the link below:

The Embattled Innocence: Recollections of a Muslim Relief Worker