Another Birthday, another year has passed. Am 19. Gosh I feel so old, yet I ponder, is that all?... Many spend thier birthdays with a cake and celebration. But I like to sit down and think. Think about who I am. All that I have done, what goods I did and what bads. Am I becoming that woman I want? Did I do something different this year? Did I grow any? Have I learnt more? Have I changed? {For teh better that is}. All I can say is, I hope so.
On another note, I am very thankful that I have Family and friends that love me soo much. Here are some things soem have told me just today.

--My sister {who will remain nameless} [Amina!] said that my moustache is getting too long and that I looked like a little Indian boy.
--A friend of mine left a message on my voice mail that started off with "Hey B*tch."
--My mom compared me to a monkey.

Okay Okay..Here are soem positive ones :)
~~Hi Sarah! I was just cheking the page to send the link of the page where your poem is, to a friend of mine. What a co-incidence you are here! Anyways, again you are AMAZING!
I don't know if all the Muslim women see the world, the way you do, but if all do so, there is going to be an enormous burst of positivity around.
I agree with what you say about being feminine. Lot of people think that dresses, the desire to look good, to fashion is all being feminine is all about. I believe in your idea of strong mind, the power to voice one's opinion and to be heard and to defy the standards already set.
~~Hi, You don't know me but I'm a friend of your words, soul friend, all what I wanted to say is Happy Birthday.
~~Sarah, You may never know how important it was that You were born 19 years ago and not just for me but for the rest of this world. Sarah just because You are grown don't stop Growing into the Briliantly Beautiful Creature that i see when i read your WORDS.

It makes me really happy to know that there are people who care about me soo much. And it is sincere love, unlike these facades people like to put on. I don’t know what the future holds in store for me. But all that i can ask for is, to never lose those that I love, never hurt anyone, always be of help, always maintain a good heart, continue to grow and share what I know to all that would listen. 8:36 p.m. now. This is about teh end of my day. Just wanted to share this with you guys. Hope to see another birthday and live another year. Become a better human being, woman, Muslimah, and become a better Me. Take care

Welcome and thanks for coming again. Since my last update was on forced marriage, I figured I’d do this one on divorce. I was just reading an article about the lives of married Muslim Women. In the article it "explained" that at any time a man can divorce his wife by simply stating "I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you". This article can lead anyone ignorant of the Islamic ruling regarding divorce to believe that in less than five seconds the woman is left with no husband and is left to care for herself (and possibly children) by any means necessary. The question that immediately popped up in my mind was, "Did the author innocently write that out of sincere ignorance or was it another of the many attempts to degrade the religion of Islam and its followers (Muslims)?" It may be my own paranoia, but I tend to believe it was the latter of the two.

The truth of the matter is that Islam has the most humane and most just system of divorce that exists. Well this is my opinion, you can judge for yourself. Let me elaborate. Firstly, many options are taken and tried before coming to the decision of a divorce. If the man and woman decide that they can no longer live together successfully as a husband and wife, the husband (in most cases, not always) pronounces the divorce by saying "I divorce you". At this point the waiting period begins. The waiting period lasts for three menstrual cycles to assure the woman is not pregnant. This period allows the couple time to think about what they are doing and if this is what they really want to do. There are no lawyers involved to antagonize an already delicate situation.

In the case that it is realized, that the woman is pregnant, the waiting period lasts the entire time she is pregnant. During the waiting period (whether the woman is pregnant or not) the man is obligated to provide food, clothing and shelter to the woman as he did before the divorce pronouncement. If the couple carries the divorce through to the birth of the child and the woman suckles the baby, the man is obligated to feed and clothe both his ex-wife for the time the woman suckles (the maximum being two years). After the weaning, the child will be provided for by the father until he/she is no longer in need of support.

It is quite ironic that in such an "advanced society" as America, there are divorce cases in which women are being forced to pay alimony to their ex-husbands. Can this and many other things we know about the American system of divorce compare to the Islamic system of divorce?!
All commenst are appreciated.