Muslim names and PayPal transactions!

So my account was blocked by PayPal over a month ago and I've been chasing them up to figure out why and when I found out why... it had me in stitches!

It turns out it that my attempt to forward £100 to my friend Ali with a note "Deposit money from Abdul Basit and Taleb" contained a forbidden word in it: Abdul Basit. No joke! PayPal is instructed by the American government to flag all transactions which contain the word Abdul Basit in it.

So, lesson learnt: if you're going to use PayPal to transfer money to friends, avoid using Muslim names in the transaction note or risk getting your account blocked! True story :-D

Day trip: Wendover station to Coombe Hill

Went on a day trip with the wife, niece and nephew last bank holiday Monday. We got the train from London Marylebone station to Wendover station in the Chiltern Hills (around 40 minutes). And then we walked from Wendover station to the top of Coombe Hill, chilled there for a while and then back to the station. It's a nice easy walk which takes around 40 minutes each way if walking at a reasonable pace and not taking breaks. The view from the top of the hill is very nice on a clear day like what we had. If you use Ordnance Survey maps, it's the Chiltern Hills North (181) map which you want (grid reference '86 07' to '84 06'). 

Some pictures from the walk here.

Book Review: Virtues of Jerusalem, by Ismail Adam Patel

This is the perfect little book for anyone planning on visiting Jerusalem (Al Quds) or just generally wanting to know a bit more about why Jerusalem is so important to the Muslim. It covers the verses of the Qur'an and sayings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) in which the land is mentioned as well as the Prophets of old who are linked to the area. There is a section also about the history of the area in the previous 1,000 years. Rightfully, in my opinion, modern politics and Israeli occupation is not dwelled on and is not the focus of this book. If anything stood out for me in particular, it was the point that it is the land itself which is blessed more so than any particular building or structure within it. In summary, get this book if you're going to Al Aqsa!

Book Review: Training the Samurai Mind – A Bushido Sourcebook, by Thomas Cleary

Nice collection of essays from Japanese thinkers who lived in the last millennium on what it means to be a martial artist. Some of the ideas about God and divinity in these essays are indeed alien to the Islamic understanding but that aside what is proposed of the ideal character and virtue which one should aspire to is very much consistent with Islamic teaching. I've picked out some quotes below which stuck out for me the most:

"Kindness means the wish to relieve suffering; compassion means the wish to give happiness." (Ichijo Kaneyoshi [1402-1481])

"... there are buoyant attitudes that overcome things, and depressive attitudes overcome by things..." (Suzuki Shosan [1579-1655])

"When you manage to overcome your own mind, you overcome myriad concerns, rise above all things, and are free. When you are overcome by your own mind, you are burdened by myriad concerns, subordinate to things, unable to rise above. Mind your mind; guard it resolutely. Since it is the mind that confuses the mind, don't let your mind give in to your mind." (Suzuki Shosan [1579-1655])

"To see what is right yet fail to do it is lack of courage." (Yamaga Soko [1622-1685])

"Even if you have a plough, it's best to wait for the season." (Yamaga Soko [1622-1685])

"... when you look to the left you forget the right, and when you look to the right you forget the left. If you look at an opponent's hands, your mind inclines to the hands; if you look at his feet, your mind inclines to the feet. Once there's any imbalance, you're like an empty house. If thieves break into an empty house, since the owner's not home he can't stop them. For this reason, you should have an overall perspective, not a biased view." (Izawa Nagahide [1711-1732])

"If you fight willing to die, you'll survive; if you fight trying to survive, you'll die. If you think you'll never go home again, you will; if you hope to make it back, you won't." (Adachi Masahiro [fl. ca. 1780-1800])

"A swordsman strikes out after the other but hits home before the other." (Hirayama Heigen [1759-1828] quoting Chuang Tzu)

"I have heard of military actions that were clumsy but quick, whereas I've never seen any that were skilful yet took a long time." (Hirayama Heigen [1759-1828] quoting Sun Tzu) 

"... break the enemy's soul, and his skills will become useless." (Hirayama Heigen [1759-1828])

"Wind and rain can be shut out, but cold and heat cannot be controlled, because they have no form." (Hirayama Heigen [1759-1828] quoting The Master of Huanin lessons on military strategy)

"... people lacking in loyalty and respect for parents are worthless no matter how good they may be in other respects." (Saito Totsudo [1797-1865])

The three keys to martial arts

The keys to martial arts are three:

practical, theoretical, psychological.

The practical element:

learning the forms and techniques,

and hardening the body.

The theoretical element:

comprehending the principles

of victory and defeat.

The psychological element:

mastery of calm.

Cultivating an imperturbable mind.

(Summary of an advice found in Thomas Cleary's 'Training the Samurai Mind' part of an essay attributed to Adachi Masahiro of the 18th century)

Book Review: The Way of the Fight, by Georges St Pierre

I was very impressed with this book. It contains some good insights into what makes Georges St Pierre a champion and I was generally impressed with Georges' depth of character. I liked the format of the book too where each chapter has comments scattered throughout it from a single person in Georges' life. Overall a very good book. Below are some short quotes from the book.

"... the goal is to avoid mediocrity by being prepared to try something and either failing miserably or triumphing grandly..."

"... the more I learn, the less I know..." 

"... [look] within yourself and imagine the greatest thing you'll ever do..."

"... Fall down seven times, stand up eight..." 

"... losing changes me and turns me into a better man..." 

"... it takes fear to make a person courageous..."

"... Humility is the first rule of martial arts. Either you learn humility quickly, or you leave because your ego can't handle losing repeatedly..."

"... My front foot always points to my adversary. This is important because it stops my opponent from having or developing an angle on me..." 

"... there are two kinds of people who do martial arts: those who practice a thousand different kicks one time each, and those who practice one kick a thousand times minimum..." 

"... my heel almost never touches the ground, except for when I'm resting... this brings my weight onto the balls of my feet, and that's where I have an advantage over most of my opponents: I'm always ready to explode or change directions..."

"... My interest is not in making my muscles bigger or stronger. My interest is in making my muscles smarter and more coordinated..."

Book Review: The Looming Tower, by Lawrence Wright

Good book on the development of Al-Qaeda from the mid-1900s through to the events of September 11th 2001. The day and events of September 11th are hardly touched upon. It's the history and development of the ideology that led to Al-Qaeda which is the focus of this book. The main two characters that feature throughout the book are Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawihiri and there's some focus on Syed Qutb in the first chapter. The places and events that get special mention are the early years of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in the 1940s, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, the Afghan civil war and the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the arrival of US troops in the 1990s. The book is a little tongue in cheek in places but overall it's a good, easy to read narrative. Very beneficial and highly recommended.