Trying to be difficult at the Berkeley Marina, originally uploaded by yaznotjaz

Yesterday morning, I checked my emails and found the following facebook message from my sister’s friend and classmate (this makes her my friend by default, too, I think). S wrote:

hooooly, lardki!

omg omg omg, i just discovered your mad photo hobby. ummmm, what?? you take photos?? so i found this link to muslim-a-day photos, right?? and then i was like, hey, i want to do this! so i was reading up on the contributors, right??? and then i was like, hey there is a link to someone’s photos! so i clicked the link and it took me to yaznotjaz’s flickr photos.. and i was lookin at it and i saw a picture that said “today i am 8” and i was like.. hey, that looks like it was taken at the marina and then lo and behold there was another photo that was OBVIOUSLY the marina, and i was like, hey, this person knows berkeley. and then i clicked on a photo of the photographer’s reflection, and i was like, hey, that looks like… like… omg… i know that wardrobe. and then there was a comment that said, oh, there’s another picture of my face ish, and i clicked it and i was like, HEY THAT’S YASMINE ______!! HOLLLY!!! hahahahah… so i just wanted you to know that i got a pleasant surprise and it’s all your fault. :) and your photos are exceptionally beautiful. yeah.. i think i have not left anything out.. so
salaam alaikum !

Wasn’t that great? Yes, indeed it was. As I was telling S, I couldn’t stop laughing to myself all day.

This is also an apposite time to encourage you all to stop by Muslim-A-Day, which has stunning photographs every single day. The project, a brainchild of the ever-creative HijabMan, strives to keep ignorance away by “debunking the myth of a Muslim Monolith.” On the About page, he writes:

The main thrust of Muslim-A-Day is simply to show the multiple facets of Muslims’ lives. The best ideas always seem to be the simplest ones, don’t they? Here we are, you and I, presented each day with images of Muslims as the enemy… the veiled, bearded, mysterious enemy that worships a God named Allah.

That’s where Muslim-A-Day enters. Muslim-A-Day aims to provide you with a photograph of a Muslim everyday. Here, you’ll find Muslims in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some have piercings, some wear the veil, some are clean shaven, some are even Malaysian (Imagine that!). They all believe in Al-lah. Literal translation? The [One] God.

When the opportunities presented themselves, I captured the faces that touched me. I love to witness the reflection of the Divine in all that I experience; I love to make you a witness by posting these photos.

I added one photo back in February (it was taken during the ISNA conference in Chicago, and originally uploaded here). I really need to get on the ball. While I get my life together and try to be more diligent in uploading photos to flickr and elsewhere, why don’t you add some of your own? Muslim-A-Day is always looking for contributors. Also, stop by the website and check out the beautiful photos and say hello to everyone else who lurks around there.