SaqibSaab

My First Attempt At A Documentary

In 2007, there was an organized street cleaning and Da’wah event from the brothers and sisters of Islamic Oasis in Chicago, IL. A bunch of Qabeelat Wasat students went to go help out, and Wasat Studios was there to make a mini documentary out of it.

This was actually my first attempt at a documentary. It seemed simple enough, and in post-production, turned out to be simple, indeed. Film some all of the action (B-Roll Footage), and at the end of the event ask a bunch of people to comment on what happened, to use as means of interview in the documentary (A-Roll Footage). Put it all together and voila: instant documentary! Just add water.

I was even able to slightly do a Three Act Structure based on our experiences while volunteering. Stage one, setup of the street cleaning and the Da’wah that was done. Stage two, confrontation from the Christian groups out of church on Sunday. Stage three, resolution as to how we dealt with it and how the event went altogether.

I had two minor issues in all of this. Read more »

My Favorite Cheesecake At The Cheesecake Factory

White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake
White Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake Swirled with
Macadamia Nuts and Caramel on a Blond Brownie Crust.

I was browsing through some of my pictures from last summer, and came across pics from a night when I discovered this amazing cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory , and thought I’d share how I came across it. Read more »

Texting While Driving Worse Than Drunk Driving

I came across this article on texting while driving in Car and Driver, a magazine our family has subscribed to for nearly two decades. It was an interesting article with even more interesting conclusions, and as with most of their recent pieces, they said to check out the video version online. Here’s what they posted.

I’ll be the first to admit that I text while driving. Sometimes a lot. But this definitely is making me rethink the practice. How about you?

Did Michael Jackson Die As A Muslim?

The biggest news all over the world yesterday was the death of one of the most famous musical artists in recent history, Michael Jackson. As the hour long television specials, radio playlist tributes, and music video marathons already began on the same day, many Muslims are left wondering, “was Michael Jackson a Muslim?”

The short answer? It’s hard to say.

The long answer? Initially it began with rumors years back that he had joined the Nation of Islam. On top of that, Jermaine Jackson, his brother, is a known and confirmed Sunni Muslim, which added another ingredient into the mix.

Then in November 2008, various news sources reported that Michael Jackson had officially accepted Islam, as he had been interested in it since 2005 with the help of his brother Jermaine. Other news sources claimed that Muslim artists Dawud Wharnsby and Idris Phillips were also involved in his acceptance and that they were present when he took the shahadah (testimony of faith), and even that he was also meeting with singer Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens.

But since then, not much else had been said about his acceptance of Islam. Read more »

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