[Lecture] The Parameters of Respecting Differences of Opinion

The Parameters of Respecting Differences of Opinion
by Dr Umar Faruq Abd-Allah

A wonderful lecture by Sheikh Dr Umar Faruq as he takes us on journey to the past, where the Muslim civilization was once known for its tolerance and openness. Here, the esteemed scholar identifies the key characteristics that we had which enabled us to successfully spread Islam across the far ends of the world.

Part 1




Part 2

Let the (mis)adventure Begin!

In true Amin and Pravin fashion, we've not done any preparation for this trip. Haha Well, we have done some minimal research on backpackers, mosques, mode of transportations and other general information. From our experience, no matter how much we prepare, nothing goes according to plan :p so we've decided to NOT plan! For us, all we need is some general information, and the rest... Well, we'll just go with the flow...

I'm really quite excited about our trip to Siem Reap. It's a 300km++ journey, which is like KL to JB. (Without the highway :p I have to admit, our Malaysian inter-state highways are top class. Other highways kinda fail in comparison...) At the moment, we can't quite decide whether to take the bus (boring) or rent a bike (super psyched). Haha

For me personally, I'd take the bike any day :p The idea of having wind in my hair, taking in the wind, taking in the sites of Cambodia. Stop by a small village. Because we can. But of course, there's that element of danger we have to think about. So we'll see what the locals say. As much as I want to be adventurous, I don't wanna be reckless and compromise my safety.

Ok well, I admit, this is as far as my research went :p hahaha Hopefully Pravin has more important information that'll help us on this trip. I'll just have to find out tomorrow.

Bon Voyage!

MISSION: COMPLETE

Oh how time flies! I remember not too long ago, Pravin and I ventured out on this challenge to fund our trip to Cambodia. We'll use nothing else but the funds raised.

What I find amazing about the human mind is that once you focus your energy, your mind and effort to a chosen cause, you will see endless possibilities to achieve that goal. Somehow, things that'll normally be in your periphery vision, comes out into the forefront and becomes valuable. The writer, Paolo Coelho, describes this beautifully in his book, the Alchemist, "when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."


It took a couple of weeks after the 'launch' before we made any progress with the funds. We had wonderful support, some from people we didn't expect. I'm really humbled by this experience. Our main source of funding came from the newspaper collections. I've never seen so many stacks of old newspapers before!! :p


One thing didn't work out though - my trip to the recycling centre :( The paper mill isn't open to visitors and so didn't have any officers to 'host' us. I find this a great shame as I honestly feel the exposure of seeing the process of paper getting recycled will only spur people to recycle more. Ah well... Since we're only allowed as far as the office, we decided to just sell our papers to the local collector guy. It worked out well cos he gave a slightly better rate than the factory.

Our mode of transportation :)

Other than collecting newspapers, we helped some friends sell off old furnitures, unused exercise bicycles, and also some other random stuff. I have to admit, although it was quite a lot of work, it was pretty fun.


So, all in all, with everything put in, we managed to raise close to US$200!!! For a country like Cambodia, this will go a long way. With our calculations, it can cover our accommodation and transportation costs :) Woohoo!!! Not bad eh?


Here's a big shout out to everyone who helped out. THANKS EVERYONE!!!

Woweeee!!!! We've been gotten a lot of awesome response from a lot of people! Some with crazy idea's on how to raise money. Some I won't want to reveal... :p However, my dear brother has linked me to a recycling centre which seems exactly like how I'd picture a recycling centre to be :p

Check this out:

Our Recycling Process:

UNLOADING   SORTING/SHREDDING All Waste Paper collected from your premise will be delivered directly to our factory for Recycling   The Waste Paper will be sorted according to colour and material type.  Once ready, the Waste Paper will be Shredded to ensure all our client's Confidentiality (Old Matured Documents) are not compromised     BUNDLING   PACKING The Recycled Paper are ready for pickup once the Waste Paper has been packed and compressed into Bundles   The Shredded Waste Paper will then be loaded into ourHydraulic Compressing Machine for packing purposes

http://www.klpapermills.com.my/

Ok so I'm thinking, I'd want to make a visit with our lorry full (hopefully) of old newspapers and make a lawatan sambil belajar thing as well. I'm thinking the 2nd or 3rd week of May?

Siapa nak ikut?

"Paper lama... Old newspaper"

In our first mission, we plan to start off on a good footing. We're going to initiate a recycling drive. We want to encourage all our friends and families around us to save up all your used newspapers, printed papers, magazines and such. Instead of giving it the local Chinese newspaper collector guy, give it to us instead :D

 To make things a lot more fun, after we've collected the stacks of newspapers from all you lovely people, we're going to visit the nearest newspaper recycling centre. To be honest, I've no idea where it is, but we'll figure it out.

Incidentally, I've not seen the Chinese newspaper guy doing his rounds anymore. Wonder what happened to him...

Amin and Pravin does Cambodia: The Challenge

we hope to reach there soon

After going through so many travels together, we decided to make things a little exciting and challenge ourselves for this next trip...

(drum roles please)

So here we go...

We are going to CAMBODIA without spending any money of our own. Haha we will do our very best to come up with the money needed for this trip - by whatever means possible! :p And we'll ONLY be using those funds. It's gonna be a huge risk; the more we raise, the more we get to do. And obviously, the less we have... well, it won't be the first time I've slept on the bench in a park :p I'm sure the Khmer soldiers will understand...

We wanna see and maybe prove that this can be done! Who says travelling has to be expensive. Firstly, our return tickets costs less than RM60 each! Now, everyone can fly huh :)We're just either adventure junkies or just plain crazy. Maybe a bit of both! Either way, it's gonna be fun!

In this next few weeks, Pravin and I will be collecting recyclable goods, washing cars (and plates), set up a pasar malam stall, do groceries or any other thing for a fee in cash or in kind. If you happen to know anyone in Siem Reap that is willing to put us up for a night (or two) would be just awesome! Maybe if you know a good cheap local restaurant? That'd go a long way too...

We'll be using this blog, along with the usual Facebook and Twitter and such, to communicate and keep you guys updated on how our adventure develops :)

Let the adventures begin!