Canadian: Kids can Free the Children

Eid Mubarak

and Eid Mubarak from our goat Sheikh as well!

May Allah (swt) accept from us.

Eid day is going to be rather interesting. I hope I have some time to put mehndi on my sister's hands. I chose a really difficult design so it's a 3 hour work. I haven't been able to move my neck since morning (not sure what I did!) so that adds to the challenge.
A conference call meeting at 5am, another at 6am, both of which I'm running. Then, Eid salah around 7:30am. We decided to do the sacrifice on the second day. So I hope that leaves me enough time to clean up my room (yea, I'm bad...). Sometimes it's hard to be prepared in advance!
And if all goes well, I'm going on a desert safari on Thursday!

Join Us - January 11 to Shut Down Guantanamo!

Friday, January 11, 2008: The 6 year anniversary of the first prisoners being brought to Guantánamo.

Last year on January 11th, after 500 people processed from the Supreme Court to the Federal court, 150 people risked arrest on behalf of the men in Guantanamo, with 88 being arrested inside the Federal Court in DC. Many of those arrested withheld their identification and took the names of men at Guantanamo. It was a very powerful day, made possible by the contributions of many in the extended Catholic Worker family.

This year, we again are working with many groups on a demonstration in Washington, D.C. The day will begin with a press conference at the White House led by Amnesty International followed by a “prisoner procession” to the Supreme Court.

Come to DC or organize a vigil, demonstration or speaker in your own community!

Additionally, and as a recruiting mechanism for Jan. 11th, we are asking people to participate in a 24 hour fast for justice on December 5th, the day the Supreme Court will hear two cases related to Guantanamo prisoners. [Download flier]

• ENDORSE the Jan 11 Day of Action
• DOWNLOAD flyers, web buttons, adaptable press release, and more.
• FIND housing, food, transportation, legal and other logistical info.
• POST your event to our calendar.
• DONATE and support the Jan 11th mobilization




International Day to Shut Down Guantánamo

“If it were up to me I would close Guantánamo not tomorrow but thisafternoon…We don't need it and it is causing us far more damage than any good we get for it.”–Colin Powell, June 10, 2007, Former Secretary of State

“The Guantánamo camp was created on a myth…It was built on a lie…And it was organized around a fiction…It is time to get rid of it.” –New York Times Editorial “Gitmo: A National Disgrace,” June 6, 2007

Guantánamo is “a stain on the character of the United States.” –Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“Immediately close the detention center for at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and either release its inmates or bring them before an impartial tribunal.”–United Nations Human Rights Commission


• Find resources for action, order T-shirts and jumpsuits, and get complete and up-to- date details about the day’s events on our website: www.witnesstorture.org
  
  Prisoners of Guantánamo march to the Supreme Court:
  A provocative street theater performance involving people wearing orange jumpsuits and black hoods. We will march in an orderly, silent procession, hauntingly evoking the moral disgrace that is Guantánamo.
  • All participants are strongly encouraged to attend a final planning meeting and training on Thursday (January 10th), 4–6pm.
  
  After dinner, there will be a public program on Guantánamo from 7–9 pm. Location: St. Stephens and the Incarnation Church,
  1525 Newton Street NW, at 16th Street.
  
  For more information or if you have any questions, please email Matt Daloisio (Daloisio@earthlink.net) or Frida Berrigan at (Frida.berrigan@gmail.com).
  
  • Organize a vigil, speaker or demonstration in your own community if you cannot come to Washington, DC.
  
  In December 2005, a group of twenty four friends, following the nonviolent tradition of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker walked to Guantánamo to visit the prisoners, calling themselves
  “Witness Against Torture.” When they returned, they launched the “Campaign to Shut Down Guantánamo,” which consists of public education and community outreach, networking and resource
  sharing, and acts of nonviolent civil resistance to draw attention to the plight of prisoners in Guantánamo, and victims of the war on terrorism everywhere.
  
  Friday, January 11, 2008
  
  Marks Six Years of Torture, Detention and Abuse at Guantánamo
  
  10:00am– Gather at Lafayette Park for Orientation to Prisoner March (1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW)
  
  11:00 am – Amnesty International and National Religious Campaign Against Torture demonstration in Lafayette Park
  
  Noon – Guantánamo Prisoner Procession from the White House to the Supreme Court (2 plus miles)
  
  1:30 pm – Funeral Ceremony at the Supreme Court remembering the four men who died in custody at Guantánamo and mourning the death of Habeas Corpus

From: Of course, Cageprisoners.com

New aerobics class in Al Ain

My mom.. seriously..! (this was her idea)
What can I say? Alhamdulillah!

Introducing a great fitness program for aunties!
for the FIRST time in Al Ain
Commencing December 9, 2007

Days: Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays
Exercise type: Hi/Lo aerobics, progressive
Timings: 8-9am
Location: New Khabisi
Duration: 6 weeks


I want to set up another program for a younger age group 26 and below.

If you're interested in either, drop me an email.

Donate blood

I received the email below from Fahmi:

Dear friends,

We are writing this email because we need your help desperately. Our father has been diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a blood disease that results in acute leukemia and is in urgent need for a stem cell transplant. We are sincerely asking all of you to help save our father’s life.

As you may know, finding a matched stem cell donor is very difficult. Unfortunately, patients are not able to find a suitable donor within their family 70% of the time. Likewise for our father, no match was found within his family members. The only remaining hope is to look into unrelated marrow network registry around the world. As tissue types are inherited, a patient is most likely to find a match within his/her own racial or ethnic group.

It gets worse. As a Bangladeshi Canadian, his chances of finding a match within the South Asian community is 1 in 20, 000. This is because there is a severe shortage of people from the South Asian community who are registered on the network. This is also true for other ethnic communities such as Asian, African and Middle Eastern communities. This is why, Canadian Blood Services is promoting and welcoming all ethnic minority groups to join the marrow network.

We need all of you to join Canada’s OneMatch stem cell network. If we collectively take an effort to join the registry and spread the word, we can help save a life like my father’s and of thousand others around the world.

Registering for Canada’s unrelated marrow network is very easy. After completing an online form, a registered nurse from Canadian Blood Services will contact you in few days to make an appointment for you to give a small sample of your blood. The sample would be used to determine your tissue type (HLA type) and this is not the same as your blood group. Once again, all you need to get registered is to fill out a form and to give a small sample of blood, its very simple. You can fill out the online form to register and get more information at:

http://www.blood.ca/CentreApps/Internet/UW_V502_MainEngine.nsf/page/E_ubmdrPKG-intro?OpenDocument&CloseMenu&p=OMSplashJoin

To be able to register as a stem cell donor, you must be aged between 17 to 50 years, be in good health, and be willing to help save the life of any patient with whom you may match. After registering in the marrow registry, if you are a match for a stem cell transplant, the most common way to donate your stem cells is through your blood. Despite what you may have heard, modern techniques enable donors to donate their stem cells simply by donating blood. There is absolutely no risk or complications associated with being a donor. Please visit the websites for more information.

Our father’s best chance of finding a match is within the South Asian community. You can be that match and register to marrow network. Just like my father, there are thousands of patients around the world who is looking for a suitable matched donor. You can save lives and given them second chance at life.

You can help by doing three critical things:
1• Getting informed: Learn about stem cell and bone marrow donation process. Please visit www.onematch.ca in Canada or www.marrow.org in U.S. You can also call 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283) in Canada and 1-800-MARROW-2 (1-800-627-7692) in the U.S.
2• Spreading the word: Tell your family, friends, relatives and co-workers. Tell them in person, through phone and through email. Forward this email to as many people as possible and ask them to do the same. Remember, you can ask anyone between the ages of 17 and 50 and that means the students in schools, colleges and universities. You need to raise awareness about this issue in your community.
3• Joining the registry: There are thousands of people around the world awaiting to find their one match. You have the ability to save a life.

We are in desperate need for all your help to save our father’s life who we love very much. Would you not want the same if a loved one needed a stem cell transplant?
We hope we can count on each and every one of you to join the OneMatch stem cell network.
For more information please check the websites and attached documents. Should you have any questions, concerns or comments regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact:


Fahmi & Ishtiaque Choudhury, Family and Friends
Toronto, Ontario
416-458-3094
savealife1@gmail.com

Robinson MBA

This looks good.

Program Highlights:

• Full-time, 14-month program.
• 4-continent experience - Students will be in residency in Atlanta, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro and spend 2 weeks in China.
• Courses are integrated across the partner schools, providing students with a true global perspective.
• Leadership & Commercial Diplomacy - Students will examine the interplay between the public and private sector. Students will develop an in-depth understanding of the regulatory environment and legal issues as they compare and contrast across four countries and four trading blocks. Learn more>>
• Short week in Washington D.C. - This includes working visits to the Department of Commerce. Other international agencies, such as the WTO and the EU Directorate are also part of the program.
• Internship / Field Study -The internship/field study takes place at the end of the program for approximately 16 weeks. It is the culmination of the classroom and experiences applied in a live situation.
• Students will have the option of obtaining a functional certificate through the selection of additional electives, thereby demonstrating a depth of knowledge in a particular discipline. This option is in addition to the 14-month program.
• Graduates receive:
  • Robinson College of Business MBA degree. Robinson is AACSB accredited.
  • Master's degree from IAE. IAE is EQUIS accredited.
  • Certificate from COPPEAD. COPPEAD is EQUIS accredited.

Leadership Secrets

Leadership Secrets is a a new course at Al Maghrib Institute.

What will the seminar cover?

Topics like:

- what were the guiding principles that made their da'wah so successful?
- how were they able to reach so many humans throughout time?
- what was their connection to Allah?
- how did they spend their time?
- how did they deal with the tests and trials of their time?
- their akhlaq (upright character) and how they carried the knowledge
- the female scholars and their contributions in this ...

[From Al Maghrib Blog]

I wanna throw tantrums like a kid! I can't take this course.. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!
Although I will hunt down every last student who takes good notes :D

2 hours in Antarctica

Rosemarie and Pat Keough’s two hour presentation, Passion and Obsession, on their life and photography in Antarctica on October 31st was one of the most inspirational, beautiful and enriching experience I’ve had in a long time. It was truly a privilege to be in their presence and learn so much about the highest continent through their eyes. Some facts that would interest you:

• The interior of the continent is technically the largest desert in the world and the snow feels like sand.
• 24 hours sunlight throughout the day can easily cause insomnia.
• 99.6% of the continent is ice with 70% of world’s freshwater.
• 200 people get to go every year.
• Antarctica is home to more than 70 lakes that lie thousands of meters under the surface of the continental ice sheet. They are at 22 degrees Celsius with honey comb structures of ice.
• Antarctica does not have a cloud cover (due to global warming) unlike the Arctic.
• Antarctica is home to many volcanoes, only Mount Erebus is known to be active.
  

I was in awe as they described the making of their award-winning book ANTARTICA with state-of-the-art combination of “hollow-back split board” and the “classic European full-leather” styles of fine morocco binding. The book weights 19.2 pounds, a marvellous effort of four artisans, assisted by two sewers over the span of 10 years for a total of 950 copies that will be preserved forever.
It’s almost unfair to talk about their work without the actual photographs. Rosemarie talked about how she spent five hours in the snow with her chin sticking out for almost a month just to focus on and photograph a section of the largest penguin colony. Pat explained his amazing relationship with his wife and how it helped saves their lives in the worst of storms and many other narrow near-death experiences such as hanging off cliffs! Everyone in the audience noticed how both of them would complete the other's sentences very seamlessly. When they first met, it was on a one-month cruise so they had no choice but to get along, and more than 2 decades later their love has only grown.
I explored twenty four months of their lives, as they switched between the pictures of the polar plateau of the interior, the majestic mountainous coast, multitudes of off-lying islands, icy seas, stormy Southern ocean, and delightful colonies of different penguins species, fur seals, mosses, lichen, and many types of algae.
White, with hints of subtle colours, had never been so beautiful before. At one point during the presentation, I was quite moved, longing to take the daring trip myself. You do not have to be a photographer to appreciate the depths of the Keough’s unparalleled photography that included a variety of perspective, geometrical contrasts, panoramic views and close-ups all taken with their plain 30-year old Nikon camera!
The presentation ended with Pat and Rosemarie talking about their cause- Donating all the profits from the books sales to the Save the Albatross Foundation, and other international wildlife charities. There’s much work to be done, if we want to save our environment.
You can visit their website at: http://www.keough-art.com/ and read more about their work.

Time Magazine: http://www.time.com/time/2003/antarctica/
Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-os-antarctica20jan20,0,459112.story?coll=la-news-environment


I wanted to know how this affected them spiritually. They responded that both of them were not religious, but there's definitely that sense of smallness, and the supremacy of nature when they are out there. Pat said that it's extremely energising (and he did a light bounce) and wondered why people get into drugs- all they need is a trip down there! Subhanallah. In winters the ice doubles to twice the original distance. It's easy to tell the different species of penguins apart, especially the Macaroni (hair-styled) penguins. The abandoned shacks preserve the smell of sweat and tobacco until today. Aren't these miraculous signs of Allah (swt)?
I thought about the challenges a Muslim would face if he/she would venture into the cold- How to pray, and how many times a day? In which direction? Our religion has answers to all these questions, Alhamdulillah.

Al Furqan Youth Association

Al-FYA is a Sri Lankan based organisation doing some amazing work. Mashallah, I'm extremely impressed by their spirit and motivation. Do visit their website. [The website has a lot of pop-ups, so click with care :) ]
They seem to be on the scene for the smallest to the largest and most daunting causes- raising funds for circumcision, widows, orphans, building homes, providing money to new Muslims, relief work, seminars for students and children, iftar programs, free Islamic book campaigns...

I have many pictures from them, if you're interested, drop me a note. It's quite nice to learn about the work that's being done on the other side of the globe, and to see it in pictures is even nicer- it creates a personal connection.

May Allah (swt) bless their efforts. I love my Sri Lankan brothers and sisters!

Knowledge Treasure Series- Orphans

This is an excellent read on Orphans, with suggestions @ the end on ways to help the cause: Knowledge Treasure Series- Orphans

Please read it... and make dua for orphans. They are our children.

Is your car here?

Watch out for MyBikeLane Toronto!

I never knew that cars stopping or parking in bike lanes was an offense.

Spacing Wire

I've mentioned this before- I'm into Urban planning and I simply love this (Canadian) site: Spacing Wire

How to test a bike

“A properly fitting cycle is extremely important. There is no other sport in which the athlete and the machine are so close to being a single entity…”
- Allan Levy M. D.

Buying your first bike is a nervous and an exciting experience. There are all sorts of things to look out for, and being stuck with the wrong bike is not fun.
In Toronto, anyone looking for a bike should get a cheap second hand one, because even that is bound to get stolen.
I took the Wenches with Wrenches bike mechanics course and learnt a lot about bikes and repairing them, alhamdulillah.
Below are some points from my notes:

Things that should be tight	Things that should spin freely	Brakes
Wheel nuts or quick release levers Handlebars and stem Seat and seatpost Pedals and crank arms Brake pads and brake mounting hardware (do bounce test)	Wheels Pedals Cranks Forks/headset	Cables not frayed Pads not worn out Pads don’t rub rims when not applied Rear brake can skid rear wheel on dry pavement (required by law)
Tires and Wheels	Drive Train	Visibility (required by law)
No boken or loose spokes Tire tread in good condition and tires don’t bulge Tired inflated to recommended pressure	Chain oiled Rings, cogs, chain and derailleur not caked in grime	Red reflective tape on rear and white on front Front light and rear light or reflector (at night) Bell or horn

Next: Bike fit for you

Refused

Early this year I was heavily involved in the planning of a conference in Ottawa. My responsibilities included (but not limited to) global marketing of the conference. As such, I was in correspondance with a certain businessman from a war-struck country, who really wanted to attend the conference to leverage business deals, and expand his business and network. Through our email communication, I found him to be a very spirited, generous and determined man. He was working on getting visas for a group of people. People in my team were skeptical about his intentions.. "they just want to get the visa to come here". [And we did receive emails from a lot of people wanting to get letters to apply for visas. I handled each and every single case] I'm a cautious person, but I give everyone a chance.
The nearest Canadian embassy couldn't issue them the visa, and they were told to get it from another country.

His last email on the visa issue (below) made me very sad. it's been so many months, but I can't forget- how is it is for us, and how difficult it is for them...

Dear Humairah,

How are you doing i hope every thing well with you .
i am regreting to inform you that we won't be able to participate in the conference because there is no way for us to reach country that would issue visa [edited] by this time arround , they reject our permition demand to inter and that for security resons.
i am really confused and feeling very saad, i wanted to attend this conference because i am aware of the benefit i will get from there.

but that what allah want , and that use to country name [edited] all the time , ( reject& refused) .
...

thanks allot for all what you did and you high cooperation.

please accept my special saluts and respects.

Regards

Pictures

Amer, from Someone in Al Ain has very beautiful pictures of his travels. He posts regularly.
Take a look!

My Life Without My Dad

Lines written by Johaina Aamer, the 9-year old daughter of Shaker Aamer, 29 June 2007.

After school, when I have reached home,
“I have a surprise for you,” says my mum.

I get excited. What if my dad has returned?
It would be the best thing that ever happened.

“A chocolate cake and some games for fun.”
How can I say, “Thanks mum, but I want none.”

I run to my room with my heart broken.
My dad in a cage, locked up in a prison.

He was sold to the people with no hearts or emotions.
Where is the justice, for my dad is innocent’?

A long, long waiting but no sign of return.
Each day is same for my brothers, me and mum.

I miss you everyday, you are never forgotten.
I wish to say goodbye to the world of corruption

So we can be together and rejoice in heaven.
I hide my tears and smile for this reason.

---

Read more [Shaker Aamer, A South London Man in Guantánamo: The Children Speak]

Could you live in a house like this?

Perhaps, if you were going camping.
However, this is a real "house" of a family in Sri Lanka. If you would like to get information on donating to them to rebuild the house, please contact me. The father has 4 children to take care of, as his wife has been diagnosed with a mental condition, and he's refusing to remarry, in hopes that she will be cured. But he doesn't have the means to pay for the medical. Imagine, if your young daughter or sister had to use an open toilet like this. I don't have to say more.

And which of the favours of thy Lord will ye deny?

Washing and shrouding a woman's body

I wonder how many of us know the rules of how exactly this happens? Last Saturday I went to a session on this topic with my mother where they did a demo using a doll.
Seeing the whole process in front of my eyes was very frightening. The speaker talked about the importance of washing your own relative- if it's your daughter, mother, sister- do it yourself. Just because the person now is a lifeless body, doesn't mean you hand it over to a professional to do it.
Towards the end of the wrapping, the top part of a woman's body is left untied, in case people want to see her face one last time. I wouldn't want that to be allowed for me, but then, does it really matter?

Here's the process from ISNA's website:
A female's body should be washed by a female.

PROCEDURE FOR WASHING THE BODY

1. Place the body on the washing table.
2. Keeping the private parts of the body covered, remove all other garments from the body.
3. Gently but firmly press the stomach and clean out by a towel or cloth any excertions that may have resulted by stomach pressing.

The body is now ready for washing. Body should be washed with your hands or a piece of clean cloth. Use clean and warm water to wash the body.

1. The body is to be washed three times, five times or seven times-always an odd number of times.
2. For each washing, first place the body on its left and wash the right side using warm water and soap. Then place it on its right side and wash the left side. Female's hair should be gathered into two braids, with loose hair at end of each braid.
3. For the final washing, scented water (non-alcoholic scent) can be used.
4. Now perform ablution (wudu) for the body. Do not forget to clean the teeth and nose also.
5. Generous application of non-alcoholic perfume can be made on various parts of the body. Perfumed cotton can be placed on the front and the rear private parts and the nostrils.

WRAPPING THE BODY ( KAFAN)

1. For women, five pieces of clean, cotton preferably white cloth should be used. Each piece of cloth should be large enough to cover the entire body.
2. Apply non-alcoholic perfume to the kafan.
3. Use a piece of cloth and tie the top (head side) and bottom (foot side). The two tie knots should be different so as to recognize the head side.

Material Required

Name of the Cloth piece Approximate size
1. Kafan 4 feet x 12 feet
2. Head Wrap 4 feet x 4 feet
3. Body Wrap 4 feet x 6 feet
4. Chest Wrap 4 feet x 4 feet
5. Body Sheet 4 feet x 8 feet

Note:

1. Tear a one inch strip from the length of the Kafan sheet and use it as strings to tie the body.
2. For wrapping an adult male body, three pieces, i.e., Kafan, Body wrap and Body sheet are required.
3. For wrapping an adult female body, all five pieces are required.
4. Tear a one inch strip from the length of the Kafan sheet and use it as strings to tie the body.

Procedures for wrapping the body (female)

1. Spread the Body sheet on a flat table, a firm bed or floor.
2. Lay the Chest wrap on the Body sheet about two feet each from the top and the bottom edge.
3. Then lay the Body wrap on the Chest wrap about one foot each from the top and the bottom edge of the Body sheet.
4. Fold the Kafan sheet over in half, so that its size after folding is 4 feet x 6 feet.
5. At the crease in the middle, cut a hole big enough for the head of the body to pass through.
6. Unfold the Kafan sheet and lay it on the three sheets prepared earlier in steps 1-3 above; the cut hole will now be in the center of the Kafan sheet.
7. Lay the body on its back on one half (which is on the other three sheets) and pull the other half of the Kafan sheet over the whole body, making sure that the head comes out through the hole; except for the head the rest of the body should now be covered inside the Kafan sheet.
8. Comb and brush the hair in two groups loose or braids; spread one group on the right side of the chest and the other group of hair on the left side.
9. Roll the upper half of Kafan sheet from both the right and the left sides to gather in the center of the body.
10. Wrap the lower long sides of the Kafan sheet over the body from both the right and the left sides (from shoulders to feet).
11. Then unroll the upper half of the Kafan sheet to spread it over the lower half wrapped previously on the body (as above) and wrap it along both sides of the whole body. To do this ,the whole body will have to be tilted on its side to push the Kafan sheet under the body; first on the right side and then on the left side.
12. Fold the Head wrap in half; raise the head and upper part of the body to slip about one half of the Head wrap under the body.
13. Then fold the other half over and around the head so that the face is not covered and the lower edge of the Head wrap covers the hair on the chest.
14. Now wrap the left side of the Body wrap over the body and cover it by wrapping the right side of the Body wrap over the left side on the body.
15. Next in alike manner wrap the Chest wrap with the right side of the wrap over the left side of the wrap on the body.
16. Use the Kafan strings to tie around the body; one just below the shoulders, another in the middle on the navel, and third string a little above the knees on the thighs.
17. Cover the face with the Head wrap.
18. Lastly wrap the Body sheet all over the body with the right side over the left side on the body; gather at the head and tie a string and then gather at the feet and tie a string. If necessary tie a string in the middle of the body also.

The Eradication of Polio

As there is for smallpox, an immunization thechnology is also available to achieve global eradication of polio.
...
Only 784 cases were reported worldwide in 2003, compared with 350,000 in 1988. As estimated two billion children have been immunized since 1988, with the cooperation of twenty million volunteers and international funding on the order of $3 billion.

- The End of Poverty, Jeffrey D. Sachs

20 million volunteers. We're a 6 billion people.
We can change the face of the world if we cooperate.
We can end poverty if each one of us takes it as a personal cause.
We can turn dreams into reality if we put others first.

Al Maghrib in Toronto gets big!

A few years ago, sh Muhammad Al Shareef started the Al Maghrib institute, across North America, with a great vision. The last I heard from him, he was aiming for a class size of 1000. He is working round the clock developing curriculae to bring Islamic education to your doorsteps.
I received an email that the next course, The Shepherd's Path, has 501 students enrolled, mashallah. That's super amazing.
Al Maghrib institute has some of the best instructors out there, and the double-weekend-degree-seminars are very intense and powerful. With some courses, you learn a lot right there, you go with loaded with all this Islamic information that you're so proud to gain, and with other courses, such as Rules of Engagement, you find yourself applying what you learnt over weeks, months, years, Alhamdulillah.

For those people who don't think the Al Maghrib institute timings/locations work for them, there's Sunnipath! Sunnipath courses are comprehensive, covering a wide range of topics. The courses are completely offered online, and it's so convenient- You can listen to and see the instructor and ask questions during the online sessions as the lesson progresses with the powerpoint slides, just like in a classroom. This is even better because you wont feel shy asking your questions. Every lesson is available to view and listen as many times as you want. The instructor has office hours. Isn't it amazing that you may be sitting in Sydney tutored by someone in Amman? The TAs are very responsive and friendly, and they deal with your issues quite well. There are quizzes and final exams within flexible time frames. And I'd say this- Their courses are a much better experience than I could describe.
So give it a shot, enrol in the Introduction to Islamic Finance, taught by Faraz Rabbani. It's a great course, delving into topics you've always wondered about and going to just about the right depth.