My Song: Come to me

Come to me (c) 2004 Ahmed Arsalan
by A. Arsalan
Author's Note:
This song depicts the struggle of a man and a woman who are in love in a traditional society. This song was written on December 20, 2004.

[INTRO start]
Can you come to me
Can you come to me
[INTRO end]

[X start]
I won't give in
If you need me girl
I will fight to the end
If you want me girl

Can you come to me
Come, I'll help you see
Can you come to me
The world won't let you be

Can you feel the strength
It's all inside of you
Can you climb this hill
Let the world stand still

Can you face your fears
You can tower over them
Can you live your life
And not just survive

You have the power to change
And make a stand
There is no reason to blame
Your fate, your clan
[X end]


[CHORUS start]
Can you feel the strength
It's all inside of you
Can you climb this hill
Let the world stand still

Can you face your fears
You can tower over them
Can you live your life
And not just survive
[CHORUS end]

[Repeat X]
[Repeat CHORUS X 2]

My Song: Leaves

Leaves (c) 2004 Ahmed Arsalan
by A. Arsalan
Author's Note:
This song was inspired by the poem Dry Leaves written by Fozia Inayat. Her poetry can be found here. This song was written on December 16, 2004.

The leaves are dry
Underneath the sky
The wind is strong
Carrying their cries

[CHORUS start]
Dry leaves
Crushed by your feet
No one to pick them up
And bring them peace

Dry Leaves
No one understands
What they need
Is just a helping hand
[CHORUS end]

People
They are feeble
They try to find
Peace of mind
As they crush some one
As they hush some one

We're like those dry leaves
We've fallen from our trees
In this unforgiving autumn
We've hit rock bottom

[X start]
We're sinking
In this quick sand
Why don't you
Give us a helping hand

You just don't understand
You just trampel on
You're just being the man
Simply carry on
[X end]

These dry leaves
They're my keep
These dry leaves
Have been put to sleep

[Repeat CHORUS]
[Repeat X]
[Repeat CHORUS]

My Song: My life, your life

My life, your life (c) 2004 Ahmed Arsalan
by A. Arsalan
Author's Note:
This song depicts the feeling of an outsider looking into the life of some one else, some one who is suffering. Are we oblivious to the pain and suffering of people around us? Do we care?

[X start]
My whole life
I've gone on
Gone on strong

Inside my head
I'm never wrong
I am strong
I'm King Kong
[X end]

[CHORUS start]
But how will... I ever see your pain
If I'm so... sheltered from the rain
How will I...live with this shame
When your life... and mine aren't same
[CHORUS end]

[Y start]
You don't know
whom to blame
This game... is lame
Your world... in flames

Your whole life
is full of strife
It's living hell
You're in a cage

And you can't escape
You feel you're doomed
What can you do
You're looking through
[Y end]

[Repeat CHORUS X 2]
[Repeat X]
[Repeat Y]
[Repeat CHORUS]
[Repeat Y]

I close my eyes
'Cause I don't... need you
Yes I said it... there
I don't need you
I don't need you

My Song: Show up (Skillfully on a skillet...Sssszzzz!)

Show up (c) 2004 Ahmed Arsalan
by A. Arsalan
Author's Note:
Please show up so the neighbors can have some sleep. It's too late in the night to be singing the blues :) This song was written on December 10, 2004.

[INTRO start]
Don't try to hide
Don't be so shy
Don't try to hide
Don't be so shy
[INTRO end]

[X start]
I am standing here
At the crossroads
I've been waiting here
At the outpost

I'm looking around
to try to find you
I won't go back
Just to remind you

Why don't you
Show up at my door
Why make me grow old
Just come ashore
[X end]

[CHORUS start]
Show up
Show up
Don't try to hide
Grow up
Grow up
Don't be so shy
[CHORUS end]

[Y start]
Can't wait here all my life
I will move on some time
Can't hold on forever
I won't be a beggar

I've dreamed of you
For so many years
I've needed you
through my tears
[Y end]

[Repeat CHORUS X 2]
[Repeat X]
[Repeat Y]
[Repeat CHORUS X 2]

The prophet's covenant to Christian monks

This is the covenant offered by the prophet to the conquered Christians. In 628 C.E., Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) granted a Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt. Sinai. It consisted of several clauses covering all aspects of human rights including such topics as the protection of Christians, freedom of worship and movement, freedom to appoint their own judges and to own and maintain their property, exemption from military service, and the right to protection in war.

An English translation of that document is presented below.

• This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
• Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.
• No compulsion is to be on them.
• Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.
• No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet.
• Verily, they(Christians) are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
• No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them.
• If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.
• Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
• No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant until the Last Day (end of the world).

Adapted from: http://www.islamicvoice.com/august.99/zakir.htm

My Song: As I am told (Hot off the oven!)

As I am told (c) 2004 Ahmed Arsalan
by A. Arsalan

Author's Note: Early morning inspiration on December 10, 2004! This song depicts the feelings of a wife who is being told to fall in line to please her husband.

[A start]
I think by now you should know
I'll never do as I am told
I thought you knew that
I am something you cannot hold
[A end]

[B start]
Why do you try to make me do
All the things you know I hate
Why do you want me to be
The person I don't want to be

Why is it so hard for you
To love me like I love you
No strings attached
And no catch

Why can't we be free
If we are blind, how can we see?
Why do you want control
Over all that comes in your fold
[B end]

[CHORUS start]
I'll never do
As I am told
I will cringe
And I'll be cold

I'll never be
Someone else
I'll never change
Why is it strange?

You have no clue
It's what you do
Why can't you
Just accept me as I am
[CHORUS end]

[X start]
I am a person of my own
I am not your satellite
I have a mind and I am grown
I am not a child

I will resist your mocking tone
I won't back down
I will insist you give respect
Don't show me your frown
[X end]

'Cause I
[Repeat X]
[Repeat B]
[Repeat A]
[Repeat CHORUS til fade]

My Song: Ähsàs (Written in the Latin A script)

Ähsàs(c) 2003 Ahmed Arsalan
by A. Arsalan

Author's Note: Latin A is a Latin script for Urdu developed by myself.

Märä k'ayàlöñ ki
Gährài mäñ
Märä k'àböñ ki
Sab Tàbèräñ

Märè Uljhan ki
Yä zanjèräñ
Märè çàhat ki
Yä tasvèräñ

[Start CHORUS]
Åj köi hä... jö mujh sä kahä
Märà dil... märà pyàr... tärä liyä
Kàs'... Märè Pyàs... phir sä bujhä
Ähsàs... Märè às... Dhalnä lagä
[End CHORUS]

Märè nigàhöñ mäñ
Märè kis'tè hä
Märè fazàöñ mäñ
Äk k'us'bù bastè hä
Ham safar jö häñ
Umèd ki kirnäñ
[Repeat CHORUS]

Human beings are all the same!

My take on the issues of race, religion, and authoritarianism

1. Everyone has a degree of piety associated with them which is something that can grow and diminish with time, however, only God has the wisdom and authority to decide who among us is more pious. Therefore, there can be no worldly political system where piety can be ascertained for an individual or a group. It follows that this uncertainty has been left by God so we could deduce our own system of governance. This is another way for God to test us.
2. We keep referring to God as Allah which, for many people, sounds more like a proper noun than a common noun after repeated usage. Allah is not God's name. It is just Arabic for God. God has many names, but Allah is not one of them. I wrote an article in a newspaper about this confusion after 9/11 and I believe this is a huge cause for confusion.
3. The prophet's last sermon aims to unite people, not divide them. The only difference among people is their piety and not their race or language. So this fact cannot be overstated enough. There is one nation, the human nation, in the eyes of God. We certainly are not qualified to divide this unity of peoples from around the globe and assign roles and levels of piety to people or a group of people. It is simply not our job. On the day of judgement, God will be the one to make that judgement.
4. Humans are all the same. Nothing changes in me physically, or in my genes or in my heritage when I accept Islam as my religion. And if I go back to paganism, I am still the same person. A person born in Pakistan is the same as a person born in Namibia, or America. That is a fundamental principle of Islam. If it so happens that this value is shared by the West then so be it. The only religions that differentiate among people are hinduism, judaism, and christianity. Hindus divide people in castes and races. Jews consider the Bani Israel to be above the rest of the world, and Christians believe themselves to be superior to the gentiles. This is antithetical to everything Islam.
5. The idea that a Pakistani person needs authoritative rule, religious or secular, and an American person needs a democratic rule is hypocritical. All of us in America would find it extremely hard to stay here if the religious right overturned the constitution and we had to live under strict Christian rule. However, we don't like to extend the same rights to the minorities in Pakistan. When authoritarian rule is imposed, rights are tramepelled, people are abused. That's the nature of authoritarian rule. Opinions, differing from the official mantra, are crushed and everyone has to fall in line. There will never be a time when all the people of a country have homogeneous values and opinions. So this pursuit is futile as well as hostile. Humanity prospers through integration and compromise. If we are not prepared to support the same rights for the people of Pakistan that we enjoy in America, then we should be prepared for stifling and fanatical regimes in Pakistan where all power is concentrated in one person. It is a deluge to say that power rests with God. It always rests with the ruler and since God is not there to take him to task, he is not even accountable.

My Poem: How am I doing?

How am I doing? (c) 2004 Ahmed Arsalan
by A. Arsalan
Author's Note:
This is my non-generic answer to the question I encounter every day! I guess I am tired of the fallacy of the expected reply "I'm doing fine...". Well if you really want to know, here is what I have to say.

How am I doing? you ask
This is just my life, nothing much
I've been in and around the block a few times
And yet I turned the same corner twice

Still I am nowhere to be found
I have nothing left to give
I've given my life and my self away
Still I am in the prison of my own emptiness

Life gives hope I guess to some
Life is a bunch of short unrelated episodes
A disconnect. A stack of ingenious events
So I am fine, that should be my answer I guess

My dreams are gone and my enemies are strong
My soul is dark with the burden of my sins
My feet are heavy and laden with mud
My face is blank and my eyes are narrow and half-shut

My Song: Reasons

Reasons (c) 2004 Ahmed Arsalan
by A. Arsalan

[X start]
I have my reasons
to go into the wild
and watch the birds fly

I have my reasons
to sit in a corner
and then start to cry

I have my reasons
to stare into the ceiling
and yell out "Why!"
[X end]

[CHORUS start]
My own inner seasons
go by in a flash
I watch my own life
Go right past me

Life goes by
but time stands still
I'm eager to see
But I've had my fill
[CHORUS end]

[Repeat X]
[Repeat CHORUS til fade]

An All-Girl Pakistani band!

Whoa...! Really? Yeah, it's true. They're from Kalamazoo, Michigan. And they are not kidding!

Check out Ambreen, Savera, Kate, and Brittany of K R A Z E.

http://kraze.syrecords.com/

My Guitar Chords: Let Me Go

Guitar Chords
by A. Arsalan

Song: Let me go (c) 2004 Ahmed Arsalan
Author's Note: The lyrics and music are the exclusive property of the author.

Someday I will stay
C G D C
But right now
C G
Let me go
Am
Someday, life will take
C G D
Another turn
C
Open doors
Am

[Start CHORUS]
'Cause time never stays the same
Dm Am E
And people change
We have no one to blame
Dm Am E
Life is strange
[End CHORUS]

Somewhere, somebody cares
C G D C
But tonight
C G
We're alone
Am
Somewhere, somebody dares
C G D C
To take a chance
C G
On the unknown
Am
[Repeat CHORUS til fade]

The Original Casting Call

Casting Call
Immediate need for actors (female/male) for short student film

Date: Tue Oct 28th 2003
Urgently needed: 1 male and 4 female actors

Type of movie: short student comedy

NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• dedication, dependability and a love for acting in movies is required
• will most probably take 3 days of shooting during day time (two weekends)
• This project is for a film making class. We will shoot on DV and are on a limited budget so there will be no compensation for actors. However, this will provide a good opportunity for exposure.
• will provide a copy of the finished movie if desired
• The auditions will be held on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Please call for any questions you may have.
  
  CONTACT: Ahmed Arsalan

phone: (408) 705-5771

email: itsarsalan@yahoo.com

My Song: Dream Mate

Dream Mate (c) 2004 Ahmed Arsalan
by Arsalan

Alright, my dream mate?
My dream mate that I would like to date
is in a positive mental state
She lives in my own state
Getting wasted in parties is not her trait
Someone that when goes home does not mutate
Look I already have too much on my plate
I don't have time to contemplate
I am not ready to set down the bait
I have been putting it off offlate
Not really looking to procreate
Not even in any real haste
Started believing in fate
Look I am just a regular guy with really good taste

I like to play my guitar
Someday maybe I will be a star
Or maybe I will lose my job and live in my car
Either way I will still be totally nuts
But hey atleast I have the guts
to come out here and tell you the truth
that I am missing my front tooth
and I am bald and ugly and got one leg
Doesn't mean now that I am gonna beg
This thanksgiving I went to the zoo
They told me hey where you been we've been looking for you

My Song: Märà Vatan (Written in the Latin A script)

Märà Vatan (c) 2003 Ahmed Arsalan
by A. Arsalan

Author's Note: Latin A is a Latin script for Urdu developed by myself.

Äk às hä
Barsöñ kè pyàs hä
Äk t'út'a huà k'àb hä
Äk kis'tè hä, samandar hä or kinàrä ki talàs' hä


Yahàñ ismatäñ häñ bä qadar
Yahàñ bä qadar hubbä bas'ar
Yahàñ kavis'äñ häñ bä samar
Yahàñ hukmaràñ zulm ö jabar


Märà vatan kamàl hä
Millat mäñ intäs'àr hä
Yahàñ zulm kàmyàb hä
Is vatan pä dil nisàr hä


Yä dilöñ kè àlùdgi
Zähnöñ kè yä farsùdgi
Märä vatan mäñ k'às hä
Zamèr ki àsùdgi

My song: Let me go

Let me go (c) 2004 Ahmed Arsalan
by A. Arsalan

Someday I will stay
But right now
Let me go
Someday, life will take
Another turn
Open doors

[Start CHORUS]
'Cause time never stays the same
And people change
We have no one to blame
Life is strange
[End CHORUS]

Somewhere, somebody cares
But tonight
We're alone
Somewhere, somebody dares
To take a chance
On the unknown

[Repeat CHORUS til fade]