The Trap of Extending Credit

The crux of the issue on this past Great Recession was credit.  We all overextended ourselves by borrowing too much and we all over extended ourselves by lending too much.  Both sides the debtor and the financier were at fault here.

So what are the lessons learned for a small business?  My business FMW Fasteners  is a small regional distributor of fasteners serving the construction and commercial applications industry - an industry hardest hit by the recession.  Like everyone else we had many customers "On Account" where they picked up fasteners and then we billed them / invoiced them on a standard Net 30 terms.

Like always, necessity is a mother of all inventions (or reinventions)!  At FMW we took a close look at our customer base, average transactions, and the type of customers we had.  For the most part a large majority of customers with the highest transaction costs were small customers that bought $20-$300 worth of Fasteners "On Account". 

The issue with these customers was the entire transaction and cash flow was not profitable at all!  How many of our small businesses have these type of customers?  Those that walk in, buy about $30 worth and then walk away with a signature putting this small order on account?  Then what happens?  Well, you have an administrator that "bills" this invoice or your system "invoices" this customer.  This invoice is then sent to the small business owner via email, fax or mail.  

Then 30 days go by and guess what.....the customer has not paid the $30 invoice....ever have that happen?  I am sure this is a common issue all of us have faced?  So now you start chasing a $30 invoice.  You try calling them, emailing them, faxing them...taking up time and money.  Let's assume you had 50% gross margin on the invoice.  That means you made a gross profit of $15.  Take out transaction cost of picking the item, packing it, giving to the customer, admin costs, etc.  You may be down to a measly $5 to $6 profit.  Now you have to wait for 30 days for this profit?  If you end up making any follow up calls, emailing, or any other follow up work you will start losing money.

So now the question comes, what can you do differently.  At FMW have made a conscience choice to convert our customers to debit card, credit card, checks or cash.  Would you be willing to pay 3% to a credit card company so that they can take up the burden of lending that $30 customer the money to pay you immediately?  3% on $30 is $0.90!  far less than the cost of making a single follow up call or the cost of two stamps for mailing the invoice and a statement?

The answer for us was a resounding yes!  Have a policy that if a customer does not do more than $5000 per year with us you, do not even contemplate giving them credit.  Further, those that you extend credit to have to either be a public traded company or have a good DUNS credit report.  If they do not have a DUNS number then we absolutely require personal guarantees on the credit application.

The rest who do not meet the above criteria, here is how my conversation goes:

CUSTOMER:  Can I put this order on account.

FMW:  Sir, I am sorry but effective this month, we are no longer extending credit terms to any of our customers.  However, for your convenience we accept all other forms of payment.

CUSTOMER:  Why is that?  I have always had an account?

FMW:  Yes I understand and we continue to appreciate your business.  But in order for us to reduce our transaction costs and to allow us to offer you the most competitive prices and service, we are no longer extending credit to any of our customers.  We can accept Debit cards, credit cards, checks or cash and our system can easily have that securely on file so that the next time you buy from us it will automatically charge to that system, if you like.  

CUSTOMER:  That does not make sense....why not

FMW:  Well sir, FMW is a small business and we simply are not well equipped to continuously evaluate credit for our customers plus we are able to extend to you more favorable prices if we you buy with credit card, cash or check. 

Normally, this resolves about 80% of the objections. The customer whips out their CC and pays for it.  Most of these customers are small business owners themselves and they can certainly appreciate what you are doing.

Yes there will be the 20% who will argue or will say I do not have a credit card, etc. etc.  To those I start wondering....that if a customer does not have a way to pay for a $30 transaction using a credit card, cash or check, OR if the credit card company does not deem them worthy to give them a credit or debit card then do you want to extend them credit?   In these 20% cases, you can always evaluate on an individual basis and then decide.

At FMW we have implemented this cash basis transaction and it has dramatically reduced admin workload, improved cash flow and vastly reduced dead beats!  Would you rather do a $100 in sales and make $50 or would you rather do a $200 on account and get only $30 after 30 days? 

Evaluate your customers, use technology to monitor your cash flow and understand your transaction and collection cost.  You will quickly realize that this simple technique may save you a lot of headaches and save you time and money and make you more profit!

The World is "...Pursuing Happiness..." Is that the Key?

Hosni Mubarak has left Egypt....Who would have "thunk" that? Why is Egypt in turmoil while the Chinese enjoy stability. Both have autocratic central governments with little to no democratic reforms.

The difference I believe is the fundamental "pursuit of happiness". The Chinese have figured out that the basic human need of pursuit of happiness is far more important and it is the root cause of wanting freedoms and democracy.

In todays world - what is the pursuit of happiness? It is the desire to support oneself through a dignified living, being able to raise your family and progress through generations so that you leave your children a better world than yourself.

Now look at these basic principals from the eyes of the Chinese. Just a generation ago, they were toiling in farmlands earning pennies with no progress in sight. But the last 30 years, their government has invested trillions into building their infrastructure, invading the global economy with their goods, building cities from wasteland, and raising the overall standard of living of 1 billion people - all this in less than 30 years!

Compare this to Egypt and we see a government that has loosely tried to "reform" itself, but overall it is marred in corruption where the elite and the military control 90% of the wealth. Religious fundamentalism has grasped aspects of their socio-political spectrum. And of course the political elite did nothing but drained the economy of millions if not billions over three decades.

Essentially both countries over the same period theoretically same governing system, and yet they both took drastically different paths. China has now become a dominant economic power house while Egypt sank into utter chaos last month that has resulted into pressing the reset button for them. In the next 10 years, China will race to the top of global dominance while Egypt will spend it building their systems again (if they are lucky and do not see another corrupt strong man).

The lesson to be learned here is....."the pursuit of happiness" should be the fundamental core of any government's principal. It does not have to come from a US Based Democracy but rather the goal of uplifting your people so that "The Pursuit of Happiness" is realized for each one in their own way.

Immigration - A Way to Move Forward in A New Global Economy

It was 1776, July 4th and our great nation was born with these immortal words....

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,^[72] that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

Everyone recognizes this of course as our nations declaration of independence from the Great Britain. It was a nation that took universal values implemented from global ideals through many different nations and cultures that were prevalent at that time. The founding fathers were brilliant in incorporating these values into our declaration and the constitution.

The cliche - true - is that our nation was built by immigrants and as such our country prides itself from the diversity and the melting pot that was created over the past three centuries. But I feel in the past 10 years, we are turning more inwards and we think we can continue to compete in this world alone. "We have had enough immigration, we really need to stop those "immigrants" from coming in and stealing our jobs."

Well, guess what, these "immigrants" do not need to even come to our country to "steal" our jobs. In this "Flat World" jobs are going anywhere and everywhere. In fact we are now competing for talent as well as jobs around the globe.

So how do we fight this fight and how does immigration come into play? First and foremost, our nation is underpopulated compared to our competitors like China, India and Brazil. We have vast resources our population is 1/3 of China and India. This gives us plenty of room to increase our population through immigration without putting a dent on our natural resources. Second, we absolutely need positive immigration to continue to attract the skills and talents from abroad. We simply will not be able to produce local talent fast enough to keep pace with global expansion of skills. The reality is we do not reproduce enough and secondly we can't educate more skills fast enough. Best case if we revolutionized our education system and forced everyone who needs retraining to get magically retrained tomorrow, we still would not be able to keep up with the new skills and talent that we need to revitalize and compete in the global economy.

So how do we manage this? Immigration is the answer - the very thing that built this nation and the very document (Declaration of Independence) that has been the beacon of light for all people. Instead of turning xenophobic and putting up more walls, we should open up our immigration policy. Now wait a minute, are we saying just do not monitor borders and allow everyone in.....no that is not what I am saying.

But let's examine two extreme sectors and I think my point will be clearer. First let's consider the blue collar workers like farm workers, day laborers and other traditional Central and South American workers who dominate our economy today in this sector. We all know that much of the national outrage is focused on these kind of workers, i.e Arizona Laws. Our complaints for them is they are using up our resources like education, healthcare and other social services when they are illegal and not paying into the system. So should we kick them out? The answer we all know is a BIG NO! Why? Because simply put we need them here. There is no way our economy could function without their contribution. BUT we should legalize this process by making it easy for them to come across the borders, work legally and contribute their "fair share" into our society. Issue workers permits in those employment categories with no pathway to citizenship. This would allow these workers to legally come to the United States, be gainfully employed, pay taxes, sales taxes and property taxes but they would not have a pathway to citizenship or residency. They must keep their criminal records clean and they cannot have unpaid debts. You combine these with other simple restrictions and then have a 5 year permitting process, we will gain tremendous advantage in competing globally by allowing cheaper laborers working in this country doing the work necessary to increase manufacturing and provide services that there is no way to produce without these workers. Will they displace "American" jobs? Maybe, but I doubt these jobs are being fulfilled by native American in big numbers to begin with. Yes there will be casualties but the upside is huge and necessary in my opinion. President Bush's workers permit program was a good program and we should implement it. This is the way we compete with the "low wage" workers in other countries. We bring our own here. We have the room, the resources to make it happen and many are already here but they can not participate in big numbers contributing to our growth.

The second category is the highly skilled educated workers. Historically we have done fairly well in attracting these type of immigrants, but after 9/11 our immigration policy at all levels is very prohibitive. Combine that with the growing opportunities in China and India, we are much less attractive for these workers and entrepreneurs to come to the USA. Why would a highly skilled person ready to make money and invent 10 things wait 15 years to immigrate to the USA or work under a dubious H-1 visa when they can stay / go to China or India and work for the same US multinational company and invent and contribute there immediately. Or better yet, why should a student studying at Harvard, Stanford, MIT, or any of our hundreds of first class universities getting a PhD or Masters try to find a job in the USA when he/she can go to India and quickly start reaping the rewards of his/her degree faster? Because staying in the USA, means I have to convince my employer to "Sponsor" my green card, toil in the system for a decade, and then maybe I will have the rights to stay here. This antiquated immigration policy is causing the brain drain in reverse! We used to be the brain drainers in the past. Now its going the other way, we are experiencing lack of positive immigration from the elite highly skilled people simply because they do not see our immigration policy favorably. Its too difficult and cumbersome! I propose that we streamline this process. First and foremost, if you study in the USA and get a Masters or PhD in any of our first class university, we will staple a green card to your degree/diploma upon graduation. Why not? The country just spent thousands of dollars educating this person (all universities receive government subsidies at some levels) and now we are going to let him go back to China, India or wherever to implement this education? Why? Keep this valuable resource here, have him invent contribute and engineer here for a US Company. We still have some of the best quality of life and systems and in my mind most of these folks if they were to be incented to get a green card upon graduation they would stay. This would immediately increase immigration of highly skilled workers to the USA. Young bright students that qualify to go to our top universities will gladly come to the USA to study in hopes of getting a green card. Exactly the way to accelerate the future skill set in this country. Keep us in the competitive edge for a very long time. Oh and by the way, how do we limit this? We make sure that they graduate from first class accredited university. Not the local internet school that hands out Masters and PhD's. We are talking the great private and state universities of this country - and there are hundreds!

So do we need to strengthen our immigration policy? Yes we do, but I propose we strengthen it by doing some of the things I suggest above. Yes we still should secure our borders and yes we do have issues, but I can tell you this....spending $1 billion dollars on a great wall is not the answer! I assure you this will not keep the crazies away! Spend a billion dollars in educating these immigrants and then encourage them to stay in this country. The biggest benefit we have for this is we will start bringing the very talent that China and India depend on back to the USA. Second, by having a positive immigration policy, we will start the next step in enriching our country with the people we need to add to continue to compete with the emerging economies.

To protect this country we need to open ourselves more to positive immigration not shut it down! We are competing for the people to make us successful. I assure you what we have locally is not enough. We need more people to create new companies, innovate and produce more. That will inevitably help grow this economy faster than the measly 2.5% we are doing right now.

So write to your congressman/woman and encourage them to reform immigration...not by putting up walls up but rather encourage positive immigration of the skill, labor and talent we have been so good at attracting in the past.

FMW Fasteners Introduces Free Shipping to Online "Nut and Bolt" Consumers

FMW Fasteners Introduces Free Shipping to Online "Nut and Bolt" Consumers

Closing 2010 in Fasteners

This week, business is winding down 2010. A year that began with optimism but quickly became the year of not so much recovery.

In the Fastener world, many businesses experienced a "recovery" of sorts. Comparing the huge decline of 2009, this year presented stability and normalization. The rapid downward curves were gone and predictability had arrived once more.

However, the stark reality that the new "norm" was somewhere in the 2005 or earlier levels has hit hard. With sluggish growth on all sectors, the US economy is in the long run for a gradual increase. We need growths in the mid 3% area to recover the losses we have experienced in the past 4 years and to bring the unemployment down from where it is. The news of low to mid 2% growth means we are just barely keeping up with the new folks entering the labor market.

The issue is further compounded by the fact that the requirements for new labor is completely different than those that have been laid off. More technologically savvy and educated workforce is becoming a must. New jobs are going to be dependent on high productivity associated with technology, internet and high end manufacturing (check out Germany's economy for the past 3 years - Lessons from German Economic Boom ).

Fundamentally, we need to work closely with our working force to educate and uplift the workers capabilities. Basic education, retraining and partnerships have to change. These will take time....in my opinion 5 to 7 years.

So what will happen to Fasteners? I think we are ripe for similar changes. I truly believe the old model of multi-tiered distribution are going to change. With customers and manufacturers demanding more productivity, the industry is going to experience gradual but big transformation over the next few years.

For one, Master Distribution concept will transform. Many Asian manufacturers I believe will start entering the US Market themselves through consolidation and acquisitions. I have to believe the Porteous, Heads, Brighton, and Stelfast combinations will be different. Either they will transform themselves or they will get transformed.

The value chain from manufacturers to distributors to retailers (e-tailers) will also need to change. As technology forces regional players to go national via the internet, Master distribution will need to vertically integrate with their channels. This simply will not be a web based ordering, but rather true vertical integration where the manufacturers/master importers are truly enabling their distributors beyond just providing them low prices and availability.

For example, the ability to drop ship and seamlessly move inventory from the importer/manufacturers warehouse to the endpoint? Logistic integration to truly provide availability beyond phone calls and websites? Dynamic pricing to where certain manufacturing benefits are immediately visible to the end users. What am I talking about? Well, if you look at other commodity industries like soft drinks, groceries, or clothing, you will see the tremendous vertical loyalty and integration that these manufacturers provide to their channels.

Examine how Hilti has enabled their channel and you will quickly see a forbearer of what I think needs to start happening in the Fastener world. However, it will happen via technology and modern workforce. And changes like these take a while to happen.

So I ramble on......and I want to come back to our economy. How will that effect us? For one, we all need to make sure that we have the productivity capacity to grow our business by 30-40% over the next 5 years without significantly increasing our expenses (and yes that unfortunately includes labor). This is what will be needed to compete in the new economy. Already Fortune 500 companies shrunk their expenses significantly and they are now generally growing without adding significant labor or other expenses. Productivity increase is the name of the game.

Look for the construction industry to be sluggish for the next 2-4 years. The massive overflow of inventory (foreclosures and excess from the last few years) will take time to work off. Combine this with the reality of new rules for lending and financial world which still has a massive hangover from the drunken debt we took on in the past; look for development to be considerably slow in commercial and residential area. Those of us relying on this market will need to be pragmatic and look beyond our regional borders to expand. Possibly look into other sectors for opportunities. There may even be opportunities in consolidation and mergers!

FMW Fasteners has taken a leap into the technology world and we continue to learn. We are humbled by this great industry and the legacy of the giants that continue to navigate this world of ours. I want to thank all of you that have helped us in various ways over the past year. We honor the giants on whose shoulders we are standing today. Without you we would not have the foundation to build our little abode. Thank you for your support and we hope to march on to 2011! Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving 2010 - Talking Turkey About Our Country

Another Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Two days from now, the food fest will start for most Americans.

Thanksgiving usually marks the beginning of the Holiday Season in the US. Most look forward to various festivities at home, school, churches, community centers and other venues. It also marks the last few weeks of the year as we look forward to 2011.

For many 2010 was a mixed year. The economic struggles continued with marginal improvements across all sectors. Uncertainty is still prevalent. I am seeing this year as one more to chalk up as a tough economic year - part of the "Great Recession". So what happens next?

Recently, I was watching some political shows (the political junkie that I am) and I started noticing a pattern that I believe can provide one answer to our long term strategy. I noticed that in his recent trip to the East Asian countries, Barack Obama was pummeled by the Eastern Tigers on the economic front. This was not an easy trip for President Obama, but a brutal beating from the Eastern Asian Tigers that are waging a furious economic battle with the USA. We seemed like we were begging and pleading our Asian allies to help us compete with them and they are more than content to say, "why should we do that?"

I ask you to see where are we spending the most money in our deficit ridden budget and the answer is: Entitlement (Social Security, Medicare), Defense, and Interest on our Debt. We hear lots of talk about cuts, but until we can significantly cut in these three areas, we are kidding about solving our long term problems and becoming competitive in the new global arena.

Let's address each one very simply. Social Security and Medicare will absolutely need to be cut. We will need to reduce our entitlements to a mechanism of a safety net where those citizens that need it get it. The rest have to pass a means test where there is a sliding scale of your benefits. For example, those that make over $200K per year do not get any entitlements. Plus all income is taxed for Social Security. No exemptions after $107K per year. So what does this mean: effectively it is tax increase! Yes, Republicans need to get with it and accept this tax increase. And Yes Democrats need to suck it up and let go of their entitlements. And those Tea Baggers that repeatedly say, "cut everything, but do not touch my Social Security", sorry that has to go.

Medicare needs to do the same thing. Other than the cost cutting programs that are in place there needs to be means test and a sliding scale on monthly premiums for seniors that can afford it. Yes its not free and never should be unless for those that are in need of the social safety net. Oh and by the way you Doctors, yes, you will receive severe cuts as well. No more of the fat cat checks from Medicare.

Defense!!! Aaahh that industrial complex cash cow that every congressmen sucks at the tit and can never let go. I hate to sound harsh but the 9/11 event has made our country go berserk! We are spending crazy dollars on Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to go after cavemen! Of course I am being a little facetious, but the reality is, these terrorist are making us go bankrupt from their caves in Pakistan. I mean, let's face it, we are spending trillions a year on defense, billions on security at the airports, billions on machines to have "body scans". Statistically, it absolutely does not make sense and more importantly it is absolutely asinine expenditures! Yes statistically we would save a lot more lives if we spent that money on healthcare in this country. For all practical purposes, these terrorists are wining the war by making "the crazy Americans spend like fools on chasing cavemen in Pakistan!"

Defense needs to be adjusted for targeted operations and updated to meet specific threats that make up the 21st century! I am no expert in how that needs to be done, but my guess is that spending billions on submarines, airplanes, and troops in the thousands deployed in these countries is not needed to take out a bunch of hooligans with AK-47's.

Well, the reality is none of my aspirations are going to come true. I can only wish and I can only try to see if any politicians will hear us. But the reality is, we will argue and we will "discuss", but the democratic and special interest forces of this country will make it very difficult to do anything proactively.

I am predicting that our economic system will continue to decline. We will be pushed to the brink of bankruptcy and then we will have to take austerity measures of the like none of our previous generations have seen. Do I have faith that we will be able to do it? Yes I do, but it will be more painful and more drastic. It will involve unprecedented action that will fundamentally shift the way we Americans live.

So this Thanksgiving as you sit around a table crowded with family and friends, give thanks to one more year that has past with the American life still intact. But at the same time resolve for yourself, that the era of consumption, living in fear of cavemen, and hiding behind the facade of security while we see our freedoms and our country go through a slow painful death is not acceptable. I will resolve to fundamentally work to help change this way and preserve the very ideas we have founded this nation on.

Happy Thanksgiving to All! Have a safe, happy and prosperous Holidays!

The Lighthouse at Hutaib

A Journey that began at the shores of the Tigris and Euphrates

Now He travels to the Mountains of Haraz

A beacon shines on top of Hutaib

A gleaming dome to the era of yesteryears

For that is where His predecessors wrote

The books of Knowledge

History foretold 600 years ago

unfolds in front of our very eyes

A race towards 100 with humility

Acknowledge the past for they are ahead

Kerbala, Najaf, Hind, Misr

All who sacrificed for this very day

Specs of white climb the hills of Shibaam

Thousands lined up to peak the First

He comes last to initiate

The words of wisdom from the past

Alive they become guiding us all

Like a lighthouse at Hutaib

For the domes gleaming and beckoning us home

A journey promised by Husain

Written by Hatim and Idris

And spoken and practiced by Mohammed

We are fortunate to see Him

A hundred years in the making in front of our own eyes

May we see a hundred more for it never is enough

Thirty days a reflection of three in Ashura

As the sun sets on the eve of Fitr
Thirty days of fast
A tribute of ten times three
We remember the days of Husain
For ten above each on three here
Shores of Euphrates weeps daily

After a long hard three days
On the eve of the fourth
Ten times three 30 days of giving
Earn a place in fortunes
For the 4th is eternity

The ten have foretold
Beckon us three times
We will answer always
Eid ul fitr begins the journey
Back to Ashura on the tenth
For this year coming 1432
The year of 10 and 100.

The Last Fall of the Decade Labors Next Week

As Labor Day of 2010 approaches, you can tell that Summer of 2010 is coming to an end. This September marks the last few days of the last Summer of this decade. This also marks the last Labor Day of a tumultuous decade.

School has started with kids bustling with home work, practices, and various school activities. The sounds of fall and the holiday seasons will start shortly. Temperatures will start drifting lower and our attention will veer away from Summer fun to a more home /holiday season routines.

This year for a billion plus Muslims, Ramadhan will end next week too. Celebrations of Eid will coincide with the end of Summer 2010.

Looking back, this Summer was bitter sweet. When May of 2010 came around, I remember being hopeful and optimistic that the summer will see us on the "road to recovery" - both economically and socially. But now as the summer comes to a close we look back and see that it was bitter sweet.

Our Road to Recovery has been slow and we continue to struggle economically and socially. The Oil Spill and the two wars dominated the news. Various major global disasters like the Pakistan Floods gripped headlines. Unemployment continued to hover around 10 percent and businesses showed news signs of lathargic growth. Whispers of a second recession got louder.

For me as Ramadhan ends, things continue to be tough. My personal road to recovery has been a long journey. The journey is not ended yet. As I enter the fall season, I am hopeful and energized. My company FMW just launched a new online webstore www.fmwfasteners.com. I am excited about its prospects.

My Daughter Jamila started High School. It has been a source of pride for my family as Jamila is now entering her final 4 years of school getting ready for College and being an adult. It amazes me that almost 15 years have gone since she joined our family. It was 15 years ago when I saw myself and Lubaina struggling in a Mail Boxes Etc franchise with a just a few dollars and an uncertain business in our name. The journey from there has been full of surprises and joy. I am thankful for all that has been given to me. Words cannot describe the rich experiences and many great things that have come about for all those years. Looking back there are no regrets at all and that gives me the greatest inspiration for the next 15 years.

In many ways, the journey has been a full circle thus far. I am back again struggling in a new business and things seem to point to new beginnings. But this time around it is also different. My experience, my family and my mindset are all much more richer than before.

So as Fall 2010 approaches, as the leaves turn and the weather cools down, the engines will rev up for the last quarter of the year. Time for sowing the seeds for the next decade start this Fall. We will take advantage of this renewed spirit to build the very foundations that will drive us for the next 10 years.

Mubarak! Congratulations to all that have survived! I bid you farewell Summer of 2010 as you leave us taking with you the challenges of the past. Ahlan Wasahlan, Welcome! Fall of 2010....the last quarter, the last days and the last stand for 2010. We are ready to execute as we move to 2011.

Obama Supports The Cordoba House Masjid - To The Saudi and Other Muslim Countries - Learn!

Yesterday evening President Obama supported the Park 51, Cordoba House Masjid (Mosque). In a Whitehouse Dinner hosting Muslim leaders to celebrate the beginning of Ramadhan, President Obama Said:

Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities -– particularly New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of Lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. And the pain and the experience of suffering by those who lost loved ones is just unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. And Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground

But let me be clear. As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. (Applause.) And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. The writ of the Founders must endure.

We must never forget those who we lost so tragically on 9/11, and we must always honor those who led the response to that attack -– from the firefighters who charged up smoke-filled staircases, to our troops who are serving in Afghanistan today. And let us also remember who we’re fighting against, and what we’re fighting for. Our enemies respect no religious freedom. Al Qaeda’s cause is not Islam -– it’s a gross distortion of Islam. These are not religious leaders -– they’re terrorists who murder innocent men and women and children. In fact, al Qaeda has killed more Muslims than people of any other religion -– and that list of victims includes innocent Muslims who were killed on 9/11.

I applaud President Obama to uphold the core values of our Nation and respect his courage to do so against an overwhelming anti-islamic sentiment that has swelled around this issue.

However, I also feel President Obama lost an opportunity to further accentuate the religious freedom opportunity by pointing out to the very leaders that sat around this dinner listening to him; Ambassadors and Dignitaries representing some of the most totalitarian states like Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia continues to practice some of the most egregious form of totalitarian dictatorships in the world. Not only are they intolerant of other religions but rather they are intolerant to other Muslim brothers who do not agree with their Wahabi interpretation of Islam. Case and point is the continued persecution and desecration of a Shi'ite revered site in Medina where the Prophet Muhammed SA daughter, Fatema AS and grandchildren are buried - Janat-Ul-Baqi. Here the Saudi government not only has systematically destroyed key religious sites important to Muslims, especially Shi'ite Muslims, but they have prohibited any further development of the area. Instead it is kept in a delapitated state with the Secret Police monitoring the site and surrounded by a fort like structure which looks grand from the outside but disrespects the actual cemetery and the religious significance of the location.

When President Obama made the above statements yesterday, these very same leaders who represent their governments stood up in support clapping and giving a standing ovation to President Obama. I call upon those leaders attending this ceremony to take heed and learn from the ideals talked about by President Obama and adopt those principals in their own country.

I have said repeatedly that this controversy surrounding the Community House at Park 51 represents the best of our United States. The energetic discussion and the fact that the leaders of New York, despite whatever personal preferences and biases, have stood in support for the project and allowed it to move forward says volumes about the true freedoms we enjoy.

On the surface the Cordoba House and the Masjid that it will house may seem "insensitive" and "wrong". I whole heartedly disagree and in fact I think it honors and celebrates the 3000 victims (many of them who were Muslims as well) of 9/11. What better than to honor the memories of the victims of 9/11 then to have a call for prayers sound 5 times a day just a few blocks from Ground Zero where US Citizens will come there to pray and remember. Those families around the local area will come to the community center will play, learn and socially interact with each other and practice the fundamentals of the American Life each and every day. What better way to celebrate the American Dream then to have the true nature of Islam be practiced in defiance to those terrorists who attempted to destroy our way of life on 9/11. This center in fact will demonstrate to those intolerant, ignorant militants that America is not Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or other but rather a way of life that allows all religions including the true values of Islam to be practiced harmoniously and side by side with others who may disagree.

I call upon the Saudis, The Pakistanis, The Indonesians, The Egyptians, The Kuwaiti and another intolerant regimes to see and learn! I call upon the Saudi's who may be contributing to this Cordoba House project to stop and take head and learn from this awesome system we have in our great nation, and for once just take the first step - allow the reconstruction and rebuilding of revered institutions in their own countries for their minority populations. Maybe they can start by allowing the rebuilding of Janat-Ul-Baqi - a revered site of Fatema AS the daughter of Prophet Mohammed AS.

The Revered Guest Ramadhan Returns

Once again the 9th Holy Month of Ramadhan is amongst us Muslims. Yesterday for the Dawoodi Bohra Muslims marked the first day as we started our month as per the lunar calendar.

As I sat in our Masjid right after Maghrib (sunset) prayers waiting for my dates, cup of tea and a cookie served by young volunteers to break my fast, the Masjid was resonating with a buzz and prayers. It is during this time for the next 30 days we will ask Allah to guide us back to the graces of heaven and show us the path to avoid the sins that could lead us to hellfire.

A tradition of 1400+ years Muslims during Ramadhan come together and ask the same question to Allah. We gather to seek solace, repent and renew our wows to do better for the coming year. And most of all we come together in Ramadhan to remember the many bounties we have and give thanks for what we have received.

For the past 4 years, the journey for me has been a long, arduous one. Looking back it may seem difficult to see how we can be thankful. For the past 4 years, our country has experienced one of the most difficult times in our history. We seem polarized and truly distraught in where we want to go and what we want to be.

Pundits and Gurus continue to show comparisons to Rome and other empires of the past say that we are going down the same path. And yes there are some striking similarities but there are many contrasts too. I will not bore you with these details but rather write about why I believe this Ramadhan we have many things to celebrate and be optimistic.

As a small business owner I have experienced the "Great Recession". Business is down significantly and the old business models are out the window. "Things just do not work the way they used to..." I look back and think why is it not working, what can I do to make this better or different? History teaches us that during times of great change, turmoil, and distress we come up with the greatest and biggest answers. I know this is true, and this Ramadhan I am thankful that I am living through such a great time of change. For this experience will be the initial sparks to the next sea of changes that will bring decades of prosperity. For these difficult times will give me an opportunity to make a difference in where my humble small boat will float for my family, my friends, my community and my country.

If we raise our view to the national level, we see the recent political, economical and social turmoil and I see numerous opportunities of hope. The Oil Spill in the Gulf was devastating to the local economy and a disaster that will take decades to recover. But it is this very spill that has helped us focus on our endless dependency on depleting and polluting energy source and see what we can do to try to right this endless appetite for oil. I am thankful that as devastating as this Oil Spill has been for our nation, that we will get an opportunity to right the many wrongs that have persisted in this industry. Lives will be changed forever and opportunities for new businesses and ventures will be born. Like any wildfire, yes the brushfire will destroy the old growth but it will also make way for the new. I know we will build and the new will be stronger and better than the old.

Our nation continues to fight two major wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even though I politically disagree with both the wars, but now as we try to exit both theaters, there is great uncertainty of what will happen to these nations and what dangers will be born for our nation. Time will of course tell us, but the reality is that there will always be great opponents of our country and so no war or effort can ever eliminate this threat. We can't win this war in a traditional sense. What has to change is the very social, economical fabric of the Iraqi and Afghani society. This can only be done through time with education and exposure to new thinking.

As nasty and as destructive as the two wars have been, there is a spark for hope. The turmoil once again has brought about a sea of change. The status quo is gone and opportunity to accelerate the growth of new ideas has taken root. Time will tell if those ideas, systems and processes will be positive or not. I am optimistic that the human ingenuity in this great age of information sharing will yield a very different result than what has happened in the past. It will take time and it will be different.

One of the bigger issues of the day has been the Community Center - Cordoba House in Manhattan that is being built by Muslims. It has a Masjid as part of the whole complex. The proximity of this project to the 9/11 site has created massive political repercussions for those that support the project and those that oppose it. I have read and listened to all parties and through this chaos and this Ramadhan I have realized that such a discussion is awesome. This issue has helped do two things. One, it has provided an awesome opportunity for the large American Muslim community to showcase the true aspects of a peaceful Muslim community that are large great contributers of the socio, economic and political landscape of modern America. Two it is showcasing the very beauty of our constitutional system that allows such a discussion to even take place. The very fact that this discussion is occurring is a testament that our system is not broken but rather working and working well. In this information over load age it looks like our disagreements are increasing...but I believe on the contrary. These disagreements have always been there, but through the new age of instant news and communications - things like this very blog - allows these discussions to take place quicker and faster which gives us all an opportunity to practice the fundamentals of the American way better.

So as I sat in the row with my brothers ready to break my first fast of this Ramadhan, a thought crossed my mind that things just cannot get any worse! How can this all be fixed, it just gets worse every day? But then I closed my eyes and as I sipped the hot tea that blended with the juicy date in my mouth after a long 101 degree day, I knew that it can only be good. Just like the Hot Day of August with 101 degree heat and dry fasting mouth can be relieved by the grace of tea and dates, May Allah Ta'ala grant us the bounty of the sweet reward of the great struggles of the men and women of this great nation. I pray that the long fast of this past few years be broken soon with the bountiful flavors of the fruits to come. May he grant us all the Sabr (Patience) to see through these difficult times to realize that the journey will take us to a better place.

Ramadhan Karim, Mubarak to all!

Misr - The return back as we were

A journey started in the fields of Kerbala

Homage to Kufa, Najaf and Kerbala

The respect and fervor of Dai in Hind

The endless energy of Medina

The countless bounty of Baqi

The everlasting gift of Ka'aba

All the gifts in hand...

The Viceroy returns

To the Land it began

Azhar, Anwar, Juyushi, Lulua

Aqmar, Ahmed-Ibn Tulun

All await to partake and share the gifts

For waterfall of gifts will be shared

In the twilight of Maghrib

The moon will rise as..

The Viceroy will recall

The era of Moiz, Haakim, Mustansir

For its not history but rather...

A message for The Return As We Were

A journey for the living...back home

A reflection of the Grand Journey of our souls

Peer into this message in Misr.

You shall see your return home.

An excellent post...MUST READ

An American Muslim Imam’s Response to Imam Anwar Awlaki’s call for Jihad Against America

My 99 Years For You.

It began in the early decades of 1900's

A world without airplanes

Travel by land or sea - days it took

My yearn to reach the world no less

A father every step of the way

Showing the path to greatness

A sparkle of dedication

For my family and friends a spiritual family

Decades of dedications past

Eventually I am in my father's seat

For my Master I give him all

My greatness in His servitude

White clothes, simple attire

A message of peace and love

A message of identity and pride

Greatness is self preservation

Greatness in the modernity of tradition

East to West North to South

Constant remembrance of Kerbala

The bloodshed at Euphrates - a focus of pride

A lesson of peace and jubilation

For my Master won a victory there

I cherish this eternal gift of victory

With my tears and faith.

A Masjid in 1401H at the heart of Misr

Echoes of Hakim now ringing true

Usher the second Golden Age of Fatemi Heritage

A chalice of Gold unearthed after 600 plus years

From this Masjid born hundreds...A true emergence

Fatemi empire worldwide

From the two domes in Kerbala

To the Grand Masjid in Kufa

The sun shines at the peak of eloquence

My victory is for my family

My traditions are for my family

My Islam is for my family

My 99 years is for you

I give you my hand once more

I have given you for 45 years

Will you come with me now?

Do you believe me when I say....

A life of greatness awaits you?

Do not worry my son....I will take you

99 years or more...I am there...just call my name

I ask you remember me today...do not forget

For I never forgot you in all of my 99 years..

Makkah and Medina - A Garden Flourishes

After a long drought

The Viceroy has returned

Carrying a message - "Forgive your followers..."

Seven rounds - around the home of The Master

The cornerstone begs for his touch

For many years He awaited.

A Journey of Forty Five years

carrying on His Shoulder

Letters of forgiveness

Tears of remorse from the plains of Kerbala

The Victory of Kufa

The Jubilation of Ashara

A final destination with these messages

Makkah was rejoicing

Medina celebrates

My viceroy has come with such news

All around we celebrate...

For our journey has culminated

We are indeed victorious

We are indeed chosen for our destination

We are indeed the lucky ones

Excellent Rollingstone Articles

On AIG and Paulson takeover


On Goldman Sachs and the great bubble generator



On health care

ENJOY!!!

The Nexus One....

So the battle lines are clearly drawn in the PDA/Phone market. On one side is the Apple Iphone and on the other side is the new quickly emerging Android/Google/Nexus brand.

Who will win this battle? This to me is very similar to what happened in the PC market almost 20+ years ago. If you recall, the IBM based x86 processor was emerging and at he same time Apple introduced the Macintosh Apple computers.

If my memory serves me right, the buzz around Apple was equally energetic as the Iphone today. I remember the Macintosh being THE computer to have. In school all we did was Apples and everyone wanted the Macintosh. Albeit at the time the prices were MUCH MUCH higher, but the exclusivity built by Apple along with its proprietary closed end concept was very similar.

Iphone came out with much fanfare about 2 years ago. AT&T was the exclusive dealer and you had to play in Apple's domain for applications and music. Closed end, extremely protective. Since the Iphone was a leapfrog in PDA/Phone technology, the frenzy of consumer attention was understandable. Apple made sick amount of money. There seemed to be no competition for the Iphone. Millions of consumers switched as you saw droves of the public mesmerized by the finger swabbing motions on the PDA screen of a white minimalist unit.

But this is where Apple has repeated its biggest mistake I believe. By closing the system and hoarding its consumers to its platform, Apple has traded the short term gains and fame for long term legacy building / game changing platform.

Just like the Macintosh, the Iphone is closed system proprietary based product while the Google Android is open system shared platform. In fact Google has studied the history well and improved on building a fantastic coalition of hardware and software developers who are rapidly building a game changing massive system around the Android product.

Is Android going to be the Windows of the PDA Market? Well everything tells me YES! Trace back the history of the PC, DOS and Windows market and you will see that Google has borrowed the play-book and then improved on it.

Dozens of platforms and hardware are destined to be introduced in 2010. Nexxus One is just one with fanfare. HTC (who also makes the Nexxus), Motorolla, LG, Samsung, General Mobile all are poised to introduce numerous phones with Android 2.0 and 2.1, and onwards....

Applications....well the Iphone may have thousands, but they are still restricted to the Apple market-space and controlled in a closed ended system. Android is rapidly catching up and probably has exceeded the Apple's space. I believe Android based applications will become the dominant providers of mobile applications by end of 2010.

So what will happen to Iphone? I assume similar to what happened with the Apple PC market. It will become a niche player losing market share rapidly to the dominant Android. By the end of 2010, I predict that the Android software market will be at least 2 to 3 times bigger than the Iphone. Apple is going to have to either innovate and leapfrog again OR go against their grain and open up the Iphone and becomes a true competitor. Otherwise in the not to do distant future, Iphone will only be left with a cult following like the Apple Macintosh.

What will Apple do? For now bye bye iphone.....

The Garden of Date

The sun rose 14 centuries ago
He prepared a garden of dates
The flowers abound a garden of eden
The date palm was watered
Protecting all in the garden

The day of reckoning at past noon
The tenth of moharram
The date palm he rests his shoulder
See the injustice on me
For those in the garden saw the rivers of blood
The date looked on in despair
His caretaker burdened the injustice
A dusk of one age as the dawn of a long night

A lonely palm with a harvest of dates
The garden was protected with the blood of the tenth day
For what time will pass under the shimmer of the moon

The garden of date flourishes
Every harvest remembering the
Sacrifice of the tenth day.
He awaits the sun to rise again
He shall reap the rewards of
Fourteen hundred years,
I ask that I be in this garden indeed.
Come on come on...come under the shadow of garden of date.

A Journey of Benefit

For my Master arrives today
A sad mourne of the first ten
Days of remeberance for The King
Travels He returned with Treasures
Abound from the plains of Kerbala

Pearls of wisdom he will gift
Many will have their hands ready
Grab the jewels as they fall
For with the wealth is a pardon
For many sins I have committed

Tears roll on the servants cheek
As The Master says O'Brother you
Are washed of all No worries on the
Sea of troubles just hold My Hand
For our Journey is together grab it firm

Travel brings us closer to home
The shores He has seen and I have forgotten
For the captain calls me His Brother
When I am fulfilled as his servant

The ten days will be to capture
The jewels of wisdom
A wealth to pay for our journey home.
Gather the pearls as they are said
A Journey of Benefit He says..

A New Year Today

For 1431 has arrived!

We travel forward everyday

Today is no less or more than yesterday

But yesterday was 1430 and today 1431

The beginning we mourn, a child born

In ten days a sacrifice for eternity

For the Commander will call upon all

Remember the blood shed on the desert

Sunrise to sunset on the tenth we shall recall

The images of the fields of Kerbala

A distant past tale brought to life

The final time of Asr He will prostrate

To demonstrate and vividly remind the story is today

Thousands in Marol shall see it LIVE

For the King will be there in Spirit

Million plus will join minute by minute

1431 the day of the tenth - Ashura indeed

We await the day where we shall be at his knees

Begging for the blessings that all shall receive

Forget not that he blesses all

But being there it would be indeed best for my feeble mind

A solace on the image on the screen

He will remember me I know

And in that I ask for forgiveness

The tenth on a New year today

I shall await with great fervor.