Sufi Martial Arts

Khalid Habib Khan is a Sifat Kilat instructor in Southern California.  Sifat Kilat (Sifat is nature, and Kilat means noor—light—in Malay) is where self-realization, meditation, and self-defense meet.  In this martial arts technique you learn to deal with attackers in a close combat situation.  Khalid Khan (Khalid H. Khan) told me he left California’s Silicon Valley in the 90s to learn martial arts in South East Asia.  Khan landed in Southern Philippines where he learned Serrada.  Later, he spent several years in Indonesia and Malaysia learning martial art techniques passed on by the Sufis.

An hour worth of exercises—mainly tapi-tapi (with and without knife)—Khalid Khan taught me, gave me confidence in my capabilities to defend myself in a street fight scenario.

Castillo de San Cristóbal

‘La Ghalib Illa Allah’ Alhambra replica tiles in Old San Juan, P.R.

46 Carnival Miracle docked at San Juan, as seen from Castillo de San Cristóbal

Remembering Governor Salman Taseer

Remembering Governor Salman Taseer

Found this shameful poster on a wall in a commercial center in Karachi.  Most logical people will call Mumtaz Qadri, Prophet's insulter.  This poster is calling Qadri a hero.  How convoluted!

Rethinking the Urban in Pakistan

Went to meet Dr. Shoaib Zaidi at the NED City Campus and ended up sitting in a lecture by Naiza H. Khan given under ‘Rethinking the Urban in Pakistan’ workshop.

The two-day workshop arranged at the City Campus of the NED University was organized by the American Institute of Pakistan Studies, NED’s Department of Architecture, UT Austin’s South Asia Institute, and the Habib University.

MARTA Five Points Station, Atlanta downtown