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Wardah Books: Where the Good Books Are
On Singapore’s Bussorah Street lies a flourishing Muslim bookshop called Wardah Books, which has been around ever since owner Ibrahim Tahir opened its doors 19 years ago. His late mother, whose favoured flower was the rose, had always daydreamt of opening a bookstore of her own. Fond of wordplay and layered meanings, he named the shop Wardah (Rose), reminiscent of the Beloved (saws) in Islamic spirituality, and the rose-and-nightingale symbolism in Sufi poetry. Wardah Books’ team of six booksellers provide a temporary home to books in categories ranging from Qur’an studies, fiqh, and sirah, to prayer manuals, sufism, history, poetry, art, children’s books, and much more. The store is also…
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Makar Farms: A Tale of Endives and Yellow Tomatoes
“You take one spoon of balsamic oil, one spoon of mustard, a bit of pepper and salt, and three spoons of olive oil. It’s the perfect vinaigrette.” Mounir Makar, a former banker and economist by background, stands amidst hundreds of celery plants, mini spinach, mixed lettuce, and other leafy greens. They are bathing in water, floating in enormous basins well-calculatedly placed within a greenhouse. We, and the other visitors gathered for one of Makar Farms’ famed Saturday lunches, attentively listen as the farm’s leading man explains how this hydroponic system came into existence. The dressing recipe comes for free, Makar’s wit by nature. “The system is constructed with tools that…
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Towards Intentional Communities
I admit. I do not particularly find the greatest peace of mind in the company of others. I am forever grateful for those heartwarming moments shared with family and friends, but my solitude-loving self suffers from a pre-emptive, itchy phantom pain by the mere thought of the loss of so-much-needed long stretches of time by myself. It goes hand in hand with a deceitful feeling of complete independence and self-reliance, which makes, truth be told, little to no sense. Because even though the loner in me yearns for flying solo, the more I look around, the more I see that individualism as a way of being and, even more so,…
