#WAHED investment

[halaloptions]

We have become Generation Riba. We like this new ad from Wahed Invest.

[amanalsafi]

#Investment_Funding

The Corinth Group companies in Switzerland would like to invest in projects like Waste Management, Agriculture, Energy, Hospitality, Property Development, Manufacturing, Technology, Medical, and Infrastructure, Others on a case- by –case- basis. Funding from 20 Million to 1 Billion/No upfront fees

Interest per annum (4%).Funding Facilities:

1.Loan Equity ( zero cost) Joint Venture Partner -60%

2. Loan-Equity-40% ,the partner has to contribute 500.000

3. Loan Security Deposit .Minimum 10.000.000-Maximum 250.000.000

4. Loan Security Deposit. Funding Minimum 250.000.000- with 5.000.000 SBLC

( Mufeed Waheed/Al-Mufeed company ( producer) WhatsApp :+ 964 0780 960 9642/+964 07764013302

[swynlake-rp]

Spring is springing!

OTMS

MUN: V! What happens when the world’s greatest supervillain gets dumped? V showed us, expertly weaving humor, drama, and some downright scary details in her characteristic style. Writing a great villain is a delicate balance, but V makes it look easy!

CHARACTER: JESSICA! Members praised L’s adept handling of Jessica being outed as a succubus and the way this plot highlighted some of the divisions in the Swynlake community. We fell in love with her as CranberryShortcake, we felt for her when her identity was exposed as a succubus, and we were inspired by her strength in the face of adversity. Go Jessica!

THREAD: LOVE FROM THE OTHER SIDE | LOUD BELL! Imagine a heart-wrenching new development in an epic love story that has spanned generations and revealed deep truths about everyone involved… now put it to music! L and C did exactly that in this creative take on some Valentine’s Day magical hoopla. In the words of one member: “Call backs, evolution, complicated feelings through song. Mwah. Gorgeous.”

TASK: IN TRANSLATION | HERCULES! This one pulled at the heartstrings and showed us different sides of Hercules, with a brilliant use of the “5 times X, 1 time Y” format. Members loved the way L incorporated a variety of characters in moments that felt so true to their distinct personalities. 

Honorable mention: J’s Book Covers! Our members loved to see how J incorporated a variety of genres, included a wide range of characters, and even brought in some amazing art! 

BOARD UPDATES 

None this month!

TASKS

SOWING SEEDS FOR THE FUTURE! Write a one-shot where your character does something in the present… that will affect their future! This can be literal sowing of seeds in their garden, or perhaps investing time in a skill or relationship. Write what they do and then flash-forward so that they can reap what they sow. (700 words)

THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS! Make a bouquet for one of your characters (or someone else’s!). Include at least nine flowers in visual form – they can be significant in meaning in some way (flower language, birth flower, national flower), or they can just look pretty! Write 250 words about why you chose each flower for the bouquet (250 words total – not for each flower, we’re not monsters). 

EVENTS

MARCH 1 - 8: SAFE HOUSE OPENING! Come view the new safe houses and familiarize yourself with emergency procedures, the different locations, and the wards that have been created by local sorcerers to enforce the chosen buildings! Canonically on March 2. 

MARCH 1 - 8: ISABELA AND CLAYTON’S ENGAGEMENT PARTY! Join Sheriff William Clayton and Isabela Madrigal in celebrating their engagement at La Casita. (More details to come later today!) 

MARCH 8 - 15: OLIVE BRIGHT, PIGEONEER MOVIE RECEPTION! Come out to Town Hall and meet the cast and crew of Olive Bright, Pigeoneer. Light snacks and refreshments provided!

MARCH 15 - 22: SPRING BREAK! Secondary and university students are on Spring Break from these dates. Enjoy your time off – and study for your exams for when you return!

MARCH 15 - 22: ST. PADDY’S AT PIXIE’S! Come out to Pixie’s in your best green garb to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day! Drinks, music, and a golly good time. Canonically on March 17.

MARCH 22 - 29: FARMER’S MARKET OPENS! The Farmer’s Market officially opens its doors this month! Browse some wares, set up your stall… and what’s this? A mysterious traveling merchant? Whatever could they be selling? 👀 Canonically kicks off on March 24.

MARCH 22 - 29: MARCH BOARD MEETING! Come one, come all to the Town Hall meeting for March. Canonically on March 23. 

BIRTHDAYS

Danny Darling – March 2

Michael Darling – March 3

Sebastian Morey – March 9

Félix Madrigal – March 10

Kenneth Carson – March 11

Winston Deavor – March 15

Renard Dubhuir – March 17

Sophie Hadder – March 20

Edward Andalasia – March 25

Merida DunBroch – March 26

Gamil Wahed – March 26

Tanya Tiwari – March 29

[wahedproject]

WAHED for Social Impact Funding Welfare and Philanthropic Initiatives

Charities and philanthropic endeavors have made significant contributions to raising awareness to injustices around the world, and providing a platform for improving the lives of people. For all the good work, however, social impact schemes often face criticism for being inefficient and lacking transparency. 

Operational costs make up a significant amount of a charity’s expenses and liabilities. People, who need to be paid for their contributions, bring in money and run the organization. These costs, as well as the outlay on goods and services, rise with the scope of the project. As a result it is impossible for the entirety of donated money to go straight into the hands of those who need it. The exact amount varies between organizations, and this information is rarely made public. 

With the invention and rapid adoption of blockchain technology, these problems of efficiency and transparency can now be addressed. Blockchains and cryptocurrency platform can help usher in a new era of transparency and accountability.

The WAHED Ecosystem is a collection of initiatives that aims to leverage blockchain technology to make charitable endeavors more accessible, efficient and accountable. All actions within this ecosystem are designed to generate value for philanthropic initiatives, and to reduce the barriers to entry for promising projects that can bring about real-world change. 

Blockchains for Transparency

By design, blockchains are publicly viewable since this helps solve one of digital money’s biggest challenges - ensuring that people only spend the funds that they own. By operating a charity using these digital means, it can reduce occurrences of misuse of funds, since the whole world can see how the contents of a wallet changes. 

Blockchains to Automate The Flow Of Money

Built on the Binance Smart Chain, a highly-scalable, interoperable network with low fees, WAHED is able to reduce waste within the system. With ‘cutting out the middleman’ being an essential advantage that blockchain company can provide, those making donations will have unprecedented access to the causes they choose to support. Alongside advantages of reduced handling fees, being compatible with Ethereum’s Virtual Machine enables the seamless setup of recurring payments from all over the world. 

The WAHED Ecosystem

With a mission of making philanthropic investment more accessible and efficient, WAHED aims to bring about change by creating an ecosystem of services that work together. The cryptocurrency and driver of value within this system is the WAHED Token, used as the primary means of funding projects and paying for transaction fees.  

The WAHED Ecosystem consists of the following components

Cryptocurrency exchange

NFT Marketplace

Project Management Dashboard

WAHED Foundation

Cryptocurrency Exchange

Traders and investors alike can utilize WAHED’s exchange, with fees paid for in the platform’s native WAHED token. All the features expected of a modern exchange such as spot trading, market orders, stop losses and conditional orders will be available. The integration of TradingView, Trading API and Copy Trading will enable users to get the most value for their investment.

On traditional exchanges, fees are an essential part of ensuring that traders aren’t spamming the network. In the case of WAHED, this mechanism brings the same safety precaution while also funding the WAHED Foundation. More on this later. 

NFT Marketplace

The skyrocketing price of NFTs brought millions to talented artists around the world while bringing legitimacy to digital artwork collections in a way befitting the largest art auction houses.  Offering a range of utility use cases, NFTs are the newest example of how digital value can be created. Making up a significant share of how we spend our time online, this mechanism brought artists and fans closer than ever before.

WAHED’s NFT marketplace runs exclusively on the $WAHED token, and uses the same fee recycling mechanism as the exchange. Serving the same purpose of preventing spam on the network while recycling funds into the Foundation, the sale of artwork will directly be linked to bringing about global change.  

The WAHED Foundation

With all life on earth standing to be affected by the ongoing effects of climate change, it is imperative that solutions and technology that help people overcome these challenges are implemented. The WAHED Foundation’s purpose is to review proposals and allocate funds for the best initiatives focused on climate change and animal welfare. 

Fees from the exchange and NFT marketplace will be cycled back into the system and made available for the WAHED Foundation. In addition to these fees, 20% of all 10 billion WAHED tokens will be given to the WAHED Foundation. As the value created by WAHED grows, a greater amount of spending power will be made available to the Foundation, thanks to the token’s price appreciation. 

Though it is currently operated by the team behind WAHED, the goal is to eventually implement a decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, governance model. The challenges faced by initiatives within the Foundation will vary based on scope and geographical factors, and local communities and investors will understand the nuances better than a centralized authority hierarchy. Eventually, the DAO will have the power to grant and allocate funding. By giving the community power to decide which projects get funded, it becomes easier to prioritize where funding is needed most urgently. 

WAHED Projects Management Dashboard

Finally, to address the prevalent criticism of transparency within the field of philanthropic efforts, the WAHED Projects Management Dashboard aims to make all projects more accountable to the public. All users can access the portal to monitor progress towards milestones, and to check how projects are utilizing their funds. If more than the allocated funding is required, requests can be made for publishing through this mechanism, with more WAHED tokens being made available through the community.

This management dashboard also streamlines the onboarding of new projects and the respective allocation of funds. In all, this open system will vastly improve the speed of implementing ideas while promoting further transparency and accountability. 

Conclusions

Being a driver of change and the face of initiatives to improve lives around the world, philanthropic endeavors have both the means and the platform to show that tried and trusted methods could be improved.  WAHED aims to be at the forefront of companies integrating blockchains into the very core of their value proposition. If improving efficiency and transparency form the very foundation of charitable giving, we can start building on more secure platforms in our quest for a better world. Launch your very own borderless philanthropic initiative with WAHED today, and let us work together to bring about global change.

[mudawwana]

A halal investment fund is one that is structured in accordance with Islamic principles of disciplined and ethical investment.

[ajayuikey]

Halal fintech startup Wahed closes $25M led by Saudi Aramco’s investment arm – TechCrunch New York-based fintech startup Wahed (meaning “One” in Arabic) describes itself as a digital Islamic investment platform and as the world’s first “halal robo adviser.” It has now closed a $25 million investment round led by Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures (also known as Wa’ed Ventures), a venture capital investment arm of oil giant Saudi Aramco.

[ourplaceinthecosmosphff]

Chapter 22. Compromise

“no' might make them angry but it will make you free.

- if no one has ever told you, your freedom is more important than their anger.”

― Nayyirah Waheed, Salt

[*TW: death/violence/bomb threats, neo nazi/mysoginistic hateful language]

It wasn’t the first time I removed my shoes in the middle of the grand hall, one hand to the wall, eyes to the stairs, legs shaking. I grabbed hold of my sandals and raced up the staircase three long, thin steps at a time.

In my room, I threw the shoes on the bed and rushed to the closet, putting my hair up as I did so I could then reach back and unzip my dress, but it was a futile effort. In anger, I recalled needing Lourdes’ help to zip up before dinner.

I took a deep breath and tried it on my own; but it was useless. I tried again, but on the third time all I could hear was the ressentment in Christopher’s voice when he talked about fucking me after my brother’s funeral in front of both our parents. The anger when he asked who was it that I started seeing after we broke up. More than that, I suddenly recalled every instance where I wanted to protest against something he had said or done, but thought better of it.

“Maggie?” Lourdes’ voice awoke me to the anger I was feeling. “I can’t fucking–” One look at me, and she hurried to my side, removing my hands from the dress so she could unzip me. “I got you.” She said. “There. Nothing we can’t fix, right?”

I felt the fabric loosen and pulled the suffocating halter high neck off. The tears started falling before I even realized they had been there at all, and I felt so frustrated for crying that it only made me want to cry more. I allowed my knees to buckle as I fell to the floor, hands around my neck, breathing heavily.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Lourdes said, calmly. “It’s okay.” She passed an arm around my shoulders and hugged me close, pulling me into her chest. “Nothing we can’t fix.” She repeated.

With her bony, small arms around me as a safe port, I cried the loss of the past nine years, and all the years we almost had.

--- ---- --- I had never in my life felt more alone. And yes, maybe I was being dramatic. Maybe I was amplifying a minor problem into a bigger one as a reflection of my deep anxiety about my new title and role, but the truth is it didn’t feel like that. It felt like – in fact, I was alone in my closet, looking at eight different dresses I had just put on and taken off, thinking about Louis telling me I dressed like our mother. How could I make sure I was being myself? How could I know any of my choices were my own and not just what he described as some subconscious need to be the ‘good daughter’?

There was only one person I knew to call for help with going against family expectations: Constance Parrish Von-Bernstein.

“I’m flattered.” She said when I face timed her, still half dressed on my closet floor. “You never have this type of crisis. I need to bask in it. Maybe I should make a wish.” “This is serious, Constance.” I reminded her, sighing. “I have a chance to be heard by the very people who have been pushing me around not only for the past five months, but essentially my whole life. I need to be heard, to tell them, no. To demand what I want. But I can’t even pick something to wear without feeling like a fraud. How am I supposed to be the Crown Princess when I can’t even dress myself?!” Constance looked put off; weirded out, but definitely like she saw the seriousness of the moment now. “Okay…” She started, slowly. “Well, what’s the issue exactly?” “I feel like I’ve been doing what everyone else wanted me to do my whole life, so how can I stand up for what I want now?” I laughed, humorless. “How did you do it? You wore nothing but black all through our teen years, you started dying your hair pink at eighteen, you ditched University and everything else your parents tried to push you into doing to become a musician! How?! How do I do that?!” She smiled, amused. “Well, Maggie… I guess first and foremost we need to accept there is a big difference between being the first member of my family in nine generations not to go to Sorbonne to live my dream of playing guitar in the subway, and knowing what to wear as the Crown Princess.” “I gather from your tone you think my issue is easier. It certainly doesn’t feel like it.” I scratched my head, pensive. “Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to trade positions with you, either. But you were just juggling parental expectations. I am juggling the whole country’s.” “Yes… I can’t argue there.” “So, again… how?!” She sighed, propped her phone up against something and leaned back staring off into a wall as she considered the question. “You need to know what you’re willing to lose.” She said, determined. “What does that mean?” “Well, I wore black as a teenager because it was one of the few things I could control. But I still had to wear whatever my mother told me to at more important occasions. Christmas, family occasions, formal events with your family… there was no way she would risk letting me decide what to wear to those.” As she recounted, I searched my brain to find the memories of a grumpy, teen Constance looking as pretty in pastel as the rest of us in tea parties and polo matches. “At eighteen, I received the first pay out of my trust fund from my paternal grandparents, so I knew even if my mother decided to disown me, I could afford to live on my own. So I dyed my hair pink.” “Wait, I–” I shook my head. “I had no idea that’s what you thought would happen! Your mother would never!” “Well, we both know she would.” She smiled, amused but also slightly sad. “She hasn’t, though. Which is good, I guess. We did have a lot of fights about it, not just the hair, but Sorbonne and everything else, too. The first pay out of the trust was supposed to be for University, and I used it to buy a scooter and a new guitar.” “You live a pretty simple life, though. And it’s your money, you should do what you want.” “Exactly!” She replied, excitedly. “But that’s my point, your family is dependent on taxpayer funding, right?” “Well–” I stuttered. “Not quite. We’re funded by the Royal Trust.” “Which is funded by the government with allocation of tax funds, right?” “Well…” “Chérie, I’m not trying to get evidence for the republican party here. I’m making a point.” “Yes, okay.” I shrugged. “Yes, some of our funds are from the Royal Trust, and a lot of it is private funds from family inheritances, private property, and investments–” “Okay, so.” She continued. “If you get to the meeting and tell them you want something, and they say no. What’s stopping you from insisting? From doing it anyway? It’s not a crime to go against them, right?” “Well–” I reflected. “What I mean is, I waited to dye my hair until I had my trust fund so my mother couldn’t hold my finances against me. Money was freedom. So, if your family threatens to no longer fund you, what will you do? You don’t have a job anymore.” “Well, I…” I sighed. I never had to think about money before. “I do have a trust fund, too, from my great-grandfather. And I’m twenty-five, so the inheritance from my maternal grandfather should be available to me now.” “Well, there you go. So, what can they do if you insist on having it your way?” She asked, with a grin. “Throw you in jail?” She was right. Money was freedom. “I guess there’s only the main question left.” “Which is?” “What do I wear?!” I asked, making us both laugh at the despair evident in my voice. “It’s not just about the clothes.” I justified, more to myself than to her. “I’m afraid I’ll get there, and they’ll be looking at me like I’m a child who should be off playing with something unimportant instead of trying to play pretend with the adults.” “Maggie,” Constance started, laughing, “you’re a Harvard graduated lawyer. You have a solid, successful career you left for this. They need you, you don’t need them. In fact, you’re doing them a favor.” “I’m not sure that’s how they would describe it.” “They can dress it up however they want, facts are facts.” She shrugged. “You know how to stand up for yourself and get shit done, because you’ve done it before. You worked on the corporate world for years. So, stop acting like they’re doing you a favor by allowing you to be there, and start using your experience to shove it in their faces that you’re way overqualified for this.”

She was right; I had a solid, sucessful – if short – career, and at work, I dressed as a lawyer, if anything to remind people I was not just a princess. So I spent the rest of the day repeating the mantra to myself: Constance is right. Constance is right. Constance is right. With that in mind, I dressed pretending I had a big meeting at work: a short sleeved, high neck, satin Jason Wu dress with simple black heels and gold and black earrings.

Then I went to work.

In my mind, this battle would take place around a long, imposing conference room table, where I’d sit in the middle, with all relevant parties around me. The reality was less corporate: my father’s office. High ceilings, chandeliers, antique paintings and vases around the room, and, of course, the victorian furniture. Dad and I sat in armchairs by the fireplace, side by side, his main staff took their seats on the couple of sofas to our sides, and the others, after the three chairs around my father’s desk were taken, brought in extra chairs from other rooms.

One thing I noticed straight away.

“Where’s Cadie?” I asked dad on a low tone, as everyone took their seats. “I thought it would be in poor taste to discuss her with her in the room.” He explained. “You’ll notice Auguste isn’t here, either.”

Present in the room were around a dozen more people, most of whom I had known all of my life, though some more closely than others. That was the case with my parents’ private secretaries, the title we gave to our chief of staff, Clemment Montennon and Madaleign Qadir. I also recognized Abelard Brodeur, my father’s senior aide, Ulysses Caron, the Head of Security, and Edwald Dupont, Head of the Palace Communications Office.

My father made introductions of those I hadn’t had too much contact with before, like Caesar Bisset, head of Outreach Relations, who explained his main role was to coordinate and plan our charitable and humanitarian endeavors, and Alexander Halden, who was liason of relations between the palace and the government.

All of them sat in the sofas, all of them (but Madeleign Qadir) were balding, old, white men with mustaches and resting judgy faces. The people sitting in the chairs in the back, I realized, were their junior aides, with notepads and pens, ready to take notes or provide useful material during the meeting.

I started to feel more at home at once: hierarchy was familiar to me. I had been the lowly intern once, trying to remain as quiet and invisible as possible in the background, writing as fast as I could, desperate to prove myself in the first opportunity to the older men who held my faith in their hands.

I reminded myself that wasn’t the case here. I was the future Queen of Savoy, they worked for me. They needed me. I held my head high and squared my shoulders back.

“Thank you all for making room in your schedules for this meeting.” My father started, in French. “As this meeting was set somewhat suddenly, perhaps we should go over our goals for today before we start. In truth, I believe today is a culmination of what has been…” He paused, and heaved a long, heavy sigh. “Some tremendously difficult last few months. As we’re all aware, after we lost the Crown Prince last year, as my eldest child, Princess Marie-Margueritte became Crown Princess Marie-Margueritte.”

Discreetly, I fidgeted with my hands so the nail in my right thumb was gently scratching my left palm. I gulped, trying to swallow the familiar knot on my throat. ‘I have to be able to talk about this without crying. I need to talk about this to get through this meeting. I can’t cry in front of these people.’

“We took a few months to allow us all to grieve properly, as a family, and also as a country. There was also the need for the Crown Princess to make the necessary arrangements to leave her private career behind and, as we discussed around the time of the funeral, to put distance between her previous image and the new one she must take on in order to fulfill this new role.”

So they had discussed this at the time of the funeral. A need to ‘put distance’ between who I was and who I needed to become. And I wasn’t even included.

“But it is a new year.” Father continued, with renewed energy. “Crown Princess Marie-Margueritte and I have had a private discussion and we have decided the time has come for her to take a more active role in the process of preparation for her future as Monarch.”

He paused, allowing the words to settle. I still stared at my own hands, trying to breathe deeply and slowly. ‘Preparation for her future as Monarch’ sounded so… crucial. Important. Fatal, almost.

“So,” he said, now more upbeat, adjusting himself in his seat, “with that in mind, we arrive at the agenda for this meeting as discussed by the Crown Princess and I. We are to discuss and decide on the plans regarding the Crown Princess’ future work, security, and office in her new role as the heir apparent.”

There was a pause. I waited. My father looked at me, then at the others.

“Perhaps it would be useful to start with providing the Crown Princess with an update on what the current situation is with regards to the public opinion.” The king added. “Edwald?”

Mr. Dupont, Head of the Communications Office, a man reasonably young in comparison to the others, pushed his glasses up his nose with his pinky, opened a folder in his lap, and began to speak.

“Right. Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness. We are still monitoring what the press knows in regards to the Crown Princess’ extended stay in Britain. As of now, seems we were able to get the Crown Princess back in the country without them finding out, but we will continue to stay alert for any rumors in that regard.”

“Do they know about Princess Lourdes-Abigail’s suspension?” My father asked. “As far as we are aware, sir, no.” Mr. Dupont replied. “We do have at the moment, though, requests for comment on a poll the Sunday Gazette ran online where 71% of respondents didn’t agree with the statement: ‘the Royal Family has kept an active working role after the death of Crown Prince Louis-Adolphe’.” My father sighed, gravely. “Did we give them a comment?” “No, sir. An online poll of no impact.” Mr. Dupont returned. “Most people just vote to see the estimated results, or because they’re bored.” “Good.” He nodded. “Go on.” “Regard–” “Wait, of how many?” I interrupted. “Pardon?” “How many people answered the poll?” “71%, ma’am.” “No, 71% of how many people? What’s the total of respondents?” “Oh, uh.” He looked through the papers on his folder again. Behind Mr. Dupont, an aide got up from his chair and handed him a couple more sheets of paper. “Ah, right. The total number of respondents in the poll was 61,359, ma’am.” “Were they given an abstention option?” “No, ma’am, only agree or disagree.” I nodded. Mr. Dupont went on. “As I was saying–” “Sorry,” I interrupted again, “One last thing, promise, do you have the analytics numbers?” “The–?” Mr. Dupont seemed confused. I looked at the aide behind him, a young man with freckles. “Sir? What’s your name?” His eyes grew wide. “M-me?” I smiled. “Yes, sir.” “Matthew.” “’Ma’am’”, his boss corrected. “Matthew, ma’am.” The aide repeated. “Do you happen to have the analytics data on this poll, Matthew?” “Uhm. Well, not a full analytics report, ma’am. But I do have a print out of the webpage, so I have a sharing estimate for social media.” “What are you talking about?” My father asked, confused. “Analytics is a… a tool to interpret patterns of data from basically anything.” I summarized. “On websites that run polls, it could be useful to know how many people viewed it as many might have just viewed it, but not voted, which doesn’t mean they weren’t influenced by it. And any new article online has an option for the reader to share it on their social media platforms, so that’s what Matthew will tell me next.” “Well, the data is rounded up, we don’t have the details.” Matthew explained. “Well, then we can skip it.” My father said. “That’s a point for another meeting, Margueritte. Let’s focus on our agenda today.” I wanted to argue, but before I could gather the courage, Mr. Dupont went on about me next, which was distracting enough to make me let the subject go. “Regarding the press on the Crown Princess specifically,” Mr. Dupont continued, “The months following the funeral saw a record high number of press profiling her biography, and of course there were the, uhm, ‘viral’ issues.” “Viral issues?” I asked, when he used a strange tone on the word ‘viral’. “The…mainstream section of the world, ma’am, meaning those outside of Savoy and who otherwise seemed to be uninterested in the story of The Royal Family of Savoy, were very interested to discover it’s new heir was a former military servicewomen–” “I–” I stuttered, “I only did the minimum service of 6 months.” “They don’t seem to care about the specifics.” He replied. “They did show a lot of interest for the picture of you in uniform during a drill, which was released through the palace at the time.” He added, shrugging slightly. “The Americans, specifically, seemed excited about your time in Harvard and New York, and a lot of articles were written with testimonials from people who, at least, claim to have studied with you at the time.” “Oh.” I said, uncomfortable. “What–what did they say?” “Positive things.” Mr. Dupont replied, short. “Though, at home, despite the King’s vow of faith in Her Royal Highness during the Crown Prince’s funeral, Savoyen press remains… unconvinced of your… capabilities.”

I looked at my father, who was staring at his hands, absentmindedly. So this was why my father had used his eulogy to public declare his confidence in me in the role. Not because it was true.  It was a PR move. No wonder he didn’t want to answer my question afterwards.

“What ar-” I stuttered. “Do you know any specifics of their criticism?” “They seem to worry about your work record the most, ma’am.” He replied. “Not a lot of royal work, some rumors of controversial stances as a lawyer, and uh. Not enough… How to best describe it? Personality, I suppose.” “They think I’m boring.” I helped. Seeming uncomfortable, he nodded. “International press definitely doesn’t, though.” He said. “And they have greatly influenced public opinion at home. It is very likely our national press is… upset they haven’t been given any insight on what your future will look like.”

‘And who’s fault is that?’, I thought, bitterly.

“Speaking of work,” I started, “Shall we talk about that next?” “Before we do,” my father said, before looking at Mr. Dupont, “what about the new development from last night? Where do we stand?” Confused, I looked around the room, but other than Montennon, Qadir, and Mr. Dupont himself, everyone else seemed confused as well. “We are closely monitoring the situation, but not rumors as of yet, sit.” He replied. “But I reiterate it would be best to get ahead of it.” “What happened last night?” I asked.

My father fixed me with such a dry expression I felt almost unbearably embarrassed for having forgotten: the Chris breakup.

“Oh.” I said, awkwardly. “Right.” “We’ll get back to you, Edwald.” My father told him. “Now, what need we discuss regarding your work, Margueritte?” “Well,” I started, pausing quickly to take in a deep breath, before reaching down at the ground for the folder I had left under my chair.

I opened it to find the copies I had made of the proposal I prepared the previous year while using anything I could to distract myself from the grief, and passed it around the room.

“This a summarized version, but I can have a more detailed one made tonight if you wish,” I prefaced, walking back to my seat after handing them each a copy, “I used a business proposal model, so forgive me if I might have missed any important information.”

The proposal detailed causes and organizations I wanted to focus on. I was patron of a handful of charities currently, and if I was to work full time as a royal, priority number one was to get that number up. It was work that I liked: useful, helpful work that made a difference in people’s lives.

But most importantly: it was a way of honoring my brother. I had experience with ‘easy’ causes: elderly care, childcare, things that were easy for anyone to empathize with, things that anyone would agree matters. To put it simply: things that wouldn’t ruffle feathers on the press.

This time I picked causes that mattered to me, and it mattered to me to make the kind of impact that my brother would have.

“This is impressive, ma’am.” Said Caesar Bisset, the Head of Outreach Relations. “Truly inspirational.” The others nodded, appreciatively. No one said anything else. “But?” I prodded. They looked at each other. Mr. Bisset gulped, smiling uncomfortably. “Some of these causes, although greatly important, would not send the right message, ma’am.” “What causes do you see a problem with, exactly?” I asked, as calmly as could be. “Not me, ma’am!” He corrected, quickly. “I mean, to the public, to the press, there could be a lot of misunderstanding around some of these areas.” “Such as?” “Margueritte,” my father started, with a careful smile. “As you know there is still a large amount of people in Savoy who identify as catholics, and as the representatives of the faith in the country, we have a responsibility.” “I understand.” I assured him, lying. “But I would still like to hear the specifics of what the issues would be.”

He looked at Mr. Bisset, who nodded.

“Well, ma’am,” he started, “as an example, take this idea, item two, where you express a wish of becoming a patron of Flag House, an organization devoted to providing support to homosexual youth…” “They provide counseling for those with unaccepting families, housing for LGBT people living in an unsafe and unwelcoming environment, and even classes to get them on a path towards a career or to further their education.” “Yes.” He nodded. “And the issue of homosexualism is still somewhat–” “Homosexuality.” “Pardon?” “You said ‘ism’.” I explained, sighing. “That’s a terminology used for diseases and health issues. The correct word is homosexuality.” He nodded. “Oh. Right. Still–” “And they don’t just work with gay people.” I expanded. “The LGBT community is wide. Trans people’s life expectancy is 35 years-old in Savoy, and they are around 65% of all sex workers and 73% of all unhoused people in the country.” “No one is saying the organisation isn’t good, Margueritte.” My father argued. “But there is a reason we don’t just announce patronages. There’s a lot of research that goes into this, a lot of prep work–” “And that’s what I want to do.” I replied. “We could be halfway done with the prep work if we had set the wheels in motion the first time I did this research, but I sent August this material in November last year and never heard anything.” Mr. Montennon, Auguste’s boss, who would have told him not to get back to me, fidgeted in his chair. “The issue would simply be too polemic, ma’am.” “So would be standing up against slavery before the 19th century, but King Willem III did it anyway.” I replied. “It’s not exactly the same, sweetheart.” “Why not?” I asked. “Look at the research I just gave you. Our job is standing up for the marginalized, today the most marginalized community in our society are the unhoused, specially trans sex workers of color who are kicked out of their homes at a young age due to bigotry.” “Our job is to serve the country.” My father insisted. “But part of that is knowing what the country needs from us. And largely, Savoy is just not ready for this type of work.”

He uncrossed his legs, and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees to look at me.

“Margueritte, you have a difficult job ahead of you. I know that like few people can. So let me assure you, the most important thing to succeed here is knowing how and when to compromise.” He paused, intensely. “And when not to. This is not something we can compromise on.”

I heaved a long, unsatisfied sigh. I wish I could have told him of Louis. I wish I could have told him how much this mattered to him. How much he spoke of his own privilege, of knowing that no matter how big the fear of being rejected was, he knew he would never need to fear for his safety like so many in his community did. I wish I could have told my father this, as I knew it might have changed his mind.

“So, Mr. Bisset, from this proactive document my daughter has given us, what do we think would be a good fit for her to work with?” Mr. Bisset looked away from my father into the paper in his lap again. “Well, sir, we would need to tweak a few of the specifics, but this suggestion for a partnership with some of the Universities in Savoy for a series of discussion panels on important issues for the population has a lot of potential.” “Ah,” my father replied, appreciatively. “Progress!” I gulped, suppressing a roll of my eyes at the condescension. “Won’t that just make me look more boring?” I asked. “I want to do it, but it would be better to balance it with something else, too, wouldn’t it? How about the patronage of the Claire Bauton Foundation?” Mr. Bisset nodded. “Women’s issues is a wonderful topic, ma’am, and would be a good fit as the public is very interested in the prospect of Savoy’s first Queen in her own right in over three centuries. I’ll do some research on it.” “Perfect.” My father said, happily. “Next?”

I sighed, fidgeting with my own hands; mouth dry.

“Perhaps we might go over the Crown Princess’ household, sir.” Montennon said. “Seeing as we are discussing work, her team would have to coordinate with Bisset on any upcoming projects.” He nodded. “Let’s. Please, Clemment, would you explain to us again the reason for appointing Auguste Authier as the Crown Princess’ Private Secretary.” “Of course, sir.” Montennon replied. “Ma’am, the gist of the matter comes down threefold. One, tradition.”

C. C. Montennon had been my father’s Private Secretary for almost two decades. He knew me from when I was still a bony, annoying child, but that wasn’t the reason he spoke ‘down’ at me. In fact, he had a gift of always appearing uppity whenever he said anything at all, even to royalty.

Montennon explained that traditionally, royal Private Secretaries were trained by their predecessor, the senior Secretary working for the Monarch. That way, every Monarch had a secretary that had been trained in the staff of the previous Monarch by the previous Monarch’s Secretary.

“This way every Private Secretary has the most complete knowledge one can have of the royal household and work.” He said. “So that fewer mistakes are made.”

I considered his words for a while. The logic seemed fine, it was the execution that I had an issue with.

“The second point, of course,” he went on, “is the matter of nationality.” “Seriously?” I interrupted. “Because Cadie is American?” “Ms. Mendel’s nationality could send the wrong messaging if she was selected for the highest position in your household, ma’am.” “Will I have to pretend I didn’t go to University in America, either?” “Margueritte, please.” My father said, scratching both eyes with his hand. “I think it’s a reasonable question considering this logic.” I argued. “The role of the Monarch, ma’am, and thus the role of the Crown Prince–uh, Princess is to represent and lead the country to the best of his–sorry, her abilities.” He explained, repeatedly stuttering on the need to correct himself, “and to hire a foreigner to such a high position would indicate you did not find a Savoyen of equal ability or trust.” “Or alternatively,” I argued, “that I hired the best person to the job and promoted her when the opportunity arose.”

Judging by the looks they all exchanged, I could see that was a battle lost.

“In order to do good work I have to be the one to choose my own staff.” I insisted. “It makes no sense otherwise. I assure you I am perfectly capable of hiring the objectively best person for the job.” “I assure you, ma’am,” Montennon insisted, “I have been overlooking Mr. Auguste Authier’s training for the past ten years and he is the most qualified man to prepare you for the difficult role ahead.” “You said it was threefold. What’s the third reason?” I asked Montennon. He sighed. “Well, ma’am, it’s hierarchy. Much of the Royal Family works as any business, and Auguste Authier has seniority. He’s been a member of the Royal staff longer and it would be inappropriate to promote Ms. Mendel to a higher position when she hasn’t earned it.” “As the person who she’s been working for since being hired I’d argue she has.” I contradicted. “Auguste has been training for a decade to assist the next Monarch, Margueritte.” My father told me, softly. “Cadence is too young. What if we compromise by looking into training her as an aide, Clemment? She would be a good assistant to Auguste, don’t you think? I’m sure they would work well together, right?”

I was sure they wouldn’t; Cadie was only a few years older than me, and Auguste was almost old enough to be our father. He had never respected Cadie’s abilities or my choice in hiring her. That was part of why I didn’t want to work with him in the first place.

“It would simply be too disruptive to disregard the plans that have been in motion for years regarding the staff of the next future Monarch.” Montennon finished. “But that hierarchy, those plans, were established when my brother was the heir.” I said, bravely but, also, timidly. “Not me. If we have to adapt to a new heir, and the new heir has to adapt to the work, it makes sense that the hierarchy and plans have to be adapted too, right?”

They seemed in no rush to reply. The silence floated around the room for a few seconds before my father sighed.

“It’s not how this works, I’m afraid.” He said. “Should we move on?”

And that was that. Another compromise. One word from the King and that matter was, apparently, closed.

Mr. Caron, the Head of Security, cleared his throat and sat a little taller as he began to speak. “Sir, if I may?” My father nodded his way, and he went on. Looking at me, an intense expression on his face, he said, “Ma’am, while we are discussing staffing choices… The occurence in Britain with your detail on the train…”

I tried to brace myself for a scolding, dreading everything around me, wishing I could go to my room.

“I wish to assure you no such thing will ever happen again. The officers in question have been severely reprimanded, suspended and will retake training upon returning to work. We take the incident extremely seriously and hope this won’t permanently shake your confidence in your security.” I stuttered, awkwardly. “Oh, that–That’s fine. Really, I’m fine. I didn’t even know they’d been suspended.” “Their only job is to keep you safe, and they lost you for three days.” My father remarked, calmly, not looking at me. “They are lucky to keep their jobs.” “Right.” I nodded, nervously. “Of course… Speaking of which. The… incident, as you called it, was indeed unfortunate, of course, but since the topic has been brought up, I suppose it is as good a time as any to talk about my security detail in general. The truth is I was already uncomfortable with it before.” “Uncomfortable, ma’am?” Mr. Caron asked, “Regarding the officers? Their competence?” “No, not at all.” I shook my head. “I mean, I spent the previous decade and a half with Joyce as my primary officer. She went with me to America, to University, and in every job I ever had.” He nodded. “Of course, ma’am. The bond that many years of service creates is, of course, highly valued in this field. It is essential for the work we do.” “I’m glad you think so.” I smiled. “Because I would like for Joyce to be reinstated as my primary Protection Officer.” Mr. Caron took in a long breath, watching the wall behind me. “Ma’am, though I appreciate how difficult such a structural change is, the fact is that Ms. Espinoza–uhm, Joyce, that is, simply does not have the proper, more advanced, specified training an officer for this position needs.”

“Why is that?”

The room was quiet. One by one, they all exchanged a look with the person closer to them and then looked at me.

Mr. Caron spoke. “Why is what, ma’am?” “As a member of Palace security staff, why doesn’t Joyce Espinoza have the proper training needed to work for a senior royal?” “Oh, well, ma’am, see…” He started, “Our officers receive personalized training for the specific work that they will be assigned to. That way every royal family member can be sure they are in the right hands for the level of security threat they are under.” “But…” I started, “Doesn’t that just create a gap in the abilities of the staff? Don’t you then just have some officers who are qualified for harder jobs and some who aren’t?”

They were quiet. Mr. Caron opened his mouth to reply but closed it again, pensively.

“Margueritte, this meeting is not meant to reevaluate how we do staff training.” My father objected. “Maybe it should.” I argued, causing him to look at me, brows raised. But he ignored my point. “We are here to discuss your staff and the fact is Ms. Espinoza does not have the proper training to keep you safe.” Before I could argue, he added, louder, “That is not something we are compromising on. Not your safety.”

I sighed.

“Ulysses, do you have the security file on the Crown Princess?” Mr. Caron looked at my father with wider eyes. “Y-yes, sir. I have the raw file with me, but it hasn’t been… filtered.” “Good. Show it to her.”

Awkwardly, Mr. Caron received a separate, larger file from the aide sitting near the window. He got to his feet and walked over to me.

I opened the file to an identification page; it contained most of my personal information from my full name, age, hair color and length to weight, height, and identifying marks, like the barely visible, tiny scar I had on my left knee from a bike fall as a child (I noticed the absence of my tattoo). I looked at Caron.

“What am I looking at?” “Well–” He started. “That is what your security needs to have on their minds every second of their working day.” My father answered instead.

When I turned the page, I realized the following pages were separated by date. The first was marked only a couple of days after Louis’ death. It read:

‘Letter received by the Neunant Post. Unmarked. Security camera footage resulted in no suspects of delivery. It reads:

THE THRONE MUST NOT GO TO PRINCESS MARIE MARGUERITE. WOMAN ARE INFERIOR TO MEN AND THE RIGHT ORDER OF CIVIL SOCIETY CANNOT BE UNDERMINED. LET THE GOVERNMENT BE ADVISED: SHOULD THE PRINCESS BE ANNOUNCED AS THE NEXT HEIR THERE WILL BE AN ATTACK ON POINTE CALLOIS BRIDGE. WE ARE AN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO RETURNING SAVOY TO ITS FORMER GLORY. PRINT THIS LETTER ON THE FRONT PAGE OR PEOPLE WILL DIE…’

With my heart beating almost painfully in my throat, I looked at my father. He wasn’t looking at me. He wasn’t looking at anyone. His eyes were opened, but he was seeing something I could not see.

I turned the page. The next few threats were prints of hate comments on news sites, but they seemed slightly superficial compared to the first. I noticed they had a yellow sticker to the up corner of the page, whereas the first one had a red one. I turned the pages, finding another red one marked about a week after the first. It read:

‘Letter dropped on the gates of Callois Palace among the messages of condolences for Crown Prince Louis. Security Camera footage could not identify the suspect amongst the crowd. It read:

REST IN PEACE OUR GOOD ARYAN KING LOUIS ADOLPHE!!! THE THRONE WILL NEXT GO TO OUR ALPHA PRINCE ADRIEN WHO WILL LEAD THE COUNTRY INTO PROSPERITY. PASSING THE CROWN INTO PRINCE LOUIS ADOLPHE’S SISTERS WOULD TURN THE COUNTRY INTO A RADICAL LIBERAL HELL IT MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN. THE KING MUST ANNOUNCE THE PRINCESSES WILL NOT INHERIT LIKE HIS SISTERS DIDNT. DO NOT DISMISS THIS. IN CASE THIS ISNT ANNOUNCED THE PRINCESSES WILL BE A FATALITY OF THE BATTLE FOR THE SURVIVAL OF SAVOY. YOU HAVE FIVE DAYS.

The following page contained a drawing of a symbol in red paint. Analysis confirmed it was pig blood. Symbol under analysis by the Interpol.’

I gulped, painfully, mouth dry. “Did they ever have an answer for what the symbol was?” Though I wasn’t looking at him, Mr. Caron asnwered softly, “With assistance from the NSA, ma’am, they believe it is linked to a jihadist terrorist organization.”

I turned a few more pages, hands shaking. Dated from a few weeks after Louis’ death, to a couple of months after, to just two weeks ago, they were prints of online messages, discord servers, reddit discussion threads, untraceable Twitter accounts, throw-away emails, sent to official royal email addresses, physical Palace address, personal email accounts of staff members, journalists, and any number of random people who dared say anything positive about us online.

‘THE CROWN PRINCESS ATTENDS BODY WORK GYM NEAR HER APARTMENT MOST MORNINGS AT 8AM FROM MONDAY TO FRIDAY. SHE ALWAYS PARKS IN THE SECOND FLOOR GARAGE. SHE LOOKS HOT IN LEGGINGS TOO BAD SHE’LL GET BLOWN UP NEXT TIME SHE IS THERE’

‘THE USURPER MARIE MARGUERITTE WILL DIE KING ADRIEN DOWN WITH THE FEMINAZIS WHO WEAKENED OUR MILITARY BY INCENTIVIZING WOMEN TO SERVE AND NOW WOULD WEAKEN OUR NOBLE ROYAL FAMILY’S BLOODLINE. YOU WILL NEVER FIND ME BUT YOU WILL SOON KNOW MY NAME I WILL CARVE IT IN HER SKIN. I KNOW THE ADDRESS OF HER WORK AND THE RESTAURANT SHE EATS AT WITH COWORKERS. THEIR NAMES ARE SOPHIE THE DAUGHTER OF THE CORRUPT MEDIA MOGUL AND LARISSA THE UGLY IMMIGRANT. SHE WILL NEVER BE QUEEN’

‘I AM A HIGHLY TRAINED FORMER MILITARY CAPTAIN PRINCESS MARIE MUST NOT HAVE A CONFIRMATION CEREMONY. IF YOU HAVE A CEREMONY WE WILL CARRY OUT A MASSIVE ATTACK AGAINST THE ATTENDEES. I HAVE AT MY DISPOSAL A SEMI AUTOMATIC RIFFLE AND A COLLECTION OF PIPE BOMBS.I DO NOT WANT TO SPILL PURE SAVOYEN BLOOD. I AM GIVING YOU A CHANCE. CANCEL THE CONFIRMATION AND ANNOUNCE THE ABDICATION OF PRINCESS MARIE IN FAVOR OF PRINCE ADRIEN OR ONE WAY OR ANTOHER I WILL MAKE SURE THEY DIE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED’

A few of the pages detailed untraceable phone calls made to official, unlisted numbers inside the palace. There was a collective letter sent by chief editors of the major Savoy newspapers detailing a rise in what they describe as ‘the worst kind of harassing, toxic, hateful comments’ ever before targeted at the royal family in general, but specifically, me.

The next few pages had, chillingly, photographs. It was hard to focus enough to read the text around them, but according to the captions they had all been sent by physical mail or email, some having been discovered by police in ‘intercepted phones’.

“Wha–what are intercepted phones?” I asked, my voice a mere whisper. Ulysses Caron’s reply matched my tone. “Phones intercepted by police during reids, investigations or after criminals are arrested. Some were found internationally and sent to Savoy Police.”

I nodded as though I didn’t have another million follow up questions. The photos were of me, but in cases when I had been photographed with other people, there were pictures of them as well.

They were pictures of me walking my dogs near my apartment, in Tallmound, before Louis died. Pictures of me walking to and from the parking lot at work, both before Louis died and on the day I went to quit. Pictures of me in the gardens of the Palace, in some places we knew people could see from the gates. It didn’t usually bother us as it wasn’t an issue unless they were watching to wait for us.

These weren’t paparazzi pictures, they were worse. Grainy, from farther away, from an upper angle – drones? My head hurt. I felt dizzy. My stomach ached. In one picture, I was walking near the beach with Lourdes in Corsilla.

I looked up at Mr. Caron, realizing the room had fallen into a deep, strained silence as they waited for me to say anything.

“My sister. Is she–is she pictured, too?” Mr. Caron looked at my father before replying. I did, too. He was still quietly looking inwards. “Yes, ma’am.” Mr. Caron said, finally. “Not as frequently. But there has also been a recent rise.” I fought back tears. “And–Did th–Louis?” I stuttered. He nodded, gravely.

I closed the folder with a thud. I looked away, at the windows. The sun was setting outside.

“Don’t you see…?” I asked, weakly. “This is why we can’t train our officers differently.” I looked back at them. “You’re deciding that some of us receive more threats than others and therefore we need different security, but what is stopping anyone who wishes to harm us from harming someone we love to get to us?!” “I assure you, ma’am, all our officers are highly trained to the task they need to perform–”

I got to my feet, breathless. Slowly, I walked around the chair and rested a hand on it, the other now clutching the heavy folder. I thought of my brother reminding me to stand up for myself, and of the reminder Harry had written in the book he sneaked into my bag.

I looked back at them, and sighed.

“You are going to double the number of protection officers in my sister’s detail.” I said, as authoritative as I could. “Double–?” Mr. Caron started. “And Cadence Mendel is going to be my Private Secretary.” I said, as if I hadn’t been interrupted. “Auguste can stay on for support. He can be a… consulting aide. I’m sure his experience will be valuable.” “Margueritte.” My father started. I did not acknowledge him. “Joyce Espinoza will head my security detail.” “Ma’am, she does not have the necessary training–” “Then train her!” I said. “It is not enough for security to be well trained, clearly, as your supposedly highly trained officers were sleeping while I ran off in London. If they had known me, if I had trusted them, like I do with Joyce, I assure you that would not have happened.” He didn’t have an answer. He did look at my father though, helplessly. “Training is not enough, Mr. Caron. Our security is with us wherever we go, we must trust them. Intimacy isn’t a replacer for training, either, so let’s work on both. Okay?” “Margueritte.” My father tried again. “Why don’t we talk about this privately?” “That won’t be necessary.” I replied. “It would have been useful months ago, after Louis passed. Now I don’t need to, anymore.” I looked at him, finally, calmly. “I will do good work, dad. I will. I will do work that I am proud to do, and that Louis would have been proud of, too. And I will be happy to do it. But let it be known that I will do it because I am choosing to do it.” I looked at the rest of them. “I did not want this.” I confessed. “I wish for nothing more than for my brother to be in this meeting instead of me. But I am all you have.”

Still, they were silent.

“Well, I will do it. Not because I have to. What can you do, really, if I refuse to? Throw me in jail?” I echoed Constance’s words, a humorless grin in my lips. “You need me. You have me. So, I am willing to discuss my work. But we will not compromise on my staff, or on my security. Or Lourdes’ security.” “Margueritte.” My father repeated, more forcefully now. “I am a lawyer. A good one.” I stopped him, angrily. “I had my own life before this and I can get it back. Say no and I will just send a resume and get another job next week.” I told them, daringly, shrugging. “I do not need or want the Crown. If you want to take it, this is what I need. If not,” I sighed, heavily, “well, let’s hope Lourdes is ready to be Queen.”

I waited, breathing heavily, anxious, hands shaking. My father said nothing else. Neither did any of the others. I could barely see them through my anger.

“I expect my Private Secretary to get in touch in the next twenty-four hours so we can get to work. If not,” I sighed, “You can expect my abdication letter by the end of the week.”

With that, I turned on my heels, and left the room.

--- ---- ---

Business Bitch Outfit

[A/N: ITS 6 AM AND I HAVE NOT SLEPT. I HAVE WORK IN 5 HOURS. I HAVE A HEADACHE. THIS IS ALL TO SAY PLEASE FORGIVE ANY SPELLING/GRAMMAR/NONSENSE MISTAKES. Seriously, I am so grateful for your patience. I had to move out of my house in 2 weeks into a much more expensive apartment. First time I had to do the whole moving process thing (long story) and it is not great. 0/10 do not recomend. Why do I own stuff? Also my job is not going well. I fully expect to be let go in January. Maybe I am being a paranoid anxious bitch maybe I am being a self aware queen. We’ll see. But it’s definitely the second option. Anyway, I’m all unpacked now and loving living alone for the first time ever. I think that’s all I needed to say. Oh, also, I did some research for the death threat part but -- thankfully -- I am not fully versed on it, so sorry if its a little cringe? Anyway. Let me know your thoughts?! What do you think will happen? Will Maggie’s boss bitch ultimatum work?! Will the dramatic Chris breakup leak to the papers?! Tune in next week to find out! LOVE YOU!]

[blackfemininity]

Cultivate Femininity Within | Black Femininity Series Part Three

“Femininity is an internal expression before it is an external appearance.”

Femininity is essentially about expressing the fullness of your unique womanhood. Cultivating femininity is an inside job before all else. It’s about being honest with yourself and living in your truth. 

The Foundation of Femininity 

To express your femininity, you must feel safe and secure. The foundation of femininity is security. When we feel nurtured within ourselves and our environments, we grow more confident in our self-image and femininity. 

The Art of Connection

Become more secure within by connecting with yourself. To connect within, practice being present. In the present moment, you can connect deeper with yourself and your intuition. When you notice yourself spending too much time in your head, take a moment to reconnect with your body. Breathe slowly, root yourself within and become aware of your senses. See, feel, hear, touch, smell. Become intentional with your movements. Stand tall with confidence and poise. Speak calmly and clearly. Pause more often. Be aware of your thoughts and feelings. Embrace the now and flow with it.

Become more secure in your environment by making constructive changes that are in your control. Avoid spending your time being distracted, endlessly scrolling through social media and comparing your life to the lives of others. Be present in your own life. Fill your days with more meaningful connections, love, knowledge and laughter. Be mindful of what you allow into your inner and outer space. Choose things that add value to your life in all areas.

Confidence & Self Image 

“A flower doesn’t compete with the flower next to it. It just blooms.” — Zen Shin

Avoid placing other people on pedestals. Be concerned with yourself, your life and your goals. Try to avoid comparing yourself to other women. It’s never a competition, it’s an opportunity for sisterhood. Affirm and build relationships with other women. Know that there is enough for all of us.

In terms of both romantic and platonic relationships, know your worth and carry yourself with respect. Don’t settle for less than what your worth. Increase your standards and raise the bar higher for how you should be treated. Be sure that your friendships and relationships add to your life, not take away. Be around people who support, inspire, love, nurture and care for you.

In terms of yourself, who are you really? Go on a journey of self-exploration. Begin learning about yourself down to the details. Find ways to express yourself and embrace your individuality. Don’t be overly concerned with copying trends. Instead, create and experiment with your own personal style. Femininity is also about being creative. To nurture your creativity, take classes to such as writing, dancing, painting, sculpting, cooking and playing an instrument. 

Be Receptive

“She was created to be kissed, loved, and given flowers every day.” — juansen dizon

Develop an abundance mindset. Believe you’re worthy of a quality life. Believe you’re worthy of having your needs met. Believe you’re worthy of love, peace and respect. Only accept things that matches what you truly want for yourself. Think higher and bigger. Become mindful of your self-talk and speak affirmations to yourself daily.

Be receptive to your blessings. Learn when to act and when to allow. By leaning back and allowing, you cultivate trust and faith which then allows life to flow with ease. Be like a cup and allow things to flow into your life.  

Allow yourself to indulge in life’s simple pleasures. Allow yourself to be taken care of. Learn to accept compliments, gifts and help. Express gratitude and say ‘thank you’ more often. Let yourself feel: be warm, inviting, kind, vulnerable, emotional, sensitive and soft. Eradicate the any false connotation you have about those words in conjunction with femininity. There is power in being feminine. Being feminine allows you to become more attractive in the sense of attracting more love, ease and abundance into your life. 

Elegance & Sophistication

“Her witty sensuality, her dignity, her growing charm,” — Josephine Balmer

Cultivate elegance by bringing more relaxation and calmness into your day. Incorporate more leisure into your day. Avoid trying to constantly overfill your day with too much obligations and tasks. That’ll lead to burn-out. Let there be periods of time in your day dedicated to ease and quiet. Give yourself moments in the day to release and rest. 

Become the best version of yourself by committing to self-improvement. Develop your inner charisma by presenting yourself in high value and alluring way. Sharpen your social skills by learning etiquette. Travel more frequently, whether it be in your own city or to another country. Surround yourself with art & culture. Have personal hobbies: read literature, attend plays, visit museums, learn a new language, start journaling, take pictures, etc. Become educated on more topics and expand your intellect. Delve into your interests whether it be fashion, science, art, philosophy, psychology, anthropology or other subjects. Expand your taste in all areas of your life.

Take Care of Yourself 

“I am mine, before I am ever anyone else’s.” — nayyirah waheed

To nurture yourself, begin to prioritize self-care. Treat yourself like luxury. Take care of your health, your happiness and your energy. Create constructive habits in your daily routines that benefit your mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. Habits such as eating healthier, exercising more, stretching, getting adequate sleep, taking deep breaths and more.

Be content in your solitude. Find validation and fulfillment within. Avoid looking to other people, places or things to fill a void within. Begin to see yourself as one of your main sources of love. Pour love, care and respect into yourself. Set healthy boundaries with other people. Be compassionate but don’t let others drain you. You can’t pour from an empty cup. When you pour into your own cup first, the overflow can then be given to others. 

Put effort into your appearance and personal hygiene. When you look good, you feel good. Invest in quality perfumes and develop your signature scent. Fine tune your closet to clothing items that make you feel beautiful, feminine and confident. Add statement pieces and accessories to your outfits. Pamper yourself with face masks, manicures, pedicures, body exfoliations and more. Find skincare products that work for your skin. If you enjoy makeup, learn how to properly apply it to your specific skin tone and undertones. Work on presenting your best self daily until it becomes second nature.

Scan your personal space and begin to eradicate items that no longer add to your life. Let go of the old to create space for better. Donate, recycle and throw out old items that clutter your space. Add more beauty to your space. Decorate your home with items that make you feel good. Let your surroundings be a reflection of your personal vision.

Summary 

Our femininity can be expressed when we feel secure within ourselves and our surroundings. We tap into our femininity when we feel nurtured and in tune with ourselves, our intuition, our senses and our environment. As we become more connected with ourselves, we’ll develop a more confident and positive self-image. We’ll become more receptive to the love, success and opportunity we know we deserve. We’ll create a quality life filled with abundance and substance. And we’ll learn to love and care for ourselves through it all.

[cultivatxr]

@inimiicus​ whispered: “ I don’t pay attention to the world ending ”

                  poetry starters from  nayyirah waheed’s  work  ,  ‘salt’

In silence she simply looks at him, the faintest ripple of disapproval valiantly held back as Aerith’s expression settled into something a little more curious than damning. The world ending would usually bother most people; be it due to acknowledging their own mortality or even out of care for the others on this green earth. So to say he wasn’t fussed at all, was oddly contradictory to everyone else she’d ever met. It conjured too many questions, too many assumptions and attempted dissections of who or what had cardinally wronged him to such a point that this mentality was as natural to him as breathing. 

❝ That’s awfully nihilistic. Don’t you think that maybe you should? ❞ It’s less judgemental than she feels when she asks it of him, the tilt of that innocent head oddly invested in whatever his answer would be. For the ancient it was a subject constantly at the forefront of her mind, the quest to evade the fall of the axe and stop impending armageddon the sole reason she was willing to sacrifice everything.  ❝ Even if you don’t inherently care that the clock’s about to stop, wouldn’t you at least want to know when to crack out the wine and bid it adieu? To make your peace with whoever you need and just say goodbye?  ❞

[wahedproject]

WAHED Collaborates with Partners to Solve Decentralization Problems

Introduction

Thanks to our global focus on mutual growth through trade, people and companies are getting ever-more reliant on supply chains. The internet, and the businesses that operate natively on it to provide value to billions worldwide, are gaining similar prevalence. The importance we place on these super-highways of both goods and information is earned. Thanks to these channels, we have lifted billions out of poverty and enriched lives by giving access to information and communication. 

However, we have seen plenty of examples of how unforeseen interruptions in these information pathways can have catastrophic consequences. The Suez Canal blockage of 2018 disrupted global commerce in a manner few have seen. This route, vital for circumventing the Southern tip of Africa, is responsible for 2% of host nation Egypt’s GDP, and sees 12% of international trade pass through it. 

The Suez Canal is indispensable, and the 6 days that it was blocked wreaked havoc in global supply chains. Information highways operated by the world’s largest companies face similar challenges, where single blockages of services can have catastrophic, far-reaching effects. 

The Centralized Internet

A 2015 study of internet users in the developing world reached some interesting conclusions that can still apply today. While many people were using social networking platforms on a daily basis, they had no idea they were, in fact, using the internet. For up to 11% of Indonesians, Facebook was just Facebook, and the internet was this complex other thing that they did not want to participate in. 

While this trend was also apparent in other parts of South-East Asia and Africa, it was the implication of this phenomenon that deserves attention. In the event that Facebook’s servers become unavailable, either due to technical difficulties or through intervention of some sort, many in these regions would be cut off from the wider world. 

In the years after, Facebook itself grew its network to prevent such incidents. The bold purchase of Instagram was overshadowed by its even more shrewd acquisition of Whatsapp. 

The latter is significant because of its peer-to-peer encrypted communication that operates on a totally different infrastructure to the wider Facebook, now META, services. 

Amazon provides users with a similar dilemma, not just for their ubiquity in e-commerce, but because they form the backbone of the internet as we know it. 

With a customer base boasting the largest companies in the world, Amazon Web Services and the cloud infrastructure that accompanies it far outpaces the rest of the company in growth. 

This leads us to a much more serious set of implications, with further-reaching consequences - data privacy. 

With a single company controlling as much data as it currently does, the competitive landscape of the free market is under threat. With data being the new oil, the true value is gained from how companies process this raw material. The more data a company has available, the more insights can be gleaned, and none come close to Amazon in this regard. 

A New, Privacy-Centric Internet

Data breaches and oversteps are widespread in the tech world and, for all the value they bring, this has proven a prevailing critique. Staying ahead of the curve and ensuring data security is the need of the hour. What if we just didn’t give up information any more? 

Cryptocurrency, at its core, is based on users holding onto their own data. With private keys, NFT profile pictures and pseudo-anonymous wallet addresses, we seem to be moving past the old ways of sharing all one’s personal data with the world. Things get even more exciting for users when we consider Ethereum’s true value proposition - a distributed computer, managed by innovators all over the world where anyone can launch a service that they believe will bring value. 

Using these building blocks to build distributed applications, an internet where our data is not the fuel that spurs innovation can be a reality. Known as Web 3.0, the next step from the user-generated content-driven Web 2.0 brings control back to users. Achieving these goals while enabling the rapid innovation that global financial markets require faces significant social and regulatory challenges, but the need for services of this kind are more pronounced than ever. The WAHED Ecosystem, powered by WAHED Coin, can be your gateway to contributing to this brand new, private, decentralized internet. 

WAHED As your Collaborator in the Decentralized Internet

WAHED is a multifaceted ecosystem, where creating value for users stands alongside the desire for philanthropic giving. The more value one can create, the greater the volume of funds that can be deployed to improve conditions around the world. 

At its core, WAHED wants to facilitate the innovator’s journey. With a focus on cutting edge startups and high-tech initiatives, WAHED aims to connect investors with those who are going to change the world, while utilizing blockchain technology to create value. Essential online services can now be decentralized, with the benefits to the user rather than data-mining operations at the center of the value proposition. We could be on the cusp of having a brand new, user-centric Twitter, Facebook or Amazon, and WAHED is here to help make this a reality. 

The WAHED Foundation, a Digital Autonomous Organization, or DAO, will serve as the governance brain of the ecosystem, where members decide which ideas should be backed. By closely monitoring progress and adherence to milestones, the WAHED Foundation will ensure responsible deployment of funds i.e start up funding while ensuring that backers are kept in the loop regarding developments, challenges and opportunities.

Conclusion

As the internet grows, we must be deliberate in ensuring that a Suez Canal-style blockage does not occur in our information highway. Decentralizing the flow of information while improving the quality of services is not just possible, but it is the expectation if we wish to supplant the existing giants of the tech world. With users at the center of this decentralized revolution, ensuring privacy is the key, and WAHED is here as your partner to help.  Become a part of the WAHED Ecosystem today, and learn more about how you can partner with us by visiting our website. The decentralized future is almost upon us, and together we can make it a reality.

[groupfazza]

اعتمد مجلس الوزراء برئاسة صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم، نائب رئيس الدولة رئيس مجلس الوزراء حاكم دبي قراراً بإعادة تشكيل مجلس إدارة مصرف الإمارات للتنمية برئاسة معالي الدكتور سلطان بن أحمد الجابر، وزير الصناعة والتكنولوجيا المتقدمة، وعضوية كل من معالي الدكتور أحمد بالهول الفلاسي، وزير الدولة لريادة الأعمال والمشاريع الصغيرة والمتوسطة، ويونس حاجي الخوري، وكيل وزارة المالية، ومحمد سيف السوي��ي، مدير عام صندوق أبوظبي للتنمية، وعبدالواحد محمد الفهيم، رئيس مجلس إدارة بورصة ناسداك، ومريم سعيد غباش، نائب رئيس مجلس إدارة شركة أبوظبي للاستثمار، وخلفان جمعة بالهول، الرئيس التنفيذي لمؤسسة دبي للمستقبل، ونجلاء أحمد المدفع، المدير التنفيذي لمركز الشارقة لريادة الأعمال، وأحمد تميم الكتاب، نائب رئيس تنفيذي لشؤون الاستراتيجيات لدى شركة أدنوك، وذلك لمدة ثلاث سنوات قابلة للتجديد.

The UAE Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has approved the restructuring of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Development Bank under the chairmanship of Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology. The restructuring decision designated Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, as a board member along with the following members: Younis Haji Al Khoury, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance; Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development; Abdul Wahed Al Fahim, Chairman of Nasdaq Dubai; and Mariam Saeed Ghobash, Vice Chairperson of Abu Dhabi Investment Company. The Board, that shall serve for a three-year renewable term, shall also include Khalfan Juma Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation; Najla Ahmed Al Midfa, Chief Executive Officer of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre; and Khalfan Juma Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation.

[creepingsharia]

The growing list of Muslim Student Association (MSA) terrorists – with updates

The MSA - established by members of the Muslim Brotherhood - has branches on hundreds of campuses in the U.S. and Canada. And many of its campus leaders have engaged in and been arrested for waging jihad.

Originally posted on April 25, 2015

The MSA has a growing list of terrorist alumni as noted in this post, Why Muslim Student Group Concerned the NYPD:  *updates below

The list is extensive, but among the MSA alumni who went on to terrorist involvement are:

Anwar al-Awlaki, an influential American-born al-Qaida cleric who recruited a series of homegrown jihadists before being killed by a U.S. drone strike;

Aafia Siddiqui, convicted of attempted murder and assault on U.S. officers and employees in Afghanistan;

Zachary Chesser, convicted of attempting to provide material support to the Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab and soliciting attacks on “South Park” producers for an episode in which the prophet Muhammad was shown in a bear suit;

Jesse Morton, convicted with Chesser of threatening the South Park producers with murder;

Adam Gadahn, an al-Qaida spokesman who is on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for treason and material support to al-Qaida;

Waheed Zaman, who was convicted of plotting to blow up transatlantic flights;

Adis Medunjanin, who is awaiting trial for plotting to bomb New York subways;

Ramy Zamzam, who was convicted in Pakistan of conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks;

Omar Hammami, who was indicted on charges of providing material support to al-Shabbab and is designated by the U.S. Treasury Department for his terrorist connections;

Muhammad Junaid Babar, who pled guilty to his support to al-Qaida; and

Syed Hashmi, who pled guilty to providing material support to al-Qaida.

MSA was founded in the United States in 1963 by members of the Egyptian-based Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood seeks a global Islamic state and has spawned leaders of a series of Sunni terrorist groups, including al-Qaida, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The Muslim Brotherhood motto established by founder Hassan al-Banna is, “God is our objective, the Quran is our Constitution, the Prophet is our leader, jihad is our way, and death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations.”

MSA members remain faithful to Brotherhood ideology. At the closing session of the MSA West conference in January 2011 at UCLA, attendees recited a pledge, “Allah is my lord, Islam is my life, the Quran is my guide, the Sunna is my practice, Jihad is my spirit, righteousness is my character, paradise is my goal. I enjoin what is right, I forbid what is wrong, I will fight against oppression, and I will die to establish Islam.”

Update 1 via the Hayride: h/t terrortrends

In June 2006, Ali Asad Chandia, who had served as president of the Montgomery College (Maryland) MSA in 1998 and 1999, was convicted on terror charges as part of a Northern Virginia jihad network; he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for three separate counts of conspiracy and material support to the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Abdurahman Alamoudi, who served as MSA national president in 1982 and 1983, is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for his extensive international terrorist activities, which included fundraising for al Qaeda.

In February 2010, Aafia Siddiqui – a woman who had been captured in 2008 with explosives, deadly chemicals, and a list of New York City landmarks – was convicted of attempting to murder a U.S. Army captain while she was incarcerated and being interrogated by authorities at a prison in Afghanistan. Described variously as “al-Qaeda’s Mata Hari” and “Lady al-Qaeda,” Siddiqui had previously been radicalized by the MSA chapter at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she studied neuroscience.

Wael Hamza Julaidan, who served as president of the University of Arizona MSA in the mid-1980s, went on to become one of al Qaeda’s co-founders and its logistics chief. In September 2002, the U.S. governmentlisted Julaidan as a specially designated global terrorist, identifying him as a close associate of Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders, and as a director of the Rabita Trust, which had already been designated a terrorist finance entity that supported al-Qaeda.

University of Idaho MSA president Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, who operated nearly a dozen Arabic-language websites for anti-American, pro-suicide-bombing clerics, was accused by federal authorities of using his academic studies as a cover for terrorist support activities. Al-Hussayen wasdeported to Saudi Arabia in June 2004 after agreeing to a deal with federal prosecutors.

In December 2009, Howard University dental student Ramy Zamzam, who had served as the president of MSA’s D.C. Council, was arrested in Pakistan along with four other D.C.-area men (all of whom were also active in MSA). All five were charged with plotting to join the Jaish-e-Muhammed terrorist group with plans to attack U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan; all five were convicted in a Pakistani court in June 2010 and sentenced to at least 10 years in prison.

Syed Maaz Shah, secretary of the University of Texas-Dallas MSA chapter, was arrested in December 2006, for his involvement in paramilitary training at an Islamic campground, where he was preparing to join the Taliban in order to fight U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Shah was convicted on weapons charges in May 2007.

Ziyad Khaleel, president of the Columbia College (Missouri) MSA, was a representative of the Islamic Association for Palestine (a Hamas front). He also registered and operated the English-language website for Hamas, and served as al Qaeda’s chief procurement agent in the United States during the 1990s. Among the items Khaleel purchased was a $7,500 satellite phone for Osama bin Laden. That phone, dubbed by intelligence authorities as the “jihad phone,” was used to plan the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings.

Anwar Al-Awlaki served as president of the Colorado State University MSA in the early 1990s, and as chaplain of the George Washington University MSA in 2001. In Washington, DC, he delivered sermons that were attended by two of the 9/11 hijackers and by Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. In 2002 Alwaki fled the U.S. for Yemen, where he developed ties to al Qaeda and reportedly played a role in the Fort Hood massacre of 2009, the failedChristmas Day underwear-bomber plot of 2009, and the attempted Times Square bombing of 2010.

Carlos Bledsoe, aka Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, was a member of the MSA as a student at Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN. Bledsoe went on to receive terrorist training at a jihadist training camp in Yemen and returned to the US and murdered US Army Private Andy Long outside a Little Rock, Arkansas recruiting office on June 1, 2009.

Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, aka Omar Hammami is an American-born member of al Shahab, a Somali Islamic militant group aligned with al Qaeda. Hammami served as president of the MSA chapter at the University of South Alabama.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who would later go on to mastermind the September 11th terrorist attacks as the number 3 man in Al Qaeda, was a member of the MSA chapter at North Carolina A&T in 1986.

Update 2 via a CJR reader in Canada: h/t lburt

Here are some names in Canada

Ahmed Said Khadr MSA University of Ottawa Ahmed Said Khadr’s radicalization at the University of Ottawa

Ferid Imam MSA University of Manitoba Archive.Today (Former MSA Manitoba president Shariq Kidwai said that Ferid Imam has been a president of the association before him.)

Muhanad Al Farekh MSA University of Manitoba After being deported to the U.S. from Pakistan, former MSA Manitoba leader Al Farekh appears in a New York court to face terrorism charges

Maiwand Yar MSA University of Manitoba RCMP Warrant https://archive.is/kWAqF MSA Manitoba https://archive.is/0lxuS

Update 3: Add a pedophile to the list – Ahmad Saleem

Orlando community activist Ahmad Saleem drove to a Clermont-area house intending to meet a 12-year-old girl he had been chatting with online for sex in a vehicle with a specialty “Invest in Children” license plate, authorities said Tuesday…Saleem was also the Orlando regional coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations…

He attended the University of Central Florida, where he was President of the Muslim Students Association. He later became the MSA National Service Director before founding the Saleem Academy.

Update 4: Middle Tennessee State University added to the list:

Dareen Ahmad, leading active member in the university’s Muslim Student Association, tweeted: “…we need a new Hitler”

Dana Swaies, a well-known representative for the school’s MSA chapter stated: “May Allah annihilate the Jewish dogs”

Shaden Hamdulla contemplated putting Jews in concentration camps and called for a new Hitler to wipe them out

Update 5: Abdul Kareem Saeed Alkady – Twitter jihadi

Update 6: This list just got a lot longer.  CANADA: Biographies of MSA Alumni with Terrorism Connections (excerpts only, full description at the link)

Awso Peshdary: Ottawa born accused terrorist Awso Peshdary was arrested in February 2015 as part of operation ‘Project Servant’ by the RCMP Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET). He was charged with participation in the activity of a terrorist group

Khadar Khalib (aka AbdulBaqi Hanif): Grew up in Ottawa and later moved with his family to Calgary. Khalib was a member of the Algonquin College MSA. It is believed he was radicalized by Awso Peshdary. According to the RCMP, Khalib travelled to Syria in late March 2014 with the alleged assistance of Peshdary and former University of Ottawa business student John Maguire, who was already in Syria at the time. Khalib is now believed to be in Syria fighting with the Islamic State, therefore he was charged by the RCMP in abstentia in February 2015. Weeks before Khalib left for Syria, both he and Peshdary took part in Islam Awareness Week on Algonquin College’s Woodroffe Avenue campus, which was sponsored by the MSA.[61]

John “Yahya” Maguire: Grew up in Kemptville, ON. He received a scholarship to study in Los Angeles in 2010 and returned to Canada enrolling at the University of Ottawa in 2011, at which point friends claimed he had already begun making extremist claims, and became involved with the university’s MSA. He joined IS in 2012, travelling to Syria on a one-way ticket, and posted a propaganda video in 2014.[62] He was charged in abstentia with participating in a terrorist group in Syria, Iraq and Turkey, and conspiring with a terrorist network in Ottawa. He was reportedly killed in battle, but no official agency has confirmed his death.

Ahmed Said Khadr: Born in Egypt, Khadr moved with his family to Montreal in 1975, and then to Toronto several months later. He enrolled at the University of Ottawa, studying engineering. While there he joined the MSA, agreeing with their notions of Sharia law, and became a vocal advocate for Islamic rule in his native Egypt.[65] …Khadr was killed on October 2, 2003, along with al-Qaeda and Taliban members, in a shootout by Pakistani security forces near the Afghanistan border. An al-Qaeda website profiling “120 Martyrs of Afghanistan” described him as a leader of Bin Laden’s organization and praised him for “tossing his little child [Omar] in the furnace of the battle.”[68]

Salman Ashrafi: Originally from Pakistan but raised in Calgary, Ashrafi was enrolled at the University of Lethbridge, where he completed a bachelor degree in management. During his university years, Ashrafi started to practice Islam in a more serious manner and became heavily involved with Islamic activism in the campus, serving as president of the MSA. Following graduation, he worked at Calgary’s Talisman energy for one year before quitting in 2012, and flying to the Persian Gulf.[71] He blew himself up in November 2013 in a double suicide bombing at an Iraqi military base, reportedly killing 46 people on behalf of ISIS, using the nom de guerre Abu Abdullah al-Khorasani.[72]

Chiheb Esseghaier: A Tunisian national and scientist, who was a doctoral student with a research arm at the Université du Québec at the time of his arrest. Esseghaier admitted to “La Presse” in an interview to only becoming immersed in religion after arriving at the University of Sherbrooke, when he read books and websites about Islam and joined the local chapter of the MSA, and began attending a local Mosque. He was charged with plotting an attack on a VIA rail train in the Niagara region, and did not deny the charges, stressing that there is “no shortage of reasons” to launch a terrorist attack on North America.

Ferid Imam: University of Manitoba student who served as the local chapter of the MSA’s president.[75] He is wanted by the RCMP on terrorism related charges following a four-year investigation.

Imam has also been charged in the foiled al-Qaeda plot against New York City subways.

Khaled al-Qazzaz: Khaled al-Qazzaz was born on July 3, 1979 in Cairo, Egypt. He moved to Toronto in 2000 to do a Masters in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto, where he met his wife, Sarah Attia. He served as the UTSG MSA President in 2002-2003.[97]…

He was taken in a wave of arrests alongside several other top Muslim Brotherhood aides after a military coup toppled the government on July 3, 2013. After spending 18 months in prison, he was released by Egyptian authorities in January 2015.[98]

Maiwand Yar: Born in Pakistan in 1983, Yar is a former student of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Manitoba, and was the local MSA chapter’s treasurer.[105] According to the RCMP, in 2007, it is believed that Yar departed Canada with accomplice Ferid Ahmed Imam for Pakistan. Yar is being sought on charges of conspiracy to participate in the activities of a terrorist group and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.[107]

Muhannad al-Farekh: Born in Texas, al-Farekh grew up in the United Arab Emirates and was educated in Jordan.[108] In Canada he lived with his grandmother in Winnipeg. He is a former business student at the University of Manitoba, who served as the office manager of that chapter’s MSA from 2005-2006. On April 2, 2015, an arrest warrant for Muhannad al-Farekh was unsealed after an RCMP investigation. The allegations against al-Farekh date back to 2007.[109] It was then that he disappeared to Pakistan along with University of Manitoba colleagues Farid Imam and Maiwand Yar. Though both Imam and Yar were charged in 2011 with terrorism offences following an RCMP national security investigation called Project Darken, al-Farekh was only indicted in April 2015. The criminal complaint accused him of travelling “to Pakistan to join al-Qaida” and helping a terrorist group targeting American citizens and military personnel.[110]

Omar Kalair: President and CEO of United Muslims (UM) Financial, Kalair is wanted by the RCMP with respect to a sharia banking fraud investigation. Videos of previous RIS (Reviving the Islamic Spirit) conventions available on YouTube show that UM Financial sponsored the Toronto Islamist convention in 2005 and 2006. A profile of Omar Kalair posted on a Wilfrid Laurier University alumni’s website indicates that, during his years as an Economics student, “Kalair founded the Muslim Students’ Association [MSA] and remained its President for four years.”[113]

There are many others with links to MSA in the TSEC expose.

Update 6B: New link here and additions below:

Qutbi al-Mahdi:  Involved with the Islamic movement in Sudan from a young age. While studying for his PhD in Islamic Studies at McGill University, Qutbi was active with MSA and then ISNA, where he served as President from 1984-1986.

Youssef Sakhir, Samir Halilovic and Zakria Habibi:  All three are from Sherbrooke QC, and became friends through a local Muslim association in the Eastern Townships. They were Facebook friends with the University of Sherbrooke MSA. They vanished from Quebec last year at around the same time and are currently being sought by RCMP and CSIS.

Dr. Wael Haddara (aka Al-Muraqqash Al-Akbar):    Dr. Haddara has been active with Muslim Brotherhood organizations since at least 1991 when he was listed as the contact person for the Memorial University Muslim Students Association.   He sat on the board of CAIR-CAN from 2003-2012. He sat on IRFAN’s board from 1999-2003. The group had its charity status revoked in 2011 after it was found that from 2005-2009 alone, it transferred $14.6 million to Hamas. He has also been involved with MSA national, which was mentioned in a 2011 MAC newsletter.[81] Dr. Haddara was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood delegation that was sent to meet with, but refused by, the US State Department, to advocate against the current Egyptian government.

Khaled al-Qazzaz:  He moved to Toronto in 2000 to do a Masters in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto, where he met his wife, Sarah Attia. He served as the UTSG MSA President in 2002-2003.[97] In 2005, al-Qazzaz returned to Egypt. In 2011, and according to his own Twitter account, al-Qazzaz was working in Egypt as “Secretary on Foreign Relations, Office of the President Politics: Freedom & Justice Party.”  This refers to Dr. Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood president of Egypt in 2012 and 2013.  The Freedom and Justice Party is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He was taken in a wave of arrests alongside several other top Muslim Brotherhood aides after a military coup toppled the government on July 3, 2013.

Many more in the link above.

At  least eleven (11), and counting…

Update 7:  Al Qaeda’s Base at MIT

MIT Muslim chaplain Suheil Laher used his leadership of the MIT Muslim Students Association as a vehicle for raising money for Al Qaeda causes around the world. We especially focus on the Al Qaeda affiliate in Chechnya, which Laher and his associates lionized, even as MIT trusted him to be its Muslim students’ spiritual guide.

…and now Brandeis Univ. Hires Terror-Linked, Jihad-Supporting Muslim Cleric

While at MIT, Laher did not hide his Islamist views. His personal website at the time featured attacks on Jews, Christians, and kuffar (non-believers):

The kuffar, including the Jews and Christians, can never become our intimate friends, confidantes or close allies.

Laher’s personal website featured al-Qaeda leader Abdullah Azzam’s infamous call to jihad. It also linked to an al-Qaeda fundraising website. It urged Muslims to reject the “evils” of the West.

His personal website also declared: “[T]he only solution prescribed by Allah is jihad.”

Update 8: Pakistani convicted of infiltrating DC for Pakistani intelligence

Ghulam Nabi Fai, the executive director of the Kashmiri American Center (KAC) who admitted in a 26-page Statement of Facts at the time of his plea deal last December that he was an influence agent working for the Pakistani intelligence service, the ISI. He penetrated the halls of Congress and successive administrations over a 20-year period to help shape U.S. foreign policy in Pakistan’s favor.

Fai served as national president of the Muslim Students Association (MSA), during which time, according to an email cited in the FBI affidavit, he began serving on behalf of his Pakistani ISI masters.

Update 9: Imam Mahmoud Shaker Shalash at the Islamic Center of Lexington charged in murder-for-hire plot is former MSA

According to a LinkedIn profile, In addition to running the Islamic Center of Lexington, a man of that name owned a mobile home park and the Bluegrass Extended Stay motel (guest reviews have complained about roaches, stained beds and unfriendliness to service dogs), was a member of the Muslim Students Association (a terror linked Muslim Brotherhood hate group) while working on a degree in electrical engineering at the University of Chicago...

Update 10: One-time president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at the University of Alabama Pleads Guilty to Concealing Terrorism Financing to al Qaeda

Alaa Abu Saad aka Alaa Mohd Abusaad, 22, who was arrested Oct. 23 in Ohio. She was a former student at the University of Alabama and her LinkedIn profile said she was president of the Muslim Student Association.

Abusaad pleaded guilty to concealment of terrorism financing, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2339C and 2.

Abusaad instructed an FBI undercover employee (UCE) about how to send money to the mujahedeen—fighters engaged in jihad.  Abusaad told the UCE that money “is always needed.  You can’t have a war without weapons.  You can’t prepare a soldier without equipment.”  Abusaad also advised the UCE on how to send money in a manner that would avoid detection by law enforcement, including by using fake names and addresses when conducting electronic money transfers.  Subsequently, Abusaad introduced the UCE to a financial facilitator who could route the UCE’s money to “brothers that work with aq” (meaning al Qaeda).

Update 10:  Mohamed Soltan - arrested as leader of Muslim Brotherhood uprising in Egypt

His father, Salah Soltan was recently given the death sentence in Egypt and Mohammed will likely receive the same verdict on April 11th, just days from now for his accused role in Muslim Brotherhood operations. It should also be noted that Mohammed Soltan was former President of the Muslim Students Association at Ohio State University

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Readers: If you know of other MSA jihadists, let us know and we’ll update the list.

We leave you with Amir Abdel Malik Ali at UCLA reciting the Muslim Student Association Pledge of Allegiance:

Jihad is my spirit, I will die to establish Islam

[sadiqahsiddiqah]

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[cryptoking009]

Islamic fintech Wahed opens physical bank branch in London

Islamic fintech startup Wahed has opened its first physical branch on Baker Street in London. The glossy retail location is designed to look like an Apple store. Wahed An investing platform backed by the likes of oil giant Saudi Aramco and French soccer player Paul Pogba is launching a novel proposition in the U.K.: a physical branch and bank accounts backed by gold. New York-based Wahed, which…

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Islamic fintech Wahed opens physical bank branch in London

Islamic fintech startup Wahed has opened its first physical branch on Baker Street in London. The glossy retail location is designed to look like an Apple store. Wahed An investing platform backed by the likes of oil giant Saudi Aramco and French soccer player Paul Pogba is launching a novel proposition in the U.K.: a physical branch and bank accounts backed by gold. New York-based Wahed, which…