User:Silver Maple

This username stems from a large silver maple that used to grow in front of my house while I was growing up. The tree was actually illegal according to local bylaws because it grows much faster than other trees in the area, but I really liked it. When I moved, one of the things we needed to do to sell the house was cut the tree down, which was a very sad moment for me because I had grown to really like that tree. As it turned out, the tree's roots had gone underneath the foundation of the house, partially cracking it, and had tapped into the water supply of the house, which in my opinion explained why our water always seemed very sweet and wholesome. Anyway, with 98% or so of our bodies being composed of water, I figure that I have a real connection with that silver maple that grew in my front lawn. Although it is now dry firewood or the burnt remains thereof, that silver maple lives on in my heart, and I have chosen this user name for that reason.

My interests include comparative religion, computer science, technical writing, and international relations.

In the next little while, I'm interested in writing about:


 * The experimental method in the Islamic World (which is up for deletion, but I might resurrect it b/c it looks like an interesting topic).
 * Religious aspects of marriage
 * The Sixth pillar of Islam
 * comparative religion
 * computer science
 * technical writing
 * international relations
 * diplomacy
 * Maddhabs
 * Hanafi Maddhab
 * Shafi'i Maddhab
 * Hanbali Maddhab
 * Maliki Maddhab
 * Fiqh


 * List of Muslims who made important contributions to Western society.
 * Al-Biruni (973 AD)
 * see: http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Al-Biruni.html
 * Al-Dinawari (758 AD)
 * Al-Ghazali (1058 AD)
 * Al-Jazari (1206 AD)
 * Al-Khawarizmi (780 AD)
 * Al-Kindi (801 AD)
 * Al-Muqaddasi (946 AD)
 * Al-Zahrawi (936 AD)
 * Ibn Al-Haitham (965 AD)
 * Ibn Al-Naphis (1210 AD)
 * Ibn Al-Thahabi (1033 AD)
 * Ibn Battuta (1305 AD)
 * Ibn Fadlan (921 AD)
 * Ibn Hazm (944 AD)
 * Ibn Jubair (1144 AD)
 * Banu Musa Brothers (800 AD)


 * Muslim philosophy: early, classical, modern
 * Islam and pornography
 * Islam and alcohol
 * Islamic economics
 * Islamic copyright
 * Linux and open source
 * Programming
 * Somalia
 * Somali culture
 * Canadian culture
 * Canada and its trading partners
 * Media and propaganda