Muslamics

Members of Congress Blast Claims That Muslim Interns are 'Spies'

2009-10-20T23:09:00.000-07:00

CAIR, America’s prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, applauded statements by members of the U.S. House of Representatives rejecting claims made by several of their GOP colleagues that Muslim congressional interns are "spies."

On Oct. 14, four right-wing members of Congress, with a long history of fringe or bigoted statements, launched a book called "Muslim Mafia" and asked for an investigation of Muslim "spies" on Capitol Hill. An article in Politico said the alleged spying by Muslims was in fact a "fairly straight forward public relations and lobbying strategy," with the goals of "'placing Muslim interns in congressional offices' and registering people to vote."

In a statement, CAIR said:

"It is troubling that right-wing elected officials would serve as publicity agents for extremists who seek to bar an American minority from exercising its constitutionally-protected rights. We applaud those who stand up for the right of all Americans to participate fully in our nation's political system.”

Watch these short media interviews on this issue:

CAIR Video: Rachel Maddow Exposes Anti-Muslim Extremists (MSNBC)

Round 2 of Rachel Maddow Exposes Anti-Islam Extremists in Congress (MSNBC)

CAIR Rep Discusses ‘Manchurian Interns’ on CNN

In response to the right-wing smears, the Atlanta Journal called CAIR a "mainstream, all-American civil liberties and advocacy group." An article on Salon.com called the actions of the elected officials who launched the anti-Muslim book the "most despicable domestic political event of the year."

The demand for a probe of Muslim "spies" in Congress drew condemnation from other elected officials, one of whom called it a "witch hunt."

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) issued a statement, which read in part:

"I am appalled by this request [for an investigation of Muslim 'spies' in Congress], and the insinuation that Muslim-Americans are somehow conspiring against this country through their work on Capitol Hill. As a strong advocate for diversity and religious freedom, I find these claims to be outrageous and offensive. I urge the rest of my colleagues to join me in denouncing this witch hunt, which is clearly intended to create fear and distrust in our Capitol Hill community."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) issued the following statement in support of American Muslim congressional interns:

"It shouldn't need to be said in 2009, and after the historic election of our first African-American president, but let me remind all my colleagues that patriotic Americans of all races, religions, and beliefs have the right - and the responsibility - to participate in our political process, including by volunteering to work in Congressional offices. Numerous Muslim-American interns have served the House ably and they deserve our appreciation and respect, not attacks on their character or patriotism."

Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, stated in part:

“These fallacious allegations implicate the existence of a society still struggling with anti-Muslim sentiment. My Muslim colleagues in the House of Representatives, along with the highly qualified, patriotic and committed Muslim staffers and interns that have worked with my office and with CAPAC, contribute mightily to our democratic process. Any slander against these fellow patriots is slander against democracy and religious freedom.”

Dave Gaubatz, the anti-Islam blogger who co-authored "Muslim Mafia," has a long history of bigotry targeting Islam and Muslims. Gaubatz has called Islam an "evil ideology" and worked for a racist group that sought to make "adherence to Islam" punishable by a 20-year prison term.

SEE ALSO: Republican Lawmakers Leading Witch Hunt Against Muslim Group
http://mediamattersaction.org/factcheck/200910150008

In the past, Gaubatz has been questioned by state and federal law enforcement authorities for actions that were perceived as those of a stalker. CAIR has filed a criminal report against Gaubatz over materials he and his son say they stole from the civil rights group's offices.

Gaubatz has also called President Obama a "crack head" and wrote that "a vote for Hussein Obama is a vote for Sharia Law." He also called Islam a "terminal disease that once spread is hard to destroy."

It is unfortunate that there is a fringe segment of Americans who wish to promote hatred against American Muslims and intimidate them from exercising their rights to engage politically. Despite the attempts of this new McCarthyism, CAIR and the American Muslim community remain committed to encouraging dialogue, protecting civil liberties of all Americans, and promoting justice and mutual understanding.

Kabad

2009-09-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

Submitted by Guest Blogger Lena Khan

I was sending out today's Qur'anic word of the day, and found it particularly meaningful. I hope not to bore...

The word is "kabad." (كَبَد ). The ayah we most know it from is:

"La qad khalaqna al-insana fi kabad". It means, 'verily, we have created man in toil and struggle."

I have always used this ayah for my general life theory (which unfortunately I do not follow well enough) that we should all be working just as hard as people who are struggling for their daily food or lives or whatever, even though we are blessed with more comfort. But then I saw the word "kabad" comes from the verb "kabada" which means "to wound in the liver, affect anyone painfully, to purpose a thing, and from "kabida" which means "to face difficulty, struggle, reach in the middle."

And among those, it seems that what this verse is really telling us, is that man is not only meant to struggle here--but it is a struggle that hits at the heart of you--that really pierces the inside (middle) of you, and can pain you (aka wound in the liver).

So I thought, if we are rich, we should give not just a comfortable amount, but in real struggle, one that makes us feel what it's like to not have the world on our plate. If we are working hard, we work till we feel what it is like to not have the time or energy to play 4 hours of Guitar Hero at the end. And if I am wrong in the actual effort part, at the least perhaps it means we should struggle to such an extent, that the fruits of our labor pierce the insides of us--sometimes with painful truths, perhaps about the sad state of our internal affairs--with the realities that inevitably such spiritual endeavors bring.

There is actually an urdu poetry couplet about this. It goes:
"Tundiye bade mukhalif se na ghabra ay uqab/
ye to chultihe tuje uche urranakaliye"

It means:
"Oh hawk, do not be afraid of the harsh opposing wind/
it runs only to make you rise above."

It seems so many of the things we are told to do, are for a beautiful purpose. One who properly follows Islam, and what it really means and asks for -- is allowed to reach the real beauty that is part of the human potential. In Surah Mulk, Allah tells us, he has created life and death, to test "those who are best in conduct." Life, and what He asks of us, is meant for those who will be best in conduct, and they are the ones who will actually take hold of what miracles a life of Islam can do to a person. What is more beautiful than a person who has reached the level of the Prophet (peace be upon him)? And that is what Islam allows through this struggle. The Prophet got to where he was not just by reading some Qur'an everyday...but because Allah made him struggle in such a way that it affected every part of his soul. He was orphaned so that He grew up realizing the only one he could rely on in this world was Allah, He endured the harshness of the Quraysh, He was made to endure more trials than we ever will...so that he could get to where he did. But I think the verse is telling us that to reach that...the deeds you do, have to reach you, and that is only through real struggle.

Just giving in charity does not give you enough compassion...you have to know what it feels like to not be sure if you will have just the right amount of rizq the next day. It isn't enough that we go out once in a while to make some peanut butter sandwiches for the homeless, but rather we should be working so hard to help the less fortunate around us all week, that through our works we only increase in helping them because we realize--wow, as much as I am struggling right now, these unfortunate people are struggling ten times more than me every day. And we aren't working on yourself properly, till one mistake we make can so hurt us that we realize the magnitude of our frailty before other/better people, and Allah. Anyway, perhaps we can try to really struggle this Ramadan, and not just read Qur'an/help people/work on our goals for work or life when we feel the comfort to do so.

To this end, some little known resources:

-To join the Qur'anic word of the day mailing list, where you will receive one Qur'anic word and its definition every weekday, send an email to QWOTD-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .

-To find a place to volunteer, perhaps go to volunteermatch.com , which offers plenty of local opportunities to directly help the homeless, the disabled, the underprivileged, and more.

-Find something better to do with your time, and your heart.

Reaction to Obama Speech: Amusing and Insightful

2009-06-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

Submitted by Guest Blogger Faisal Qazi

The coverage from today's speech in Cairo from our Media has it's usual array of amusing elements. The Yahoo headline stated Obama offering an "unclenched fist to the Muslim world", a poor attempt at sensationalization. The McClatchy News boasted "In speech to Muslims, Obama rejects Israeli settlements", projecting some sort of a unique link despite the fact that the settlement freeze notion is a longstanding although non-applied US policy and an international requirement. The Fox News after not getting any attention to it's rants about why Obama didn't visit Israel during this trip knowing full well that the objective of the trip was to address the Muslim world that would have not been possible in Tel Aviv and after not getting any substantial support for questioning why Muslim Brotherhood members were invited to the speech, something that US Embassy has done in the past when other officials (VP Cheney) have visited the Embassy, the headline today stated "Obama Embraces Islam". This one was really comic in nature.

What of the reaction of Muslims, Muslim leaders and their partners? Although not likely to get headlines, it may be the more substantive part of post-speech analysis.

The expectations were constantly being lowered prior to the speech by most experts and one leader even suggested that it's the same play different actor. The overall excitement amongst the Muslims was simply under-reported and still is under assessed.

One could gauge some of that excitement in commentary post speech where Tariq Ramadan suggested on NPR that President Obama has presented a "new vision" and Shibli Telhami noted a "new discourse" altogether. James Zogby called it an "effective speech". Arsalan Iftikhar in his commentary in CNN underscored more of the usual complaint that he hasn't visited a local mosque but also rightly pointed out that compared to prior years, Obama's speech was a "concert of enlightenment". It may also be worthwhile noting that previous Presidents including Bush have verbally recognized Islam's contribution to world civilizations but to most Muslims these just resonated as hollow words and mostly not believable.

Nihad Awad from CAIR appreciated the courage of Mr. Obama to speak to billions of Muslims with "clarity, decisiveness and sincerity". However there was a noticeable difference between the African American commentators that seem to fully appreciate the message and immigrant Muslims. One African American Muslim female attendee at a gathering of Muslim leaders watching the speech in DC found it to be "very encouraging" while Rahim Jenkins at this same event suggested that "stage has been set for real atonement and reconciliation" and called on the world to "embrace the words of this leader".

This optimism is in slight contrast to skepticism of others but may point towards a divergence in the world views of these two segments of Muslims in America, although it could be argued that the immigrant community has no real world view of their own, at least not yet.

I think the critics of the President, both Muslims and non-Muslims have missed out on enjoying an event of historic proportions at least to the fullest. Those that contend that Obama kept a distance from the Muslims during the campaign, those that complaint that he didn't comment on the Gaza war during last days of Bush are left puzzled but certainly mesmerized with the nature of the initiative (even though they'd never admit it) hopefully should now be able to see that this man is measured in his approach and it's better to work with him to gradually achieve lasting results. And there are those that are left wanting of action to follow words but are fairly realistic of our domestic politics that is unlikely to allow Mr.Obama to make broad gains given the significant negative views that America holds against the Muslim world. Nevertheless they should also enjoy the moment and take a chance in believing that it could be made right just like the President took his chances in Cairo.

(Sources for this paragraph includes various media websites and video clips)

Remember SeaQuest?

2009-06-02T10:48:00.000-07:00

I was a fanatic when it came to Seaquest. If you dont remember, it was Spielberg's made for TV sci-fi program that followed Seaquest- a submarine- trolling the Earths oceans after the world divided them up amongst economic confederations that were constantly on the verge of annihilating each other.

Seems like a wonderful ocean twist on the space adventures of Star Trek, kept me entertained.

Anyway, I started watching a couple of episodes on NetFlix and I wondered whatever happened to the actors that appeared on the show. To my sad surprise I found out Johnathan Brandis, the young computer whiz kid that found his way on to Seaquest committed suicide years after the show ended- in 2003 to be exact.

It's quite sad to think that fame, money and that sort of lifestyle creates such a psychological state and expectations. I was reminded while reading this tid-bit about Abu Hamid Al Ghazzali (Tusi) from the voluminous "Alchemy of Happiness" the chapter "On the Treatment of Love for This World":

"The Messenger (SAW) said: 'Whoever seeks the world for swagger and self-glorification will see God wrathful against him; but if he seeks it in order to be independent of others, he will come on the Day of Resurrection with a face shining like the full son' So, the world is that in which there is immediate pleasure of the self for which there is no need for the Hereafter. Everything that one needs for teh Hereafter, since it is for the Hereafter, is not of the world; just as the fodder for the beasts of burden on the road for the pilgrimage is a part of the provistions of pilgrmiage. God Most High has called whatever is worldly 'desire': ...In another place He has collected five things together and has said: (Know that) the life of this world is play, sport, adornment, self-glorification among you, and rivarly for wealth and children. (Q. 57:20)...This is happiness of people in teh world."

The idea is about balancing the needs of this world and the responsibility for the hereafter, and each person is responsible for his (or her) keep. Though I am not trying to reflect on Brandis's life, however, in his death and what those around him suggested as his depression and desolation from his inability to take his career anywhere, reflecting on the balancing of life and the hereafter is important, no matter how popular or simple folkish you maybe.

Americans Must Take a Loyalty Oath and Swear to never say ill of the United States

2009-05-28T15:07:00.001-07:00

Imagine, if you will, for just a moment--longer if you can tolerate it--that you are a Native American living on your impoverished reservation in the dry badlands of the upper Midwest or the desert Southwest and reading in the newspaper or seeing on television that the Senate's subcommittee on patriotism of the Senate Homeland Security Oversight committee--or whatever its name may be--has just voted to send a bill to the full committee for debate.

The bill says the following: that all Native American people, as well as Japanese Americans, African Americans, East Asian Americans, Arab Americans, Jewish Americans--that is to say, all Americans who are not White Christians--must swear allegiance to the United States as a "Christian Democratic nation." Further, the draft legislation has a provision that if any American called publicly for the end of the United States as a "Christian" (and "democratic") state, they would be thrown into prison for one year. The bill additionally specified that commemoration of the Massacre at Wounded Knee, or the internment of Japanese Americans in 1942-43, or the mention of slavery during Black History Month, or Commemorations of the Holocaust, were illegal.

All of us would support that truly democratic bill, don't you think? Especially strong in their support would be the governing party of the United States--let's pretend for the moment that John McCain and the Republicans had won the election. (I don't see the Democrats producing such a bill; at least not yet; no telling what might happen if we had another terrorist attack on the Democrat's watch).

Well, that is exactly the kind of legislation that has gained traction in the Israeli Knesset. According to the Jerusalem Post, the bill was sponsored by a member of the Israel Beiteinu party--the party of the racist foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman. It garnered 47 votes within the ruling coalition. It calls for a loyalty oath on the part of Palestinian Israelis to the "Jewish democratic" state, and provides a year of imprisonment fro publicly speaking out against the state (as in calling for a single state solution or a "secular" state); it contains further penalties and jail time for commemoration of al Nakba, the events of displacement and ethnic cleansing that took place at the time of the declaration of the state of Israel.

Of course, opposition to the bill by the opposition parties has been strong and outspoken, but that the legislation is even contemplated and voted upon preliminarily, is not a good sign, and it does not speak well for Israel's self-proclaimed status as the "only democracy" in the Middle East. It's a new and more virulent form of the political infection we know in America as McCarthyism.

Lieberman's party has had on its agenda since its beginning the transfer of the Palestinians who hold Israeli citizenship to other Arab countries or to the occupied territories. Of course, the presence of Palestinian citizens, who compose about 20% of the total population, has been a long-standing concern of the Israeli government. The government claims that they have full citizenship, but any one who studies the Israeli-Palestinian question learns quite early on that Palestinian Israelis have a second-class citizenship, receive far less services for their tax dollars than other Israelis, are kept in segregated neighborhoods, are spied upon and harrassed in a way that other Israelis are not. The right to vote is always trumpeted as proof of equal citizenship. Any Israeli citizen speaking honestly will tell you that equality is not the case.

Over the last weekend I went to the 7th Annual Al-Awda Conference. Al-Awda is a mostly Palestinian- American group, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition. It is, so to speak, the conscience of the Palestinians in diaspora, steadfastly reminding everyone that the "right to return" to one's home is an inalienable right under international law, and constant in its reminder to all--including the PLO--that unless the right of return is an integral, primary issue to be discussed honestly and at the start of negotiations, Palestinians will not receive full justice. The Right of Return, because it is the most painful issue of all, has always been shelved for "final status negotiations." And why? Because if it is discussed honestly by Israel, Israel will be in the position of publicaly having to admit that they did in fact expel, transfer, or murder Palestinians in 1947-1949. They also will have to admit to the destruction of over 500 Palestinian villages in the territory originally assigned to Israel by the UN partition act of November, 1947.

One of the speakers at the Al-Awda conference, an Israeli Palestinian doctor, Hatim Kanaaneh, has lived for years in his family home in Gallilee. Dr Kanaaneh is a gentle man, whose memoirs, A Doctor in Galilee, is an excellent corrective to the stereotypical view, unfortunately perpetrated by staunch champions of Israel, that all Palestinians are terrorists. For many years, Dr. Kanaaneh was involved in public health matters, and he knows well how the second-class citizenship of the Palestinian Israelis has adversely affected the overall health of his minority.

Dr. Kanaaneh's blog, with the same title as his memoirs, is a gateway to knowing what it is like to live as a Palestinian within the Israeli state. An April entry on his blog, an "Open Letter to President Barak Obama" will give you insight into just how threatening the Israel Beiteinu proposals are to Palestinian Israelis. Here are some excerpts from the full letter, and I urge you to go to the blog to read the full text:

Mr. Lieberman wants me transferred out of the country though I have lived on land I inherited legally from forefathers who almost surely have better claim to descent from the ancient Hebrews than his. And mind you, Mr. President, my residence in the home he wants me evicted from predates the establishment of the state he wants to appropriate as his, and his alone, while he is a recent immigrant from Moldova. Would you, Mr. President, take a loyalty oath confirming your second-class status?

And:

You have to understand, sir, that I speak here of life-and-death issues for me and my family. Mr. Lieberman, Israel’s Foreign Minister, attained his impressive status through an openly racist election campaign that featured mass rallies at which calls of “Death to Arabs” were standard. Would you trust such a man with your future in the international arena, Mr. President? I surely hope not: but the majority of Israeli citizens seem to have done exactly that.

We as Americans, pride ourselves on our democratic tolerance of free speech, we lament the thought that some citizens receive second-class treatment. Yet in this California which has just created a new class of homosexual second-class citizens, I also find a reluctance on the part of the main stream media even to acknowledge the racism and injustice and very undemocratic implications of new proposed legislation in Israel. Americans should know what is going on there and make their objections known to Lieberman's brand of discrimination.

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Posted By Thone to Turnings and Truings at 5/27/2009 02:59:00 PM

FBI- Keeping Us Safe or Undermining our Liberties?

2009-05-14T14:25:00.001-07:00

Wearing your heart on your head

2009-04-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

Hands-down one of the best articles about wearing hijab (jazaks Marya!)...whether you're trying to understand why women put it on or take it off this is the place to start. Chaudry not only captures a lot of the external and internal struggles Muslim women go through, she do so with amazing clarity and objectivity.

After months of struggling to understand why so many American Muslim women are taking off their headscarves, I have come to this conclusion: that women of all shapes and sizes, cultures, and religious denominations undervalue themselves. And, contrary to Western feminists’ romanticized notions that the stripping off of one’s headscarf is inevitably a moment of rebellion against patriarchal institutions, I have found that, a great deal of the time, when an American Muslim woman takes off her headscarf it is likely a moment of surrender to a combination of social, political, cultural, and self-imposed pressures. Rather than it being a triumphant moment in which she seeks to define her spirituality beyond the confines of her wardrobe, or seeks to distance herself from a construction of her religious identity that seeks to contain her, it is most likely a moment in which she becomes overwhelmed by the growing weight of a society that labels her as an oppressed terrorist and a religious community that labels her as particularly virtuous and likely socially awkward.

You see, if and when an American Muslim woman puts on a headscarf out of her own free will, it is a unique moment in which her private relationship with God is manifested in a very public way. Unlike prayer, fasting, or even reading the Qur’an, when a Muslim woman chooses to cover herself she is suddenly putting a piece of her religiosity on display. There is a saying that some people wear their hearts on their sleeves. Well, for an American Muslim woman who covers her hair as a personal choice, to some extent she wears her spiritual heart on her head. She bows her covered head in prayer five times a day in submission to God, and chooses to prolong these moments of prayer by keeping her head covered throughout the day.

Although women of many religions cover their hair - including Orthodox Jews and Catholic Nuns - the idea that a woman’s spirituality is a function of how many yards of fabric she wears is an interesting concept, and one that does not sit well with mainstream society. In fact, in insisting on an increased modesty, an American Muslim woman who covers offends many Western sensibilities. And, adding to her challenges, she is also placed under a heightened level of scrutiny by a religious community that imposes an unrealistic construct of virtue upon her. Her community suddenly expects her to adhere to rigid rules and regulations, and she is in turn both resented and loved by her community as she struggles to adhere to these mandates.

In the end, an American Muslim woman in a scarf really has only one place to go for solace, for strength, and for peace – back to God. The society that she lives in writes her off as complaisant to her own oppression and the community that she belongs to insists that her worth lies not in the personality that the scarf contains but in the scarf itself. In either arena she is reduced and the headscarf is misappropriated and misunderstood. As much as a Muslim woman’s headscarf is no one’s business but her own, the headscarf has become everyone’s business and is on everyone’s mind.

Continue here

PS: The next time you hear a brother giving a lecture to sisters on wearing hijab, make sure he's read this. Many of them have great intentions but have no clue what it's all about.

FBI: Waiting for Mercy

2009-04-09T14:16:00.001-07:00

FBI: Less Drama, More National Security?

2009-03-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

FBI Spying on Mosques Draws Senate Attention; Rights Workshop Helps Local Muslims Deal With the Feds

Thursday, Mar. 26 2009
By Matt Coker in A Clockwork Orange, OC Religion

Orange County Weekly

A Senate Judiciary Committee questioned FBI Director Robert Mueller Wednesday about a Muslim coalition's consideration of breaking ties with the bureau following the highly publicized federal government spying on an Irvine mosque.

Meanwhile, a workshop has been organized for this Sunday to help local American Muslims deal with this frightening new twist in the "Global War on Terror." Details on that in a bit.

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) told Mueller he was "disappointed" to learn of the AMT statement in light of recent discussions urging "the FBI to gain the trust of the American Muslim community to assist in the effort to stop terrorism."

Reading from a news report where AMT claims the FBI has pressured Muslims to become informants, labeled civil rights advocates as criminals and spread misinformation, Feingold had a question for Mueller: "Can you determine and report to this committee whether mosques have been entered by FBI agents or informants without disclosing their identities under the authority of the attorney general guidelines and, if so, how many?"

(New Justice Department guidelines that took effect in December have lowered the threshold for beginning FBI investigations, allowing race and ethnicity to be factors in opening a probe. The ACLU has a fact sheet on the guidelines here.)

Replied Mueller: "I will say that we do not focus on institutions, we focus on individuals. And I will say generally if there is evidence or information as to individual or individuals undertaking illegal activities in religious institutions, with appropriate high-level approval, we would undertake investigative activities, regardless of the religion. But it would -- we would single that out as an exceptionally sensitive circumstance that would require much vetting before that occurred..."

Feingold then asked if the new attorney general guidelines are helping or hurting the FBI's relationship with the U.S. Muslim community, and what the bureau plans to do in light of the AMT statement to improve relations. Mueller responded that his "expectation is that our relationships are as good now as before the guidelines" and he added that the Muslim community "has been tremendously supportive and worked very closely with [the FBI] in a number of instances around the country."

Al-Hasan al-Basri

2009-02-28T05:17:00.000-08:00

Intro here

Unfortunately, after the passing away of Umar bin Abdul Aziz (may Allah be pleased with him), the Ummayid ruling family returned to it's old ways of lavishness and excessive love of worldly pleasures. However, Allah (swt) blessed the ummah of prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with pious scholars and people of dawah who stood against this wave of materialism to remind the people of the true essence of their deen.

Of those great scholars of that time, Sheikh Nadwi singled out Imam al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah be pleased with him).

His early days
He was born 21 A.H. His father Yasar was the servant of Zaid bin Thabit, the companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him). His mother Khayyirah was the servant of Umm Salamah, the wife of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and it is in her house that al-Hasan grew up and met many of the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and heard from them, making him of the greatest of the Tabi'een (followerd of the companions).

His knowledge and passion
He had vast knowledge of the Quran and Hadith. Moreover, he was attentive to the details of the society he lived in: its different classes, manners, illnesses and cures. He was also a very articulate and charismatic person, one who captures and moves people with his words. Most importantly, his passion, sincerity and eman were what made his words sink right into the hearts of the people. Al-Ghazali describes him as "one whose words are the closest to the words of the prophets (peace be upon them), and whose guidance is the closest to that of the companions (may Allah be pleased with them)."

His method of dawah
Al-Basri's advise to the people revolved around reminding them of the shortness and treachery of this life, and the ever-lastingness of the Hereafter. He described in his talks the times of the companions and compared it to his time, and how much the faith and manners of the Muslim ummah had deteriorated.

He also displayed courage in facing the rulers with the truth and reminding them of their duties and responsibilities for which they will one day be held accountable by Allah (swt).

Al-Hasan al-Basri was not just another scholar or man of dawah who lectured or gave classes. He combined practical tarbiyah (disciplining/upbringing) with spiritual tazkiyah (purification) and was able to guide many to live the true Islam and taste the sweetness of Iman.

His death
He passed away in 110 A.H. in Damascus. It is narrated that his funeral was after Friday prayers and that all the people were busied by it that day to the extent that 'asr prayer did not take place in the city's masjid that day because there was no one left there to pray.

May Allah (swt) be pleased with him and bless us with some of his sincerity and passion for guiding the Muslim ummah to the straight path, ameen.

The first Revivor: Umar bin Abdul Aziz

2009-02-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

Intro here

Sheikh Nadwi mentions several key characteristics that marked the short Ummayid rule of the Muslim world. Those include the return of the tribalism mentality and the idea of the superiority of one race over another (particularly Arabs over non-Arabs), which the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) had worked hard to eradicate. Also, there was a very dangerous change in the drivers and motivators of people, for many no longer performed good deeds (fighting in battle, generosity to neighbours,...) to get closer to Allah (swt), but rather to be talked about amongst the people.

There was also the unjustness of the rulers who would take from the poor and spend on their lavish lifestyles. Thus came to existance a very pampered 'aristocratic' class of people who were preoccupied by worldly pleasures. Nevertheless, this did not affect the majority of the ummah who still had a great respect for scholars and rightoeous people.

This is the world into which Umar bin Abdul Aziz was born and in which he was raised. It was said that his perfume could be smelt everywhere he went and that he had a particularly elegant walk which some of the women would try to learn. That was before his ascension to the 'throne' of khilafah.

The first thing he did was replace the unjust rulers of the Muslim provinces. He stopped the opressive taxes and was strict about rulers not accepting gifts or bribes, and about them not spending lavishly of the people's wealth.

On a personal level, he returned all the gifts he got to beit al-mal (the treasury of the ummah)and gave of his wealth and his wife's jewlery in charity. His zuhd and aversion of worldly comforts and pleasure was beyond that of any of the worshippers, let alone kings. He was also very conscious about not spending any of the ummah's wealth on himself. He would put off a candle which was fueled by money from the treasury if one busied him asking about himself (Umar's wellbeing).

He opened his doors to the people and announced rewards to those who would bring him news of the true state of society, or would advise him on something of benefit to the ummah.

He was able to embody the role of a true Muslim khalifah, one who takes responsiblity of the administrative and ruling affairs of the state, yet is also responsible for the knowledge and righteousness of the people (a role which had become restricted to the scholars of the time). He would send letters to the rulers of the Muslim provinces reminding them of their duties, guiding them to the straight path, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil.

Afterall, Umar bin Abdul Aziz was a knowledgable scholar of his own right. Mujahid (a famous scholar of the time) had said of him:"we came to him to teach him, but we did not leave until we learnt from him".

One of the greatest favors of this revivor on the Muslim ummah is his attention to the Hadith of the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him). For although hadith was written as early as the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), it was Omar bin Abdel Aziz who started the movement of collecting and preserving it by focusing the scholars' attention to it, just as his great grandfather Omar bin Al Khattab had encouraged the first khalifah Abu Baker al-Sideeq to do with the Quran (for more on Hadith collection, check out this post).

The effects
The reforms which Omar bin Abdel Aziz began were not favoured by all, and some worried they would lead to financial crises and losses for the ummah. However, what happened was to the contrary. The Muslim ummah was blessed with prosperity and security to an extent that the rich did not know where to spend their zakat. Yahya ibn Saeed narrates that Umar bin Abdul Aziz sent him to collect zakat from Africa. He did so, but could not find any poor people deserving of the money so he used it to free slaves.

The great khalifah passed away in 101 A.H., only two years and five months from the day he took responsibility of leading the Muslim ummah. May Allah (swt) have mercy on him and reward him for his great deeds.

The Seven Modern "Deadly" Sins According to the Catholic Church

2009-02-19T15:41:00.000-08:00

Genetic modification
Experiments on the person
Environmental pollution
Taking or selling illegal drugs
Social injustice
Causing poverty
Financial greed.

Source (and an interesting discussion on the sins of men versus women): BBC News

Got Kicked Out of School- Kuffiyah

2009-02-18T14:33:00.001-08:00

The [European] Left and Islamic Resistance

2009-02-16T00:15:00.000-08:00

A follow up to this post, albeit from a different point of view.

Excerpts below from a speech by Nadine Rosa-Rosso, a Brussels-based independent Marxist, at The Beirut International Forum for Resistance, Anti-Imperialism, Solidarity between Peoples and Alternatives, held from January 16 to 18, 2009 ( full text also here):

The massive demonstrations in European capitals and major cities in support of the people of Gaza highlighted once again the core problem: the vast majority of the Left, including communists, agrees in supporting the people of Gaza against Israeli aggression, but refuses to support its political expressions such as Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Left not only refuses to support them, but also denounces them and fights against them. Support for the people of Gaza exists only at a humanitarian level but not at the political level.

...

At all the demonstrations I participated in Brussels, I asked some demonstrators to translate the slogans that were chanted in Arabic, and they did so with pleasure every time. I heard a lot of support for the Palestinian resistance and denunciation of Arab governments (in particular the Egyptian President Mubarak), Israel's crimes, and the deafening silence of the international community or the complicity of the European Union. In my opinion, these were all political slogans quite appropriate to the situation. But surely some people only hear Allah-u-akbar and form their opinion on this basis. The very fact that slogans are shouted in Arabic is sometimes enough to irritate the Left. For example, the organizing committee of the meeting of 11 January was concerned about which languages would be used. But could we not have simply distributed the translations of these slogans? This might be the first step towards mutual understanding. When we demonstrated in 1973 against the pro-American military takeover by Pinochet in Chile, no one would have dared to tell the Latin American demonstrators "Please, chant in French!” In order to lead this fight, we all learnt slogans in Spanish and no one was offended.

...
If we would agree to stop staring blindly and with prejudice at the religious beliefs of people, we would perhaps "learn to understand" why the Arab and Muslim masses, who today demonstrate for Palestine, are screaming ‘Down with Mubarak’, an Arab and Muslim leader, and why they jubilantly shout the name of Chavez, a Christian-Latin American leader. Doesn’t this make it obvious that the Arab and Muslim masses frame their references not primarily through religion but by the relation of leaders to US and Zionist Imperialism?

And if the Left would formulate the issue in these terms, would they not partly regain the support of the people that formerly gave the Left its strength?

Another cause of paralysis of the Left in the anti-imperialist struggle is the fear of being associated with terrorism.

On the 11th of January 2009, the president of the German Chamber of Representatives, Walter Momper, the head of the parliamentarian group of ‘Die Grüne’ (the German Greens), Franziska Eichstädt-Bohlig, a leader of ‘Die Linke’, Klaus Lederer, and others held a demonstration in Berlin with 3000 participants to support Israel under the slogan ‘stop the terror of Hamas’. One must keep in mind that Die Linke are considered by many in Europe as the new and credible alternative Left, and an example to follow.

The entire history of colonisation and decolonisation is the history of land that has been stolen by military force and has been reclaimed by force. From Algeria to Vietnam, from Cuba to South-Africa, from Congo to Palestine: no colonial power ever renounced to its domination by means of negotiation or political dialogue alone.

Nadine's criticism is powerful because it comes from an athiest, European, leftist who is able to take a step back and point out the racist, islamophobic, and imperialist glasses through which the European 'left' views the world, wether they realize it or not.

This is important to take into consideration when discussing not only global protests and resistance to Zionism/neocolonialism but also the status and 'integration' of Muslims in Europe.

Finally, comments below from a I.K. (thanks for forwarding speech and comments!), in relation to US 'Left':

One additional comment I would add, is that it is important to note that the author is characterizing major trends of the "European Left" specifically "traditional" Marxist/Communist political organizing which has a long history there. There are, however, some elements of "Third Worldist" leftists that view Islamists in a more positive way.

In the USA, this could be seen reflected in the differences between UFPJ (which has its organizing base in the much older Communist Party of the United States (CP USA) and ANSWER (which currently has its organizing base in the Party for Socialism and Liberation; but before the 2004 split, in the Workers World Party).

Traditional Marxists (like many in Europe) do not see beyond "class" as an organizing unit, neglecting the national aspirations of Third World nations that may very well organize beyond "class" including the use of religion.

An inspiring read...

2009-02-13T06:49:00.000-08:00

It's called Rijjal al-Fikr wa ad-Da'wah fi al-Islam [Men of Thought and Dawah in Islam]. The book came about when the great Indian Muslim scholar Abu al-Hasan Ali al-Nadawai , may Allah (swt) have mercy on him, was invited to give a series of lectures at the University of Damascus. After much thought he picked the topic of revivors throughout Islamic history. The lectures were a huge success and were eventually turned into a very popular book. I've been trying to get my hands on it for a couple of years now and finally managed to borrow a copy, alhamdulilAllah. (Funny thing with books of knowledge, Allah (swt) sends them at the perfect time.)

The book covers seven giants of Islamic history, may Allah (swt) have mercy upon them and be pleased with them: Omar bin Abd-el-Aziz (62-101 A.H.), al-Hasan al-Basri (21-110 A.H.), Ahmad ibn Hanbal (164-241 A.H.), Abul-Hasan al- Asha'ri (270-324 A.H.), Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (450-505 A.H.), Abdul Qadir al-Jilani(470-561 A.H.), Jalal ad-Deen ar-Roumi (604-672 A.H.).

The power of the book lies in the fact that it is not simply a collection of biographies. Rather than focus on the lives of the great scholars, the author chooses to present their lives and achievements in the context of the larger historical events and the particular challenges facing the dawah movement and the Muslim ummah at the time, be them theological, societal, or political (usually a combination of the three).

Although each reformer had his own personal characteristics and faced unique challenges, there is definitely a consistent theme throughout the book: particular traits that are common in all of the above named scholars.

There are the obvious ones: Their solid knowledge of the deen which they acquired though spending years with great teachers of their time. However, their insatiable quest for knowledge did not distract them from their ibadah (worship) nor their work and worldly duties (ruling, teaching, working,...). This balance was essential.
There was also their unparalleled motivation and sincerity to use their knowledge and abilities to benefit their ummah the best way they can. They all worked tirelessly for the sake of this deen until their very last breath, may Allah (swt) reward them for their efforts.

There was also their zuhd, their complete disregard for the pleasures of this world. Not only did they refuse to sell their knowledge for worldly gains, or be satisfied with high-ranking positions in governmental institutions and universities, they stood against the tyrants of their time and were not afraid to speak out against the injustices committed by Muslim rulers, sometimes in the name of Islam.

However, what really distinguished these inspirational figures was their ability to not only grasp the sacred knowledge and be famous scholars and leaders within academic circles, but to also understand the unique challenges of their times and societies well and be able to bring about a revolution of thought in applying the sacred knowledge to revive the people's faith and fight falsehood, which ever form it may have taken.

Out of the many powerful points made in the introduction of the book, there was one key point which stood out. The Muslim ummah has gone through many turbulent times and been exposed to numerous external and internal threats, yet Islam remains strong and virtually unchanged 1400 years later. Why? First, it the vitality of this religion which Allah (swt) has made to be appropriate for all places and all times. The second is that Allah (swt) has promised to provide this ummah with strong, pious, knowledgable, fearless revivors to ensure the the continuity and regeneration of this deen till the end of time, a blessing which he has not provided to any other religion or group.

The author goes on to point out that history books may only highlight a handful of individuals, thus it may seem that the lineage of revivors is scattered and discontinuous. However, for those who dive deep into the books of history and knowledge, it becomes obvious that the movement of Islamic revival is a continuous one, for there has never been a time which was devoid of righteous groups and individuals striving to call out to the truth, speak out against injustice, challenge tyranny and corruption, and open new windows of thought and reform.

God willing, I hope to be able to post glimpses of the scholars lives from the book in the coming weeks...short stories which I found particularly touching and inspiring (if I get lazy please start nagging).

May Allah (swt) make us of those whom He uses in His Way, ameen.

Need more motivation to fast every week?

2009-02-10T06:52:00.000-08:00

If 70 years away from hell fire is not enough...

Something about the way Americans eat isn’t working – and hasn’t been for a long time. The number of obese Americans is now greater than the number who are merely overweight, according to government figures released last month. It’s as if once we taste food, we can’t stop until we’ve gorged ourselves. Taking that inclination into account, some people are adopting an unusual solution to overeating. Rather than battling temptation in grocery stores, restaurants and their own kitchens, they simply don’t eat. At least not at certain times of the day or specific days of the week. Called intermittent fasting, this rather stark approach to weight control appears to be supported by science, not to mention various religious and cultural practices around the globe.

...

“There is something kind of magical about starvation,” says Dr. Marc Hellerstein, a professor of endocrinology, metabolism and nutrition at UC Berkeley, who studies fasting.

Adds Mark P. Mattson, chief of the laboratory of neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging: “In normal health subjects, moderate fasting – maybe one day a week or cutting back on calories a couple of days a week – will have health benefits for most anybody.” Mattson is among the leading researchers on the effects of calorie restriction and the brain.

...

“We’re brilliant at this,” Hellerstein says, referring to humans’ physical reaction to not eating. “We’re not good at responding to too many calories, but we’re very good at responding to fasting...

State of Seige

2009-02-08T09:13:00.000-08:00

By Mahmoud Darwish

Tomorrow we will love life.
When tomorrow comes, life will be something to adore
just as it is, ordinary, or tricky
gray, or colourful…stripped of judgement day and
purgatory… and if joy is a necessity
let it be
light on the heart and the back
Once embittered by joy, twice shy

[To a killer:] If you reflected upon the face
of the victim you slew, you would have remembered
your mother in the room full of gas. You would have freed
yourself of the bullet’s wisdom, and changed your mind: ‘I
will never find myself thus.’

[To another killer:] If you left the foetus thirty days
in its mother’s womb, things would have been different.
The occupation would be over and this suckling infant
would forget the time of the siege and grow up a healthy
child reading at school, with one of your daughters
the ancient history of Asia.
They might even fall in love
and give birth to a daughter [she would be Jewish by birth].
What, then, have you done now?
Your daughter is now a widow
and your granddaughter an orphan.
What have you done with your scattered family?
And how have you slain three doves in one story?

Reem is one of 8 US lawyers visiting Gaza as reps of the US National Lawyers Guild...the devastation and horror she is witnessing is not just beyond words, it is beyond tears...but she has managed to share her words (and tears) here.

Ha'aretz Took It Down, So We're Posting It

2009-02-04T17:41:00.000-08:00

Gaza residents: IDF troops posing as Hamas men

By Amira Hass, Haaretz Correspondent

The testimonies of Gaza Strip residents are revealing new details about the Israel Defense Forces' mode of operation there. In the past two days, Beit Lahia residents forced from their homes said soldiers were posing as members of Hamas' armed wing while advancing on the ground.

The daily pauses in bombing allow Gazans to meet with the displaced - most of whom are housed in an UNRWA school - and hear their stories.

Gaza resident S. told Haaretz he heard several people say they saw armed men wearing the uniforms and symbols of the Iz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, who "called out to each other in Arabic, as if they had caught a collaborator, and then, with the element of surprise, went into the houses."

A Gaza radio station warned that troops posing as locals were driving a vehicle normally used by paramedics. Residents said the radio broadcaster listed the vehicle's license plate number and color.

Haaretz has also learned that one of the army's methods for evacuating a home is to fire a missile toward its upper level. That is how B.'s house in Sajaiyeh was destroyed. It was bombed just a few minutes after a missile struck and 40 shell-shocked family members walked out of the house.

The IDF has also forced at least 40,000 people to leave their homes in agricultural and border areas. In Rafah, most of the 20,000 people removed from their homes were lodging with relatives and not in UNRWA facilities.

Source: Ha'aretz

Gaza Agriculture Has Been Devastated

2009-02-03T15:59:00.000-08:00

Aid in one hand bible in the other

2009-02-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, it still happens...

KHARTOUM - A US aid group has been expelled from Sudan's war-hit region of Darfur for having a large stock of Arabic-language bibles, the official SUNA news agency reported on Saturday.

The Texas-based "Thirst No More" humanitarian group's Internet website says its work in Darfur focuses on "bringing clean, safe, and sustainable drinking water," with no reference to Christian missionary work or distribution of bibles in Muslim Darfur.

A Sudanese official said members of the group have admitted possessing 3,400 bibles in Arabic in violation of laws and agreements governing the work of humanitarian organisations in the country.

Continue here

Also, to find out why Save Darfur can't save Darfur, check out this post.

Ooooh the Propaganda

2009-01-28T17:08:00.000-08:00

[Apartheid] Israel Violated Cease-fire 7 Times
US Media Misreport Latest Gaza Violence
Please phone and ask for correction!

[A FLYER about this can be downloaded at: IfAmericansKnew.org/download/gazacfv.pdf ]

The American media is reporting violence that took place along the Gaza-Israel border on January 27th as, in the words of CNN, "the first incidents of violence since last week's Mideast cease-fire," telling the public that Palestinians broke the ceasefire. [1]

The reality, however, is that Israel had already violated the cease-fire at least 7 times, the Israeli military killing 2 Palestinian civilians and injuring at least 5, at least one of them a child:

[Apartheid] Israeli forces killed a Palestinian farmer in Khuza'a east of Khan Yunis on Jan 18
[Apartheid]Israeli forces killed a Palestinian farmer east of Jabalia on Jan 19
[Apartheid] Israeli naval gunboats shelled the Gaza coast line, causing damage to civilian structures on Jan 21
[Apartheid] Israeli troops shot and injured a child east of Gaza City on Jan 22
[Apartheid] Israeli gunboat fire injured 4-7 Palestinian fishermen on Jan 22
[Apartheid] Israeli shelling set a Palestinian house on fire on Jan 22
[Apartheid] Israeli tanks fired on the border town of Al Faraheen, causing damage to homes and farms on Jan 24

This list does not include two Palestinian children who were killed on January 20th by unexploded ordnance left from Israel's 22-day assault on Gaza.[2] (Additional details about the above cease-fire breaches and citations can be found in the timeline below.)

Media Contacts: Most of the media seem to have reported this wrong. You should check your local newspaper and contact it if it reported the story incorrectly.

Below are some national contacts:

Associated Press
Phone: 212-621-1500 (Ask for International Desk or for Corporate Communications)
Fax: 212-621-7523
General Questions and Comments: info@ap.org
The AP article

The New York Times
Phone: 212-556-1234
Fax: 212-556-3690
Letters to the Editor (for publication): letters@nytimes.com
Write to the news editors: news-tips@nytimes.com
Corrections: senioreditor@nytimes.com
New York Times Contact Information by Department
How to Contact New York Times Reporters and Editors
The NYT article

Washington Post
Phone: 202-334-6000
Fax: 202-334-5269
Letters to the Editor: letters@washpost.com
Ombudsman: ombudsman@washpost.com
Contact Washington Post Writers and Editors
The Washington Post article

CNN
Phone: 404-827-1500
Fax: 404-827-1784
The CNN article

NPR
Phone: 202-513-3232
Fax: 202-513-3329
E-mail: Jeffrey A. Dvorkin, Ombudsman ombudsman@npr.org
The NPR article

McClatchey Newspapers
Main Phone: 916-321-1855
The McClatchey's article

For more media contacts, visit Fair.org

Timeline of Cease-fire Breaches & Important Events

Sunday, Jan 18 – After a 22-day assault on Gaza in which over 1,300 Palestinians were killed and approximately 9 [Apartheid] Israelis were killed, [Apartheid] Israel and Hamas each declared a ceasefire. Within several hours, the first breach took place, when [Apartheid] Israel killed a Palestinian civilian:

The UN reports: "One Palestinian farmer was killed on the morning of 18 January in Khuza'a east of Khan Yunis following the Israeli-declared cease-fire." [3]

Monday, Jan 19 – Once again the ceasefire was breached when [Apartheid] Israel killed another Palestinian civilian. Palestinian militants did respond, but caused no damage or injuries:

The UN reports: "On 19 January, a Palestinian farmer was killed by [Apartheid] Israeli gunfire east of Jabalia. The same day, Palestinian militants fired a number of mortars towards [Apartheid] Israel and also shot at Israeli troops still inside the Gaza Strip. No injuries or damage were reported." [4]

Wednesday, Jan 21 – [Apartheid] Israeli naval boats fired at the Gaza coastline, causing some damage.

IMEMC reports: "On Wednesday, the boats fired shells at the coast line, causing damage but no injuries." [5]

Thursday, Jan 22 – A Palestinian child was wounded by gunfire from [Apartheid] Israeli troops, between 4 and 7 Palestinian civilians (fishermen) were injured when they were fired upon by [Apartheid] Israel's navy, and a home was set fire by shells from the Israeli navy:

The UN reports: "Four Palestinians were injured on 22 January by a shell fired from an [Apartheid] Israeli gunboat off the Gaza coast. The same day, a house was set on fire by a shell fired from an [Apartheid] Israeli gunboat. No injuries were reported. Also on 22 January, IDF troops shot and injured a child east of Gaza City near the border." [6]

IMEMC reports: "On Thursday of last week, [Apartheid] Israeli Navy forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen just off the shore of Gaza City, injuring seven civilians." [7]

Saturday, Jan 24 – [Apartheid] Israeli tanks fired on the border town of Al Faraheen, causing damage to homes and farms. Also, Aid agencies call on Israel to finally open all crossings into Gaza:

IMEMC reports: "On Saturday, the [Apartheid] Israeli army opened fire at residents homes and farmlands located in Al Faraheen village located in the southern part of the Gaza strip. Local residents said that Israeli tanks stationed at the borders opened fire at their homes and farms; damage was reported but no injuries." [8]

Maan News reports: "A coalition of international aid agencies urged the [Apartheid] Israeli government on Saturday to open the Gaza Strip's border to allow vital goods into the territory... The agencies, including Oxfam, Save the Children, and the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO) held a news conference on Saturday at the intensive care unit of Gaza's Ash-Shifa Hospital to point up an ongoing humanitarian crisis stemming from [Apartheid] Israel's blockade." [9]

Sunday, Jan 25 – [Apartheid] Israeli F-16s flew over Gaza, causing schools, government offices, and banks to close and causing Egypt to rapidly evacuate all of its personnel from the Rafah crossing in fear that an attack was imminent.

Haaretz reports: "On Sunday [Apartheid] Israeli F-16s flew over Gaza, terrifying people who thought [Apartheid] Israel was launching a new offensive. A number of banks, government offices and schools were closed, occupants running to their homes as the [Apartheid] Israeli warplanes flew overhead." [10]

Maan News reports: "Egypt suddenly and rapidly evacuated its personnel from the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Sunday fearing a possible [Apartheid] Israeli airstrike on the Palestinian side of the crossing, Egyptian security sources said." [11]

Violence on January 27th

What appears to have happened today is that a remote device was detonated near or under an [Apartheid] Israeli patrol near the Kissufim crossing between Gaza and [Apartheid] Israel. It is not clear on which side of the border the attack took place. One soldier was killed and three were injured.

(The New York Times is reporting this as "the first serious confrontations between Hamas and [Apartheid] Israel since each declared a tentative cease-fire 10 days ago."[12] However, there is no indication that Hamas was responsible for the bomb and seems, despite all the [Apartheid] Israeli violations, to be pushing for a cease-fire.)

The [Apartheid] Israeli military then opened fire on the Palestinian farmland nearby, killing a civilian: a 27-year-old farmer was killed by tank fire.

[Apartheid] Israel also closed the crossings into Gaza, denying the entire population (1.5 million) access to desperately needed shipments of food, medicine, and other humanitarian aid.

An [Apartheid] Israeli drone fired a missile into the city of Khan Yunis, injuring a Hamas militant on a motorcycle. There are reports that 2 Palestinian children playing nearby were also injured.

It has also been reported that [Apartheid] Israeli soldiers occupied a home near the town of Deir Al Balah.

[A FLYER about this can be downloaded at: IfAmericansKnew.org/download/gazacfv.pdf ]

---

1. CNN
2. UN OCHA
3. UN OCHA
4.UN OCHA
5. IMEMC
6. UN OCHA
7. IMEMC
8. IMEMC
9. Maan News
10. Haaretz
11. Maan News
12. The New York Times

Today is the Memorial Marking the Holocaust

2009-01-27T11:19:00.001-08:00

January 27th is International Holocaust Memorial Day. This marks the anniversary of the day in 1945 that the Auschwitz death camp was liberated by Soviet troops.

The horror of what was perpetrated there is well-known.

At least 1.1m people, mainly Jews from all over Europe, were killed, the majority in the gas chambers.

After the end of World War Two Auschwitz was turned into a museum and memorial.

While the day is an auspicious day of reflection at the brutality and inaction of the conscientious, one can not but draw parallels, however far removed, to the present day concentration camp called Gaza.

What Gaza Changed

2009-01-23T01:48:00.000-08:00

I have spent the last few days looking for a good opine on the conclusion of the Gaza War - declaring it to be over and the Palestinian resistance to be victorious. I didn't find anything. Maybe its because it's too early to declare victory yet. Plus, who feels like celebrating when thousands are lying in the hospitals of Gaza waiting for their wounds and burns to heal, not knowing what lies ahead.

Below are a few interesting remarks from Kolko's article on CounterPunch:

How will history describe the Israeli war against the Palestinians in Gaza? Another Holocaust, this time perpetrated by the descendants of the victims? An election ploy by ambitious Israeli politicians to win votes in the February 10 elections? A test range for new American weapons? Or an effort to lock in the new Obama Administration into an anti-Iranian position? An attempt to establish its military “credibility” after its disastrous defeat in the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006? Perhaps all of these…and more.

But one thing is certain. Israel has killed at least 100 Palestinians for each of its own claimed losses, a vast disproportion that has produced horror in much of the world, creating a new cause which has mobilized countless numbers of people—possibly as strong as the Vietnam war movement. It has made itself a pariah nation—save in the United States and a few other countries. Above all, it has enflamed the entire Muslim world.

I hope it did...I really hope it did...

Over the past weeks, I have gone from desperation to euphoria and everything in between, many times. One thing that finally brought me to my senses were the words of a wise teacher in one of her halaqas.

She's not a politician, simply someone looking at the big picture and explaining things in terms of Quranic promises. The words she kept repeating were that the people of Gaza are being tested under severely unjust situations because of the sins and the weak state of the entire Muslim ummah. InshaAllah the people of Gaza will have dignity and honor in this world and the next. They are truely living Islam and are willing to sacrifice this world for the next. They will get their promised reward for their patience and courage inshaAllah.

As for the rest of us, our jihad is over simpler things and we are still failing. How hard have we been trying to stop our nafs from back biting, over eating, over spending, over sleeping...? In fact, it is only a few of the Muslim ummah that are struggling against their nafs; many have either given up or never tried.

The most important thing for the Muslim ummah to do at this time is to repent from our sins, change our ways, return to the book of Allah and the teachings of His Messenger. Of course, making dua, raising awareness, contacting political leaders all helps alleviate injustice, but at the end of the day it's all down to the spiritual status of the ummah and how close our lifestyles are to the teachings of Islam.

The bombing in Gaza might be over, at least for now, but our work has just begun. The war should be a wake up call for each of us to take a deep look at our lives and make the long overdue changes. Time to get serious about our worship, our Islamic knowledge, our relationship with the Quran, and our responsibilities to our families and community.

"...Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)..." [Holy Quran, ar-Raad, 13:11]

Time To Boycott the Quran

2009-01-20T12:04:00.000-08:00

(in context- on your Cell Phones, if you live in Arab nations, and you download the service for Quran on the phone)

With the Gaza Massacre just behind us, and talk rife about an Israeli goods boycott, we got a new company to boycott- Pelephone- news via Fox News:

Pelephone has begun offering a Koran text service that enables users to tap into verses of choice from the Muslim Holy Book at will.

In the U.S., AT&T offers a similar MyFaith application for customers to get daily Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish and and Sikh updates, prayers and verses and offers a social networking FaithBase site for connecting Christians 18 and up.

But from my understanding Pelephone will be targeting Arab countries largely and not the AT&T version which from what I read is similar to the Israeli company but not by the Israeli company.

If your like most immigrant Muslims, then AT&T is just another Zionist controlled company and you will most likely be boycotting it already.

From the Quran

2009-01-15T22:39:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago I got an SMS from a friend about verses in the Quran which reflect exactly what the Palestinian resistance is facing today in Gaza. Verses are below, from Surah Al-Imran (Chapter 3, verses 166-175).

And what struck you on the day the two armies met was by permission of Allah that He might make evident the [true] believers.

And that He might make evident those who are hypocrites. For it was said to them, "Come, fight in the way of Allah or [at least] defend." They said, "If we had known [there would be] fighting, we would have followed you." They were nearer to disbelief that day than to faith, saying with their mouths what was not in their hearts. And Allah is most Knowing of what they conceal

Those who said about their brothers while sitting [at home], "If they had obeyed us, they would not have been killed." Say, "Then prevent death from yourselves, if you should be truthful."

And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision,

Rejoicing in what Allah has bestowed upon them of His bounty, and they receive good tidings about those [to be martyred] after them who have not yet joined them - that there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.

They receive good tidings of favor from Allah and bounty and [of the fact] that Allah does not allow the reward of believers to be lost

Those [believers] who responded to Allah and the Messenger after injury had struck them. For those who did good among them and feared Allah is a great reward -

Those to whom hypocrites said, "Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them." But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, "Sufficient for us is Allah , and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs."

So they returned with favor from Allah and bounty, no harm having touched them. And they pursued the pleasure of Allah , and Allah is the possessor of great bounty.

That is only Satan who frightens [you] of his supporters. So fear them not, but fear Me, if you are [indeed] believers.

True today as it was 1430 years ago and forever to come. May Allah (swt) strengthen all those who fight in His way and make us of them, ameen.

TOMORROW: 15 Minutes of Your Time to Save Palestinian Lives

2009-01-15T18:27:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, Friday the 16th, has been designated a National Call in Day for Gaza. We need to get key phone lines ringing off the hook, starting tomorrow.

All we need is 15 minutes of your time.

How important is your participation? MPAC reports that <>

Can you imagine that? For every person of conscience who called in solidarity with the Palestinians, the LA Mayor's office heard from 10 people who supported the actions of the murderous state of Israel.

With the death toll now well over 1,000 and hospitals, schools and relief agency headquarters all under unprecedented military attack, 15 minutes is the LEAST we can do.

Please check out the simple instructions included below, and start calling. Then keep calling, AND please spread the word.

----------

Please Circulate Widely!

National Call-In Day for Gaza!

January 16, 2009

We designate Friday, January 16th as National Call-In Day for Gaza. Calling is quick, easy, and effective, and will take about 5-10 minutes. We need to keep the phones ringing non-stop for the duration of the day so that our message CAN NO LONGER BE IGNORED.

Contact in order of importance:

1) Call President-Elect Obama's Transition Team at 202-540-3000.

Ask that President-Elect Obama and his team call for:

1) An immediate cease-fire.

2) An end to the blockade and siege of Gaza.

3) An immediate withdrawal from Gaza.

Be firm and polite and stress the fact that over a thousand people have died and thousands have been injured in Gaza, mainly civilians. This follows months of suffering under a severe blockade that has resulted in shortages of food, fuel and basic medical supplies. When calling, mention (UN Security Council Resolution 1860 that was adopted last week which calls for an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access.

2) Call your Representative at 202-224-3121. Ask how they voted on House Resolution 34 which passed overwhelmingly in the House last Friday, with 390 Representatives voting yes, 5 no, and 22 present. The resolution "recognizes Israel's right to defend itself" and "reaffirms the United States' strong support for Israel."

If your Representative voted "no" or "present" on H.Res. 34, thank them and ask that they cosponsor Rep. Kucinich's upcoming resolution.

(See: http://endtheoccupation.org/downloads/KUCINI_001_xml.pdf)

If your representative voted "yes" on H.Res. 34 state your disagreement with their vote and ask them to co-sponsor the Kucinich resolution.

3) Call your Senators at 202-224-3121 and assert your disagreement with their unanimous vote on Senate Resolution 10 and ask that they introduce a resolution in the Senate that is similar to Rep. Kucinich's resolution in the House.

Please forward this to all your lists and personally contact 10 friends and urge them to make these calls to save lives in Gaza.

Change happens with numbers. That is how Obama became president and that is how we can bring a lasting peace and justice to the Palestinians. As people living in America, we control the discourse and the funding that has resulted in the present massacre in Gaza. Considering the fundamental role that we play in this political situation, our participation is the least we can do.

"The death of children is the death of innocence, and the death of innocence is the downfall of humanity."

– Emine Erdogan, wife of Turkey's Prime Minister, 1/10/09

Tijuana Rebels Shoot Rockets At San Diego

2009-01-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

You are thinking Muslamics people have lost it? Right, but its a legitimate claim! The Israeli's used it to describe what they experience everyday and the analogy took on like a California wildfire. Right, rockets from TJ....Well Randall Kunh had a similar analogy to share with us all in a piece he wrote for Washington Times, my favorite quote:

Maybe some day soon, common sense will prevail and no corpus of misleading analogies abut Tijuana or the crazy guy across the hall who wants to murder your daughter will be able to obscure the truth. And at that moment, in a country whose people shouted We Shall Overcome, Ich bin ein Berliner, End Apartheid, Free Tibet and Save Darfur, we will all join together and shout "Free Gaza. Free Palestine." And because we are Americans, the world will take notice and they will be free, and perhaps peace will prevail for all the residents of the Holy Land.

Which goes into something I have been writing about on my blog about Gaza and the pop. culture syndrome. (Persians and Gaza, Freeway Guerrilla Art) On Muslamics Zahra posted up on the Peace Scarf and then on her blog she blogs away.

You think BDS doesn't stand a chance?

2009-01-13T01:55:00.000-08:00

Think again...

Very good article by Naomi Klein (excerpts below):

Several days into Israel's Gaza assault, Richard Ramsey, the managing director of a British telecom company, sent an e-mail to the Israeli tech firm MobileMax. "As a result of the Israeli government action in the last few days we will no longer be in a position to consider doing business with yourself or any other Israeli company."

When contacted by The Nation, Ramsey said his decision wasn't political. "We can't afford to lose any of our clients, so it was purely commercially defensive."

It was this kind of cold business calculation that led many companies to pull out of South Africa two decades ago. And it's precisely the kind of calculation that is our most realistic hope of bringing justice, so long denied, to Palestine.

By the way, it seems the boycott of American goods and services is picking up again in the Arab world (no surprise). There are all these messages about stores like McDonalds and Burger King donating a portion of their revenue to the Apartheid State. I am usually quick to dismiss these as myths. In case I'm wrong, does anybody know of a US (or other) franchise which has publicly announced support for the Apartheid state (financial or otherwise) during this war?

This is the IDF

2009-01-12T17:29:00.001-08:00

Are We Ready For Jihad?

2009-01-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

Submitted by Guest Blogger Samia R. Khan

Included below is a translation of the recent fatwa that was signed by 40 Scholars in Egypt. Although a fatwa is not binding upon the masses, I thought it would be good to reflect on the idea of Jihaad at this time. After I finished reading, I couldn't help but think about the condition of the Muslim ummah around the world at this point in time. Are we ready for Jihad?

Jihaad [struggling and striving for the sake of Allah] is a part of Islam, and often times in the America we spend more time on the defensive rather then thinking about this concept in a holistic sense. Jihaad includes an internal aspect, which we struggle with our personal desires, as well as an external aspect where we struggle against the oppressor.

By: A group of scholars and callers in Egypt

1/4/2009

At-Tibyān Publications

All praise is due to Allāh, Lord of the Worlds. There is no deity worthy of worship but Him, the All-Powerful, the Able, the All-Mighty, the Triumphant, the One, the Subduer. Nothing escapes him on the Earth or in the heavens. And may the Blessings and Peace [of Allāh] be upon our Prophet Muhammad, the slave of Allāh and His Messenger, the Imām of the Mujāhidīn and the commander of the conquerers.

Indeed the events occurring now on one of the lands of Islām and the Muslims, in the land of Gaza in Palestine the Resistant, from unconcealed transgression and massacres, are spurned by all values and morals, and are rejected by all humanity. [These events] forced those of us who have signed this proclamation – a group of the scholars and callers of our beloved Egypt – to clarify our opinion so as to have an excuse in front of Allāh 'Azza Wa Jall, and in clarification to the people.

Firstly: Indeed the blessed land of Palestine, which Allāh has blessed in His Book, is an Islāmic land in every sense of the word. Within it was the first of the two Qiblahs, and in it is the second of the two Masjids and the third of the holy sanctuaries, and it was the place of our Messenger's, صلى الله عليه و سلم, ascension. Therefore, it is not permissible for anyone, whoever he may be, to give up this land, or even a part of it, to the non-Muslims.

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ

Glorified (and Exalted) is He (Allāh) [above all that (evil) they associate with Him] Who took His slave (Muhammad) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Harām (at Makkah) to Al-Masjid-al-Aqsā (in Jerusalem), the neighborhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him (Muhammad) of Our Ayāt Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer
Al-Isrā'; 1

Secondly: The global zionist movement manifested in the state of Israel, they are the people strongest in enmity towards the believers throughout their history. Their enmity to Allāh and His Prophets and Messengers is overflowing, and they are behind every evil, and behind every corruption. They nullified the covenants and they made the prohibited permissible, and betrayed and made an example of everyone who dealt with them and came close to them. And they usurped the land of Palestine at the expense of its humble people and Muslim inhabitants, with continuous oppressive, transgressive support from the west.

لَتَجِدَنَّ أَشَدَّ النَّاسِ عَدَاوَةً لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُواْ

Verily, you will find the strongest among men in enmity to the believers (Muslims) the Jews and those who are Al-Mushrikūn
Al-Mā'idah; 82

And these Israeli zionists are an occupying gang who usurped the land of Palestine, but the rights must be returned to its people no matter the length of the time that has passed, and we will not be pleased with and we will not accept this tyrannical occupation of this Holy Land by this gang of zionists.

Third: Al-Jihād in the Path of Allāh and armed resistance is the strategic option for the return of the usurped land and the plundered rights. The zionists do not know the language of dialogue and do not understand the meaning of peace. Their Manhaj (methodology) is that of killing and causing corruption upon the earth. Therefore, we believe and we are certain that the only language they understand is the language of Jihād, by all of its ways. And Jihād should not be stopped except after the expulsion of the last Zionist from the land of Palestine.

وَأَعِدُّواْ لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ وَمِن رِّبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدْوَّ اللّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ

And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war (tanks, planes, missiles, artillery) to threaten the enemy of Allāh and your enemy
Al-Anfāl; 60

Fourthly: Those who took the path of Jihād and resistance as their path, and carried their souls upon their palms and put forth their martyrs and their wealth and sacrificed what is expensive and dear to them as a price in order to free this land, despite the military apparatus that is possessed by the enemy and despite their criminal offensive power that makes its blind hatred towards everything that is Muslim known, these people are from the Victorious Party by the Permission of Allāh, and they are worthy of support and assistance and aid.

Fifthly: And here we remind and we assert that the role of the masses is in aiding this cause, and their Shar'ī obligation that our Religion has mandated for us is Jihād in the Path of Allāh in every sense of the word, and offering financial aid and boycotting Israel in every possible way, economically, politically, culturally on an equal level, as well as boycotting those who prop up Israel in the East or the West, and rejecting normalization [of relations] in every way. And we assert the prohibition of interacting with the zionist entities and those who prop them up in any of the ways of interaction and normalization.

And it is obligatory for us to stand under His Ta'ālā's Statement,

وَلاَ تَهِنُوا وَلاَ تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنتُمُ الأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ * إِن يَمْسَسْكُمْ قَرْحٌ فَقَدْ مَسَّ الْقَوْمَ قَرْحٌ مِّثْلُهُ وَتِلْكَ الأيَّامُ نُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ النَّاسِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ اللّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَيَتَّخِذَ مِنكُمْ شُهَدَاء وَاللّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الظَّالِمِينَ

So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, and you will be superior (in victory) if you are indeed (true) believers. If a wound (and killing) has touched you, be sure a similar wound (and killing) has touched the others. And so are the days (good and not so good), We give to men by turns, that Allāh may test those who believe, and that He may take martyrs from among you. And Allāh likes not the Thālimūn (wrong-doers)
Āl-'Imrān; 139-140

And it is upon the entire Ummah to unify and gather like the heart of one man, everyone undertaking what is obligatory upon him, and leaving all forms of hated difference which hinders Jihād in the Path of Allāh.

وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللّهِ جَمِيعاً وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَتَ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَاء فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَاناً

And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allāh (i.e. this Qur'ān), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allāh's Favor on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren
Āl-'Imrān; 103

This is a proclamation to the people, and it is upon everyone to shoulder the responsibility. And as for the honored Mujāhidīn in Palestine's Gaza, and in any area of the usurped Muslim lands, then we say to them, indeed you have paid your blood as a tax of faith and honor and nobility, so be steadfast and persevere and have patience, and Allāh is with you and will not make your actions in vain.

الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَاناً وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ

Those (i.e. believers) unto whom the people (hypocrites) said, "Verily, the people (pagans) have gathered against you (a great army), therefore, fear them." But it (only) increased them in Faith, and they said: "Allāh (Alone) is Sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of affairs (for us)
Āl-'Imrān; 173

The signatories:

1 – Dr. Nasr Farīd Wāsil
2 - Dr. Zaghlūl An-Najjār
3 - Dr. 'Abdus-Sattār Fat'h-Allāh Sa'īd
4 - Dr. Muhammad 'Umārah
5 - Dr. Muhammad 'Abdul-Mun'im Al-Barrī
6 - Dr. Abdul-Fattāh Ash-Shaykh
7 – Dr. Safwat Hijāzī
8 – Shaykh Jamāl Qutb
9 – Shaykh Ahmad Al-Mihlāwī
10 – Dr. Abdul-Halīm 'Uways
11 – Dr. Muhammad Ra'fat 'Uthmān
12 – Dr. 'Abdullāh Barakāt
13 – Dr. 'Abdullāh Samak
14 – Shaykh Abū Ishāq Al-Huwaynī
15 – Shaykh Hāzim Salāh Abū Ismā'īl
16 – Shaykh Muhammad Jibrīl
17 – Dr. Salāh Sultān
18 – Shaykh Ahmad Halīl
19 – Dr. Muhammad As-Saghīr
20 – Shaykh Sālim Abūl-Futūh
21 – Dr. Ahmad Al-'Assāl
22 – Dr. Hāzim As-Sarsāwī
23 – Dr. 'Abdur-Rahmān Fawdah
24 – Shaykh Muhammad Mustafā
25 – Dr. Husayn Shajā'ah
26 – Dr. Sālih Hārūn
27 – Shaykh Salāmah 'Abdul-Qawī
28 – Dr. Jamāl 'Abdul-Hādī
29 – Dr. Hasan 'Abdū
30 – Shaykh Muhammad 'Abdul-Fattāh
31 – Dr. Ahmad Abū Khadījah
32 – Dr. 'Alā' As-Sayyid 'Abdur-Rahīm
33 – Dr. 'Umar Ibn 'Abdil-'Azīz
34 – Shaykh Rajab Zakī
35 – Dr. Māzin As-Sarsāwī
36 – Shaykh Ahmad Sabrī
37 – Shaykh Ahmad Al-Juhaynī
38 – Shaykh Mathhar Amīn
39 – Shaykh 'Alī Abul-Hasan
40 – Shaykh Mustafā Al-Azharī

The Real Israeli Defense Forces- Little Cowards Shooting at Kids Protesting

2009-01-10T01:22:00.001-08:00

The Blame Game

2009-01-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

LA Times has a wonderful column that should be read, below is an excerpt:

. . . Israel style

Never pass up a chance to rub salt in open wounds. Keep on building settlements in occupied territory. Stuff like that. Ya know?

Undermine and isolate potential interlocutors who might be able to represent the Palestinians. First, destroy Palestinian Authority infrastructure and withhold funds and supplies needed for critical social services, thus helping to push ordinary Palestinians into the arms of Hamas, with its ample social services programs funded by Iran and private Arab donors. Then, when Hamas wins Palestinian elections, isolate Gaza and undermine Hamas.

Be trigger happy. A recent statistical analysis by three academics (one at MIT, one at Harvard and one from Tel Aviv University) found that an overwhelming majority of lulls in violence since 2000 (when the second intifada began) ended when Israelis killed Palestinians, sparking renewed tit-for-tat violence. According to Nancy Kanwisher, Johannes Haushofer and Anat Biletzki, "79% of all conflict pauses were interrupted when Israel killed a Palestinian, while only 8% were interrupted by Palestinian attacks." The pattern was "more pronounced for longer conflict pauses. ... Of the 25 periods of nonviolence lasting longer than a week, Israel unilaterally interrupted 24, or 96%." Always give war a chance!

Carry out intense aerial attacks on densely populated civilian areas. Civilians in the Gaza Strip are fenced in -- the sea on the west and heavily guarded borders on the land perimeter. As Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian surgeon working at a Gaza hospital, put it, the aerial bombardment of Gaza is like "bombing 1 1/2 million people in a cage."

Heavy civilian casualties are inevitable -- like those from the Israeli strikes on Tuesday that damaged three United Nations schools, killing at least 48.

Complain about unfair media coverage, but don't let any Israeli or foreign journalists into Gaza (in defiance of the Israeli Supreme Court, which has ordered that a limited number of journalists must be allowed in). That way, nearly all news coming out of Gaza will come from Palestinian journalists.

Don't have a plan. Start bombing Gaza to eliminate the Hamas capacity to fire rockets and mortars at Israel. Realize, as the Palestinian death toll approaches 700, that Hamas rocket attacks on Israel are still ongoing, there's no obvious military solution short of leveling Gaza, international dismay is rising, and you don't really have a game plan. Continue to play it by ear -- it's just a war.

Also you should visit my blog on and read "Why We Care" and "Muslims and Palestine".

Venezuela - An Example for Other Governments to Learn From

2009-01-09T00:02:00.001-08:00

Submitted by Guest Blogger Madina Humkar

Other countries should follow the example of Venezuela and send the message that oppression and killing innocent Palestinian civilians will NOT be tolerated.

President Hugo Chavez has strongly condemned Israel for its actions and called on Israelis to stand up against their government.

Venezuela is the first country to take such a diplomatic step in protest at the violence in Gaza.

"The Israeli army is cowardly attacking worn-out, innocent people, while they claim that they are defending their people," Mr Chavez said during a visit to a children's hospital in Caracas.

"I call on the people of Israel to stand up against that government, to demand, to put a hand on their hearts and look at their children, and I call on the world to stop this madness."

Source: BBC News

Joe the Plummber on Gaza

2009-01-08T17:53:00.001-08:00

Is there any hope for Mayor Vivaisraeli?

2009-01-06T12:29:00.001-08:00

"In a fight like this where the odds and decks are stacked against Israel, thank God for...." Jack Weiss. He really doesn't care about humanity and is blind to any suffering besides Zionist, doesn't deserve comment, but the Mayor...is there any hope?

Talk about blind acceptance. I mean who the hell is Mayor Vivaisraeli? Talk about selling out the oppressed for top dollar. This isnt the first time he's been such a blind jack arse to the zionist cause. During the Lebanese war, he supported Israel's "self defense" (destruction of democracy and death and murder of innocent people by Israel) and then flew over to Jerusalem with the the pandering in the name of tolerance Rabbi Heir of the Simon Wiesenthal Center to celebrate the desecration of the oldest Muslim cemetery.

Mayor Vivaisraeli is not a friend to Muslims or the oppressed. I wish friends in the LABOR movement will dump some sense on his cheating rear end.

Considering that this whole thing started becuase Israel broke the ceasefire, refused to work with Hamas, even though they were willing to re-evaluate their- no israel policy, and even CNN finally gets the facts straight, yet the Mayor VivaIsraeli wants to continue to divide and destroy chances of mutual respect and coexistence for the people of the city of Los Angeles just to gain political brownie points! Shame on you Mayor! Your behavior is disgraceful.

Thoughts on international Gaza protests

2009-01-05T20:44:00.000-08:00

[Anarchists Against the Wall about to stage a die-in outside an air force base in Israel. The sign reads "The blood of children is on your hands"]

From Indonesia to the US, the protests against the criminal war in Gaza have not stopped over the past 10 days. Maybe it is the magnitude of brutality and injustice that is driving people to the streets. They remind me of the marches before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Hopefully, the Gaza marches will have a more significant effect.

Out of the hundreds of marches, three have particularly caught my attention (for different reasons): those in UK, France and Israel.

This comment in the The Guardian captures some of my thoughts on the UK protests. It is great to see huge protests in London supported by political and entertainment celebrities; however, the photos and news footage I've seen makes it obvious that the vast majority of the crowd is Muslim. What's wrong with that? That means that either 1) the message is not getting out to the non-Muslim public and/or 2) they do not feel comfortable taking part in the demonstrations. Excerpts from Comment below:

My quibble is more with some aspects of the demo itself. Wandering around and taking pictures I didn't hear anything antisemitic, which was a relief. A bunch of "rudeboys" with their faces covered by bandanas performed like monkeys for the television cameras as usual. The atmosphere was generally light, even while charged with emotion. Not many cheered when George Galloway was introduced (thank God for small mercies).

I had an uncomfortable feeling I couldn't articulate until I was leaving via Charing Cross tube. It was crowded inside as we made our way to the trains. Two girls started to chant "We are Hamas" (I'm not, thank you very much) but were almost immediately drowned out by "Free free Palestine" before I had the chance to get annoyed. And then it came: Allah hu Akbar, Allah hu Akbar on repeat. Our fellow white travellers said little.

And therein lies my problem. I came to the march to express solidarity with Palestinians and express my anger at Israel's bombings. I didn't come to express solidarity with Hamas, nor want to come to a religious march. If I wanted to hear "God is Great" I could have gone to a mosque or a gurudwara. But I didn't. People can say what they want – freedom of speech etc – but I think this encapsulates a broader problem.

British Muslim organisations have broadly failed to capitalise on the widespread support for Palestinians in the UK, compared to the United States, by constantly bringing religion into a dispute essentially about land.

A similar issue comes up in France, except it is compounded by the heavily biased anti-Muslim media coverage there. My thrill at the large number of people marching turned into disappointment and fury when I saw the images of store fronts burning. However, this website offers some clarification and insight(excerpt of translation below courtesy of A.S.):

The media has been careful to hide photos, preferring to linger on the schemes of certain thugs that have nothing to do with the peaceful approach of the thousands of protesters present and who contributed to the success of this historic demonstration.

A similar media bias exists in Israel; however, this is not stopping thousands of Arab and Jewish citizens from taking to the streets (and the air force bases) to demand an end to the insane war. Even left-wing Zionist groups have joined the calls for a cease fire (as noted here) which is a significant change of events (historically, Zionist parties from extreme right to extreme left rally around the army in times of war).

As massive as the Israeli protests were, they were barely covered in Israeli media, as Rela Mazali (member of JVP) notes:

To read the English internet version of Haaretz of January 4th, you wouldn't know that some ten thousand marchers had protested their government's policy and attack on Gaza the night before in Tel Aviv or that earlier that day, many tens of thousands (some estimates have quoted 70 to 100 thousand), Jews and Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, marched their protest through the Arab town of Sakhnin in the Galilee. They're not part of the reality constructed by Haaretz's English website. On January 4th, one headline—topping an item picked up from Associated Press read: "Protesters across Europe urge Israel to end attacks on Gaza Strip" with no mention of domestic protests. Haaretz, mind you, is the newspaper often cited as a central example of Israel's relatively critical and truthful media.

Al Jazeera English did a much better job at covering the protest - article here.
More on protests in Israel here, here and here. Of course, Palestinian citizens of 'Israel' continue to be harassed and intimidated, but they continue to ensure their voices are heard loud and clear. More here

I do have some thoughts on the US protests (watching and reading from a far); however, I'll wait to hear yours first...

Gaza Updates, Testimonies, and Analysis

2009-01-05T08:44:00.000-08:00

[EPA]

Due to growing length of post, further comments and articles will be posted seperately. Also, please check out Gaza Siege (RSS Scroll on right hand side)for latest news and analysis on the war. Please keep our brothers and sister in your dua...

Analysis/Testimony - Families in Gaza, Amira Hass

A. offered his own take on the situation: "I keep the children away from the windows because the F-16s are in the air; I forbid them to play below because it's dangerous. They're bombing us from the sea and from the east, they're bombing us from the air. When the telephone works, people tell us about relatives or friends who were killed. My wife cries all the time. At night she hugs the children and cries. It's cold and the windows are open; there's fire and smoke in open areas; at home there's no water, no electricity, no heating gas. And you [the Israelis] say there's no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Tell me, are you normal?"

Analysis - In the US, Gaza is a different war

For example, the newspaper's [The Washington Post] lead article on Tuesday, which was published above the mothers' photographs, quotes Israeli military and civilian sources nine times before quoting a single Palestinian. The first seven paragraphs explain Israel's military strategy. The ninth paragraph describes the anxiety among Israelis, spending evenings in bomb shelters. Ordinary Palestinians, who generally have no access to bomb shelters, do not make an appearance until the 23rd paragraph.

[The UK press is considerably more objective - I'm impressed by The Guardian's coverage of the war]

Analysis - Inheriting Bush's blinkers, Ali Abunimah

Obama has identified his daughters repeatedly with Israeli children, while never having uttered a word about the thousands – thousands – of Palestinian and Lebanese children killed and permanently maimed by Israeli attacks just since 2006. This allegedly post-racial president appears fully invested in the racist worldview that considers Arab lives to be worth less than those of Israelis and in which Arabs are always "terrorists".

The problem is much wider than Obama: American liberals in general see no contradiction in espousing positions supporting Israel that they would deem extremist and racist in any other context.

Blog - Moments of Gaza

Every minutes we hear a blast or two or three. This has been continuous for more that 15 hours so far. Tanks, artillery, warships.

Analysis - Israel's righteous fury , Ilan Pappe

Despite the predictable accusation of anti-Semitism and what have you, it is time to associate in the public mind the Zionist ideology with the by now familiar historical landmarks of the land: the ethnic cleansing of 1948, the oppression of the Palestinians in Israel during the days of the military rule, the brutal occupation of the West Bank and now the massacre of Gaza. Very much as the Apartheid ideology explained the oppressive policies of the South African government, this ideology -- in its most consensual and simplistic variety -- allowed all the Israeli governments in the past and the present to dehumanize the Palestinians wherever they are and strive to destroy them.

[Probably too difficult for the US public to grasp, but it's about time the rest of the world saw, or were shown, the big picture and how it all comes down to the racist, destructive political ideology called Zionism]

Analysis - Israel's parallel PR war

A new information directorate was established to influence the media, with some success. And when the attack began just over a week ago, a tide of diplomats, lobby groups, bloggers and other supporters of Israel were unleashed to hammer home a handful of carefully crafted core messages intended to ensure that Israel was seen as the victim, even as its bombardment killed more than 430 Palestinians over the past week, at least a third of them civilians or policemen.

[It is imperative that the global movement in support of Gaza and Palestine has clear demands: immediate cease-fire and end of seige]

01/03: News - Israeli ground troops enter Gaza

Thousands of Israeli troops, backed by tanks and helicopters, have entered the Gaza Strip as Israel escalated its offensive into the territory on the eighth day of operations.

01/03: News - Israel bombs Gaza mosque

At least 11 Palestinians, including one child, have been killed after Israeli forces struck a mosque during prayers in the city of Beit Lahiya, north of Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip.

Analysis - Who ended the six-month cease fire in Israel/Palestine?

While the editors [of the NYT] assign the blame conveniently and squarely on Hamas, this nevertheless remains a factually erroneous statement contradicting reporting by Israeli newspapers (in both Hebrew and English), the British press, Amnesty International and – perhaps curiously enough – November 2008 reporting by the NYT itself.

Analysis - In the name of Palestinians, Dr. Tariq Ramadan

The time has come to create an international, global non-violent resistance movement against the violent, extremist policies of the State of Israel. We must mobilize world opinion by keeping the Palestinian issue in the public eye through ongoing, scrupulously accurate information ; by writing articles, organizing conferences and demonstrations in support of the Palestinians, and by improving synergy between the efforts and activities of existing organizations. We know this much : the Palestinians may bend, but they will not break. We must continue to defend their legitimate rights on the ground. Around the world, we must support their resistance in a determined, peaceful way. Israel, for all its awesome firepower, has not won the conflict...

[Don't you love it when a Muslim scholar comes out and strongly defends the truth yet speaks in a rational, realistic, action-oriented language? Dr. Tariq Ramadan just laid out the action plan - thank you!.]

Testimony - We lived to tell the story, Cynthia McKinney

Last night I was on PressTV.com, along with others who were on the Dignity, and we debated a representative from WINEP, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. I reminded the audience that the Palestinians don't have nuclear weapons, depleted uranium munitions, white phosphorous, or F-16s, but the Israelis do. The facts, however, tend to get garbled after being processed by the "Grand Wurlitzer" organ of state-sponsored disinformation utilizing the world's press.

Analysis - Where's the academic outrage?

Not one of the nearly 450 presidents of American colleges and universities who prominently denounced an effort by British academics to boycott Israeli universities in September 2007 have raised their voice in opposition to Israel’s bombardment of the Islamic University of Gaza earlier this week.

Analysis - A new low for the NYT, Asad Abukhalil (Angry Arab)

But he then moves quickly to report to you about the horrors of Hamas bombing of Israel, and at one point I almost expected him to report that Hamas fighter jets were bombing the Israeli coast. But the premise of this article—and all other articles and editorials in the New York Times—is quite simple and Arabs have gotten to know it full well: that the Palestinians are inferior to Israeli Jews, and their sufferings are never equal to that of Israelis.

Testimony - New Year in Gaza

Just 20 minutes before midnight, here in al-Maghazi refugee camp, as I write this report, two bombs have hit my town. In Arabic, people exchange the New Year's greeting, "Kul am wa antum bi khair" (May you be safe and well every year). From Gaza I say, "Kul qasif wa antum bi khair." May you be safe after every bombing.

Analysis - Israel's failure to learn

As in Lebanon, Israel should have learned years ago that military might cannot crush Palestinian resistance movements.

12/31: News - Israel rules out truce

Israel has rejected calls for an immediate temporary ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip after five consecutive days of aerial assault.

Analysis - Falling into the moral abyss

The gradual process of ethnic cleansing in the occupied Palestinian territories is accelerating, and with it so is the moral culpability of Israel and the supporters of its policies in the United States. More and more people from the mainstream of Israeli politics are voicing alarm.

[Even supporters of the Israeli society are realizing that these insane military attacks harm Israel's image and future more than anything else]

12/31 - News: Pressure grows on Israel

Diplomatic pressure on Israel to end its relentless military assault on Gaza gathered pace last night as its key ally Washington joined European Union foreign ministers in calling for an immediate ceasefire.

[What about sanctions against Israel? HOW CAN THEY GO UNPUNISHED?!]

Analysis - Myths of Israeli victimhood

Now after hundreds dead and counting, it is Israel who refuses to re-enter talks over a cease-fire. They are not intent on securing peace as they claim; it is more and more clear that they are seeking regime change - whatever the cost.

12/30: Analysis - The irony of bombing Gaza

But watching the news shows, you'd think that history began yesterday, that a bunch of bearded anti-Semitic Islamist lunatics suddenly popped up in the slums of Gaza – a rubbish dump of destitute people of no origin – and began firing missiles into peace-loving, democratic Israel, only to meet with the righteous vengeance of the Israeli air force. The fact that the five sisters killed in Jabalya camp had grandparents who came from the very land whose more recent owners have now bombed them to death simply does not appear in the story.

12/30: News - Israeli vessel damages Gaza-bound boat

The Free Gaza Movement, which organised the attempt to reach the territory with more than three tonnes of medical aid, said their boat was "rammed" and shots were fired.

12/30: Blog - Body on the Line
Marcy Newman posts the latest on the crisis - excellent Democracy Now! clips here

12/30: News - Gaza hospitals overwhelmed

Information received from Physicians for Human Rights indicates operations are being performed without anesthesia, and surgical gloves, gauze, sterile equipment and oxygen have run out. Needles, stretchers and hospital beds are already in short supply.

12/29: Testimony - "They are wrong to think we are the terrorists"

The second day was more painful than the first since we then understood that this all wasn't some nightmare. After I woke up, I headed directly to the hospital to document the cruel reality. As the casualties kept mounting -- women, children and men alike -- it was crystal clear that the whole of the people of Gaza were being targeted.

12/29: News - Gaza braces for all-out war

In the latest attacks, Israeli aircraft bombed the Islamic university and government buildings in Gaza City.

[Mosques were not spared either]
12/29: Analysis - The neighbourhood bully strikes again

Once again, Israel's violent responses, even if there is justification for them, exceed all proportion and cross every red line of humaneness, morality, international law and wisdom.

[Note article's Zionist slant, the Palestinians brought this on themselves...]

12/28: Press Release - Most Gaza casualities were non-combatant, civilians

Al Mezan's initial monitoring indicates that at least 257 people have been killed in the IOF's strikes in the last 24 hours. Of those, the vast majority are non-combatants and civilians; including 20 children, nine women and 60 civilians. The majority of the rest of the casualties are members of the civilian police who were inside their stations or undertaking training.

12/27: Testimony - Gaza: "This is only the beginning"

Entering al-Aqsa [hospital] was overwhelming -- pure pandemonium, charged with grief, horror, distress and shock. Limp, blood-covered and burnt bodies streamed by us on rickety stretchers. Before the morgue, tens of shouting relatives crammed up to its open double doors.

12/27: Press Relase - Right Orgs: Israel's willful killings a war crime

The number of deaths resulting from these attacks indicates a willful targeting of the civilian police forces in these locations and a clear violation of the prohibition against willful killings. Willful killings are a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention under Article 147 and therefore, a war crime.

12/27: Analysis - Gaza massacres must spur us into action

What the media never question is Israel's idea of a truce. It is very simple. Under an Israeli-style truce, Palestinians have the right to remain silent while Israel starves them, kills them and continues to violently colonize their land.
Palestinians everywhere are asking for solidarity, real solidarity, in the form of sustained, determined political action.

Lessons Of Muharram During The Siege Of Gaza

2009-01-01T18:58:00.000-08:00

Submitted by Guest Blogger Madina Humkar

This article by Br. Dawud Walid ties in lessons from the sacrifice Imam Hussain (a.s.) made with the plight of the oppressed all over the world.

"Al-Husayn (RA) refusal of allegiance to Yazid was not that he was jockeying to be the khalifah though he had more right to hold such a trust; his refusal was a direct lesson that truth should never give allegiance to falsehood, that the just should be diametrically opposed to the unjust."

Imam Hussain (a.s.) stands as an eternal icon for those pursuing a moral and ethical code to live by no matter how great or desperate the challenges may be. He proved that achievement is not found in a band of warriors or sophisticated artillery, instead one's life can be a catalyst for success. His sacrifice is an everlasting example of justice and peace irrespective of national borders, ethnicity, religion, gender, and socio-economic and educational levels.

"As we pray for relief for the people of Gaza during Muharram, remembering the principle that Muslims must always stand for the truth and justice and resist falsehood and oppression even when committed by Muslims is a major component to the key of our success in this world and in the latter-life. If Al-Husayn (RA) were alive today, I believe that he would not only pray and speak out against the current injustices in Gaza, but also against the injustices perpetrated by leaders in Muslim lands. Al-Husayn (RA) would cry for the approximately 300,000 Muslims killed by other Muslims in Darfur, he would weep for the approximate deaths of 3 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who are 10% Muslim, within the past decade, and he would be upset with too many American Muslims, who live in the land of abundance and have large amounts of monetary resources, that turn a blind eye to the suffering of the poor and oppressed in many urban areas such as Detroit."

Full Story: Illume Magazine

Looking for a product to boycott?

2008-12-31T10:56:00.000-08:00

The Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the Apartheid state of Israel has re-issued it's call to the world:

Now, more than ever, the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee, BNC, calls upon international civil society not just to protest and condemn in diverse forms Israel's massacre in Gaza, but also to join and intensify the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions ( BDS) campaign against Israel to end its impunity and to hold it accountable for its persistent violation of international law and Palestinian rights. Without sustained, effective pressure by people of conscience the world over, Israel will continue with its gradual, rolling acts of genocide against the Palestinians, burying any prospects for a just peace under the blood and rubble of Gaza, Nablus and Jerusalem.

There are many challanges to organizing, and more importantly sustaining, a boycott campaign. On the consumer level, the key is finding the right target. There is a new one to add to the list (for the ladies mainly): L'Oreal.

In this holiday season, the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee, BNC*, calls upon people of conscience all over the world to boycott all the products of the French cosmetics giant, L'Oreal**, due to its deep and extensive involvement in business relations with Israel, despite the latter’s continued occupation and apartheid policies against the indigenous Palestinian people.

L’Oreal’s operations in Israel began in the mid-1990s, motivated in part by political considerations. Since then, L'Oreal Israel, the company’s subsidiary in Israel, has operated a factory in the Israeli town of Migdal Ha'emek in the Lower Galilee. The settlement of Migdal Ha'emek was established in 1952 on lands belonging to the ethnically-cleansed Palestinian village of al-Mujaydil, whose original inhabitants are still denied the right to return to their homes. Like almost all other Jewish settlements built in the midst of Palestinian villages in the Galilee, inside Israel, Migdal Ha’emek discriminates against Palestinian citizens of Israel, denying them the right to buy, rent or live on any part of the town, simply because they are “non Jews.”

L'Oreal Israel manufacturers a line of products using Dead Sea minerals under the name "Natural Sea Beauty" that is exported to 22 countries. It should be noted that one third of the western shore of the Dead Sea lies in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. While the entire shore and its resources are systematically closed to Palestinians by Israeli military occupation and apartheid practices, Israel exploits the Dead Sea for international tourism, mining, and improving its image.

Continue here

L'Oreal brands are listed on their website; they include The Body Shop (believe it or not!), Lancome, Diesel and Ralph Lauren.

Is there a Purpose to Dialogue?

2008-12-30T17:42:00.000-08:00

(For More on the picture read This American Muslim)

Salaam, Dear Muslamics readers I have to say I am quite disheartened these past four days. I am not in the mood to write because it just seems so pointless. I don't even have the heart to continue to watch or read the news, but to keep from loosing my humanity I have forced myself to keep "connected".

What I want to share is my reflection with you. Recently Muslim organizations took part in this "Twinning Project" where Jewish and Muslim congregations partake in matching up with each other and "were part of a national "twinning campaign" to establish synagogue-mosque partnerships to combat Islamophobia and anti-Semitism." Don't get things misinterpreted, I think the interfaith work is important and necessary.

However, what I am questioning is whether its worthwhile for us to set aside our principles- ie. distract ourselves from talking about the real issues in order to make friendly with the Zionists. The excerpt below is from LOS ANGELES TIMES article on "twinning":

"Jews and Muslims, as the children of Abraham, not only do we share a common faith, but we share a common fate," Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, told the gathering. His organization has coordinated the interfaith effort with help from the Islamic Society of North America, the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the World Jewish Congress.

....

"We have to change ourselves, then we can change others," said [Dr. Muzzammil] Siddiqi, who is also chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America, the highest body of Islamic jurisprudence in the United States. "Muslims and Jews of America can . . . show this is possible to work together. This is the message of the Torah. This is the message of the Koran. This is the message of the Gospel."

While I agree with the premise of what is being said by the Imam and Rabbi say, I question again American Muslims inability to understand the implications of our full participation.

Why are we as American Muslims bending over backwards to support such efforts in the face of Zionist (often with mainstream Jewish complacency) agenda of only working Muslim organizations that bend over backwards and go out of their to not criticize Israel. Why are Muslims being asked to hold "Israel as a holy cow" that can not be criticized in order to benifit from "interfaith" efforts? Why are interfaith efforts even premised on the idea that Muslims have to put aside something principled in order to participate.

That is what I question. That is what I fear we as Muslims are loosing sight of when we rush to this "joining hands"- joining hands is such a facade if we can not come to terms that we "can agree to disagree and still work together on other issues" when one side- Muslims- are told that the litmus test for them to even come to join hands is to sell out the Palestinians in blind support of Israel.

With Lebanon war just behind us and this atrocity currently in Gaza, HOW can we as American Muslims conciensly continue to keep this charade wanting to participate in such hollow proposals like the Twinning Project? Why should we dirty our principles in order to be present at the table?

If we really want to look at doing something, then lets work on long term changes, lets begin by sending a clear message to our leaders that as Muslims we need to stick up to our principles.

Gaza: Video

2008-12-30T16:45:00.000-08:00

What can you do about Gaza?

2008-12-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

1. Pray for the people of Gaza

2. Send a letter to your local newspaper - click here for media contacts. Sample letter below (you can copy and paste however it would be more powerful if you change the words around a bit - don't forget your first & last name,phone number, and the city & state you live in if you want your letter published).

Dear Editor,

The situation in Occupied Palestine is unacceptable and the United State's reaction is appalling. Under international law, the occupying force must insure the safety of the occupied people. Israel has consistently failed to provide basic human necessities to the suffering citizens of Gaza and has even prevented others from providing such necessities. America was founded by a group of individuals who fought against the oppression of the occupying force of England so how is it that we continue to support Israel's oppression against a people who simply want to assert their human dignity?

The pitiful excuse that Israel is defending herself is a slap to the face of anyone with a grain of intelligence; It's mindboggling how journalists and other media personnel can claim journalistic ethics without actively rejecting such an excuse. The least the United States can do is stay out of it because the unconditional support of Israel contradicts the principles upon which the United States was founded and also taints the global image of the United States. Israel dragged us into a costly and unsuccessful war in Iraq so we should know by now that Israel's policies are not in the best interest of the United States.

Sincerely,

3. Show your support - attend a protest near you. There's one happening in almost every major city in the world. The list below is of protests happening in the US (courtesy of US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation):

CALIFORNIA

Anaheim

Sunday, December 28, 2:00 pm
512 S. Brookhurst St. (between Orange Ave. & Broadway)
Initiated by a coalition with a large number of groups

Los Angeles

Tuesday, December 30, 4:30 pm
Israeli Consulate: 6380 Wilshire Blvd.
Contact: 213-251-1025, answerla@answerla.org

San Francisco

Silent Vigil at Feinstein's Office
5PM Monday Dec. 29th
Contact: 415-821-6545, answer@answersf.org

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Washington, DC
Tuesday, December 30, 4:30 pm
State Department: 22nd St & C St NW
Contact: 202-544-3389 x14, dc@answercoalition.org

Friday, January 9, 12:00PM
Lafayette Square and march to Upper Senate Park
Contact: National Association of Muslim Women, namaw01@gmail.com

FLORIDA

Fort Lauderdale

Tuesday, December 30, 5:00 pm
Federal Building: 299 E. Broward Blvd.
Contact: 954-707-0155, FtLauderdale@answerfl.org

ILLINOIS
Chicago

Details to be announced
Contact: 773-463-0311, answer@chicagoanswer.net

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston

Wednesday, December 31, 2:00PM
Copley Square
Contact: Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights, info@bcpr.net, (617) 491-2313

Details to be announced
Contact: 857-334-5084, boston@answercoalition.org

MINNESOTA
Various

Protests at Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congressman Keith Ellison's offices
Tuesday December 30th 10 am-closing

Keith Ellison's Minneapolis office is located at 2100 Plymouth Ave NorthMinneapolis, MN 55411. For directions call 612-522-1212

NEW YORK

New York City
Sunday, December 28, 2:00-4:00 pm
Gather at Rockefeller Center
March to the Israeli Consulate: 800 2nd Ave (b/w 42nd and 43rd Sts)
Initiated by Al-Awda New York

Monday, December 29, 5:00PM
Adalah-NY is organizing two meeting locations for fliering on Monday at 5:00:
The south end of Union Square, near the corner of 14th St and 5th Ave.
The triangular park at 6th Av. & 32nd Street.

Contact: 212-694-8720, nyc@answercoalition.org

OHIO
Columbus

Sunday December 28th - 5:00 PM
Ohio State University - Committee for Justice in Palestine
15th and High St.
Columbus, Ohio

WASHINGTON
Seattle
Saturday, January 3, 12:00 noon - 2:00 pm
Westlake Park: 4th and Pine
Initiated by Voices of Palestine
Contact: general@voicesofpalestine.org

More here

4. Contact your Representative and Senators in Congress at 202-224-3121. You can also find contact info for your Members of Congress by clicking here.

5. Donate to support much needed relief efforts in Gaza - click here

Abu Dhabi hosts classes for US Muslims

2008-12-26T09:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure travelling to the UAE is the best way for US Muslims to gain basic Islamic knowledge...

Also, why is helping US Muslims more important than educating converts in the UAE?

Anyone heard of the American Congress of Muslim Youth before?

Would like to find out more about this, but for now, this article is all I know (excerpts below):

A delegation of 21 professional women is the latest group to come to Zayed House for Islamic Culture as guests of the Government-funded institution for a month.

“They are mostly converts or second-generation Muslims. Many Muslims in America do not learn about Islam when they are growing up, and they fall susceptible to many influences,” Khaled al Mazrouei, the head of Zayed House, said.

“Women are the first educators in society so we brought these women, who represent a wide variety of ages, backgrounds and professions – they are all community leaders – and we’re teaching them the moderate and true middle way of Islam.”

The women in the current group, who are attending classes in Arabic and Islamic studies, include a nurse, a university professor and psychologist, a motivational speaker and activist in interfaith dialogue, the director of a shelter for abused women and a university student.

Zayed House used to provide minimal services to Muslim converts in the UAE but last year it started programmes for Muslims worldwide.

In the spring it taught Arabic to a delegation of Malaysian government workers. In December last year, it taught Islamic studies and how to address the needs of Muslims in the West to a group of US imams.

The current programme is run in co-ordination with the Washington DC-based American Congress of Muslim Youth.

...

Educators at Zayed House found there are many issues the women were unclear about because of the conflicting information they heard at home.

“Some of the things they are not clear on is how to maintain ‘silat al rahm’ with non-Muslim family members,” said Mr al Mazrouei, referring to one of Islam’s most important social pillars, the ‘relationship of the womb’, or family ties.

“Does giving money to non-Muslims count as zakat? And what about giving blood?” Zakat is a charity tax that all Muslims must pay every year.

CTA Peace and Justice Caucus Youth Activist Awards

2008-12-25T22:16:00.000-08:00

As a former recipient of one of these awards, I'd highly recommend nominating the activists in your lives to receive it. What better way to appreciate and encourage tireless young workers?

Honor our Youth!
The California Teachers Association (CTA) Peace and Justice Caucus is sponsoring its fifth annual Youth Activist Awards Program with an awards ceremony scheduled for Saturday, March 21, 2009 in Los Angeles. As our students develop their critical thinking skills and independent belief systems, we believe it is important that they understand that they can be instruments of change, and can find their own avenues for expressing their beliefs.

Please nominate a youth organization or individual youth activist who has been outstanding in the struggle for human rights, social justice, peace, and/or youth empowerment. You may nominate a student or group, elementary through high school age.

Please note that we have also added one new award (the Rachel Corrie Award) for college students or groups.

Students and/or groups selected will be invited to receive their awards at a ceremony at the CTA State Council meeting at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel on March 21, 2009.

Due date: January 19, 2009.

CTA Peace and Justice Caucus Youth Activism Award Nomination Form
Name of Nominee:
School:
Grade level/Age:
Address:
City/State/Zip:
Phone (c):
Email:
Nominated by:
Local Association:
Address:
City/State/Zip:
Phone (c):
Email:
Description of the nominee's activism and achievements:

Please return this sheet and supporting materials by January 19, 2009. Supporting materials may include brochures, flyers, news articles, video or sound recordings.

Send to: Mary Prophet
1514 Chestnut Street,
Berkeley, CA 94702
(510) 527 1222
or via email to Greta Benavides (teacher714@hotmail.com)
For more information, email mlprophet@earthlink.net or call (510) 527 1222.

National Lawyers Guild Launches "Give Bush the Boot" Shoe Drive

2008-12-15T19:06:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—December 15, 2008

NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD LAUNCHES “GIVE BUSH THE BOOT” SHOE DRIVE IN SUPPORT OF IRAQI REPORTER MUNTAZER AL-ZAIDI

Contact: Marjorie Cohn, President, marjorie@tjsl.edu , 619-374-6923
Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director, director@nlg.org , 212-679-5100, ext. 11

In light of the recent shoe-throwing incident in Baghdad, the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) urges Americans to show their opposition to the policies of the Bush administration by donating pairs of shoes to their local homeless shelters and other organizations serving the needy. The gesture is also intended as a show of support for Iraqi reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi who remains in detention, accused by the Iraqi government of a “barbaric act.” Al-Zaidi threw his shoes at George W. Bush during his recent surprise visit to Iraq. Al-Zaidi has been hailed as a hero in the Arab world as thousands marched today to demand his release. A spokesman for the prime minister said that al-Zaidi may be sent for trial on charges of insulting the Iraqi state.

In a news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad yesterday, Mr. al-Zaidi shouted “this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog,” then flung one shoe at Bush—the worst insult in the Arab world—forcing him to duck. A second shoe flew over Bush's head and hit the wall behind him.

“With that single brave act, Mr. al-Zaidi has inspired the Guild to transform one country’s negative symbol into a gesture of goodwill,” says Heidi Boghosian, NLG Executive Director.

NLG President Marjorie Cohn says, “The support for al-Zaidi shown by many Iraqis demonstrates the depth of opposition to Bush’s war and occupation of Iraq. We call on all Americans to join in this campaign as we urge the Iraqi government to afford al-Zaidi his full due process rights.”

The shoe drive will run until January 19, 2009, President Bush’s last full day in office. The NLG asks you to visit http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/GiveBushtheBoot/ to show your support for this drive.

To find a Salvation Army by entering your zip code:
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf

To find a Goodwill location:
http://locator.goodwill.org/

To find locations of churches or other facilities that provide clothing free-of-charge to the needy, please call the NLG National Office at 212-679-5100.

Founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association, which did not admit people of color, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest / human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.

The Price of Silence is...

2008-12-11T22:52:00.000-08:00

...too high.

This is the theme of Amnesty International's song commemmorating 60 years of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (fancy title....makes it sound like it has some weight...wish that were true).

On Dec 11, a day after the UHR declartion, UN resolution 194 was passed affirming the Palestinian refugees' right of return. That too has been not much more than ink on paper...this Counterpunch article says some more (although I don't agree with the conclusion - another resolution will not make a difference).

Fancy meeting rooms and suits aside, it is the brave women and men risking their lives every day to stand up for the innocent, to stand up against injustice, to stand up for human rights, that makes a difference at the end of the day. Those people are in every city across the globe, working tirelessly in hope that someone else may have a chance at a better life. Many of them have probably never heard of the UN declaration; they don't need a UN declaration to know right from wrong. They don't need a man-made declartion to know justice from opression.

The one initiative that stands out in my mind at this moment is that of the Israeli conscientious objectors, the Shministim. These are young men and women who refuse to be part of the illegal occupation of Palestine. As a result, they are prosecuted by their own government, families, and communities and remain in and out of prison until they are 21. Read their stories and send a message of support here (Dec 18 has been marked the Shministim Day of Action).

Photo credit

Women's Empowerment Vis-a-Vis Hajj

2008-12-10T19:22:00.000-08:00

Hajjis are also more likely to back education for girls and work for women, the study found.

Khwaja suspects that is because men and women mix so freely on the hajj, even at prayer -- partly because it is impractical to segregate the sexes when more than 2 million people converge on Saudi Arabia en masse.

"Men and women interact with each other, actually praying side by side," he said.

That can be a new experience for many men from Pakistan, where women sometimes are discouraged from attending mosques.

But some responded positively, the researchers found.

"The fact that men and women can pray together is good," one 45-year-old man told them. "You cannot dislike anything about the Kabaa," the cube-shaped building within Mecca's Great Mosque toward which Muslims worldwide face during daily prayers.

Going on the hajj, which all Muslims must do at least once if they are able, can also embolden women to challenge religious authority when they return home.

"A woman may not be encouraged to go to the mosque or seek education or work in Pakistan -- in fact, she may face resistance in doing so, particularly by local clergy," Khwaja said.

Khwaja said if she has not been on the hajj, "she has no authority for challenging that."

"But on the hajj, she might see a woman who is leading her group, in control of a group, in this most holy of places. If she sees that this is allowed in Mecca and Medina, now she is armed to say to her local cleric, 'I saw this in Mecca, so who are you to tell me it is wrong?' " Khwaja said.

Full Story: CNN

This reminds me of how a few of us, women, were yelled at by some misguided men on my previous Hajj. It was a Friday afternoon, and there was literally no other comfortable location to situate ourselves at so we sat down where we found space. It was just our luck that the open space happened to be surrounded by men. We knew we were OK though, because there is no prayer segregation there and the guard who tried to move us backed off when I told him I was aware of these rules. This did not however, stop numerous men from numerous different ethnic backgrounds from trying to intimidate us into moving. We got a wide variety of responses, everything from dirty looks to being called "jahil". I think we stayed out of a combination of knowing that if we attempted to relocate we may not find another spot and indignation. It was indignation at the fact that people would attempt to speak to us so disrespectfully in the house of God. I'm thinking if I had been less empowered pre-Hajj, this incident would have done exactly what the CNN story describes.

What to Make of the Bombay Massacre

2008-12-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

Terror attack it is, but the questions of "why?" resounds loudly. I am not sure what exactly this is all about, Pakistan and India have been rocked by such attacks. While Pakistan, just days after my departure, my Mom was shopping in a open air market, an hour after her departure, that market was attacked by a suicide bomber.

I have seen articles about "marginalized Muslims of India" and "al-Qaeda" and on "Kashmir rebels". One thing I have to admit, in all the Indian reports, this attack is described in plain simple "terrorist" and "criminal" terms. No association with Islam or Muslims and when used, its largely in the Western Press.

Here is a run down that I got in an email on this issue. I havent read through everything provided, but found the end part to be more interesting.

Here are some excerpts from the news.

The whole affair smells like a false flag event designed to bring India into a more active role in the War on Terror, and rein in control of the Indian/Afghani/Pakistani region with NATO/US forces.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7752625.stm
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7752625.stm>

Then, the "foreign looking, fair skinned" men, as Mr Mishra remembers them, simply carried on killing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7756073.stm
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7756073.stm>

1004: Maharashtra state chief minister says no evidence that Mumbai attackers are British citizens, Reuters news agency reports

http://www.islamicity.com/m/news_frame.asp?Frame=1&referenceID=41293
<http://www.islamicity.com/m/news_frame.asp?Frame=1&referenceID=41293>

The BBC reports <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7752625.stm> that three men walked into the Leopold Cafe, drank beer, settled their bills and walked out. Then they fished out guns from their bags and began firing. Just one problem there, alcohol is forbidden in Islam.

The BBC further reports <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7752625.stm>
an eye witness account from Gaffar Abdul Amir, an Iraqi tourist from Baghdad, stating he saw at least two men who started the firing outside the Leopold Cafe.

They did not look Indian, they looked foreign. One of them, I thought, had blonde hair. The other had a punkish hairstyle. They were neatly dressed.

The whole affair smells like a false flag event designed to bring India into a more active role in the War on Terror, and rein in control of the Indian/Afghani/Pakistani region with NATO/US forces. With much of the world now demanding Pakistan agree to inspections and an investigation, they seem to be winning the minds of those who don't bother to question what they are spoon fed on the television.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=116812&d=29&m=11&y=2008
<http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=116812&d=29&m=11&y=2008>

A high-level team of terrorism experts from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) arrived in Mumbai yesterday and guided the Indian security forces fighting terrorists there, according to reliable sources in the state government.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7759309.stm
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7759309.stm>

They also said that Qasab is a 21-year-old and a fluent English speaker.

That description seems to be at odds with the general population in the village he is said to hail from.

They captured but one of the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack. Someone that they are claiming is from Faridkot, Pakistan. But there's just one problem, as McClatchy now reports, no one from Faridkot has ever seen or heard of this person that supposedly was born and raised there.
<http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/56808.html>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7757500.stm
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7757500.stm>

We are checking whether the gunmen had any local support. But what we are sure is that they were not from India, and had trained in and were carrying stuff - AK-56, AK-47 and 9mm revolvers and hand grenades possibly of Chinese make," said an investigator.

They also found lots of dry fruits, Indian and American currency, ammunition and fake Mumbai college student identity cards in the bags the gunmen had left behind during the attacks.

Catholic prosecutor quits Gitmo

2008-12-02T09:30:00.000-08:00

For Lt Col Darrel Vandeveld, a devout Catholic, the twin responsibilities of religious faith and military duty led to a profound moral crisis.

...

In 2007, he became a prosecutor for the military commissions which tried terrorist suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, a role he took enthusiastically.

"I went down there on a mission and my mission was to convict as many of these detainees as possible and put them in prison for as long as I possibly could," he told the BBC.

"I had zero doubts. I was a true believer."

But his zeal did not last long.

When he arrived, he says he found the prosecutor's office in chaos, with boxes scattered around the floor, files disorganised, evidence scattered in different places and no clear chain of command.

And more seriously, he soon discovered that defence lawyers were not receiving information which could help clear their clients, including evidence that suspects had been "mistreated" in order to secure confessions.
...

A devout Catholic, Col Vandeveld found himself deeply troubled by what he discovered. But the classified nature of his work meant he was unable to share his growing doubts with friends and family.

A Jesuit priest tells how Darrel Vandeveld contacted him for advice before quitting. As a result, he took the unusual step of emailing a Jesuit priest called Father John Dear, who is a well known peace activist.

In his email, Col Vandeveld talked of having "grave misgivings".

Father Dear was initially unsure if the email was serious and fashioned a quick reply.
"I sort of didn't believe it. But on the off chance he was a military prosecutor I wrote back and said 'quit'."

Col Vandeveld says his jaw dropped when he read the email, adding: "I lived in dread of that answer."

But eventually he did resign and has chosen to speak out about what he saw, giving the BBC his first interview.

Continue here

Consumption, Materialism, and American Stupidity

2008-11-30T21:55:00.000-08:00

We fight for PS3’s but not for our rights.

Dhul Hajj- Reminder of Ibrahim AS

2008-11-29T01:14:00.000-08:00

The 10 sacred days are upon us again, and it feels like Ramadan just ended? Here is an amazing reminder from Imam Zaid Shakir, whose book "Scattered Picutre: Reflections of An American Muslim" I am currently rereading:

The story of Pilgrimage (Hajj) and the feast ('Id) that accompanies it focuses our attention on the story of Abraham AS. God mentions the origins of the Pilgrimage when He orders Abraham AS, "Proclaim the Pilgrimage to all of humanity; they will respond, coming (to the sacred House) on foot, riding every possible conveyance, coming from every distant path. (22:27) It is related that Abraham AS responded by saying, "My Lord! How can I call all of humanity when my voice will not carry that far?" God said, "Issue the call, and We will make your voice reach them." Abraham AS then stood at his station (Maqam) and proclaimed, "O People! Your Lord has established a house of worship, make pilgrimage onto it!" It is then related that God caused the mountains to bow low in humility, and Abraham's AS voice traveled to the far corners of the Earth. Every animate and inanimate creation, along with those who had been decreed to make the Pilgrimage until the Day of Resurrection, then proclaimed, "We are responding in your dutiful service, o God! We are responding (labbaykallahmumma Labbayk)!"

Now that you know the immensity of these 10 days, go and find out what you can do since you might be like me, watching from afar as the Brothers and Sisters answer Abraham AS call this year!

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

2008-11-25T16:23:00.000-08:00

(These types of days are necessary and yet the necessity of such is what saddens me most.)

From the UNFPA:

Violence against women is the most prevalent and least punished crime in the world. It is also a grave threat to health and well-being. Together with the global financial crisis and climate change, it constitutes a major challenge of our time.

Today, as we commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, let us unite for human rights and dignity for all. Let us raise our voices and intensify efforts for zero tolerance of violence against girls and women. And let us salute those who are working hard on this important issue. The women, men and young people who actively challenge discrimination and violence against women deserve increased support.

AND

Gender-based violence also serves – by intention or effect – to perpetuate male power and control. It is sustained by a culture of silence and denial of the seriousness of the health consequences of abuse. In addition to the harm they exact on the individual level, these consequences also exact a social toll and place a heavy and unnecessary burden on health services.

AND

Around the world, as many as one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in some other way - most often by someone she knows, including by her husband or another male family member; one woman in four has been abused during pregnancy.

If nothing else, I urge you to take a moment after reading this to say a dua/prayer for the victims of violence and abuse worldwide.

They Say Its Just a Parking Lot

2008-11-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

(BBC Photo- "Israeli Racist Occupation violets the dead as well as the living")

The Simon Wiesenthal Center claims that the site given to them to build their "tolerant museum" is a parking lot and its been so for the past 50 years. Rabbi Heir the found of the Wiesenthal Center says- (in an interview with the Jerusalem Post in 2005)

"We never would have accepted a site if the government of Israel or the Jerusalem Municipality had said it was a Muslim cemetery."

"We would have laughed. It would have been preposterous. We never would have accepted it."

If that were the case then why, after finding 250 bodies does the Museum of Tolerance construction continue?

Was it not enough for Rabbi Heir to know that 250 bodies, marked or unmarked, makes for something of a graveyard? In fact archeologists are suggesting that under this initial layer of bodies there is most likely another five or six layers of graves. In fact at Mamun'Allah cemetary was the largest Muslim cemetery in Palestine, with an estimated 15,000 bodies buried there. It included Sahaba and mujahedeen who fought with Salaha-udin to take back Al-Quds from the Crudsaders, sufi saints and hanafi scholars, qadi's, mufti's and the rich of Al-Quds, the poor and destitute, along with countless others- Jews and Christians-before the Muslims arrived there.

So when Rabbi Heir says it was a parking lot for the past 50 years and Muslims (extremists) are only doing it becuase it offers a chance for "land grab" in West Jerusalem, it should shame us all into action!

How can a Rabbi, a person who is responsible for peoples lives, morals, principles, entrusted with the sacred rituals of birth, marriage, community and DEATH be so cold and distant as to say that Jews should not be held to a higher standard then Muslims hold themselves when it comes to their dead.

Since when are the dead, of any faith treated wtih this sort of dignity. Since when can you tell a family whose ancestors are buried in the graveyard that "your religious leaders said its not sacred anymore, that once they were buidling a school on all of it, that they built a parking lot on it, that they built a hotel on it". Did ever cross the Rabbi's mind under what conditions those decisions were made, by whom and for what purpose those decisions were made?

The Rabbi, for promoting understanding and tolerance, has no inkling that those "Muslim scholars and trustees" he refers to are not accepted by the vast Palestinian diaspora as being representative of their will, that they are appointed by the Israeli government and many times rubber stamp decision already made by the Israeli government.

All this aside, how can a Rabbi think that a finding bodies under the ground would mean the continuation of building a Museum of Tolerance? I mean imagine if Europe decided to destroy derilect Jewish cemeteries in Poland or Germany or France, or worse to "develop with luxury apartments and districts" by bulldozing concentration camps and "sealing under the foundation" the bodies of those countless Jews who were murdered by the Nazi's. Would it be acceptable if instead that development was a "Museum of Understanding" to uplift and bring business to a really hard press region?

I would hope Muslims would be the first to stand up and say "No" to such a thing, as I would hope a Rabbi representing an organization that purports itself to be a international "human rights organization" would be the first to step and say, "this is wrong, I will not desecrate the resting place of the dead in order to build a Museum of Tolerance."

When the Rabbi and the proponents say its "just a parking lot" then my response is does a parking lot have hundreds if not thousands of graves? And how would we, in any corner of the world, treat the graves of any of our deceased? Does a parking lot look like this:

Does that look like a parking lot to you?

Take action, dont be bullied into silence on this issue. Check out what you can do here

Homosexuality Unnatural?

2008-11-21T07:42:00.000-08:00

This post by Hamza Tzortzi offers an interesting perspective on the topic of homosexuality and how it is viewed in Islam; excerpts below:

In the recent division within the Anglican Church, several Bishops expressed the view that homosexuality is “unnatural” because it does not occur in other species. One may ask ‘are not human beings part of nature?’

What does nature have to do with anything anyway? Is it natural to wear clothes, drive cars, use money or fire satellites into orbit? Other species don’t do that
either. Should we therefore refrain from space travel as our sons hamster has
not reached the moon?

...

What relevance does natural or unnatural have on the actions of man. Such arguments have no rational extension.

Islam takes a different stance on sexuality. Islam sees the human being as a human being and so treats our human problems in an exclusively human way. From an Islamo-psychological perspective the human being has instincts, drives and needs. Failing to satisfy our instincts and drives can lead to misery and so the suppression of “human nature” is seen as oppressive.

Therefore, brilliant medieval Islamic scholars described human nature including in it three core instincts: procreation, survival and sanctification. These encompass all human drives. So it was Islam which, many years before the likes of Freud and
Jung, actually announced the liberating position on who we are and said “it’s ok to be human.” So Muslims do not claim that homosexuality is unnatural.

However, Islam just like any other way of life has a frame of reference. Most Western countries have laws that prevent the sexual abuse of children, polyandry and cannibalism. If it were argued that these crimes were really an expression of human nature, most would reject them as completely inappropriate actions.

Islam, like many other spiritual traditions, argues that homosexuality is not the right way to manifest the instinct of procreation. It is a behaviour that negates the Islamic vision of society which is one of extended families connected by marriage between men and women. Hence Islam has viewed the public expression of homosexuality as a crime and as a result has placed a mechanism in which to protect its vision for society.

This doesn’t mean that homosexuals are to be seen as anything other than human. The Islamic tradition argues that one must be just and express sincere kindness to all people. Homosexuality is just one of many sexual practices that do not fit with the Islamic vision of society such as sex outside of marriage, wife-swapping and swingers parties! Many Muslims have had their own internal struggles with expressing their procreation instinct. With their conviction in the Islamic way of life, they have successfully re-constructed their dispositions to be in line with what they love, agree with and submit to - Islam.

Some people object to Islam making the public expression of homosexuality a criminal act. This is subjective and only strikes a chord amongst those who cannot escape the social constructs in their own societies.

Continue here

I'm not sure I agree with his whole natural vs. unnatural argument (afterall, can't we say that the majority is the natural and creatures such as cannibalists are exceptions?). More importantly, I'm not sure if his statement: "Islam takes a different stance on sexuality" is completely accurate. Are there not other authentic opinions? I seem to remember hearing the unnatural argument from some Muslim teachers/scholars, but I may be wrong.

Hat tip: Marya Bangee

Peres booed at Oxford

2008-11-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

From Instablogs:

Israeli president Shimon Peres was at Ofxord yesterday to deliver a speech on world peace, ironically, as the head of state of Israel. The lecture was titled The Globalization of Peace that is part of a series of lectures Peace Lectures: Inaugurated by Shimon Peres.
...
While Peres was giving his speech, student protests could be heard outside throughout the entire duration. At one point, several student stood up and stated “I represent all the Palestinians who...”. One of them was forced out of the venue.

Urge Wiesenthal Center to Halt Construction of Museum on Muslim Cemetery

2008-11-20T17:05:00.000-08:00

Urge Wiesenthal Center to Halt Construction of Museum on Muslim Cemetery

Waltz With Bashir

2008-11-17T11:56:00.001-08:00

Employee Religious Accommodation News

2008-11-13T15:20:00.000-08:00

According to the Workplace Prof. Blog, the recent consent decrees preliminarily approved by a district court judge in Minnesota may be the first of their kind. The EEOC charges against Gold’n Plump Poultry, Inc.and The Work Connection regarding the rights of Muslim employees with respect to prayer breaks look like they will be settled!

The issue in question:

The religious discrimination prohibition found in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

The consent decrees requires that:

Gold'n Plump employees will receive an additional paid break, for one of the plant areas, during the 2nd half of each shift.
Break timings will fluctuate year round to accommodate prayer times.
Gold'n Plump will pay $215,000 to a group of Muslim employees "who may have been [improperly] disciplined or discharged when they took breaks to pray."
Gold'n Plump will pay $720,000 in attorneys' fees.

Additional good news:

The Work Connection, the employee placement service that referred workers to Gold'n Plump, will pay $150,000 to the class as a consequence of having asked potential workers to sign a form verifying they "would not refuse to handle pork" in the course of their work as well as for rejecting workers who refused to sign the form.
The Work Connection will discontinue it's use of the questionable form and will forward placement offers to those workers it had previously turned away.

Sources:

Workplace Prof. Blog

Minnesota Business Journal

Business & Legal Reports

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Alhamdulillah for the courageous workers whose dedication to their faith brought us this fabulous example of good law!

Extending an Olive Branch

2008-11-11T18:23:00.000-08:00

For Ali Malik, who visited Israel and Palestine in September with 13 other UC Irvine students, the trip’s highlight wasn’t on the official itinerary. During the group’s stay in Jerusalem, Malik walked every morning to the Dome of the Rock – the Muslim mosque – to pray.

“On the way, I’d see Christians going to church and Jews going to the Wailing Wall, and I realized we were all going for the same purpose – to worship and please our lord,” says Malik, who took the trip as part of the student-led Olive Tree Initiative. “It had a huge impact on me.”

Founded in 2007, the initiative comprises student leaders from Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze and unaffiliated backgrounds. They include members of Anteaters for Israel, Hillel, Muslim Student Union, Society of Arab Students, Middle East Studies Student Initiative and other campus organizations. Finding common ground and opening dialogue on the Middle East conflict among people with different ideologies is a key goal of the initiative.

After spending several months studying Arabic in Damascus through the International Opportunities Program, Malik joined his fellow students on the two-week visit to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem, Haifa and other cities within Israel and Palestinian territories. They talked with academics, community and religious leaders, and activists in the region.

“You can study these things in books, but being there brings them to life,” Malik says. “The trip revamped my opinion of the conflict. I now feel that, although it’s a deeply complicated issue, it’s resolvable if we can talk to each other.”

...

For their efforts, Malik and Moran Cohen (to be featured in a Nov. 10 Spotlight) both received the XIV Dalai Lama Endowed Scholarship, which recognizes UCI students committed to ethics and leadership on campus and in the community.

He and Cohen will use their scholarship – which includes individual awards of $7,500 and a shared award of $2,500 – to “work rationally for peace” and foster more conversations about the conflict. They participated in Olive Tree Initiative’s first public forum Oct. 23 before a packed crowd in the Student Center’s Crystal Cove Auditorium, and they hope to do more at local mosques, synagogues and campus venues. They also want to recruit new initiative members and organize another Middle East trip next fall.

Full press release here

I don't know much about the initiative but sounds like a step in the right direction...may Allah (swt) put barakah in your efforts Br. Ali. Praying in al-Aqsa everyday...a dream come true...

Just Sayin...

2008-11-10T21:29:00.000-08:00

Emanuel Is Bad on More Than Just Palestine

2008-11-10T00:02:00.001-08:00

Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel is a member of the so-called New Democrat Coalition (NDC), of group of center-right pro-business Congressional Democrats affiliated with the Democratic Leadership Conference, which is dedicated to moving the Democratic Party away from its more liberal and progressive base. Numbering only 58 members out of 236 Democrats in the current House of Representatives, the NDC has worked closely with its Republican colleagues in pushing through and passing such legislation as those providing President Bush with "fast-track" trade authority in order to bypass efforts by labor, environmentalists and other public interest groups to promote fairer trade policy.

Emanuel began his political career as a senior adviser and chief fundraiser for the successful 1989 Chicago mayoral campaign of Richard M. Daley to seize back City Hall from reformists who had challenged the corrupt political machine of this father, Richard J. Daley. Emanuel later became a senior adviser to Bill Clinton at the White House from 1993 to 1998, serving as Assistant to the President for Political Affairs and then Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Strategy, and was credited with playing a major role in shifting the Clinton administration's foreign and domestic policy agenda to the right. Emanuel was the single most important official involved in pushing through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the bill ending Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), and Clinton's draconian crime bill, among other legislation.

Source: AlterNet

We might be more relevant if we stopped honing in only ONE issue, and formulated arguments about why this man is bad on so many more levels than just Palestine. It isn't just about our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land. It's about our millions of neighbors who have been left "barely" living as a result of NAFTA and bad AFDC legislation. When will we see that?

Did You Miss the CAIR Banquet?

2008-11-05T16:39:00.000-08:00

Here is something nice, a piece that explores what it means to be an American Muslims, from the sacrifices to the challenges and the triumphs. Enjoy.

Do Not Let Another Vote Be Lost, Yet Again

2008-11-03T22:48:00.001-08:00

Guest Post by Fariha Tayyab

After interviewing with a reporter from the Houston Chronicle mid last week on the Muslim community's reaction to recent racial uproar in both campaigns, I got to thinking, thinking a lot to where I felt a bit trapped. And now I've decided to speak or rather explain to everyone who is confused as to why I support who I do and why it matters.

(Side note: For those of you who would like to read a critique of Obama and his campaign addressing each issue area please let me know. I have a great thorough email sent from a friend titled "Obama and the Muslim vote")

Maybe it's not about the lost vote, maybe it's about a sincere vote that is lost yet again.

We live in a bi-world. Bi-partisan to be more specific. It is so because well we didn't really do anything and more importantly because we chose not to. Ross Perot, as is well known, a 3rd party candidate came really close to being in the main race, but yet he was polling below 10percent. Ralph Nader, who is running as an independent this year and a fourth time in national polls. He polled above 5 percent and event reached 10percent at one time. Therefore, a vote like Ralph Nader's isn't wasted or 'lost'...That's just a myth what we're taught. The democrats even wrongly blamed, Nader for Bush's victory in 2000 (with logic in mind that if Nader's voters would have voted for Kerry maybe he would have won stepping aside all other significant reasons why Gore lost). Furthermore, Bush defeated Al Gore in FL by around 500 votes and Nader received close to 100k votes in Florida. Many other 3rd party candidates also received more than those 500 or so votes... A point to just let flush through your mind, so your vote is not lost, it's not unheard, its not overlooked. Those who do stand up for their principles, well its seen. More, here.

In eight years, everyone seems to have been worked up and passionate about this election. We seem to be taking no more of Bush-it. So the word change resonates throughout our political thought processes. And yet really its just not change, just a tweek in how things were and a beacon of hope that seems to shift and sway to where it almost obliterated concept of reliability and consistency. Whether it be the children from Ron Clark elementary, or the pyscho 'kill him' chanters at McCains rally's, or the man who names his baby Sarah McCain Palin, or even the movie Obsessions, or even Republican leadership changing their stance or shifting out of the scene because "Palin is like a cancer", or any of the enthused Obama supporters and all their interesting actions, or maybe even all the Muslims who vote together.

Your best teacher is your last mistake.

Vote together for a man who knows he has gotten our vote; who understands he doesn't have to step into ONE MOSQUE, because he already has our vote. He doesn't have to stay consistent and can unconditionally support [apartheid] Israel and offer more than 3billion in aid annually, create tension and talk about proactive action for Pakistan insurgencies, or the many other issues a Muslim vote would be 'concerned' with and seem to have always been a bit too concerned with. He has our vote, and he will regardless. Not because we love Obama, but because we choose to be involved to not get another Bush or McCain, who God forbid wins. The thought of that makes us cringe. Expediency or sincere voting?

What about the issues that McCain doesn't mention? Obama does? What about the issues neither mentions? The one's that affect us first and foremost? What about the military budget? Alternative Energy? Corporate welfare and crime? the Justice system? US Policy on Middle East? Etc. All these affect us but yet Obama doesn't address them. Address the real issues.

He's a writer, a professor, a lawyer, a politician, a activist, a journalist, a speaker, a trooper, a hero. A man who started more than 10 nonprofits, one who broke Guinness book of world records for most speeches given in a day, whose one of multiple books was ranked 38th amongst 100 top pieces of Journalist for 20th century, who both Life and Time magazine named 100 most influential Americans in 20th century and even in history. Not to mention his running mate, Matt Gonzalez, who is also phenomenal in a myriad of ways, that this email would only drag on, but most of us know him as the one who almost won mayoral race in San Francisco in 2003.

Other campaigns are driven by organizations and political action committees and platforms that definitely have their own agenda. Their money is supporting within both campaigns. Has anyone really stopped to think about this, in depth or even on surface level? It's almost as if you pay and you get your voice heard. So then what is change? Because the people putting money in don't seem to be wanting it. Nader only accepts money from individuals and in turn for the last 30+ or so years Nader puts interest of the people at the front. "Nader raiders" didn't just come and go, they came and stayed, they wrote books about him, their hero, they worked to continue to establish his non profits, they amongst everything else voted for him, and shifted the trend.

The only difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is the velocities with which their knees hit the floor when corporations knock on their door. That's the only difference.

One's not sure what to say, let's just say Obama is Muslim, its a disgust for him to ever admit maybe 1% of him was or could be. It would hurt his campaign which is honestly understandable, because he is all about change and voting for the people. If those who are voting on more shallower terms on basis of surface level and minority status, well maybe there is some triggering factor for doing so. On a shallow note, Nader is first Arab American presidential candidate (his parents were from Lebanon and Catholic) and not only is his stance pro Palestine but he's also not hiding in corners erasing his identity and rather embracing it amongst other things. Random point that doesn't really matter unless your voting on a 'I vote minority' basis. At his fourth round of elections, there is some merit and sincerity in Nader, a trooper. It's about challenging the status quo, and about not giving up. And now he is on the ballot in 45 states.

A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.

So the biggest, most comprehensive, overall argument remains: If We don't want McCain, so we vote Obama. Expediency at it's best. However, this doesn't seem to hold immense amounts of logical thought or firmness it just seems to be to some, borderline jargon. As those of us who are Muslim peoples, we come from our ideals. Rather we are our ideals. And our religion and it's fundamental concepts were strived for, even if they weren't achievable within a short time. It was the ideal that mattered, the overall message, and the true values we stood for, that was what kept Muslim thought alive. Never ending struggle now, and the never ending struggle then. We aren't a people to trade off in the least, rather we have patience to the most. So even on an "Islamic" note this doesn't have much standing. What isn't a reality now in four years, isn't going to be a reality ever really if we don't start to make it one and mold things. For those who aren't voting and seem to be a more political Islamic inclined kind of ideology, its because you don't support these candidates because they are both evil. This also to some is flawed logic, however there is an alternative? Yes, indeed.

Once you don't vote your ideals, that has serious undermining affects. It erodes the moral basis of our democracy.

So as Americans we believe in democracy, what was once brought up as democratic ideals and values, but what is not. And not only what has not been but what will not become if we as a people aren't proactive. Change is there, change is real. and if you let it be change is possible. However it is not through the avenues of Mu-Barack. There is no really blessing in that, if we vote for him out of the dislike for McCain.

As Nader explains in an interview, "One feels an obligation, Tim, to try to open the doorways, to try to get better ballot access, to respect dissent in America in the terms of third parties and, and independent candidates; to recognize historically that great issues have come in our history against slavery and women rights to vote and worker and farmer progressives, through little parties that never ran--won any national election. Dissent is the mother of ascent. And in that context, I have decided to run for president."

Be real with yourself. Be a trooper. Be a true American and holdup democratic ideals, in whichever candidate you find it in and God bless. But today only Ralph Nader seems to be real and about change.

Do not let another vote be lost, yet again!

*Nader/Gonzalez 08
*All italics where Nader quotes. Glad you enjoyed

Support Obama But Vote McKinney?

2008-11-02T22:58:00.000-08:00

The Green Party Presidential ticket of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente brings something special and unprecedented to U.S. politics. Not only are they the first all women-of-color ticket in recent memory to get ballot access in most states. These women take racial justice seriously, and have made strides to put gender at the center of a progressive agenda. For these two, it's more than skin deep.

They're the Presidential ticket that talks about amnesty for undocumented workers, that opposes guest worker programs as riddled with abuses, because they believe a just immigration reform means addressing the trade and economic policies fueling poverty and migration. They're the ticket that demands reparations in the form of federal investment in low-income families and communities of color, to end racial disparities in health, housing, education, and incarceration. They call for the right of return for Katrina survivors; an end to prisons for profit, to the War on Drugs. And they speak of reproductive justice – not just the right to abortion, but actual healthcare access; of freedom from coerced or uninformed medication and sterilization.

Nowhere do we see Nader, or white male Third-Party-politics-as-usual, bringing in these issues – this slice on life, or sensitivity. McKinney, for instance, points out that Social Security cuts will disproportionately harm women. The Green Party candidates offer to do us the public service of contesting Palin's brand of "feminism." Let's take them up on it.
. . .

But each vote for them contributes towards building unprecedented ballot access, federal funds, and an inroad to the national debates, for the Green Party. If McKinney / Clemente get 5% of the national vote, the Green Party qualifies for millions of dollars in federal matching funds for 2012 – a significant dent in the two-party system. Under the electoral college's winner-takes-all system, not every vote for a major candidate counts; but by supporting a minor candidate, we can strategically use our votes to institutionalize a progressive platform.

. . .

In the words of McKinney herself: "We are in this to build a movement. We are willing to struggle for as long as it takes to have our values prevail in public policy." She reminds us, "Voters in this country are scared into not voting their hopes, their dreams, their aspirations. But in Bolivia and Ecuador and Argentina and Chile and Nicaragua and Spain, and India and Cote d'Ivoire and Haiti, voters were not afraid to vote their hopes and dreams, and guess what. Their dreams came true. Ours can, too."
. . .

There is not a contradiction between supporting Obama's victory over McCain, and spreading the word on McKinney – because we believe her politics should be included in the debates; and believe all voters should be aware she and the Greens exist as an option.

There is not a contradiction between spending time to campaign for Obama in key swing states, and pledging your own vote to McKinney – particularly in Democratic strongholds such as California, Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, Oregon, or Washington, where Obama will win landslide; or Republican states where McCain is assured of victory.

As an example, in 2004, Kerry beat Bush in Massachusetts 62% to 32%, by over 700,000 votes. 5% of the vote would have been around 140,000 ballots, but third party candidates actually got around 1% altogether, or 27,000. This election, 35 states are not swing states.

. . .

In August, AntiWar.com featured a line-up of McCain, Obama, Nader, and Barr. Incidentally, reflecting a common trend in much progressive media, over 80% of the site's columnists and regular contributors are male. When challenged by readers about McKinney's absence, the editors explained that both she, and ultra-rightwing, xenophobic, anti-abortion Chuck Baldwin – who seeks to cut all federal investment in communities of color – were omitted. Not due to bias against McKinney as a black woman, but because, an editor flippantly wrote, both of the candidates are "pretty perfect" on foreign policy. If McKinney's stance was so perfect, why wouldn't the site choose to promote her as a standard-bearer? And why instead place her on equal footing with a racist, sexist Baldwin? Besides not considering economic inequality, immigration policy or internal colonization as relevant to imperialism, AntiWar.com must simply have not viewed her as a serious contender.

Why has McKinney had more trouble getting attention from left organizations and institutions compared to Nader, Green Party candidate in 2000? After all, she, too, champions universal healthcare under a single-payer system; progressive taxation; repealing free trade agreements and abolishing the anti-union Taft-Hartley act. She takes a stronger stance against war and occupation, urging an immediate and orderly withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan. And she has vocally opposed the bail out.
. . .

The right-wingers have meticulously learned to rig the electoral system in their favor. Let's take it back.

Vote truth this year, and work for it next.

Source: OpEd News

People of Faith & Halloween

2008-10-31T00:15:00.000-07:00

By Guest Blogger Irtiza Hasan

People of Faith Not Comfortable Celebrating Halloween

Trick or treating. Halloween parties. Dressing up like ghosts and goblins. Distributing candy to children from sunset to the later part of the night. Collecting bags full of candy and then stuffing yourself for days to come.

Children trick or treating on Halloween night.

Sounds awesome! Who wouldn’t want to participate in such a festival we call Halloween?

The issue is not so easy for many people of faith. Millions of American Christians, Jews and Muslims do not celebrate Halloween and I would like to explain why from a theological and historical perspective.

Halloween as we know it today actually has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival honoring Samhain, the lord of the dead. This was a celebration of the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter. It has been sometimes regarded as the “Celtic New Year”. The Celts believed that the spirits of the dead revisited their homes on that evening.

Historically, in Europe, Halloween preceded the Christian holiday of Hallowmas, All Hallows, or All Saints’ Day. This holiday was inserted by the church to offset Halloween, a day viewed as an evil, pagan celebration. We see clearly in history that Halloween was resisted and found objectionable by practicing Christians.

The superstitions connected with Halloween until this modern day originated among the ancient Druids, who believed that on Halloween night, Samhain called forth evil spirits. The Druids lit fires on Halloween, for the purpose of warding off these spirits. These beliefs are a mix of blatant superstitions and associating partners with Allah.

Many concerned people in the faith community ask, “How can Muslims, Christians or Jews believe there is a lord of the dead, and this lord calls forth spirits on this particular night each year?”

Frankenstein is one of the most popular Halloween costumes in America.

Halloween symbols tend to revolve around death, magic and monsters. Popular characters include ghosts, witches, black cats, goblins, zombies, mummies, skeletons, and demons.
In tradition we find strange beliefs including that single women were told that if they sat in a dark room and looked into a mirror on Halloween night, the image of their future husband would appear in the mirror. However, if they were destined for bad fortune or death before marriage, a skull would appear. This belief and practice has been recorded as late as the 19th century here in the US.

Halloween did not become a holiday in the United States until the 19th century, when there was an influx of Irish immigration. Prior to that Puritan tradition restricted the observance of many holidays and celebrations.

Idris Palmer, an American Muslim, wrote a few years back, “Halloween is a celebration originated by Celtic pagans and traditionally applied to the evening of October 31. It is completely based on rituals involving dead spirits and devil worship. Muslim commemoration of such a day is absolutely forbidden; as it involves the worst elements of disbelief.”

The Prophet Muhammad (s) reportedly has said: “Whosoever resembles a people is from them.” Many Muslims feel, in light of this warning, they must consider that any Muslim who participates in these celebrations, which involve clear disbelief, glorifying sorcery, magic and evil beings — may be asking for the wrath of Allah to descend upon them.

In the Quran Allah says: “And those who do not witness falsehood, and if they pass by some evil play or evil talk, they pass by it with dignity.” [Surah Al-Furqan, 25:72]

Many of the traditional scholars of Quranic exegesis explained that the word “falsehood” used in above verse refers to “the holidays of the pagans.” The scholar of the Quran, Al-Tabari explained: “It is not allowed for Muslims to attend their [the disbelievers'] holidays and festivals because they are a type of evil and falsehood.”

For many Muslims and people of faith celebrations are based on faith and religion. Some may feel that Halloween is a cultural holiday and that Muslims should not have a problem with a fun filled day centered around candy and dressing up.

The problem for Muslims and people of faith, is holidays and celebrations that have theological origins, especially one with wicked and dark beliefs such as Halloween. To this day we will find people from amongst practicing Christians and Jews condemn this holiday and speak against it. There are churches and faith based communities that hold programs in their churches to give youth an alternative to feeling the pressure of joining others in Halloween celebrations.

See this article by J Kerby Anderson’s, from Probe Ministries International, “Ten Reasons Christians Should Not Celebrate Halloween”

http://www.fillthevoid.org/Occult/TenReasonsChristiansShouldNotCelebrateHalloween.htm

Please note that to many Muslims the prohibition of observing Halloween includes greeting people at the door and passing out candy to them. Islam does not prohibit eating or sharing candy! However, this sharing of candy comes as a ritual under the larger umbrella of a holiday that has heretical origins.

Many Muslims equate this to singing Christmas carols, participating in gift exchanges and decorating their houses during Christmas, which according to its theological origins is an celebration of the birth of the son of God, and we seek refuge in doing that.

Some Muslims, parents and children, take tough stances against Christmas, Easter and Valentine’s Day but view Halloween lightly. One plausible reason is that people are not aware of the origins and realities of this celebration. They fail to make the connect between Halloween and the festival of Samhain

Many Muslims feel that they should be educating their community and engaging in dialogue with other faith based communities about the origins of Halloween, and why it is unacceptable for them to celebrate or participate in related festivities. Muslims can use Halloween as an opportunity to talk about Islam and why Muslims do not participate in Halloween festivities and how we view the purpose of life.

All praise belongs to Allah who revealed to us clear guidance.

Don't Let Anyone Stop You

2008-10-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

The strategies being used to scare/intimidate voters are ridiculous.

In Atlanta, Georgia:
On October 10, Kyla received a disturbing letter from the Fulton County Department of Registration and Election. The letter stated that they had received notification that Kyla was not a US citizen. This letter, dated October 2, but postmarked October 9, stated Kyla would be removed from the rolls unless she produced proof of citizenship within a week of the letter’s issue date. Since Kyla received the letter on October 10 and its issue date was October 2, she thought it was too late to correct the mistake.

In Temple Hills, Maryland:
Adele had voted at the same precinct for the past 21 years and she went to her usual precinct to vote during this year’s primary. However, after waiting in a long line, Adele was informed that her voting location had been changed. Adele was frustrated as she had not been notified of this change prior to Election Day and that no one at the precinct could explain the reason behind the change. Instead, poll workers gave Adele the name of her new precinct. Adele was faced with the decision to drive to another precinct or go to work.

More stories and volunteer information: 866 Our Vote

The Problem with Anti-Madhhabism

2008-10-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

I thought this article by Shaikh Abdel-Hakim Murad beautifully summarized the history and current situation of madhhahib (Islamic schools of thought).

Anti-madhhabism is an issue that comes up every once in a while, and is especially confusing for those who live in diverse communities with members from several madhahib.

Excerpts from the article below, but I would encourage those interested to read the whole article because it provides some interesting history and examples:

The ummah's greatest achievement over the past millennium has undoubtedly been its internal intellectual cohesion. From the fifth century of the Hijra almost to the present day, and despite the outward drama of the clash of dynasties, the Sunni Muslims have maintained an almost unfailing attitude of religious respect and brotherhood among themselves. It is a striking fact that virtually no religious wars, riots or persecutions divided them during this extended period, so difficult in other ways.

The history of religious movements suggests that this is an unusual outcome. The normal sociological view, as expounded by Max Weber and his disciples, is that religions enjoy an initial period of unity, and then descend into an increasingly bitter factionalism led by rival hierarchies. Christianity has furnished the most obvious example of this; but one could add many others, including secular faiths such as Marxism. On the face of it, Islam's ability to avoid this fate is astonishing, and demands careful analysis.

...

What happened was this. Sunni Islam, occupying the middle ground between the two extremes of egalitarian Kharijism and hierarchical Shi'ism, had long been preoccupied with disputes over its own concept of authority. For the Sunnis, authority was, by definition, vested in the Quran and Sunnah. But confronted with the enormous body of hadiths, which had been scattered in various forms and narrations throughout the length and breadth of the Islamic world following the migrations of the Companions and Followers, the Sunnah sometimes proved difficult to interpret. Even when the sound hadiths had been sifted out from this great body of material, which totalled several hundred thousand hadith reports, there were some hadiths which appeared to conflict with each other, or even with verses of the Quran. It was obvious that simplistic approaches such as that of the Kharijites, namely, establishing a small corpus of hadiths and deriving doctrines and law from them directly, was not going to work. The internal contradictions were too numerous, and the interpretations placed on them too complex, for the qadis (judges) to be able to dish out judgements simply by opening the Quran and hadith collections to an appropriate page.

The reasons underlying cases of apparent conflict between various revealed texts were scrutinised closely by the early ulama, often amid sustained debate between brilliant minds backed up with the most perfect photographic memories. Much of the science of Islamic jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) was developed in order to provide consistent mechanisms for resolving such conflicts in a way which ensured fidelity to the basic ethos of Islam.

...

In a Western-influenced global culture in which people are urged from early childhood to think for themselves and to challenge established authority, it can sometimes be difficult to muster enough humility to recognise ones own limitations.[71] We are all a little like Pharaoh: our egos are by nature resistant to the idea that anyone else might be much more intelligent or learned than ourselves. The belief that ordinary Muslims, even if they know Arabic, are qualified to derive rulings of the Shariah for themselves, is an example of this egotism running wild. To young people proud of their own judgement, and unfamiliar with the complexity of the sources and the brilliance of authentic scholarship, this can be an effective trap, which ends by luring them away from the orthodox path of Islam and into an unintentional agenda of provoking deep divisions among the Muslims. The fact that all the great scholars of the religion, including the hadith experts, themselves belonged to madhhabs, and required their students to belong to madhhabs, seems to have been forgotten. Self-esteem has won a major victory here over common sense and Islamic responsibility.[72]

The Holy Quran commands Muslims to use their minds and reflective capacities; and the issue of following qualified scholarship is an area in which this faculty must be very carefully deployed. The basic point should be appreciated that no categoric difference exists between usul al-fiqh and any other specialised science requiring lengthy training. Shaykh Sa`id Ramadan al-Buti, who has articulated the orthodox response to the anti-Madhhab trend in his book: Non-Madhhabism: The Greatest Bida Threatening the Islamic Shari`a, likes to compare the science of deriving rulings to that of medicine. "If ones child is seriously ill", he asks, "does one look for oneself in the medical textbooks for the proper diagnosis and cure, or should one go to a trained medical practitioner?" Clearly, sanity dictates the latter option. And so it is in matters of religion, which are in reality even more important and potentially hazardous: we would be both foolish and irresponsible to try to look through the sources ourselves, and become our own muftis. Instead, we should recognise that those who have spent their entire lives studying the Sunnah and the principles of law are far less likely to be mistaken than we are.[73]

The Ghost of Stolen Elections Past

2008-10-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

The Video Game Hubbub

2008-10-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

I wrote a while back about Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure on the Wii you can read the original post here.

Like any group of fun loving people out there, Moslems love their video games and it seems the video games industry loves us too.

LittleBigPlanet is a Sony game that got delayed, because Sony didnt want to offend Muslims. Maybe they didnt want the negative spin, since with Muslims it can get nasty- sad, but true, for a game that was, is, meant to be enjoyed by all.

I can imagine Sony not wanting negative attention. As a Muslim I apprieciate their concern. I want them to feel that there is nothing wrong with being senstive to Muslim issues that pertain to religion and practice and beliefs.

There is, however, a difference in what is legitimate concern and what is just outright over caucious paranoia. Here it is paranoia. This is why:

The Arabic, are verses of the Quran, however, they are not in its entiriety, rather just portions of the Quranic verses, and yes they are put to music and to lyrics in a West African song by a West African singer- "Tapha Niang" from the 2006 album Boulevard de l'Independance by Grammy award-winning Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté.

In all other games, like Zack and Wiki, there was a clear in appropriate use of Arabic. If an artist took Surah Fatiha and decided to sing it to an electric guitar, yes I would say that is inappropriate. But a singer using portions of verses that can basically be common day utterences like "everyone will taste death" or "everything in the world will perish" as is the case in the song, then why make a fuss over it?

At slate there is a nice discussion, you can read it here.

What I found of interest was Ahmed Rehab, (disclaimer, I work for CAIR and so does Rehab) and I took the email pasted at slate and inserted it below:

Ahmed M. Rehab, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), wrote me in an e-mail:

I fished out the song on the internet and heard it. I have no problem with it. I am a fan of Muslim West African music and art. I would have a problem if someone were to sing the lyrics of the Qur'an to some kind of tune, but this was a tasteful citation of a few words from the Qur'an -- not entire verses -- that were chanted in typical West African fashion, not sung to a melody, granted there was music in the background.

Personally, I find the song to be beautiful and touching. But I respect the views of those who have taken offense and I appreciate that Sony has as well. To be fair, I believe Sony is under no obligation to recall the game given that the song was not of their own making, but that of a devout Muslim who allowed them to use it. However, I think they made an admirable decision to respect the sensitivities of their customers who were offended, which is a wise decision from both a marketing and community relations perspective.

He added:

Keep in mind though, I reckon there is a huge market for Sony's games in Indonesia, Malaysia, Southwest Asia and the Middle East. It just may be that Sony is at the end of the day concerned about its bottom line, not so much sensitivities.

I think a total recall was not necessary, but kudos for Sony, next time they should consult with world religious organizations to get a better handle on opinions of Muslims rather then just a few concerned gamers. Also enjoy below the song in the game.

This Is What Women Want

2008-10-20T12:38:00.001-07:00

There is a new campaign to promote women's wishes this election season! It's called "This is What Women Want" and is working hard to defy the polls and stereotypes.

So what do women want?

Family friendly social policies:

Reinvesting in public higher education:

Gender equality in male dominated fields:

Check it out: This Is What Women Want

Amina Wadud Leads Prayer...again....

2008-10-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

Professor becomes first female to lead mixed Islamic congregation in Britain
By Chris Irvine

A female professor has become the first woman to lead a mixed congregation in Islamic prayer in Britain.

Professor Amina Wadud gave the sermon at a centre in Oxford in what is being called a "leap forward" for equality in Islam.
The sermon was controversial as tradition holds that Muslim religious leaders, called Imams, must always be men when there are services with both sexes.
Some Muslims also believe it is against Islam for a woman to conduct such services.
Prof Wadud took the service, known as a khutbah, to mark the start of a conference on Islam and feminism at Wolfson College, Oxford.
"There's nothing in the Koran that prohibits it," she said.
"My own theological research into the essence of Islam indicates the necessity for us to be able to move away from the tradition that restricted women from the practice of leading prayer."
The move has angered many Muslims and a small group gathered outside the college to voice their opposition.
Aishah Samah, from Oxford, said: "We're here to uphold the traditions and the values of Islam and uphold the ways of the prophet - peace be upon him."
Fellow protester Maryan Ramzy said: "We have no objections to women being heads of state, or organisation leaders.
"Women are highly-respected in Islam. But in Islamic law, women cannot lead prayer."
Chairman of the Muslim Education Centre Oxford Dr Taj Hargey, said earlier this week he was undeterred by the possible protests, arguing the prayer service is a step in the right direction.
"We believe Islam is a gender-equal religion," he said.
"There is a record that the Prophet Mohammed allowed a woman to lead a mixed-gender congregation, but this precedent has been ignored.
"Women have led prayers in South Africa, Canada and the US and this is a first time here – it is a celebration."
Dr Hargey added: "People thought it was a bad idea to give women the vote.
"When Emmeline Pankhurst chained herself to the railings in protest there was uproar, but things move on.
"This is about theological self-empowerment - women as well as men have the right to determine their own theological destiny."
Prof Wadud has attracted controversy before - in 2005 she led a service in New York City, which had to be held in an Anglican church after mosques refused to host the event.

Source. Is this still bothering people? Thoughts?

"Good American?"

2008-10-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

So...have you seen this? I just had to post it...sheesh...seriously? Racist much?

Blog Action Day- Buy My Kidney

2008-10-15T03:35:00.000-07:00

Today is Blog Action Day- a day where bloggers around the world converge on one issue and blog about it, this October 15th happens to be focused on POVERTY. Which is wonderful an I am sure you will find thousands of Muslims blogging about poverty and the Islamic injunctions on feeding the needy, clothing the destitute.

In fact, if your looking for that, check out (shameless self-plug here) and Zahra was writing about something innovative here at Muslamics. On this Blog Action Day you have plenty to read about poverty, but I have more to share with you.

Look I spent my life being raised on this notion that we help the needy, feed the poor and assist those we can not through our prayers. Poverty has been an ageless social problem, one that never seems to go away.

In fact with our current social/economic crisis, more people are joining the welfare rolls, seeking housing assistance and cramming the shelters, the statistics are out there- Long Beach, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz have designated RV Parking for people who are living out of their cars because they lost their homes or could not afford the rent hikes.

What made poverty important to me as an American Muslim was not just the religious obligation, but the fact that my parents raised me with this belief that America was the greatest place in the world. To think that America in this day and age, with such great wealth (well had such great wealth not certain about that now given the meltdown) has an estimated 1 million people homeless is inconceivable. What is worse is that an elite education institution like the University of California system employs people at levels of poverty with no health care, wage increase or other benefits is shameful. We have a corporate structure that takes advantage of our federal welfare system and keeps its employees well under the federal poverty level in order to avoid providing health care (Walmart). Going as far as suing a women to get a portion of her settlement from the accident she was disabled in (she went on disability and then won a settlement from the car accident) is not the America of my childhood, or the America my parents spoke to me about.

There is a huge disconnect. But poverty in America is manageable, though unimaginable to me, compared to poverty that is experienced in the rest of the world. I do not want to get into statistics, rather I want to share a trend I read about that was not only disturbing to me, it was also shameful. BBC had an article on "Desperation Behind Pakistan's Kidney Trade" and it reminded me about some of the other stories I read in a course I took at UCSD covering trade and criminal activities.

I am sure things like this were happening before the present time, and like prostitution it is probably a result from a need to survive , however, prostitution and all its other forms- slavery, child sex trade, child jockeys etc- can be greatly minimized by alleviating poverty. What makes me cringe is this idea that poverty has gotten to such great heights with the current market meltdown and the huge spikes of food prices, that people- in a dignified way- are resorting to selling their own organs in order to allow their families to survive is a testament for the failure of "capitalism" to answer the problems faced since the demise of "communism".

A question for me, though I am in no place to judge, is what qualifies "poverty" for a person to contemplate such desperate methods to survive?

Amjad relates how he is desperate, and how his creditor insults him day in day out badgering him for the money he borrowed to help pay for medical expenses during his mothers illness:

"I don't have any other options," he says. "My family can't help me. The government doesn't help me. What can I do?"
Amjad is one of many poverty-stricken Pakistanis driven to desperation by the recent escalation in the prices of food and oil, caused by the global food crisis and the coalition government's inability to provide sufficient state-subsidies.

You can read more on the Organ Trade, the new cannibalism, and how organ trade works .

There is so much that can be said on this point, but what suffices is this, very simply- Muslims, come back to Islam and the answers we need are there. Wishful thinking it is not. I simply do not see any other solution besides this. We can do all the short term food drives, donations, government lobbying, but at the end of it, there needs to be a fundamental shift and change that is massive in nature to readjust how we approach these issues. Humans need to be first, corporations are entities created as a legal "being" and yet they always take precedent over the needs of humanity.

The Dirty Dozen

2008-10-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Zahra posted on Obsession With Hate a wonderful website that is a great resource on this mockumentary. In fact two years ago when it came out I was raving and ranting about it here and here, yet no one paid attention (sigh) so everyone was up in arms when 28 million copies found themselves in newspapers and distributed across the United States followed by hate crimes and incidents (Illinois a Muslim female student attacked by masked gunman, only days after Islamophobic graffiti vandalism was done to her).

Many of the individuals outlined in Obsession as experts are really the "Dirty Dozen" when it comes to anti-Muslim rhetoric and vitriol. You can check out this wonderful website put together by FAIR (not associated with CAIR in anyway). The website states:

Smearcasting documents the public writings and appearances of Islamophobic activists and pundits who intentionally and regularly spread fear, bigotry and misinformation in the media. Offering a fresh look at Islamophobia and its perpetrators in today’s media, it also provides four snapshots, or case studies, describing how Islamophobes manipulate media in order to paint Muslims with a broad, hateful brush.

and for MSA's facing speakers coming to their campus from the "Dirty Dozen" this is a great resource to plan counter pamphlets, events and information! Enjoy!

More allies in the struggle against Zionisim!

2008-10-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

The tide is definately turning...watch the lunatic Zionists call these people self-hating, anti-semites...

As Jews around the world observe the Jewish New Year, a new Jewish group honors the holiday by denouncing Israel and Zionism. The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) launches this week, with a month of actions and events in over eight countries and the release of its founding charter.

This growing network of Jews, with local network affiliates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Israel, India, Morocco, Mexico and Argentina, was formed to join the struggle for justice in Palestine and the Middle East and challenge the Zionist censorship of Palestinian and other resistance to Zionism. IJAN seeks to rekindle a long Jewish tradition of participation in struggles for liberation and against exploitation and oppression.

"We intend to contribute to a growing international voice that challenges Zionism and its claim to speak on behalf of Jews worldwide; Israel and the Zionist ideology upon which it was built does not speak for us, nor does it reflect our vision of a just and safe world," says IJAN organizer Sara Kershnar. "The movement against Zionist apartheid must be as uncompromising as was the movement against South African apartheid. Anti-Zionism is part not only of the movement against racism but also the movement against war. We are convinced that we speak to a great unexpressed, in fact censored sentiment of support for this perspective, including among Jewish people."

More here and here

Spare me the Sermon!

2008-10-10T00:48:00.000-07:00

Excerpts from this entertaining Washington Post article by Mohja Kahf:

It irks me that I even have to say this: Being a Muslim woman is a joyful thing.

My first neighbor in Arkansas borrowed my Quran and returned it, saying, "I'm glad I'm not a Muslim woman." Excuse me, but a woman with Saint Paul in her religious heritage has no place feeling superior to a Muslim woman, as far as woman-affirming principles are concerned. Maybe no worse, if I listen to Christian feminists, but certainly no better.

Blessings abound for me as a Muslim woman: The freshness of ablution is mine, and the daily meditation zone of five prayers that involve graceful, yoga-like movements, performed in prayer attire. Prayer scarves are a chapter in themselves, cool and comforting as bedsheets. They lie folded in the velveteen prayer rug when not in use: two lightweight muslin pieces, the long drapey headcover and the roomy gathered skirt. I fling open the top piece, and it billows like summer laundry, a lace-edged meadow. I slip into the bottom piece to cover my legs for prayer time because I am wearing shorts around the house today.

...

As beautiful as veils are, they are not the best part of being a Muslim woman -- and many Muslim women in Islamic countries don't veil. The central blessing of Islam to women is that it affirms their spiritual equality with men, a principle stated over and over in the Quran, on a plane believers hold to be untouched by the social or legalistic "women in Islam" concerns raised by other parts of the Scripture, in verses parsed endlessly by patriarchal interpreters as well as Muslim feminists and used by Islamophobes to "prove" Islam's sexism. This is how most believing Muslim women experience God: as the Friend who is beyond gender, not as the Father, not as the Son, not inhabiting a male form, or any form.

...

There are "givens" that I take for granted as a Muslim woman that women of other faiths had to struggle to gain. For example, it took European and American women centuries to catch up to Islamic law on a woman's fully equal right to own property. And it's not an airy abstraction; it's a right Muslim women have practiced, even in Saudi Arabia, where women own businesses, donate land for schools and endow trusts, just as they did in 14th-century Egypt, 9th-century Iraq and anywhere else Islamic law has been in effect.

Obama v. McCain

2008-10-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

(Disclaimer: this is by no means my way of promoting the idea of voting for Obama. In my book he is, at least, as bad as McCain. Rather, this is me promoting the work of a very cool Muslimah!)

Techonology:

Memoir:

Sexist:

Check out the rest of these great ads: Vote Smarter 2008

Inspire Me to Blog

2008-10-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

Lately I feel apathetic to blogging. It just doesnt seem to me that its worth it, or maybe I just havent felt inspired.

So people, help a brother and Inspire me to blog about something!

Affad

Affad's Voting Republican in 2008

2008-10-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

Presidential Election Fun

2008-10-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

The Sarah Palin debate flow chart:

Baskin Robbins gets in on the fun with two new election season flavors: Straight talk crunch

AND Whirl of change

You can vote your favorite partisan flavor at the Baskin Robbins Flavor Debate.

Eid Mubarak!...now what?

2008-09-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

For those enjoying the last hours of Ramadan, may Allah (swt) give you the strength and patience to make the best of every last minute. For others who are now enjoying their morning cup of coffee - Eid Mubarak! May Allah (swt) accept your fasting and worship and give you the chance to enjoy many more Ramadans.

To me, just as the beginning of Ramadan brings together the happiness of being given a chance to witness the blessed month and the fear of not being able to fulfill its rights and obligations; the end of Ramadan brings together the joy of breaking one's fast and the fear of slipping back into old sins even before the takbeerat are over.

Yes, Ramadan is different and it is probably impossible to continue the Ramadan worship routine (even without the fasting) every day of the coming year. Yet, one of the signs of an accepted Ramadan is that the believer continues some of the good habits and positive lifestyle changes she made during the holy month.

But, it's harder with shaytan around the rest of the year!! True, but remember what Allah (swt) mentions in the Holy Quran:

"...Indeed, the plot of Satan has ever been weak." [4:76]

To understand this better, let us take a quick look at what scholars describe as the source of negative thoughts. Every deed (whether good or bad) begins with a thought (khatir). There are three sources of negative thoughts (those leading to sins):

1) Shaytan
2) The nafs
3) Leading (istidraj) from Allah (swt)

Out of the three, shaytan's influence is the weakest (the second is the hardest and the third is the most dangerous). All it takes to get rid of him are a few words:" I seek refuge in Allah from the rejected Shaytan." Constant remeberance of Allah (swt) (thikr) and being in a state of purity (taharah) are also great weapons against shaytan.

As often mentioned, it is the first week after Ramadan that is critical. Shaytan and his team are furious about all their hard work gone down the drain during Ramadan and are determined to take us back to our pre-Ramadan ways.

By the way, there's an easy way of telling if a negative thought is coming from shaytan or from the nafs. Shaytan will do anything to get you away from doing good deeds. He will go from one temptation to the next, from one negative thought to the next until he finds something you are willing to agree to. As for the nafs, it desires specific things. If you find yourself getting a persistant negative thought which doesn't change or go away even with thikr then it's probably your nafs. What do you do in that case? Tame your nafs as you would a wild animal: by giving it less food and more work (sounds familiar?).

May Allah (swt) bless us with steadfastness after Ramadan and protect us from the whisphers of Shaytan, ameen.

PS: this post is a glimpse from an amazing lecture series (in Arabic) by Sheikh Ali al-Jafri, may Allah (swt) reward him.

Obsession With Hate

2008-09-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

What is 'Obsession'?

Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West is a 2005 anti-Muslim propaganda film put together by controversial anti-Muslim figures to further the perceived divide between Western and Muslim audiences. 28 million copies of the DVD were recently distributed by a mysteriously-funded entity by the name of the Clarion Fund with the help of 70 US newspapers in a curious and unprecedented campaign. This large distribution, particularly given it was targeted to swing states in the current elections cycle, piqued the interest of many, especially civil rights watchdogs.

Additional Information: Obsession With Hate

Empire or Humanity?

2008-09-25T22:54:00.000-07:00

9 min - Short film - Education, Empire, War & Peace

Empire or Humanity? What the Classroom Didn't Teach Me about the American Empire by Howard Zinn and narrated by Viggo Mortenson.

'Homeland Patrols' Start Oct. 1 for Deployment During 'Civil Unrests'

2008-09-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

"Given that the U.S. government is in the process of stealing several trillion dollars from the general population to give to the wealthy few, they may well need troops who are already psychologically pre-conditioned to mass murder of civilians and working relationships with mercenary contractors. It should be noted that elements of the 3rd Infantry division served in occupation of Falluja."

A New Take on Feeding the Hungry

2008-09-23T02:08:00.000-07:00

We've got soup kitchens, humanitarian days and social iftars galore. It seems though that the Muslims in the UK have come up with a new method of feeding the hungry: the flash mob iftar!

Young Muslims have been coming to the park each Tuesday during the fasting month of Ramadan, laden with chicken biryani, samosas and cakes, which they have distributed to homeless people.

It is the brainchild of 27-year-old Miqdad Asaria, who has dubbed the events "flashmob iftars". An iftar is the evening meal that marks the end of the daily fast and is traditionally eaten with friends or family.
"During Ramadan we Muslims get a glimpse of what it is like to be hungry," says Asaria. "I thought, 'What better time to share our food with those who are hungry all year?' I wanted to make the point that Muslims shouldn't only be looking overseas when they think about problems - there are plenty of problems in this country." He set up a Facebook page and arranged the first flashmob iftar two weeks ago. A hundred young Muslims turned up. The following week, attendance was more than 150 and footage of the iftar was uploaded on to YouTube.

"The homeless people were quite taken aback," says Asaria. "They're used to having food thrown out to them from the back of a van, but for us it was about sharing what we had and getting to know those we were eating with."

When I joined the flashmob last week I could see 30 Muslims kneeling in prayer in one corner of the park while elsewhere a group of women in hijabs and headscarves were offering pakoras to an elderly woman propping herself up with a walking stick.

Asaria has been approached by Indian restaurants that want to take the idea further, but he says the appeal of the flashmob iftar is its lack of organisation. "The Muslims who turn up don't know each other, so this is a social thing for them too. It's an example of taking something inspired by our values and using it to embrace the wider community."

Source: The Guardian

It's not charity as we know it. There are no rich or poor, there is no corporate branding, there is no hidden agenda. Just a mass of hungry people, all of whom have struggled through the day without food. Eating together. Sharing a meal as equals. Talking as friends.

Its about eating together not feeding the other ... dignity not sympathy.

Source: Muslim Flash Mob - Last Chance

We've got a few days left - go ahead, try organizing a flash mob iftar of your own. What have you got to lose, a pakora?

Still On The Fence?

2008-09-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney and Bob Barr have been excluded from the Presidential Debate Schedule. However, if you'd like more information about the corporate, establishment, "different name, same game" candidates be sure to watch the upcoming debates:

All four debates will begin at 9pm ET, 6pm PT and last for 90 minutes. Both campaigns also agreed to accept the CPD’s participation rules for third-party candidate participation. Third-party candidates will be included if they poll 15% or above in at least 5 national polls.

Each debate will be broadcast on the major broadcast networks, including CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX. They will also be aired on cable news channels such as CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and C-SPAN.

Here is a break down of what each debate will consist of:

1. First Presidential Debate - Foreign Policy & National Security
Date: Friday, September 26 – Site: University of Mississippi – Topic: Foreign Policy & National Security – Moderator: Jim Lehrer – Staging: Podium debate – Answer Format: The debate will be broken into nine, 9-minute segments. The moderator will introduce a topic and allow each candidate 2 minutes to comment. After these initial answers, the moderator will facilitate an open discussion of the topic for the remaining 5 minutes, ensuring that both candidates receive an equal amount of time to comment

2. Vice Presidential Debate – Foreign & Domestic Issues
Date: Thursday, October 2nd – Site: Washington University (St. Louis) – Moderator: Gwen Ifill – Staging/Answer Format: Debate will consist of both foreign and domestic policy questions asked by the moderator. Format will be similar to the presidential debates.

3. Second Presidential Debate – Town Hall Meeting
Date: Tuesday, October 7 – Site: Belmont University – Moderator: Tom Brokaw – Staging: Town Hall debate – Format: The moderator will call on members of the audience (and draw questions from the internet). Each candidate will have 2 minutes to respond to each question. Following those initial answers, the moderator will invite the candidates to respond to the previous answers, for a total of 1 minute, ensuring that both candidates receive an equal amount of time to comment. In the spirit of the Town Hall, all questions will come from the audience (or internet), and not the moderator.

4. Third Presidential Debate - Domestic and Economic Issues
Date: Wednesday, October 15 – Site: Hofstra University – Topic: Domestic and Economic Issues – Moderator: Bob Schieffer – Staging: Candidates will be seated at a table – Answer Format: Same as First Presidential Debate – Closing Statements: At the end of this debate (only) each candidate shall have the opportunity for a 90 second closing statement.

Hijab Flutter/Additional Information: You Decide 2008

International Religious Freedom Report

2008-09-20T04:21:00.000-07:00

Overlooking for a moment i) the hypocrasy of the US publishing any form of "freedom report", ii) the inherent and inevitable bias of such a report, the International Religious Freedom Report 2008 published yesterday is worth a skim.

Below are excerpts from the Executive Summary which I thought were particularly interesting and a few comments/questions from my end which I would appreciate our dear readers' insights or thoughts on.

A problematic long term endeavor of the OIC [Organization of the Islamic Conference] has been the advancement of the concept of "defamation of religions" into U.N. resolutions and reports. Originally phrased in 1999 as "defamation of Islam," the OIC broadened the title to encompass respect for all religions, but Islam remains the only specifically mentioned faith in the resolutions passed on this topic at the U.N. Human Rights Council and General Assembly. Despite a pretense of protecting religious practice and promoting tolerance, the flawed concept attempts to limit freedom of religion and restrict the rights of all individuals to disagree with or criticize religion, in particular Islam...The introduction of the defamation concept in effect seeks to export the blasphemy laws found in many OIC countries to the international level. While the United States discourages actions that are offensive to particular religious traditions, including Islam, the "defamation of religions" concept is inconsistent with the freedoms of religion and expression and the OIC's approach will weaken religious freedom protections, including protections for minority Muslim populations.

This brings us back to the dreaded cartoons controversy. I think the definition of "freedom of religion" is the key here; whether or not this freedom includes the freedom to defame other (or any) religion. I would argue no.

Some governments increased efforts to promote tolerance, dialogue, and an environment conducive to coexistence between religions during the reporting period. In October 2007 the Jordanian Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought led efforts which resulted in the issuing, on October 13, 2007, of an open letter calling for interfaith dialogue to be based on love of God and neighbor. The document, "A Common Word Between Us and You," was issued by 138 Muslim leaders, clerics, and scholars and addressed to Christians worldwide. The Institute collected signatures for the Common Word document representing all eight schools of Islamic thought. The document was finalized at a conference hosted by the Institute under the patronage of King Abdullah in September 2007. The conference brought together representatives from 40 Islamic and non-Islamic countries. On June 4-6, 2008, the Government of Saudi Arabia, along with the Muslim World League (MWL), organized an intrafaith conference in Mecca. The goal of the conference was to promote unity among various Islamic sects. Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as well as Saudi Grand Mufti Abdulaziz Al al-Sheik attended. As a follow up, King Abdullah, along with King Juan Carlos I of Spain, hosted an interfaith conference in Madrid that included prominent religious figures from Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

Old news but glad it got a mention.

China

...There was little evidence that regulations introduced in 2005 on religious affairs improved the situation of religious freedom; they defined only government-approved practices and faiths as normal or legitimate. Unregistered Protestant churches continued to report that their applications for registration were rejected without cause. "Underground" Catholic bishops also faced repression, in large part due to their loyalty to the Vatican, which the government accused of interfering in China's internal affairs. The Government of the XUAR continued to strictly control religious activity, limiting participation on the Hajj to tours sponsored by the Islamic Association of China. Foreign media reported that XUAR officials confiscated the passports of more than 2,000 Uighur Muslims to prevent unauthorized Hajj pilgrimages.

This merits its own post. The situation for Muslims in China has gotten much worse, to the extent where some are not allowed to even pray or fast (more here). There has to be something we can do about this besides pray for our brothers and sisters. Do anyone of the American Muslim organizations have contacts with the OIC?

Egypt

...Members of religious groups that are not recognized by the Government continued to experience personal and collective hardship. There were some positive steps in support of religious freedom, including a court ruling on behalf of Baha'is that has allowed some to obtain civil documents, and a court ruling allowing 13 Christian-born converts to Islam to obtain identity documents indicating their conversion to Christianity. Members of non-Muslim religious minorities officially recognized by the Government generally continued to worship without harassment and maintained links with co-religionists in other countries. Societal abuses and discrimination continued during the reporting period and were manifest in attacks on Christian minorities, including the kidnapping and torture of monks, death threats to a convert from Islam to Christianity, and harassment of religious leaders, as well as in the destruction of Christian symbols and property, and the burning and looting of a chapel.

Iran

...Government actions and rhetoric created a threatening atmosphere for nearly all non-Shi'a religious groups, most notably for Baha'is, as well as Sufi Muslims, evangelical Christians, and members of the Jewish community. Government-controlled media intensified negative campaigns against religious minorities, particularly the Baha'is. Reports of imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on religious beliefs continued during the reporting period. Baha'i groups often reported arbitrary arrests, expulsions from universities, and confiscation of property. The Iranian Government regards the Baha'i faith as a heretical Islamic group with a political orientation that is antagonistic to the country's Islamic revolution and continued to prohibit Baha'is from teaching and practicing their faith. (Baha'is view themselves not as Muslims, but as an independent religion with origins in the Shi'a Islamic tradition.) Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians legally recognized religious minorities, have reported imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on their religious beliefs.

Iraq
Too one-sided to quote...sorry.

Israel and Occupied Territories (huh?...not even Palestinian Occupied Territories...they got their own Olympics team for crying out loud!)

...While there is no constitution, government policy continued to support the generally free practice of religion. Nevertheless, some increases in societal abuses and discrimination contributed to a slight decline in respect for religious freedom during the reporting period. Specifically, societal abuses and discrimination increased against some evangelical Christian groups as well as Messianic Jews (persons who identify as Jews but who believe Jesus was the Messiah). Relations among religious and ethnic groups--between Jews and non-Jews, Muslims and Christians, Arabs and non-Arabs, secular and religious Jews, and among the different streams of Judaism--often were strained during the reporting period. This was due primarily to the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Government's unequal treatment of non-Orthodox Jews, including the Government's recognition of only Orthodox Jewish religious authorities in personal and some civil status matters concerning Jews...The construction of a separation barrier by the Government of Israel due to security concerns, particularly in and around East Jerusalem, severely limited access to holy sites and seriously impeded the work of religious organizations that provide education, healthcare, and other humanitarian relief and social services to Palestinians.

United States...?

The Social Justice Quiz

2008-09-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

1. How many deaths are there world-wide each year due to acts of terrorism?

2. How many deaths are there world-wide each day due to poverty and malnutrition?

3. 1n 1965, CEOs in major companies made 24 times more than the average worker. In 1980, CEOs made 40 times more than the average worker. In 2007, CEOs earned how many times more than the average worker?

4. In how many of the over 3000 cities and counties in the US can a full-time worker who earns minimum wage afford to pay rent and utilities on a one-bedroom apartment?

5. In 1968, the minimum wage was $1.65 per hour. How much would the minimum wage be today if it had kept pace with inflation since 1968?

6. True or false? People in the United States spend nearly twice as much on pet food as the US government spends on aid to help foreign countries.

ANSWERS

1. 22,000. The U.S. State Department reported there were more than 22,000 deaths from terrorism last year. Over half of those killed or injured were Muslims. Source: Voice of America, May 2, 2008. “Terrorism Deaths Rose in 2007.”

2. About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. Poverty.com – Hunger and World Poverty. Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes – one child every five seconds. Bread for the World. Hunger Facts: International.

3. Today’s average CEO from a Fortune 500 company makes 364 times an average worker’s pay and over 70 times the pay of a four-star Army general. Executive Excess 2007, page 7, jointly published by Institute for Policy Studies and United for Fair Economy, August 29, 2007. 1965 numbers from State of Working America 2004-2005, Economic Policy Institute.

4. In no city or county in the entire USA can a full-time worker who earns minimum wage afford even a one bedroom rental...

5. Calculated in real (inflation adjusted) dollars, the 1968 minimum wage would have been worth $9.83 in 2007 dollars. Andrew Tobias, January 16, 2008. The federal minimum wage is $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008 and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.

6. True. The USA spends $43.4 billion on pet food annually...

More Questions and Answers at Counterpunch

One of the sisters suggested turning this into a contest/game and using it on campuses to spread awareness of social justice issues - a great idea I think.

Oct. 25, 2008: Teens Make a Difference Day

2008-09-18T15:28:00.001-07:00

On behalf of he L.A. County Human Relations Commission and our partners from Connect LA, Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks, SGS Produce, L.A. Unified School District Health Education Programs, L.A. Unified School District Beyond the Bell Branch and Poseidon School, we are honored to invite and encourage you and the teens at your organization, school or agency to participate in the annual Teens Make A Difference Day 2008 in Los Angeles County on Saturday, October 25, 2008.
Make A Difference Day is a national annual program sponsored by Points of Light Foundation and USA Weekend Magazine. Teens Make A Difference Day is our Los Angeles countywide day of volunteer and community service by teens, and youth and youth-serving organizations, schools, religious institutions, community organizations and government agencies.
This year, we are encouraging teens to consider and undertake shared projects that involve collaboration with teens from different communities, schools, cities or organizations. This goal is consistent with the mission of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations and out zerohour: No Haters Here! youth initiative which empowers youth and supports efforts to strengthen and improve intergroup relations and understanding among and between different communities, groups, faiths, etc. in our county. *10 Teen Projects will receive Awards ranging from $1,000 to $250 for Best Collaboration (interracial, interfaith and inter-community), Most Creative, Most Volunteers, ‘Dirtiest’ Project, etc.
Over the past two years, over 6,000 teens in L.A. County have organized and participated in more than 150 different community service projects as part of Teens Make a Difference Day. Last year, Teens Make A Difference Day in Los Angeles County was recognized as one of the top ten national Make A Difference Day efforts by USA Weekend Magazine and (Paul) Newman’s Own Foundation, and was featured on the cover of April 25-27, 2008 edition of USA Weekly Magazine (10 million copies inserted in Sunday newspapers!!). In addition, some of the teen volunteers and sponsors were introduced on the field in a pre-game ceremony at Dodger Stadium.
In addition to encouraging teens to develop and implement projects with teens from different schools, communities, religious institutions, clubs, and racial or ethnic groups, our goal this year is to increase the number of teen initiated projects to 200+, while introducing youth and teens to the Commission’ zerohour: No Haters Here! youth initiative and our 2009 youth songwriting competition, in collaboration with Oneness Foundation.
Attached is the flyer, event fact sheet, project application (please complete and return to us), project examples (from past years), and additional background information. I encourage you to contact me at rverches@hrc.lacounty.gov or Erik Gavica, the 2008 TMADD Project Coordinator, at eagavica@yahoo.com or (323) 203-2341. For more information on the Commission and last year’s effort, go to www.lahumanrelations.org or www.zerohour.com
Richard Verches
Chief Deputy Director
Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission
320 West Temple Street Suite 1184
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Discussion on Warner Brothers "Towelhead"

2008-09-18T13:20:00.001-07:00

Warner Brothers discussion.

President (War Criminal) Bush Attends Iftar Dinner

2008-09-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

In addition to attending, Bush was kind of enough to share a few words with the iftar attendees:

We've also partnered with Muslims around the world to spread freedom to millions of people who have never known it before. We're helping the people of Iraq and Afghanistan build free societies after decades of tyranny. And during the month of reflection, we will remember all the brave Muslim Americans who wear the uniform of the United States Armed Forces. They represent the best of our nation. I'm honored to be their Commander-in-Chief.

Full Text of Bush's Speech: The White House

USC To Re-Post Hadiths

2008-09-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

The original post on MUSLAMICS breaking news of the removal of five hadith from a USC president (though the Jewish Journal originally carried the news on it) and there seems to be a realization that there was a large liability for law suit against USC and administrators not only changed their "tune" but also their approach to the issue:

...I have asked Professor Donald Miller, director of the USC School of Religion and director of USC's Center for Religion and Civic Culture (CRCC), and Professor Ronald Garet, the Carolyn Craig Franklin Professor of Law and Religion, to consult with our faculty and with other members of our academic community, and to offer practical recommendations on how to address tensions that may arise between individual or group beliefs and the pluralistic and scholarly prerogatives of a research university.

The Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement (CMJE), housed within the CRCC, is working jointly with CRCC faculty to establish a resource for scholars that can allow them to provide academic context to the development of canonical Jewish and Muslim texts. This project will interpret various texts and traditions, place them in historical perspective, and debate the ancient and contemporary moral responses. The CMJE's stated mission is to promote academic partnerships as well as dialogue, understanding, and alliances between these Abrahamic faiths. It hosts a unique academic think tank, as well as archives of materials on Jewish-Muslim relations.

Read here. Also this is basically some of the legal arguments that were forwarded to the students at USC via CAIR to help contextualize this whole fiasco, however the article in the Pheonix is much better at articulating...by the way, under many Islamic Studies programs, including Harvard's, there is a direct link as a resource to the USC Hadith database. Ridiculous how USC adminstrators could be so short sighted.