Muslim women denied French citizenship

Why? "Insufficient assimilation" !

The 32-year-old woman, known as Faiza M, has lived in France since 2000 with her husband - a French national - and their three French-born children.

Social services reports said the burqa-wearing Faiza M lived in "total submission to her male relatives".

Faiza M said she has never challenged the fundamental values of France.

Her initial application for French citizenship was rejected in 2005 on the grounds of "insufficient assimilation" into France.

She appealed, and late last month the Conseil d'Etat, France's highest administrative body which also acts as a high court, upheld the decision to deny her citizenship.

BBC News

What ever happened to "Liberity, Equality and Fraternity"?!

I would be very interested to see the criteria the French courts use to judge "assimilation". Length of skirt? Number of boyfriends? Color of eyes?

A beautiful mind

One day my freshman year in high school, my principal, Mr. Pries, called me into his office. I was expecting to be chewed out for something, but instead, he smiled, looked me in the eye and asked me, “Who are you?” I was a little confused and mumbled an answer, an incomplete one. I had never really thought about it, so I didn’t know what to say. “When you can answer that question,” he said, “I’d like you to come back and tell me.”

His question planted a seed in me; not a seed of doubt, but of clarity. It dawned on me that the answer to it was the most important piece of knowledge I would acquire, if I could. The question always returned, despite the considerable distractions of being a teenager. I realized that I would not have been so baffled had I been asked this question just a few years earlier. It struck me then that you can learn your true nature only by retrieving and holding on to who you were as a child.

I learned that being true to one’s self means to believe in God alone and do the right thing, that is, that which is pleasing to Him. We know what that is from the revelation given to the prophets, but this is only a reminder. Before all else, we know what is right because it is inherent in our own souls, though we often fail to follow it, and I am the first to admit my failures and weaknesses. In every moment and aspect of our lives, we find the opportunity to do right with the time and resources apportioned to us. As for me, I feel especially inclined toward two goals: to help those who are oppressed or suffering, and to help end conflict and strife.

These are the words of Br. Ismail Royer writing to the judge presiding in his case. The rest of the letter focuses on Br. Ismail's journey to fulfill his goals and how he saw his actions which he was later prosecuted for. But I would like to stop at the first two paragraphs, because I can really relate to them.

I remember looking at myself in the mirror during my undergrad years and seeing an attractive young lady, but one who I didn't recognize as myself. And it wasn't just the physical aspect. That bothered me, but I couldn't figure out what to do about it. Besides, everyone else seemed to like me so I played along.

I finally found myself and was able to take off the mask I had unknowingly put on when I began caring more about pleasing Allah than pleasing people. A few months after first wearing hijab, I looked in the mirror and finally recognized the person I saw. It was not so much the piece of cloth, but the confidence of returning to my fitrah.

Anyways, back to Br. Ismail. Read the rest of his letter to the judge to find out more about his case. Read his recent letter from prison to get some insight into his thoughts on Islam and Muslims today. Excerpts below which offer some food for thought:

My main theme is that, just as many of Islam’s critics allege, it is true that Islam is incompatible with the modern world. That’s because the modern world is itself incompatible with the human soul, whereas Islam is the natural state of the human soul. Modernity is the product of the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and related development, which were for the most part conscious revolts against God.

It is therefore impossible to coherently be a Muslim and at the same time have a mindset rooted in Enlightenment assumptions-just as it is impossible to be in submission to Allah while being in revolt against Him.

Incidentally, it is the latter position that cures the western Muslim’s soul of the schizophrenia arising from being a Western Muslim, for it is not the fact of being Western in heritage or language or culture that gives him schizophrenia, but it is in trying to synthesize Islam and Enlightenment ideology that does so. We reject the worship of other than Allah alone and what necessarily follows from that, but we do not reject being Western anymore than Bilal rejected being Ethiopian, or Salman rejected being Persian, or the Malay rejected being Malay when they embraced Islam.

In fact Islamic and Western culture overlap to a great extent, so aside from the issue of the recent hedonistic and other harmful elements in Western culture, the matter viewed in this light is no longer very intelligible. And even our rejection of any unjust actions of our people does not change who we are: “O my people! Yours is the kingdom this day!” cautioned the believing Egyptian.

This is not a new topic, actually it's one I am sometimes tired of, but I think Br. Ismail's letters do merit some thought and discussion, at the very least.

Not So Fast, Christian Soldiers

An excellent article on the Pentagon's support of Evangelical brain washing of US troops (props to the LA Times for publishing it). The article is co-authored by Michael Weinstein and Reza Aslan (author of No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam - a book which I'm still trying to find the chance to read). Excerpts below:

Maybe what the war in Iraq needs is not more troops but more religion. At least that's the message the Department of Defense seems to be sending.

Last week, after an investigation spurred by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, the Pentagon abruptly announced that it would not be delivering "freedom packages" to our soldiers in Iraq, as it had originally intended.

What were the packages to contain? Not body armor or home-baked cookies. Rather, they held Bibles, proselytizing material in English and Arabic and the apocalyptic computer game "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" (derived from the series of post-Rapture novels), in which "soldiers for Christ" hunt down enemies who look suspiciously like U.N. peacekeepers.

The packages were put together by a fundamentalist Christian ministry called Operation Straight Up, or OSU. Headed by former kickboxer Jonathan Spinks, OSU is an official member of the Defense Department's "America Supports You" program. The group has staged a number of Christian-themed shows at military bases, featuring athletes, strongmen and actor-turned-evangelist Stephen Baldwin. But thanks in part to the support of the Pentagon, Operation Straight Up has now begun focusing on Iraq, where, according to its website (on pages taken down last week), it planned an entertainment tour called the "Military Crusade."

Apparently the wonks at the Pentagon forgot that Muslims tend to bristle at the word "crusade" and thought that what the Iraq war lacked was a dose of end-times theology.

American military and political officials must, at the very least, have the foresight not to promote crusade rhetoric in the midst of an already religion-tinged war. Many of our enemies in the Mideast already believe that the world is locked in a contest between Christianity and Islam. Why are our military officials validating this ludicrous claim with their own fiery religious rhetoric?

Read on at latimes.com

What's in a name?

Bishop Martinus "Tiny" Muskens told Dutch television reporters this week that God did not care what he was called and suggested that people of all faiths refer to God as Allah to generate greater understanding and acceptance of Muslims.

He said Christians use the Arabic word for God in Muslim countries just as Spanish speakers call God "Dios" and German speakers pray to "Gott." While serving as a priest in Indonesia, where the primary language is Arabic, Muskens said he used the word "Allah" when celebrating mass.

"Allah is a very beautiful word for God," he said. "Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah? ...What does God care what we call him? It is our problem."

Read on at ChicagoTribune.com

Upon arriving to the US, I was amazed at the number of people who did not know what the word "Allah" meant. Even worse, so many people had a completely wrong understanding of the term.

Although I do prefer the word "Allah" to "God", partly because the the first unlike the latter cannot be made plural nor can it be given a gender, and is thus more befitting of His Majesty, I still usually use the word "God" when communicating with non-Muslims in English because I think it really helps break down walls and stereotypes.

Thank you Bishop Muskens for taking the initiative to clarify. I hope your message is heard.

Responding to the new Mu'tazila [The Liberal Da'wah]

From Ustadh Suhaib Webb's blog:

A problem that we face now in the West in the House of Islam is the rise of a liberal current clothed in an Islamic discourse that pretends to be a da’wah to ijithad and revival. This da’wah, which has emerged in the West affirms “the Aims Of The Shar’iah” but has done so at the expense of textual support and without the support of a wholstic methodology that surveys Islamic texts globally. They are reading the source texts piecemeal and dismiss being informed by scholarly legal methodology [Usul al-Fiqh] and tradition [scholarly experience.

This is why they raise issues that are non-starters they bring up issues about polygamy, womens’ rights, Islamic criminal law etc. in the name of a more humanistic read of Islam and according to the claim of being more in line with the spirit of the Qur’an. Not all that is said is problematic but this current would do well to first initiate itself in rigorous scholarly methodology rather than in sensationalist events and the discipline of debate.

The liberal discourse because it opened itself up to the philosophy of postmodernism that is the likes of Derrida, and Foucault and the school of Hermeneutics and literary criticism and other currents that claim to be tools of textual interpretation, would have the Muslim submit to cultural relativity prior to a thorough read of Islamic sources and literature [tradition].

The key here is not to engage the debate as it is a tool of mass distraction, the key is to focus on:

a.] Education

b.] To master Maqasid ash-Shar’iah studies to the degree we can

c.] To Learn how the sources of Islam well, both: The Qur’an, Sunnah and tradition in light of maqasid studies [ta’lil [wisdom, reasons, underlying purposes of Shar’iah and ta’dlil [textual evidence].

Continue here

I tried looking for a good article about the original Mu`tazila to link to but could not find a decent one, sorry. Still, I think it's interesting the comparison Ust. Abdul Hussein draws between the "liberal da`wah" (a.k.a. progressive Muslim movement) and the Mu`tazila school of thought. Actually, I think the comparison gives the current "liberal dawah" movement too much credit, because in many cases I find that that movement comes nowhere close to forming a cohesive school of thought.

Celebrating 600 years of Islam in Europe

AP Press; SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Bosnian Muslims celebrate 600 years of Islam in their nation Saturday with a concert of spiritual music, a prayer for peace, and a gentle reminder to Europe: not all of the continent's Muslims are of immigrant origin.

"Recently we have noticed that Europe is obsessed by the immigrant Muslims from the East," said Mustafa Ceric, head of the Bosnia Islamic Community, the official institution of Bosnia's Muslims. "This is an opportunity to remind that there are indigenous Muslims in Europe."

"By celebrating 600 years of Islam here we want to naturalize Islam in Europe," he said, adding that Bosnia's Muslims have illustrated how Islam can be harmonized with a European way of life.

Read on here

Caption: Two Bosnian women on their way to Friday prayers

"Losing my Jihadism"

Check out this article in The Washington Post by Mansour al-Nogaidan on his spiritual journey (excerpts below):

It's time for Muslims to question our leaders and their strict teachings, to reach our own understanding of the prophet's words and to call for a bold renewal of our faith as a faith of goodwill, of peace and of light.

I didn't always think this way. Once, I was one of the extremists who clung to literal interpretations of Islam and tried to force them on others. I was a jihadist.

I grew up in Saudi Arabia. When I was 16, I found myself assailed by doubts about the existence of God. I prayed to God to give me the strength to overcome them. I made a deal with Him: I would give up everything, devote myself to Him and live the way the prophet Muhammad and his companions had lived 1,400 years ago if He would rid me of my doubts.

I joined a hard-line Salafi group. I abandoned modern life and lived in a mud hut, apart from my family. Viewing modern education as corrupt and immoral, I joined a circle of scholars who taught the Islamic sciences in the classical way, just as they had been taught 1,200 years ago.

My involvement with this group led me to violence, and landed me in prison. In 1991, I took part in firebombing video stores in Riyadh and a women's center in my home town of Buraidah, seeing them as symbols of sin in a society that was marching rapidly toward modernization.

By the time I turned 26, much of the turmoil in me had abated, and I made my peace with God. At the same time, my eyes were opened to the hypocrisy of so many who held themselves out as Muslim role models. I saw Islamic judges ignoring the marks of torture borne by my prison comrades. I learned of Islamic teachers who molested their students. I heard devout Muslims who never missed the five daily prayers lying with ease to people who did not share their extremist beliefs.

Read on here

Of course, every 'religious' group has its own share of corrupt and hypocritical leaders. Check out this story which appeared in the LA Times recently (slightly different ending than the first one though).

AlhamdulilAllah, I'm so glad the brother figured out that Islam and attacks against the innocent don't go together. I'm sure his journey was not an easy one, and one which took a lot of courage. However, I don't like the whole "modern" vs. 'traditional' Islam idea. Who said that the Islam revealed 1400 years ago called for isolation and promoted the killing of innocent Jews and Christians? To the contrary; for example:

"Allah forbids you not, with regards to those who fight you not for (your) faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just." [The Holy Quran, chapter 60, verse 8]

Yes, we do need strong, pragmatic, charismatic and more importantly knowledgeable and wise Muslim scholars and preachers who can connect with the masses and challenge corrupt leaders and twisted ideologies. We need them, not to "reconcile us with the wider world", but to first reconcile us with the faith we claim to practise. Once that happens, we will not only be 'ideal' Muslims, but 'ideal' global citizens.

We , the global Muslim community, need revivers not reformers. I believe we already blessed to have some great scholars and 'preachers' around: Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi and Amr Khaled are the first that come to my mind of each category. AlhamdulilAllah, individuals like those have helped our ummah come a long way in the past ten years, and insha'Allah the coming ten years will witness an even stronger growth with Muslims figuring out how to truly put their faith in action to benefit themselves and the people around them, wherever they may be.

By the way, anyone know anything about the Ibn Taymiyya story al-Nogaidan mentions?

The Case for Islamophobia

No, this is not just another right-wing opine piece, it is down right islamophobic, racist, offensive and disgusting. I cannot believe the LA Times would publish something like this.

Below are excerpts that are particularly disturbing:

Now, despite friendly and long-lasting relations with many Muslims, my first reaction on seeing Muslims in the street is mistrust; my prejudice, far from having been inherited or inculcated early in life, developed late in response to events.

The fundamental problem is this: There is an asymmetry between the good that many moderate Muslims can do for Britain and the harm that a few fanatics can do to it. The 1-in-1,000 chance that a man is a murderous fanatic is more important to me than the 999-in-1,000 chance that he is not a murderous fanatic: If, that is, he is not especially valuable or indispensable to me in some way.

And the plain fact of the matter is that British society could get by perfectly well without the contribution even of moderate Muslims. The only thing we really want from Muslims is their oil money for bank deposits, to prop up London property prices and to sustain the luxury market; their cheap labor that we imported in the 1960s in a vain effort to bolster the dying textile industry, which could not find local labor, is now redundant.

In other words, one of the achievements of the bombers and would-be bombers is to make discrimination against most Muslims who wish to enter Britain a perfectly rational policy. This is not to say that the government would espouse it, other than surreptitiously by giving secret directions to visa offices around the world. But why should a country take an unnecessary risk without a compensatory benefit?

!!!!!!

I won't even begin responding to Theodore Dalrymple (his real name is Anthony Daniels) because I think there's a serious problem with his whole attitude and approach to the situation. Criticising Muslims for not doing enough to prevent and condemn terror acts is one thing, but calling for all Muslim immigrants to be deported or barred entry is another.

I can't believe that a 'respectable' newspaper would publish an article like this.

"Cup Poems" from Gitmo: The Detainees Speak

Humiliated In The Shackles
By Sami al Hajj*

When I heard pigeons cooing in the trees,
Hot tears covered my face.
When the lark chirped, my thoughts composed
A message for my son.
Mohammad, I am afflicted.
In my despair, I have no one but Allah for comfort.

The oppressors are playing with me,
As they move freely around the world.
They ask me to spy on my countrymen,
Claiming it would be a good deed.
They offer me money and land,
And freedom to go where I please.

Their temptations seize
My attention like lightning in the sky.
But their gift is an empty snake,
Carrying hypocrisy in its mouth like venom,

They have monuments to liberty
And freedom of opinion, which is well and good.
But I explained to them that
Architecture is not justice.

America, you ride on the backs of orphans,
And terrorize them daily.
Bush, beware.
The world recognizes an arrogant liar.
To Allah I direct my grievance and my tears.
I am homesick and oppressed.
Mohammad, do not forget me.
Support the cause of your father, a God-fearing man.

I was humiliated in the shackles.
How can I now compose verses? How can I now write?
After the shackles and the nights and the suffering and the tears,
How can I write poetry?

My soul is like a roiling sea, stirred by anguish,
Violent with passion.
I am a captive, but the crimes are my captors'.
I am overwhelmed with apprehension.

Lord, unite me with my son Mohammad.
Lord, grant success to the righteous.

* "An Al-Jazeera cameraman, Sami al Hajj, a Sudanese, was visiting his brother in Damascus after the 11 September attacks when he got a call asking him to go to Pakistan to cover the impending war in Afghanistan. Instead, he ended up in Guantanamo where he claims he has been severely and regularly beaten, scarring his face."



Full story here

One less glass ceiling...

Benazir Bhutto is a controversial figure, and one whom I must admit I don't know much about. I've just started reading her autobiography and was inspired and moved by the stories she recounts in the preface. I do know that there are many dimensions to her story and to her life. Still, I cannot help but respect Bhutto for her courage and determination. Read with an open mind:

"I am a woman proud of my cultural and religious heritage. I feel a special personal obligation to contrast the true Islam - the religion of tolerance and pluralism - with the caricature of my faith that terrorists have hijacked. I know that I am a symbol of what the so-called 'Jihadists', Taliban and al-Qaeda, most fear. I am a female political leader fighting to bring modernity, communication, education, and technology to Pakistan. I believe that a democratic Pakistan can become a symbol of hope to more than one billion Muslims around the world who must choose between the forces of the past and the forces of the future."

"The political battles that I fought were always for an end. The goals centered on liberty and social justice. And those values are definitely worth fighting for. But I do believe my career has been more challenging because I am a woman. Clearly it's not easy for women in modern society, no matter where we live. We still have the extra mile to prove that we are equal to men. We have to work longer hours and make more sacrifices"
...

" Once the political opposition learned I was pregnant, all hell broke loose. They called on the President and the military to overthrow me. They argued that Pakistan's rules did not provide for a pregnant Prime Minister going on maternity leave. "



" I rejected the opposition's demands, noting that maternity rules existed in the law for working women (my father had legislated maternity leave)."



" Hardly mollified, the opposition drew up a plan of strikes to pressure the President into sacking the government. I had to make my own plans. My father had taught me that in politics timing is very important. I consulted my doctor who assured me that my child was full term and, with his permission, decided to have a Cesarean delivery on the eve of the call for strike action."


"I received thousands of messages of congratulations from all over the world. Heads of government and ordinary people wrote to me, sharing the joy. Especially for young women it was a defining moment, proving a woman could work and have a baby in the highest and most challenging leadership positions. The next day I was back on the job, reading government papers and signing government files. Only later did I learn that I was the only head of government in recorded history to actually give birth while in office. That's one less glass ceiling for women Prime Ministers in the future to have to break."

From preface of Benazir Bhutto's autobiography Daughter of The East, May 2007

The rare American imam

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. — Sheik Yassir Fazaga regularly uses a standard American calendar to provide inspiration for his weekly Friday sermon.

Around Valentine’s Day this year, he talked about how the Koran endorses romantic love within certain ethical parameters. (As opposed to say, clerics in Saudi Arabia, who denounce the banned saint’s day as a Satanic ritual.)

On World AIDS Day, he criticized Muslims for making moral judgments about the disease rather than helping the afflicted, and on International Women’s Day he focused on domestic abuse.

“My main objective is to make Islam relevant,” said Sheik Fazaga, 34, who went to high school in Orange County, which includes Mission Viejo, and brings a certain American flair to his role as imam in the mosque here.

As a previous member of "Sheikh Fazaga"'s community, I whole heartedly agree with many of the statements in the article. In fact, the OC Muslim community is a privileged one because of its many religious and community leaders who are going the extra mile to share the message of Islam in a relevant and refreshing manner; Sheikh Yassir is only one example, but an excellent one.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about communities in the Arab world. Although the issue of first- and second-generation immigrants is not present, religious sermons are still mostly superficial and completely irrelevant. One is likely to hear a khutbah (sermon) about respecting elders or performing prayers, but not about global poverty, hunger, AIDS, justice, corruption, democracy,... Many immigrant imams in the US are only reiterating what they are used to "back home", which is usually just as irrelevant there as it is in the US.

Even worse, in a growing number of countries in the Arab world, religious sermons are very closely scrutinized by the government to that extent that imams no longer have a say in what they discuss during their sermons. The text of the khutbah is distributed to the imams beforehand by the religious authority and most imams just read it out-loud.

No wonder I'm sitting here blogging away instead of getting ready for Friday prayer. I think I was spoilt by So. Cal. khutbahs.

Lessons from the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him)

How is Dr. Tariq Ramadan's latest book different from the many other sirah books out there? The insightful lessons drawn from the stories of Prophet Muhammad’s life nd applied to ours today is what, to me, makes this book unique.

The book doesn’t overwhelm its readers with names and dates (as other more comprehensive history books sometimes do). Instead the author focuses on the morals and the teachings that can be derived from the different incidences. He truly delves deep into the Prophet’s character, at the same time subtly correcting common misconceptions about our beloved Messenger and his message (jihad, treatment of women, interfaith relations, etc…)

I whole-heartedly recommend this book to Muslims and non-Muslims, young and old alike.

Below are excerpts from passages that particularly touched and inspired me.

The Orphan and his Educator
One evening, he [Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)] heard that a wedding was to be celebrated in Mecca and he wanted to attend. On the way there, he reported, he suddenly felt tired; he lay down to rest and fell asleep. … The One, always present at his side, literally put him to sleep thus protecting him from his own instincts… This natural initiation into morals, remote from any obsession with sin and fostering of guilt, greatly influenced the kind of education the Prophet was to impart to his Companions. … this teaching method is most valuable and reminds us that a moral sense should be developed not through interdiction and sanction but gradually, gently, exactingly, understandingly, and at a deep level.

Incidence with the blind companion(referred to in Surah `Abasa)
Thus the prophet is a model for Muslims not only through the excellence of his behavior but also through the weakness of his humanity… No one must ever let power or social, economic, or political interests turn him or her away from other human beings, from the attention they deserve and the respect they are entitled to.


Hijrah


Battle of Badr
The Messenger’s authority in human affairs was neither autocratic nor restricted… The Prophet gave his Companions, women and men alike, the means and confidence to be autonomous, to dare to address and contradict him without his ever considering it as lack of respect for his status. Through this attitude he showed them deep respect for their intelligence and for their heart…


Spirituality
He [Prophet Muhammad] thus invited them [the Companions] to deny or despise nothing in their humanity and taught them that the core of the matter was achieving self-control. Spirituality means both accepting and mastering one’s instincts…

Battle of the Moat [Ditch/Confederates]
Muhammad took part in the work [digging the ditch], and his Companions would hear him sometimes invoking God, sometimes reciting poems, sometimes singing songs in which they would all join. … the Prophet enabled the women and me in his community—beyond their communion in faith and ritual prayer—to commune through the voicing of emotions and the musicality of hearts articulating their belonging to a common expression of the self, a collective imagination, a culture.
…
All his Companions had witnessed, in all the circumstances of his life, that seemingly surprising blend of infinite generosity of heart, unambiguous determination in adversity, and strict management of time.

Death of his son Ibrahim
The trial of faith and of humanity, which made the Prophet shed tears, consisted precisely in learning how to find,…, the strength to face the finitude of the human, sudden departures, and death. The sign of the One’s Presence at the time of a person’s death lies not in the occurrence of any miracle but rather in the permanence of the natural order, in the eternity of His creation…

Final teachings
…faith would not leave them [the Muslim community], he said, but the world with its illusions would colonize them, and both would, unfortunately, coexist with them.

In History, for Eternity
The Messenger may have left the human world, but he has taught us never to forget Him, the Supreme Refuge, the Witness, the Most Near. Bearing witness that there is no god but God is, in effect, stepping towards deep and authentic freedom; recognizing Muhammad as the Messenger is essentially learning to love him in his absence and to love Him in His presence.

Cab-driving while Muslim

This article in today's LA Times is not the first I come across on the 'controversy' about Muslim cab drivers refusing to take passengers carrying alcohol. In this particular instance, it's Somali cab drivers in Minneapolis (who make up over 70% of licenced cab drivers in that city).

This is the drivers' position:

"Nobody asks you what's in your luggage," said driver Abikar Abdulahi, 24. "But if it's in a box that we can see, we can't take it."

If they ever did knowingly transport alcohol, the drivers say, they would have to answer to God on Judgment Day.

This is how their position is misconstrued:

"[Do] I have to hide my Star of David necklace to get service … do I have to wear a burka?" another asked.

Who said anything about a dress code??

Or,

"You call a cab, but he can't give you a ride," he started.

"Because you have alcohol on your breath," Psihos said, finishing his thought.

"I mean, that's why I need the ride!" said Wohlwend, 39. "Because I'm hammered!"

Who said anything about transporting drunk people? And by the way, even if they did refuse (although I don't think they would on religious basis), they're allowed to by law as the article later quotes: "Drivers may legally refuse to carry passengers who appear drunk or dangerous..."

Oh, and check this out:

Spokesmen for two national Muslim organizations said they had not seen similar conflicts anywhere else. The refusal to transport alcohol (and to scan pork products) appears limited to Somalian immigrants in the Twin Cities. Their strict interpretation of the Koran does not have universal support among local Muslims.


Who do you think these "national Muslim organizations" are that are speaking on behalf of the American Muslim community? ISNA? Fiqh Council? CAIR? MPAC? Not even close. The Somali Justice Advocacy Center and the Confederation of Somali Community. Basically, professional, ethnic-based (not faith-based) organizations that are by no means qualified to issue a judgement on this issue.

Personally, I completely understand the Muslim cab driver's position. I am by no means qualified to issue a ruling on this issue, but as an average Muslim Jane the cab drivers' position does not seem to be an overly strict or 'extreme' interpretation of Islamic law.

On the other hand, I'm not so sure about the position of Muslim supermarket cashiers refusing to handle pork items (which the article also mentions). Although both alcohol and pork are prohibited Islamically, the rulings on handling and transporting them are different (to my limited knowledge).

Has anyone done any research on these issues? I would be interested to know what the scholarly opinions are regarding them.

Once that's all figured out, we need to work on sharing the information with the public and clearing up the media distortions. But we have to know what we're talking about first.

'War on Terror': terrorizing Americans into consent

Its about time articles like this one by Zbigniew Brzezinski are published in the mainstream American press.

American Muslims as well as peace activists in the US and around the world have been bringing up the same points against the fear strategy called 'War on Terror' since the the very beginning of the 'War on Terror', but they were accused of being unpatriotic cowards, or worse, of supporting terrorism.

It is only now, over 5 years later, that such arguments are being heard and accepted by the American public.

Below are excerpts from the Brzezinski's article "Terrorized by 'War on Terror'" (emphasis mine):

The "war on terror" has created a culture of fear in America. The Bush administration's elevation of these three words into a national mantra since the horrific events of 9/11 has had a pernicious impact on American democracy, on America's psyche and on U.S. standing in the world.

The phrase itself is meaningless. It defines neither a geographic context nor our presumed enemies. Terrorism is not an enemy but a technique of warfare -- political intimidation through the killing of unarmed non-combatants.

But the little secret here may be that the vagueness of the phrase was deliberately (or instinctively) calculated by its sponsors. Constant reference to a "war on terror" did accomplish one major objective: It stimulated the emergence of a culture of fear. Fear obscures reason, intensifies emotions and makes it easier for demagogic politicians to mobilize the public on behalf of the policies they want to pursue. The war of choice in Iraq could never have gained the congressional support it got without the psychological linkage between the shock of 9/11 and the postulated existence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Support for President Bush in the 2004 elections was also mobilized in part by the notion that "a nation at war" does not change its commander in chief in midstream.

To justify the "war on terror," the administration has lately crafted a false historical narrative that could even become a self-fulfilling prophecy. By claiming that its war is similar to earlier U.S. struggles against Nazism and then Stalinism (while ignoring the fact that both Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia were first-rate military powers, a status al-Qaeda neither has nor can achieve), the administration could be preparing the case for war with Iran. Such war would then plunge America into a protracted conflict spanning Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and perhaps also Pakistan.

Government at every level has stimulated the paranoia. Consider, for example, the electronic billboards over interstate highways urging motorists to "Report Suspicious Activity" (drivers in turbans?). Some mass media have made their own contribution. The cable channels and some print media have found that horror scenarios attract audiences, while terror "experts" as "consultants" provide authenticity for the apocalyptic visions fed to the American public. Hence the proliferation of programs with bearded "terrorists" as the central villains. Their general effect is to reinforce the sense of the unknown but lurking danger that is said to increasingly threaten the lives of all Americans.

The entertainment industry has also jumped into the act. Hence the TV serials and films in which the evil characters have recognizable Arab features, sometimes highlighted by religious gestures, that exploit public anxiety and stimulate Islamophobia. Arab facial stereotypes, particularly in newspaper cartoons, have at times been rendered in a manner sadly reminiscent of the Nazi anti-Semitic campaigns. Lately, even some college student organizations have become involved in such propagation, apparently oblivious to the menacing connection between the stimulation of racial and religious hatreds and the unleashing of the unprecedented crimes of the Holocaust.

The atmosphere generated by the "war on terror" has encouraged legal and political harassment of Arab Americans (generally loyal Americans) for conduct that has not been unique to them.

The record is even more troubling in the general area of civil rights. The culture of fear has bred intolerance, suspicion of foreigners and the adoption of legal procedures that undermine fundamental notions of justice. Innocent until proven guilty has been diluted if not undone, with some -- even U.S. citizens -- incarcerated for lengthy periods of time without effective and prompt access to due process. There is no known, hard evidence that such excess has prevented significant acts of terrorism, and convictions for would-be terrorists of any kind have been few and far between. Someday Americans will be as ashamed of this record as they now have become of the earlier instances in U.S. history of panic by the many prompting intolerance against the few.

A must-read for 21st century Muslims

The Christian Science Monitor called it one of the "Best Non-fiction Books of 2004". For those of you who know me, you've probably noticed my obsession with Tariq Ramadan's Western Muslims and The Future of Islam.

What do I like most about the book? Its comprehensiveness. The topics Ramadan discusses in this book include everything from spirituality to social commitment. He truly portrays Islam as a way of life; one that is not only compatible with but is necessary for the 21st century.

Ramadan does not just summarize texts or reword old ideas; he brings forth a new way of thinking. More importantly, it is one that is deeply rooted within Islamic scripture.

What makes this book more powerful is the language used. I will not attempt to rephrase Ramadan's words because I know I will fail miserably. I will however quote a few of my favourite statements from the book, in hope that this encourages people to read the book and think about the ideas and solutions proposed.

Introduction

"While our fellow citizens speak of this 'integration' of Muslims 'among us', the question for Muslims presents itself differently: their universal principles teach them that wherever the law respects their integrity and their freedom of conscience and worship, they are at home and must consider the attainments of these societies as their own and must involve themselves, with their fellow-citizens, in making it good and better. No withdrawal, no obsession with identity, on the contrary, it is a question of entering into authentic dialogue..." (pg 5)

Encounter with the Universal:

"The second teaching of the revelation is to invite individuals to a deep study of their own inner lives. The search for God and the sense of "the need of Him" may also arise from the indefinable work of looking inward that is required of each of us. The knowledge of God leads us to our self, and the knowledge of our self leads to God." (pg 13)


The Way (Al-Sharia)

"...the shahada translates the idea of "being Muslim", and the Sharia shows us "how to be and remain Muslim". This means that,..., that the Sharia is not only the expression of the universal principles of Islam but the framework and the thinking that makes for their actualization in human history." (pg 32)

Spirituality and Emotions

"Muslim spirituality, as we have said, is demanding and, through the Islamic teaching, touches all the dimensions of life. ... This humility [before God] should spread wide and deep through all areas of life: at every stage of working on one's self there will be a struggle against complacency, pride, and the pretentious human desire to succeed alone, using one's own resources (on the social, professional, political, or intellectual level)." (pg 122)

Toward a Reform of Islamic Education

"Public schools already teach the basic subjects, it is for Muslims to find complimentary, alternative, and original ways of providing the knowledge they judge to be essential to comply with the requirements of the message whose followers they are." (pg 137)

Social Commitment and Political Participation

"The liberating dimension of Islam insistently demands, on the basis of the universal principles, that reality be challenged in order that it be reformed, not that its deficiencies be added up in hope that we may at best adapt to them or at worst successfully protect ourselves from them. ... It is about getting out of the logic of exception and necessity and thinking of our presence in terms of faithfulness to principles in the strict sense." (pg 160)

"The globalization with which we are presented and that is imposed upon us today sanctions above all the absolute primacy of the logic of economics over every other consideration... The picture would be very dark were it not for a widespread movement of resistance: when faced with neoliberal economics, the message of Islam offers no way out but resistance." (pg 173)

Economic Resistance

"The rich countries, like the wealthy merchants of Mecca in times past, cannot fail to see a danger in local and national movements whose aim is to remove themselves from the "classical" economic system. ... The prohibition of riba, which is the moral axis around which the economic thought of Islam revolves, calls believers to reject categorically an order that respects only profit and scoffs at the values of justice and humanity." (pg 188)

"But zakah is anything but that: the levying of this purifying social tax,..., must be considered within the purpose of establishing a real system of collective solidarity and social security, women into the very fabric of society, that aims at freeing the poor from their dependence so that eventually they themselves will pay zakat." (pg 189)

Interreligious Dialogue

"Interreligious dialogue should be a meeting of "witnesses" who are seeking to live their faiths, to share their convictions, and to engage with one another for a more humane, more just world, closer to what God expects of humanity." (pg 208)

The Cultural Alternative

"To be Western Muslims is to confront reality with all its challenges and, sustained every day by the "need of Him", to take on all our responsibilities." (pg 223)