Muslamics Turns 1 !!

AlhamdulilAllah (All praise is due to Allah). What started out as an experiment a little over a year ago is now a fully functioning blog and a step closer towards being a truly open community forum. Jazakum Allah khairan to all our readers and supporters who have made this project's first year a success - over 25,000 visits!

An acknowledgment of the contributors we were blessed to have during the past year is way overdue. Despite their over-booked schedules between office/class/masjid/car/home, our bloggers and guest-bloggers found the time to share their work on Muslamics because they believed in this project and really wanted to see it work. May Allah (swt) reward all of you and bless your time and efforts!

Unfortunately, some of our founding and contributing bloggers are no longer with Muslamics, but we hope to see them come back often with insightful guest posts and enriching comments inshaAllah.

Below, in no particular order, are 'original' posts which we (the moderators) thought capture the best of our first year and what Muslmics is really all about:

LAPD's Muslim Mapping - by Affad Shaikh

Islamic Dress Code? - by Marya Bangee

Happy 4th of July? - by Yesi King

Sheikh Mishary Rashid Al `Afasy at IIOC - by Angie Ellaboudy

Fajr- The Hidden Treasure - by Cassandra Williams

Food Choices - by Omar Zarka

My Feelings on the Virginia Tech Massacre - by Naveed Ahmad

Islamo Facism Awareness Week - Coming to a campus NEAR YOU - by Zahra Billoo

Fresh off the Unity Parade - by Affad Shaikh

US Congress Passes Ramadan Bill - by Shahtaj Siddiqui

Whats wrong with being a Porn Star? - by Affad Shaikh

Pipin' Away - by Marya Bangee

How to Kill a Transperson - by Yesi King

As always we would love to hear from our visitors - at the end of the day, it is your contributions which really bring Muslamics to life. Do you have any favourite posts from last year? Got any ideas on how we can make Muslamics a more dynamic and interesting forum? Any suggestions on what we can do different or better?

Also, we are always on the look out for new guest bloggers (and if you're really committed, maybe even full-time contributors) so please do drop us a line if you think you're up for it!

We have a few surprises up our sleeves for the coming year which inshaAllah will be rolled out in the next few weeks. We do realize there's still a long way to go before Muslamics achieves its true potential of being a strong voice for the Muslim community- particularly young Muslim activists, thinkers, and students of knowledge, not only in the US but around the world. We will continue to strive to get there inshaAllah and can use all the help and support we can get!

Once again, jazakum Allah khairan to all our contributors and visitors and we hope you continue to enjoy being a part of Muslamics as much as we do.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

The community at Muslamics took keen interest in discussing this issue of the "Ramadan Resolution." I believe I took a more harsher perspective toward people who thought this was a a "PR" stunt. We even conducted our own poll on this which found that 24 of the 43 people who voted believed this was a shameless PR stunt. These individuals I believe share the perspective of the following religious leaders who published "letters to the editors" in the Glendale News Press.

They stated that the "congressional resolution recognizing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan as important is reportedly being touted by U.S. Muslims as an important sign that they are gaining acceptance in America and becoming part of the fabric of the country." And the following is how leaders in other faith communities- Christian- feel about Muslims:

I am first and foremost a Christian. Secondly, I am an American. These two labels once went together; not that we lived in a theocracy, or that everybody truly embraced Jesus as their lord and savior, but we testified with our hands on His Bible, our Senate opened with a Christian blessing, the Constitution was dated from the first Christmas (i.e., “In the year of our Lord . . .”) and the Pilgrims’ stated purpose in the Compact was the “advancement the Christian faith.”

My point is that our nation, however much certain people wish to deny it, began and sustained with a belief in the true and biblical God; not Zeus, or Ra, Odin, or even the Allah of Ramadan.

For Congress to endorse other gods essentially repudiates the exclusive claims of the One that we have known and are known for. Such resolutions should not be made anyway, but officially recognizing Islam as “one of the great religions of the world” when it is an imported belief system that denies all the essential tenets of Christianity is too much. Islam denies the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, that Jesus is the Son of God, and especially, that He is God, the Son.

We are at war with Muslims abroad, and we worry about their intentions here. Christians have no divine mandate to destroy those who oppose Jesus, but we do have biblical warrant to support America. Is this true of Muslims? They have yet to resolve as one voice to denounce the violence and intentions of jihadists, terrorists and Sept. 11, 2001.

Now, I don’t deny that we have become quite the pluralistic society, but should we exalt the foreign religions to a place on par or even above our own? We should sincerely love our Muslim neighbors, but just as sincerely oppose Islam.

THE REV. BRYAN GRIEM

Senior Pastor

MontroseCommunityChurch.org

Also here is something from our Armenian friends:

A congressional resolution recognizing Ramadan is certainly an act of political correctness, but then again, so are all these types of resolutions. What else can you say about them? It’s not like they’re advocating one belief system over another, they merely recognize a portion of reality. In so doing, they’re bringing a level of comfort to members of our community — other Americans.

We need to stop being scared to face reality.

There is a sizable Muslim population in America. And the beauty of America and her “dream” is that there is room for everyone in this country. I have heard the argument that “those countries” would never allow or grant non-Islamic minorities the equal status or recognition with the mainstream religion.

But to me, that’s exactly the point.

We are not like the other countries. That’s what makes America great: its ability to incorporate so many into something greater than the components that make it up.

Ironically, this week’s news headlines pointed to another recognition resolution regarding the Armenian Genocide.

We witnessed the sad demonstration of denial by the political establishment, the president included, which wanted to compromise truth and justice for the sake of politics.

You can’t escape the reality of an organized, systematic annihilation of one group of people by a government. Its called genocide.

And a great country like America, with all of its greatness, cannot be intimidated to not speak the truth.

FATHER VAZKEN MOVSESIAN

Armenian Church

In His Shoes Mission

And here is yet one more:

I think most of us appreciate the freedom of religious practice our country affords. That means, of course, that I am honor-bound to be respectable to others of different faiths, and to recognize their right to believe as they wish.

Islam has gotten a lot of press post-Sept. 11, 2001, so recognizing it may well be a matter of political correctness. I’d certainly be uncomfortable, though, if Christianity had attracted attention in the same manner, and I’d be vocal about it.

A few folks may want to turn our country into a theocracy in line with their beliefs about God, but that’s not my concern. I am confident that when Jesus Christ returns, He will by Himself establish His kingdom on a worldwide scale. I’m happy to know that according to His promise I’ll be a part of it, and not cast out of it.

What I think is offensive to many religious people is the modern societal pressure upon us to accept all faiths as equally valid and true. I follow Jesus Christ because I believe He alone is the truth personified, He alone is the way to know God. I accept other faiths’ right to exist, but I reject the notion that their prophets are on a par with my wonderful Lord.

PASTOR JON BARTA

Burbank

This really is only a certain perspective, one that is part of a larger trend according to Pew polls and other statistics done about having Muslims as neighbors. I do believe as I mentioned, given our circumstances, the challenges we face in this country and within our own Muslim community, this resolution is/was a "historical" marker on the integral nature Islam has played in America and will continue to play.

Readers Choice Award

So me being famous is great an all, but HONESTLY, I am getting a bit disgusted by seeing that picture when my browser opens, I decided it was time for a new post.

I realized that Muslamics got the Times Online Faith Central recognition for being a Readers Choice.

Which is great considering that we have not been around for that long, that our posts are limited due to the fact that all of us are either a) students, b) young professionals in demanding jobs, c) totally overworked and stressed out and finally d) think we can change the world overnight and get frustrated when our mom's tell us that we can't stay out past 11 pm because she gets worried about us and all the drunk drivers out there! Yes, I think that covers many of our sensibilities.

But look, Faith Central also gave recognition to Muslim Matters which is an amazing site to catch some of the buzz going on within the Muslim community! In fact, my friend over at the God Blog got recognized as well!

Muslamics?

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

M U S L A M I C S

an explanation

Why Muslamics, you say? The term Muslamics is a cross between Muslims and Islam, and makes light of the many erroneous labels places upon Muslims.

There has always been a gap in understanding between those who have lived in traditional European or Western societies, and those who live in Muslim-dominated lands. This gap has led to an astounding ignorance in the West about what Islam is and who Muslims are; therefore, often you will find those in the West fearing Muslims because they do not understand them.

At the most superficial level, this has led to demonizing through words. For instance, as the popular Muslim comedian Azhar Usman says, you call him "Sad-DAMN" not "Sa-dam." For Muslims, there have been numerous labels within popular culture - Mohamatens, Moslems, Islamics...many of these hold negative connotations.

As Muslims living in America, we are a part of a daily struggle to define ourselves and forge new identities, at a time when our community, and specifically Muslim activists, are in the limelight. Part of this struggle is to reclaim our language. We are proud to be Muslims, and we are proud to follow Islam, and we believe it is part of our duty to convey to others who we are and what we stand for. Therefore, we will take the name Muslamics - originally used as a derogatory term against Muslims - and expose the ignorance behind it, as well as give it meaning.

Muslamics stands for Muslims, living in the West, striving to redefine their identities and standing for what Islam truly is.