This is so cool!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The Man With No Heart
A letter between Imam Hasan al-Banna and one of his students:
My sir and teacher,
Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatuAllah wa barakatuh,
Has the news of the man with no heart reached you? As for the heart which is that red muscle that pumps blood, then he has it with no doubt as the man is alive. However as for the heart which flows with emotions, vivid sensations, and living consciousness, then regrettably he doesn't have it!
That man recognizes fine beauty with a simple glance, as much as he identifies hidden ugliness with that quick passing glance, and he is able to read the news of a man from his facial expressions and gestures with good accuracy. But despite all that, the man has no heart.
He meets a long gone friend with handshakes and hugs, but his heart feels hard and does not resonate. He asks people to be this and to be that, and he debates and protests, but his heart just feels like a rock. He receives good news with a smile, and bad news with a frown, but his happiness and sadness are mechanical, and his heart is silent of emotions. He declares his love or hate to someone, and then when he looks into his own heart he finds it still with no signs of being affected. He stands up ready for prayer with determination, and he reads the Qur'an with focus, and he prays and people say that his tone is full of reverence and emotions, but when he looks into his heart, he finds it deaf, with no signs of reverence (khushoo') even though it grasped the meaning of the prayer.
This description is true my sir, I didn't add to nor did I omit anything from it, so are you still able to admit that this heart is like the rest of hearts?
I was given intellect, but my heart was taken away from me, and I've always felt my intellect glowing, alive and vividly working, proving its presence all the time, but in vain have I tried to prove the same for my heart.
And finally, the news of the man with no heart has reached you.
He is a youth who pledged allegiance to you, and you took from him a solemn covenant, so would you be satisfied if one of your soldiers has no heart? Would you try to revive my heart so that it reflects what the tongue says with feelings and emotions? This is the agony of one of your soldiers, you would be pained to know who he is, that is why I will hold off from mentioning his name until the day when I congratulate you with his cure,
wa Alaikum assalam wa rahmatuAllah wa barakatuh.
The answer from Imam Al Banna
My brother,
Wa Alaikum assalam wa rahmatuAllah wa barakatuh,
I was very touched by reading your letter because of the sincerity in your tone and your amazing courage…and because of the delicacy of your mental awareness and the life in your heart. You are not, my dear, dead hearted as you claim, but you are a sensitive young man, with a clear soul and accurate senses, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to blame yourself or deny your feelings, but your strong resolve and high sense of purpose makes you belittle yourself and ask more of your conscience, and that is alright as that's how you're supposed to be. I will go along with your claims and will try to present to you some advice, and if they benefit you and you find in them a cure then all praise is due to Allah for His accommodation. Otherwise I would be happy to meet with you so we can work together on diagnosing the illness and finding for it a cure.
Accompanying the people of reverence (khushoo') and contemplation, and the people of intellect and devotion and staying with this kind of righteous God-fearing people that are full of wisdom, and whose faces shine with light, and whose hearts emanate with knowledge – and how rare are they – is a successful medication. So work hard on finding for yourself such people that you befriend and accompany, and connect your soul with theirs, and your nafs with theirs, and spend with them most of your free time. Beware of the fake ones, but rather seek those whose actions reflect goodness, and those whom when you see, you remember Allah. Such company is the best of medications, for traits and characters rub on each other, and the heart is affected by the heart, and the soul takes from another soul, so work hard on finding for yourself a friend of those good souls.
Reflection and contemplation in the times of seclusion and tranquility, and whispering to Allah and contemplating in this amazing and extraordinary universe, and investigating the secret of beauty and its magnificence, and looking deep into the heart, and tongue affecting them with this magical glory and supreme wisdom. All of that, my dear, is something that extends life to the heart, and will enlighten the nafs with belief and certainty: "Most surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day there are signs for those of understanding" (Qur'an 3:190).
Reflecting upon the human community, and trying to understand its sources of happiness and sorrow, its ill-being and bliss, visiting the sick, comforting those who are faced with misery, and trying to understand the psychological causes of ungratefulness and disbelief, of oppression and aggression, of favoritism and selfishness, and of the deceit in things that are bound to vanish. All those are hits on the chords of the hearts and they have the power of bringing life to the heart. So work hard on making your presence a comfort for those who are in despair, and a condolence to those who are in affliction as there is no stronger impact on our senses like helping out those who are in need, and coming to the rescue of the heartbroken and comforting those who are in misery.
And finally my dear, hearts are in the hands of Allah alone, He directs it as He wills, so be insisting and persistent in making Du'ah to Allah that He fills your heart with life, and expands your chest with belief (Eman), and bestows upon you the coolness of certainty - a blessing and favor from Him. And focus your Du'ah during the selected times that are most due for Allah's answer, and the early hours (Sahar - before dawn) as making Du'ah during that time is an arrow that reaches the throne of Allah, and I have no doubt that you are sincere in your purpose and devoted in your daa'wah. "…indeed Allah does accept of those who are righteous." (Qur'an 5:27)
Your brother,
Hassan Al Banna
My sir and teacher,
Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatuAllah wa barakatuh,
Has the news of the man with no heart reached you? As for the heart which is that red muscle that pumps blood, then he has it with no doubt as the man is alive. However as for the heart which flows with emotions, vivid sensations, and living consciousness, then regrettably he doesn't have it!
That man recognizes fine beauty with a simple glance, as much as he identifies hidden ugliness with that quick passing glance, and he is able to read the news of a man from his facial expressions and gestures with good accuracy. But despite all that, the man has no heart.
He meets a long gone friend with handshakes and hugs, but his heart feels hard and does not resonate. He asks people to be this and to be that, and he debates and protests, but his heart just feels like a rock. He receives good news with a smile, and bad news with a frown, but his happiness and sadness are mechanical, and his heart is silent of emotions. He declares his love or hate to someone, and then when he looks into his own heart he finds it still with no signs of being affected. He stands up ready for prayer with determination, and he reads the Qur'an with focus, and he prays and people say that his tone is full of reverence and emotions, but when he looks into his heart, he finds it deaf, with no signs of reverence (khushoo') even though it grasped the meaning of the prayer.
This description is true my sir, I didn't add to nor did I omit anything from it, so are you still able to admit that this heart is like the rest of hearts?
I was given intellect, but my heart was taken away from me, and I've always felt my intellect glowing, alive and vividly working, proving its presence all the time, but in vain have I tried to prove the same for my heart.
And finally, the news of the man with no heart has reached you.
He is a youth who pledged allegiance to you, and you took from him a solemn covenant, so would you be satisfied if one of your soldiers has no heart? Would you try to revive my heart so that it reflects what the tongue says with feelings and emotions? This is the agony of one of your soldiers, you would be pained to know who he is, that is why I will hold off from mentioning his name until the day when I congratulate you with his cure,
wa Alaikum assalam wa rahmatuAllah wa barakatuh.
The answer from Imam Al Banna
My brother,
Wa Alaikum assalam wa rahmatuAllah wa barakatuh,
I was very touched by reading your letter because of the sincerity in your tone and your amazing courage…and because of the delicacy of your mental awareness and the life in your heart. You are not, my dear, dead hearted as you claim, but you are a sensitive young man, with a clear soul and accurate senses, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to blame yourself or deny your feelings, but your strong resolve and high sense of purpose makes you belittle yourself and ask more of your conscience, and that is alright as that's how you're supposed to be. I will go along with your claims and will try to present to you some advice, and if they benefit you and you find in them a cure then all praise is due to Allah for His accommodation. Otherwise I would be happy to meet with you so we can work together on diagnosing the illness and finding for it a cure.
Accompanying the people of reverence (khushoo') and contemplation, and the people of intellect and devotion and staying with this kind of righteous God-fearing people that are full of wisdom, and whose faces shine with light, and whose hearts emanate with knowledge – and how rare are they – is a successful medication. So work hard on finding for yourself such people that you befriend and accompany, and connect your soul with theirs, and your nafs with theirs, and spend with them most of your free time. Beware of the fake ones, but rather seek those whose actions reflect goodness, and those whom when you see, you remember Allah. Such company is the best of medications, for traits and characters rub on each other, and the heart is affected by the heart, and the soul takes from another soul, so work hard on finding for yourself a friend of those good souls.
Reflection and contemplation in the times of seclusion and tranquility, and whispering to Allah and contemplating in this amazing and extraordinary universe, and investigating the secret of beauty and its magnificence, and looking deep into the heart, and tongue affecting them with this magical glory and supreme wisdom. All of that, my dear, is something that extends life to the heart, and will enlighten the nafs with belief and certainty: "Most surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day there are signs for those of understanding" (Qur'an 3:190).
Reflecting upon the human community, and trying to understand its sources of happiness and sorrow, its ill-being and bliss, visiting the sick, comforting those who are faced with misery, and trying to understand the psychological causes of ungratefulness and disbelief, of oppression and aggression, of favoritism and selfishness, and of the deceit in things that are bound to vanish. All those are hits on the chords of the hearts and they have the power of bringing life to the heart. So work hard on making your presence a comfort for those who are in despair, and a condolence to those who are in affliction as there is no stronger impact on our senses like helping out those who are in need, and coming to the rescue of the heartbroken and comforting those who are in misery.
And finally my dear, hearts are in the hands of Allah alone, He directs it as He wills, so be insisting and persistent in making Du'ah to Allah that He fills your heart with life, and expands your chest with belief (Eman), and bestows upon you the coolness of certainty - a blessing and favor from Him. And focus your Du'ah during the selected times that are most due for Allah's answer, and the early hours (Sahar - before dawn) as making Du'ah during that time is an arrow that reaches the throne of Allah, and I have no doubt that you are sincere in your purpose and devoted in your daa'wah. "…indeed Allah does accept of those who are righteous." (Qur'an 5:27)
Your brother,
Hassan Al Banna
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Another Perspective on Prop 8
Proponents of Prop 8 continue to lie in their television ads.
Vote as you please, but don't be deceived. Here’s what’s fiction and what’s fact:
Fiction: Teaching children about same-sex marriage will happen here unless we pass Prop 8.
Fact: Not one word in Prop 8 mentions education, and no child can be forced, against the will of their parents, to be taught anything about health and family issues at school. California law prohibits it, and the Yes on 8 campaign knows they are lying. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley has already ruled that this claim by Prop 8 proponents is “false and misleading.
Fiction: Churches could lose their tax-exemption status.
Fact: Nothing in Prop 8 would force churches to do anything. In fact, the court decision regarding marriage specifically says “no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs.
Fiction: A Massachusetts case about a parent’s objection to the school curriculum will happen here.
Fact: Unlike Massachusetts, California gives parents an absolute right to remove their kids and opt-out of teaching on health and family instruction they don’t agree with. The opponents know that California law already covers this and Prop 8 won’t affect it, so they bring up an irrelevant case in Massachusetts.
Fiction: Four Activist Judges in San Francisco…
Fact: Prop 8 is not about courts and judges, it’s about eliminating a fundamental right. Judges didn’t grant the right, the constitution guarantees the right. Proponents of Prop 8 use an outdated and stale argument that judges aren’t supposed to protect rights and freedoms. This campaign is about whether Californians, right now, in 2008 are willing to amend the constitution for the sole purpose of eliminating a fundamental right for one group of citizens.
Fiction: People can be sued over personal beliefs.
Fact: California’s laws already prohibit discrimination against anyone based on race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. This has nothing to do with marriage.
Fiction: Pepperdine University supports the Yes on 8 campaign.
Fact: The university has publicly disassociated itself from Professor Richard Peterson of Pepperdine University, who is featured in the ad, and has asked to not be identified in the Yes on 8 advertisements.
Fiction: Unless Prop 8 passes, CA parents won’t have the right to object to what their children are taught in school.
Fact: California law clearly gives parents and guardians broad authority to remove their children from any health instruction if it conflicts with their religious beliefs or moral convictions.
Vote as you please, but don't be deceived. Here’s what’s fiction and what’s fact:
Fiction: Teaching children about same-sex marriage will happen here unless we pass Prop 8.
Fact: Not one word in Prop 8 mentions education, and no child can be forced, against the will of their parents, to be taught anything about health and family issues at school. California law prohibits it, and the Yes on 8 campaign knows they are lying. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley has already ruled that this claim by Prop 8 proponents is “false and misleading.
Fiction: Churches could lose their tax-exemption status.
Fact: Nothing in Prop 8 would force churches to do anything. In fact, the court decision regarding marriage specifically says “no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs.
Fiction: A Massachusetts case about a parent’s objection to the school curriculum will happen here.
Fact: Unlike Massachusetts, California gives parents an absolute right to remove their kids and opt-out of teaching on health and family instruction they don’t agree with. The opponents know that California law already covers this and Prop 8 won’t affect it, so they bring up an irrelevant case in Massachusetts.
Fiction: Four Activist Judges in San Francisco…
Fact: Prop 8 is not about courts and judges, it’s about eliminating a fundamental right. Judges didn’t grant the right, the constitution guarantees the right. Proponents of Prop 8 use an outdated and stale argument that judges aren’t supposed to protect rights and freedoms. This campaign is about whether Californians, right now, in 2008 are willing to amend the constitution for the sole purpose of eliminating a fundamental right for one group of citizens.
Fiction: People can be sued over personal beliefs.
Fact: California’s laws already prohibit discrimination against anyone based on race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. This has nothing to do with marriage.
Fiction: Pepperdine University supports the Yes on 8 campaign.
Fact: The university has publicly disassociated itself from Professor Richard Peterson of Pepperdine University, who is featured in the ad, and has asked to not be identified in the Yes on 8 advertisements.
Fiction: Unless Prop 8 passes, CA parents won’t have the right to object to what their children are taught in school.
Fact: California law clearly gives parents and guardians broad authority to remove their children from any health instruction if it conflicts with their religious beliefs or moral convictions.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Hijabi Monologues
Greetings of Peace,
Please keep the evening of November 19th open, myself and May AlHassen will be performing Hijabi Monologues and would love for you all to be there.
On Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 9PM in Chino Hills, California
LionLike MindState
Hosted by award-winning spoken word poet Judah 1
MOSAIC Inland
5540 Schaefer Ave
Chino, CA 91710
The Hijabi Monologues is about the power of storytelling.
It is about creating a space for American Muslim women to share their voices; a space to breathe as they are; a space that does not claim to tell every story and speak for every voice.
Through the power of storytelling, generalizations and categories are challenged. Through stories, strangers touch and connect. Through stories, the story-teller and listener are humanized.
Hijabi Monologues: Our stories. Our words.
Please keep the evening of November 19th open, myself and May AlHassen will be performing Hijabi Monologues and would love for you all to be there.
On Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 9PM in Chino Hills, California
LionLike MindState
Hosted by award-winning spoken word poet Judah 1
MOSAIC Inland
5540 Schaefer Ave
Chino, CA 91710
The Hijabi Monologues is about the power of storytelling.
It is about creating a space for American Muslim women to share their voices; a space to breathe as they are; a space that does not claim to tell every story and speak for every voice.
Through the power of storytelling, generalizations and categories are challenged. Through stories, strangers touch and connect. Through stories, the story-teller and listener are humanized.
Hijabi Monologues: Our stories. Our words.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Vote Smarter 2008
Check out these short political ads from an aspiring Muslimah Film Maker!
Technology:
Palin:
Straight Talk:
Check out more of these great ads at Vote Smarter 2008.
Technology:
Palin:
Straight Talk:
Check out more of these great ads at Vote Smarter 2008.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
FiveThirtyEight
This is a really good site to keep up with if you're following the elections. The site keeps tabs on polls conducted on a daily basis and does analysis and projections.
*538 is in reference to the size of the Electoral College.
*538 is in reference to the size of the Electoral College.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
New Prime Number
Now here is some news that you don't see everyday:
UCLA group discovers humongous prime number
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mathematicians at UCLA have discovered a 13 million-digit prime number, a long-sought milestone that makes them eligible for a $100,000 prize.
The group found the 46th known Mersenne prime last month on a network of 75 computers running Windows XP. The number was verified by a different computer system running a different algorithm.
"We're delighted," said UCLA's Edson Smith, the leader of the effort. "Now we're looking for the next one, despite the odds."
It's the eighth Mersenne prime discovered at UCLA.
Primes are numbers like three, seven and 11 that are divisible by only two whole positive numbers: themselves and one.
Mersenne primes — named for their discoverer, 17th century French mathematician Marin Mersenne — are expressed as 2P-1, or two to the power of "P" minus one. P is itself a prime number. For the new prime, P is 43,112,609.
Thousands of people around the world have been participating in the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, or GIMPS, a cooperative system in which underused computing power is harnessed to perform the calculations needed to find and verify Mersenne primes.
The $100,000 prize is being offered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for finding the first Mersenne prime with more than 10 million digits. The foundation supports individual rights on the Internet and set up the prime number prize to promote cooperative computing using the Web.
The prize could be awarded when the new prime is published, probably next year.
UCLA group discovers humongous prime number
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mathematicians at UCLA have discovered a 13 million-digit prime number, a long-sought milestone that makes them eligible for a $100,000 prize.
The group found the 46th known Mersenne prime last month on a network of 75 computers running Windows XP. The number was verified by a different computer system running a different algorithm.
"We're delighted," said UCLA's Edson Smith, the leader of the effort. "Now we're looking for the next one, despite the odds."
It's the eighth Mersenne prime discovered at UCLA.
Primes are numbers like three, seven and 11 that are divisible by only two whole positive numbers: themselves and one.
Mersenne primes — named for their discoverer, 17th century French mathematician Marin Mersenne — are expressed as 2P-1, or two to the power of "P" minus one. P is itself a prime number. For the new prime, P is 43,112,609.
Thousands of people around the world have been participating in the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, or GIMPS, a cooperative system in which underused computing power is harnessed to perform the calculations needed to find and verify Mersenne primes.
The $100,000 prize is being offered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for finding the first Mersenne prime with more than 10 million digits. The foundation supports individual rights on the Internet and set up the prime number prize to promote cooperative computing using the Web.
The prize could be awarded when the new prime is published, probably next year.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Social Justice Quiz, 2008
Twenty Questions
Social Justice Quiz, 2008
By BILL QUIGLEY
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.
7. How many people in the world live on $2 a day or less?
8. How many people in the world do not have electricity?
9. People in the US consume 42 kilograms of meat per person per year. How much meat and grain do people in India and China eat?
10. How many cars does China have for every 1000 drivers? India? The U.S.?
11. How much grain is needed to fill a SUV tank with ethanol?
12. According to the Wall Street Journal, the richest 1% of Americans earns what percent of the nation’s adjusted gross income? 5%? 10%? 15%? 20%?
13. How many people does our government say are homeless in the US on any given day?
14. What percentage of people in homeless shelters are children?
15. How many veterans are homeless on any given night?
16. The military budget of the United States in 2008 is the largest in the world at $623 billion per year. How much larger is the US military budget than that of China, the second largest in the world?
17. The US military budget is larger than how many of the countries of the rest of the world combined?
18. Over the 28 year history of the Berlin Wall, 287 people perished trying to cross it. How many people have died in the last 4 years trying to cross the border between Arizona and Mexico?
19. India is ranked second in the world in gun ownership with 4 guns per 100 people. China is third with 3 firearms per 100 people. Which country is first and how many guns do they own?
20. What country leads the world in the incarceration of its citizens?
Answers to Social Justice Quiz 2008
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. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) urges renters not to pay more than 30% of their income in rent. HUD also reports the fair market rent for each of the counties and cities in the US. Nationally, in order to rent a 2 bedroom apartment, one full-time worker in 2008 must earn $17.32 per hour. In fact, 81% of renters live in cities where the Fair Market Rent for a two bedroom rental is not even affordable with two minimum wage jobs. Source: Out of Reach 2007-2008, April 7, 2008, National Low-Income Housing Coalition.
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. Source: American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Inc. The USA spent $23.5 billion in official foreign aid in 2006. The government of the USA gave the most of any country in the world in actual dollars. As a percentage of gross national income, the USA came in second to last among OECD donor countries and ranked number 20 at 0.18 percent behind Sweden at 1.02 percent and other countries such as Norway, Netherlands, Ireland, United Kingdom, Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and others. This does not count private donations which, if included, may move the USA up as high as 6th. The Index of Global Philanthropy 2008, page 15, 19.
7. The World Bank reported in August 2008 that 2.6 billion people consume less than $2 a day. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DEC/Resources/Poverty-Brief-in-English.pdf
8. World-wide, 1.6 billion people do not have electricity. 2.5 billion people use wood, charcoal or animal dung for cooking. United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008, pages 44-45.
9. People in the US lead the world in meat consumption at 42 kg per person per year compared to 1.6 kg in India and 5.9 kg in China. People in the US consume five times the grain (wheat, rice, rye, barley, etc.) as people in India, three times as much as people in China, and twice as much as people in Europe. “THE BLAME GAME: Who is behind the world food price crisis,” Oakland Institute, July 2008.
10. China has 9 cars for every 1000 drivers. India has 11 cars for every 1000 drivers. The US has 1114 cars for every 1000 drivers. Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future (2007).
11. The grain needed to fill up a SUV tank with ethanol could feed a hungry person for a year. Lester Brown, CNN.Money.com, August 16, 2006
12. “According to the figures, the richest 1% reported 22% of the nation's total adjusted gross income in 2006. That is up from 21.2% a year earlier, and is the highest in the 19 years that the IRS has kept strictly comparable figures. The 1988 level was 15.2%. Earlier IRS data show the last year the share of income belonging to the top 1% was at such a high level as it was in 2006 was in 1929, but changes in measuring income make a precise comparison difficult.” Jesse Drucker, “Richest Americans See Their Income Share Grow,” Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2008, page A3.
13. 754,000 are homeless. About 338,000 homeless people are not in shelters (live on the streets, in cars, or in abandoned buildings) and 415,000 are in shelters on any given night. 2007 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Annual Homeless Report to Congress, page iii and 23. The population of San Francisco is about 739,000.
14. HUD reports nearly 1 in 4 people in homeless shelters are children 17 or younger. Page iv – 2007 HUD Annual Homeless Report to Congress.
15. Over 100,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. About 18 percent of the adult homeless population is veterans. Page 32, 2007 HUD Homeless Report. This is about the same population as Green Bay Wisconsin.
16. Ten times. China’s military budget is $65 billion. The US military budget is nearly 10 times larger than the second leading military spender. GlobalSecurity.org
17. The US military budget of $623 billion is larger than the budgets of all the countries in the rest of the world put together. The total global military budget of the rest of the world is $500 billion. Russia’s military budget is $50 billion, South Korea’s is $21 billion, and Iran’s is $4.3 billion. GlobalSecurity.org
18. 1268. At least 1268 people have died along the border of Arizona and Mexico since 2004. The Arizona Daily Star keeps track of the reported deaths along the state border and reports 214 died in 2004, 241 in 2005, 216 in 2006, 237 in 2007, and 116 as of July 31, 2008. These numbers do not include the deaths along the California or Texas border. The Border Patrol reported that 400 people died in fiscal 2206-2007, 453 died in 2004-2005, and 494 died in 2004-2005. Source Associated Press, November 8, 2007.
19. The US is first in gun ownership world-wide with 90 guns for every 100 citizens. Laura MacInnis, “US most armed country with 90 guns per 100 people.” Reuters, August 28, 2007.
20. The US jails 751 inmates per 100,000 people, the highest rate in the world. Russia is second with 627 per 100,000. England’s rate is 151, Germany is 88, and Japan is 63. The US has 2.3 million people behind bars, more than any country in the world. Adam Liptak, “Inmate Count in US Dwarfs Other Nations’” NYT, April 23, 2008.
Bill Quigley is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola University New Orleans. He can be reached at quigley77@gmail.com
Social Justice Quiz, 2008
By BILL QUIGLEY
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.
7. How many people in the world live on $2 a day or less?
8. How many people in the world do not have electricity?
9. People in the US consume 42 kilograms of meat per person per year. How much meat and grain do people in India and China eat?
10. How many cars does China have for every 1000 drivers? India? The U.S.?
11. How much grain is needed to fill a SUV tank with ethanol?
12. According to the Wall Street Journal, the richest 1% of Americans earns what percent of the nation’s adjusted gross income? 5%? 10%? 15%? 20%?
13. How many people does our government say are homeless in the US on any given day?
14. What percentage of people in homeless shelters are children?
15. How many veterans are homeless on any given night?
16. The military budget of the United States in 2008 is the largest in the world at $623 billion per year. How much larger is the US military budget than that of China, the second largest in the world?
17. The US military budget is larger than how many of the countries of the rest of the world combined?
18. Over the 28 year history of the Berlin Wall, 287 people perished trying to cross it. How many people have died in the last 4 years trying to cross the border between Arizona and Mexico?
19. India is ranked second in the world in gun ownership with 4 guns per 100 people. China is third with 3 firearms per 100 people. Which country is first and how many guns do they own?
20. What country leads the world in the incarceration of its citizens?
Answers to Social Justice Quiz 2008
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. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) urges renters not to pay more than 30% of their income in rent. HUD also reports the fair market rent for each of the counties and cities in the US. Nationally, in order to rent a 2 bedroom apartment, one full-time worker in 2008 must earn $17.32 per hour. In fact, 81% of renters live in cities where the Fair Market Rent for a two bedroom rental is not even affordable with two minimum wage jobs. Source: Out of Reach 2007-2008, April 7, 2008, National Low-Income Housing Coalition.
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. Source: American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Inc. The USA spent $23.5 billion in official foreign aid in 2006. The government of the USA gave the most of any country in the world in actual dollars. As a percentage of gross national income, the USA came in second to last among OECD donor countries and ranked number 20 at 0.18 percent behind Sweden at 1.02 percent and other countries such as Norway, Netherlands, Ireland, United Kingdom, Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and others. This does not count private donations which, if included, may move the USA up as high as 6th. The Index of Global Philanthropy 2008, page 15, 19.
7. The World Bank reported in August 2008 that 2.6 billion people consume less than $2 a day. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DEC/Resources/Poverty-Brief-in-English.pdf
8. World-wide, 1.6 billion people do not have electricity. 2.5 billion people use wood, charcoal or animal dung for cooking. United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008, pages 44-45.
9. People in the US lead the world in meat consumption at 42 kg per person per year compared to 1.6 kg in India and 5.9 kg in China. People in the US consume five times the grain (wheat, rice, rye, barley, etc.) as people in India, three times as much as people in China, and twice as much as people in Europe. “THE BLAME GAME: Who is behind the world food price crisis,” Oakland Institute, July 2008.
10. China has 9 cars for every 1000 drivers. India has 11 cars for every 1000 drivers. The US has 1114 cars for every 1000 drivers. Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future (2007).
11. The grain needed to fill up a SUV tank with ethanol could feed a hungry person for a year. Lester Brown, CNN.Money.com, August 16, 2006
12. “According to the figures, the richest 1% reported 22% of the nation's total adjusted gross income in 2006. That is up from 21.2% a year earlier, and is the highest in the 19 years that the IRS has kept strictly comparable figures. The 1988 level was 15.2%. Earlier IRS data show the last year the share of income belonging to the top 1% was at such a high level as it was in 2006 was in 1929, but changes in measuring income make a precise comparison difficult.” Jesse Drucker, “Richest Americans See Their Income Share Grow,” Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2008, page A3.
13. 754,000 are homeless. About 338,000 homeless people are not in shelters (live on the streets, in cars, or in abandoned buildings) and 415,000 are in shelters on any given night. 2007 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Annual Homeless Report to Congress, page iii and 23. The population of San Francisco is about 739,000.
14. HUD reports nearly 1 in 4 people in homeless shelters are children 17 or younger. Page iv – 2007 HUD Annual Homeless Report to Congress.
15. Over 100,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. About 18 percent of the adult homeless population is veterans. Page 32, 2007 HUD Homeless Report. This is about the same population as Green Bay Wisconsin.
16. Ten times. China’s military budget is $65 billion. The US military budget is nearly 10 times larger than the second leading military spender. GlobalSecurity.org
17. The US military budget of $623 billion is larger than the budgets of all the countries in the rest of the world put together. The total global military budget of the rest of the world is $500 billion. Russia’s military budget is $50 billion, South Korea’s is $21 billion, and Iran’s is $4.3 billion. GlobalSecurity.org
18. 1268. At least 1268 people have died along the border of Arizona and Mexico since 2004. The Arizona Daily Star keeps track of the reported deaths along the state border and reports 214 died in 2004, 241 in 2005, 216 in 2006, 237 in 2007, and 116 as of July 31, 2008. These numbers do not include the deaths along the California or Texas border. The Border Patrol reported that 400 people died in fiscal 2206-2007, 453 died in 2004-2005, and 494 died in 2004-2005. Source Associated Press, November 8, 2007.
19. The US is first in gun ownership world-wide with 90 guns for every 100 citizens. Laura MacInnis, “US most armed country with 90 guns per 100 people.” Reuters, August 28, 2007.
20. The US jails 751 inmates per 100,000 people, the highest rate in the world. Russia is second with 627 per 100,000. England’s rate is 151, Germany is 88, and Japan is 63. The US has 2.3 million people behind bars, more than any country in the world. Adam Liptak, “Inmate Count in US Dwarfs Other Nations’” NYT, April 23, 2008.
Bill Quigley is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola University New Orleans. He can be reached at quigley77@gmail.com
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
An Apology
An Apology
Heartfelt reflections on the passing of a legendary Blackamerican Muslim leader
On September 11th, 2008, while countless American flags whipped in the wind and the television and radio waves were dominated by remembrances, recordings, and stories about the terror attacks of seven years ago, I attended the funeral of Imam W.D. Mohammed (may God be pleased with him). For me, it was a somber day, but I found myself mostly lost in thought: about African-American Muslim communities, about the challenges ahead in American Muslim institution-building, and about the future of Islam in America. If you don't know who Imam WDM was, you should look him up. The Sufis say: "The true sage belongs to his era." And of the many gifts given to Imam WDM by God, perhaps the most obvious and beneficial one was the Imam's profound understanding of the principles of religion, and his adeptness at intelligently applying those Islamic principles in a socially and culturally appropriate manner befitting the everyday lives of his North American followers. While carefully respecting sound, traditional jurisprudential methodologies of the Islamic religion, and the collective religious history and time-honored scholarship of classical Islam, he promulgated creative ideas and dynamic teachings across many domains of human endeavor, including theology, law, spirituality and even ethics and aesthetics, that together articulated a vision for a quintessentially "American Muslim" cultural identity. And he did all of this before anyone else, with quiet strength and unending humility—a true sage indeed.
So I stood before his final resting place, brokenhearted. And I suddenly began to feel the weight of the moment, realizing that when God takes back one of his dearly beloved friends, those who are left behind should cry not for the deceased, but rather for themselves. For the fact that they are now without one of God's friends in their midst, and, in a sense, they are orphaned. And the tears began to well up, for I became acutely aware that I was standing in front of the grave of my spiritual grandfather, who was himself a spiritual descendant of Bilal al-Habashi (may God be pleased with him), the mighty and beloved companion of the Prophet himself. Bilal was the first Black African to convert to al-Islam at the hands of the Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and keep him) in the sands of Arabia nearly a thousand and a half years ago. Undoubtedly, some measure of that love, mercy, compassion, and spiritual stature that inhabited the heart of Bilal has found its way down through the ages, and I found myself begging God to transfer to my own heart some glimpse of these realities now laying before me.
Almost five years ago, my business partner, Preacher Moss (who is a member of the WDM community) founded the standup comedy tour "Allah Made Me Funny," and he invited me to be his co-founder. Needless to say, it has been nothing less than an honor to work with him on the project. But to many, it was an unusual pairing: a Black comic and an Indian comic? Both Muslims? Working together? And before we ever even announced our partnership publicly, we met privately and swore an allegiance to one another—a blood oath of sorts—which was this: No matter what happens, in good times and in bad, we have to be the brothers no one expects us to be. And built on this promise (and premise), we brought on our first collaborator, Brother Azeem (who is a member of Minister Farrakhan's NOI), with whom we toured for over two years (2004-2006) before parting ways amicably. Then we brought Mohammed Amer onto the team in the fall of 2006 (a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian refugee who grew up in a Sunni Muslim family in Houston, Texas). Mo, Preach, and I are still going strong together, and we are grateful for the unqualified support, love, and blessings that Imam WDM and the entire community have always given us.
But today, as I observed the funeral proceedings, I felt sad and heavy-hearted. Something wasn't sitting right. Something was physically paining my heart, and it felt like remorse, shame perhaps, maybe even guilt. I began to realize that the tears flowing from my eyes were as much a function of these feelings as they were any lofty spiritual aspirations of mine.
You see, I attended an interfaith event a couple of years ago on 9/11. A group had assembled to commemorate the tragic event, to honor those who perished that day, and to pledge ongoing inter-community support and bridge-building to fight ignorance, hate, and intolerance. At that event, there was this short, middle-aged, sweet, extremely kindhearted, White Christian woman. When she took the microphone to speak, she was already teary-eyed, and I assumed that she was going to make some comments about the victims of 9/11, as so many others already had that night.
But she didn't do that. Instead, she explained that she had become utterly grief-stricken by the constant barrage of news stories she witnessed about Muslims and Arabs being harassed, profiled, and mistreated after 9/11. She explained that she felt powerless to do anything about it, and that it made her sick to her stomach to hear of hate crimes against Muslims and Arabs, and especially to hear of Christian preachers denigrating Islam and its Prophet. She started to cry, and so did many others in the room, humbled by the magnanimity of this simple woman.
And then she did what I thought was a strange thing: she apologized. She prefaced her apology with all the logical disclaimers, such as "I know this may mean nothing to you," and "I know that I am not the one who did these horrible things," and "I know that you may dismiss this as empty rhetoric until you see some follow-up action on my part, but anyway," she continued, "I want to apologize on behalf of all the Christians and all non-Muslims and non-Arabs who have been attacking your communities, harassing your people, and accusing your religion of all these horrible things. I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry." I was stunned. Speechless, in fact. Though all of her disclaimers were true, and my skeptical mind knew it, her apology melted our hearts. Here was this powerless servant of God sharing some of her most deeply felt emotional vulnerabilities, and she was apologizing to Muslims for something she didn't even do? Jesus (may God bless him and keep him) once famously remarked: "Make the world your teacher," and so I immediately took this woman as a lesson in humility. Admitting her powerlessness made her incredibly powerful.
And this brings me to the point (and title) of this essay. I would like to unburden myself of something that has been sitting like a ton of bricks on my heart for my entire life. I want to apologize to my Blackamerican brothers and sisters in Islam. I know that this apology may not mean very much; and I know that our American Muslim communities have a LONG way to go before we can have truly healthy political conciliation and de-racialized religious cooperation; and I know that I am not the one who is responsible for so much of the historical wrongdoing of so-called "immigrant Muslims"—wrongdoings that have been so hurtful, and insulting, and degrading, and disrespectful, and dismissive, and marginalizing, and often downright dehumanizing.
But anyway, for every "Tablighi" brother who may have had "good intentions" in his own subjective mind, but behaved in an utterly insensitive and outrageous manner toward you when he suggested that you need to learn how to urinate correctly, I'm sorry.
And for every Pakistani doctor who can find money in his budget to drive a Lexus and live in a million-dollar house in suburbia, and who has the audacity to give Friday sermons about the virtues of "Brotherhood in Islam," while the "Black mosque" can't pay the heating bills or provide enough money to feed starving Muslim families just twenty miles away, I'm sorry.
And for every Arab speaker in America who makes it his business to raise millions and millions of dollars to provide "relief" for Muslim refugees around the world, but turns a blind eye to the plight of our very own Muslim sisters and brothers right here in our American inner cities just because, in his mind, the color black might as well be considered invisible, I'm sorry.
And for every liquor store in the "hood" with a plaque that says Maashaa' Allah hanging on the wall behind the counter, I'm sorry.
And for every news media item or Hollywood portrayal that constantly reinforces the notion that "Muslim=foreigner" so that the consciousness of Blackamerican Muslims begins even to doubt itself (asking "Can I ever be Muslim enough?"), I'm sorry.
And for every Salafi Muslim brother (even the ones who used to be Black themselves before converting to Arab) who has rattled off a hadith or a verse from Koran in Arabic as his "daleel" to Kafirize you and make you feel defensive about even claiming this deen as your own, I'm sorry.
And for every time you've been asked "So when did you convert to Islam?" even though that question should more properly have been put to your grandparents, since they became Muslims by the grace of God Almighty back in the 1950s, and raised your parents as believers, and Islam is now as much your own inheritance as it is the one's posing that presumptuous, condescending question, I'm sorry.
And for every time some Muslim has self-righteously told you that your hijab is not quite "Shariah" enough, or your beard is not quite "Sunnah" enough, or your outfit is not quite "Islamic" enough, or your Koranic recitation is not quite "Arabic" enough, or your family customs are not quite "traditional" enough, or your worldview is not quite "classical" enough, or your ideas are not "authentic" enough, or your manner of making wudu is not quite "Hanafi," "Shafi," "Maliki," or "Hanbali" enough, or your religious services are not quite "Masjid" enough, or your chicken is not quite "Halal" enough, I'm sorry.
And for every Labor Day weekend when you've felt divided in your heart, wondering "When will we ever do this thing right and figure out how we can pool our collective resources to have ONE, big convention?," I'm sorry.
And for every time a Muslim has tried to bait you with a question about the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, trying to force you to condemn him—turning it into some sort of binary litmus test of true iman—with reckless and irresponsible disregard for the historical fact that he was among the first Black men in America to ever do anything meaningful for the upliftment and betterment of Black people, I'm sorry.
And for every time you've heard of an African-American brother who tried to bring home a South Asian or Arab sister to meet his parents, only to learn that her parents would rather commit suicide than let their daughter marry a "Black Muslim" (a/k/a "Bilalian brother"), even as they cheer hypocritically at stadium style speeches by Imams Siraj Wahhaj, Zaid Shakir, Johari Abdul Malik, or others—or get in line to bring one of them to speak at their multi-million dollar fundraiser for yet another superfluous suburban mosque, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I want every African-American Muslim brother and sister to know that I am ashamed of this treatment that you have received and, in many cases, continue to receive, over the decades. I want you to know that I am aware of it. I am conscious of the problem. (Indeed, I am even conscious that I myself am part of the problem since curing hypocrisy begins by looking in the mirror.) I am not alone in this apology. There are literally thousands, if not tens of thousands of young American Muslims just like me, born to immigrant parents who originate from all over the Muslim world. We get it, and we too are sick of the putrid stench of racism within our own Muslim communities. Let us pledge to work on this problem together, honestly validating our own and one another's insecurities, emotions, and feelings regarding these realities. Forgiveness is needed to right past wrongs, yet forgiveness is predicated on acknowledging wrongdoing and sincerely apologizing. Let us make a blood oath of sorts.
When the bulldozer came to place the final mounds of dirt over the tomb of Imam WDM, I was standing under a nearby tree, under the light drizzle that had just begun (perhaps as a sign of mercy dropping from the heavens as the final moments of the burial were drawing to a close), and I was talking to a dear friend and sister in faith, whose family has been closely aligned with Imam WDM for decades. She shared with me a story that her father had just related to her about the passing of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in 1975 (the same year I was born, incidentally). She told me that her father described the scene in the immediate aftermath of Elijah's demise: utter confusion and chaos within the NOI and the communities surrounding it. There was much debate and discord about what direction the NOI would take, and many were still in shock and denial that the founder had actually died. Out of the midst of that confusion arose Imam WDM, and along with his strong leadership came an even more, perhaps surprisingly courageous direction: the path away from the Black nationalism, pan-Africanism, and proto-religious beliefs of his father, and instead the unequivocal charge toward mainstream Islam, the same universal and cosmopolitan faith held and practiced by over a billion adherents worldwide. In this manner, her father explained, the death of Elijah Muhammad became a definitive end to a chapter in our collective history, and the resulting re-direction by Imam WDM marked the beginning of the next, far better, chapter in that unfolding history.
Maybe I am just an idealistic fool, or maybe Pharaoh Sanders was right about the Creator's Master Plan, but I sincerely believe that all we have to do—all of us together: Black folks, South Asians (Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis), Arabs from every part of the Middle East and North Africa, Southeast Asians (Indonesians and Malaysians), Persians, Turks, Latinos, assorted Muslims of all stripes, colors, and backgrounds, and yes, even our White Muslim brothers and sisters—is live up to a simple promise to one another: No matter what happens, in good times and in bad, we have to be the brothers and sisters no one expects us to be.
It is hoped that the passing of Imam WDM will also mark the end of a chapter in our collective American Muslim history, and perhaps now, in earnest, we can all look together toward The Third Resurrection.
May God mend our broken hearts, lift our spirits, purify our souls, heal the rifts between our communities, unify our aims, remove our obstacles, defeat our enemies, and bless and accept our humble offerings and service.
© 2008 Azhar Usman | 10 Ramadan 1429 | 11 September 2008
Heartfelt reflections on the passing of a legendary Blackamerican Muslim leader
On September 11th, 2008, while countless American flags whipped in the wind and the television and radio waves were dominated by remembrances, recordings, and stories about the terror attacks of seven years ago, I attended the funeral of Imam W.D. Mohammed (may God be pleased with him). For me, it was a somber day, but I found myself mostly lost in thought: about African-American Muslim communities, about the challenges ahead in American Muslim institution-building, and about the future of Islam in America. If you don't know who Imam WDM was, you should look him up. The Sufis say: "The true sage belongs to his era." And of the many gifts given to Imam WDM by God, perhaps the most obvious and beneficial one was the Imam's profound understanding of the principles of religion, and his adeptness at intelligently applying those Islamic principles in a socially and culturally appropriate manner befitting the everyday lives of his North American followers. While carefully respecting sound, traditional jurisprudential methodologies of the Islamic religion, and the collective religious history and time-honored scholarship of classical Islam, he promulgated creative ideas and dynamic teachings across many domains of human endeavor, including theology, law, spirituality and even ethics and aesthetics, that together articulated a vision for a quintessentially "American Muslim" cultural identity. And he did all of this before anyone else, with quiet strength and unending humility—a true sage indeed.
So I stood before his final resting place, brokenhearted. And I suddenly began to feel the weight of the moment, realizing that when God takes back one of his dearly beloved friends, those who are left behind should cry not for the deceased, but rather for themselves. For the fact that they are now without one of God's friends in their midst, and, in a sense, they are orphaned. And the tears began to well up, for I became acutely aware that I was standing in front of the grave of my spiritual grandfather, who was himself a spiritual descendant of Bilal al-Habashi (may God be pleased with him), the mighty and beloved companion of the Prophet himself. Bilal was the first Black African to convert to al-Islam at the hands of the Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and keep him) in the sands of Arabia nearly a thousand and a half years ago. Undoubtedly, some measure of that love, mercy, compassion, and spiritual stature that inhabited the heart of Bilal has found its way down through the ages, and I found myself begging God to transfer to my own heart some glimpse of these realities now laying before me.
Almost five years ago, my business partner, Preacher Moss (who is a member of the WDM community) founded the standup comedy tour "Allah Made Me Funny," and he invited me to be his co-founder. Needless to say, it has been nothing less than an honor to work with him on the project. But to many, it was an unusual pairing: a Black comic and an Indian comic? Both Muslims? Working together? And before we ever even announced our partnership publicly, we met privately and swore an allegiance to one another—a blood oath of sorts—which was this: No matter what happens, in good times and in bad, we have to be the brothers no one expects us to be. And built on this promise (and premise), we brought on our first collaborator, Brother Azeem (who is a member of Minister Farrakhan's NOI), with whom we toured for over two years (2004-2006) before parting ways amicably. Then we brought Mohammed Amer onto the team in the fall of 2006 (a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian refugee who grew up in a Sunni Muslim family in Houston, Texas). Mo, Preach, and I are still going strong together, and we are grateful for the unqualified support, love, and blessings that Imam WDM and the entire community have always given us.
But today, as I observed the funeral proceedings, I felt sad and heavy-hearted. Something wasn't sitting right. Something was physically paining my heart, and it felt like remorse, shame perhaps, maybe even guilt. I began to realize that the tears flowing from my eyes were as much a function of these feelings as they were any lofty spiritual aspirations of mine.
You see, I attended an interfaith event a couple of years ago on 9/11. A group had assembled to commemorate the tragic event, to honor those who perished that day, and to pledge ongoing inter-community support and bridge-building to fight ignorance, hate, and intolerance. At that event, there was this short, middle-aged, sweet, extremely kindhearted, White Christian woman. When she took the microphone to speak, she was already teary-eyed, and I assumed that she was going to make some comments about the victims of 9/11, as so many others already had that night.
But she didn't do that. Instead, she explained that she had become utterly grief-stricken by the constant barrage of news stories she witnessed about Muslims and Arabs being harassed, profiled, and mistreated after 9/11. She explained that she felt powerless to do anything about it, and that it made her sick to her stomach to hear of hate crimes against Muslims and Arabs, and especially to hear of Christian preachers denigrating Islam and its Prophet. She started to cry, and so did many others in the room, humbled by the magnanimity of this simple woman.
And then she did what I thought was a strange thing: she apologized. She prefaced her apology with all the logical disclaimers, such as "I know this may mean nothing to you," and "I know that I am not the one who did these horrible things," and "I know that you may dismiss this as empty rhetoric until you see some follow-up action on my part, but anyway," she continued, "I want to apologize on behalf of all the Christians and all non-Muslims and non-Arabs who have been attacking your communities, harassing your people, and accusing your religion of all these horrible things. I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry." I was stunned. Speechless, in fact. Though all of her disclaimers were true, and my skeptical mind knew it, her apology melted our hearts. Here was this powerless servant of God sharing some of her most deeply felt emotional vulnerabilities, and she was apologizing to Muslims for something she didn't even do? Jesus (may God bless him and keep him) once famously remarked: "Make the world your teacher," and so I immediately took this woman as a lesson in humility. Admitting her powerlessness made her incredibly powerful.
And this brings me to the point (and title) of this essay. I would like to unburden myself of something that has been sitting like a ton of bricks on my heart for my entire life. I want to apologize to my Blackamerican brothers and sisters in Islam. I know that this apology may not mean very much; and I know that our American Muslim communities have a LONG way to go before we can have truly healthy political conciliation and de-racialized religious cooperation; and I know that I am not the one who is responsible for so much of the historical wrongdoing of so-called "immigrant Muslims"—wrongdoings that have been so hurtful, and insulting, and degrading, and disrespectful, and dismissive, and marginalizing, and often downright dehumanizing.
But anyway, for every "Tablighi" brother who may have had "good intentions" in his own subjective mind, but behaved in an utterly insensitive and outrageous manner toward you when he suggested that you need to learn how to urinate correctly, I'm sorry.
And for every Pakistani doctor who can find money in his budget to drive a Lexus and live in a million-dollar house in suburbia, and who has the audacity to give Friday sermons about the virtues of "Brotherhood in Islam," while the "Black mosque" can't pay the heating bills or provide enough money to feed starving Muslim families just twenty miles away, I'm sorry.
And for every Arab speaker in America who makes it his business to raise millions and millions of dollars to provide "relief" for Muslim refugees around the world, but turns a blind eye to the plight of our very own Muslim sisters and brothers right here in our American inner cities just because, in his mind, the color black might as well be considered invisible, I'm sorry.
And for every liquor store in the "hood" with a plaque that says Maashaa' Allah hanging on the wall behind the counter, I'm sorry.
And for every news media item or Hollywood portrayal that constantly reinforces the notion that "Muslim=foreigner" so that the consciousness of Blackamerican Muslims begins even to doubt itself (asking "Can I ever be Muslim enough?"), I'm sorry.
And for every Salafi Muslim brother (even the ones who used to be Black themselves before converting to Arab) who has rattled off a hadith or a verse from Koran in Arabic as his "daleel" to Kafirize you and make you feel defensive about even claiming this deen as your own, I'm sorry.
And for every time you've been asked "So when did you convert to Islam?" even though that question should more properly have been put to your grandparents, since they became Muslims by the grace of God Almighty back in the 1950s, and raised your parents as believers, and Islam is now as much your own inheritance as it is the one's posing that presumptuous, condescending question, I'm sorry.
And for every time some Muslim has self-righteously told you that your hijab is not quite "Shariah" enough, or your beard is not quite "Sunnah" enough, or your outfit is not quite "Islamic" enough, or your Koranic recitation is not quite "Arabic" enough, or your family customs are not quite "traditional" enough, or your worldview is not quite "classical" enough, or your ideas are not "authentic" enough, or your manner of making wudu is not quite "Hanafi," "Shafi," "Maliki," or "Hanbali" enough, or your religious services are not quite "Masjid" enough, or your chicken is not quite "Halal" enough, I'm sorry.
And for every Labor Day weekend when you've felt divided in your heart, wondering "When will we ever do this thing right and figure out how we can pool our collective resources to have ONE, big convention?," I'm sorry.
And for every time a Muslim has tried to bait you with a question about the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, trying to force you to condemn him—turning it into some sort of binary litmus test of true iman—with reckless and irresponsible disregard for the historical fact that he was among the first Black men in America to ever do anything meaningful for the upliftment and betterment of Black people, I'm sorry.
And for every time you've heard of an African-American brother who tried to bring home a South Asian or Arab sister to meet his parents, only to learn that her parents would rather commit suicide than let their daughter marry a "Black Muslim" (a/k/a "Bilalian brother"), even as they cheer hypocritically at stadium style speeches by Imams Siraj Wahhaj, Zaid Shakir, Johari Abdul Malik, or others—or get in line to bring one of them to speak at their multi-million dollar fundraiser for yet another superfluous suburban mosque, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I want every African-American Muslim brother and sister to know that I am ashamed of this treatment that you have received and, in many cases, continue to receive, over the decades. I want you to know that I am aware of it. I am conscious of the problem. (Indeed, I am even conscious that I myself am part of the problem since curing hypocrisy begins by looking in the mirror.) I am not alone in this apology. There are literally thousands, if not tens of thousands of young American Muslims just like me, born to immigrant parents who originate from all over the Muslim world. We get it, and we too are sick of the putrid stench of racism within our own Muslim communities. Let us pledge to work on this problem together, honestly validating our own and one another's insecurities, emotions, and feelings regarding these realities. Forgiveness is needed to right past wrongs, yet forgiveness is predicated on acknowledging wrongdoing and sincerely apologizing. Let us make a blood oath of sorts.
When the bulldozer came to place the final mounds of dirt over the tomb of Imam WDM, I was standing under a nearby tree, under the light drizzle that had just begun (perhaps as a sign of mercy dropping from the heavens as the final moments of the burial were drawing to a close), and I was talking to a dear friend and sister in faith, whose family has been closely aligned with Imam WDM for decades. She shared with me a story that her father had just related to her about the passing of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in 1975 (the same year I was born, incidentally). She told me that her father described the scene in the immediate aftermath of Elijah's demise: utter confusion and chaos within the NOI and the communities surrounding it. There was much debate and discord about what direction the NOI would take, and many were still in shock and denial that the founder had actually died. Out of the midst of that confusion arose Imam WDM, and along with his strong leadership came an even more, perhaps surprisingly courageous direction: the path away from the Black nationalism, pan-Africanism, and proto-religious beliefs of his father, and instead the unequivocal charge toward mainstream Islam, the same universal and cosmopolitan faith held and practiced by over a billion adherents worldwide. In this manner, her father explained, the death of Elijah Muhammad became a definitive end to a chapter in our collective history, and the resulting re-direction by Imam WDM marked the beginning of the next, far better, chapter in that unfolding history.
Maybe I am just an idealistic fool, or maybe Pharaoh Sanders was right about the Creator's Master Plan, but I sincerely believe that all we have to do—all of us together: Black folks, South Asians (Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis), Arabs from every part of the Middle East and North Africa, Southeast Asians (Indonesians and Malaysians), Persians, Turks, Latinos, assorted Muslims of all stripes, colors, and backgrounds, and yes, even our White Muslim brothers and sisters—is live up to a simple promise to one another: No matter what happens, in good times and in bad, we have to be the brothers and sisters no one expects us to be.
It is hoped that the passing of Imam WDM will also mark the end of a chapter in our collective American Muslim history, and perhaps now, in earnest, we can all look together toward The Third Resurrection.
May God mend our broken hearts, lift our spirits, purify our souls, heal the rifts between our communities, unify our aims, remove our obstacles, defeat our enemies, and bless and accept our humble offerings and service.
© 2008 Azhar Usman | 10 Ramadan 1429 | 11 September 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Vogue’s Fashion Photos Spark Debate in India
NEW DELHI — An old woman missing her upper front teeth holds a child in rumpled clothes — who is wearing a Fendi bib (retail price, about $100).
A family of three squeezes onto a motorbike for their daily commute, the mother riding without a helmet and sidesaddle in the traditional Indian way — except that she has a Hermès Birkin bag (usually more than $10,000, if you can find one) prominently displayed on her wrist.
Elsewhere, a toothless barefoot man holds a Burberry umbrella (about $200).
Welcome to the new India — at least as Vogue sees it.
Vogue India’s August issue presented a 16-page vision of supple handbags, bejeweled clutches and status-symbol umbrellas, modeled not by runway stars or the wealthiest fraction of Indian society who can actually afford these accessories, but by average Indian people.
Perhaps not surprisingly, not everyone in India was amused.
The editorial spread was “not just tacky but downright distasteful” said Kanika Gahlaut, a columnist for the daily newspaper Mail Today that is based here, who denounced it as an “example of vulgarity.”
There’s nothing “fun or funny” about putting a poor person in a mud hut in clothing designed by Alexander McQueen, she said in a telephone interview. “There are farmer suicides here, for God’s sake” she said, referring to thousands of Indian farmers who have killed themselves in the last decade because of debt.
Vogue India editor Priya Tanna’s message to critics of the August shoot: “Lighten up,” she said in a telephone interview. Vogue is about realizing the “power of fashion” she said, and the shoot was saying that “fashion is no longer a rich man’s privilege. Anyone can carry it off and make it look beautiful,” she said.
“You have to remember with fashion, you can’t take it that seriously,” Ms. Tanna said. “We weren’t trying to make a political statement or save the world,” she said.
Nearly half of India’s population — about 456 million people — live on less than $1.25 a day, according to World Bank figures released last week. But as any well-briefed luxury goods executive or private banker knows, India also has a fast-growing wealthy class and emerging middle class that make it one of the world’s most attractive new places to sell high-end products.
The juxtaposition between poverty and growing wealth presents an unsavory dilemma for luxury goods makers jumping into India: How does one sell something like a $1,000 handbag in a country where most people will never amass that sum of money in their lives, and many are starving? The answer is not clear cut, though Vogue’s approach may not be the way to go.
Marketers need to “create brand awareness” in India, said Claudia D’Arpizio, a partner with the consulting firm Bain & Company, who is based in Milan. She recommended the approach that some consumer brand companies took in China, opening big flagship stores and trying new forms of advertising like television.
As India’s population becomes more affluent, successful luxury goods manufacturers will “create aspirations,” Ms. D’Arpizio said, and people will buy their products to show their pride in their prosperity. On the other hand, she said, would not be prudent for marketers to open luxury stores on “streets where people are struggling for survival.”
Brands like Gucci, Jimmy Choo and Hermès have been bunking in high-end hotels or banding together in new superluxury malls, where guards are often stationed at the doors to keep the destitute outside. One new mall coming to south Delhi, the gold-leafed and marbled Emporio, even features a spa and a members club, developers say.
For now, the Indian middle and upper class — and the companies that aim to cater to it — are just getting used to having new money, said V. Sunil, creative director for advertising agency Weiden & Kennedy in India, which opened its first office here last September. “No one thinks they need to do something deeper for the public,” like address India’s social ills, he said.
The subjects of the Vogue shoot are the people that luxury goods manufacturers might hope to one day become their customers. Companies are attracted to emerging markets like India because of the millions of people who are “coming from no income and rising quite fast,” said Nick Debnam, chairman of KPMG’s consumer markets practice in the Asia-Pacific region.
The idea of being able to afford something but not buying it because you do not want to flaunt your money reflects a “very Western attitude,” he said. In China and other emerging markets, “if you’ve made it, you want everyone to know that you’ve made it,” and luxury brands are the easiest way to do that, he said.
Still, the in-your-face poverty of India, where beggars sometimes sit outside five-star hotels, does present challenges that companies do not face in other markets. In China, most of the very poor live in rural areas, said Mr. Debnam. “Most of the luxury companies don’t consider these people,” when they’re thinking of selling products, he said, “and even the consumer product companies don’t look at them.”
Not taking a close enough look at the “real people” is drawing criticism for Vogue, too. “The magazine does not even bother to identify the subjects” of the photos, said Ms. Gahlaut, the columnist. Instead, Vogue names the brands of the accessories in the captions, and says they are worn by a lady or a man.
Friday, August 29, 2008
The Olympic Story We Never Heard...
Samia Yusuf Omar is an athlete from Somalia who took part in the recently concluded Olympics in China. She was the slowest female runner in the 200 meter race, and although her Olympic experience might have only lasted 32 seconds, her story of her home, family, lifestyle conditions and experiences will have a lasting impression.
———————————
Samia Yusuf Omar headed back to Somalia Sunday, returning to the small two-room house in Mogadishu shared by seven family members. Her mother lives there, selling fruits and vegetables. Her father is buried there, the victim of a wayward artillery shell that hit their home and also killed Samia's aunt and uncle.
This is the Olympic story we never heard.
It's about a girl whose Beijing moment lasted a mere 32 seconds – the slowest 200-meter dash time out of the 46 women who competed in the event. Thirty-two seconds that almost nobody saw but that she carries home with her, swelled with joy and wonderment. Back to a decades-long civil war that has flattened much of her city. Back to an Olympic program with few Olympians and no facilities. Back to meals of flat bread, wheat porridge and tap water.
"I have my pride," she said through a translator before leaving China. "This is the highest thing any athlete can hope for. It has been a very happy experience for me. I am proud to bring the Somali flag to fly with all of these countries, and to stand with the best athletes in the world."
There are many life stories that collide in each Olympics – many intriguing tales of glory and tragedy. Beijing delivered the electricity of Usain Bolt and the determination of Michael Phelps. It left hearts heavy with the disappointment of Liu xiang and the heartache of Hugh McCutcheon.
But it also gave us Samia Yusuf Omar – one small girl from one chaotic country – and a story that might have gone unnoticed if it hadn't been for a roaring half-empty stadium.
"Sports are not a priority for Somalia," said Duran Farah, vice president of the Somali Olympic Committee. "There is no money for facilities or training. The war, the security, the difficulties with food and everything – there are just many other internal difficulties to deal with."
That leaves athletes such as Samia and 18-year old Abdi without the normal comforts and structure enjoyed by almost every other athlete in the Olympic Games. They don't receive consistent coaching, don't compete in meets on a regular basis and struggle to find safety in something as simple as going out for a daily run.
When Samia cannot make it to the stadium, she runs in the streets, where she runs into roadblocks of burning tires and refuse set out by insurgents. She is often bullied and threatened by militia or locals who believe that Muslim women should not take part in sports. In hopes of lessening the abuse, she runs in the oppressive heat wearing long sleeves, sweat pants and a head scarf. Even then, she is told her place should be in the home – not participating in sports.
"For some men, nothing is good enough," Farah said.
Even Abdi faces constant difficulties, passing through military checkpoints where he is shaken down for money. And when he has competed in sanctioned track events, gun-toting insurgents have threatened his life for what they viewed as compliance with the interim government.
"Once, the insurgents were very unhappy," he said. "When we went back home, my friends and I were rounded up and we were told if we did it again, we would get killed. Some of my friends stopped being in sports. I had many phone calls threatening me, that if I didn't stop running, I would get killed. Lately, I do not have these problems. I think probably they realized we just wanted to be athletes and were not involved with the government."
But the interim government has not been able to offer support, instead spending its cash and energy arming Ethiopian allies for the fight against insurgents. Other than organizing a meet to compete for Olympic selection – in which the Somali Olympic federation chose whom it believed to be its two best performers – there has been little lavished on athletes. While other countries pour millions into the training and perfecting of their Olympic stars, Somalia offers little guidance and no doctors, not even a stipend for food.
"The food is not something that is measured and given to us every day," Samia said. "We eat whatever we can get."
On the best days, that means getting protein from a small portion of fish, camel or goat meat, and carbohydrates from bananas or citrus fruits growing in local trees. On the worst days – and there are long stretches of those – it means surviving on water and Angera, a flat bread made from a mixture of wheat and barley.
"There is no grocery store," Abdi said. "We can't go shopping for whatever we want."
He laughs at this thought, with a smile that is missing a front tooth.
Just being an Olympian and carrying the country's flag brings an immense sense of pride to families and neighborhoods which typically know only despair. A pride that Samia will share with her mother, three brothers and three sisters. A pride that Abdi will carry home to his father, two brothers and two sisters. Like Samia's father two years ago, Abdi's mother was killed in the civil war, by a mortar shell that hit the family's home in 1993.
"We are very proud," Samia said. "Because of us, the Somali flag is raised among all the other nations' flags. You can't imagine how proud we were when we were marching in the Opening Ceremonies with the flag.
"Despite the difficulties and everything we've had with our country, we feel great pride in our accomplishment."
As Samia came down the stretch in her 200-meter heat, she realized that the Somalian Olympic federation had chosen to place her in the wrong event. The 200 wasn't nearly the best event for a middle distance runner. But the federation believed the dash would serve as a "good experience" for her. Now she was coming down the stretch alone, pumping her arms and tilting her head to the side with a look of despair.
Suddenly, the half-empty stadium realized there was still a runner on the track, still pushing to get across the finish line almost eight seconds behind the seven women who had already completed the race. In the last 50 meters, much of the stadium rose to its feet, flooding the track below with cheers of encouragement. A few competitors who had left Samia behind turned and watched it unfold.
As Samia crossed the line in 32.16 seconds, the crowd roared in applause.
And there it was. While the Olympics are often promoted for the fastest and strongest and most agile champions, there is something to be said for the ones who finish out of the limelight. The ones who finish last and leave with their pride.
At their best, the Olympics still signify competition and purity, a love for sport. What represents that better than two athletes who carry their country's flag into the Games despite their country's inability to carry them before that moment? What better way to find the best of the Olympic spirit than by looking at those who endure so much that would break it?
"We know that we are different from the other athletes," Samia said. "But we don't want to show it. We try our best to look like all the rest. We understand we are not anywhere near the level of the other competitors here. We understand that very, very well. But more than anything else, we would like to show the dignity of ourselves and our country."
She smiles when she says this, sitting a stone's throw from a Somalian flag that she and her countryman Abdi brought to these Games. They came and went from Beijing largely unnoticed, but may have been the most dignified example these Olympics could offer.
———————————
Samia Yusuf Omar headed back to Somalia Sunday, returning to the small two-room house in Mogadishu shared by seven family members. Her mother lives there, selling fruits and vegetables. Her father is buried there, the victim of a wayward artillery shell that hit their home and also killed Samia's aunt and uncle.
This is the Olympic story we never heard.
It's about a girl whose Beijing moment lasted a mere 32 seconds – the slowest 200-meter dash time out of the 46 women who competed in the event. Thirty-two seconds that almost nobody saw but that she carries home with her, swelled with joy and wonderment. Back to a decades-long civil war that has flattened much of her city. Back to an Olympic program with few Olympians and no facilities. Back to meals of flat bread, wheat porridge and tap water.
"I have my pride," she said through a translator before leaving China. "This is the highest thing any athlete can hope for. It has been a very happy experience for me. I am proud to bring the Somali flag to fly with all of these countries, and to stand with the best athletes in the world."
There are many life stories that collide in each Olympics – many intriguing tales of glory and tragedy. Beijing delivered the electricity of Usain Bolt and the determination of Michael Phelps. It left hearts heavy with the disappointment of Liu xiang and the heartache of Hugh McCutcheon.
But it also gave us Samia Yusuf Omar – one small girl from one chaotic country – and a story that might have gone unnoticed if it hadn't been for a roaring half-empty stadium.
"Sports are not a priority for Somalia," said Duran Farah, vice president of the Somali Olympic Committee. "There is no money for facilities or training. The war, the security, the difficulties with food and everything – there are just many other internal difficulties to deal with."
That leaves athletes such as Samia and 18-year old Abdi without the normal comforts and structure enjoyed by almost every other athlete in the Olympic Games. They don't receive consistent coaching, don't compete in meets on a regular basis and struggle to find safety in something as simple as going out for a daily run.
When Samia cannot make it to the stadium, she runs in the streets, where she runs into roadblocks of burning tires and refuse set out by insurgents. She is often bullied and threatened by militia or locals who believe that Muslim women should not take part in sports. In hopes of lessening the abuse, she runs in the oppressive heat wearing long sleeves, sweat pants and a head scarf. Even then, she is told her place should be in the home – not participating in sports.
"For some men, nothing is good enough," Farah said.
Even Abdi faces constant difficulties, passing through military checkpoints where he is shaken down for money. And when he has competed in sanctioned track events, gun-toting insurgents have threatened his life for what they viewed as compliance with the interim government.
"Once, the insurgents were very unhappy," he said. "When we went back home, my friends and I were rounded up and we were told if we did it again, we would get killed. Some of my friends stopped being in sports. I had many phone calls threatening me, that if I didn't stop running, I would get killed. Lately, I do not have these problems. I think probably they realized we just wanted to be athletes and were not involved with the government."
But the interim government has not been able to offer support, instead spending its cash and energy arming Ethiopian allies for the fight against insurgents. Other than organizing a meet to compete for Olympic selection – in which the Somali Olympic federation chose whom it believed to be its two best performers – there has been little lavished on athletes. While other countries pour millions into the training and perfecting of their Olympic stars, Somalia offers little guidance and no doctors, not even a stipend for food.
"The food is not something that is measured and given to us every day," Samia said. "We eat whatever we can get."
On the best days, that means getting protein from a small portion of fish, camel or goat meat, and carbohydrates from bananas or citrus fruits growing in local trees. On the worst days – and there are long stretches of those – it means surviving on water and Angera, a flat bread made from a mixture of wheat and barley.
"There is no grocery store," Abdi said. "We can't go shopping for whatever we want."
He laughs at this thought, with a smile that is missing a front tooth.
Just being an Olympian and carrying the country's flag brings an immense sense of pride to families and neighborhoods which typically know only despair. A pride that Samia will share with her mother, three brothers and three sisters. A pride that Abdi will carry home to his father, two brothers and two sisters. Like Samia's father two years ago, Abdi's mother was killed in the civil war, by a mortar shell that hit the family's home in 1993.
"We are very proud," Samia said. "Because of us, the Somali flag is raised among all the other nations' flags. You can't imagine how proud we were when we were marching in the Opening Ceremonies with the flag.
"Despite the difficulties and everything we've had with our country, we feel great pride in our accomplishment."
As Samia came down the stretch in her 200-meter heat, she realized that the Somalian Olympic federation had chosen to place her in the wrong event. The 200 wasn't nearly the best event for a middle distance runner. But the federation believed the dash would serve as a "good experience" for her. Now she was coming down the stretch alone, pumping her arms and tilting her head to the side with a look of despair.
Suddenly, the half-empty stadium realized there was still a runner on the track, still pushing to get across the finish line almost eight seconds behind the seven women who had already completed the race. In the last 50 meters, much of the stadium rose to its feet, flooding the track below with cheers of encouragement. A few competitors who had left Samia behind turned and watched it unfold.
As Samia crossed the line in 32.16 seconds, the crowd roared in applause.
And there it was. While the Olympics are often promoted for the fastest and strongest and most agile champions, there is something to be said for the ones who finish out of the limelight. The ones who finish last and leave with their pride.
At their best, the Olympics still signify competition and purity, a love for sport. What represents that better than two athletes who carry their country's flag into the Games despite their country's inability to carry them before that moment? What better way to find the best of the Olympic spirit than by looking at those who endure so much that would break it?
"We know that we are different from the other athletes," Samia said. "But we don't want to show it. We try our best to look like all the rest. We understand we are not anywhere near the level of the other competitors here. We understand that very, very well. But more than anything else, we would like to show the dignity of ourselves and our country."
She smiles when she says this, sitting a stone's throw from a Somalian flag that she and her countryman Abdi brought to these Games. They came and went from Beijing largely unnoticed, but may have been the most dignified example these Olympics could offer.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Darkest Hour and the Coming of the Dawn
The darkest hour and the coming of the dawn
By: Yasmin Mogahed
According to a well-stated proverb, the darkest hour is just before the dawn. And although astronomically the darkest point is much earlier, the truth of this proverb is metaphoric—but in no way less real.
So often we find that the darkest times in our lives are followed by the most precious. Often, it is at that moment when everything looks broken, that something least expected lifts us and carries us through. Did not Prophet Ayoub lose everything one by one, before it was all given back and more?
Yes. For Prophet Ayoub, the night was real. And for many of us, it seems to last forever. But Allah does not allow an endless night. In His mercy, he gives us the sun. Yet there are times when we feel our hardships won’t cease. And maybe some of us have fallen to such a spiritual low in our deen that we feel disconnected from our Creator. And maybe for some of us, it’s so dark, we don’t even notice.
But like the sun that rises at the end of the night, our dawn has come. In His infinite mercy, Allah has sent the light of Ramadan to erase the night. He has sent the month of the Quran so that He might elevate us, and bring us from our isolation to His nearness. He has given us this blessed month to fill our emptiness, cure our loneliness, and end our soul’s poverty. He has sent us the dawn that we might find from darkness, light.
Allah says: “He it is Who sends blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of Darkness into Light: and He is Full of Mercy to the Believers” (33:43).
And this mercy extends to all who seek it. Even the most hardened sinner is told to never lose hope in God’s infinite mercy. God says in the Quran: “Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah. For Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (39:53).
Allah is the Owner of mercy, and there is no time when that mercy is showered more upon us than in the blessed month of Ramadan. The Prophet has said regarding Ramadan: "Its beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness, and its ending is liberation from the Hellfire" (Ibn Khuzaymah, al-Sahih).
Every moment of Ramadan is a chance to come back to Allah. Whatever we are now going through in our lives is often a direct result of our own actions. If we are humiliated, or feel low, it is our own sins which have lowered us. It is only by Allah, that we can ever hope to be elevated. If we are consistently unable to wake up for Fajr, or find it increasingly difficult to stay away from haram, we must examine our relationship to Allah. Most of all, we must never be deceived. We must never allow ourselves to think that anything in this world succeeds, fails, is given, taken, done, or undone without Allah. It is only by our connection to our Creator that we rise or fall in life, in our relationship with our world—and with all of humanity.
But unlike humanity, our Creator doesn’t hold grudges. Imagine receiving a clean slate. Imagine having everything you ever regret doing erased completely. Ramadan is that chance. The Prophet told us: “Whoever fasts during Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven” (Bukhari).
So given this unparalleled opportunity, how can we best take advantage of it? Two often overlooked issues to keep in mind are:
Know why you’re fasting:
Many people fast as a ritual, without truly understanding its’ meaning. Others reduce it to a simple exercise in empathy with the poor. While this is a beautiful consequence of fasting, it is not the main purpose defined by Allah. Allah says in the Quran: "Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain taqwa (God-consciousness)" (2:183). By controlling and restraining our physical needs, we gain strength for the greater battle: controlling and restraining our nafs. When fasting, every hunger pang, reminds us of God—the one for whom we have made that sacrifice. By constantly remembering Allah, and sacrificing for Him, we are made more aware of His presence and in that way increase our taqwa, fear and consciousness of Him. The same thing that prevents us from the sin of sneaking in food while no one else is watching, trains us to avoid other sins, while no one else is watching. That is taqwa.
Don’t make fasting just hunger and thirst:
The Prophet has said, "Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink" (Al-Bukhari). The Prophet also warns us: “Many people who fast get nothing from their fast except hunger and thirst, and many people who pray at night get nothing from it except wakefulness” (Darimi). While fasting, understand the whole picture. Remember that fasting is not just about staying away from food. It is about striving to become a better person.
And in so striving, we are given a chance to escape the darkness of our own isolation from God. But like the sun that sets at the end of the day, so too will Ramadan come and go, leaving only its mark on our heart’s sky.
By: Yasmin Mogahed
According to a well-stated proverb, the darkest hour is just before the dawn. And although astronomically the darkest point is much earlier, the truth of this proverb is metaphoric—but in no way less real.
So often we find that the darkest times in our lives are followed by the most precious. Often, it is at that moment when everything looks broken, that something least expected lifts us and carries us through. Did not Prophet Ayoub lose everything one by one, before it was all given back and more?
Yes. For Prophet Ayoub, the night was real. And for many of us, it seems to last forever. But Allah does not allow an endless night. In His mercy, he gives us the sun. Yet there are times when we feel our hardships won’t cease. And maybe some of us have fallen to such a spiritual low in our deen that we feel disconnected from our Creator. And maybe for some of us, it’s so dark, we don’t even notice.
But like the sun that rises at the end of the night, our dawn has come. In His infinite mercy, Allah has sent the light of Ramadan to erase the night. He has sent the month of the Quran so that He might elevate us, and bring us from our isolation to His nearness. He has given us this blessed month to fill our emptiness, cure our loneliness, and end our soul’s poverty. He has sent us the dawn that we might find from darkness, light.
Allah says: “He it is Who sends blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of Darkness into Light: and He is Full of Mercy to the Believers” (33:43).
And this mercy extends to all who seek it. Even the most hardened sinner is told to never lose hope in God’s infinite mercy. God says in the Quran: “Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah. For Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (39:53).
Allah is the Owner of mercy, and there is no time when that mercy is showered more upon us than in the blessed month of Ramadan. The Prophet has said regarding Ramadan: "Its beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness, and its ending is liberation from the Hellfire" (Ibn Khuzaymah, al-Sahih).
Every moment of Ramadan is a chance to come back to Allah. Whatever we are now going through in our lives is often a direct result of our own actions. If we are humiliated, or feel low, it is our own sins which have lowered us. It is only by Allah, that we can ever hope to be elevated. If we are consistently unable to wake up for Fajr, or find it increasingly difficult to stay away from haram, we must examine our relationship to Allah. Most of all, we must never be deceived. We must never allow ourselves to think that anything in this world succeeds, fails, is given, taken, done, or undone without Allah. It is only by our connection to our Creator that we rise or fall in life, in our relationship with our world—and with all of humanity.
But unlike humanity, our Creator doesn’t hold grudges. Imagine receiving a clean slate. Imagine having everything you ever regret doing erased completely. Ramadan is that chance. The Prophet told us: “Whoever fasts during Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven” (Bukhari).
So given this unparalleled opportunity, how can we best take advantage of it? Two often overlooked issues to keep in mind are:
Know why you’re fasting:
Many people fast as a ritual, without truly understanding its’ meaning. Others reduce it to a simple exercise in empathy with the poor. While this is a beautiful consequence of fasting, it is not the main purpose defined by Allah. Allah says in the Quran: "Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain taqwa (God-consciousness)" (2:183). By controlling and restraining our physical needs, we gain strength for the greater battle: controlling and restraining our nafs. When fasting, every hunger pang, reminds us of God—the one for whom we have made that sacrifice. By constantly remembering Allah, and sacrificing for Him, we are made more aware of His presence and in that way increase our taqwa, fear and consciousness of Him. The same thing that prevents us from the sin of sneaking in food while no one else is watching, trains us to avoid other sins, while no one else is watching. That is taqwa.
Don’t make fasting just hunger and thirst:
The Prophet has said, "Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink" (Al-Bukhari). The Prophet also warns us: “Many people who fast get nothing from their fast except hunger and thirst, and many people who pray at night get nothing from it except wakefulness” (Darimi). While fasting, understand the whole picture. Remember that fasting is not just about staying away from food. It is about striving to become a better person.
And in so striving, we are given a chance to escape the darkness of our own isolation from God. But like the sun that sets at the end of the day, so too will Ramadan come and go, leaving only its mark on our heart’s sky.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
What Secrets Are.
---Email Message-----
Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2008 5:37 PM
Subject: What secrets are.
I think that when we read other people's secrets in your books, on your blog, or at your events, we read a secret we didn't know we had or a new look on things and a greater understanding that we already have and it just takes someone else's story to have it awakened.
We can look at people in the streets and see something we wouldn't have and think, "Maybe it was that person's secret." and then we feel more connected to people by realizing that maybe we all carry the same secrets.
Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2008 5:37 PM
Subject: What secrets are.
I think that when we read other people's secrets in your books, on your blog, or at your events, we read a secret we didn't know we had or a new look on things and a greater understanding that we already have and it just takes someone else's story to have it awakened.
We can look at people in the streets and see something we wouldn't have and think, "Maybe it was that person's secret." and then we feel more connected to people by realizing that maybe we all carry the same secrets.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (Trailer 1)
New Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince trailer is up!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
An Ideal Husband
This weekend, we celebrate our great American pastime: messy celebrity divorces.
There’s the Christie Brinkley/Peter Cook fireworks on Long Island and the Madonna/Guy Ritchie/A-Rod Roman candle in New York.
So how do you avoid a relationship where you end up saying, “The man who I was living with, I just didn’t know who he was” — as Brinkley did in court when talking about her husband’s $3,000-a-month Internet porn and swinger site habit? (Not to mention the 18-year-old mistress/assistant.)
Father Pat Connor, a 79-year-old Catholic priest born in Australia and based in Bordentown, N.J., has spent his celibate life — including nine years as a missionary in India — mulling connubial bliss. His decades of marriage counseling led him to distill some “mostly common sense” advice about how to dodge mates who would maul your happiness.
“Hollywood says you can be deeply in love with someone and then your marriage will work,” the twinkly eyed, white-haired priest says. “But you can be deeply in love with someone to whom you cannot be successfully married.”
For 40 years, he has been giving a lecture — “Whom Not to Marry” — to high school seniors, mostly girls because they’re more interested.
“It’s important to do it before they fall seriously in love, because then it will be too late,” he explains. “Infatuation trumps judgment.”
I asked him to summarize his talk:
“Never marry a man who has no friends,” he starts. “This usually means that he will be incapable of the intimacy that marriage demands. I am always amazed at the number of men I have counseled who have no friends. Since, as the Hebrew Scriptures say, ‘Iron shapes iron and friend shapes friend,’ what are his friends like? What do your friends and family members think of him? Sometimes, your friends can’t render an impartial judgment because they are envious that you are beating them in the race to the altar. Envy beclouds judgment.
“Does he use money responsibly? Is he stingy? Most marriages that founder do so because of money — she’s thrifty, he’s on his 10th credit card.
“Steer clear of someone whose life you can run, who never makes demands counter to yours. It’s good to have a doormat in the home, but not if it’s your husband.
“Is he overly attached to his mother and her mythical apron strings? When he wants to make a decision, say, about where you should go on your honeymoon, he doesn’t consult you, he consults his mother. (I’ve known cases where the mother accompanies the couple on their honeymoon!)
“Does he have a sense of humor? That covers a multitude of sins. My mother was once asked how she managed to live harmoniously with three men — my father, brother and me. Her answer, delivered with awesome arrogance, was: ‘You simply operate on the assumption that no man matures after the age of 11.’ My father fell about laughing.
“A therapist friend insists that ‘more marriages are killed by silence than by violence.’ The strong, silent type can be charming but ultimately destructive. That world-class misogynist, Paul of Tarsus, got it right when he said, ‘In all your dealings with one another, speak the truth to one another in love that you may grow up.’
“Don’t marry a problem character thinking you will change him. He’s a heavy drinker, or some other kind of addict, but if he marries a good woman, he’ll settle down. People are the same after marriage as before, only more so.
“Take a good, unsentimental look at his family — you’ll learn a lot about him and his attitude towards women. Kay made a monstrous mistake marrying Michael Corleone! Is there a history of divorce in the family? An atmosphere of racism, sexism or prejudice in his home? Are his goals and deepest beliefs worthy and similar to yours? I remember counseling a pious Catholic woman that it might not be prudent to marry a pious Muslim, whose attitude about women was very different. Love trumped prudence; the annulment process was instigated by her six months later.
“Imagine a religious fundamentalist married to an agnostic. One would have to pray that the fundamentalist doesn’t open the Bible and hit the page in which Abraham is willing to obey God and slit his son’s throat.
“Finally: Does he possess those character traits that add up to a good human being — the willingness to forgive, praise, be courteous? Or is he inclined to be a fibber, to fits of rage, to be a control freak, to be envious of you, to be secretive?
“After I regale a group with this talk, the despairing cry goes up: ‘But you’ve eliminated everyone!’ Life is unfair.”
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Stolen Days in Israel
Received this from a friend about her trip to Israel...
May Allah give us all the strength to keep on persevering...Ameen!
This is a long and mostly detailed rendition of what happened to me after my arrival in Tel Aviv. I would like to submit this information to the media and any NGOs or organizations that can use the information. By not doing anything I feel I will have more stolen from me. I hope you reading this can also use the information, submit it to the media, etc. I give you permission to do so, just do not use my full name and keep the integrity of the story. It would help me if you could spread this information around, submit it to organizations and the media and would make it easier for me.
I never anticipated these problems. I asked so many people, so many questions. When I entered Israel I thought I might be questioned because of my name but not what ended up happening. When I approached the non-Israel passport stand, the woman asked me my father’s name, probably because I was born in Iran that questions started coming. When I said Mohammad Reza I was pretty sure I would be questioned further. She asked me my grandfather’s name, I didn’t know, I didn’t have relations with him. She told me to stand on the side of the counter. I waited. Then I was taken to an office to be questioned. They asked me why I was coming there, where I was coming from, what I was doing there, who I knew here, how I knew them, did I have family here, what I studied, where I studied, my contact info, my friends’ contact info. Then I was asked to wait in this room. I was then questioned again, this time more aggressively. The woman again asked me the same questions, asked me about my flights, then she saw my papers, some of my papers were about volunteering in Nablus. The woman accused me of lying, saying I wanted to volunteer instead of sight see or visit friends. She wanted me to log into my email so she could go through it because she didn’t believe me and said since I emailed my friend that she wanted to see. I refused, saying I couldn’t “as an American.” This meant nothing here.
Continue Reading Here
May Allah give us all the strength to keep on persevering...Ameen!
This is a long and mostly detailed rendition of what happened to me after my arrival in Tel Aviv. I would like to submit this information to the media and any NGOs or organizations that can use the information. By not doing anything I feel I will have more stolen from me. I hope you reading this can also use the information, submit it to the media, etc. I give you permission to do so, just do not use my full name and keep the integrity of the story. It would help me if you could spread this information around, submit it to organizations and the media and would make it easier for me.
I never anticipated these problems. I asked so many people, so many questions. When I entered Israel I thought I might be questioned because of my name but not what ended up happening. When I approached the non-Israel passport stand, the woman asked me my father’s name, probably because I was born in Iran that questions started coming. When I said Mohammad Reza I was pretty sure I would be questioned further. She asked me my grandfather’s name, I didn’t know, I didn’t have relations with him. She told me to stand on the side of the counter. I waited. Then I was taken to an office to be questioned. They asked me why I was coming there, where I was coming from, what I was doing there, who I knew here, how I knew them, did I have family here, what I studied, where I studied, my contact info, my friends’ contact info. Then I was asked to wait in this room. I was then questioned again, this time more aggressively. The woman again asked me the same questions, asked me about my flights, then she saw my papers, some of my papers were about volunteering in Nablus. The woman accused me of lying, saying I wanted to volunteer instead of sight see or visit friends. She wanted me to log into my email so she could go through it because she didn’t believe me and said since I emailed my friend that she wanted to see. I refused, saying I couldn’t “as an American.” This meant nothing here.
Continue Reading Here
Monday, June 23, 2008
Muslim-American Women Speak Out About the Hymenoplasty Panic
By Diana Jou
There have been a lot of morally panicked responses to the New York Times article about those crazy rich Muslim women getting revirginified. I agree with those (Feministing, Jezebel, Slate) who have argued that the importance of virginity in society and especially in religion is not only misguided but dangerous, in that it has prompted violence against women. But I am also concerned about the conclusion being drawn by some commentators: Muslim women are not empowered, Islam makes people do crazy things, and they are so backwards.
These sentiments came through in some of the responses on feminist blogs. For example, Megan Carpentier of Jezebel said, “Those woman, as you might guess, are looking to avoid the fate of the Muslim woman whose husband was allowed to annul their marriage because she wasn’t a virgin or, you know, beatings or honor killings or being shunned by your family and expelled from your community, stuff like that.”
Plenty of non-Muslims seemed more than willing to chime in in this manner. I chose a different route. Instead of talking about Muslim women as though they were some sort of strange, helpless mythological figure, why not talk to them about the story? I was lucky enough to work on a book project with some outrageously funny, super creative, incredibly stylish, and flat-out smart Muslim women at the University of California, Irvine. Most of them identify strongly with Islam and some have decided to be the first in their family to adorn a hijab (head scarf), despite the protests of their parents. Others practice more privately, but all of them redefine what it means to be strong, empowered Muslim women in America.
Here’s what some of them had to say about the article:
“It is looked down upon to lose your virginity before marriage, but its also dishonest to fake your virginity to your spouse. If one chooses to lose her virginity and chooses not to practice Islam, she should own up rather than play a hypocritical role and fake her faith. Likewise, if one chooses to be sexually active before marriage, by choosing a spouse that is looking for a virgin, she is subscribing to a particular lifestyle that she may not want for herself. It is unfair to both.” - L. Shalkley
“Islamically, it’s the duty of the husband and wife to be honest with each other. But the husband is supposed to be as much as a virgin as the wife is. I think this article is more culturally biased in the sense that the rules of ‘proving virginity’ differ by regions and cultures, and by focusing more on local traditions than Islamic rule (but which are often disguised as being the correct Islamic way), the woman is put under more scrutiny than the man because of the anatomical difference apparent in non-virgins. While the notion of ‘boys will be boys’ remains and the men are never questioned as their future wives are going through dishonest methods of shielding the truth. What’s worse is that this pressure to be a virgin stems from families of girls and in-laws and the act of asking for proof has always weirded me out. But I’ve heard similar stories from a few Armenian Orthodox Christian friends I had and I thought it was the most bizarre thing.” - N. Meyer
“The idea of being ‘checked’ for virginity is a very cultural custom, and as far as I know, not religious at all. Yes, pre-marital sex is prohibited in Islam, however I have never known it a custom or encouraged at all to ask these sorts of things. As the imam states on the last page, Islam encourages forgiveness. If these women led lives in which they did these sort of things and then happened to return to Islam, becoming more religious, then honestly it’s not anyone’s business what they did beforehand.” - Z. Ahmad
They all make good points in distinguishing between cultural traditions and religious piety. The mainstream media is biased when it comes to covering Islam and women, focusing too much on the tired narrative that Muslim women are zealots who need to be liberated and introduced to the productive forward thinking of modern times.
But let’s take a minute to put this latest cosmetic trend in perspective. In many ways hymenoplasty is a realization of a sexual fantasy. It’s a cosmetic operation that grew out of wishful thinking, like so many others. It used to be you could only wish for fuller breasts, juicier lips, and a straighter nose–now these are all attainable. (You can even get double eyelids and lengthen your legs.) So we have to be careful about examining hymenoplasty in a vacuum, separating it from the surrounding culture, and condemning as a strictly Muslim phenomenon. If the women featured in the article need to be “liberated” from the expectations that led them to seek out hymenoplasties, then so too do millions of secular Americans and Europeans.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Pearls of Wisdom
1. Our knowledge is wasted by not acting upon it.
2. Our actions are wasted by committing them without sincerity.
3. Our wealth is wasted for being spent on that which will not bring us any reward.
4. Our hearts are wasted for being empty of the love of Allah Most High, and empty of longing to go to Him, and empty of peace and contentment.
5. Our bodies are wasted for not being used mainly for Ibadah and service of Allah Most High.
6. Our love is wasted for being directed towards something or someone and not towards Allah Most High.
7. Our dhikr (remembrance of Allah Most High) is wasted for our hearts and lives not being effected by it.
8. Our time is wasted for not being used properly--------to compensate for that which has passed, by doing what is righteous to make up for the past deeds.
9. Our intellect is wasted for being used for things that are not beneficial, instead of in contemplation or reflection.
10. Our service is wasted for being at the service of someone who will not bring us close to Allah Most High. [Ibn Qayyim al Jawziya]
2. Our actions are wasted by committing them without sincerity.
3. Our wealth is wasted for being spent on that which will not bring us any reward.
4. Our hearts are wasted for being empty of the love of Allah Most High, and empty of longing to go to Him, and empty of peace and contentment.
5. Our bodies are wasted for not being used mainly for Ibadah and service of Allah Most High.
6. Our love is wasted for being directed towards something or someone and not towards Allah Most High.
7. Our dhikr (remembrance of Allah Most High) is wasted for our hearts and lives not being effected by it.
8. Our time is wasted for not being used properly--------to compensate for that which has passed, by doing what is righteous to make up for the past deeds.
9. Our intellect is wasted for being used for things that are not beneficial, instead of in contemplation or reflection.
10. Our service is wasted for being at the service of someone who will not bring us close to Allah Most High. [Ibn Qayyim al Jawziya]
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Mabrook to my lovely Erum!
"O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." (49;13)Mabrook to my lovely Erum and Mohsin!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Reflection From a UC Berkeley Islamo-Jihadist
Muslim Student Association Responds To Accusations of David Horowitz
My name is Bilaal Ahmed, and I'm the former leader of your local jihadist organization, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at UC Berkeley. I don't know if you noticed, but two weeks ago my cover was blown by a paid political advertisement in the Daily Cal from David Horowitz's Freedom Center, which revealed that we, the MSA, are a "campus front group for jihad." To think that the hard work of Muslims in America over the past 40 years to construct this front could be uncovered so easily pains me greatly.
I am writing to admit to you, attentive reader, that Horowitz once again is absolutely correct just like he was this past October with Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for a terrorist state to be established so that we can all devote our lives to it and place its well-being above our own.
Since Horowitz already let the cat out of the bag, let me tell all of you just a few ways your MSA at Berkeley has supported terror this past year: We made terrorism-laced sandwiches on Sproul to give to homeless people at least once a month, hoping that they would join our cause; we organized a team of 70 Muslims to participate in Relay for Life on behalf of the American Cancer Society, hoping that one day we will be able to use cancer as a biological weapon; we held a charity event and raised $1,000 for Save the Children (of terrorists, of course). Oh, and before I forget, we've occasionally held ice cream socials, dinners, bowling nights, barbeques, broom-balling, ski trips and get this, we play football on some Fridays to pretend that we love America. As you can easily tell, all our activities are designed to foster extremely close relationships among the members of our terrorist organization so that when one of us goes out for a jihadi terrorist mission, we can all get super depressed when they do not come back alive.
We also spearheaded a massive campaign to recruit others to stand in solidarity with our terrorist cause. We had to do this in the most creative manner possible so we voiced our concern as the need for "peace" (May God protect us from it!). You may have heard of the so-called "Peace Not Prejudice Week." Unfortunately, our plan backfired and we ended up uniting groups for the "worthy" cause of peace and not prejudice which was by no means our intention. We preferred the slogan "Prejudice Not Peace," but that did not seem to go over well with other members of the coalition.
Not to mention we also host weekly self-betterment series for our members, in which we help them hone their terrorism skills and encourage open dialogue about issues in Islam-oh I am sorry-Islamo-Fascism. We are currently working on expanding our services to include TIP, the Terrorism Improvement Project, in an effort to network with other local terrorists and help our members reach out to leaders in the greater terrorist community. TAP (Terrorism Awareness Project), take that!
Clearly, MSA is just not doing a good enough job of hiding its terrorist activities. In fact, we would like to thank Horowitz for spending so much of his own private funding and time on an ad that got us free publicity and landed us on the map. If you see our table on Sproul, please stop by, ask questions and leave with a better sense of terrorism in Berkeley. Oh and don't forget to pick up some pamphlets about Islamo-Fascism and give them to your friends!
Monday, May 19, 2008
In the News Today...
Today has been quite the newsworthy day, here are some of the headlines:
-Supreme Court Upholds Child Pornography Law
The Supreme Court gave prosecutors a powerful tool Monday to attack the spread of child pornography online, ruling that people who send messages over the computer offering or seeking sexual images of children can be sent to prison, even when no such pornography exists.
The 7-2 ruling, which upheld a 5-year-old law, rejected the claim that such messages were protected as free speech.
-Egypt discusses Hamas with Israel
President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt has met Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak amid Egyptian efforts to broker a truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
At talks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Mr Barak warned that rocket fire from Gaza could spark a major Israeli military response.
-India-Pakistan in New Peace Talks
India and Pakistan are due to hold a fresh round of talks to review their peace process.
It comes a day after India's army accused Pakistani troops of firing across the de facto border for the second time in less than a week.
-Lieberman Wants Terrorist Content Yanked from Youtube
A U.S. senator has asked Google to remove videos -- produced by Islamist terrorists -- from YouTube.
In a letter to Google chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said, "A great majority of these videos document horrific attacks on American soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan."
and the best of all...
-14 tons of spilled Oreo cookies snarl Ill. traffic
Police say a trailer loaded with 14 tons of double-stuffed Oreos has overturned, spilling the cookies still in their plastic sleeves into the median and roadway.
Illinois State Police Sgt. Brian Mahoney says the truck's driver was traveling from Chicago to Morris on Interstate 80 around 4 a.m. Monday when he fell asleep at the wheel and slammed into the median.
-Supreme Court Upholds Child Pornography Law
The Supreme Court gave prosecutors a powerful tool Monday to attack the spread of child pornography online, ruling that people who send messages over the computer offering or seeking sexual images of children can be sent to prison, even when no such pornography exists.
The 7-2 ruling, which upheld a 5-year-old law, rejected the claim that such messages were protected as free speech.
-Egypt discusses Hamas with Israel
President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt has met Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak amid Egyptian efforts to broker a truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
At talks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Mr Barak warned that rocket fire from Gaza could spark a major Israeli military response.
-India-Pakistan in New Peace Talks
India and Pakistan are due to hold a fresh round of talks to review their peace process.
It comes a day after India's army accused Pakistani troops of firing across the de facto border for the second time in less than a week.
-Lieberman Wants Terrorist Content Yanked from Youtube
A U.S. senator has asked Google to remove videos -- produced by Islamist terrorists -- from YouTube.
In a letter to Google chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said, "A great majority of these videos document horrific attacks on American soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan."
and the best of all...
-14 tons of spilled Oreo cookies snarl Ill. traffic
Police say a trailer loaded with 14 tons of double-stuffed Oreos has overturned, spilling the cookies still in their plastic sleeves into the median and roadway.
Illinois State Police Sgt. Brian Mahoney says the truck's driver was traveling from Chicago to Morris on Interstate 80 around 4 a.m. Monday when he fell asleep at the wheel and slammed into the median.
Peace. Love. Palestine.
Last week's events were simply amazing. Alhamdulillah!
For those of you who missed out on the lectures, video's have been posted as followed:
feel free to check them out :)
Palestine is the Issue
Blood on Our Hands, American Involvement in the Israeli Palestinian Conflict
Gaza: Life in a Cage
Rachael Corrie: The Spirit of Sacrifice
Life in Occupied Palestine Outdoor
Life in Occupied Palestine Indoor
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
Death to Apartheid, A Farewell to Zionism
Silence is Consent: Stop the Palestinian Holocaust
As soon as the documentary goes up, I will post the link as well.
I can't wait to get started on my reading... :)
For those of you who missed out on the lectures, video's have been posted as followed:
feel free to check them out :)
Palestine is the Issue
Blood on Our Hands, American Involvement in the Israeli Palestinian Conflict
Gaza: Life in a Cage
Rachael Corrie: The Spirit of Sacrifice
Life in Occupied Palestine Outdoor
Life in Occupied Palestine Indoor
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
Death to Apartheid, A Farewell to Zionism
Silence is Consent: Stop the Palestinian Holocaust
As soon as the documentary goes up, I will post the link as well.
I can't wait to get started on my reading... :)
Sunday, May 11, 2008
UCI Divestment Petition
To: UCI Administration
We, the undersigned, are appalled by the human rights abuses against Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli government, the continual military occupation and colonization of Palestinian territory by Israeli armed forces and settlers, the forcible eviction of Palestinians from their homes, and the demolition of Palestinian dwellings, neighborhoods and towns.
We categorically condemn the loss of any innocent life, Israeli or Palestinian. We therefore call on UC Irvine and the UC system (1) to use its influence--political and financial--to encourage the United States government to suspend its military aid and arms sales to Israel, and (2) to divest its $54 million in investments from Israel, from all companies that manufacture arms and other military hardware sold to Israel, and from companies that sell such arms and military hardware to Israel, until these conditions are met:
� Israel is in compliance with United Nations Resolution 242 which notes the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war, and which calls for withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from occupied territories.
� Israel is in compliance with the United Nations Committee Against Torture 2001 Report which recommends that Israel's use of legal torture be ended.
� In compliance with the Fourth Geneva Convention ("The occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into territories it occupies"; Article 49, paragraph 6), Israel ceases building new settlements, and vacates existing settlements, in the Occupied Territories.
� Israel acknowledges in principle the applicability of United Nations Resolution 194 with respect to the rights of refugees, and accepts that refugees should either be allowed to return to their former lands or else be compensated for their losses, as agreed by the Palestinians and Israelis in bilateral negotiations.
Sincerely,
Never Again? The Palestinian Holocaust
May 14th, 2008 marks 60 years since the beginning of the Palestinian tragedy, commonly referred to by Palestinians as the Nakba (Catastrophe). 60 years of dispossession, statelessness, and ethnic cleansing have created the largest group of refugees in the world; has left thousands of innocent men, women and children dead; and has shattered the livelihood of millions of people facing the scourge of the longest, most brutal occupation in modern history. This week, we will tell their story, we will mourn their suffering, and we will honor their resistance. This week, we will stand with them.For More Information Please Visit: http://www.msu-uci.com/
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Young Video Makers Try to Alter Islam’s Face- The New York Times
LOS ANGELES — When Ali Ardekani started fishing around on the Internet a couple of years ago for video blogs about Muslims, he did not like what he found: either the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims were depicted as bloodthirsty zealots, or they were offering defensive explanations as to why they were not.
“Arabic sounds foreign and scary — you don’t know what is going on,” Mr. Ardekani said in an interview at his small Sherman Oaks apartment, its walls decorated with Koranic verses. “Or they show a woman with the veil, who doesn’t speak, and it is assumed if she did speak she would say, ‘Help me!’ ”
So Mr. Ardekani, a 33-year-old Web designer, cast himself on his video blogs as Baba Ali, an outsize character with a serious religious message who both dissects and lampoons the lives of American Muslims.
Mr. Ardekani is among the most visible of a new wave of young American Muslim performers and filmmakers trying to change the public face of their religion. His most popular video posting — “Who Hijacked Islam?” — has garnered more than 350,000 hits on YouTube since July 2006. Of course the uphill battle such efforts face is reflected in the comments section. One viewer remarked darkly, “It’s Muslims that do the hijacking.”
These video pioneers’ arena of choice is mostly YouTube and similar Web sites, which young Muslims extol as a new way to take their arguments public. The role model is Bill Cosby, who young Muslim filmmakers believe changed the perception of African-Americans by depicting them as ordinary.
For the moment, the filmmakers suspect, most of the hits they attract are generated by other young Muslims.
“They are deprived of any type of representation in the media which isn’t a terrorist or an extremely pious Muslim,” said Lena Khan, 23. So whenever an image to the contrary is seen “on YouTube or the Internet or on a TV show, it just spreads across the Muslim community like wildfire, because everyone wants to support it.”
Ms. Khan has placed several short videos on YouTube, among them “A Land Called Paradise,” which shows a variety of Muslims holding up signs. The sign held by a young boy says, “Broccoli is my personal jihad” — jihad meaning a personal, spiritual struggle rather than its more notorious translation as holy war.
“A Land Called Paradise” has attracted almost 250,000 hits. It has also won a $20,000 grand prize in a multisponsored contest to produce videos that challenge stereotypes of Muslims. Mr. Ardekani won the $5,000 first prize in the comedy category for “Muslim While Flying,” a spoof of the way Muslims are treated at American airports.
Murad Amayreh, a 27-year-old filmmaker who works for the outreach department of the Muslim American Society, helped produce a video, “I Am a Muslim,” that has shot to the top of searches for “Muslim” on YouTube, having attracted more than two million hits since it was posted on Sept. 28.
(By way of perspective, the most popular video ever on YouTube, “Evolution of Dance,” has attracted more than 84 million hits, but traffic in that stratospheric range is usually garnered by music videos. Ms. Khan said student filmmakers rated 10,000 hits as a sign that a film had moved beyond friends and family.)
The “I Am a Muslim” video tries to contradict stereotypes with a man named Muhammad who presents himself as an ordinary American. It has drawn more than 131,000 comments, along with more than 50 video responses. Some are crude, like “I Am a Redneck.”
One of the more sober video responses, from a young, skinny, unidentified man, has garnered more than 132,000 hits of its own. Echoing the sentiment of other viewers, this man says that Muslims wrongly depict all criticism of their religion as racism and that given the tiny fraction of the world’s Muslims who live in the United States, any enlightened outlook among American Muslims may not be representative.
“Muslims need to come to grips with the fact that it is not always the extremism that we object to, it is simply your religion,” the man says, going on to argue that people are troubled by what he calls Islam’s opposition to homosexuality, free speech and women’s rights. “Only in Islam can one be labeled not an extremist simply because he has no immediate desire to blow you up.”
Mr. Ardekani said he developed his alter ego, Baba Ali, to try to move the discussion away from such broadsides or apologies by Muslims.
“I think that when they do the defensive approach, they never get to talk about anything except for the stuff that people hate,” he said.
Although born into a Muslim family in Iran, Mr. Ardekani says, he was reared in a secular Los Angeles household and “converted” to Islam at age 20. His studio is the second bedroom of the apartment he shares with his wife and two small children.
His roughly 30 video blogs focus on the clash between Muslim and American traditions. In one video, he ridicules the expense of Muslim weddings. “Christians get married in churches, Jews get married in synagogues, Muslims get married at the Hilton,” he said in an interview. “I am talking about stuff that Muslims can relate to.”
In a less spoofing vein, he answered viewers’ questions for a time, a kind of Dear Abby to young Muslims with queries like whether it is O.K. for adolescents to have close relationships with the opposite sex. (The answer: Of course not.)
Some Muslims have questioned his credentials to offer advice, noting that among other things he is not a trained religious scholar. But his main goal, Mr. Ardekani says, is to try to make a difference in the lives of young Muslims facing problems that their parents or local imam never faced.
Certainly he has succeeded in transforming at least one life. His video blogs have blossomed into a second career for him, as a stand-up comedian playing clubs nationwide.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Greetings from Guantanamo Bay ... and the sickest souvenir shop in the world
The sands are white, the sea laps gently and crowds of bronzed Americans laze in the Caribbean sunshine.
They have a cinema, a golf course and, naturally, a gift shop stocked with mugs, jaunty T-shirts and racks of postcards showing perfect sunsets and bright green iguanas.
Only the barbed wire decoration, a recurring motif, hints at anything wrong.
Welcome to "Taliban Towers" at Guantanamo Bay, the most ghoulishly distasteful tourist destination on the planet.
As these astonishing mementoes show, the US authorities are promoting the world's most notorious prison camp as a cheap hideaway for American sunseekers – a revelation that has drawn international anger and condemnation.
Just yards from the shelves of specially branded mugs and cuddly toys, nearly 300 "enemy combatants" lie sweltering in a waking nightmare.
It is six years since foreign prisoners, many captured in Afghanistan, were first taken to this US-occupied corner of Cuba. Yet even now, no charges have been brought against them.
While the detainees lie incarcerated, visitors can windsurf, take boat trips and go fishing for grouper, tuna, red snapper and swordfish.
Continue the article here.
They have a cinema, a golf course and, naturally, a gift shop stocked with mugs, jaunty T-shirts and racks of postcards showing perfect sunsets and bright green iguanas.
Only the barbed wire decoration, a recurring motif, hints at anything wrong.
Welcome to "Taliban Towers" at Guantanamo Bay, the most ghoulishly distasteful tourist destination on the planet.
As these astonishing mementoes show, the US authorities are promoting the world's most notorious prison camp as a cheap hideaway for American sunseekers – a revelation that has drawn international anger and condemnation.
Just yards from the shelves of specially branded mugs and cuddly toys, nearly 300 "enemy combatants" lie sweltering in a waking nightmare.
It is six years since foreign prisoners, many captured in Afghanistan, were first taken to this US-occupied corner of Cuba. Yet even now, no charges have been brought against them.
While the detainees lie incarcerated, visitors can windsurf, take boat trips and go fishing for grouper, tuna, red snapper and swordfish.
Continue the article here.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Airtel: Express Yourself
I absolutely love these two AirTel Commercials. AirTel, for those of you who don't know, is the largest cellular service provider in India. The tune is composed by AR Rahman. The second commercial, with the two boys literally played every 10 minutes on the television while I was in India over Winter.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Call My Lawyer ... in India
Mark Alexander, a Dallas attorney, says he's ethically obligated to do what's best for his clients, "and that includes saving them money." So when one of them asks him to research a securities-fraud topic, for example, or breach of contract, he doesn't even think about applying his $395 hourly rate. Instead, he calls Atlas Legal Research, an outsourcing company based in Irving, Texas, that uses lawyers in India to provide the service for $60 per hr. "When a client pays me a $25,000 retainer and I can save them money, I will do so," says Alexander. Handing off the work to a $225-per-hr. junior associate is not an option. "They don't even know where to stand in the courtroom," he says.
While the Americans learn, well-trained lawyers in secure offices in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Bangalore and Gurgaon (outside Delhi), who typically earn $6,000 to $30,000 annually, do legal grunt work. Alexander's sentiments may explain why outsourcing is blossoming in the legal profession, which is known--and often despised--for its high prices. Law-firm partners bill at a national average of $318 per hr. and at $550 per hr. at large New York City firms, according to a 2007 survey by Altman Weil, a legal-consulting company. Starting salaries for attorneys at some large firms now stand at $160,000. So a U.S. company's simple problem can generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees.
The considerable savings is perhaps one reason Forrester Research, based in Cambridge, Mass., has projected the offshoring of 29,000 legal jobs by the end of the year and as many as 79,000 by 2015. It's part of India's inevitable move up the corporate food chain, from lower-value business process outsourcing--like call centers--to knowledge process outsourcing (KPO). The latter category encompasses higher-skilled jobs, such as engineering and medicine, and relies on the KPOs to behave more like branch offices of U.S. companies.
ValueNotes, a business-research firm based in Pune, India, says a subset of KPO called legal process outsourcing (LPO) has grown revenues 49% from 2006, to $218 million last year. The figure will nearly triple, to $640 million, by 2010, it says. ValueNotes counts more than 100 legal-services providers in India, ranging from a handful of overseas corporate legal offices, such as Oracle's and General Electric's, to companies that contract to provide low-cost legal services to U.S. and British businesses. Leaders include Integreon and LawScribe, both in Los Angeles, and New York--based Pangea3.
Persuading lawyers to export work wasn't an easy sell, says Ganesh Natarjan, CEO of seven-year-old Mindcrest, which has its headquarters in Chicago and employs 440 lawyers in Mumbai and Pune. "Lawyers are a risk-averse group, so it was a slow process for them to adopt the idea," says George Heffernan, vice president and general counsel. Mindcrest's services include document review, research and support for compliance functions. The last cost large companies an average of $2.9 million each in 2006, according to Financial Executives International in Florham Park, N.J.
Educating American lawyers about India's English-speaking attorneys, who are trained in a common-law system modeled on Britain's, helped change attitudes, at least among top lawyers for U.S. companies, Heffernan says. About 75% of Mindcrest's clients are FORTUNE 500 companies. Mindcrest hired 390 lawyers last year alone, a staff increase mandated by clients with some large-scale projects, it says.
But outsourcing worries some experts because the ethical rules that bind U.S. attorneys have no force in India. "Lawyers are being seduced by the business end of outsourcing and are not being concerned enough with the ethical issues it's raising. I'm deeply troubled that outsourcing companies do not understand the scope of a lawyer's duty to confidentiality, nor are they familiar with conflict-of-interest rules," says Mary C. Daly, dean of St. John's University School of Law in New York City.
LPO firms say they are up to the task of security and confidentiality. At Integreon's facilities in Mumbai and Gurgaon, for example, guards search attorneys' belongings to ensure they're not carrying flash drives or laptops, according to CEO Liam Brown. Computers don't have disc drives, usable usb ports or CD burners, and most can't print. Attorneys work for a specific client in areas called dedicated delivery centers, which are accessible via a fingerprint scan and monitored by cameras. Each room can hold up to 36 terminals--many of them with dual screens. The company never stores data locally. Rather, the lawyers work directly on the client's server and only over a secure line or via the Internet. The space becomes a "virtual extension of the company we're working for," says Abhishek Khare, head of the Gurgaon office.
Changes in litigation procedures are boosting momentum in the LPO trade. Amendments to federal rules require parties to share electronic documents, such as e-mail and Microsoft Office files. That typically means both sides must review thousands of documents to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of confidential information to the other party. The service costs about $1 per page in India but can range from $7 to $10 per page in the U.S. "Some clients don't want to spend that much, especially if they don't even know how much their damages could be," says Conrad Jacoby, owner of efficientEDD, a legal-technology consultancy in Dunn Loring, Va.
TransUnion, in Chicago, has successfully outsourced legal work for four years, according to general counsel John W. Blenke. "Every law firm is really an outsourcer. One lawyer usually can't do it all," he says. Indian attorneys are currently reviewing more than a million litigation e-mails for the company, which costs less than $10 per hr., he says. He would pay $60 to $85 per hr. to a U.S.-based legal-staffing company for the job. Blenke says he's cautious, however, about the work he outsources. "You can only do it with a few things. It has to be an area that you know well, so you can build processes around that," he says.
DuPont saved $500,000 in 2006 by outsourcing paralegal work to Chicago's RR Donnelley, which uses facilities in India and the Philippines to review documents for the chemical giant, says Thomas Sager, DuPont's chief litigation counsel. "There's been some internal resistance, and from the outside too, about working with providers thousands of miles away. But geographic separation is now a fact of life," says Sager.
Some private attorneys remain cautious. Says Gregg Kirchhoefer, a partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis: "We don't do, haven't done and don't plan on doing this. The name of the game for us is quality." Daly, the law-school dean, says an ethical breach is only a matter of time. "We haven't seen any documented problems crop up yet, but I'm sure they're there," she says. "We've certainly seen problems on the domestic side. It would be foolish to assume they're not on the global side as well." It would also be foolish to assume that the outsourcing trend in law is anything but robust.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)