Yet Another Reason Not to Fly!

It seems as though the stories of flying while Muslim are becoming increasing disturbing. A sister was detained and not only strip searched, but given a fully body cavity search because of a "suspected" tie to a "suspicious" person. There apparently was no ties to "suspicious people" so the government apologized for the inconvenience and cleared the deputies that initiated the situation from any wrong doing.

A Day in Court

Shukri Abu Baker, co-founder and chief executive of the Holy Land charity, is among those charged

Muslim charity "Holy Land" is not seating by idle while their charity was indicted as a funding source for terrorist. They are suing the federal government to clear their name and reputation. I think that this is a good thing on several levels.

First, they show that Muslims will not allow their names and efforts to sullied by anonymous accusations via the patriot act. Muslims are stepping beyond their fear of the government to demand the liberties that we are all entitled to.

Secondly, national and international charities have taken a financial beating because people fear donating to an organization that they feel may have some association to organization or people that the government deems as unacceptable. Personally, I feel that there are more than enough charity opportunities for Muslims in there own neighborhoods, cities, and states. Focusing on these prospects will broaden the reach of Islam in this country by providing the true image of Islam to our neighbors.

A Cure in the Works

Islamaphobia ( the fear of Islam), was a problem in the U.S. before Sept.11th, but it has only increased since then. We have an excellent opportunity to provide the cure for Islamaphobia. We need to step into our communities and interact in all earnestness with non-Muslims so that they can have a valid example of what Muslims are actually like. Not a conversion mission. A Muslim living in submission to Allah, is dawah & an invitation to Islam in itself.

Hajj - step01 - Manners of Performing - 8th Zilhajjah

Hajj Reminder& Advices

Reuters Photo: Muslims circle the holy Kaaba inside and outside the Grand Mosque of the holy city.

I am not a Hajji, but inshallah my family and I will be one day. I understand why many older Muslims risk their health to complete this pillar. Inshallah, the videos will help those that have have plans to complete hajj.

How To Change Our Condition

Sleepers Waking Up People

I started watching season one of this series last week, because I am interested in seeing how Muslims are portrayed in all types of media. I was also interested in seeing how this topic would be handled. Upon completing the first season, I must say that I was slightly impressed. Anyone who knows me, knows that is saying a lot . There are many portions that I was unsure if they were necessary (zhina), or if they reflected reality. Overall, what I liked about the mini-series is that they compared and contrasted Islam against views that are espoused by the purveyors of un-Islamic acts that are credited to the deen. The compare and contrast was done in a subtle manner. I think that this is a tribute to good writing. An observant viewer can see how and why those that were led astray became astray. Anger, revenge, a need to fit in, a feeling of inadequacy masked in Quranic verses and Islamic overtones. The living contradictions of the principle players makes the distinction between those led astray, obvious.After watching this, I found it hard to believe that the lead character is not a Muslim in reality (I'm must resign myself to Allah, the maker of Muslims).

P.S. ..

I can't vouch for season two...They should have stopped after season one.

Quran Bigot Alert!

Although, Virginia has one of the largest and most diverse populations of Muslims in this country, it also has some of the most virulent fear mongers in this country. Rep. Virgil Goode distributed a letter to Virginia residents that said that because newly elected congressman Keith Ellison's use of the Quran for taking the oath of office is a realization of terrorist and will lead to more Muslims in national offices. This man has is either a blatant bigot or he is as crazy as a soup sandwich (most likely a combination of the two). If rep. Ellison's election is the realization of terrorist, then that means that his predominantly non-Muslim district that elected him are terrorists. As far as more Muslims being elected to national office, I'm for it. The elected officials are suppose to represent the people. Not just old, rich, Christian, White men. Islam is the second largest religion in this nation, and the fastest growing.

Lost in Translation

Translation - Paper, Scissors, Rock

The Ummah in Virginia have found an inventive and proavtive way to combat the Islamaphobia that is running rampant in this country. They are placing arabic scripts on the sides of buses to acclimate non-Muslims to arabic and redefine the negative connotations that have been placed on it and Islam, by certain segments of the media (government) that benefit from the fear it creates.

Keith Ellison using the Quran debate

Nike is serious about getting a foothold in the Muslim market. Here is an article about how they are designing volleyball outfits for sisters in Kenya.

Breaking News! Nike Makes Sports Hijabs

Well they don't necessarily make sports hijabs, but they do supply atheltic wear for sisters that want to compete internationally and remain halal. Here is her story.

You Are Guaranteed Paradise If...

Beautiful Recitation with English Translation

Tell it like it is Jimmy

Jimmy Carter has been one of the best and underrated presidents of this nation. I say this because, in my opinion, he has made the hard decisions that would benefit more people and not just the rich elite. This was part of the reason that he was not re-elected, and the controversy that he has stirred up with his new book. In his book about Palestine, he declares that the Palestinians are in an apartheid system with Israel. If apartheid wasn't right in South Africa, it's not right in Palestine. He has openly declared that the view that many Americans have of the Palestinian situation is biased because of the perspective of the news that we receive. He wanted to offer the counter-balance. I think that it is long overdue, and if we had listened to president Carter in the 70's we would have alternate fuel sources today and not have such strong dependency on foreign fuel.

Funny Brother

U.S./Muslim Relations circa 1796

Here is an excerpt from an interesting historical fact about the U.S. and Muslims/Muslim nations.

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."

A lawyer converts to Islam. Government says that they have forensic evidence linking him to terrorist acts. He is imprisoned for 19 days. The government made a mistake. They release him and say sorry. Then they tell him that he is an associate of terrorist if he is not one himself. His reputation, and legal practice has been severely damaged....but they did say sorry...sort of.

This may sound like some unfunny joke, but it's both sad and true.

There is a firestorm brewing about this sister Iktimal Hage-Ali winning an award and then raising a glass of champagne to toast. She has been targeted by responders on many Muslim websites as being unislamic for drinking champagne, wearing makeup, and not wearing hijab. I think that the whole affair illustrates a valuable lesson. I would first like to say that I know and personally feel that consuming intoxicants is haram. With that said, I also realize that each individual is different and that we have different levels of iman. Instead of publicly berating her for committing haram acts and not properly representing Islam to non-Muslims, we should take her aside and explain the value and wisdom of observing the haram and halal. What is a trial for one person may not be a problem for another, so we should make allowances for the shortcomings of others and say a dua that we all will be rightly guided. It is easy to become self-righteous to someone that we don't know and amplify their faults when we have not corrected our own. I know that we are to enjoin the good and forbid the bad, but that does not mean that we need to do it in a public forum. In many cases, this will only make the person more resolved in their error, because they feel that they are being attacked. This could lead to someone who is borderline already, leaving the deen.
Now, as for Ms. Ali, she should understand that as Muslims in non-Muslim countries we are the living breathing example of Islam to those whos' only other exposure to it are the associations that the Media/Government want them to have. Independent of this, she should realize that the only award the matters is the pleasure of Allah and entering Paradise. I understand that personal goals have their place in the dunya, but they should never eclipse our ultimate goal (Paradise).

All that I have said, I tell myself first and inshallah I will be able to live it.

Are You Grateful?... Prove It!!

Allah is the Provider!!!

No only do NYC police gun down unarmed people, they hire former CIA racist who circulates emails that encouraged people to burn the Qu'ran as a public service. Fortunately, a Muslim police officer was more Muslim than police officer and blew the whistle.

Conflicting Messages

This article, I simply don't understand. A veiled Muslim sister is giving the Christmas message on channel four.

I thought that I was paranoid, but there is always someone more paranoid. This article about prayer rooms for Muslims in airports being a threat to national security is borderline insane. First of all, every prayer room would be bugged with more electronics than circuit city (paranoia kicking in), and I think that many airports already have them...just not in the terminal area. I think that the authors of the article/site are probably a stones away from zealotry (extremism has been over used) themselves.

I am not a big fan of all of the ideas that come out of Iran, but this one may have some legs. They are suggesting that Muslim nations help other Muslim nations resolve their problems/conflicts or that they resolve them themselves. Simple yet novel.

Who Hijacked MY Religion?

An interesting commentary on Islams perception.

This man is calling for Muslim nations to erase their borders as European nations have done. This could be huge. I think part of the trouble within the ummah is a result of tribalism and nationalism. Which is ironic, since the borders of many Muslim nations were set by European countries to promote divisiveness in the region.

I didn't even know that there was such a thing as Quranic ring tones, but apparently a group of islamic scholars have deemed them unislamic.

AT GEORGETOWN --- Imam Yahya Hendi, the Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University in Washington, poses in front of a campus statue of Bishop John Carroll. CNS/BOB ROLLER

I would never have thought that a significant number of Muslim students would attend Catholic Universities, but apparently they do. The Catholic Universities are a step ahead of the other Universities in that some of them(the major ones anyway) are hiring full time imams for their students. This good, but very confusing.....very, very, confusing.

I SWEAR

There is a big stink about the first Muslim elected national public official wanting to be sworn in to office with the Quran instead of the Bible. I all honesty, I don't think that you are suppose to swear on either one of them (please correct me if I am wrong). I feel that the uproar is more about the institutionalizing of Christianity as the national religion. If a national public elected official is sworn in with a Quran or any text other than the Bible, then it makes it harder for the same people who want English only spoken in the U.S. today, to say that there should only be Christianity in America tomorrow. For them, it sets a troubling precedence.

Pope Benedict XVI, second from left, is guided by Istanbul's Mufti Mustafa Cagrici, fourth from left, inside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul on Nov. 30, 2006. (AP Photo/Salih Zeki Fazlioglu)

It's funny that the "Pope gets praise for praying towards Mecca". That's all good, but it doesn't matter if he prays towards Mecca with a Mufti, if he isn't praying to Allah as a Muslim. I guess that it made for a good photo op to pacify the field Muslims who got a little bent out of shape by his comments a few months back. Yeah, this is what we were looking for. Nothing like a little patronizing to make everything honky doory.

This article borders the hilarious and absurd because of its' author and its' theme. The idea of radical Islam being the decay of Europe is like accusing a fly hovering around a rotting apple of being the cause of fruits state. First of all, I think that the author is misguided (with issues of her own to work out). Secondly, radical Islam has not be defined. If there is an attempt to call suicide bombers and the performers of terrorist acts portraits of radical Islam, it should be noted that to the best of my knowledge, all of those acts are outside the bounds of Islam and therefore are no form of Islam (regardless of what the purveyors may say).

[Getty Images] Thysdrus believes that women in North Africa ought to separate tradition from the religion.

I enjoy the diverse views expressed by Muslims throughout the world. Here is an interesting article about Tunisian bloggers. Very enlightening.

This article claims that Muslims are near the end of social/economic ladder. As a whole this may be true, but we don't believe that the purpose of this life is about social mobility. Not that there is anything wrong with social mobility, we are a mix of our individual efforts and what Allah ultimately wills for us.

Amazaing Qur'an Recitation from Young Boy

The news today was not worth reporting. Instead, I decided to post some lessons for self-edification. Inashallah, we all shall benefit.

How Did Prophet Muhammad Himself Respond to Insults?

Give the Salams!!

Changing the Tide

A good lecture about the state of Islam in the U.S.

Funny Things You See During Jummah (Pilot)