Confronting Islamophobia, It’s No Dog and Pony Show

By Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad,

Recognition of islamophobia as the irrational and unwarranted fear of Muslims and Islam lingers in lexical incubation. Some accept the term fully while others discount its validity. Whether this neologism will gain currency as a bona fide social pathology, or be viewed simply as a marginally legitimate term, moonlighting as a public relations tool, remains to be seen. Phobias, according to the American Psychiatric Association are mental disorders characterized by persistent and irrational fear of a particular thing, situation, or animal. The word islamophobia, and the operative definition applied to it, is far from clinical recognition. However, I must admit, it is a catchy term; and certainly trendy sounding enough to fuel circulation. Like; “what are you guys doing this weekend? “We’re going to fight islamophobia!” Its etymology insures seamless placement in the “for Islam”, “saving the deen”, “for Allah” category.

Islamophobia has a diabolical, sinister ring to it. You can almost picture a young Muslim mother sending her child off to public school; “Now son, remember to drink your milk, look both ways when you cross the street, don’t forget to say your prayers on time, and be sure to watch out for any islamophobia! We’ve used the term with such frequency and with such self serving overtones that it has started to lose it effectiveness if it even had any. Picture the scenario of a man who utters an anti-Muslim remark causing outrage in the Muslim community; he’s rushed to a licensed islamophobist for diagnosis, after submitting to a few diagnostics, the man turns to the doctor in anxious trepidation and says; “well Doc, tell me! What is it? Racism? Psychomotor agitation? Bipolar disorder? Bird flu? The doctor, clipboard in, hand, gazes solemnly into his eyes and says: “no Pat, what you have is a mild case of islamophobia”. The man wiping the sweat off his brow says: “That’s all? Thank God, for a moment, I thought it was something serious”.

As Muslims, accurate and responsible use of categorical verbiage is a moral obligation, and in this case, a vital tactical adjunct for Muslims in America. This is why it is critical that before we wage jihad against islamophobia, we accurately define the terminology. Perhaps, we can avoid misdirecting our energies in what may very well be another fruitless pursuit, frocked in Islamic trappings that fails to address the root of our problems as Muslims. Sure there is discrimination against Muslims and yes, it should be addressed, but not manipulated. I don’t see crowds of rednecks chasing down Muslims in the streets. (no offense to rednecks).

Let’s set aside American foreign policy for a moment, thats athat’s a separate issue. I’m talking about everyday life, living in America. Are there Americans who fear Muslims? Absolutely, and there are some that fear bald headed bikers clad in leather, there are some that fear Latinos, Italians whose last name ends in a vowel, and Christian Fundamentalists. There are people in America who fear African Americans, especially those less than 25 years of age who parenthetically, may be the most feared minority in the country. There are people in America who fear skinheads, the sound of fire trucks, the din of crowded subways, men with bushy mustaches, Caucasians, the police, Catholic priests, the homeless, and there are even people in America believe it or not who are mortified by toothless old ladies. I’m terrified of dentist visits and a contentious divorce could make a person afraid of the opposite sex. Welcome to the club. Fear is an industry in America and that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Accepting that there are Americans who fear Muslims, is such fear completely irrational? Well, knowing that a surgically worded fatwa can turn an unsuspecting young Muslim into a societal menace overnight, and the capricious way in which a Muslim can be suddenly labeled a non-Muslim, a deviant, or infidel does cause concern. Is there fanaticism in the name of Islam? Yes. Is it widespread? Yes. Are we doing much to combat it? I don’t think so. I’d never expect that anyone could find any moral imperative to suicide bomb a Mawlid celebration. Irregardless of the variant opinions of Muslims on celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS), bombing a group of Muslims many of whom were scholars of Islam, gathered in honor of Allah’s final Messenger would make a person say hmm……. Talk about Americans fearing Muslims, there are Muslims that fear Muslims! Does this qualify then as islamophobes? I think not.

We can blame the media until we are blue in the face for negative portrayals of Islam and Muslims; Even as of this writing, graphic imagery of Muslim on Muslim violence, Muslim rage, Muslim turmoil, dominate network and print media. However, these images fuel policy; they help pass massive budgets appropriations, and provide the justification for the mega industry that is known as the war on terror. Preparing ourselves for the so-called Muslim threat has created completely new industries in America as well as bolstering others. Police departments are spending billions dollars on preventive arsenal and technology to prepare for the Muslim threat. Kevlar fitted canines which ten years ago might have been the butt of a Jay Leno opening monologue, is now a lucrative commercial venue.

There is such abundance and variety of Muslim media footage, that politicians, policy makers, businessmen, non-profits and industrialists can literally pick out what suits their purpose. Want to do missionary work in Iraq? Grab some hungry children footage. Want to get funding to buy new jail doors from your brother in-law’s Company? Get some terrorist cell simulation footage. Want to retrofit that county bridge to withstand a terrorist attack? Of course, no one could imagine what a so-called terrorist would want with a bridge in the middle of nowhere, but you simply pull out the appropriate news footage and motion passed. The press is only doing their job, selling news entertainment.

The question is, what are we going to do? Continue complaining? Ignore our own ills? Only take on agendas that have fundraising potential? The only thing stopping the Muslims from changing their condition is our own arrogance, religious sectarianism, injustices to own selves, and refusal to address serious social Islamic issues. It is nonsense to assume that the media is the only culprit. Or to assume we can somehow eradicate unwarranted fear or distrust of Muslims through the rhetoric of public relations, or references to the glorious history of Islam. America is a ‘what have you done for me lately’ kind of country. Which by the way is not an unislamic viewpoint. The Prophet (SAWS) said: “Verily deeds are tallied according to those that are last” (innamaa al-a’maalu bil khawaa’teem). Years of town halls, demonstrations, accountability sessions, sensitivity training and boycotts hasn’t removed graphic negative Muslim media imagery from top billing on headline news. Money can’t buy you love. Yeah I know the Beatles said it 1964, but Allah said it 1400 years prior; “And if you spent everything in the world you could not have joined between their hearts, but it is Allah who joined between them” 8:63.

Americans do not necessarily fear Islam and Muslims. What Americans do not want is to see suicide bombers in New York City. As an American Muslim who knows no other homeland, I have no problem in protecting our borders or legitimately defending my country. Does that make me a bad Muslim? I live here, why would I want to see America go down in flames? I have issues with the phrase “death to America”. Our way of life here may not be all good but it definitely is not all bad. We need to stop making politics part of theology or if we insist on doing so, we should accept that no one group or ethnicity can speak for all American Muslims. You have scholars who have never experienced the family bonding that takes place at Thanksgiving dinner, or understand the true nature of the holiday, making fatwas using triangulated logic, telling me that to sit down with my Muslim and non-Muslim family to eat roasted turkey, macaroni and cheese, hug my aunties whom I haven’t seen all year and watch a football game with my cousins is a faith deficiency! My response to that fatwa is posted elsewhere. However the point I’m making is that there is a distinct, irrational, extremist tendency in our application of Islam that needs to be extricated.

Americans are more confused about Islam and Muslims than anything else. I don’t think that the media is entirely to blame for that. Heck, even Muslims are confused about Islam. Every year there are millions of Muslims in America who are confused about the start of Ramadan. “Should I fast or should I eat? Can I do both? Taraaweeh prayer; is it 20 rakáat or 8? Am I wrong if I do 8? Am I an innovator if I do twenty? Do I give salaams to all Muslims or just some of them? Do I boycott American products even though I live in America? I still can’t figure that one out. There are so many conflicting fatwas flying around that a person spirals into bewilderment just trying to keep track of them, let alone making sense of some of them.

Domestically, the American people have accommodated, and accepted the Muslim presence in too many ways for anyone to suggest that there is a pandemic of islamophobia. It has been and still is a struggle. However, the doors have already been opened in large part by African American Muslims. American Muslims in the United States have very little difficulty buying homes, starting businesses, enrolling in universities, or obtaining the so-called American dream. Redundant use of psycho-suggestive coinage would tend to make you feel people are staring you down when they just happen to be looking at you like they do everybody else. It can also convince you that you were not hired because you were a Muslim and not simply because another candidate was more appealing, or more qualified. Statistically speaking, incidents of anti Muslim hate, violence, discrimination in America are relatively low. If we divide the 1500 or so anti Muslim, and anti-Arab (what about anti African, or anti Asian?) incidents reported by one of the largest and loudest civil rights groups in America, into the 6 million Muslims who legally reside in America, that comes up to 2/10ths of a percent. If we multiply the number by five to take into consideration unreported incidents, we arrive at the grand total of 1% of the general Muslim population, hardly enough to qualify fighting islamophobia as a top priority!

Using the term as a scare tactic has created another neologism; ‘islamophobia-phobia’, (the fear of islamophobia), which is a greater threat to Muslims than islamophobia. It is true that many Muslims in America receive daily briefs detailing anti Muslim incidents. However, these daily alarms appear more like self-serving, opinion shaping, headline grabbing, and manipulative issue control, than proof of an evil, unwarranted, mindless campaign against Muslims and Arabs by the American citizenry. Give me break!

With respect to the religion of Islam, the only ones who can taint its image are its designated practitioners; i.e., the Muslims. This is why the Prophet (SAWS) opted not to dispose of some of the treasonous hypocrites in Medina. It also explains why he reprimanded Mu’aath ibn Jabal for leading the congregational prayer beyond reasonable length. Both actions are potential repellents. Extremism, although it may seem, depending upon the interpreter, to have a textual basis (Quran and Sunna), usually results in other than the desired outcome. Our failure to realize this point will leave us in disappointment. We have many examples of such. Our recent overreaction to the cartoon portrayal of the Prophet (SAWS) is just one. None of our protests altered the Prophets status (SAWS) in any way. His place with Allah is still secure, and in the same degree, he is still the honored last Prophet of God (SAWS). All the ranting did not endear the masses to Islam, it exposed our lack of rectitude, it cost us lives, money, time, moral capital and lacked definitive textual basis

Human beings cannot invalidate the quality or value of Islam; on the contrary, Islam is a divinely pre-validated faith and way of life according to orthodox Islamic creed (aqeeeda). “Verily the religion of Allah is Islam” 3:19. Adherence to Islam or lack of it determines humanistic value, balances societies, and by the way, supports stable, healthy civilizations. Anti Islamic sentiment in the United States has particular causes such as providential disbelief or what is known is theological jargon as (kufr). Nothing we can do about that. “And it is no different whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe” 36:10. Other causes are misunderstanding, misrepresentation of Islam by Muslims or non-Muslim, injustice, the absence of Islamic standards of civility, (yes there is such a thing) and the conspicuous scarcity of Muslim social service institutions in America. Furthermore, anti Islamic sentiment is not always tantamount to anti God, anti righteousness, or anti-justice. You can’t go around accusing anyone who criticizes a Muslim as immoral or islamophobic. We are gullible but were not idiots, at least not all of us.

Placing responsibility for Islam’s image on other than ourselves is a flawed and unstable paradigm that siphons away valuable time, energy, and spiritual as well as temporal benefit. It distracts us away from individual and collective responsibility and sets in motion as’baab (causative factors) that could deprive us at this critical juncture in our history, of what we need most; divine intervention and support. This can only come from Allah. “Allah is the Friend of those who believe; He takes them out of the darkness’s into the (one) light”. 2:257. Faith, is more than rhetoric action is required. If we for a moment think that success or improvement in our condition can ever occur without it, we are engaging in a fantasy, existing only in the quilt of our minds, wove together with the threads of wishful thinking. Want to prove people in the west wrong about Muslims? Be charitable, help others, feed the hungry, assist the orphan, teach people to read, build a hospital, pave a road, or clean a park. Charitable work does wonders for the soul and it doesn’t hurt public image either if that’s what we care about. The Prophet (SAWS) said: “Prayer is light and charity is proof”. [1] When a people address their own ills and acknowledge their individual and collective faults, and their need to change wrongful ways, and embrace fairness, righteousness, civility, adab, humility, brotherhood, honesty, patience and the qualities that ultimately define our character, change becomes imminent. Divine assistance is set in motion.

Labeling people islamophobes, still muzzles some criticism of Islam and the Muslims, However, for many other Americans, it just tees them off, especially when one can easily see the upward mobility, affluence, academic, commercial, and political presence of immigrant Muslims in American society. No one likes a perpetual whiner especially when perceived as having a silver spoon on his palate. This is regardless whether he worked for it or not. Other than paying taxes, there is no significant Islamic social welfare component to offset suspicion, hostility, resentment, or mistrust. This is another cause of anti-Muslim or anti-Arab sentiment in America.

We hardly see Islamic ideals and principles manifested institutionally in United States. Oh, pardon me, that’s not entirely true. Islamic ideals and principles do exist in many American institutions. Let’s see, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, free and reduced fee clinics, food stamps, homeless shelters, the SPCA, Fire Departments, traffic lights, free libraries, trash collection, the ability to disagree publicly oh and we have tawheed (monotheism) here too. Maybe we have forgotten what Islam is all about. It just may be possible that we have some closet islamophobia in us! Let us all, myself included, get our act together and leave dog and pony shows for the circus.

The answers are coming……

1. Collected by Muslim

I have a few comments of my own below:

My personal experience with Somalis has been positive from the time the first group of refugees came to the US. (This isn't to dismiss the experiences of others) I have met a ton of very good Somalis that are very caring. I can't remember having said "salaam" to one and not having it returned. However, I am not naive enough to think that this is the case with all Somalis. Had most Somalis been like the ones I've met, it would be a very peaceful place, and Allah knows best.

I find this Ebony story to be a case study of the change in direction and perception of Islam and Muslims in America. Traditionally, Islam was seen as something that was fully a part of the black American (BA) community and even an expression of being "conscious" or a "deep thinker". There were several positive portrayals of Muslims in pop culture in the early 1990s that reflected the image of a "Muslim" in the black community. There are many BAs with names like Jamal and Rasheed and refraining from pork was seen as something "conscious" and authentically "black".

Nowadays, Islam and Muslims (even in the BA community) are associated with being foreign or alien - and this is not all the media's fault. In many places outside the Northeast like the Twin Cities, Columbus, Houston, and Dallas, to be Muslim is to be Somali, Pakistani or Arab (depending on the dominating ethnic group of the city) and to be Somali, Pakistani or Arab is to be Muslim. In other words, when one says "Arab" or "Somali", they mean "Muslim" and when they say "Muslim", they mean "Arab" or "Somali". So when a non-Muslim spends years in the Twin Cities and every Muslim they have met has been Somali, why should we get angry when they associate Muslim with being Somali when that person has seen nothing different? This is why they will ask an American Muslim upon seeing them (especially a woman) if they need a translator or speak very slowly assuming they don't speak English very well. They just don't associate Islam with being American and don't mean anything by it. There is no need to have a chip on our shoulders about being mistaken for foreign (I have been mistaken for Somali myself even by other Somalis who walk up to me speaking the Somali language) when they dominate the "Islam" in a particular city.

For this reason, a black, white, Latino and other converts living in places like that are increasingly seen as somehow enthralled with another culture - essentially no different than a Samari enthusiast for example. With that in mind, Islam is certainly not seen as an option since (in their minds) becoming Muslim means adopting a new culture. It is like saying "becoming Chinese" or "becoming Russian". I knew that things were changing a few years ago when I met a BA teenager in Memphis that thought that Islam was a place and Muslims were an ethnic group. Islam/Muslim has essentially become a race that is a catch all for Desi, Arab or Somali. So to become Muslim in the Twin Cities is to essentially "become Somali". I just wonder if Islam in the US is forever to be alien now.

Finally, the greatest tragedy of this BA vs Somali issue is that because of the positive image of Islam in the early 1990s, many BAs were prepared to embrace their African brothers and sisters (the Somalis) and probably feel a rejected. Had most BAs been treated like I was, there would be a very different story today.

A man who planned attacks on military installations and synagogues in the Los Angeles area for an Islamic terrorist cell was sentenced Monday to 22 years in federal prison for conspiring to wage war against the United States.

Levar Haney Washington told a federal judge in Santa Ana that cell members "flirted with the possibility" of attacking targets but no longer believe "a military solution is possible" because "it belies reality."

Washington, a convert to Islam, and three other defendants were members of Jam'iyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, a radical Islamic organization formed in prison by cell leader Kevin Lamar James. The group is better known as JIS and had no connection to al-Qaeda.

They may not have had any connection to the most famous group of thugs, but they seemed to have been inspired by them and their murderous version of Islam. Sad part now is that he will have to think about this for the next 22 years. Our message to people like this should be to get their lives together instead of chasing these nutty fantasies

Washington and Gregory Patterson, another cell member, were suspected of robbing about a dozen gas stations in Los Angeles and Orange counties over a month's time. Federal prosecutors said they intended to use money from the robberies to finance terrorism.

"The Caravans!" Another pernicious dogma pushed by these criminal groups: The believe that it is permissible to rob non-Muslims in order to finance terror. It is real and it is real dangerous.

I hate these people passionately. They mean none of us any good whatsoever. It is time that the Muslims realize that these people are trying to make Islam into an evil, sick and wicked death cult of nihilists. If they don't kill us, they want to turn us into mindless eunucs while turning our female relatives into sex slaves.

Did I mention that I hate them? Well, let me say it again...I HATE THEM!!!! I HATE THEM and I HATE THEIR EVIL WAY

Excerpts are below the fold with a few of my comments

Back at the beginning of April I spent an afternoon hanging out with Saddiq Abdul Jabbar and Tunji Turner from the Germantown Masjid which, according to the Daily News, has become embroiled in an international controversy over its decision to not provide a burial service for a Muslim man killed during the botched bank robbery that left police officer Stephen Liczbinski dead. The City Paper was doing a three part series called “Politics Lost” focusing on what impact the impending Pennsylvania primary election might be having on some of the more isolated neighborhoods in the city. They pitched me with filling the third and final slot and left me with the decision about which neighborhood to cover.I immediately thought about one of the city’s many Masjids, and more specifically a Masjid whose constituents were primarily black American converts to Islam. This lead me to East Germantown, and to Abdul Jabbar and Tunji Turner.

I understood the mixed reputation on the streets about Philadelphia’s black Muslims going into the story; I’ve heard the allegations that their Masjids encourage polygamy, that domestic violence is rampant in their community, that the Masjids are little more than fronts for organized crime cartels. But at the same time I’d seen the positive impacts that groups like the Germantown Masjid have brought to their surrounding communities; business revitalization, educational services, moral guidance to the spiritually lost. There’s a rich and conflicted story unfolding in the city’s black Muslim community, and the Liczbinski tragedy and its aftermath embodies it in a number of ways.  It’s a story of virtue versus violence, righteousness versus thuggery, legitimate hard work versus illegal fast money, and separation based on racial hate versus integration based on participation in a larger global religious community. It’s also a story that has primarily transpired behind closed doors in a very secretive world, leading to allegations and hearsay on the streets that only further confuse the story. In writing the article on the primary election for the City Paper, I was hoping to use politics as a wedge to pry the door open a little and shine some light on the men behind the beards that spill out onto Germantown Avenue in droves every afternoon at prayer call.

I spent a decent amount of time in East Germantown as a social worker, and had a client at one point who was a member of the Germantown Masjid. I had been in the Islamic bookstore not far from the Masjid previous to writing the article, though only in the company of other black community members, and even then my presence didn’t feel entirely welcome. I wasn’t surprised at the chilly, suspicious reception I described in the story’s opening paragraph; the black Muslim community is a historically separatist entity that really sees no use for or benefit from contact with the white world. I was initially snubbed by the man at the counter but persisted, telling him about the work I had done in the community, that I had met members of the Masjid previously. He relented and gave me Saddiq Abdul Jabbar’s number.

It is clear that Mr Deeny in spite of trying to be fair, believes that there is a racial element to the chilly reception he received. I can assure you that it is not because he is white, but because he is not Muslim. I am certainly not justifying the reception he received, but it wasn't because he was white.

When I contacted Abdul Jabbar I was surprised by the difference in tone that he took with respect to community relations.

Abdul Jabbar was quick to highlight some of the changes at work within his community. Separatism was the old way, he explained, and while some members still feel that black Muslims shouldn’t vote in elections, shouldn’t participate in organized community development plans working in tandem with city council members, etc., the leadership of the Germantown Masjid had made a clear decision to start working with the community at large, if only under certain circumstances. Part of this decision was forced by the logistics of a growing congregation; Philadelphia’s black Muslim community is substantial (he estimated 6,500 members) and growing quickly.

Note: the 6,500 number represents the Germantown Community and not the entire city

The Germantown Masjid had far outgrown its capacity and needed a new space. Completing a project of that size and scale, purchasing and renovating an entire warehouse, required some political savvy. It necessitated relationships with people outside the Muslim community. It seemed to me that Abdul Jabbar was saying that his community had weighed the pros and cons of integrations versus separation and decided that integrating had become the better deal.

But, only when the laws of Islam and the powers of the machinery of the larger world were aligned, Abdul Jabbar repeatedly stressed, would the group consider working within the American social mainstream. Otherwise, they would simply abstain from the political process as they had for many years. He didn’t specify what kind of political situations that violate Islamic law would cause the group to abstain from interaction with the larger community. Regardless, integration does requires some moderation in rhetoric and a change in historical policies. Like, for example, meeting with a white writer to talk about how the group makes political decisions. It seemed like the group was taking a big step into the unknown when Turner and Abdul Jabbar met with me that afternoon. It’s a story that might not have made it to print ten years ago.

It’s important to note that during time I spent with Abdul Jabbar talking on the phone and during the tour of East Germantown that followed I never felt that I was in the presence of a man who was anything other than straightforward, sincere and pretty progressive considering the history of the black Muslim movement. He was a serious man who enjoyed discussing the ins-and-outs of Islamic law that guides his organization’s decisions. But he was also a warm and friendly man who laughed a lot and made easy conversations. The same went for his friend Tunji; they both struck me as interesting and intelligent guys who were committed to the strengthening of their community. I wrote the article as such, trying to convey the sense of willingness to build bridges coupled with a distinct moral sternness that I heard in their voices.

The City Paper loved the story but wanted to vet the sources a bit before proceeding. We don’t know much about these guys, the paper said, let’s make sure they’re not embroiled in anything. Let’s make sure there’s no corruption history, no pending indictments, no sweetheart arrangements with suspect council persons. So we vetted the sources as best we could and the Masjid came back clean as a whistle, at least as far as corruption and shady involvement in city politics went. Beyond this, there was very little in the press about the group, at all.

Less than two months later the group is under a media microscope for refusing to bury a cop killer, a fact that they can’t be happy about. While they were willing to discuss some of the group’s policy decision making processes with me, they weren’t very comfortable doing it. At various points during the time I spent with Abdul Jabbar he seemed to falter in his conviction that talking to the press was the right idea. He asked about my credentials. He wanted to know how the article was going to be written, what information it would include. He kept returning to the central suspicion of the white establishment that black Muslims have carried with them for decades now, that his organization is trying to shed, but clearly hasn’t yet shed entirely.

The group’s press statements regarding the refusal to bury Howard Cain so far are in line with what I heard from them previously. Everything in the Germantown Masjid goes back to Islamic law; the group does not make decisions based on opinion or emotion. Policy questions get kicked up to the group’s Imam, who reviews the problem in light of Koranic teaching and his decision filters down to the rest of the Masjid’s constituents through emissaries like Abdul Jabbar and Turner. This is how the process was described to me in early April.

The Germantown Masjid has repeatedly stated that the refusal to bury Cain wasn’t a political decision, but was based on Cain’s violation of Islamic laws. Considering that the Masjid’s decision process described in news coverage of the controversy follows exactly the model the group laid out for me two months before Cain killed a cop, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I don’t think it’s a political decision aimed at quelling the controversy the would surely follow if the group had buried Cain. But I could see how someone would come to that decision. Remember, this is a group in the late stages of completing a major urban development project that still needs the city’s cooperation in order to see their plans for East Germantown come to fruition.

Many, especially in law enforcement, have pointed out that Tariq El Shabazz, the Masjid’s managing director, is a prominent and very successful defense attorney who has made a lucrative living by defending some of the most feared and reprehensible criminals in the city. It’s not necessarily an empty claim, but it’s also an allegation that doesn’t really go anywhere. There’s an inference here of organized criminal activity, that El Shabazz is probably connected to his clients’ criminal contacts in the community somehow, that maybe he benefits from these street level connections. The news coverage of the story has repeatedly mentioned that many black Muslims convert to the religion in prison, adding to the sinister air of yet-undiscovered complicity in organized crime. Sure, that all seems to make sense that a prominent Muslim defense attorney would come up dirty; it’s a logical story with a logical arc. It’s almost like something you would see on Law and Order. But the fact is that El Shabazz , as far as I know, isn’t under suspicion of any illegal activity, and real life isn’t television. And I’m sure it’s not from lack of trying to find skeletons in El Shabazz’s closets. I would venture to guess that a prominent member of a black Muslim group who is a successful defense attorney probably has a pretty thick file in a drawer somewhere at the FBI. I think those suspicious of El Shabazz should either produce something substantial or recognize the fact that the American judicial system allows even the most heinous criminals legal representation. Shabazz may have a dirty job, but it’s a dirty job that someone’s got to do.

Personally, I think the Germantown Masjid and the larger black Muslim community should be lauded for both their decision not to bury a cop killer and their newfound willingness to discuss policies with the mainstream media. These groups have come to understand that cooperation with the community at large furthers their ability to positively impact their communities. In doing so, walls of social isolation that used to surround these communities have begun to come down. As social isolation has ebbed, these groups have moderated their messages. These groups are still staunchly socially conservative, and still have a long way to go before they could be considered mainstream. Their gender segregation policies are retrograde and out of place in America (the pizza shop off Germantown Avenue that serves the Masjid population has separate booths with curtains for women and children) and I can’t even imagine what gets said in private within Philadelphia’s Masjids about homosexuality. But the black Muslim community is taking baby steps towards the mainstream on a suddenly large and brightly lit stage in the wake of Stephen Liczbinski’s murder. I think the groups are moving in the right direction, and deserve applause for doing so.

The winds of change are blowing

A lot of people do not like to admit it, but we still need to figure this thing out. In many Muslim countries, it is as simple as marrying your cousin. However here it is much more complex - almost no large extended families here - and marrying a complete stranger after a 30 minute meeting has led to a lot of madness. I liken these stranger marriages to playing Russian Roulette with only one chamber empty.

First, the concept of marriage needs to be firmly defined. There are still many people that propagate that marriage is nothing more than for fulfilling sexual desires and breeding children. Nothing more...nothing less. Women are reduced to mindless broodmares. Concepts such as caring and sharing are denigrated as "Western" and alien to Islam. I have received emails and been in personal conversations in which I was attacked relentlessly for my "Western" views on marriage. (ex: "You can't get to know someone without dating, and dating is haraam"..."The early Muslims married strangers, so what are you talking about?") This concept needs to be soundly refuted and we need to establish that marriage can be about love and not just another mindless ritual. This is why you find some marrying for extremely short periods of time. It is only about whether or not it is halal and not about two human beings planning and spending the rest of their lives together.

The bottom line is that if we are going to define an "Islamic marriage" as banal and loveless, then we will find more people making their own way in the pursuit of marital bliss. (Hey Akh! Allah hasn't guaranteed us happiness!!!!!!)

Some people that have tried marriage (some 2-3 times) are so terrified of making another mistake that they would rather remain single than enter yet another calamitous "marriage".

"In Islamic culture there is no dating and no kind of middle ground, so the sense is, if this person is a good person, let's get married. The impulse isn't to prolong a courting relationship. Our advocacy is it needs to be prolonged somewhat," said Ihsan Bagby, co-founder of the Muslim Alliance in North America.

The issue is not just about the person being a "good person". Two good people can get married, but not be a match in marriage. She's quiet. He's talkative. She wants to get an advanced degree. He wants his wife to be a homemaker. He likes this. She likes that. "Good people" can have very different personalities and not be right for each other. We are not robots. We have flesh, blood and feelings.

Read the entire article here

Melissa Harris Lacewell has an article at The Root on Malik Shabaz (Malcolm X).

I am part of the generation -- the post civil-rights generation, post-black power generation -- that turned Malcolm X into a T-shirt and cap. He was our symbol of racial discontent and political angst. Though we did not live through the brutal repression of Jim Crow, we knew for ourselves, in our own way, the effects of racial inequality. We saw the systematic destruction of urban communities, the incarceration of our peers, the violence and drugs that ravaged our neighborhoods. We knew that even the new opportunities and unprecedented accomplishments that previous generations made possible for us were often marked by racial isolation and insults.

We met Malcolm through the prism of popular culture, and we embraced him as a commodity, to signal our own disbelief in the American dream.

Read it all.

Much like Martin Luther King, many people project onto Malcolm what they want to see. Some conservative blacks claim to admire him and quote his criticism of white liberals as proof that he would have been a black conservative had he lived. Radical Leftists do the same and will cherry pick a quote to support their claim as well. He has become a near mythical figure.

I always felt that we should take lessons from his life and not try to project our thoughts unto him. ("If Malcolm were alive today, he'd be down with MY cause")

As far as the t-shirts, etc are/were concerned, I ran into a great quote that fits my thoughts on this

“Every great cause begins as a movement, then it becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”

In other words, "the cause" eventually gets lost as the honorariums, magazines, book and CD sales become the cause. You will find this to be true with most movements today. For example, the Washington Post ran an article a few days ago about how the symbols of the Green Movement (of course Malcolm would have gone green) often overshadow and substance. There is a billion dollar industry built around the green movement that includes things that has nothing to the cause itself - like...t-shirts that proudly announces that one has "gone green". (This is not to pick on the green movement as the right-wing has their own cottage industry)

The business becomes a racket when you find out that many of these people do not even believe in the original cause. They are only there to give you a pre-packaged message that sells books and DVDs/CDs. This is how a person that has been married 30 times can give a lecture on how to stay married. It's a racket.

Perhaps this is why people believe more in figures like Malcolm. He didn't make millions of dollars from a 'brand' built around him. He was a loving husband and responsible father. He actually believed what he preached (and only God knows what is in the hearts of others). It wasn't simply a means to make some cash. No wonder everyone wants to claim him as their own...

BISMILLAH IR RAHMAN IR RAHEEM

AS SALAAMU ALAYKUM WA RAHMATUALLAH WABARAKATHUHU

Dear Muslims,

Due to the recent events that have devastated the city of Philadelphia we here at Germantown Masjid feel that it would be most beneficial to the Muslim community and the city of Philadelphia to make an official statement clarifying our position on the recent events that have affected our city. The reason this clarification is being offered is to put to rest any concerns about or misunderstandings regarding the position taken by Germantown Masjid with respect to the recent armed robbery and subsequent janaaza (funeral prayer & burial services) of Howard Cain. Mr. Cain was killed by Philadelphia police on May 4, 2008, after an armed robbery which also resulted in the murder of Philadelphia police officer Stephen Liczbinski.

Due to violent nature of the actions which caused Mr. Cain's death, the administration of Germantown Masjid decided that the most appropriate thing to due would be for the janaaza services not to be performed at Germantown Masjid. We decided that it was best that we distance ourselves, and all the Muslims that are a part of this community, from these acts of violence and we did not want any indication that we condoned this type of behavior. The actions of Mr. Cain, at the time of his death, and his cohorts are not Islamic behavior and should be condemned by any and every Muslim in Philadelphia, as well as around the world. These men dressed up like Muslim women, went in a crowded grocery store in broad daylight with weapons, with the intent of robbing a bank. Their actions, subsequently, lead to the murder of a Philadelphia police officer. All of these actions, by themselves, are deplorable by Islamic law.

After Mr. Cain was killed, during the robbery, his family contacted us to perform a proper Muslim burial service (janaaza). He was known to be a Muslim and certainly had the right of a Muslim burial. However, we declined to hold his janaaza at Germantown Masjid. We did, offer to talk the family thru all of the rights and rituals associated with a proper Muslim burial. However, we did not hear back from the family after we declined to conduct the burial services. The decision was not politically motivated but rather done to make it absolutely clear that we do not condone this type of behavior. The religious evidence supporting this decision is overwhelming and although we declined to perform the funeral prayer, we would like to say that Mr. Cain was washed, shrouded, prayed over and buried, therefore the obligation of a Muslim burial was fulfilled.

In support of our decision we offer the following:

The Prophet, sallalahu ‘alayhi wa'assallam, did not pray over those who died while in debt, or those who committed major sins, i.e. suicide, murder etc, as an indication of His disapproval of the commission of such acts. see below:

Faatawa Showing the Permissibility of People of Authority and Leadership Not Praying Over Someone Whose Behavior was Unlawful, Impermissible, or Disliked, Even if That Behavior Did Not Exit That Person Out of the Fold of Islam

Question:
Can one who killed himself be washed and the (funeral) prayer offered
over him?

Answer:

Praise be to Allah.
A person who has killed himself should be washed, prayed over and
buried with the Muslims, because he is a sinner but he is not a
kaafir. Killing oneself is a sin but it is not kufr. If he killed
himself - we seek refuge with Allah - he should be washed, shrouded
and prayed over, but the khaleefah and important people should not
pray for him, by way of rebuke, lest anyone think that they approve of
what he did. If the khaleefah, ruler, judges, president or mayor do
not pray over him in order to denounce this action and announce that
it is wrong, then this is good, but some of the Muslims should still
offer the (funeral) prayer for him.

Kitaab Majmoo' Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi'ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh
`Abd al-`Azeez ibn `Abd-Allah ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him)
- vol. 13, p. 122

Question:

Is it permissible to offer the funeral prayer for one who committed suicide?

Answer:

Praise be to Allah.

Killing oneself is a major sin, and there are stern warnings addressed to the one who does that, but it does not put one beyond the pale of Islam. In the Sunnah it shows that it is permissible for ordinary people to offer the funeral prayer for one who commits suicide, but it is prescribed for the elite, such as scholars and prominent figures, not to offer the funeral prayer for him, as a rebuke and so as to deter others from doing likewise.It was narrated that Jaabir ibn Samurah said: A man who had killed himself with a broad, sharp-edged arrow was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he did not offer the funeral prayer for him. Narrated by Muslim (978).

Al-Nawawi said:

The scholars said: this hadeeth is to be understood as a deterrent to suicide, just as he did not offer the funeral prayer for one who was in debt, but the Sahaabah offered the funeral prayer for the debtor on the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). That was in order to deter others from getting into debt, not because he was a kaafir. According to Maalik it is makrooh to offer the funeral prayer for one who has been stoned to death as a hadd punishment, and one who was immoral, as an expression of disapproval. (Sharh Muslim, 7/47)

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah was asked about a man who claimed to be a holy man, then he saw a snake and some of the people wanted to kill it, but he stopped them, then he picked up the snake trying to do a miraculous deed, but the snake bit him and he died. Is it permissible to offer the funeral prayer for him or not?

He replied:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. The scholars and people who are religiously committed should not pray for this man and others like him, but the ordinary people should pray for him, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) refrained from praying for a man who had committed suicide, and one who had stolen from the war-booty, but he said: "Pray for your companion." They said to Samurah ibn Jundub: "Your son did not sleep last night." He said, "Was it because he ate too much?" They said: "Yes." He said: "If he had died I would not have prayed for him." Samurah explained that if he died because he had eaten too much, he would not pray for him, because he would have killed himself by eating too much. And it is more appropriate that the scholars and those who are religiously- committed should refrain from offering the funeral prayer for this man who prevented others from killing the snake, and held it in his hand until it killed him, because he killed himself. (Al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 3/20, 21)

Shaykh al-Islam also said:

If a person refrains from praying for one of them - i.e., the one who stole from the war-booty, the one who killed himself and the debtor - as a deterrent to others from doing likewise, then that is good. But if he refrains from praying for him in public but makes du'aa' for him in private, then he will achieve two ends, which is better than omitting one of them. (Al-Ikhtiyaaraat al-‘Ilmiyyah, p. 52)

As demonstrated above, our actions were consistent with view of the Messenger of Allah, sallahu alaihi was salam, his companions, and the scholars of the Sunnah in disapproving of, not only, the actions committed by our brother at the time of his death, but also of the danger and scrutiny that was created for our community as a whole and particularly the muslimaat (Muslim women), as a result of his actions.

In sum, in making our decision, we did not prevent, dissuade, discourage, or represent that our brother should not be washed, shrouded, prayed over and buried as a Muslim. In fact, our decision and actions were based strictly on following the commandment of enjoining good and forbidding evil, being just, first and foremost in front of Allah subhanaa wa taa'aalaa, as well as to ourselves, our community and our neighbors. As well as adhering and wholeheartedly submitting to the fact that in Islam protecting the rights and safety of the ummah (community) as a whole is paramount and in the best interest of all Muslims. Germantown Masjid takes a firm stand against crime in general, not just the actions in this particular instance.

We pray to Allah subhanaa wa ta'aalaa, that the decision we made was correct and sincerely seeking his pleasure. Ameen.

Inshaa`Allah this statement offers clarification on these matters and will ease any concerns our ummah may have regarding this issue.

Sincerely,

Tariq El-Shabazz

Managing Director, Germantown Masjid

There are two points that NO ONE has bothered to mention:
(1) The brother at the center of the controversy (may Allah have mercy on him) was NOT a member of Germantown Masjid, nor did he frequent the masjid. As a matter of fact, none of the three allegedly involved were members of Germantown Masjid.
(2) The brother was washed, prayed over, and buried as of Friday May 9, 2008. All of the talk about him being Muslim upon death, sins don't take you out of Islam, he has rights, etc. needs to cease.

UPDATE 05/09/08 11:30PM EST: Philadelphia Mayor Micheal Nutter sent the following letter to the Muslim community. He also spoke on this issue here:

Dear Muslim Faith Leaders,

As you know, a Philadelphia Police Officer has been shot in the line of duty. It has been widely reported that the assailants were wearing “muslim garb” as a disguise during the attack.

I want to make it clear that I do not think that this crime was an act of violence directed from or against the Muslim community. The assailants merely chose Muslim-like dress as a way to alter their appearances.

I hope the Muslim community, and all other communities across Philadelphia, can work together as we deal with this horrible act of violence. This City needs every one of all faiths, races, and ethnicities to come together in peace. I am calling on the religious community to recognize tomorrow as a day of peace and to pray for Sergeant Liczbinski and his family..

Sincerely,

Michael A. Nutter

UPDATE 05/09/08 6:51AM EST: Umm Zaid has written a good piece on this event here. However, I must say that I stand with the Germantown Masjid's decision to not perform the funeral. Justification for such a stance is given here

UPDATE 05/09/08 6:28AM EST: Watch news cast here

---

The Muslim Community in Germantown and other Muslim communities in Philadelphia have decided that they will have no part in the funeral of a man that was killed robbing a bank and killing police officer Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski in the process. I have gotten emails and inquires wondering if these thugs were Muslim. The sad answer: At least one was

Story is below

The leadership of the Germantown Masjid has refused to conduct funeral services for Howard Cain, the bank robber who killed Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski with a Chinese-made semi-automatic rifle.

"No, we will not bury him at Germantown Masjid," said Tariq El Shabazz, managing director of the mosque. "We don't want one slight scintilla hinting that we condone his behavior."

On Sunday evening, a friend of Cain's family asked if Cain's burial could take place at the mosque on Germantown Avenue near Logan Street, El Shabazz said.

El Shabazz declined to conduct the service after researching Islamic law and meeting with Saadiq Abdul Jabbar, chief executive of the mosque; Imam Talib Abdullah, and others.

"We don't tolerate that kind of behavior," El Shabazz said. "Their actions are not from Islam. You don't dress like a woman, you don't rob people or transgress against them or commit murder. On all three grounds, they are dead wrong.

"We are not saying that Muslims should not bury him, or that he should not have Janaza [funeral prayers]," he added. "He is a Muslim and he has that right, but we don't want that here."

The religious leaders offered to "talk the family through the washing of the body and Janaza prayers," El Shabazz said, "but we didn't hear anything more from them after we stated our position."

El Shabazz, who is also a defense attorney, was just as adamant about fugitive Eric Floyd, who was arrested last night.

"That boy needs to . . . answer for what he did," El Shabazz said.

Since Sunday morning, Imam Abdullah has been preaching five times a day about the officer's murder.

Abdullah "is rough on his own people," Jabbar said. "He's an elder in the mosque, a religious teacher who has stature and he makes you feel the wrath of Allah."

At Friday's Jumah prayers, "Abdullah is going to deliver a very strong message about that kind of behavior, and take the position that the Muslim community has to stand against something like this," said Jabbar, referring to the killing of a police officer.

"You have to be clear and come out against them, even if they are in your flock," he added.

Asked if the burial service would take place at the Philadelphia Masjid, at 47th Street and Wyalusing Avenue, a source said: "I'm telling you now. We ain't burying him here." *

On Saturday, April 24^th, Imam Luqman Ahmad, a second generation American Muslim whose parent’s converted to Islam in the 1950s, spoke before a packed audience about the issue of racial, ethnic and religious sectarianism amongst Muslims in America. Sectarianism and division along tribal, racial, ethnic, and religious lines has plagued the Muslim world for generations. American Muslims along with their immigrant Muslim brethren, who have settled in the United States from all parts of the Muslim world, have a unique opportunity to candidly address the division, which lies at the root of many of the problems in the Muslim world.

Indigenous American Muslim converts, many of whom are African American, have consistently complained among themselves about second class treatment they have received from some of the immigrant Muslims. The growing divide between the two communities has been a topic of great concern among religious, political, and civic leaders as well as activists from both the immigrant and the indigenous American Muslim community. National Muslim organizations such as MANA, CAIR and others, have been stepping up activities in recent years to address the divide.

In the Sacramento area, Masjid Ibrahim Islamic Center has not been alone in its effort to promote unity and tolerant diversity amongst American Muslims of all backgrounds. Local groups and communities such as The SALAM Center, Sacramento CAIR, and the Muslim Student Associations of Sacramento State University and University of California Davis have worked together for this common purpose.

The recent event at Masjid Ibrahim Islamic Center was attended by in overflow crowd consisting of African American, Caucasian and Latino American Muslim converts as well as Pakistani, African, Afghani, Indian, Asian, and Iranian Muslim immigrants. Those in attendance, engaged in a lively discussion about the types of division in the Muslim community. Many participants recounted personal stories and feelings of being marginalized and discriminated against by other Muslims who were of a different race, ethnicity, or religious inclination. Imam Luqman explained in detail how division undermines the message of Islam in America, and how it contributes to the negative view of Muslims and Islam in the eyes of the majority of the American public.

Although there was some tension during parts of the post lecture discussion, the overwhelming feeling of the diverse Muslim audience was relief and excitement that the issue has finally made its way into the public dialogue. In his closing remarks, Imam Luqman explained to the audience why this topic causes uneasiness among many Muslims when discussed openly:

“Sectarianism affects us all and the objective of this discussion is not to assign blame, but instead to raise awareness in the American Muslim community. Sectarianism among Muslims does exist and the problem will not solve itself, it is a collective effort.” – Imam Luqman Ahmad

<!--[if gte vml 1]><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->

Imam Luqman Ahmad has been the Imam of Masjid Ibrahim Islamic Center for 12 years, speaks fluent Arabic, and is trained in the traditional Islamic Sciences. The Imam believes that the Koran and the prophetic tradition of the Prophet Mohammad (SAWS) holds the solution to the blemish of sectarianism among Muslims in America and worldwide. Masjid Ibrahim Islamic Center has consistently advocated cooperation among different Muslim groups, communities, and organizations based on the Islamic principles of mutual respect and dignity. Respect for each other’s culture and the removing of sectarian obstacles to unity.

Since its beginning in 1996, Masjid Ibrahim Islamic Center has grown to be one of the most diverse Muslim congregations in the Sacramento area. With a membership that consists of a variety of ethnic groups and both indigenous and immigrant Muslims alike.

The monthly Masjid Ibrahim Islamic Center “family night” provides a forum where families may come together to share food, fellowship, and listen to contemporary Islamic speakers. Masjid Ibrahim Islamic Center is open to all Muslims equally, regardless of race, cultural affiliation, or ethnicity. For more information, please visit the masjid web site at www.masjidibrahim.com or contact info@masjidibrahim.com.

New Lotus Tree Poll: Is racial and ethnic division a problem in Muslim America? Click here to vote!

<!--[if gte vml 1]><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->

Saturday, May 10, at 12:00 - 1:00PM Pacific time (3;00 PM eastern time), Imam Luqman will be a guest on the Living Islam radio program station WURD 900 am, in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Listeners outside of the Philadelphia area can tune in the live broadcasts in real time at: www.900amwurd.com,

© 2008 All Rights Reserved (for original material)

Interested parties are free to reprint or forward all material in our newsletter, without edit (except for space considerations), and with the appropriate attribution.

It's not often that a white guy walks through the front door of the Islamic books and tapes shop in East Germantown. Even less frequently does that white guy ask questions about whom members of the nearby Masjid, or mosque, might be thinking about voting for in the upcoming primary election. Imagine a needle skipping off a record and everyone's head turning.

Yes, there was an air of suspicion among the men gathered in the shop — which was pretty understandable, considering the increase in recent years of domestic surveillance and the historically separatist nature of many black Muslim organizations. The young, bearded man in a Kufi-style skullcap who worked the register had a visceral-yet-tempered response to the question.

"Um, that's not something we're really interested in talking about," he said, measuring words and eyeing me intently. "We don't vote." He paused to formulate a more deliberate response. "We feel ... there are fundamental differences between our community and ... " He paused again, this time reconsidering the interaction altogether. "Let me direct you to someone who might speak to you." He gave me the phone number for Saadiq Abdul Jabbar, CEO and director of community outreach for the Germantown Masjid.

Abdul Jabbar is a substantial man, a broad, imposing figure in a traditional ankle-length tunic paired with baggy jeans and work boots. His long beard has a fiery rim of henna-dyed orange around its fringe, and he wears thick black eyeglass frames reminiscent of those Malcolm X wore. I met him and another Masjid member, Tunji Turner, in front of the bookstore. After initial assurances that my questions were motivated by genuine curiosity, Abdul Jabbar agreed to give a tour of the neighborhood.

He began with a history lesson. Twelve years ago, Islam took root in East Germantown; five or so faithful followers of the Quran moved into a burned-out and abandoned shell house on a blighted and treacherous stretch of Germantown Avenue and began building what would become the community's Masjid. The founders quickly went about growing their following, reaching out to the surrounding community, drawing converts, starting Muslim-owned businesses and becoming a visible presence on the streets in their distinctive garb. Over time, many nearby properties were rehabbed, including the dilapidated one adjacent to the Masjid. The Masjid expanded into this space, and eventually another location was added a few blocks west, where women could gather and take classes. Still further west, the bookstore opened.

About the somewhat terse response I received at the store, Abdul Jabbar says, "When someone in the Muslim community tells you, 'We don't vote,' they're coming from an old way of thinking. That really was the case; for a while we stayed away from voting, and some members still feel that way." He was alluding to the long history of separatism in the black Muslim world, dating back to the early Nation of Islam. "Things have changed a lot, though.

"We've become involved with a lot of different community activities over the years; I sit on the planning commission for the Wayne Junction SEPTA station rehabilitation effort, we work with the Wister NAC, the Germantown CDC and we talk with our city council members all the time."

We pulled into the parking lot of what looked like an old warehouse near Wayne Junction, which Abdul Jabbar says will soon be the Masjid's new space — 40,000 square feet, to accommodate the community's growing Muslim population. He explained that the Masjid makes decisions to participate in mainstream politics on a case-by-case basis.

"We have scholars who study the Quran," he says, "who determine what is and isn't appropriate for our community. If a politician's stance is in line with the teachings of the Quran, our scholars will let that be known...

"Take this citywide spring cleaning that happened yesterday; that's an initiative that a lot of different people, black and white, rich and poor, really got behind. And we did, too; ... We rented two backhoes and took away two 40-foot dumpsters worth of garbage." The Masjid felt the mayor's idea was in line with the teachings of the Quran because the text states that God loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.

Would the Masjid be interested in voting as a bloc for Barack Obama in the hopes of seeing the first President with black heritage?

Turner smiles at the question. "No, no," he says. "We don't participate politically along color lines." (Still, though Abdul Jabbar and Turner didn't endorse any candidate, Obama was the one repeatedly referenced during our conversation. Neither Clinton nor McCain's names were mentioned.)

One also wonders whether the community might be galvanized, politically, by anti-Muslim sentiment: the idea, pushed in some quarters after 9/11, that Islam is a religion of hate, a refuge for extremists.

Asked about this, Abdul Jabbar utters a phrase in Arabic, which he subsequently translates: "There is no might and there is no power except by Allah. In the end, it's not about what someone said about you, but how you lived, your principles. That kind of talk really doesn't concern us."

What does concern Abdul Jabbar and members of his Masjid is that their community has an Islam-centered education available. They want to teach people to worship Allah, and not money, women and other worldly things.

Abdul Jabbar says matter-of-factly, as if it's as plain as the nose on his face, that real change for his community won't come solely through participation in the political process.

"It all starts with teaching these people out here who their Lord is."

This film features two Muslims from Baltimore that have spent the last 30 years in and out of prison. This sad film gives a lot of insight to the institutionalized mentality many (Muslim and non-Muslim alike) suffer from upon entering the penal system at a young age. The things these men see and go through at a young age are difficult for those who are blessed to have grown up in stable and loving families to put their minds around.

The trailer and film synopsis are below (thanks to Abdul Qaadir for sending this)

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5176993831646722273&hl=en]

View the original story here:

Fulton County Judge Marvin Arrington, who last week asked white people to leave his courtroom while he chastised black defendants, on Thursday delivered much the same message to anyone who wanted to hear it.

“We have insanity going on in the black community,” he said to the courtroom as TV news crews filmed his spiel. “If we don’t say something, the infrastructure of this community is going to collapse. It will be like living in the wild, wild west.

[...]

The judge apologized if he offended any whites but said he was just trying to do some good. He ticked off a list of crimes to help illustrate why he was delivering a message to African-American youth.

—Arrington said a white man and a white woman were buying crack cocaine near Christian City in South Fulton County when they got into a dispute with the black vendor over the price. The dealer wanted $20 for the rock, the male buyer wanted to pay $15.

“He (the dealer) said, and I quote, ‘I get tired of you crackers,’ and he shot the fella in the head. The girlfriend said, ‘Why would you do that?’ And he said, ‘We don’t need no witnesses,’ and shot her in the head,” Arrington recalled. A security guard investigated and the gunman killed him. Three deaths, the judge said, in 20 minutes.

[...]

—His own brother was robbed while unlocking the door to his home. A gunman put a pistol in his brother’s mouth while his brother’s wife watched. “My sister-in-law was a nervous wreck,” he said. These are the type of crimes you don’t read about.”

African-Americans in positions of authority have an obligation to speak out to young people who are on the path to becoming street thugs before they turn into killers, Arrington said. He said people he puts on probation too often end up back in court on a new charge.

He said as a youth he could have easily ended up on the wrong track when he was doing poorly in school. He credits his parents, teachers and his childhood friend Hamilton Holmes, one of the students who later integrated the University of Georgia, with giving him a helping hand and persuading him to buckle down.

He said he also recognized that all honest work was worthy work, and holding steady jobs ensured he had money and stayed out of trouble.

In 2007, 46.8% of 12th graders, 35.6% of 10th graders and 20.9% of 8th graders (!) admitted to taking some sort of illicit drug in their lifetime.

African American boys who drop out of high school have a 73% unemployment rate in their 20s and have a 60% chance of going to jail in their 30s.

One of every two African-American and Latino students either won't graduate on time or won't graduate at all.

3 million people are in prison

A 13 year old was arrested for being a madame

Again, none of this is intended to be used as proof that Muslims should be isolated (as was done in the past), but to engage and offer our talents to provide solutions. We have to speak up and realize that bad culture has failed us...

Seventeen of the nation’s 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent, with the lowest graduation rates reported in Detroit, Indianapolis and Cleveland, according to a report released Tuesday.

The report, issued by America’s Promise Alliance, found that about half of the students served by public school systems in the nation’s largest cities receive diplomas. Students in suburban and rural public high schools were more likely to graduate than their counterparts in urban public high schools, the researchers said.

Nationally, about 70 percent of U.S. students graduate on time with a regular diploma and about 1.2 million students drop out annually.

[...]

Summit in every state planned

[...]

The report found troubling data on the prospects of urban public high school students getting to college. In Detroit’s public schools, 24.9 percent of the students graduated from high school, while 30.5 percent graduated in Indianapolis Public Schools and 34.1 percent received diplomas in the Cleveland Municipal City School District.

Researchers analyzed school district data from 2003-2004 collected by the U.S. Department of Education. To calculate graduation rates, the report estimated the likelihood that a 9th grader would complete high school on time with a regular diploma. Researchers used school enrollment and diploma data, but did not use data on dropouts as part of its calculation.

Many metropolitan areas also showed a considerable gap in the graduation rates between their inner-city schools and the surrounding suburbs. Researchers found, for example, that 81.5 percent of the public school students in Baltimore’s suburbs graduate, compared with 34.6 percent in the city schools.

In Ohio, nearly 83 percent of public high school students in suburban Columbus graduate while 78.1 percent in suburban Cleveland earn their diplomas, well above their local city schools.

Disparity in data

[...]

States calculate their graduation rates using all sorts of methods, many of which critics say are based on unreliable information about school dropouts. Under No Child Left Behind, states may use their own methods of calculating graduation rates and set their own goals for improving them.

The research was conducted by Editorial Projects in Education, a Bethesda, Md., nonprofit organization, with support from America’s Promise Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Call it is a shortcoming, but I must admit that it really bothers me that I am made out to be a heretic by some Muslims - however few there are - for my firm stance against terrorism in the name of Islam. It bothers me to no end that - on so-called Islamic grounds - I am berated and dogged for encouraging people to help everyone - including those that are not Muslim. It bothers me that there are a significant minority of Muslims around the world that feel that terrorism is what Islam is about. (After all, the thousands of terror attack that occur in the name of Islam are not happening in a vacuum)

I was in a conversation with a Muslim about the number of dead beat dads and the other social problems within the Blackamerican Muslim community. He told me that he felt that the concepts I speak and write about (i.e., "nuclear family", owning a home, community responsibility, education, etc) are "Western" concepts and to the extent that Muslims practice those things are to the extent they have adopted "Western values". He then told me that you can't "turn a chicken into a duck" and that Islam in reality is a religion of conquering and plundering such as with the Barbary Pirates. This is why he thinks that Islam fundamentally attracts people who reject orderliness, have nothing to lose and want revenge against the world. Keep in mind that this person is a Muslim.

Although this person was obviously not a terrorist, he was espousing the Islam of the Khawaarij: Islam is a religion of perpetual killing, rape and plunder that can not tolerate other views and opinions. It is the Islam of Nineteen Eighty Four's O'Brien who described his ideology as such:

Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever."

This is the "Islam" that troubles me. It troubles me that many Muslims feel that O'Brien's Islam is the true Islam. An Islam where feelings of compassion and kindness are to be stamped out of you. An Islam of mass indoctrination. A Muslim is not to have any private emotions and is to live in a continuous frenzy of rage and hatred of enemies and munafiqs such as that displayed in OBL's Mephistophelean rants.

This totalitarian (and un-Islamic) thinking must be tenaciously opposed and defeated in the arena of ideas as it will lead us all nowhere but to more suffering. It will provide no solutions to the underclass that is developing in our own communities and to breaking the cycles of dysfunctional behavior that many may bring into Islam. Family structures must be reinforced, and Muslims must be active agents and participants in organizations seeking to help communities improve themselves - not destroy them.

This is why I am relentless in condemning this ideology and all similar thinking. This venomous creed is destructive not only because of the lives that it snuffs out, but because it encourages irresponsibility and criminal behavior. This outlaw philosophy encourages an attitude of entitlement that causes cheating, stealing and lying (the caravans akh!) supposedly because it is "against the system". It creates a culture of corruption in which an inner city Masjid sells BOOTLEG DVD's in the masjid.

How is one to reform an ex-convict with these kind of putrid teachings are floating around? Rather than telling these individuals that they must stand up, clean up and MAN UP, by being a responsible and productive member of society, they are provided with excuses for criminal behavior and remaining outside "the system". Let's clean up this garbage. I plan to attack this "culture of corruption" more in future posts, Insha Allah...

African American Muslim Emancipation

It’s not permissible in Islam for any Muslim to surrender his or her ability to reason and to critically examine information. “Have they never learned to think for them­selves? Allah has not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them without [an inner] truth and a term set [by Him]: Allah and yet, behold, there are many people who stubbornly deny the truth that they are destined to meet their Sustainer!”<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--> Without reasoning and critical discernment, the distinction between truth and falsehood is impaired. One of the reasons intoxicants are prohibited is that it clouds the reasoning faculty. "All drinks that intoxicate are unlawful (to drink)<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]-->." All people are required to reason except for the insane, the child, and the sleeping or unconscious which is why there is no accounting upon them in such states. “There are three whose actions are not recorded: a lunatic whose mind is deranged till he is restored to consciousness, a sleeper till he awakes, and a boy till he reaches puberty”

Abandoning reason is one of the central causes of African American Muslim dysfunction and stagnation. African American Muslims have a unique spiritual and evolutionary trajectory that naturally resists assimilation of a carbon copy just add water version of Islam. We need to see ourselves as we are and not as others imagine us or tell us we should be. When reason is abandoned, the first casualty is the knowledge of yourself. Without the knowledge of self, it is difficult to understand our needs and where we need to place our priorities. My father gave me a little white book when I was fifteen or sixteen years old written by Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazaali in which he said: “Know, nothing is nearer to thee than thyself, and if thou knowest not thyself how canst thou know anything else? I am still elated from the MANA conference because I saw us being honest about ourselves and openly addressing difficult issues.

As converts, we try to base every decision upon Islamic principles, subsequently we cannot risk borrowing someone else’s reasoning and or agenda at the expense of our own; when we do, we mis-diagnose our priorities and that affects everything; our marriages, our children, our masaajid, how we deal with our society, and how we teach our children. Just consider the widely adopted Saudi based aqeedah matrix. I mean, just how many Mu'tazilas have we debunked and saved? When was the last we had a Rafida invasion in the hood? Is falling into idol worship our number one threat? African American Muslims do not need a post idolatry, witch hunt curriculum. Blatant idolatry, outside of the trinity has never been big with African Americans.

Looking back we can see that the Saudi aqeeda curriculum was an overdose of medicine prescribed without any examination. It unnecessarily damaged relationships between evolving African american Muslim communities while at the same time, more immediate threats to our well being to continue went ignored. It was like, here's some aqeeda, now go out there and kick some butt. People get to know Allah by worshiping Him, calling upon Him, fearing Him, seeking forgiveness from Him after realizing that it is you who need rectification before anyone else. You won't find Allah arguing about where He is or where He Isn't.

When one abandons reasoning, he ignores the possibility of irrationality in his thinking. This has affected the scholars of Islam in great proportion and since we depend on them to check our understanding of a very simple religion, it affects us. Modern day scholars did not start to modify their methods of legal deduction and application until they started to re-assimilate reasoning and critical analysis as a result of western education. Forty plus years after the immigration act, we are starting to see broad differences between rulings of immigrant scholars who have decided to take up permanent residency in America and scholars from Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Saudi Arabia and Yemen, have been the two major conduits of modern day Trojan Horse, Salafist methodology.

The difference between immigrant communities affected by this onslaught and African American Muslims communities affected by it is that the former are bribed with financial assistance, and marble laden masaajid, and the latter do it for free. Consider that thousands of African American Muslim youth have spread throughout the country praising their scholars, imposing their opinions as divine law and launching a ‘Borg’ style blitzkrieg upon the entire body of African American Muslims in America. They assailed and discredited every African American Muslim group, every organization, and every single one of our leaders without exception! Brothers and sisters! I want you to realize what has happened. They took our youth, from our homes, masaajid and neighborhoods, and gave them orders to attacked us, and they didn’t even pay them!

Let’s take a closer look at this; they have us so we don’t even argue about the Quran and the Sunna, both of which are entirely rational and makes sense to us. We argue and split from each other based upon elaborate theological deductions, triangular ill informed fataawa, words and views taken from singular individuals who lived hundreds of years ago, slogans, and words of meticulously selected groups of scholars, their books, their commands and their prohibitions . They tried to change the name of our religion from Islam to the Minhaj of the Salaf, and change our name from Muslim, to Salafi.

The very last straw for me is when they issued a fatwa, that regarded saying ‘takbir’ exhorting people to mention the name of our Guardian Lord, Creator, and Sustainer, Allahu sub'hanahu wa ta’ala, as a prohibited, evil innovation! As if Allah is going to say: 'hey' one at a time! No one, no one in the creation has the right to tell a Muslim where and when he or she can utter the Glorious name of Allah, or call people to his praise, except His Prophet (SAWS) who prohibited calling upon Him while relieving one’s self! How they managed to convince us that wearing a wedding ring is an evil imitation of the kuffar, while there is a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in walking distance from the Ka'ba that's not considered imitation?

We are citizens of a society that is better educated, better organized, and more critically discerning than any of the Muslim countries. Muslims come to our country from all over the world for education and to grow and prosper as human beings. Mur’haban wal humdu lillah! Our country doesn't send thousands of people to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen to learn biology, medicine, anthropology, mathematics, engineering, and computer science, all of which require high levels of intellectual prowess and critical discernment. It doesn’t make us better, but it makes us different.

Thus, we dumb down our intelligence to understand supplemental restrictive add-ons. Like telling people when they can raise their hands to their Lord as if Allah is going to say: ‘I was going to answer your prayer but you raised your hands in earnest, petition denied!’ Or restrictions on adding anything to facilitate practice like thikr beads. Too many small things are being added to the moral CAT scan and new Muslims are finding it increasingly difficult to keep. We don’t want to descend into pettiness.

We need to re-examine and perhaps modify certain aspects of religious norms and supplemental rules which have proven harmful and counterproductive to our communities. We need to re-examine the role of Muslim women in our communities. They are the better educated, more organized and come with a broader skill set than the brothers, and are more organized and detailed. We also need to examine the prohibited actions that we do not find prohibited in the book of Allah and the Sunna of our Prophet (SAWS). Foreign influences have legitimized back biting, slander, speaking ill of the dead, showing joy, buying gifts for expectant mothers, treating addictions, visiting your mother on Thanksgiving day, and joining organizations, and prohibited thikr, patience with new converts, handling grief, preventing harm, visiting certain masaajid, reading certain books, a host of other things that we in America fight about. How can they rant and rave that the religion is complete and we dare not add to it and then say:'by the way, we added ten conditions to he shahaadah and you dare not reject them.

Introduction of religious laws to people who are new and unfamiliar with the Arabic language, legal jargon, and religious rites is done with graduation, not immediate compliance and regiment. For some, it works and in those cases al-humdu lillah. For most, it’s repelling. This is a religion not a boot camp. As we grow, we learn. Emphasizing conduct issues instead of technical variables works best for first time believers and it eases them into submission. That was closer to the methodology of the Prophet (SAWS). In the al-Aqba pledge the Prophet (SAWS) tasked them with simple moral tasks that are easily understood by anyone; "Swear allegiance to me for: 1. Not to join anything in worship along with Allah. 2. Not to steal. 3. Not to commit illegal sexual intercourse. 4. Not to kill your children. 5. Not to accuse an innocent person (to spread such an accusation among people). 6. Not to be disobedient (when order,d) to do good deed." The Prophet added: "Whoever among you fulfills his pledge will be rewarded by Allah. And whoever indulges in any one of them gets the punishment in this world, that punishment will be an expiation for that sin. And if one indulges in any of them, and Allah conceals his sin, it is up to Him to forgive or punish him (in the Hereafter)." 'Ubada bin As-Samit added: "So we swore allegiance for these." (points to Allah's Apostle)<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[3]<!--[endif]--> People, entering Islam for the first need directions tailor made for them by the people who know deen and know them. That is why we need to evaluate scholarly opinions and differences, and protect our own religious best interests (maslaha deeniyya). We might want to also require that those who issue, ridiculous, second grader fatwas, are fined and must submit themselves to a psychological evaluation.

This is the kind of balance that I am speaking of. NEVER condone the insanity of the indiscriminate blowing up and killing people in the name of Islam, while acknowledging that the plight of the Gazans is bad. You can do both. Condemnation of terror does not equal support of oppression. Keep repeating that until it is understood

The text of the speech is below:

Mr. Speaker, today I voted in favor of House Resolution 951 to condemn rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel and the death and fear those attacks have caused. These rocket attacks must be condemned, and they must be stopped. I’ve been to Sderot, and I have seen how these rocket attacks cause fear and suffering among the people there, where it is extremely difficult to carry on anything approaching a normal life. The residents of Sderot and now Ashkelon face a daily barrage of rockets, and that is intolerable. Terrorists are bombing citizens, not soldiers. There is nothing in Islam to justify hurting innocent civilians. Bombers cannot use religion to justify what they’re doing, and I condemn it.

But this resolution is not enough. If we want to be morally consistent, we must condemn rocket attacks on Israel and also condemn the humanitarian crisis in Gaza too. The 1.4 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip exist in a state of dreadful isolation, quite literally cut off from the world. Basic supplies and necessities are at a minimum. Ninety percent of the industry has closed down. Unemployment is rampant, and poverty and disease are endemic. Only a few weeks ago, the people of Gaza broke through walls to buy groceries in Egypt. I regret the resolution we voted on today did not devote adequate attention, in my view, to the plight of the people of Gaza.

To suggest that this is the Gazans’ just desserts for voting the wrong way in the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006 does nothing to improve the quality or alleviate the human suffering on either side of the border. We in Congress need to show compassion for the people of Gaza, Sderot, and Ashkelon and the tremendous human suffering they are undergoing. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he does not want the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to continue, and the Bush administration should do all it can to help him meet that commitment.

This resolution criticizes one of the leading advocates for stability and peace in the region: Egypt. The Egyptian Government has made it clear that it is doing all it can to close off smuggling. What’s needed is a greater degree of cooperation with Egypt. This resolution does nothing to advance that cooperation. We need to engage Egypt, not pass resolutions that publicly offend or diminish our relations with them. Absent strong evidence that Egypt is complicit in allowing weapons smuggling to occur, I am not in favor of Egypt bashing.

I understand Egypt is doing what it can to control the border despite restrictions on its security forces imposed by Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel. If Egypt had direct contact or diplomatic channels with all parties involved in the conflict, the United States should prevail upon Egypt to help effect a prisoner exchange, stop the rocket attacks on Israeli citizens, and improve the humanitarian conditions for citizens of Gaza.

It’s a fortunate coincidence that the Secretary of State is in the region right now, and I am supportive of her taking an active role in resolving this conflict. Beyond resolutions and expressions of sympathy, we need real actions from the Bush administration to solidify and advance the commitments of leaders in the Middle East to a lasting peace through the two-state solution envisioned well before Annapolis. I ask my colleagues here in the House to join me in urging the Secretary of State to highlight the humanitarian needs of ordinary citizens of Gaza alongside the fear and death among ordinary Israelis as she seeks to mediate the situation so tragic for all involved.

Finally, as a Member of Congress, I am concerned about the resolution’s references to Iran. Now, I agree that Iran is playing a negative role in the region, but we have seen what the Bush administration has done with past congressional resolutions. I want to repeat that there is nothing in the resolution that should be construed as a justification for military action. I remain opposed to military action against Iran. We need to start a bilateral dialogue. That has been and will continue to be my position. The most effective way to stop Iran’s harmful activities is to engage them directly.

Mr. Speaker, though I wholeheartedly condemn the rocket attacks on Israel, I urge my colleagues to consider the suffering of all of the people, including the people of Sderot, Ashkelon, and Gaza.”

Democrat Andre Carson appeared to have won his bid tonight to replace his grandmother in representing the 7th Congressional District.

With 73 percent of precincts counted, Carson was leading by a margin of slightly more than 52 percent compared to Republican Jon Elrod’s 44 percent.

Hopefully he will be much like Keith Ellison. Another victory for grassroots work and staying connected to the community over isolation

This article shows why more of us need to help make a difference. Many inner city children have no one - including their parents - to care for them. Those of us blessed with better opportunities should try to help them before we point out fingers at them.

Make a positive difference in the lives of others...