JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024/1445 | $4.00 | WWW.ISNA.NET
WHITE SUPREMACY AND BLACK VICTIMHOOD | HIJAB AND THE ROLE OF INFLUENCERS
MAKING SENSE OUT OF 21ST-CENTURY BARBARISM
| VOL. 53 NO. 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 | READ ON-LINE: HTTPS://ISLAMICHORIZONS.NET | VISIT ISNA ONLINE AT: WWW.ISNA.NET
Cover Story 13 Making Sense out of 21st-Century Barbarism 16 Don’t Palestinian Women (and Their Children) Need Saving? 18 The Cry of the Olive Trees 20 Raising Activists 22 Cartoons, Comedies and Cinema 24 Seeing Through the Transparent Curtain 26 Painting for Palestine
30 Muslim African Americans Have Many Miles to Go FEATURE 28 White Supremacy and Black Victimhood 32 A Role Model for Our Time 34 Author, Public Speaker and Parent 36 Hijab and the Role of Influencers
Islam in America 38 40 42
Final Resting Place Chaplains Can Help Change Lives A Decade of Unity
Education 44
College Loans Without Interest
48
Health and Wellness 46 The Booming Halal Food Industry and Young Muslims’ Interest in Sunna Foods 50 When Children Need to Grow Up Faster
Muslims Living As Minorities 52 Building a Colonial-Settler State in Kashmir
How to Make Any Recipe Halal Environment 59 Young Somali American Brings Green Islam Movement to Portland
In Memoriam 61
Saleemul Huq
The Muslim World 54 Bangladeshi Election Extravaganza 56 Infesting the World with the Democracy of Choice
Parenting 57
Giggles in the Back
Departments 6 8 10 62
Editorial ISNA Matters Community Matters New Releases
DESIGN & LAYOUT BY: Gamal Abdelaziz COPYEDITOR: Jay Willoughby. The views expressed in Islamic Horizons are not necessarily the views of its editors nor of the Islamic Society of North America. Islamic Horizons does not accept unsolicitated articles or submissions. All references to the Quran made are from The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Amana, Brentwood, MD.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
5
EDITORIAL
Time to Act
A
s we write these lines, a full-blown genocide is going on in Gaza, courtesy, in large part, of American taxpayers. According to the Congressional Research Service, which prepares reports for members and committees of Congress, “To date, the United States has provided Israel $158 billion (current, or noninflation-adjusted, dollars) in bilateral assistance and missile defense funding. At present, almost all U.S. bilateral aid to Israel is in the form of military assistance; from 1971 to 2007, Israel also received significant economic assistance.” On Nov. 2, 2023, Congress passed the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, bill — a $14 billion aid package to assist Israel in their war, by a vote of 226-196. Except for $200 million, the rest is arms related — a bonanza for the arms industry. In 2024, Israel is scheduled to receive $3.8 billion in annual American military assistance as part of a decades long-agreement. This is a staggering amount, considering the cost of so many domestic priorities that the Biden administration has been unable to get Congress to fund. House Republicans intend to pay for this sum by cutting money for the IRS included in the Inflation Reduction Act. This leads one to look at lobbying — a misnomer for bribery — when from President Biden down to the lowliest person in the political system dutifully repeat Israel’s right to “self-defense.” Close watchers now expect AIPAC to spend at least $100 million in Democratic primaries, largely trained on eliminating incumbent Squad members — up to seven from the original four elected in 2018, namely, Alexandria OcasioCortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley. The newest members are Greg Casar, Delia Ramirez and Maxwell Frost. The Jacobin (Nov. 4, 2023) wrote, “What could explain this mostly unflinching and unexamined backing of 6
Israel among Republicans and Democrats alike? In large part, this is a political moment created by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobbying group. In 2022, for the first time, AIPAC targeted Democrats in primaries — including a Jewish, self-proclaimed pro-Israel Democrat. Now, every Democrat likely knows that supporting anything short of the full AIPAC line — which currently equates to unwavering support of Israel’s siege — means that, in your next election, you may just be spent into the ground.” While Muslims wonder about the ongoing U.S., U.K., German, French and some other European countries’ support for Israel, one needs to ask about the inaction of 57 Muslim-majority countries that have done nothing but issue a few guarded statements. The Norwegian parliament has voted overwhelmingly to recognize a Palestinian state. The Spanish prime minister has announced his government’s decision to recognize Palestine. Bolivia, South Africa and Belize have cut all diplomatic ties. On the other hand, Morocco joined Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain to prevent the Arab summit (Nov. 11, 2023) from adopting clauses that would pressure Israel into a ceasefire. In the bastion of the First Amendment, on Nov. 2, 2023, Congress passed 396:23 and sent to the Senate HR 798, which will penalize students on American college campuses for supporting Palestine. HR 3266 requires the revision of textbooks in Palestinian schools to portray the occupation in a positive light. In contrast, a Dutch court of appeal has given legal protection to the Palestinian liberation chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” on free speech grounds. This leads to the question of how long Muslim Americans will vote based on the “lesser evil” supposition. Isn’t it time to raise and support an independent party? ih
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
PUBLISHER The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) PRESIDENT Safaa Zarzour EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Basharat Saleem EDITOR Omer Bin Abdullah ASSISTANT EDITOR Kiran Ansari EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Iqbal Unus, Chair: M. Ahmadullah Siddiqi, Saba Ali ISLAMIC HORIZONS is a bimonthly publication of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) P.O. Box 38 Plainfield, IN 46168‑0038 Copyright © 2024 All rights reserved Reproduction, in whole or in part, of this material in mechanical or electronic form without written permission is strictly prohibited. Islamic Horizons magazine is available electronically on ProQuest’s Ethnic NewsWatch, Questia.com LexisNexis, and EBSCO Discovery Service, and is indexed by Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature. Please see your librarian for access. The name “Islamic Horizons” is protected through trademark registration ISSN 8756‑2367 POSTMASTER Send address changes to Islamic Horizons, P.O. Box 38 Plainfield, IN 46168‑0038 SUBSCRIPTIONS Annual, domestic – $24 Canada – US$30 Overseas airmail – US$60 TO SUBSCRIBE Contact Islamic Horizons at https://isna.net/SubscribeToIH.html On-line: https://islamichorizons.net For inquiries: membership@isna.net ADVERTISING For rates contact Islamic Horizons at (703) 742‑8108, E-mail horizons@isna.net, www.isna.net CORRESPONDENCE Send all correspondence and/or Letters to the Editor at: Islamic Horizons P.O. Box 38 Plainfield, IN 46168‑0038 Email: horizons@isna.net
ISNA MATTERS
On October 7, ISNA hosted a community service luncheon in Dallas, Texas with renown speakers like Ustadha Ieasha Prime and Shaykh Muhammad Ninowy. More than 400 people attended this event. ISNA Treasurer Azhar Azeez presenting an award to Mouffa Nahhas, a community leader in Dallas/ Fort Worth area.
In addition to issuing timely press releases and coordinating media inquiries, ISNA has also been hosting webinars to help the community deal with the devastating news emerging from Palestine. On October 29, the ISNA webinar. “Solidarity with the Victims in Gaza” featured an impressive speaker lineup including Muslema Purmul, co-founder of The Majlis, Miko Peled, author, human rights and son of Israeli General Mattityahu "Matti" Peled (d.1995) and Shaykh Mohammad Qatanani, member of the Fiqh Council. The one-hour session was moderated by ISNA Treasurer Azhar Azeez. “This is a moment that requires us to be steadfast. We need to learn from our brothers and sisters in Gaza how they are putting their trust in Allah,” said Shaykh Qatanani. “Anyone who genuinely wants to know what is happening in Palestine can see it. We must reorient people to be able to see the truth,” Purmul said. “The information online is skewed and obscure. We see it so clearly. There is no ambiguity to genocide. But now since social media exists, we are no longer just at the mercy of controlled media outlets.” The webinar is available to view on the @isnavideos channel on YouTube. ih 8
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
➤ On October 15, MYNA hosted a webinar with political activist Linda Sarsour, Sheikh Rami Nsour and CAIR director Corey Saylor. The objective of the event was to educate the youth on the genocide in Gaza. Speakers discussed the historical context of the current catastrophe and what can be done to aid the Palestinians. They also provided some spiritual guidance on what to do in trying times. ➤ MYNA also has a tab of helpful resources for youth about Palestine on its website at myna.org/Palestine. From guidance for student activists and encounters with law enforcement to resources for employees and employers. ➤ On November 6, MYNA joined a coalition of community organizations led by MAS National to create s space for conversation on the evolving situation in Palestine through a free weekly webinar series. The first session was entitled, “Bearing Witness: A Faith-Centered and GeoPolitical Analysis of a Genocide.” Speakers included Imam Siraj Wahhaj, Shaykh Suleiman Hani and Sami Hamdi. ➤ On December 9, ISNA hosted an interfaith Open House to create connections and foster a sense of unity and promote harmony and understanding. ih
COMMUNITY MATTERS
Gift Perpetuates Barzinji Institute’s Work
Dr. Yaqub Mirza and Dr. Tracy Fitzsimmons
A significant gift will ensure that Dr. Jamal Barzinji’s legacy lives on through the Shenandoah University’s Barzinji Institute for Global Virtual Learning. The new Mirza-Barzinji Fund for Global Virtual Learning, established by a gift from the Mirza Family Foundation, held its first conference on Oct. 3, 2023, at the university. Dr. M. Yaqub Mirza, a member of both the Shenandoah University Board of Trustees (BOT) and the Mirza Family Foundation, as well the late Barzinji’s close friend, said the fund will support the On Oct. 13, 2023, ISNA vice president Kareem M. Irfan was presented with the Community Excellence Award by the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago. The event’s theme was “The Significance of Interfaith Collaboration Based on Truth & Justice.” The nonprofit organization — comprised of religious leaders from of virtually every Chicago-area major religious tradition — promotes cooperation, understanding and collaboration among the area’s faith communities to advance the common good. St. Louis Park, Minn. has become the nation’s first city to elect a Somali American [and Black] mayor. City Council Member Nadia Mohamed, 27, won by a considerable margin against retired banker Dale A. Anderson in the Nov. 7, 2023, election. “This is a milestone. This is not the destination,” proclaimed Mohamed, who came to St. Louis Park as a 10-year-old refugee, told supporters, according to the Star Tribune. “As mayor, I want to ensure people see themselves reflected in our policies.” 10
institute, which will act as a perpetual charity. This new institute connects organizations around the world to work collaboratively in the classroom and on service projects, ultimately inspiring greater understanding between diverse cultures and perspectives. “Respect for humanity is the foundation of all interaction.” This Barzinji quote, which appears often in the institute’s communications, also describes the soul of its mission. Barzinji passed away eight years ago in September, the month before Mirza joined the university’s BOT. Now chair of its academic affairs committee, he was instrumental in bringing the Center for Islam in the Contemporary World to Shenandoah’s Scholar Plaza, Loudoun, Va., location. The institute’s goals reflect Barzinji’s life, work and legacy. He was an intellectual, educator and community builder, as well as a patient, generous man of deep faith who prized diversity, loved bringing people together and was dedicated to making the world a better place. Shenandoah University president Tracy Fitzsimmons, Ph.D., expressed her gratitude to the Mirza Family Foundation for its gift and also noted that the Barzinji Institute provides people with an opportunity to ask hard questions of each other, respectfully, in hopes of improving their understanding of one another and the world around them. ih
The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago’s (CIOGC) chairman, Dr. Abdulghany Hamadeh, presented the annual Muslim Achiever award, which recognizes community members who have excelled in their respective professions, to Arshia Wajid (health care activist, MBA, MPH) and Dr. Hytham Almasri (board-certified hematologist; founder and CEO, Hematogenix). They not only demonstrated significant achievements, but also utilized their careers to make a positive impact on others. This year the CIOGC established an award to give special recognition to the member organization that has distinguished itself as the financially most generous Muslim institution in terms of supporting humanitarian and social justice appeals. The Most Charitable Mosque award went to the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, Ill., which contributed over $3,000,000 to various relief organizations and causes in the last year.
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
Numan Ali Dugmeoglu was appointed as a Muslim chaplain at Cornell University. A dedicated community servant for the past 10 years, he has worked extensively as a teacher, youth director, community leader and chaplain to help people better understand themselves and their spiritual journeys. Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, Numan has spent time with many people over the course of his studies and service. He has benefited from traditionally trained scholarship in the U.S., Egypt and West Africa as well as conventional academic institutions. Sabir Muhammad, the former American record holder and Short Course World Championship medalist, was elected to a four-year term on the board of the USA Swimming’s House of Delegates. Muhammad broke 10 American records throughout his career, becoming the first African American swimmer to set one in 1997 (100 butterfly). In 1998, along with seven Pac-10 titles, he added three NCAA records to his name. At the 2000 Short
Course World Championships, Muhammad collected a silver medal in the 400 free relay, as well as an individual bronze in the 50 fly, becoming the first African-American swimmer to medal at a major international meet. In 2009, Muhammad founded the Atlanta Swim School and taught hundreds of kids how to swim. He wrote a children’s book, “Born to Swim” (2010), and was inducted into the Georgia Aquatics Hall of Fame. The 47-year-old Louisville native (BA, Stanford; MBA, Emory University) works as a senior director at Magnite, an advertising technology company. Governor Greg Abbott appointed Dr. Rao Kamran Ali (founder and CEO, Premier Pain Center), to the Texas Physician Assistant Board. The board issues physician assistant licenses to qualified individuals to practice in Texas. Ali, a graduate of Pakistan’s Nishtar Medical University, is a double board-certified pain physician who did his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Montefiore Medical Center and fellowship in interventional pain medicine at Case Western University Hospital. He is a member of the Texas Pain Society, the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, the North American Neuromodulation Society and the Texas Medical Association. In addition, he’s the past president of the Richland County Medical Society. Azka Mahmood was appointed executive director of CAIR-Georgia, effective Oct. 16, 2023. As CAIR-Georgia’s deputy director since 2021, she’s an advocate for human and civil rights with a background in research, policy analysis and social inequalities. Previously, Mahmood served as the branch’s communication and outreach director. She has also worked as an ISPU researcher and educator to support activities that create awareness about Muslim Americans and created resources to combat Islamophobia. Prior to moving to Georgia, Mahmood served as the CAIR-Florida outreach coordinator. She succeeds Murtaza Khwaja, who has
joined Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta as their executive director. Prof. Syed Eqbal Hasan (professor, geoscience and director, Center for Applied Environmental Research, Department of Geosciences, University of Missouri) received the prestigious E. B. Burwell, Jr. Memorial Award for the publication of his textbook “Introduction to Waste Management. He also conducted a half-day Pardee Keynote Symposium titled “The Past, Present, and Future of Waste Management.” UMKC’s School of Science and Engineering organized a reception for his award. Hasan was honored for being the only scientist in the world to have solely authored two textbooks in the field of waste management. Alisha Khan, 21, was elected as the youngest member of Board of Education, New Brunswick, N.J. She is currently studying cognitive science and psychology at Rutgers University. She has served on the planning board, managing Covid testing sites in Middlesex County and has construction management experience in New Jersey. Saddam Azlan Salim, a first-generation American from Bangladesh, was elected to the Virginia State Senate. He attended Falls Church High School, where he was a track and field athlete and president of his graduating class. He has a MS from George Mason University, has served as co-chair to the Providence District and finance vice chair for Fairfax County Democratic Committee. He was also the founding member of both the FCDC AAPI and Black Caucuses. Currently, he is the second vice chair of the 8th Congressional District Democratic Committee, vice president of Fairfax Young Democrats, co-State director for South Asians for America and a board member for DemBiz Council.
Inas Younis, who immigrated from Iraq as a child, was elected to the City Council of Overland Park, Kansas. Her lifelong record of volunteerism spread into civic engagement in Overland Park. She is a journalist, has co-authored several children’s books and graduated from Leadership Overland Park, a six‐month program that informs, educates and prepares the region’s future leaders to meet new challenges. Her current volunteer pursuits include serving as the chair of the Friends of Overland Park Arts and board member with SevenDays. She also sits on the Overland Park Community Development Block Grant Advisory Committee and the Housing Choices advisory board for framework Overland Park. Osman Salahuddin, 27, was elected to the City Council of Redmond, Wash., a suburb of Seattle. He graduated from the University of Washington, where he served as student body president. He is now a coffee-shop owner as well as communications and community engagement manager for King County Councilmember Sarah Perry. ih
ISNA Monthly Sustainer – A Good Deed Done Regularly!
You can make an impact with as little as
$10 per month!
www.isna.net • (317) 839-8157
Convenient. Secure. Affordable.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
11
COVER STORY
12
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
MAKING SENSE OUT OF 21ST-CENTURY BARBARISM “I am Jewish, I’m not a Zionist, and I reject the idea that critiquing the politics of a government, the way you would any other government, is antisemitic. Israel is not a Jew, Israel is a state. The claim that it’s antisemitic is used as a cudgel to silence people and it’s really egregious, the way that they manipulate Jewish trauma.” — Rabbi Alissa Wise (“‘Not in our name’: Jewish peace activists across the US call for immediate ceasefire and justice for Palestinians.” Alaa Elassar, CNN, October 23, 2023)
M
BY EMIN POLJAREVIĆ
ore than a month into the genocide in Gaza, many readers now have access to countless narratives and stories from amateur journalists, social media influencers, survivors, refugees, medical staff, UN personnel and news anchors detailing the atrocities and mayhem of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the latter’s unyielding military assault. All of this is supported by thousands of firsthand accounts and statements from the Gazan authorities about the ensuing dreadful collective punishment and suffering of their people. One such witness was Dr. Hammam al-Louh, a medical doctor at Gaza City’s battered, besieged and breached Shifaa Hospital, who was tragically killed at the age of 36 on Nov. 13 while striving to save lives of sick and wounded Gaza residents. Representatives from international organizations such as UNWRA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), the Red Crescent, Amnesty International, UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders have provided additional information, insights and commentaries, all corroborating the numerous atrocities and war crimes committed by Israeli forces (www.truthaboutpalestine.com).
Local and international media outlets such as Al-Jazeera are tirelessly reporting and recording the Gazans’ struggle for survival. Al-Jazeera analysts such as Marwan Bishara repeatedly contextualized the economic and political logic driving the ongoing massacre of innocent civilians by the Israeli and, by proxy, American war machines. We can see how millions of morally outraged citizens worldwide demonstrate to push their various governments to stop
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
13
COVER STORY
the unyielding assault and blockade on what Jimmy Carter called the world’s largest “open-air prison.” We might think that these popular cries had some effect on the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) vote on the resolution to call for “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities.” In sum, 120 states voted in favor of it, 14 states (including the U.S.) opposed it and 44 abstained (https:// news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142847). It all makes sense, and yet, at the same time, it doesn’t! It’s a mystery. It makes no sense to hear how Ursula von der Leyen (president, European Commission) and Anthony Blinken (secretary of state, U.S.), together with other senior Euro-American officials, justify, condone and support Israel’s unrestrained blockade, bombardment and assault of the densely populated Gaza Strip. It especially makes no sense to see and hear the different set of standards employed by the same leaders and media outlets in relation to the year-long Russian occupation of eastern Ukraine and the 75-year-long settler colonialism and apartheid in the Palestinian territories (www.btselem.org). Some other 14
leaders, among them Gustavo Petro (president, Colombia) and Richard Boyd Barrett (Irish MP) simply call this apparent double-standard hypocrisy. It also makes no sense that EuroAmerican right- and some left-wing pundits, commentators and mainstream media outlets overwhelmingly view any criticism of Zionism and its political project as antisemitism; or that chants such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” are interpreted as calls for another holocaust; or that the BDS campaign has inherent antisemitic undertones (https://www.newyorker.com/ news/q-and-a/is-anti-zionism-anti-semitism). These assumptions are as senseless as they are mysterious. Why mysterious? There are numerous plausible and less plausible ways to answer this question. One way is to unpack how economic interests drive the ethnic cleansing and total annihilation of northern Gaza due to the discovery of energy deposits in Gaza’s waters, as posted by Victor Kattan (https://al-shabaka.org/; April 24, 2012); or that, according to Ari Rabinovitch and Nidal Al-Mughrabi (www. reuters.com/; Feb. 3, 2021), there are plans
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
to build a long-distance pipeline close to the northern Gaza border. Another way is to suggest that the Zionist project has entered a new phase, one that demands driving out the remaining refugees to complete the original 1948 Nakba (The Catastrophe). Yet another way is to consider the Zionist argument of security concerns vis-à-vis Hamas-governed Gaza that require physical incursions to destroy any resistance infrastructure. Or a number of other ways. Or all of the above. Answering this question is of lesser importance in comparison to understanding some of this mystery’s key parts, namely, the evident Euro-American powers’ cynicism, moral disregard, double standards and indifference to the Arab and Muslim peoples’ immense suffering. One key part of this mystery is to probe the Euro-American supremacist mindset. Consider this: During his Oct. 13, 2022 speech, Josep Borrell (high representative for foreign affairs and security policy) informed the European Diplomatic Academy that “Europe is a garden. We have built a garden. Everything works […] Most of the rest of the world is a jungle, and the jungle could
invade the garden. The gardeners should take care of it, but they will not protect the garden by building walls. A nice small garden surrounded by high walls in order to prevent the jungle from coming in is not going to be a solution. Because the jungle has a strong growth capacity, and the wall will never be high enough in order to protect the garden” (www.eeas.europa.eu; enter 14.10.2022). This revealing statement provides a glimpse into a version of Europe’s 21st-century colonial mindset — a mindset that translates into chauvinistic attitudes, policies and geopolitics. Perhaps, only perhaps, can our attempt to understand it explain some of this tangible Euro-American discrimination between conflict victims of European origin and those of Arab (or simply non-European) origin. The high level of Euro-American leaders’ moral outrage at the violence committed against Ukrainian and Israeli civilians versus the same leaders’ justification of civilian deaths on Gaza’s killing fields is astounding. After all, “Israel has the right to defend itself.” On what moral or material basis can anyone defend killing thousands upon thousands of children, women and innocents? Moreover, consider the analogy of Israelis “mowing the lawn” used by some analysts to explain this latest attack, as recounted in Yousef Munayyer’s Oct. 10, 2023, article (www.slate.com). This dehumanizing analogy fits well with Borrell’s analogy of the European gardeners’ mission. In this case, these “gardeners” are Israeli Zionists. The major problem here is that this particular horticultural venture has evolved into what Craig Mokhiber (who resigned as director in the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) calls “a textbook case of genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza. The current Zionist “gardening” mission started long before Oct. 7. It began slowly in 1917 (the Balfour Declaration), picking up pace during the waves of terrorist attacks in the 1920s and 1930s, until 1948, when the Zionists carved out the early borders of a version of Borrell’s “European garden.” Another event happened the same year. On Dec. 9, the UNGA adopted the Convention on Genocide, a term coined by the PolishJewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin just four years earlier. According to the Convention, “genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or
religious group.” Although this term was coined rather late in human history, it did exist much earlier. Some of the earliest calls for genocide can be found in the Old Testament, “Now go [King Saul], attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys” (1 Samuel 15:3). In this context, the reality of this verse’s fictionality is beside the point. The interesting part is that Netanyahu repeated its genocidal message, almost verbatim, in his televised address to the Israelis some 3,000 years later. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant made a similar call to his army — to mercilessly annihilate the “human animals” and “children of darkness” (i.e., the Palestinians). Several Israeli government officials have made similar statements. At a minimum, such statements are declarations of genocidal intent, as noted by Nicole Narea and Sigal Samuel in their Nov. 13 article “How to think through allegations of genocide in Gaza” (www.vox.com). And intent is the single most important criteria in legally establishing the case of genocide. This and other statements are at the center of three Palestinian organizations’ legal cases against Israel, submitted to the International Criminal Court on Nov. 8. The Palestinian human rights attorney and academic Noura Erekat is one of the experts involved (https:// www.democracynow.org/2023/11/10/ icc_lawsuit). It seems that Zionism, as an extension of the “European garden” in historic
Palestine, enjoys unconditional support from its Euro-American allies. The ideology has seemingly reached its apex. This is perhaps more evident in relation to the surrounding lands, where the shackled and helpless Arab and Muslim populations watch in horror at how their fellow brothers and sisters are being destroyed in real time. The evident impotence and/or unwillingness of the Arab Muslim leaders to act makes the Zionist project appear even more robust. This helplessness and impotence has allowed the Zionist garden’s numerous drudges and its collaborators outside Israel to uproot, mow, cut and prune the “jungle” and erase the “human animals” outside its walls in order to clear the “wilderness” and presumably steal even more territory from its indigenous populations. Zionists have publicly stated that ultimately and explicitly they want to expand into Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and even Egypt (Sinai). In the end, it seems meaningless to resolve the mystery of Euro-American leadership’s indifference and moral bankruptcy regarding the Palestinians’ right to be human (www. cjpme.org/fs_236/). The only meaningful act is to resist the Israeli apartheid system of oppression and domination, its dehumanizing colonial enterprise and the continuous Zionist humiliation and annihilation of Palestinians (www.alhaq.org, Report: “Israeli Apartheid: Tool of Zionist Settler Colonialism”). ih Emin Poljarević is an associate professor of Islamic studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
15
COVER STORY
DON’T PALESTINIAN WOMEN (AND THEIR CHILDREN) NEED SAVING? It seems that many Western feminists have forgotten how to speak BY MONIA MAZIGH
F
ollowing the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush waged a war on Afghanistan. To build and strengthen his military coalition, Bush convinced his allies that his “war on terror” was “also a fight for the rights and dignity of women,” as his wife Laura Bush explicitly mentioned in a radio address to the nation (The Washington Post, eMediaMillWorks, Nov. 17, 2001). It didn’t take long until his administration released report after report describing the Afghan women’s fate under the Taliban. Issues ranging from women’s access to health care to 16
ISLAMIC HORIZONS
girls denied education to the restriction of women’s freedom of movement were all denounced and explained at length as valid reasons to go for war and destroy a land and its inhabitants. Many feminists’ voices joined the chorus cheering for this “legitimate” war. A war that liberated Muslim women from their men, described in the media as savage and barbaric. The voices of Afghan women were dismissed. After all, what do they know about their rights and feminism? Can we really give a voice to women living among barbaric and savage men? Can the words
of these women suffering from “Stockholm Syndrome” be taken seriously? I remember vividly awkward conversations with progressive feminist friends who wanted to believe that this unjust war was going to liberate women. My religious affiliation, the same one shared by many Afghan women, made me de facto a delegitimized voice on the issue, a person brainwashed by my faith. I believed the fate of Afghan women would be better if left alone with no war. No matter how many times I repeated that those women are smarter than we think and don’t need others to save them, I felt ignored.
But I wasn’t the only one. Professor Lila Abu-Lughod famously asked in her article, turned into a book, “Do Muslim Women Need Saving?” (Harvard University Press: 2013). The role of some feminists in amplifying the call for war, thereby lending it legitimacy and support, was very problematic. When it came to Muslim women, everyone became a feminist and wanted to prove their moral superiority by demanding that Afghan women be saved even when many were killed during military operations; even when their fathers, husbands and relatives were killed by drones: even when bombs, malnourishment and disease killed their children.
(“Pregnant Women Suffer Gaza War” CNN, Oct. 17, 2023), as if the statistic of 1 child killed every 10 minutes is meaningless (“Israel Strikes Gaza, Children Victims,” Washington Post, Nov. 2, 2023). Ironically, on its website the Government of Canada states the following: “Canada is a member of the UN Secretary-General’s HighLevel Advisory Group for Every Woman Every Child. We support the roll out of the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health. This will ensure that all women, children and adolescents can survive, thrive, and reach their full potential” (https://www.international.gc.ca/).
The voices of Afghan women were dismissed. After all, what do they know about their rights and feminism? Can we really give a voice to women living among barbaric and savage men? Can the words of these women suffering from “Stockholm Syndrome” be taken seriously? For many of these feminists, the cost of the war was worth the liberation of Afghan women. Afghan women mattered to them only as a way to justify the war by serving, reluctantly, as pawns to advance white feminist theories and enhance the careers of politicians caught up in their visions of geopolitical domination and hegemony.
THE PLIGHT OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN
As the violent war between Israel and Hamas — which should be reframed as a long struggle of the Palestinian people to stay on their land confiscated by Israeli colonizers and settlers — escalates, the fate of Palestinian women, who, with their children, bear most of the cost and damages, is completely not part of the radar of many feminists. Despite some strong feminist voices who aren’t intimidated, like the American philosopher and gender studies scholar Judith Butler, who stated that a “genocide is taking place” with indiscriminate bombing, killing and starvation, many other intellectuals and feminists are silent (George Yancy, truthout.org, Oct. 31, 2023). What is worse is sometimes they are justifying the ongoing massacre, as if the fate of 52,000 pregnant Palestinians in Gaza doesn’t matter
How can these commitments and policies be coherent with Canada’s failure to demand, at the very least, a ceasefire? How about the $Can 3.5 billion the country spent between 2015-20 to improve the health and rights of women and children worldwide (“Canada’s 10-Year Commitment to Global Health and Rights,” https://www.international.gc.ca/)? Are Gaza’s women concerned by these funds or because of their mere existence in a territory of 2.2 million people that, within 28 days, has lived through the equivalence of a nuclear bomb (“Israel Hit Gaza Strip with the Equivalent of Two Nuclear Bombs,” https://euromedmonitor.org) make them a legitimate target excluded from the feminist policy about which Canada boasts? Or are we feminists only when the Other is oppressed by their fellow Muslims? But when Israel, a nuclear power, wages a war against Hamas, our feminist policy becomes invisible, inaudible and non-existent and the fate of Palestinian women is left to their God. Did we forget that in 2014, Ottawa made reducing maternal, newborn and child mortality the centerpiece of its international development policy? At that time, an international summit called “Saving Every
Woman, Every Child Within Arm’s Reach,” attracted specialists and public figures, including then-UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; Margaret Chan, then director-general of WHO; and Melinda Gates, co-chair of the then-Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (https: www.canada.ca, April 2014). But the country quickly forgot its previous commitments to Palestinian women, leaving them to have c-sections without anesthesia and under cellphone lights (https://jezebel. com/). Stories of them taking pills to delay their period for lack of privacy, lack of access to clean water and sanitary products are as common as they are worrisome for their health side effects (“No Privacy No Water Gaza Women Use Period Delaying Pills Amid War”, Oct. 31, 2023, https://www. aljazeera.com). As for their children’s education, the enthusiasm and tremendous support shown by some of our intellectuals and politicians when it came to calling for war against the Taliban to allow girls to attend school is non-existent today, when we learn that 4,000+ children have been killed so far in Gaza by Israeli bombardment and that most of the schools run by UNRWA have become shelters for families who either have lost or are afraid to stay in their homes. Needless to say, Gaza’s children are receiving no education because bombs continue to kill them or be dropped on their heads. Why such selective enthusiasm and feminism and girls’ rights? Why such hypocrisy in defending our principles? A few weeks ago, Adania Shibli, a Palestinian author who shares her time between Berlin and Jerusalem and was about to be receive the Frankfurt book fair’s LiBeraturpreis 2023 award for her “Minor Detail,” was “shut-off ” (“Palestinian Voices Shut Down at Frankfurt Book Fair Say Authors,” Oct. 15, 2023, https:// www.theguardian.com). As if Israel and its allies, including Canada, are punishing all Palestinian women for speaking out and raising men who would one day be potentially recruited by Hamas. As if Palestinian women aren’t women. As if Palestinian children do not deserve to live. ih Monia Mazigh, PhD, an academic, author, and human rights activist, is an adjunct professor at Carleton University (Ontario). She has published “Hope and Despair: My Struggle to Free My Husband, Maher Arar” (2008) and three novels, “Mirrors and Mirages” (2015), “Hope Has Two Daughters” (2017) and “Farida” (2020), which won the 2021 Ottawa Book Award prize for French-language fiction. She has recently published an essay/memoir “Gendered Islamophobia: “My Journey with a Scar(f)”was nominated for the Governor General Literary Non-fiction Award.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
17
COVER STORY
THE CRY OF THE OLIVE TREES Environmental ecocide in Palestine BY THE ISNA GREEN INITIATIVE TEAM
T
oday we are witnessing unjust wars, the degradation and exploitation caused by the Zionist apartheid state of not only a group of people and their economy, but also the violation of the rights of voiceless nature. This is causing the exponential rise of unsustainable practices, environmental degradation and biodiversity decline. Further choking the existence of the occupied people and their land is the added layer of climate change. High temperatures, increased rainfall, sea levels rising and increasing toxic wastes in the land have become unmanageable. The dehumanization and oppression of people deprived of human rights and the right of self-determination; illegal settler colonialism; restrictions on movement; the destruction of farmlands and the native biodiversity of fauna, flora and its pollinators
18
— to the dismantling of renewable energy infrastructure and an agricultural economy — is a direct result of an apartheid state, resulting in an ecocide. Ironically, under the facade of the victim, today the apartheid state is the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Part of the Fertile Crescent, the cradle of agriculture and civilization, Palestine is located at the intersection of continents and has five phytogeographical areas. Since 1948, those Palestinians surrounded by Israel have been living under its brutal occupation, where uprooting olive trees, demolishing homes (Rebuilding Alliance. org) and marauding Israeli settlers are being used to constrict the Palestinians’ economy and limit their access to food, clean water, hygiene and natural resources. Uprooting olive trees and choking off the water are tools for the ever-expanding boundaries of the
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
Zionist state, not a “Jewish state,” as stated by Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, spokesperson of Neturei Karta. This is not dissimilar to other stories of land acquisition, in particular apartheid South Africa, European colonialism, or slavery in the Americas and the same realities in the Ottoman and Arab empires. Archbishop Tutu said he saw “the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police officers prevented us from moving about.” Zoughbi Alzoughbi (founder and director, Wi’am: The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center), who once visited a Native American reservation, said, “I found a historical map showing the stages of land dispossession of the First Nation people ... To the staff and supporters of
Wi’am the message was obvious; both Native Americans and Palestinians were Native to their lands, colonized by another people, told there was a way to live peacefully together, then violently removed from their own land, then forced onto small reservations of land, then slowly had even that land taken away by home demolitions and new settler colonies, only to end up treated by the colonizers as obstacles to peace and not as people.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF OLIVE TREES
Olive trees are a primary source of income — about $12.3 million lost — for over 80,000 Palestinian families who rely on the olive harvest. According to UN figures, approximately 48% of the West Bank’s agricultural land is planted with olive trees. These trees account for 70% of Palestine’s fruit production and contribute approximately 14% to its economy. In addition, 93% of the harvest is used for olive oil production and the remaining 7% for local consumption. Olives, olive oil and olive wood are used to produce soaps, table olives, and pickles Since 1967, 800,000 olive trees and 2.5 million trees have been uprooted — supposedly for security reasons. Since 1995, 60% of Palestinians have lost farmland to Israeli settlements, walls, military zones, by-pass roads and other closures (MIFTAH and VisualizingPalestine.org). Israeli agricultural export companies such as Mehadrin and Hadiklaim are among the primary beneficiaries of the destruction of Palestinian agriculture — they export produce from illegal settlements using stolen Palestinian land and water, as well as profit from the siege on Gaza. Since October 2007 Palestinians have been unable to access their farmland (BDS & AlJazeera, Nov. 6, 2023). Israel has denied Palestinians access to their natural resources, including shared water resources, an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of oil reserves in the West Bank and more than $2.5 billion worth of natural gas off Gaza’s coast (UNPress, Oct. 17, 2022). As the Israeli government cuts off fuel supplies, Palestinians living in Gaza use rooftop solar panels to help access electricity. However, since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack Israeli forces have ordered a complete siege of Gaza, which has cut off electricity and fuel supplies and targets hospitals via the solar panels on the AlShifa Hospital (ClimateHomeNews). Writing in The Guardian [UK] on July
9, 2019, Miriam Berger reported that Israel sprays the buffer zone to allegedly deprive potential “terror elements” of cover; however, farmers in Gaza say doing so damages crops and livelihoods. Forensic Architecture, a research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London, stated that over the last five years Israeli planes have sprayed herbicides more than 30 times on the Israeli side of the buffer zone with Gaza. Even pri-
an olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touch it.” The Quran explains that humanity holds a privileged position among God’s creations — vicegerent (khalifa) — and that each person is entrusted with caring for God’s creation. And yet it repeatedly warns Muslims against hubris by asserting that they are no better than any other creature. The Prophet (salla
This is not dissimilar to other stories of land acquisition, in particular apartheid South Africa, European colonialism, or slavery in the Americas and the same realities in the Ottoman and Arab empires. vate rooftop home gardens are not spared. Israeli water construction is another way to strangle Palestinian agriculture so that Israel can acquire more land. Tel Aviv builds water pipelines through Palestinian lands that help destroy the land, a practice that constricts the Palestinians’ water use and causes the destruction of olive trees and ends a generational livelihood (Corradin, Camilla. Israel: Water as a tool to dominate Palestinians. AlJazeera News. 2016). Only an estimated 1% of solid waste is currently being recycled. The Israeli occupation has transformed the occupied Palestinian lands into a landfill for hazardous and toxic wastes and sewage since 1967. In fact, 60% of Israeli waste ends up in the occupied areas. This reality chokes the life of Palestinians while destroying the soil and poisoning and polluting the groundwater. Israel’s disposal of its wastes is a clear violation of international laws related to environmental protection (MiddleEast Monitor, 2018).
A SOLUTION
The Olive Tree is a symbol of peace in all Abrahamic faiths. The Torah says, “Even if you are at war with a city … you must not destroy its trees” (Deut 20:19-20). In Gen. 8:11-12, a dove returned an olive branch to Noah on the Ark, signaling the Flood’s end. Quran 24:35 proclaims, “The parable of His light is as if there were a niche within it a lamp: the lamp enclosed in glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: lit from a blessed tree,
Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) acknowledges that God’s knowledge and power covers everything. Therefore, abusing one of His creations, whether it is a living being or a natural resource, is a grave sin. Prophet Muhammad was a steadfast advocate of environmental justice, its preservation and conservation and environmental rights. He constantly sought to maintain a harmonious balance between all members of humanity and nature. He was a strong proponent of sustainable practices and equal access by all users of the environment. His words about the environment can be related to contemporary environmental issues. In closing, the solution lies in the cry of the olive trees. This cry denotes a non-diverse, colonialist worldview, the exact opposite of the Abrahamic traditions. Muslims, as followers of the middle way — as God’s khalifa — are obliged to safeguard the trust gifted by God. Killing innocent women and children is murder, which God abhors. Indiscriminate killing cannot be validated as self-defense by any side. May God bless the slaughtered humans— and the destroyed environment. “O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ‘get to’ know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware” (49:13). ih The ISNA Green Initiative Team comprises Huda Alkaff; Saffet Catovic; Nana Firman; Uzma Mirza; S. Masroor Shah (Chair).
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
19
COVER STORY
RAISING ACTIVISTS The importance of involving children in advocating for the oppressed
P
BY SUNDUS ABRAR
rotests calling for a ceasefire in Palestine are drawing increasing and diverse attendees. As Israeli attacks on Gaza continue with complete disregard for civilians and international law, Palestinians remain committed to broadcasting the atrocities inflicted upon them on social media. For Palestinian journalists, this task of accurately documenting the genocide takes precedence over their own personal safety. According to The Washington Post (Nov. 14, 2023), “At least 42 members of the media have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war since Oct. 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, making this past month the deadliest for journalists since it started gathering data in 1992.” Despite social media censorship and the mainstream media’s blatant efforts to suppress and discredit the content coming out of Gaza, the images and videos of the violence being inflicted upon Palestinians are circulating pervasively. A harrowing narrative is emerging, and the dire conditions are difficult to process. Some parents, out of concern for their young children’s emotional well-being, may decide not to share everything about these events. However, Fatmah Muhammad, a Palestinian-American residing in California, strongly encourages parents to involve and inform older children about advocating for the oppressed. “They think they are protecting their children, but who are these children going to be as grown adults? How is the ummah going to change if we are raising our youth to be complicit?” she asks. Muhammad grew up learning about Palestine through her parents, who were born and raised there. She participated in protests against Israel’s illegal occupation, but didn’t fully realize the extent of the occupation. When she first visited Palestine, aged 12, she came to an alarming awareness of the extreme restrictions they endure while living under constant surveillance and policing. Her children had a similar experience during their first trip in the summer of 2023. Her 10-year-old daughter Kareemah 20
Muhammad’s children, Jonah, Kareemah, Zakariyah and Rheyanah Williams protesting for Palestine.
was distraught when their car was stopped at a checkpoint while driving to Ramallah. Israeli soldiers pointed guns at them as they searched the car, before letting them go upon realizing that they were American citizens. “We told our cousins about what happened, and they told us this is the norm. We were so terrified,” shares Kareemah. Muhammad’s children feel a sense of privilege compared to their family in Palestine. “When I go there, I get treated nice. I feel that I don’t deserve to go there. I can move around and go places. We can leave checkpoints, but Palestinians who live there can’t go everywhere,” shares
12-year-old Zakariyah. Some people born in Palestine are even prevented from visiting the al-Aqsa Mosque. This imbalance is what propels Muhammad’s children to actively advocate for Palestinians.
NON-PALESTINIAN ACTIVISTS
“I don’t care if they become doctors, engineers or whatever they want to become. That’s secondary to me,” said Syed Rahman, an artist and parent of two in Chicago. “My primary concern is that I want them to be leaders in the ummah.” Rahman, whose family originates from Hyderabad, India, is also profoundly aware
Israelis have said over and over that the kids will forget about Palestine, but Allah wants it in our hearts because there is so much beautiful history [there]. It’s a blessed land, and I hope to see that my kids are in it till the end.”
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
of his privilege. Living as expats in Saudi Arabia, his parents couldn’t discuss politics openly or protest. Rahman is grateful for his parents’ efforts to immigrate to the U.S. “They struggled so I don’t have to.” A dedicated philanthropist, Rahman is also founder of the popular small business @ModernWallArt, which sells unique Islamic art. Having garnered a significant audience on the business’s social media account, he utilizes his reach to raise awareness and fundraise. Through the contributions from his online and immediate community, he has raised over $1 million for Human Concern International (HCI) for aid in Gaza. In collaboration with Jannah Circle, a Muslim women’s nonprofit, on Nov. 4, 2023 Rahman hosted an impromptu charity bazaar in his warehouse space in Skokie, Ill. Participating vendors donated all or at least part of their proceeds. Though the event coincided with the largest protest in Washington, D.C., it still drew over 500 attendees and raised $20,000. Rahman and his wife Mehreen Bukhari are keen on educating their daughter Ilyana, 6, about Palestine. Bukhari is forthcoming in her unwavering efforts to advocate for Palestinians, “I boycotted Starbucks before and then stopped. I would go to protests, but then when the ceasefire was announced I’d stop following up.” These fluctuations fuel her urgency to involve youth in activism. “I didn’t learn about it growing up. It’s only now that I am in my 30s that I am more aware and able to advocate for oppressed people. We can’t delay any change the next generation can bring.” She believes that their charity bazaar provided an opportunity for young kids to also learn about the situation in Palestine.
DIVERSIFIED ACTIVISM
In addition, Muhammad has diversified her activism while continuing to participate in protests. She has an immense following on her social media @KnafehQueens, where she markets her business that sells knafeh, a famous Palestinian dessert. On her Instagram account, she has sought to inform her followers and engage those who are new to the cause. “I am trying to bring up the cause to people at different levels of awareness. Not everyone can talk politics,” says Muhammad. “By taking a public stance, I have lost some customers, but I trust in Allah.” She has encountered abuse and threats online, but
Muhammad and her family visiting the village, Al Mazarah Al Sharkiya, where her parents were born and raised.
Syed Rahman is always on the forefront to raise awareness and funds for a good cause.
remains firm in doing all that she can to raise awareness. “People have told me you should be careful. But this is my duty.” Her daughter Rheyanah, 17, is also engaging the community by organizing protests, fundraisers and qiyams. Muhammad cautions her daughter to find a balance with her academics, but is also immensely reassured by her children’s dedication. “It gives me hope. Israelis have said over and over that the kids will forget about Palestine, but Allah wants it in our hearts because there is so much beautiful history [there]. It’s a blessed land, and I hope to see that my kids are in it till the end.” Like many others, she too draws her motivation from the Palestinians who, while living under the grueling conditions of oppression, continue to be resilient and retain their spirit of hospitality and kindness. She shares the welcome her family received during their trip to Palestine. “How they lead their lives every day is beautiful. The ones who have the least will give you the most,” she said. More people are gaining awareness of the severe oppression Palestinians have been living under for the past 75 years. The diversity at protests and the increased conversations online are a reassuring indicator of this. Every parent knows how much to share with each child, but there has to be some level of awareness in all Muslim children. Several parenting blogs and authors like Noor Kids have shared simple ways of explaining the
occupation to young children. They don’t need to see graphic, violent images, but they do need to be aware. As parents living comfortable lives thousands of miles away, this is the least we can do. ih Sundus Abrar has an undergraduate degree in professional writing and aspires to generate dialog around current concerns within the Muslim community.
ISNA Monthly Sustainer – A Good Deed Done Regularly!
You can make an impact with as little as
$10 per month!
www.isna.net • (317) 839-8157
Convenient. Secure. Affordable.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
21
COVER STORY
CARTOONS, COMEDIES AND CINEMA Retracing the origin of Jewish-Muslim animosity BY NOOR SAADEH Dear reader, as I take pen to paper in early November, only God knows where we will be by the time this writing reaches you. ehind the sound bites and agenda-driven propaganda, where did all of this supposed “ancient Jewish-Muslim animosity” begin? Muslims know there is no basis behind this trope, for among the People of the Book, only the Muslims assured the Jews of the safety and freedom to live and worship as their religion and culture required. There were no pogroms as in Czarist Russia or being forced to live in ghettos, as is generally still the case in the U.S. (https://www.urban.org/). Muslims ruled Jerusalem for centuries in relative peace and security. Sultan Bayezid II even sent the Ottoman navy, commanded by Kemal Reis, to Spain to rescue all the Jews expelled after the Reconquista. Additionally, fleeing Jews found homes in Morocco, Palestine and other Muslim lands (Vernon Eggar, A History of the Muslim World Since 1260: I recall reading “No Jews Allowed” signs in The Making of a Global Community, 2008, northern Wisconsin’s resort areas and abhorp. 82). Muslims also helped Jews get out of ring nearby Oshkosh’s hateful KKK parades. Nazi Germany and other occupied European The 2024 Republican National Convention countries (“Last Train to Istanbul,” Ayşe will be held in Milwaukee, a Donald Trump Kulin and John W. Baker, 2013). stronghold. Yet in 1960 “Exodus,” a very Given these facts, how did Muslims emotional but mostly fictional blockbuster become the target of such vitriol, animosity film, debuted in theaters nationwide. It was and violence? Former prime minister Ariel hailed an Oscar winner, boasting handsome Sharon (2001-06) and his contemporaries actors and a tear-jerker plot accompanied by cemented the qualifier “terrorist” to “Muslim.” a memorable soundtrack that so pulled at More importantly, how did Americans so the audience’s heart strings that it was set to enthusiastically ally themselves with undis- lyrics. It made the Top 10 charts. Puzzled, I puted political and financial support to Israel began to see friends sprouting Star of David and reiterate the Zionist narrative? necklaces and bracelets. Classmates admitted The Midwest in the 50s was a different their dream of joining a kibbutz to help kill time. I confess, I was a baby boomer. In very those nasty Arabs. This was the blonde-blueEurocentric Wisconsin, we were children of eyed Sundown Town of my youth? “Exodus, Dutch, German, Scandinavian and Polish often characterized as a ‘Zionist epic,’ has immigrants. Nary a dark face appeared in been identified by many commentators as a sea of blonde hair and blue eyes. Reading having been enormously influential in stim“Sundown Towns,” the premise of which is ulating Zionism and support for Israel in that no person of color could remain within the U.S. Richard L. Coe stated that the film a city’s limits after sunset, I was shocked to ‘has this vitality of the immediate and will be learn that my hometown had remained a of incalculable influence in reaching those unfamiliar with the background of Israel ... Sundown Town until the early 70s.
B
22
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
It is safe to say that in several years, when this film will have played much of the world, its influence will have become critical’” (The Washington Post March 5, 1961). While Preminger’s film softened the anti-British and anti-Arab sentiment of the novel, the film remains contentious for its depiction of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
HOLLYWOOD
Jewish moguls used to play a prominent and often leading role in much of the American film industry’s development. But where, when and how was this country’s negative opinion and stereotyped caricature of the Arab (i.e., Muslim) formed that led to today’s mind-boggling support of Israel’s occupation, apartheid and genocide? The book and documentary of the same name: “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People,” which “analyzes 1,000 films that have Arab and Muslim characters, produced between 1896 and 2000, out of which great majority, 936 titles, were negative in their portrayal, arguing that the slander of Arabs in American filmmaking has existed since the early days of the silent cinema and is present in the biggest Hollywood blockbusters today. Shaheen analyzes a long series of ‘demeaning’ images of Arabs through his presentation of various scenes from different American movies … showing Arabs as bandits, as a savage, nomadic race, and Arab women as shallow belly dancers serving evil, naïve, and greedy Arab sheiks. Most important is the image of the rifle in the hands of Arab ‘terrorists.’ The film then attempts to explain the motivations behind these stereotypes about Arabs, and their development at key points in American history, as well as why it is so important today…” Cartoons, also largely produced, written and directed by Jews, were created for the young but with some mature and darkthemed undertones. Arabs (aka Muslims) were never spared. One particularly offensive Popeye cartoon revolved around halfclothed “natives,” turban-topped heads, making their exaggerated obeisance to King Popeye uttering “Salaami, salaami, bologna.” Remarking to a colleague that Muslims greet each other with salaam, her memory went right to the same cartoon as she gleefully repeated those words. I quickly explained how very offensive that was while giving her all the excuses, because she had no idea. She had been programmed. As had we all. Epic blockbusters like “El Cid,” set during
racist jokes. Not because they are offensive. I don’t like them because they’re not funny. Comedy is an intellectual pursuit. Not a platform” (“The Difference Between American and British Humour,” Time, Nov. 9, 2011). Not exactly the type of Islamic personality so beautifully outlined in Surat al-Hujrat (Quran, Chap. 49).
SARCASM AND SEINFELD
Our tastes have changed ever so gradually. Our sensitivities have become fewer. It’s just a joke. Can’t you take a joke? But from these beginnings sprang the Charlie Hebdos, the Quran burnings, and the caricatures of the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). the fall of Islamic Spain, brought everyone’s favorite Hollywood Epic hero Charlton Heston (of ” Ten Commandments” fame), as the dashing and eventual martyr/hero of the Spanish Reconquista. Again, another stirring soundtrack and handsome hero, (and who was ever more handsome or cast as much as Heston in these Biblical biggerthan-life roles?) and who won the day for the beautiful señora against the dark and very evil Moors (aka Muslim). Enter the “cute,” funny and often self-hating Jewish personality and comedian. The much-maligned Woody Allen comes to mind. The founders of American comedy acts are a Who’s Who of familiar names largely from the Jewish community (https://www.the famouspeople.com/jewish-comedians.php). What comprises American humor? Comedian Ricky Gervais summarizes this well: “We tease our friends. We use sarcasm as a shield and a weapon. We avoid sincerity until it’s absolutely necessary. We mercilessly take a shot at people we like or dislike basically. And ourselves. This is very important.
Our brashness and swagger is laden with equal portions of self-deprecation. This is our license to hand it out. This can sometimes be perceived as nasty if the recipients aren’t used to it. It isn’t. It’s pretend fighting. It’s almost a sign of affection if we like you, and ego bursting if we don’t. You just have to know which one it is. I’m not one of those people who think that comedy is your conscience taking a day off. My conscience never takes a day off and I can justify everything I do. There’s no line to be drawn in comedy in the sense that there are things you should never joke about. There’s nothing that you should never joke about, but it depends what that joke is. Comedy comes from a good or a bad place. The subject of a joke isn’t necessarily the target of the joke. You can make jokes about race without any race being the butt of the joke. Racism itself can be the butt, for example. When dealing with a so-called taboo subject, the angst and discomfort of the audience is what’s under the microscope. Our own preconceptions and prejudices are often what are being challenged. I don’t like
Although in the early days the butt of jokes were wives, mothers-in-law and self-deprecation, a new comedian arose ridiculing everyone and everything — the Jerry Seinfeld comedian. Americans came to love them. Sarcastic, ego-driven and master of the put down. No one was safe, not even parents. And especially not God. God forbid. Everyone became fair game, and these odd anti-heroes joined the rich and famous. Nowadays they come at us in sitcoms, movies, ads and nightclubs. We fill stadiums to hear them and laugh, sometimes embarrassingly, at their dark humor and foul language, which has also become the norm and changed our very vocabulary. Our tastes have changed ever so gradually. Our sensitivities have become fewer. It’s just a joke. Can’t you take a joke? But from these beginnings sprang the Charlie Hebdos, the Quran burnings and the caricatures of the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). If we reflect, it’s not so innocent or funny or heroic. And for this writer, it leads us right to where we are today ... and why our fellow Americans simply don’t comprehend the lack of humanity paraded before our eyes every day. Returning to Hollywood and the new multibillion dollar industry of gaming, we’ve been so overexposed to violence, torture and killing that we’ve become immune. We no longer even flinch. Can you find any offerings without violence, language, gender identity on any platform? From our own young U.S. soldiers (“Post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) is one of the most common health diagnoses U.S. service members receive. Research shows that 5-20% of service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have developed the condition” (https://www. mcleanhospital.org/ ) to the Israeli military, the rate of PTSD is rising from the inordinate level of brutality and murder they commit (“The PTSD-stricken Israeli soldiers who wake up screaming,” Gloria Tessler, Dec. 29, 2022, The Jewish Chronicle). All for the love of nation and homeland, driven by the obliging media-filled propaganda.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
23
COVER STORY Following the wide public acceptance of the movie “Exodus,” Jews became emboldened and entered the field of active dawa in American churches, gradually entering the public sphere. But not as the traditional Christ Killer. Even the Pope exonerated them (“Pope book says Jews not guilty of Jesus Christ’s death,” Phillip Pullela, March 2, 2011, https:// www.reuters.com/), all part of the now widely accepted Judeo-Christian heritage on which the U.S. was supposedly founded and continues today (The Y Rebrands Itself, But Where Did the C Go?” YMCA of South Hampton Roads, ymcashr.org). However, knowledge is power. Firstly, Iqra, read. Then, as God reiterates, hear, see, think! Taddabbur! Let’s not be guilty of absorbing this propaganda or being blind and/or helpless in the face of the machinations all around us. Muslims must learn our real history and reclaim our narrative. Read, listen, watch. Social media abounds with platforms. A few notables — Blogging Theology, The Thinking Muslim and Middle Nation — present thinkers, scholars, historians, political analysts and real experts in their respective fields. They’re not your 5- or 10-minute YouTube videos. They demand time, attention and taddabbur; however, God requires this. They’ll change your mind, enlighten and inspire you. We’re going to need all this information in the days ahead to turn the tide of propaganda so well and patiently established by the Children of Israel. ih Noor Saadeh is writer, speaker and co-owner of Noorart.
24
ISLAMIC HORIZONS FIRST ESSAY CONTEST
SEEING THROUGH THE TRANSPARENT CURTAIN Bay Area Teen Launches Clothing Line for Palestine
T
BY MUHAMMAD HADI
he death of a single person casts a shadow over a community, drawing people together in shared grief. When a family is lost, the community’s fabric is torn, left with a wound that struggles to heal. Yet what happens when whole generations are systematically wiped from existence? The pain and loss are magnified, yet the response from those powerful enough to make a difference is often muted, hidden behind justifications and political tapestries. Innocent children, whose only understanding of the night sky was the stars, are now acquainted with the darkness of man’s inhumanity. Their laughter and dreams, once so vibrant, now lay buried under the weight of rubble and indifference. The world, it seems, looks away, unable to face its reflection in the tragedy. These images and stories haunted me, a relentless stream of what seemed like distant problems. And yet they were all too real for those living them. “We can’t do anything” becomes a convenient curtain to hide behind. But I saw through it every time I closed my eyes and every time I heard the news. It was a lie told to soothe the world’s disquieted conscience, a shield against the harsh truth that we are all, in some way, connected to these distant tragedies.
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
a flicker of inspiration for me, a way to express my creativity and individuality. But as I grew more attuned to the cries for help echoing from lands I’d never walked, that flicker transformed into a blaze of determination.
HOBBY TO PLATFORM
As a student in the Bay Area, already immersed in Islamic multimedia and juggling academic pressures, I felt the pull of these global issues. They demanded more than my attention; they demanded my voice and my action. I realized that my daily struggles, exams and projects paled in comparison to the plight of those who had lost everything. The idea of starting a clothing brand had once been
What started as a cool hobby began to morph into a brand in my mind. It was no longer just about fashion or trends; it became a potential platform, a way to merge my creative impulses with my deepening desire to effect change. Between classes, I sketched designs, each line drawn being a silent pledge to the cause I was slowly, but surely, embracing. I found myself staying up late, my mind racing with ideas of how to use this platform for something bigger, something meaningful. As the months unfolded, LUMOS started to really come into its own. The name, meaning “light,” became symbolic of my aspirations. I wanted LUMOS to be a source of light in the darkness, a spark of hope against despair. It wasn’t just a label; it was a statement, a commitment to shed light on the harsh realities that seemed to be shrouded in the shadows of the world’s attention. The brand began to represent a beacon of awareness, illuminating the stories that were otherwise overlooked. Infusing garments with stories that matter became my mission. Using the language of design to speak truths that words
It was about clothing that felt good not just in texture, but in the conscience. Every sale, every thread, every color choice was intentional, designed to capture attention, to spark dialogue, to make people stop and think and, hopefully, to act. It was fashion with heart, style with soul, and threads with a cause.
alone couldn’t capture, each piece from LUMOS was more than just part of someone’s wardrobe. They were conversation pieces, quiet yet powerful advocates for those whose voices were being drowned out. I wanted each design to be impactful, to resonate with the wearer and the observer, to start conversations and challenge perceptions. LUMOS was set to be a line of clothing that did more than just look good. It was about clothing that felt good — not just in texture, but in the conscience. Every sale, every thread, every color choice was intentional, designed to capture attention, to spark dialogue, to make people stop and think and, hopefully, to act. It was fashion with heart, style with soul, and threads with a cause. The intersection where aesthetics met ethics, where every item carried the potential to light up not just an outfit, but also a path to change. The rallies — the outpouring of support for the world’s oppressed — were a turning point. It was a global call to
action, and it spurred me into motion. LUMOS was no longer just an idea; it had become a necessity. I rallied my friends, classmates and community members. Together, we poured our collective passion into making it a reality. I was inspired to see fellow students, previously uninvolved, dedicating hours to support this cause. They went out of their way to promote our first event, ensuring that our community was aware and engaged. Our first event was more than just a sale; it was a statement. The community’s response was overwhelming. They didn’t just buy clothes; they bought into an idea, a movement. We nearly sold out what was merely a preview of our brand, and the proceeds — more than $400 — went straight to emergency humanitarian aid. This event was proof that even as students, our actions could resonate. It was a testament to the power of collective action and a beacon of hope for the future. As we prepare for our official launch, I stand ready to weave our message into the
broader tapestry of social consciousness. With designs that champion unity and echo the moral imperatives of our faith, we seek to dress the world not just in clothes, but in hope, solidarity and action. Our upcoming collections will continue to fundraise, educate and rally a community of believers in the power of change. Through LUMOS, we’re not just creating fashion; we’re creating a movement. We’re changing the narrative, proving that even the
smallest of voices can make the loudest of echoes. The world may whisper, “We can’t do anything,” but through LUMOS, I shout back, “Watch us.” ih Muhammad Hadi, first prize winner in the Islamic Horizons “Palestine on my mind” writing contest, is a multimedia content creator based in Bay Area, Calif. For the last six years, he has started and grown projects for youth, including a podcast interviewing Muslims in tech, medicine, animation, education and more. He is currently a senior in high school, and working as a growth engineer at a Y Combinator-backed startup. His Palestine-themed clothing line is available at https://lumoswear.com/.
ISNA Monthly Sustainer – A Good Deed Done Regularly!
You can make an impact with as little as
$10 per month!
www.isna.net • (317) 839-8157
Convenient. Secure. Affordable. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
25
COVER STORY
PAINTING FOR PALESTINE Channeling helplessness into art BY FERYAL ABOSHAMA
I
n 2021, I would scroll through social media and watch my people be hurt and bleed for simply existing and standing up for what they believe. Every night tears uncontrollably slipped down my face as I thought about the Palestinians. I would cry silently, feeling helpless and guilty, and constantly wake feeling guilty for being blessed with another chance to wake up, while millions of Palestinians either didn’t or, if they did, woke up orphaned and alone. All I could do was watch the people protecting our Holy Land die gruesome, inhumane deaths that traumatized the children and made them fear for the future they won’t have. I constantly questioned myself and wondered what I could do, because a simple social media post that only took a second to upload didn’t satisfy me. And so I turned to doing the only thing I could do at that moment: making protest posters with different sayings, like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” “75 years is enough,” “Free my people” and plenty of other sayings, all painted in Palestinian colors. I then went on to paint a canvas to donate or sell for the Palestinian cause — but I kept the first one.
EVERY STROKE
That painting depicted a tattered Palestinian flag in the background. On top, in bright white, it said “Free My People” with the shape of Palestine as the period. Every stroke of red reminded me of the unnecessary bloodshed. Every stroke of black reminded me of the smoke filling the air and the lungs of 26
When I was younger, my parents taught me about Palestine. They told me when I fight for what I believe in, to fight like a Palestinian, to have patience like a Palestinian, to smile like a Palestinian, and leave it to God.
innocent Palestinian adults and children. Every stroke of green reminded me of the olive trees that used to stand as strong as the people fighting for their rights. Every stroke of white reminded me of every kafan (the cloth used to wrap the deceased) wrapped around an innocent life that departed too soon. Every stroke filled me with rage and sadness — rage because that isn’t what these colors represent, and sadness because that is what I am now constantly reminded of. While I still found myself feeling guilty, I turned to art, and
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
day by day continued channeling that pain and sorrow in my art pieces, converting those emotions into hope ... a hope that every Palestinian holds with pride, knowing that one day, with God’s Will, they will be freed. Now, every day I turn on my phone and go straight to Instagram for real-time information. I would never have done this before, but here I am. Opening the app, I go through different Palestinian journalists’ accounts from Bisan to Motaz to Plestia and so many others who’ve become household names. Constantly praying and making
dua for them, I hope that next account won’t be about another 1,000 quickly dismissed deaths. One quote has stayed with me: “Even if the world was against me, I would still fight for what I stand for, until death.” I’ve always stood with Palestine, and will to the day I die. When I was younger, my parents taught me about Palestine. They told me when I fight for what I believe in to fight like a Palestinian, to have patience like a Palestinian, to smile like a Palestinian and leave it to God. Even back then I knew I had to fight for Palestine because, although I’m not Palestinian, they are my people — not just because I’m Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern, but especially because I’m a human being who cares for all of humanity. This means that when my brother or sister gets hurt, I feel their pain. Today, I live in a constant state of awareness, gratefulness and dua. I’m aware of everything going on in Palestine, as well as everything I’ve taken for granted while innocent people don’t have an ounce of what I do. I’m grateful for every day I get to wake up and be with my family. I make dua that everyone in Palestine continues to fight with the strength provided by God. I pray for the day I get to see Palestine free. ih Feryal Aboshama, the second prize winner of the Islamic Horizons writing contest, attends Eman Schools in Fishers, Ind. She will soon be going to university to study neuroscience and psychology, with a minor in Arabic.
FEATURE
White Supremacy and Black Victimhood Unpacking race and racism in the Muslim American community BY JIMMY E. JONES “Except his [Lut’s] wife, who we have ascertained will be of those who will lag behind.” (15:60) he sad story of Prophet Lut’s to young boys like me who dared to violate (‘alayhi as salaam) wife appears in all the prevailing racial norms. Even though I of the Abrahamic scriptures. I grew was only 9 years old at the time, the horrific up in a Black Baptist Church in Bible Jet magazine open casket picture of Till’s Belt Virginia during the 1950s and 1960s. brutalized 14-year-old body was traumatizConsequently, after I converted to Islam ing. The image was so powerful that it still in the 1970s, I was reacquainted with the impacts my interactions with White women powerful lesson embedded in this import- almost 70 years later. Such was White supremacy’s nature in a ant narrative: No matter how righteous or God-conscious your relatives are, it’s state where Whites and Blacks were jailed still possible for you to be so caught up if they intermarried. This reality lasted up in “looking back” at what displeases God until June 12, 1967, when the U.S. Supreme that you end up “stuck” like a pillar in the Court in Loving v. Virginia banned such problematic past. anti-miscegenation laws nationwide. Even When it comes to race relations in the though White supremacy was particularly Muslim American community, it seems that detrimental to Black people, its negative many African-American Muslims and their impact also affected others. “allies” are too fixated on “looking back” For example, eugenics, the science of at the twin American sins of slavery and “improving the race,” became a very popular segregation. Therefore, they often do not movement in the 1920s. In fact, 30+ states focus on the powerful positive perspective (led by Virginia) passed involuntary sterilthat Islam brings to this very sensitive, polit- ization laws to rid society of “defectives” (e.g., ically-charged issue. Consequently, many immigrants, blind, deaf, “feeble minded”). of us are so honed in on White supremacy A 1927 U.S. Supreme Court case, Buck v. and Black victimhood that we remain a bit Bell, involved a poor young White girl that stuck in a narrative that fails to move us Virginia wanted to legally sterilize. This case forward. In this article, I intend to unpack became a major catalyst for the eugenics both of these concepts in a way that might movement. “Liberal” Supreme Court Justice facilitate building a stronger, more cohesive Oliver Wendell Holmes famously stated in Muslim community. the court’s written opinion that “Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” WHITE SUPREMACY These words, and the ruling in which Given my life as a young Black boy growing they were contained, led to 70,000+ forced up in the legally segregated South, I knew sterilizations of the “unfit,” a practice that White supremacy quite well. Us “colored” lasted until the 1970s. All of this was done by children attended underfunded schools using the authority of various state laws. This using books and supplies cast off by our pseudoscientific movement is meticulously White counterparts across town. When I documented in Edwin Black’s “The War encountered a White person in downtown Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Roanoke, Va., I knew better than to obstruct Campaign to Create a Master Race” (Four their path or get too close. Walls Eight Windows: 2003). Even liberal In addition, the racially motivated brutal intellectual luminaries at Harvard, Yale and murder of Emmett Till on Aug. 28, 1955, Stanford were ardent advocates of this “racial was a terrifying reminder of what happens improvement” effort.
T
28
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
The point here is that while “White supremacy” was a powerful negative phenomenon for Black people, it was also used to suppress and murder others. For instance, lynching is usually associated with Black repression. However, according to The Stanford Daily initially, it was actually more frequently used in the western part of the country against Mexicans before and after the Reconstruction (stanforddaily.com, May 19, 2022). Thus, White supremacy has always been about more than just Black and White.
BLACK VICTIMHOOD
Perhaps the most stunning outcome of the de jure segregation system that I endured during my formative years was that I never considered myself a victim. The people who nurtured me at home, in school and at the High Street Baptist Church that I attended never allowed me to focus on the fact that I was treated as a second-class citizen. Instead, they insisted that I strive to be the best I could be, no matter what the circumstances. Consequently, we all understood that excellence was the standard for every one of us young Black children. This refuse-to-be-a-victim attitude is in stark contrast to that of some of the Black leaders and their “allies” in the Muslim American community today, who often
This refuse-to-be-a-victim attitude is in stark contrast to that of some of the Black leaders and their “allies” in the Muslim American community today, who often portray us as primarily victims of White supremacy and immigrant interlopers who adopt White supremacist attitudes.
portray us as primarily victims of White supremacy and immigrant interlopers who adopt White supremacist attitudes. Far too little emphasis is placed on the value that we currently add to the Muslim community and the broader American society. Racism toward us is still a real and persistent scourge in both contexts. However, if you adopt the narrative presented by many African-American Muslim leaders and their “allies,” you would think that most Muslim “immigrants” are “anti-Black” and that most Blacks are very poor. For a more optimistic view, consider the census data used by Eugene Robinson in his stereotype-shattering book “Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America” (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group: 2011). The data he references support the central thesis of the book’s first chapter: “Black America doesn’t live here anymore.” In the chapter, he asserts that by 2010, middle-class Black Americans had become the Black community’s largest segment. Racism is still a serious, deadly problem in this country. However, things have gotten a little better.
FACING FORWARD
If we Muslims want to avoid the fate of Prophet Lut’s(‘alayhi as salaam) wife, I strongly urge our community’s members
to come together across ethnic boundaries in order to construct a more inclusive multicultural future for us and for all Americans by focusing on some Islamically inspired concepts that we all know quite well: ■ When it comes to the Qur’an and biology, there is no such thing as “race.” As pointed out in 4:1, all humans were created from a single being and its mate. Thus, “race” is indeed a social construct. ■ Even though Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) clearly loved his people and place of birth, he never put his cultural allegiance above the shahada, which encourages Muslims to be in one mutually supportive community. ■ A binary approach to solving the country’s racial issues (e.g., “You are either a racist or an anti-racist,” as per the currently popular author Ibram X. Kendi in his bestselling book “How to be an Antiracist”) will lead to even more racial animus. We should heed the lessons in the oft-quoted 49:13, that we are created as nations and tribes as a test of whether we can get to know one another. ■ As witnesses for all humanity (2:143), Muslims are obliged to step up and have tough conversations around race that will lead to healing, rather than to increased bitterness and blaming (see Harlan Dalton’s “Racial Healing” [Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group: 1996] for an excellent discussion of how this might happen). We should all take time to learn about the complex history of race relations in this country through books like Matthew Frye Jacobson’s “Whiteness of a Different Color” (Harvard University Press: 1999) or videos like the excellent three-part PBS series “Race: The Power of an Illusion” (2003).
Further, as a Muslim African-American, I believe that we are better off if we focus on the value we bring to a situation, as opposed to acting like “victims” who need to be protected from “micro-aggressions” and be given “safe spaces.” Black victimhood is not the best response to White supremacy. ih Jimmy E. Jones, DMin, is executive vice-president and professor of comparative religion and culture at The Islamic Seminary of America, Richardson, Texas.
ISNA Monthly Sustainer – A Good Deed Done Regularly!
You can make an impact with as little as
$10 per month!
www.isna.net (317) 839-8157
Convenient. Secure. Affordable.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
29
FEATURE
Muslim African Americans Have Many Miles to Go Much effort is needed to make African Americans part of the American fabric BY LUKE PETERSON
T
he African American experience in the U.S.has been connected to the practice of Islam, particularly Sunni Islam, since before the country’s foundations. It is known, for example, that between the years 1701 and 1800, millions of Africans were brought to what became the U.S, through the inhumane commercial exchange known as the Triangular Trade — the three-legged British-Africa-America route that made up the Atlantic slave trade — which saw trafficked and abused Africans in bondage traded as property to wealthy elites throughout the American colonies. Through the kidnap, rape and pillage committed by the European slavers, this widespread and shameful practice (which was not, as is sometimes suggested, limited to plantation owners in the ante-bellum American South) brought thousands of observant Muslims to the Americas against their will. In all, some suggest that as many as 3 million African Muslims were kidnapped 30
and deposited across the Americas and the Caribbean throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries (Sylviane A Diouf, “Muslims in America: A forgotten history, Feb. 10, 2021). As many as 30% of Africans trafficked in chattel slavery during this period were Muslims, many of whom documented their experiences in writing. Historians and chroniclers like Ayuba Suleiman Diallo and Bilali Mohammad recorded their experiences as slaves in America, leaving behind both words and deeds instructing subsequent generations about slavery, black identity and, critically, early American Islam. Other records show Arabic served as a clandestine lingua franca for maintaining Islamic traditions while also eluding abusive slave owners, who classified literacy as a criminal activity. Others still, some freed and many still enslaved, fought under the banner of the U.S. during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and during the Civil War to decide, once and for all, their freedom and
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
their future within this country. Traditional Arabic and Islamic names are documented across military muster rolls from those bloody conflicts as testimony to their presence in this country’s earliest armies. A view into 21st-century’s America’s cultural and political milieu, however, would see the denial of Islam’s long presence here, as it would seek to treat African American Muslims as something exotic or other within the national religious and cultural fabric. And though it may be true that the vast majority of African Americans have traditionally identified as Christian (79% of the community, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center study), Islam has remained both a visible and stable presence within the African American community throughout the 20th century. Indeed, some African American leaders identified Islam as their people’s natural religion, leading to the foundation of its most famous offshoot, the Nation of Islam, founded in Detroit during the 1930s. While many regard its teachings as heretical, the Nation’s influence in the black American community grew during the 1950s and 1960s under the leadership of Malcolm X — who many consider charismatic — among other prominent Civil Rights figures. After returning from hajj, though, Malcolm X renounced the Nation’s teachings and encouraged his followers to convert to traditional Sunni Islam. He also changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, sought to end internal strife among the various camps working toward equality for African Americans and attempted to create a unified movement across disparate civic and social movements. This message of unity and the threat he continued to pose to the conservative, white establishment, may well have sealed his fate as a conspiracy of operatives assassinated the visionary leader at the Audubon Ballroom
in Harlem on February 21, 1965. Three members of the Nation were convicted, but long-standing evidence suggests that they were not the sole perpetrators of the crime. And in June 2022, two of those convicted for the murder, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam, were exonerated and subsequently awarded a large cash settlement by the state and city of New York.
THINGS BEGIN TO CHANGE
This reversal of fortune coincided with a sea of change in political representation for the Black Muslim community. Specifically, midterm elections in November 2022 saw electoral victories by more Muslim representatives and more Black Muslim representatives at the federal, state and local levels than any other time in American history. These elections boosted the visibility of African American Muslim leaders like Zaynab Muhammad (D-Minn.), Munira Abdullahi (D-Ohio), Ismail Mohamed (D-Ohio), Mana Abdi (D-Maine) and Deqa Dhalac (D-Maine). Their successes mirror the wins garnered on the federal level by prominent African American Muslim congressional representatives Ilhan Omar (D) and Keith Ellison (D), both from Minnesota. For his part, Ellison has held offices within the Democratic Party at both the state and federal levels — and continues to do so in his current position as Minnesota’s state attorney general. From 2022 onward then, an argument can be mounted attesting to new levels of representation, prominence and political influence for Muslims, and specifically for African American Muslims.
AND THE MOST PROMINENT INDIVIDUAL TARGETS ARE …
Perhaps predictably though, this newfound national prominence prompted an ugly, nativist backlash from the conservative, white and nominally Christian establishment. During Ellison’s 2022 campaign for Minnesota’s attorney general, for example, his opponent Jim Schulz (R) coordinated with Minnesota for Freedom, a right-wing advocacy group funded by the Republican Attorneys General Association. Schulz’s campaign relied upon blatantly racist and Islamophobic tropes within campaign ads that dramatized cities on fire and prison inmates rallying to support Ellison. In an open letter signed by 67 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders from Faith in Minnesota,
an interfaith activist group based in Ellison’s home state, this ad campaign was denounced as a form of hate speech. Ellison has also been the target of hate speech and white nationalist vitriol both online and in print — even in foreign countries. In his “Burn This Book: What Keith Ellison Doesn’t Want You to Know: A Radical Marxist-Islamist, His Associations and Agenda” (CreateSpace: 2018), Trevor
U.S House of Representatives that would cut off military aid to Israel due to its indiscriminate bombing of Gaza’s civilian population during October and November. And though these policy positions have proven Rep. Omar’s dedicated support for a committed group of progressive, American political activists, voluminous amounts of online bile and racist condemnation for the egregious crime of publicly criticizing the
Speaking specifically to the African American Muslim experience, clearly, if Ellison and Omar are representative of this community, then the country as a whole has many miles to go before we truly embrace Black Muslim identity and learn to value it, thereby ensuring that all Americans, everywhere, are viewed as equal in perpetuity.
Loudon accuses Ellison of being a “radical Marxist-Islamist,” a by-now common, right-wing epithet linking oxymoronic scare words together to generate nativist and white supremacist fears of the specter of the other. Ellison’s battle with endemic racism and Islamophobia perhaps pales in comparison, though, with that endured by his colleague and fellow Minnesotan, Ilhan Omar. Omar, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives, embraces a progressive domestic and foreign policy agenda. This includes vocal criticism of the broken American tax system that sustains the uber-rich, mostly white elite, while allowing tens of thousands of citizens to go homeless. She has further won popular support among members of the minority American left for openly criticizing the Israeli oppression of Palestinians, an uncritical foreign policy position embraced within the U.S. and corporate America, leading to the grotesque enrichment of a number of weapons manufacturers, among them Raytheon and Lockheed-Martin. Omar is so staunch in her advocacy for human rights in Palestine that she authored and proposed an unprecedented bill in the
U.S. political and economic relationship with Israel continues to follow her, including from former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account. This racist and Islamophobic criticism culminated in a public censure of Omar in her position in the U.S. House as she was expelled from the Foreign Affairs Committee in February 2023. Calling out the motivations of her political opponents, Omar concisely opined, “I am Muslim. I am an immigrant. … Is anyone surprised that I am being targeted?” Omar would later assess her ouster in terms of the centrist, white nationalist American viewpoint, stating, “This debate today is about who gets to be an American.” Who, indeed? Speaking specifically to the African American Muslim experience, clearly, if Ellison and Omar are representative of this community, then the country as a whole has many miles to go before we truly embrace Black Muslim identity and learn to value it, thereby ensuring that all Americans, everywhere, are viewed as equal in perpetuity. ih Luke Peterson, Ph.D., Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, The University of Cambridge—King’s College, investigates language, media and knowledge surrounding political conflict in the Middle East. He lives in Pittsburgh, where he regularly contributes to local, national and international media outlets.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
31
FEATURE
A Role Model for Our Time A Ruler Who Embodied all That is Good in Religion BY JOHN W KISER, III
L
et’s begin with the name: Abdelkader, Servant of God. A challenging name to carry in today’s world. Nevertheless, Emir Abdelkader al-Jazairy (1808-83) came as close as any human might in fulfilling such a calling. After protecting thousands of Christians living in Damascus during the pogrom of 1860, he received a letter of gratitude from French Bishop Louis Antoine Pavy in Algiers. The emir responded, “That which we did for the Christians we did to be faithful to Islamic Law, and out of respect for human rights…. The law places greatest importance on compassion and mercy and all that preserves social cohesion.” Of course, the idea of proposing a devout Muslim as an international role model today would be anathema to many secularists and probably a few Christians. But why? Many of Abdelkader’s greatest admirers were Christians: Bishop Adolph-Antoine Dupuch of Algiers, the Dominican Sisters who tended to the needs of his family in prison and, of course, Napoleon III himself. The emir became a friend of Free Masons and Saint Simonians, was awarded the Legion of Honor and received gifts from President Abraham Lincoln and Pius IX for intervening to protect thousands of Christians in Damascus during the four days of mayhem instigated by the Ottoman governor for non-payment of taxes. Emir Abdelkader al-Jazairy’s behavior followed the now-forgotten foreign policy philosophy of President George Washington, who proclaimed in his 1797 farewell address, “Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with 32
all, religion and morality require it” (www. georgewashington.org/farewell-address.jsp). He didn’t say “with democracies” or with “Christian countries” only, but rather echoed
the wisdom of the Quranic verse: “If God had wanted, he could have made us all the same. Instead, God created different tribes and nations so they might learn to know one another and compete in good works” (49:13). In contemporary Europe, especially in France, religion and religious talk can cause allergic reactions — a result of centuries of violence, persecution and inter-religious warfare all in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Who are the real Muslims? Who are the heretics? Who are simply misguided? The fratricidal killing of Muslims is sadly familiar to Christians who know their own history. In 1907 (Loi Ferry), France adopted laïcité as its official culture. In reaction to its own history of violence in the name of religion,
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
any mention of God in public discourse is frowned upon and religious symbols are prohibited in public schools. Yet this didn’t stop the French, when polled throughout the 1990s about who they most respected, from choosing a man of God, namely, Abbe Pierre (d.2007). The French do have a soul, it seems, even if it hasn’t yet been scientifically proven. Looking back at the 20th century, one can also ask whether or not secularism has served Europe and the world any better. Haven’t our modern ideological fanaticism — among them communism, fascism, nationalism, capitalism and Americanism — become a form of secular religion and caused as much or even more suffering as religion has in Europe’s past? Hasn’t Washington’s own longterm crusade to remake the world in its image a form of secular fanaticism: Making the world “safe for democracy”? Yes, both false religion and false patriotism can produce monsters. Humans in general can become monsters — we read about them every day — and they arise in all nationalities, races and religions. Any human, deranged by anger and bitterness and false teaching, can become a ticking time bomb and degenerate to a level far below that of animals. But what triggers the detonator? Abdelkader’s mother, Zohra, taught him that ritual purity is only half of Islam, a reminder of the harder half — to purify one’s inner self. To become a true instrument of God’s will, it’s necessary to free oneself of egotistical desires and the violent passions of hatred, anger and revenge — what Prophet Mohammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) called the greater jihad.
A CLOSER LOOK
So, let’s take a closer look at Abdelkader. Who was he? First, he was a great human being who inspired others with his physical endurance and moral courage, his learning, intellectual and spiritual depth, all capped by an extraordinary ability to empathize and exercise restraint toward his enemies. From where did these traits come? What produced such a person? ■ The traditions and teachings of Abdelkader al-Jilani, the 11th-century Persian mystic who taught that Muslims were duty-bound to pray for the well-being of all people, even the Crusaders and Christians in general, and to hold a special respect for Jesus Christ. In this tradition, Jesus is set apart from the other Abrahamic prophets due to his power of love. ■ The teachings and influence of his parents, who emphasized the continuous pursuit of knowledge, purity of heart, patience and contempt for material riches. ■ His life as a Bedouin hunter and horseman, which taught patience, endurance, courage and warrior skills. ■ Sincere piety and a strong moral compass rooted in the teachings of all the prophets. ■ A broad education that included, in addition to perfecting one’s Quranic recitation, math, history, astronomy, Greek philosophy, plant pharmacology and the art of rhetoric. ■ At the age of 24, his father took him on hajj, a two-year journey that brought him to Tunis, Cairo and Damascus, and exposed him to the larger world. He would often say, “the forms of worship may change, but the Master is One. We differ only in the way we address ourselves to Him.” Abdelkader believed that pursuing knowledge was the highest good and life’s ultimate purpose, because it leads people to right conduct. His world was one of hierarchy, affecting both social relations and knowledge, which was hierarchical. In his 1856 “Letter to the French,” written at the request of the Asian Society of Paris, the emir laid out his understanding of what made humanity different from the rest of creation: Man’s love of knowledge and pursuit of truths that transcend the senses — the truths of mathematics, geometry, philosophy and the moral truths. Yet the most important form of knowledge, he believed, was that which he called “political.” Why? Because relationships
matter. We are social animals and therefore need to cooperate with others to survive. For the emir, no knowledge was more important than that needed for living harmoniously in the polis and guiding human behavior justly. So, why did John W. Kiser, an agnostic product of a New England boarding school and great-grandson of an Ohio pig farmer and bicycle manufacturer, becomes so cap-
to religion, especially the version that people had transformed into a type of nationalism. Abdelkader was simultaneously rational, humble and inclusive: Rational, because he recognized that God is infinitely greater than any one religion can imagine; Humble because the finite can’t own the Infinite; and Inclusive because we all are wrong when we think earthlings can comprehend the Higher Power. God is greater than our lim-
If you think God is what the different communities believe — Muslims, Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, polytheists and others, He is that, but also more. None of His creatures worships Him in His entirety … No one is an infidel in all the ways relating to God …” tivated by the forgotten Emir Abdelkader al-Jazairy — an affair he has been carrying on with admiration since 2002? The answer? I fell in love with his spiritual inclusiveness, humility and sense of decency and compromise that are so badly needed for living together in a community. This passage below from his “Spiritual Writings” (1850) explains: “If you think God is what the different communities believe — Muslims, Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, polytheists and others, He is that, but also more. None of His creatures worships Him in His entirety … No one is an infidel in all the ways relating to God … Each of His creatures worships Him and knows Him in a certain way and is ignorant of Him in others. Error does not exist in this world except in a relative manner…” I had received this statement on a scrap of paper brought to me eagerly by a Benedictine Sister living in the Centre Culturel Glycines in Algiers as I was finishing research for the publication of “The Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love, and Terror in Algeria” (St. Martin’s Press, 2002). She told me that she had kept a copy of it on her bedside table and was told that a certain American writer was interested in learning more about Emir Abdelkader. Thanks to this unexpected gift, I understood that the emir had mentally removed all those certitudes that had made me allergic
ited comprehension. On that day, Abdelkader al-Jilani shot an arrow into my heart. Beginning as neither a denier nor a true believer, over the years I have witnessed how the emir’s spiritual humility can win the hearts of non-believers, agnostics and even atheists. Why? He professes no exclusive ownership of Truth and no animosity toward other religions, which he sees not as threats, but only as different paths. The emir says it simply, “The forms of worship may differ, but the Master is One.” ih John W. Kiser of the William & Mary Greve Foundation is the author of “Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love, and Terror in Algeria” (St. Martin’s Press) and “Commander of the Faithful: A Story of True Jihad” (Monkfish Book Pub. Co., Inc.).
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
33
FEATURE
Author, Public Speaker and Parent In Conversation with Dr. Suzy Ismail BY AMANI SALAHUDEEN
34
PHOTO © DR. SUZY ISMAIL
W
hen Dr. Suzy Ismail was 11 years old, she was disappointed that she couldn’t relate to any character in her favorite series, “The Babysitters Club.” “None of them looked like me or my friends, and none of their families resembled mine,” Ismail said in an interview with Islamic Horizons. “As much as I searched for relatable characters in the 1980s, I couldn’t find any books with Muslim characters in middle grade novels at that time. So I started thinking about writing such a novel series with characters who looked more like me. But I never got around to writing until many years later when ‘The BFF Sisters’ book was born.” She stressed the importance of wanting her children and other Muslim youth to feel represented by the books they read. Since “The BFF Sisters,” Laila Sabreen, Hanna Alkaf, S.K. Ali, Uzma Jalaluddin and other Muslim authors have written more relatable characters and themes. Ismail believes that the community must continue to support these authors so that Muslim youth can see more such books in the future. While Ismail began her writing journey as a fiction author, she has now transitioned into non-fiction. “When Muslim Marriage Fails” is about the misunderstandings and more serious issues that frequently result in divorce. The stories and commentary in the book also give unmarried readers who want to get married a better understanding of the hazards that can rapidly snowball in the ruin of an otherwise salvageable situation. The book dives deep into the five specific divorce narratives from each spouse’s point of view. She’s also working on a parenting book and “Mending Broken Hearts,” which is centered around recovering from loss and grief. Additionally, she mentioned having a few unfinished novels waiting to be revisited when time permits. Ismail believes that by filling voids in literature with their own stories and experiences, Muslim authors can inspire others to find their own unique voices.
“If you love to write, then do it! Don’t be crippled by self-doubt or imposter syndrome. If you see a need or a void, whether it’s on a specific topic or in a character, fill that void with your author’s voice. Your voice, your thoughts and your ideas are all needed, and you never know who will see themselves in your stories — fiction or nonfiction. In doing so, your readers may connect and find their own unique voice through your writing as well,” Ismail said. She also has an academic book, “Counseling the Collective,” in the works. This book is based on her dissertation research and the work conducted at Cornerstone, which she founded.
CORNERSTONE’S FOUNDATION
Cornerstone, a nonprofit organization focusing on youth, family and relationship rebuilding, has partnered with a U.S. refugee resettlement group to provide spiritual psycho-socio emotional wellness programming to all incoming refugees. Cornerstone consists of five departments:
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
Marriage & Family: Premarital education and intervention, marriage facilitation, divorce discernment, blended and joint family dynamics, and parenting • Youth: Selfesteem, confidence, identity, spirituality, and sexuality • Grief/Loss & Anger Management: Perinatal programs • Addiction Integration Interventions & Life Changes: Geriatric care and transitions, such as college and career planning and • Refugee Integration: Offered in several languages to meet refugee needs. In each of these areas, Cornerstone offers workshops, seminars, programs, support groups, education and intervention sessions. Despite being stigmatized by Muslims, therapy can help individuals understand their struggles and spirituality, strengthen self-esteem and guide them through life’s rough patches. “The spiritual component of intervention cannot be left out of therapeutic intervention, particularly with clients from cultures in which faith, family and community are integral parts of emotional resilience,” Ismail contended.
SPEAK FROM THE HEART
Drawing on her experience as a public speaking teacher, she advises students to speak from the heart and to prioritize authenticity in communication. Passion and interest shine through when speaking on familiar or meaningful topics and create a connection with the audience. “Authenticity is so critical in communication. And when we speak about topics
resilience, overcoming hardships, marriage, parenting and youth, would fall into my favorite topic category” she said.
DISCUSS MENTAL HEALTH
Ismail urges parents to openly discuss mental health with their children. She emphasizes the importance of not stigmatizing such struggles and of treating them with the same significance as physical ailments.
If you love to write, then do it! Don’t be crippled by self-doubt or imposter syndrome. If you see a need or a void, whether it’s on a specific topic or in a character, fill that void with your author’s voice.” that are familiar to us or mean a lot to us, our passion and interest shines through, and that excitement is felt by the audience,” she remarked. Her work focuses on building healthy families and communities, making topics such as relationships, emotional resilience, overcoming hardships, marriage, parenting, youth, identity and the pursuit of God’s pleasure her favorites. “I’m passionate about building healthy families and communities. So, any topics that revolve around relationships, emotional
“Parents, please don’t make mental health taboo!” Ismail implored. “Depression, anxiety and so many other mental health struggles are just as important to address as physical illnesses. Be open and empathetic, not dismissive, in understanding your child’s experiences and in recognizing the need for and importance of having these conversations and destigmatizing the topic of mental healthcare. And then seek help! Know the resources available and schedule that appointment for you and your child today.”
She reflects on the journey of parenthood, recognizing how quickly children grow up and emphasizing the need for parents to guide, teach and encourage while realizing that they don’t own their children. Her hope is that by instilling a foundation of seeking God’s pleasure in their children’s lives, they will leave their own positive mark on the world.
ESTABLISHING A WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Maintaining a work-life balance is crucial for any individual, including busy individuals like Ismail. “Keeping trust in God and seeking His pleasure first and foremost in your mind as the foundation of everything you do makes a huge difference,” she remarked. “I also have an incredibly supportive husband and awesome kids, alhamdulillah, who’ve always managed to pick up the pieces when I’m feeling pulled in a million directions. We often try to be superheroes and do everything on our own, but surrounding ourselves with those who love and support us every step of the way is like having your own cheering squad that encourages you, especially at the lowest moments when you feel somewhat overwhelmed,” she added. ih Dr. Suzy Ismail (MA in communication, Master of Philosophy in human services and a Ph.D. in human services) is a visiting professor at DeVry and Rutgers universities. An expert in refugee emotional resilience, she has received awards like the Ambassador for Peace and the Visionary Muslim. Amani Salahudeen, currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in education at Western Governors University, has a bachelor’s in journalism and professional writing from The College of New Jersey.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
35
FEATURE
Hijab and the Role of Influencers Social media’s influence on practicing faith BY SUNDUS ABRAR “Shame on you.” “She was my inspiration.” “Tears started falling and I really loved you.” hese are some of the emotionally charged comments that remain on an Instagram post of a Muslim influencer when she decided to stop wearing the hijab. Despite her very public presence on Instagram, she has opted to not clarify her reasons for doing so. Subsequent requests from Islamic Horizons for an interview were not answered. A’s identity is not the central concern in this discussion, but the turbulent reaction to her personal decision needs to be explored to understand how the actions of public individuals impact the broader Muslim community. Interviews referenced here were conducted prior to the ongoing and devastating siege in Palestine, which has resulted in a rise in Islamophobic rhetoric and hate crimes affecting “visible” Muslims in North America. As the mainstream media continues to peddle a familiar bias narrative, many are beginning to question its validity. Social media, despite the persistent attempts of censorship on it, serves as a key access point to portraying the realities of oppressed populations. Muslims have consistently been vilified in mainstream media. This has far-reaching and tragic outcomes when Muslims are targeted in acts of hate and harassment. Presenting as visibly Muslim, an experience shared by women who wear the hijab, can be difficult in such unbalanced settings. Social media offers relative safe spaces for these women to connect and build resilience to overcome the challenges they encounter in their immediate environments.
have of influencers and public figures they admire are not met. These feelings are not unwarranted. A deeply resonating message, or niche, on social media evokes an emotional response in followers that results in increased content engagement. This is the very currency for prominence and success on social media. An emotionally invested following online can often only be sustained through an influencer’s consistency in messaging. Do influencers then have any responsibility to maintain this trust and be consistent in their personal choice to wear hijab?
T
LEAVING THE HIJAB
Before she stopped wearing hijab, A used her presence online to share different hijab styles and modest dressing. She also offered services as a hijab stylist, which led to the launch of her hijab line. In a 2014 interview published on a Muslim blog, she shared an insight about when she started wearing hijab 36
Dr. Tamara Gray
Being in the limelight is really hard because now you have to make decisions that are not only about yourself — but also about those following you.” at age 11. “I wore it by choice because I had the right influence around me.” This positive influence was what many of A’s followers were seeking to aid them in their own hijab journeys. Like A, several other influencers have recently stopped wearing hijab. Two other women also marketed hijabs and modest fashion lines. They were vocal in their choice to wear hijab when they were maintaining this choice, but did not discuss their reasons for why they stopped. Their dismissiveness only led to more questioning and frustration from their followers. People feel betrayed and disappointed when the unspoken expectations they
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
SCHOLARLY ADVICE
Dr. Tamara Gray, acclaimed religious scholar and founder of Rabata, a Minnesota-based nonprofit Islamic organization for women, is thoughtful and thorough in addressing this concern. With a considerable following on social media herself, she recognizes the challenges that come with heightened prominence for influencers. “The early Companions didn’t want to be leaders because they knew this was hard, and I am going to have to put even more of my nafs aside,” said Gray. “Being in the limelight is really hard because now you have to make decisions that are not only about yourself, but are also about those that are following you.” She uses the example of an account she follows which shares vintage fabric designs. Should this influencer change the focus of their content, the impact on their followers would likely not be deeply distressing. The same does not hold true if an influencer is using their platform to promote religion. They need to be more mindful and consistent. “Losing religion publicly can be a great sin,” said Gray. “It’s serious because it’s not only about you anymore. If what you did caused other people to struggle — if you put yourself out there as an influencer and you benefited from it and you set that aside — that’s not responsible.” Influencers are being watched in their personal settings, such as their homes and
cars. Followers may develop a sense of closeness through these observations. The experience for the influencer though is very different. He or she does not have the same level of familiarity with her observers. “We need to be intentional and understand that we are creating relationships,” said Dr Gray. Though followers may be upset about an influencer’s decision, Gray encourages thoughtful conduct in our engagement online. “You are not fixing things by lashing out at someone. That is not the Islamic way. You are just making sin for yourself. We need adab and akhlaq in interactions with people no matter who they are,” she said. Holding each other accountable is important for Muslims, but accusatory comments are not beneficial. Influencers who are consistent in wearing their hijab are also met with harsh comments.
MAINTAINING THE HIJAB
Tahirah Folk, New York native, model, and influencer, has often received unkind and accusatory comments online. As an African American, she shares her experience with racism within the Muslim community, “The only place I felt I truly belonged as a Muslim was when I went for Umrah.” She addresses the criticism she has experienced about her approach to hijab in a Tiktok (@sincerelytahiry) post: “People who I will never allow to come for my hijab” went viral. The responses to it are polarizing. While some argue that women should be receptive to criticism, many women who wear hijab wholly endorsed the boundaries Folk asserts. “To give naseeha (advice), you have to be involved in the emotional wellbeing of the person,” Folk said. Online, Folk has connected with her community celebrating Black Muslim women, and she is aware of the potential her prominence brings. “I have always been very intentional once I saw that I was getting a platform. I knew I wanted to represent a community that is often overlooked,” she stated. Upholding this concern, she called attention to a recent incident of exclusionary marketing. During New York Fashion Week. Veiled Collection, a popular brand for Muslim modest fashion, invited prominent Muslim modest fashion influencers to represent their brand. The concern was a glaring lack of diversity. Most influencers were light or fair-skinned. Folk’s view was
Social media platforms aim to increase engagement. More engagement yields more revenue. Therefore, influencers use the algorithm to ensure that users see content most similar to their most popular offerings. To manage this tool to the benefit of the user, Cummings recommends engaging and seeking out content that serves a person’s aspirations. She advises a break from social media for those who feel overcome with negative emotions. “It is emotionally taxing if the content you see online is constantly bringing you up and down.” Tahirah Folk
echoed, and the complaint gained traction. Veiled Collection finally offered a statement acknowledging their shortcoming in reflecting the diversity of Muslim women. Though no actual changes were made to the event, the swift recourse inspired @everyblackmuslimgirl, an online community for Black Muslms, to host EBMG Fest. This took place a few weeks after Veiled Fest and invited Black Muslim influencers and brands to showcase their products. It proved that collaboration opportunities through social media can amplify social issues and expedite solutions. Influencer and modest stylist Hakeemah Cummings (@hakeemahcmb) shared Folk’s post criticizing Veiled Fest. She too has faced criticism online. She understands that there should be accountability, but she won’t respond to accusations or answer questions she feels she is not equipped to address. “The comment section is not a place to bully. If you are seeking a question, you should be asking a scholar. I am far from that.”
REAL VS. REEL FRIENDS
Cummings feels secure in her hijab and actively produces content to guide others on how to adhere to it; however, she still relies on her sister’s opinion to ensure that her content aligns with Islamic values. “There is really no one online who knows and loves me the way she does. I know that she will push back when I am getting self-absorbed and losing myself in whatever the trends are,” she added. She encourages women seeking support in their faith and hijab journeys to navigate online spaces thoughtfully and seek friendships in real life. “Have that one friend who you can call when you are struggling with your faith,” Cummings said.
STARTING THE HIJAB
With every influencer who takes off the hijab, there are more who start wearing it. Dr. Areeba Adnan, a Toronto influencer and psychologist is one such example. Her platform, @mintcandydesigns, initially highlighted her DIY home projects, but now she shares more of her efforts in furthering her understanding of Islam. Adnan also teaches the “Influencer Blueprint,” an online course for aspiring digital creators. “I feel a sense of moral responsibility to the eyes that are watching me. I feel it’s my responsibility to define my values and stay true to them.” Nevertheless, she emphasizes the limitations of the influencer culture. “There is an important distinction to be made — you may be influenced by people online, but they are simply people that you watch.” Adnan has been open about her hijab struggle. Before she became an influencer, she had worn the hijab for five years. “I felt I wasn’t a good Muslim, and I am going to stop wearing hijab and focus more on learning about other aspects of my faith. That didn’t happen. It took me 12 years to come back to learning more about my faith and to wearing hijab again.” She advises women considering wearing the hijab or struggling to keep wearing it to take time in assessing their concerns and persevere. “It is important to really reflect and do the internal work, and it is important who we surround ourselves with in real life to help us understand why we wear hijab,” she said. “Good suhba (companionship) is essential to progress in our faith,” said Dr. Gray. “It’s not something that we have yet figured out how to entirely achieve online.” ih Sundus Abrar, has an undergraduate degree in professional writing, and aspires to generate dialog around current concerns within the Muslim community.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
37
ISLAM IN AMERICA
Final Resting Place The Do’s and Don’ts of Gravestones BY AYAH SIDDIQUI
I
n the circle of life, the name you might one day see on a sign outside an office door or embroidered on a physician’s white coat can make its way to a headstone. When a loved one passes away, there are so many things the family members left behind have to do. When emotions are high and energy low, families should ideally not have to squabble over things like gravestones. If you visit cemeteries in North America, you will see many tombstones inscribed with the deceased’s name and birth/death dates. Some of them may also have religious symbols, excerpts or even pictures on them. Muslim scholars have different responses about Islamic rulings regarding tombstones. “Marking the spot of the grave is
38
recommended,” said Imam Azhar Subedar (Islamic Association of Collin County mosque, Plano, Texas). “It is recommended for identification purposes. But anything beyond recognition is considered makruh — discouraged, but not forbidden.” He said that anything extravagant is discouraged and that graves shouldn’t have monuments built upon them. The Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) placed a stone on Uthman bin Math’un’s (radi Allah ‘anhu) grave and said, “I am marking my brother’s grave with it, and I shall bury beside him those of my family who die” (“Sunan Abi Dawud,” hadith no. 3206). However, there can be a difference of opinion on the details. “It is offensive to
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
place an inscription on the grave,” according to Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, a Shafi‘i scholar. In his “Reliance of the Traveler,” a classic manual of Islamic law, he said an exception can be made if the deceased is a religious scholar so that he may be visited and honored. Imam Ahmad believes that unless one is an Islamic historical figure, his/her grave should be flat and unmarked.
OPTIONS IN NORTH AMERICA
Many North American cemeteries have areas separated by faith, and most are willing to accommodate your preferences and religious practices. It’s common to see the Muslim section having flat markers and name plates, as opposed to standing headstones. In addition, having a headstone is usually
the choice of the deceased’s family, for no law requires that one be purchased, especially because doing so can get expensive. This was the case with the Usmani family in Houston. “My maternal grandfather doesn’t have a tombstone,” said Fasih Siddiqui. “No one in the family could afford it at the time. Then when my grandmother died, we didn’t place a tombstone because they believed it was against Islamic law.” Different families have different ideas about whether tombstones are allowed. Siddiqui’s family is originally from Pakistan, where some believe that adding a tombstone can make the grave pakka (completed).
places becoming places to which people travel to make a sacrifice in hopes that the saint will pray to God for them. This is where the fear of bid‘a and shirk (associating partners) starts. In contrast to the Usmani family, the Mohammed family of Murfreesboro, Tenn., have different thoughts. “My parents were buried in Nashville. Both of their graves had stones. They were gray-colored stones, about 14 inches in height and 12 inches wide,” said Azmath Ali. “Their markers contained their names, birth dates, and the day they died. My mother’s grave also had an inscription that said who she was the wife of.”
You can make an impact with as little as
$10 per month!
Many North American cemeteries have areas separated by faith, and most are willing to accommodate your preferences and religious practices. It’s common to see the Muslim section having flat markers and name plates, as opposed to standing headstones.
Once a grave is pakka, it has the potential to become a shrine. In addition, there is fear of bid‘a (innovation), such as visiting graves to ask the deceased to intercede and get prayers answered. Rasekh Siddiqui, Fasih’s father, elaborated on why many people in Pakistan think this way. He related the story of a man who passed away many years ago in Karachi. His family believed they should mark his grave so that they could visit it and recite the Quran there. Obviously, having the tombstone would help identify the grave. But as the months went by, they began finding more and more markings on the grave, each one more elaborate than the last. Upon finding the man who was enhancing the grave, they asked him “Why did you do this?” and he replied that the grave belonged to a great saint and should be revered. The family decided to tear down what he had built, fearing that it would be worshiped. There are many examples of saints’ burial
The Mohammed family believes that gravestones can be used according to Islamic guidelines, as long as the intention is solely for identification purposes.
Your donation can help ISNA continue to offer: ★ The finest Muslim youth programs in the U.S. ★ State of the art leadership training programs ★ Top-quality Islamic conferences and events ★ Opportunities to build bridges of understanding through community alliances and interfaith awarness programs
CEMETERY REQUIREMENTS
If a family does decide to get a gravestone, they should inquire about the size and material requirements from the cemetery. While some cemeteries may say you need to buy a gravestone from them, it is usually not required. You can provide their guidelines to any other company. Some places may also need a special beveled edge or other specifications for lawn mowers and snow removal around the gravesite. Even if you order a gravestone from a Muslim company, the cemetery does the installation. Death is anyways a stressful time for the family. If these matters are sorted out in advance, it can be one less thing to worry about when you have just lost a loved one. ih Ayah Siddiqui, a student in McKinney, Texas, enjoys reading and learning about current events from several points of view.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
39
Sign Up Today! www.isna.net
ISLAM IN AMERICA
Chaplains Can Help Change Lives Muslim Chaplains provide healing and support in various settings BY YERUSALEM WORK
Chaplains participate in the main session of ISNA's 60th Convention in September 2023.
“
We live in a mostly secular world that may have lost its connection to the divine,” said Tahira Wellman, a chaplain at New Jersey’s Hackensack University Medical Center. She’s the only Muslim chaplain in its pastoral care department. Yahya Hendi, the first full-time Muslim chaplain at an American university, was hired in 1999 by Georgetown University. Due to its small Muslim student population, Hendi, who was chosen to enlighten non-Muslims about Islam, has focused on the interfaith community. Muslim chaplains work in hospitals, universities, prisons and many other settings. Mutahhir Sabree (administrator, the Distance Learning Prison Initiative) works to provide free courses in Islamic studies to inmates nationwide. Interacting with more than 3,000 male and female inmates, he teaches and prays with them, as well as encourages them to identify with the prophets of Islam and the multitude of spiritual 40
stories in the Quran, such as the lives of prophets Yusuf and Ayyub. The challenges believers face aren’t unprecedented, for “Verily, with hardship comes ease” (94:5). Success is within reach with the proper attitude and a concerted effort. Our goal is to set forth the right intentions and attain the results that will please God. Muslim chaplains enter the profession from a variety of routes. Some pursue a seminary degree; others travel to the Middle East and North Africa for a deep dive into Arabic studies and to obtain authentic traditional knowledge of the Quran and Sunna. Some begin as volunteers, while others are trained in pastoral care. Whatever the route, these individuals can play a vital role in the lives of knowledge seekers — both beginners and advanced. Muslim chaplains must not only have a robust knowledge of Islam, but also be aware of developments in today’s philosophical discourse, including the arts and sciences. The postmodernism taught in universities can
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
deter many Muslims — plagued with doubt — from practicing their faith. Objectivity is considered a myth, and subjectivity is exalted. Speculation as well as free association replace order with chaos. Even thirdwave feminism disrupts the intellectual pursuits of Muslim feminists, for feminism looks different in Islam than it does in opposing ideologies. Muslim thinkers can take the reins and offer practical solutions for navigating one’s way through the world in a way that is compatible with Islam. Joshua Salaam (president, Association of Muslim Chaplains) has traveled the world performing with the popular nasheed singers of Native Deen. Currently a chaplain at Duke University, armed with a Doctorate of Ministry from Hartford Seminary (now the Hartford International University for Religion and Peace), Salaam has studied Christian-Muslim dialogue in depth on the graduate school level. “Chaplaincy is a nice blend of art and science,” Salaam said. “Chaplains who receive
connection with God is what really brings about change. “A chaplain can advise, but it is truly Allah subhanahu wa ta‘ala who guides,” she said.
THE ISNA CHAPLAINCY PROGRAM
Chaplaincy is a nice blend of art and science,” Salaam said. “Chaplains who receive official training in pastoral education learn the art of listening without the presence of their own biases. This allows the chaplain to get the individuals where they want to go, instead of where the chaplain thinks they should be. Mastering this tool is an art. But the tools themselves are a science.” official training in pastoral education learn the art of listening without the presence of their own biases. This allows the chaplain to get the individuals where they want to go, instead of where the chaplain thinks they should be. Mastering this tool is an art. But the tools themselves are a science.” We have so much to learn from his vantage point.
CHAPLAINCY CHALLENGES
Like other fields of work, chaplaincy also has its challenges. Since a chaplain is forbidden to proselytize, even when Chaplain Wellman believes a non-Muslim patient would benefit from Islamic teachings, she cannot initiate such a conversation. Instead, she extends psycho-spiritual support and tries her best to embody prophetic character in her interaction with patients, as “a sort of silent da‘wa.” Wellman has helped clients overcome the
fear of shame when navigating a culture in which families don’t speak out about hardships. In one case involving a wife being her husband’s sole caregiver, Wellman enabled her to vocalize her fear and burden while improving her self-care approach and help-seeking behavior. The solution often comes from the client, because the chaplain simply facilitates the treatment by providing a safe space for exploring the client’s need, moving from survival to self-actualization. Wellman also helped disentangle a client from the cycle of abuse imposed by a Muslim, which was distancing her from Islam. Many times an abusive relationship causes a person’s faith to plummet. However, due to Islam’s virtues and God’s mercy, she modeled a mirroring exercise that helps people imagine a world without harsh human judgment and abuse of power. Ultimately, she believes a person’s
ISNA’s active chaplaincy program is dedicated to offering services to Muslim chaplains through endorsement, education and training, and leadership development. This program endorses chaplains serving in the Army, Air Force, Navy, prisons, hospitals, universities and other institutions. ISNA honors them by qualifying them to offer care, spiritual guidance, support families in times of grief and loss, ensure religious freedom and offer similar services. One of this profession’s foremost benefits is the privilege of representing Islam in mainstream American society. As an ambassador for Islam and a professional chaplain, you’ll have the opportunity to share and exchange your Islamic life experiences with colleagues from multiple faith or even non-faith backgrounds in a very collegial and non-threatening manner. In addition to either performing or providing religious services, as well as attending to their clients’ other spiritual or pastoral care needs, Muslim chaplains are responsible for organizing and conducting all Islamic religious services (e.g., the Friday, funeral and Eid prayers). Held to high standards, they abide by strict ethical considerations (e.g., privacy and freedom from discrimination based on age, ethnicity, gender or disability) and follow the Prophet’s (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) conduct. They listen without bias to clients facing grief, worries, fears and other pivotal, life-changing pressures. Counseling may be one-on-one or occur in groups —large or small. While the annual salary for an entry-level Muslim chaplain is, on average, approximately $45,000, military chaplains often make significantly more — an average of $90,000 per year. If you’re interested in becoming a chaplain, complete the application process on ISNA’s website (isna.net/ chaplaincy-services), undergo a background check and abide by the Muslim Chaplain Code of Ethics. ih Yerusalem Work, a creative writer and the membership director of the Congregational Library Association, has a heart for interfaith dialogue and is a passionate community builder. A holder of a master’s degree in library science and prolific author, she regularly blogs and self-publishes her writing. Her short stories and poetry have been published in Muslim Matters and Tysons Interfaith. She considers it an honor and a pleasure to write on Islamic themes.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
41
ISLAM IN AMERICA
A Decade of Unity
FUTURE PLANS
For the past ten years, USCMO has been working hard to bring people from different religious communities together to make a difference. As it moves into the next stage of its mission, the organization is committed to creating an inclusive and harmonious BY AMANI SALAHUDEEN culture, one that will engender changes to make the future brighter for everyone. n Oct. 15, 2023, the U.S. Council and aware of what Islam truly is and teaches “USCMO was my childhood dream. I of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) and raises awareness. wanted to see the ummah united together. It “USCMO has unified several organiza- embodied me. It gave me a serious responcommemorated its 10th anniversary in Chicago. The organization tions under one umbrella,” Jammal noted. sibility that I needed to uphold,” Jammal is dedicated to advocating for the Muslim “It serves as one voice for the Muslim com- said. “It is a platform to serve the ummah. community’s civil rights, combating dis- munity. We have created diplomatic relation- USCMO strives to address all Muslim crimination, and promoting its interests ships in different countries, support rallies American issues, and it gives a sense of while collaborating with other organizations. for Islamic causes, and host Open Mosque community with a common vision.” With founding members like The events in different cities to bring commuOne of USCMO’s most notable accomMosque Cares (the Ministry of Imam W. nities together with other interfaith groups plishments lies in its impact on domestic polDeen), American Muslims for Palestine, to combat Islamophobia.” itics. The organization actively engages with CAIR and others, USCMO was policymakers, lobbying to protect founded in 1994 to promote civil liberties, eliminate discrimsocial justice. inatory policies and recognize “In addition to actively comMuslims’ diverse contributions batting issues such as racial disto society. Through these efforts, crimination and hate crimes, the organization has sought to USCMO has gained recogniempower American Muslims to tion as a prominent advocate make their voices heard. for American Muslims, working Looking toward the future, towards the betterment of both USCMO plans to expand its outMuslim communities and socireach and achieve greater repety as a whole,” said Oussama resentation across the country. Jammal (secretary general, It aims to establish more local USCMO) in an interview with chapters, strengthen ties with Muslim communities at the Islamic Horizons. USMCO was established to grass-roots level and empower foster community cohesion and American Muslims through USCMO has unified several cater to the unique requirements education, advocacy, commuof Muslim Americans, such as nity building and fostering posorganizations under one umbrella,” dealing with Islamophobia, the itive societal change. Jammal noted. “It serves as one voice root causes of which can be Jammal envisions USCMO as attributed to political, social, increasing its membership more for the Muslim community. We have and economic factors. Some of than tenfold over the next decade. created diplomatic relationships in the key drivers include media With the support they provide bias, political rhetoric, and the different countries, support rallies for to Muslim candidates, they hope actions of extremist groups. more Muslims will become civiIslamic causes, and host Open Mosque cally engaged in their states. Addressing them requires a multifaceted approach that The tenth anniversary events in different cities.” involves education, dialogue, marks a significant milestone and promoting tolerance and in the organization’s journey of understanding. Islamophobia is a danger Their twin mosque initiative seeks to advocating for civil rights and promoting to social cohesiveness, religious freedom, strengthen the bond between African- religious community interests. USCMO is and human rights, in addition to its neg- American Muslims brothers and sisters and committed to fostering a more inclusive ative effects on individuals and communi- others in the community. They also hosted society as it anticipates future challenges ties. The media’s inaccurate portrayal and a National Muslim Women’s Conference in and embraces new opportunities. ih stereotyping of Muslims is a key cause of Chicago during November 2023 to highlight Amani Salahudeen, currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Islamophobia. USCMO’s counteroffensive is their accomplishments, which sometimes education at Western Governors University, has a bachelor’s in designed to ensure that people are informed go unnoticed. journalism and professional writing from The College of New Jersey.
USCMO celebrates its 10th anniversary
O
42
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
EDUCATION
College Loans Without Interest ACC Helps Students Achieve Their Higher Education Goals BY HAMZA MOHAMMED
A
ccording to the Common Application, more than 1.2 million students in the U.S. applied to four-year colleges for the 2023 academic year. To pay tuition, many of them turn to student loans, which often come with high interest rates. As a result, many Muslim students struggle to find a way to pay for higher education while avoiding riba. Unfortunately, some find themselves forced to forgo their pursuit. According to a March 2023 Forbes report, each year it’s common to see students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds applying to college. About 54% of applicants hailed from the most affluent 20% of ZIP codes, compared to just 7% from the bottom quintile. The Texas-based A Continuous Charity (ACC; https://acceducate.org) seeks to solve this problem by providing interest-free loans. The organization, which receives funds directly from donors as well as through local fundraisers, helps Muslim college students achieve their goals of higher education.
FOUNDED BY A COMMUNITY
Dr. Athar Haq founded ACC in 2013. Having received a loan from his parents to cover his costs while pursuing his medical 44
school, he wondered why this process couldn’t be replicated on the community level. Thus, he and a group of friends began to lend money to Muslim students in need of loans. As the loans were repaid, they would lend the received money to the next student in line. Seeking to support more Muslim students through halal interest-free loans, they formalized their model and registered ACC as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Over their almost 10-year existence, ACC has gone nationwide and has branches in Illinois, California, Florida, Ohio and other states. This year, ACC is celebrating its tenth anniversary. As of this date, it has prevented over $3 million from being paid in interest and provided over $5.5 million in educational support to 400 students nationwide.
LOCAL BENEFITS WITH LOCAL REWARDS
ACC loans are available to U.S. citizens or permanent residents attending a college or a four-year institution, working on a master’s or doctorate program or enrolled in a professional doctorate program in the U.S. They are also open to students who are starting their higher education, those who require more
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
financial support to complete their degree, as well as those who have completed their higher education but have an outstanding amount of interest-based loans. In the last application cycle, ACC received about 250 applicants — this number increases each year. Recipients are chosen based on many factors, among them merit, quest for Islamic knowledge, need for the loan and community involvement. “We envision that ACC awardees are attached to the Muslim community and are highly likely to re-invest their time and talent back to enriching the community,” stated Hakeemah Cummings (outreach and partnerships specialist, ACC). As part of the application process, interviews are conducted over the phone or by video conferencing. The loan amount given to each student is based on the strength of his or her application, the amount requested and the amount of funds raised by ACC during that calendar year. Once awarded, the loan is paid directly to the applicant’s financial or educational institution. Priority is given to those students who apply in an area where local fundraising takes place. ACC calls this “local benefits with local rewards” and seeks to reward the community’s generosity by prioritizing this benefit.
THE STRUCTURE OF LOANS AND REFINANCING
ACC works to ensure that paying back the loan doesn’t become a burden by creating a personalized repayment plan for each successful applicant. “We aim to make it easier on students,” said Cummings. “The maximum length of a loan from ACC is four years. Loan amounts are calculated based on the amount that a student will be able to pay back over the term considering their income and field of study. ACC works with every student to create an individual timeline and repayment schedule that works with these and other factors.” ACC works with students who are unable to pay their loans due to extenuating circumstances by reassessing their loan payment schedule. If they cannot repay their loans
Their approach to support the next generations is very forward-thinking. In order to have a strong ummah, we need Muslims in all areas and that means we need to support them in every step to get there. ACC provides the support needed to allow many students to pursue their education in a halal way.” due to becoming eligible for zakat, ACC has a limited capacity to forgive their loans with the zakat donations they receive. In addition to providing loans to students seeking a higher education, ACC also offers options to refinance existing student loans during their application cycle.
THE LEGACY FUND
For those seeking a continuous donation opportunity, a sadaqa jariya (ongoing charity), ACC created the Legacy Fund. When the organization receives the donation, it loans that money to a student seeking higher education. As the money is paid back, it is then recycled to provide a loan for another student. Thus, the donation becomes a continuous source of reward for the donor, for it continues to be given over and over as each student benefits from it. ACC requires a minimum of $10,000 to start a legacy fund and sets up the fund once it receives the money. A legacy fund can also be started in honor of another person.
ACC believes not only in helping current students achieve their higher education goals through interest-free loans, but also in being prepared to help the next generation of students. As a result, the organization is establishing an endowment: the ACC Waqf . To achieve this as well as its other goals, ACC’s members hope to convince 100,000 individuals to donate $10 a month. They believe in the “power of numbers” and that receiving this small donation from supporters will enable them to reach their $10 million endowment fund goal quickly.
STUDENT REFLECTIONS
Ismael Gad, a student at the University of Ohio’s Knowlton School of Architecture, is working on his master’s in landscape architecture. He first found out about ACC at its booth during the MAS-ICNA Convention in Chicago. While pursuing his degree, Gad was one of only a few students selected to receive an Architectural Research Travel Award through his school. This award
allowed him to research the landscape and culture, as well as to meet with the residents of Battir village in Palestine during the summer of 2023. The ARTA grant is structured to reimburse a student only after the trip has been completed. The ACC loan thus helped alleviate Gad’s burden of paying for the trip until the university reimbursed him so he could focus on the experience. “The application was relatively easy, compared to other applications I have filled out,” Gad said. “It didn’t feel painful at all. I would definitely recommend ACC to other students in need of an interest-free loan.” Christopher Azdar, a student at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s ChicagoKent School of Law pursuing a Juris Doctor degree, found out about ACC in late 2020 while searching for scholarships and grants to help cover the cost of law school. He considered ACC to be unique in terms of why applicants are trying to avoid riba and how their quest for Islamic knowledge can help them pursue higher education. “The application was very easy to navigate, and the ACC team was very responsive when I had questions,” he remarked. “The loan has been an additional push for me to continue to excel inside and outside of the classroom.” After submitting all the necessary documents and completing the interview, Azdar received the loan, as well as loans throughout the last three years of his education. Azdar stated that this loan has been very important to him, because as an undocumented person (DACA) he is ineligible for many scholarship opportunities. These loans helped him attend law school while avoiding unwanted debt and interest. In addition, he didn’t have to delay his education to raise the money himself. “Their approach to support the next generations is very forward-thinking. In order to have a strong ummah, we need Muslims in all areas, and that means we need to support them in every step to get there. ACC provides the support needed to allow many students to pursue their education in a halal way,” said Azdar. “ACC has created the infrastructure to help support students, but it is up to the community to help support ACC however we can. Even with small donations and raising awareness, we can help build future leaders in all areas.” ih Hamza Mohammed, an avid reader who attends Farragut High School in Tennessee, enjoys writing in his free time.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
45
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
The Booming Halal Food Industry and Young Muslims’ Interest in Sunna Foods A unified halal certification standard remains a dream BY MOHAMMAD ABDULLAH
W
hile most young Muslims know that halal foods are a good thing, not all understand the Islamic concept of halal. According to a June 6, 2023, Kerry Group report, “global product launches with halal claims jumped by 19% from 2018 to 2020, from 16,936 products to 20,482. The report stated that developments in the halal food industry and a large fast-growing young Muslim population across Muslim-majority countries, who are looking for products aligned with the Islamic way of life, are playing a part in the increased product launches.” Other media reports have said more or less the same thing. For example, in 2016 The Jakarta Post noted that, “The young Muslim population is undoubtedly a potential market for food producers. Young Muslims are cool, tech-savvy, confident, creative, dynamic, energetic, and proud of their identity as Muslim. They believe their faith is helping them in making the world better. One of the ways is through consumption of products that they feel will help them to live a better, modern, Muslim life.” Obviously, it includes “Sunna foods” that Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) used to treat diseases or recommended for maintaining overall good health.
WHAT IS SUNNA?
The Islamic concept of halal includes the limits set upon our lives by God. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines Sunna as the body of Muslims’ traditional socio-legal customs and practices that contains many blessings and much wisdom, especially in terms of health. The prophetic Sunna teaches us that “The son of Adam [and Eve] does not fill any vessel worse than the stomach. It is sufficient for him to eat a few mouthfuls, to keep going. If he must do that, then let him fill one third [of his stomach] with food, one third with drink. and one third with air” (al-Tirmidhi, 2006). A great deal of this advice and these nutritional habits have substantial support in scientific literature, such as eating whole foods. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Oct. 14, 2021) found that ultra-processed food consumption grew from 53.5% of calories in the beginning of the period studied (2001-02) to 57% at the end of (2017-18). In contrast, the 46
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
consumption of whole foods decreased from 32.7% to 27.4% of calories. In the current industrial food environment, most foods marketed in the U.S. are industrial formulations that cannot be considered whole foods. Given this growing intake of ultra-processed foods and mounting evidence of their linkage to chronic diseases, the researchers recommend implementing policies to reduce their consumption, such as revised dietary guidelines, marketing restrictions, package labeling changes, and taxes on soda and other ultra-processed foods.
SUNNA FOODS
The Quran and the Prophet have highlighted some foods, such as dates (16:69), olives (23:20 and 24:35), figs, pomegranates, grapes, olives, honey, and black seeds. “Use black seeds regularly, because it is a cure for every disease except death” (“al-Bukhari,” 2002). According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), prophetic recommendations are remarkable for their prescience, as they came centuries before research was conducted on healthy diets and their bodily benefits. According to researchers, these foods have an abundance of super-concentrated and nutrient-rich elements in their natural state that work together. The Prophet’s recommended foods have now become today’s superfoods due to their powerful healing properties. However, these benefits can only be achieved by following his advice in this regard. It isn’t enough to consume food with a “Halal” logo unless his advice is truly followed and the desire for junk food is controlled. Halal certification also has its challenges. Diseases like diabetes metabolic syndrome and dementia due to excessive consumption of food, especially fast food.
INCREASE IN SUNNA PRODUCT LAUNCHES
The demand for halal products comes from Muslim consumers, numbering 1.9 billion in 2020, one of the world’s fast-growing consumer segments. Halal food is the second largest sector after Islamic finance. The global halal meat market, valued at $802 billion in 2021, is estimated to reach $1.66 trillion by 2030 (according to Straits Research report published on July 16, 2020). In a bid to tap into this vast market, the industry started producing foods, snacks and supplements containing black seeds, honey,
pomegranates and other ingredients and marketing them as Sunna foods. Snacks and supplements are found in many forms, such as pills, tablets, capsules, gummies, soft gels, liquids and powders. While the primary contents of vitamins and supplements are the vitamins and the minerals themselves, other ingredients help bind the products together or preserve them, such as gelatin from both halal and non-halal sources. Producers promote these products via innovative marketing techniques and using proofs derived from the Quran and Hadith. The updated Nutrition Facts Label on packaged foods, which was updated in 2016 to reflect scientific information about the link between diet and obesity, heart disease and chronic diseases makes better food choices easier.
to two years in jail for not following the halal practices promised in its labeling and advertising.
BEYOND THE HALAL LABEL
As consumers find little more than the “Halal” logo on the product’s label, the OIC recently published, in the aftermath of its 5-year strategic plan’s (2016-20) failure, its 10-year plan for uniform standardization and accreditation. To protect consumers, in 2019 Indonesia introduced the Halal Product Law, which states that all consumer products and related services must be halal certified to meet market needs and consumer trust. Similarly, in Malaysia, food, goods or services can be labeled halal only if Jakim, the regulatory body, certifies them as such. Malaysian laws adopted the concept of halalan thoyyiban, which is supposed to provide adequate protection. However, the rampant manipulation of halal laws reflects According to the National Institutes of the weaknesses in the laws’ implementation (https://food.chemlinked.com/foodpedia). Health (NIH), prophetic recommendations are On Sept. 18, 2023, Amy Fleming stated in remarkable for their prescience, as they came The Guardian that most pork products, such as bacon, are made with nitrates that WHO centuries before research was conducted on has rated as carcinogenic since 2015. These healthy diets and their bodily benefits. According additives are also used in sausages and other products, some of which are halal certified. to researchers, these foods have an abundance Cooking and eating such meats cause carof super-concentrated and nutrient-rich elements cinogenic compounds such as nitrosamine to form. The protein myoglobin, found in in their natural state that work together. meat, naturally turns red and then brown as it oxidizes. These additives both stop this from happening and give meat a pink color and fresh look. MAKING INFORMED DECISIONS Today, numerous simple- and nutritious-looking products with During the Prophet’s time, halal and haram applied mainly to meat, attractive packaging, among them halal-certified gelatin, jellies, ice because food was generally natural: no chemical additives, but cream, yogurts, cheeses, deli meats, snacks and supplements — vegetable oils or olive oil, unrefined grains, and grass-fed animals. compete for consumers’ attention, boasting convenience, taste and Today, most commercial food is exposed to chemicals and pesticides. environmental friendliness. Yet behind all of this may lie a list of Commercial genetically modified (GM) crops and products are unhealthy ingredients, such as saturated fats, cholesterol, sodium, common in processed foods, which also contain coloring agents, artificial stabilizers and additives. preservatives, flavors, and synthetic nutrients, refined sugars, and A recent study published by “The PLOS ONE” reported that: synthetic sweeteners. Commercially raised animals are generally (1) halal certification organizations use different halal standards, fed GM corn diets and antibiotics to prevent sickness. And now which makes it hard to determine which standards are being applied; meat is even being grown in the laboratory. (2) many halal foods and ingredients are produced in non-MusMuslims are to consume only food deemed halal (16:114). lim-majority countries, which possibly increases the likelihood However, today food production companies hire a Muslim-owned of being contaminated by pig-derived common ingredients (e.g., halal certification organization to get their products certified. Among gelatin, enzymes, glycerin, lecithin, L-cystine, and mono- and diaother things, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) has been accused of cylglycerols) due to the non-awareness of their haram status; and intervening to help North Jersey businessman Wael Hana’s IS EG (3) harmonizing the OIC’s countries’ halal standards is important Halal — established in November 2017 with no prior experience in to ensuring the smooth implementation of uniform halal standards. halal certification or pre-existing ties to the American beef industry This harmonization is needed, for it is in all the stakeholders’ — win an exclusive multimillion dollar contract to certify whether best interests (“Harmonize Halal Certification Regulations,” Islamic food exports to Egypt met halal food standards or not (Michigan Horizons, Jan./Feb. 2022). Young Muslims’ interest in Sunna foods Advance, Oct. 12, 2023). Certification fees range from $200 to over is commendable. Many of them are tech-savvy, confident and cre$5,000 per container (30 tons). ative. We look forward to their expediting the OIC’s development A well-policed certification authority is also required. In 2014, of uniform halal food standards. ih Iowa’s Cedar Rapids-based Midamar Corp. exported at least $4.9 Mohammad Abdullah, who retired after serving 29 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food million in beef products to Malaysia, Kuwait, the UAE and else- Safety and Inspection Service, the agency that regulates the meat industry, is the author of “A Closer where. Founder and president William Aossey Jr. was sentenced Look at Halal Meat from Farm to Fork” (2016). JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
47
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
How to Make Any Recipe Halal And Some Foods You Didn’t Realize Aren’t Halal to Begin With BY YVONNE MAFFEI
F
or a halal foodie, there’s nothing more disappointing than scanning through a beautifully photographed cookbook or recipe site only to realize that some of the ingredients listed are not halal. Bacon or pancetta listed in the initial “flavoring” process? Not gonna work. Too bad, because you really wanted to make something new for your family but are afraid the recipe won’t turn out if you skip those ingredients. How about those scrumptious-looking beef tacos at the Mexican food truck outside your office? You’re leery about whether there’s pork cooked on the same grill or lard in the beans. You could inquire, but maybe you’re shy or just too hungry to ask. So, you opt for the same old thing, which is fine but not as exciting as you’d like. You want to taste the world! What can one do in such cases? The good news is that any dish can be made halal. Let me show you how.
SUBSTITUTES FOR PORK
Recipes that call for pancetta or bacon are typically used to add a rich flavor to the dish. The pork meat gives off a lot of fat and transcends the entire dish with its distinct flavoring. Lean meats just can’t do that, which is why pork is so commonly used in some cuisines. But we can achieve the same result in a very halal way. Halal Beef Bacon Lettuce Tomato Sandwich There are so many delicious healthy halal substitutes that can be used instead of pork. And, by the way — don’t be afraid of the fat. If the animal has been fed and raised well, this fat is considered a flavor. This is a classic French way of adding flavor to lean meats. “good fat” and an essential ingredient in making some of the most Alternatively, dice the “bacon” into small pieces and use in lieu of delicious dishes you’ll ever eat. It’s also great for your skin (all that “pancetta” in a recipe for making the sofrito, or the base flavoring. collagen and such). Here are some options: This is a classically northern Italian way of cooking, which adds ➤ Beef tallow. This is very hard to find, especially in halal flavor to many soups and stews. markets, but it’s also quite easy to make yourself. Buy meat cut ➤ Duck Fat. This is one of my favorite types of fats to cook into large cubes on which you can clearly see the fat and render or with. But a halal version is also incredibly hard to find. If you are melt it yourself. Simply sauté the meat in a pan (without any oil) on fortunate enough to find halal duck, roast the whole bird in the low-medium heat and let the fat melt. Remove the muscle meat and oven. It won’t require any oil as long as it has skin, but you’ll end pour the melted fat into a stainless steel or oven-safe glass dish. You up with that rendered fat similar to beef tallow because its fat melts want to pour it into a container that can also be put in the freezer. when cooking. Save it, allow it to cool and refrigerate or freeze it Let it cool and harden, then refrigerate (up to 1-2 weeks) or freeze (1 month) it. When you’re ready to use it, simply add it to your sauté pan You can see a chart in the “My Halal Kitchen” and use it like you would any other oil. This is cookbook with the percentage of alcohol especially good when you have a dish that you want to impart a beef flavor to but don’t have cooked off per amount used — and it never the actual muscle meat on hand. ➤ Lamb or Beef “Bacon.” This is not the goes to zero. With this knowledge, I don’t easiest to find, but some halal stores carry it in feel comfortable consuming a dish that was the frozen meat section. It’s especially nice to add to poultry dishes to “fatten” a lean bird when cooked with alcohol even if a chef tells me it making a roasted chicken or a beef pot roast, has burned off completely. as they simply don’t have a lot of fat. Layer the slices of “bacon” on top when roasting, and it will drip down onto the meat, giving it a lovely 48
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
just like the beef tallow. I love to use duck fat when making roasted or sauteed potatoes — the flavor is incredible and rich. Use it just as you would any other oil when cooking. ➤ Chicken Fat. This may be the easiest one to get your hands on in a halal market. I suggest that you buy it if you find it, because it’s much harder to collect quite a bit of chicken fat unless you make your own stock from the carcass and/or the feet — and even then you usually can’t get very much from just one chicken. Once you’ve made the broth, allow it to cool and scoop out the hardened fat on top. Save and refrigerate or freeze. All of these suggestions, combined with making your own broth from bones, will give your dishes high-end restaurant-quality flavor at home without having to worry about all of the issues of non-halal meat in your food.
SUBSTITUTES FOR ALCOHOL
Another pain point for those who follow a halal diet or who simply want to avoid alcohol altogether is that there are ways around all of the alcohol found in both savory and sweet dishes, whether in restaurants or packaged foods. Let me start by saying that no, alcohol does not burn off in cooking, at least not completely — a fact proven by scientists. “Depending on the cooking method and how much alcohol is used, anywhere from 4 to 85 percent of the alcohol may remain,” writes Tara Parker-Pope (“Is it true that alcohol burns off during cooking?” The Washington Post, Nov. 10, 2023). You can see a chart in the “My Halal Kitchen” cookbook with the percentage of alcohol cooked off per amount used — and it never goes to zero. With this knowledge, I don’t feel comfortable consuming a dish that was cooked with alcohol even if a chef tells me it has burned off completely. My rule of thumb is to find a substitute with the same flavor base as the original dish. For example, a dish that calls for red wine gets a high-quality grape juice (not from concentrate) as a substitute, using close to or just a little less than the amount of wine used in the original recipe. If a recipe includes white wine, get a white grape juice substitute. I’ve seen many recipes suggest substituting vinegar, or chicken or beef broth, for the wine or simply using water instead, but I don’t think doing so will make the dish as fabulous as if you use the halal juices. For things like almond, orange, citrus and other flavor extracts, I use bakery emulsion as a substitute. For vanilla extract, I use the real bean, no-alcohol vanilla extract or vanilla powder.
THINGS YOU MAY THINK ARE HALAL, BUT MIGHT NOT BE
➤ Tiramisu. This classic Sicilian dessert is fantastic and literally “picks you up” as the name suggests, due to the inclusion of espresso coffee. The thing is that sometimes rum or brandy is added to the dish. Use alcohol-free vanilla extract, vanilla powder or fresh vanilla beans instead. Additionally, some store-bought tiramisu products contain gelatin in order to create a gel-like uniform shape, and that gelatin may be derived from pork or non-zabiha animals. Make it at home and you don’t even need the gelatin at all. Get my version of the super quick tiramisu recipe here: https://myhalalkitchen. com/classic-tiramisu/. ➤ Bread. I’m a huge advocate of cooking from scratch because I’m a huge believer in self-reliance and survival skills — and bread-making is one of them. I do understand, however, that for most people it’s not practical to make bread every couple of days.
Lemon Tiramisu
The problem with store-bought bread is that it contains so many unnecessary ingredients. Bread only really needs flour, water, salt, yeast and, in my case, olive oil. The average store-bought bread is also made with some sketchy ingredients like GMO wheat, and more often than not, something called a “dough conditioner.” When made commercially, dough conditioners can be made up of chemicals and other agents, one of which can be derived from duck feathers or human hair (L-cysteine). Not very savory, and not very halal. This is why I’m incredibly careful and protective of the source of my bread and have altogether started making more and more of my own, just to be safe. You can find my super easy country bread recipe in the “My Halal Kitchen” cookbook.
RECOMMENDATIONS
I recommend that everyone stock up on the things that help you keep a halal kitchen and make cooking so much easier for you to do regularly. A few of my favorite items are the following: ➤ Agar Agar. Used for making homemade-flavored gelatins and thickening soups. ➤ Vanilla Powder. Most Middle Eastern and Mediterranean markets carry this in their baking sections. ➤ No-Alcohol Vanilla Extract. The one I use the most is found at Trader Joe’s, but you can also go online and search for several brands. ➤ Not-from Concentrate Grape or White Grape Juices. You’ll need these if you’re making traditional French or Italian cuisine. I prefer to get the small juice boxes so you don’t end up wasting a whole gallon of juice or drop the leftover juice into ice cube trays and freeze. This makes it easier to pop them into dishes as needed, too. ih Yvonne Maffei, MA, is a food and travel writer, independent researcher, cookbook author and entrepreneur. She is the founder of the first website on halal food and cooking, MyHalalKitchen.com, which seeks to make global cuisine halal and spread the concept of culinary diplomacy as a means of bringing everyone to the table. Her cookbooks include “My Halal Kitchen”(2016) and “Summer Ramadan Cooking”(2013). Maffei divides her time between the U.S. and Canada — and anywhere else she can travel around the world.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
49
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
When Children Need to Grow Up Faster PTSD and Post Traumatic Growth BY TAYYABA SYED
E
ight-year-old Etaf Saleh was playing outside with her siblings, while their baby sister slept peacefully inside the house. Suddenly they heard jets overhead and loud booms. “It’s war! It’s war!” Saleh’s mother began screaming and ushering them quickly to safety. “We’d never witnessed anything like it,” recalls Saleh, now in her sixties, of her experience living through the 1967 Six-Day War in Silwad, a West Bank town next to Ramallah. “Bombs were coming down everywhere, and we started to escape toward the center of the town. My mom then remembered she had forgotten my sleeping baby sister and ran back home as we waited for her.” The families were instructed to head up the mountains into designated caves. They hid there for seven days. That one week changed the trajectory of their lives forever. “I don’t know how we had food or anything, but every day there was bombing,” shares Saleh, who now lives with her family in Willowbrook, Ill. After seven days, they were instructed by the Israeli forces to return home even though the bombing continued. 50
Frightened and weary, families held up white cloths and flags and headed back down the mountains. “Last year, my mom passed away at the age of 92. Yet she never stopped talking about what we endured and said that for years we [children] would wake up screaming at night from the trauma.” The fear of being bombed, being killed, being separated from or losing your family, having to abandon your home and hide in a cave, surviving on little food, not being able to just be a kid and play and laugh and learn…what can that do to one’s psyche? On the eighth day, Saleh rode along with her mother and siblings in boarded trucks to escape to Jordan. Their father, who had been working in Kuwait, was waiting for them across the river. “My older brother was probably in eighth or ninth grade, so we had to cover him and other young [adolescent] men [so they would not] be taken away,” Saleh says. “In those few hours, we saw people lying dead in the streets. I remember asking why this was happening and was told, ‘They are killing us.’ How can I sleep as a child after this? I would
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
hear the sound of bombs even after we had escaped and couldn’t unsee all those dead bodies I had seen with my own little eyes.” After staying in Jordan for a few days, the Saleh family began heading to Kuwait. Her brother decided he wanted to remain in Jordan for high school. Saleh states how difficult it was to leave him and be apart from him; however, she admits, he became very resilient from the experience. Once Saleh herself was old enough, she insisted on pursuing her undergraduate studies abroad. “I got accepted into schools in Egypt, Jordan and Iraq,” she remarks. “However, my father wouldn’t let me go on my own. He told me I could go study in America instead and live with my oldest brother, who had come here in 1974, five years before me. The application and paperwork were never-ending, but we made it happen somehow. “My whole family was crying at the airport — all except me. I was just so happy to finally get out and be on my own, even though this was my very first time flying in an airplane at age 19. Before leaving Kuwait, my father taught me how to drive, I learned how to type and I took English classes. I was ready. You can’t let anything overpower you. If you don’t have iman (faith), you don’t have anything. That’s the most important thing.”
MADE HER STRONGER
Even though Saleh feels she had to grow up faster after experiencing the trauma of war, she still believes it only made her stronger. The current Israel-Gaza war brings back horrific memories, though. She cries every day and worries how the people, especially the children, will recover from it. According to Dr. Fahad Khan (licensed clinical psychologist and deputy director, Khalil Center, Lombard, Ill.) traumatized children can skip a stage of childhood. “Trauma can affect how they respond to stress, affect their thinking and emotional abilities and even hinder natural tendencies such as creativity and fantasy,” says Khan, who has won awards from the American Psychological Association for his work and dedication. “Meta-analysis studies show signs of aging in traumatized kids and physical changes in the brain that can be measured. Someone who is older and is traumatized can accelerate [in aging] with post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] in adult life.” Khan states PTSD symptoms can linger long after the trauma ends and can be
Last year, my mom passed away at the age of 92. Yet she never stopped talking about what we endured and said that for years we [children] would wake up screaming at night from the trauma.”
triggered at any moment: socially, emotionally and even within relationships. “The way our brains are structured and emotions are stored is different from where complicated thinking happens (in the frontal cortex),” he says. “When we are traumatized, highlevel thinking leaves, and you can’t think rationally or logically in that emotional state of mind. What we want to see [more of] is more post-traumatic growth in people.” Post-traumatic growth is the positive psychological change that some individuals experience after a life crisis or a traumatic event, according to Psychology Today (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/ basics/post-traumatic-growth), which also states that post-traumatic growth doesn’t deny deep distress. Rather, it posits that adversity can unintentionally yield changes in understanding oneself, others and the world.
TRAUMA BEYOND WAR
Trauma isn’t just limited to war. Fareeha Aziz of Houston also saw this in her oldest child, who was only eight when she was divorced. Suddenly she was a single mother of her newborn, two toddlers, and eight-year-old son. How does a child process such drastic changes? “My kids had to grow up so quickly
when everything happened,” Aziz recalls, who spent eleven years on her own before remarrying. “My eldest for sure was traumatized by it all, reckoning with reality and trying to process everything. My kids had to take care of themselves to help me. When children are around unpredictable situations and people, they start to understand adult subjects sooner than necessary.” Despite the difficulty Aziz, 42, has endured, has done her best to keep a positive mindset about life and has full trust in God. Instead of focusing on the past or future, she is determined to make the most of whatever time she has left on Earth. “Ask Allah for help for whatever you’re going through and then really believe in [that help].” Another example of trauma can be when your health is tested. Mother of four Nafeesah Zabadneh of Lombard, Ill., was diagnosed with Lupus in 2020. Lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease causes your immune system, which usually fights infections, to attack healthy tissue instead. It can cause inflammation and pain in any part of your body. “I am 41, but I feel like I am much much older and weaker,” states Zabadneh. “If you see how I walk, you can tell something’s wrong. I’m on the smaller side but feel so
heavy. Lupus affects your organs and your breathing. Sometimes I’m so fatigued that I can’t even take care of my kids properly. I feel so guilty at times and just try to push through my debilitating health. I can’t even braid my youngest’s hair due to cysts on my joints and stiffness. I took things for granted when I was healthy, but I don’t want to be a burden on anyone.” Many times, Zabadneh feels like she’s fighting against her own body. She describes it as “watching the world go by” while she stands still. She wonders if this is how it will always be or if it will get better, knowing that right now there is no cure. Major life changes, trauma and difficult circumstances can cause kids to grow up faster than normal, to age out of innocence much sooner. Zabadneh is seeing this with her eldest child. “I’m praying that I can still be there for my family and community somehow through all this,” she says. “I’m grateful for a supportive husband, and if it wasn’t for my 15-year-old I wouldn’t be able to take care of my toddler. She is like a second mother to her siblings.” ih Tayyaba Syed is a multiple award-winning author, journalist and Islamic studies teacher. She conducts literary and faith-based presentations for all ages and is an elected member of her local school district’s board of education in Illinois, where she lives with her husband and three children. Learn more at www.tayyabasyed.com.
ISNA Monthly Sustainer – A Good Deed Done Regularly!
You can make an impact with as little as
$10 per month!
www.isna.net • (317) 839-8157
Convenient. Secure. Affordable.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
51
MUSLIMS LIVING AS MINORITIES
Building a ColonialSettler State in Kashmir
“COLONIZING KASHMIR: STATE-BUILDING UNDER OCCUPATION”
This matter is a theme of Hafsa Kanjawal’s “Colonizing Kashmir: State-building Under Occupation” (Stanford University Press: 2023). Its microscopic insider-outsider account reflects India’s wheeling and dealing to keep its control of Kashmir. The author investigates the state’s formative years of setBY TARIQ AHMED tler-colonial occupation since India’s partition. This seminal and detailed work, based ashmir and India have been in Delhi has been able to subdue — but not on meticulous and grueling years of research a state of political conflict for to erase — it. in Kashmir, challenges many myths about decades. The theater of the conflict In this sense, then, not much has changed India’s settler-colonial enterprise that are has been — and remains — Kashmir. in Kashmir and its fraught and testy rela- unabashedly purveyed by Indian politicians, The stakes are high for both. For the Indians, tionship with India since the settler-colonial unsuspectingly accepted by ordinary Indian the endgame is consummating the set- project’s embryonic stage. Now, as then, the citizens, dishonestly unchallenged by the tler-colonial occupation. For Indian or even international the Kashmiris, the goal is to academe and problematically resist and uproot it. borne by the international At stake are the lives of and community without scrutiny. nationhood for Kashmiris. This is a must-read for India, a colonial power, has anyone who cares to know how violently usurped this former India’s decades of colonial-setprincely state’s land against its tler machinations have led to Muslim-majority inhabitants’ this dispute’s intractability and wishes and tried every means how some Kashmiri collaboconceivable in its “counterinrators, the “integrationists,” surgency” to contain and quell have willfully contributed to the Muslims’ resistance to its and actualized the process of rule. The caravan of coloniality coloniality for their own personal glory and benefit. began around the time of colonial Britain’s 1947 partition of Kanjwal’s work is a piece of India and is now at its culmiart as much as it is an exposnating point, for the next step itory treatise on the inside is memoricide and erasure. story of Kashmir’s potential In contrast to appearerasure. The book artfully ances, there’s no letup in the demonstrates how Nehru and In contrast to appearances, there’s no his accomplices in Srinagar state-sponsored repression or the Kashmiris’ ongoing struget al.) pinned their letup in the state-sponsored repression (Bakhshi gle; their resistance is in sushopes on the now-defunct pended animation. How else or the Kashmiris’ ongoing struggle; their thesis that the Kashmiris’ nationalist sentiment was can one explain the repetition resistance is in suspended animation. not unwavering and could be and regurgitation of the same policy mistakes made by India How else can one explain the repetition modulated through sociopoin this century? litical, educational, cultural, and regurgitation of the same policy economic and militaristic A case in point: India’s continuing need for sociopomistakes made by India in this century? means. litical and militaristic machTogether, they often inations in Kashmir since its invoked states of exception, occupation in 1947 has not crises and emergency, along diminished, despite decades with portraying Kashmiris as biddable and Pakistan as of political maneuvering and military repression or even after pouring Machiavellian sociopolitical engineering has an opportunist enemy. This concoction of in billions of rupees in developmental aid. failed to cut it with the Kashmiris. The old self-imagined factors then justified and led Neither has India’s awe-inspiring rise to the game plans continue even today. Although to an overwhelming response through both status of an economic superpower made the actors have changed, the script remains the “politics of life” as much as through a a dent in the resistance narrative. New the same. reign of state-sponsored terror.
The Myth of India’s “Secular” Façade
K
52
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
Meanwhile, Indian nationalists projected Kashmir as an exotic land whose integration with the Indian Union was essential or vital to India’s very being, a place of “national affect” and interest whose separation could unravel India and impede its progress. Therefore, they did everything in their power to eliminate and/or subordinate the Kashmiris’ nationalist sentiment to that of Indian nationalism. They attempted to de-emphasize the affective causes of the freedom sentiment and highlight the instrumentality of the interference of an external power trying to prevent a land grab — the irredentist neighbor, Pakistan. The nationalists retaliated against Pakistan’s supposed interference by fetishizing and licensing repression against the latter’s “Islamist” loyalists in Kashmir. This tactic simultaneously appeased the unsuspecting Indian citizens while calming any international voices that were less interested in interrogating the dark underbelly of India’s secular-democratic stance. By introducing bio-power politics in tandem with the necropolitical system of control, India forced not only the colonization of Kashmir’s territorial space, but also the colonization of its citizens’ biological spaces — their lives. The state’s overwhelming militarized intelligence apparatus sought a complete submission of those whom it could intimidate, humiliate or otherwise manipulate, and the death of those it could not. New Delhi instrumentalized the politics of life, surveillance and death to bring the citizens’ revolt against its rule under control and to legitimize its sovereignty over Kashmir. Simultaneously, in a carefully crafted strategy directed at denying them agency, India deployed cinematic soft power through Bollywood’s fantasy-filled pleasure machine, seeking to obliterate Kashmir’s identity and mixed cultural ethos and integrate it into the Indian (exclusively Hindu) union. By using Kashmir as an idyllic set for the Bollywood movies and insinuating politically motivated cinematic dialogs, they attempted to arouse the lust of an Indian tourist for its exotic land to be desired, eventually claimed and bolstered as part of the Indian nation. The objectives were to manipulate or erase its people’s identity and memory and subsume them within an Indian identity and memory. Overtly, they successfully projected India’s secular facade while covertly, for
the domestic audience, foregrounding Kashmir’s Hindu religious past and downplaying or outright erasing its Muslim heritage and influence. Kanjawal goes on to demonstrate that far from being a secular-democracy, “colonialism and domination were at the root of Indian state-formation.” These strategic measures were intended to justify, rationalize and routinize the Hinduvized settler-colonial occupation of Kashmir.
HAS INDIA’S OVERALL STRATEGY SUCCEEDED?
New Delhi hoped that the psychological distance between India and Kashmir could be bridged via calibrated doses of tyranny and some perfunctory salutary means. Apparently, the calculus was that if Kashmiris were unwilling to change their hearts, they might be receptive or enticed to change their minds about Pakistan or independence. Thus, Kashmir became a theater of settler-colonial tyranny as well as a case study in developmentalism (the cynical “politics of life”) that sought to distract the restive population from its political aspirations and focus more on the daily grind of life and living. The refrain was, as is the case in all colonial occupations, “we must develop them, with or without their consent” — a civilizing and redeeming intervention by the “well-meaning, cultured and progressive” Indians for the good of a “gullible, primitive and timid” Kashmiris.
To entrench its stranglehold, India — through devious economic strategies, sinister educational and cultural policies, cunning deployment of cinematic soft power, as well as the brutal silencing of dissent through both stern and “soft” repression — attempted to articulate subjectivities and configure and reconfigure political proclivities and aspirations in Kashmir. The sole aim was to legitimize and sustain Kashmir’s continued colonial occupation as a necessity without which Kashmiris could not survive. When the “development and progress” mantra lost its traction, New Delhi enhanced the militarized silencing of dissent. This tyrannical subjugation presented Kashmiris with the binary of complete submission or the inglorious life of the “living dead.” In this survival struggle, Kashmiris made a rational choice: They chose life, which inevitably led to the uneasy co-existence of the tyranny of breathing under a repressive and manipulative regime and the realities of daily living. Kanjawal notes, “Strategies such as the politics of life build, maintain and sustain colonial occupations. They enable political subjectivities that are paradoxical in their demands and aspirations, forcing individuals to reconcile their desire for political freedom with their desire to lead ‘normal’ economically stable lives.” The Indian governments of the past and present have successfully manipulated and suppressed the resistance and immobilized the street protests. The nationalists have misinterpreted and conflated this as consent to its rule. The inconvenient truth is that instead of following an inverted U-trajectory, the resistance struggle has followed a W-trajectory, going up and down and back up again. India will soon discover that the political resistance against settler-colonial occupation cannot be effectively eliminated by demobilizing street protests. As has been the case in other settler-colonial occupations, India has provided no breathing space for the expression of political dissent to render violent resistance superfluous, and in doing so, created the seeds of a future confrontation and strife. The book’s premise applies to current and future times as much as it lays bare the past. ih Tariq Ahmed is a Kashmiri-origin freelance writer. He grew up in the sixties in the strife-torn region.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
53
THE MUSLIM WORLD
Bangladeshi Election Extravaganza Will 2023 be another one-party soap opera, or will the innocent masses finally break free? BY ANIME ABDULLAH
F
rom the riveting theaters of Ukraine to the enthralling stage of Jordan, from the star-spangled circus of the U.S. to the lively spectacle in Bangladesh, everywhere politics offers a delightful blend of comedy, tragedy and farce that puts most reality TV shows to shame. The twists and turns of Bangladesh’s gripping political drama reach their peak, particularly during the election season and unknown to many, has successfully summited the rollercoaster of election aerobics. Rarely can such a perfect balance of unparalleled skills — disregarding the country’s interests, disseminating misinformation and shamelessly reversing political promises solely to secure power — be found. For an entire decade, the ruling party has entertained the 180 million innocent citizens twice by its breathtaking ballet with democracy. While the world may be distracted by the Israel-Palestine conflict, the country’s understated yet robust 2024 election carnival is quietly unfolding. Puppet masters are clandestinely choreographing the next big political soap opera’s plot, hoping to score a hattrick. Political luminaries are draping democracy in an acrobatic mask to parade through the streets with yet another set of unique and strategic maneuvers. The talent of showing election tricks came into the limelight in 2014, when the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) party secured a whopping 153 seats uncontested. However, the absence of actual competition bored the talent, and so they thickened the plot in 2018 by ensuring all parties’ participation without changing the outcome — the ballot was stuffed the night before the election (Staff Correspondent, Jan. 16, 2019, https://www.thedailystar.net/). The widespread irregularities in the political tapestry’s deep fiber made it a true masterpiece. Despite the global calls for a credible election, Dhaka remains unmoved and unashamed, claiming victory with a barefaced victory grin. Hats off to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed, the carnival’s mastermind, for showcasing her unparalleled diplomatic skills: severe crackdowns on the opposition, free press and any pesky dissent that dares to raise its head. Equal kudos to the supporting cast, turning a blind eye to yet another discredited election for the final blow to their credibility. 54
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
At the outset of this new election extravaganza, one can only marvel at the political clowns wielding power, torn tightropes of trust, mummified sense of shame and the disappearing act of responsibility being the grand finale. There are too many angels in this show, but space constraints permit us to appreciate only the teaser of the top four acts.
ACT I: WEATHERING THE WEST’S DIPLOMATIC INFLUENCE
Fond of playing invisible in the political circus, the U.S. ambassador embarked on a series of secret voyages to New Delhi to coax India into supporting a free and fair election in Bangladesh back in 2014 (Mubashar Hasan, Sept. 18, 2023, https://thediplomat.com). Much to the ambassador’s chagrin, this diplomatic endeavor was thwarted the same year and dismissed during the 2018 elections. Undeterred, the U.S. swiftly declared Bangladesh a “key partner in the Indo-Pacific” and a “centerpiece of our work in the region.” This political meddling has overstayed its welcome. During December 2021, Washington sanctioned Bangladesh’s elite security force, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), for extrajudicial killings and human rights violations. The Biden administration then snubbed Bangladesh’s invitation to its 2021 and 2023 global democracy galas (Geoffrey Macdonald, June 15, 2023, https:// www.usip.org/publications/2023/06/). In 2023 Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu stole the show by gracing Bangladesh from January 14 to 15, adding both flair and grandiosity to the simmering tensions over the impending elections. During May 2023, the U.S. placed a visa refusal drama for any Bangladeshi tied to “undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh.” Finally, on Nov. 16, 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted at trade sanctions to address tensions in Bangladesh’s RMG (ready-made garment) sector. Yet BAL, the top leaders and their loyal entourage, acted impervious to all of these, swatted them away and instead focused a verbal and social media onslaught on Ambassador Peter Haas. Despite being the single largest export destination — $9.4 billion worth of apparel in FY 2022 — American diplomacy was overshadowed by the diplomatic acrobatics in Bangladesh.
ACT II: TACKLING THE TWIN ASIAN TUG-OF-WAR
The 2014 general election’s legitimacy was questioned worldwide when the biggest opposition parties, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (JIB), the Jatiya Party (JP) and others refused to participate under the BAL government. However, as an overbearing parent, India sent its foreign secretary Sujata Singh, a pro-puppet master, to charm the JP and strengthen the BAL government. Such blind support during farcical elections isolated India both in the political realm and in public perception (Mubashar Hasan, June 28, 2023, https:// thediplomat.com). But wait, maybe that was the ruling affairs’ not-so-hidden desire. The maestro prime minister deftly seized this opportunity to expand Chinese influence. They were the first to high-five the one-sided 2014
door (“Bangladesh Convicts 139 Opposition Officials, Activists, Say Lawyers,” Nov. 20, 2023, https://www.courthousenews.com/). Who bothers with the joint statement from multiple Western countries when one has already dared to ignore the EU, UN, U.S. and U.K.’s calls for an investigation into election fraud allegations? Rather, Dhaka’s avant-garde performance involves subtly shutting the door on any potential dialogue by masterfully labeling all opposition members “criminals.” BAL eagerly anticipates a chat with the BNP if, and only if, President Biden and Donald Trump, the de facto Republican Party leader, decide to engage in a tête-à-tête. Now that’s a dialogue worth waiting for!
ACT IV: THE EYE-WASH OF THE ELECTION COMMISSION
Despite the allegations of bias and electoral manipulation hanging in the air like the acrid smell of popcorn in a circus tent, the ruling party has already formed the Election Commission (EC). Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Who bothers with the joint statement from Kazi Habibul Awal has graced the innocent citizens with an election timetable, crafted multiple Western countries when one has carefully without any consensus among the already dared to ignore the EU, UN, U.S. and major political parties on the interim government during the election — as if having an U.K.’s calls for an investigation into election election, no matter how dubious, is a triumfraud allegations? Rather, Dhaka’s avant-garde phant “win” for the EC and the ruling party. Audiences involuntarily embrace the performance involves subtly shutting the door on stay-in-a-fool’s paradise and accept that any potential dialogue by masterfully labeling all the polls will be “free and fair, impartial, participatory… credible and praised at home opposition members “criminals.” and abroad,” as the CEC claims. But we have to give credit where it’s due; without fail, every election year the BAL has appointed the ECs as the puppet masters, exhibiting utter subtlety and resilience, along with a elections and host a lavish congratulatory party for the controversial touch of magic, to upholding democratic principles while avoiding 2018 elections. China has helped Bangladesh with over $38 billion stepping on the political elite’s well-manicured toes. in investments since 2016 with its “no strings attached” policy and A ruling party troupe has also perfected the art of making voters delivered over 70% of the country’s weapons procurement between believe they’re in full control, conveniently eliminating major oppo2015 and 2022. As a little bonus, it even threw in the shiny new $1.2 sition parties like the BNP, JIB, JP and others. Even world-famous billion BNS Sheikh Hasina submarine base just in case someone sportsmen (i.e., Mashrafi bin Mortuza, former international crickfelt like taking a dip in Cox’s Bazar. Pocket-change to tackle the eter, or Shakib Al Hasan, captain of the national cricket team) or tug-of-war with two giants stumbling over each other. the country’s renowned showbiz performers are distracted with the illusion of choice, for they sought nomination from the ruling party in the belief that they’re part of a vibrant democracy. ACT III: INTERMISSION — COMMENDING THE Major opposition parties are boycotting the 2024 elections, which CIRCUS OF ACTIVISM Meanwhile, the activists, who storm the stage with protests, strikes they suspect to be as fair as a rigged game of cards. However, the or even hunger strikes to draw attention to the overly protective ruling party is as likely to concede to their demand for holding the parent (aka the government), encounter responses akin to throwing elections under a non-partisan caretaker government as a cat is to around arrests, censorship and shutdowns like confetti at a carnival. bark. Hence, the finale of democracy dangles like a trapeze artist And the benevolent guardian responds by arresting 10,000+ BNP suspended in mid-air. The show must go on, but whether it continactivists and leaders. The charges? Well, they’re about as authen- ues as a farcical comedy or evolves into a genuine democratic saga tic as a unicorn sighting. A random example could be BNP joint depends on the people’s collective will. As the election circus tent secretary general Habibun Nabi Khan Sohel amassing cases like a folds and the performers from a single party take their bows, the collector of rare stamps — 450+ and counting — all thanks to the spotlight shifts to the citizens, waiting to reclaim the center stage of their democracy in order to break free from the illusionists and Oct. 28, 2023, protest. In a November 18-19 spectacle, around 139 senior opposition acrobats who have held it captive for too long. ih party officials and activists were convicted with a smorgasbord of charges and promptly jailed, turning the courtroom into a revolving Anime Abdullah is a freelance writer. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
55
THE MUSLIM WORLD
Infesting the World with the Democracy of Choice Indonesia is Washington’s Current Target for a Pliable Government BY LUKE PETERSON
V
isit the National Endowment for Democracy’s (NED) homepage in November of 2023 and you will find a smooth, colorful, visually pleasing and easy-to-navigate website available in half a dozen global languages. On this website, this Washington-based nonprofit organization touts its mission to promote peace, stability, and democratic institutions around the world. The site’s homepage includes a “Democracy Digest Feed” that publishes internally generated reports testifying to the promotion of civil institutions, predicting the impact of new technologies on global democracy and/or warning of threats to democratic movements generated by authoritarian governments. Readers are warned that those threats emanate most immediately from Russia and China with a new, headlining report on the website promising to describe, “How China and Russia Undermine Democracy in Africa.” In short, on initial approach, NED presents itself as a benevolent, nonprofit institution that serves to spread democracy around the world and to report on those nefarious actors intent on stopping that spread. Clearly, NED and the individuals associated with it, view their collective works as a powerful force for good.
BUT THINGS ARE NOT ALL AS THEY SEEM
Founded in 1983 by a Reagan administration intent on eliminating the leftist Sandinista Movement in Nicaragua (Reagan’s picture still adorns the website homepage), NED promised then, as it promises now, “to foster the infrastructure of democracy” around the globe. But when the true nature of the Reagan administration’s disreputable activities to subvert democracy and the rule of law in Latin America came to light through the very public Iran-Contra Affair, the motivations of the CIA and the National Security Council were rightly called into question. Enter NED. 56
Since the late 1980s, NED became the legitimate face of subversive and anti-democratic Reagan era policies in Latin America, which would include the training and funding of right-wing death squads in Nicaragua, the Contra rebels, who killed, maimed and raped their way through the countryside targeting anyone sympathetic to the leftist Sandinistas. NED was Reagan’s backdoor entrance to regional politics in the Global South facilitating the transfer of bad money after good by funneling cash to Regan-era allies in the form of millions in grant monies supplied directly by Congress (U.S. tax dollars still fund NED activities around the world today). For their part, NED publicly proclaims itself to be both nonprofit and independent focused exclusively upon funding those initiatives that have the potential to extend human rights and democratic institutions to diverse communities everywhere their reach can touch. Practically, though, as with murderous Reagan administration partners in Latin America in the 1980s, the initiatives NED funds are typically in lockstep with policy priorities emanating from Washington, which have much more to do with the extension of American hyperpuissance in the world than they do with the fatuous notions of democracy promotion touted by NED on its website. Some analysts have even claimed that NED operates as a fully engaged wing of U.S. foreign policy in the contemporary geopolitical context. A cofounder of the organization, Allen Weinstein put a finer point on the group’s intended global reach stating plainly that: “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.”
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
VENEZUELA AND BEYOND
In addition to cutting their teeth on bloody political infighting in Nicaragua, for example, it is understood today that NED had a substantial hand in undermining the democratic election of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela in 2000 by shifting hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money to elitist Venezuelan groups opposed to Chavez’s socialist agenda. These efforts were initially successful, and Chavez was forced to spend days in exile before returning to his position as legitimately elected president (a return facilitated only by massive popular demonstration in Caracas and elsewhere throughout the country). Though from NED’s perspective, and the broader view of Washington writ large, the concept of legitimacy is, apparently, subjective, as explained by a spokesman from the second Bush administration: “legitimacy is something that is conferred not just by a majority of the voters.” Even then Secretary of State Colin Powell would go on to publicly endorse the architects of the attempted coup as the “legitimate” government of Venezuela. All that these U.S. officials needed to subvert democratic processes in the name of American interests was an innocuous foot in the proverbial door. As in Nicaragua, NED was that foot, and they wouldn’t stop there. NED remained active during the two decade-long war n terror funding initiatives in both Afghanistan and Iraq while U.S. bombs and bullets killed more than a million in Iraq and at least 70,000 in Afghanistan over the course of the 20th century. In 2015, Vladimir Putin outlawed NED among other international NGOs for activities conducted in Russia that were contradictory to Russian sovereignty. For his part, in 2016 incoming President Donald Trump did not seem at all bothered by this cancellation. He was keen in any case to defund NED as part of his administration’s idiosyncratic alteration of the functions of the American government both at home and abroad. But NED would survive the reign of Trump and come out of it with a renewed vigor in pushing forward an American neo-imperialist agenda deep into the 21st century.
LET’S SEE, WHO SHOULD WE GO AFTER NOW?
Today, among their thousands of ongoing projects undertaken in at least 100 countries and all intended to extend American influence, NED is particularly focused on Indonesia. In February of 2024 populist
PARENTING leader Joko Widodo is set to step down from the office of the president after having served the two-term maximum. During his tenure, Widodo has been a thorn in the side of the Washington consensus working hard to eliminate soft money from politics and to minimize foreign influence over Indonesian affairs. Widodo is, in fact, the only president in Indonesia’s history not drawn from the ranks of the political or military elite, and his popularity in his home country is testimony to both his honesty as a politician as well as to his measurable success in improving the lives of average Indonesians during his time in office.
institutions to try to sow discord among some of the president’s strongest supporters. Recently uncovered intelligence documents from Indonesia indicate the feverish efforts of BIN (Badan Intelijen Negara)), Jakarta’s State Intelligence, are working full out to ensure free and fair elections in Indonesia once Widodo has left office. BIN has communicated its disapproval of NED’s ongoing disruptive activities in no uncertain terms to the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, but leaked intelligence documents inform that American officers within that embassy remain “concerned” about the coming Indonesian elections. Embassy officials, including its Political Officer, Ted
Giggles in the Back Are children welcome in our mosques? BY NAYAB BASHIR
NED is at the forefront of these clandestine activities. NED has allegedly funded anti-Widodo rallies, directly paid protestors to take to the street during the campaign season, and have infiltrated labor unions and other pro-Widodo institutions to try to sow discord amongst some of the president’s strongest supporters. Given that the term limit ensures that he will step down, efforts are underway within Washington to see to it that a much more agreeable, much less independent powerbroker takes his place. Washington is seeking a pliant Indonesian president near China in the event of an all-out war in East Asia. Even if war should not come to pass, a submissive Indonesia, with its massive consumer population and strategically important location, would be highly beneficial to the ever-expanding U.S. military and attendant support industries. Operations are already underway to push these policy goals forward (Leaked: CIA Front Preparing Color Revolution in Indonesia,” The Mint Press, Sept. 6, 2023). NED is at the forefront of these clandestine activities. It has allegedly funded anti-Widodo rallies, directly paid protestors to take to the street during the campaign season and have infiltrated labor unions and other pro-Widodo
Meinhover, have even made suggestions to Indonesian government officials about how their electoral rules might be changed to allow for a larger candidate pool and, therefore, more pliable and pro-U.S. candidates to come to the fore. As of the time of this writing, this attempted U.S. interference in another sovereign country’s national elections remains ongoing. Whatever the outcome in Indonesia as elsewhere, it seems clear that NED’s mission goes far beyond their declared aim to promote democratic initiatives abroad. One wonders where this continued American overreach stops and precisely what consequences will continue to befall countries that open their arms to operational fronts for American neo-imperialist policy goals. ih Luke Peterson, Ph.D., Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, The University of Cambridge — King’s College, investigates language, media and knowledge surrounding political conflict in the Middle East. He lives in Pittsburgh, where he regularly contributes to local, national, and international media outlets.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
57
A
mosque is often known as a Muslim’s second home. If you have nowhere else to turn, you can turn to the house of God. Those who have frequented mosques since early childhood find themselves comforted by the call to prayer and the familiarity of the lined carpets. If you know how to pray, wherever you go in the world you’ll know what to do in a mosque. North American Muslims have made their local communities “friends like family,” and visiting mosques frequently has become part of their identity. Yumi Ota (aka Khadija) is a journalist, social media personality and homeschooling mother of three living in St. Louis, Miss. A revert with no Muslim family members or old friends who share the faith, she has found that the mosque feels like home and community. It’s her emotional solace, the first place she goes to pray, meet new friends and raise her children. Ota and her husband make it a priority to take their children to the mosque often. She has enrolled her children in Quran memorization programs as often as six days a week. Although the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis’ Daar Ul-Islam
PARENTING
As the Turkish proverb says, “Dear Muslims, if there are no sounds of children laughing in the back as you are praying, fear for the next generation.” Masjid has a room for mothers with young children, Ota found it too small and often crowded — and nowhere near large enough to meet the needs of St. Louis’ expanding community. A Japanese-American married to an Indian-American, Ota is aware of the importance of personal identity. Through her studies in journalism, she has learned that minority children raised within a community of the same race or religion grow up more confident of their identity. Muslims are a minority in both Japan and India, and so family participation in the local mosque’s activities is something for which they are both grateful. The mosque’s atmosphere and people help them raise their children to be unapologetically Muslim. “Any mosque for me, the only place I can be truly alone and cry my heart out when I am sad or stressed,” Ota said. “I want my children to feel the same way and love the mosques and eventually serve the community in them, God willing.” Muslim parents also want the next generation to have this security and love. While many mothers turn to their mosques for solace and clarity, and seek to guide their children to do the same, this is not always a simple and easy feat. Unfortunately, at times, mothers of young children receive unsolicited advice and criticism. Ota remembers this happening multiple times when her children were younger. Some of the people weren’t 58
just critical — they were downright rude. She’s not alone in this experience. Many have accounts of their own childhoods in which they recall being scolded, while others have faced it with their children. Seher, a professional organizer, content creator and social media manager, faced similar issues with her local Atlanta mosque. She knew the importance of taking her children to the mosque regularly so they would stay close to Islam and grow up within a likeminded community. However, once there she was asked to leave just for keeping her children next to her while praying, even though they were sitting quietly in one place. This very discouraging incident made her feel disconnected. Many mosques had programs for children over the age of five, but not for those as young as her children. Although they had access to local libraries, fairs and parks, this disconnect was isolating. Even more important, as the brain develops rapidly between the ages of one through five, she considered an Islamic foundation essential. But in 2018, the concept of Islamic programs for her children was nonexistent in Atlanta. And so she reached out to friends Samia and Asra and co-founded the Iqra Kids Club (IKC). Together, the trio started their program at a mosque they felt had always emphasized the importance of family: the Roswell Community Mosque. They began hosting monthly programs in early 2018,
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
and continue to do so. IKC seeks to introduce Islamic lessons and morals to toddlers and preschoolers in a fun and interactive way. Learning at their sessions is always a hands-on experience. Moreover, both parents are encouraged to attend to make it a family-bonding activity. IKC aims to instill in children a joyful and meaningful connection to the mosque by creating a welcoming environment. Forty children join the group at each event, often with parents and siblings. A relevant Islamic topic is chosen, explained via an age-appropriate story, nasheeds, puppet shows, videos and crafts. Children learn about important values through interactive play and feel welcome. They look forward to the next session and ask their parents when they can go to the mosque again! Seher’s initiative has caught the interest of various people across North America. Many are hoping to start a toddlers’ program at their local mosques too. Furthering her efforts, the trio has started writing detailed lesson plans, along with craft templates, that will be available in 2024. Seher’s personal mission is that nobody should be turned away from the mosque. She’s working to help others understand that the bond with the mosque starts at a young age. All mosques should have a Mother’s and Father’s room for toddlers, along with toys and books to keep them busy while their parents pray. These rooms should be equipped with speakers and screens so they can see the congregation. Having such facilities will encourage more parents of young ones to visit the mosque, pray and listen to talks, because the absence of children today could lead to emptier mosques when they are older. As the Turkish proverb says, “Dear Muslims, if there are no sounds of children laughing in the back as you are praying, fear for the next generation.” It’s understandable that worshippers wish to pray or contemplate undisturbed. There’s no disrespect toward them. Parents shouldn’t let their children run wild in the house of God, be rowdy, spill drinks or litter. However, if they’re just being kids, that should be okay. In the mosque of the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), children were both welcomed and accommodated. Even the Prophet disliked to trouble the mother of a child crying during prayer. We can see this illustrated in the following hadiths: ➤ The Messenger of Allah would pray
ENVIRONMENT
Find a couple of committed parents to form your core team. Approach your mosque administration with a simple plan. Gather a few toys, books and craft supplies from volunteers. Various people can donate time, share a skill and write a check. A colorful foam play mat and parachute with nasheeds have been very popular. Ideally these events should be free of charge so everyone can attend. If the mosque can help with a budget, that›s great. If not, you can still make it happen. Keep an optional donation box at the event and an online link to donate. Share an Amazon wish list for parents if they’d like to help. Have a theme for every event. Create a schedule so things stay organized. Kids have short attention spans, so switch activities. Delegate tasks in a WhatsApp group.
She kept coming back to a verse: “But waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters.” BY GOSIA WOZNIAKA
© MARK GRAVES/THE OREGONIAN
➤
10 Tips to Start a Toddler Masjid Group
Young Somali American Brings Green Islam Movement to Portland
Excerpted from simply-in-control.blogspot.com. Get more ideas by following @iqrakidsclub on Instagram.
holding Umsama bint Zaynab bint Rasulillah. He would put her down when he prostrated and then pick her up again when he stood up (“Sunan Ibn Bukhari,” 114), ➤ The Prophet said, “When I stand for prayer, I intend to prolong it. But on hearing the cries of a child, I cut it short, for I dislike to trouble the child’s mother” (“Sunan Ibn Bukhari,” 707), and ➤ “The Messenger of Allah came out to us for one of the two later prayers, carrying Hasan or Hussein. He then came to the front and put him down, said takbir for the prayer and commenced praying. During the prayer, he performed a very long prostration, so I raised my head and there was the child, on the back of the Messenger of Allah, who was in prostration. I then returned to my prostration. When the Messenger of Allah had offered the prayer, the people said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! In the middle of your prayer, you performed prostration and lengthened it so much that we thought either something had happened or that you were receiving revelation!’ He said, ‘Neither was the case. Actually, my grandson made me his mount, and I did not want to hurry him until he had satisfied his wish’” (“Sunan al-Nasa’i,” 1141). No parent wants their child creating chaos in the mosque, and everyone is doing what they can to prevent that. The next time you hear a giggle or the pitter-patter of small feet, please consider the importance of that child feeling safe in a mosque and returning to it throughout his or her life. ih Nayab Bashir is a literature aficionado with an English literature degree to prove it. A mother of three children under ten, currently staying home with her youngest, and “studying for the LSAT.”
Ahlam Osman stands by a persimmon tree at her home in Northeast Portland in October 2023.
A
hlam Osman stood at the edge of a massive landfill in Arlington, Ore., a dozen miles from the Columbia River, watching trucks dump thousands of pounds of urban garbage and bulldozers push the refuse across a vast sandy field. She learned that 65 long-haul trucks make their way every day from Portland to the dump site — and that’s not even half of the Portland metro region’s waste. For Osman, a Somali American who grew up steeped in Islam, visiting the 12,000-acre Columbia Ridge Landfill as a high school senior three years ago drove her, now 22 and a Portland State University senior, to examine her personal impact on the environment and explore how Islam aligns with climate action. That journey, in turn, led her to become an organizer who encourages young African and Muslim people to engage with nature and
advocate for their communities, which face many challenges brought by climate change. “When I saw the piles and piles of garbage, that really opened my eyes and made me realize, wow, our trash isn’t just disappearing,” Osman said. “I realized that as Muslims, it’s our duty to take climate change seriously and to do our best to protect the Earth.” As Muslims see their voice and political clout grow in Oregon and elsewhere, Osman is part of a new wave of young leaders across the country who are using Islam as a tool to tackle climate change. She’s an early adopter in Portland, building on a Muslim green movement that’s further along on the East Coast.
ON THE PERIPHERY
Being an environmental organizer was far from an apparent path for Osman. Like many other Somalis in the
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
59
ENVIRONMENT early 1990s, her parents fled their home in Mogadishu with their growing family during the country’s bloody civil war. They spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya, where conditions were cramped and necessities scarce. The family survived largely thanks to financial support from its father’s uncle who lived in Los Angeles. The uncle helped bring the family to California, but they moved to Portland five years later after Osman’s mother developed asthma. Portland, they thought, offered
ventilation and no air conditioning, near major roadways and areas without sidewalks. ◆ Getting food is a problem. Many Somali refugees don’t drive, live far from supermarkets and avoid public transit after displays of anti-Muslim hatred intensified. ◆ It turns out Somalis and other East Africans have moved into areas considered heat islands, where cement dominates and tree canopies are sparse. This leads to higher-than-average temperatures and denser air pollution. “Where you live, your ZIP
We believe that Allah is going to ask us what we did and what our role was when there are injustices going on,” Osman said. “When I think of my legacy, I hope to be a mentor to youth… so they can advocate for themselves and recognize the power of their voice.” cleaner air — though they later realized it was far from pristine, especially during fire season. They joined an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Somalis who call Oregon home, most of them living in Multnomah County. Thousands of other Africans have also resettled here, many hailing from countries with large Muslim populations, including Ethiopia and Eritrea. Osman was born at OHSU Hospital with her twin brother — the ninth and 10th of 11 children and the first to be born in Oregon. She was brought up in a traditional Islamic household and a supportive, tightknit family. She attended Islamic weekend classes to learn Arabic and study the Quran. As she grew older, Osman said she noticed various things: ◆ She watched fellow Somali teenagers struggle with fitting into a society that didn’t share their culture, language or religion and that made little effort to understand or reach out to them. ◆ Many Somali families she knew faced financial hardships, discrimination and health problems largely unknown back home. Most of them had owned homes and held stable jobs, she said, but now work for low wages. Many, like her father, a former business owner, became taxi, Lyft and Uber drivers or held a series of odd jobs to make ends meet. ◆ Refugee agencies often placed families in affordable apartment complexes with poor 60
code determines your lifespan and health issues, especially in the era of climate change,” she said. ◆ Many Somalis don’t see the connection, for their families are focused on survival. They also feel a sense of hopelessness coupled with fatalism, because “a part of our faith is the idea that whatever is meant to happen will happen.” ◆ Portland’s climate movement is predominantly white and few blacks or Muslims work in sustainability-related fields. The Portland Clean Energy Fund seeks to invest millions of dollars in clean energy and climate justice job training programs and apprenticeships for people of color, among other investments. “I think there’s a huge disconnect,” Osman said. “People don’t see the connection to their faith and values.”
WASTE NOT
Determined to change those disparities, Osman joined leadership and civic training programs, the Multnomah Youth Commission and social justice initiatives. Her older siblings also encouraged her to get involved and pursue higher education, although many female Somalis did not. “Osman was always very outspoken and very curious. She would seek out why things were happening, and she was driven from
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
a young age to engage in the community,” said her older sister Hanna, who works as a public health planner and policy analyst and became Osman’s mentor. Then there was the three-year internship with Oregon Metro, when she visited the Columbia Ridge landfill site, learned about recycling and planted native trees and shrubs. This internship would lead to an awakening of sorts. Osman also sought to incorporate Islam’s teachings after learning that God appointed humans as khalifa (guardians) of Earth and that Islam emphasizes that Earth and its resources are an amana (trust). She tried to avoid fast fashion and buy less, scoured second-hand stores for clothes, took public transit, got better at recycling and sought to make espresso at home or bring her own mug to coffee shops. Her Muslim colleagues and family members called her “the environmentalist” because she often shared her sustainability practices — “although she isn’t overbearing with it,” her sister said. They told Osman she reminded them of Fatima Jibrell, a Somali American activist who campaigned in Somalia to salvage old-growth forests of acacia trees and promote solar cookers. But Osman wanted to bring change to Portland, not Somalia. In 2021, she worked as a youth environmental coordinator with the African Youth and Community Organization (AYCO), an east county nonprofit that supports immigrant and refugee Muslim African, Irani, Myanmar and Afghani teens and their families in the Portland area. She took them on hikes to local nature areas, raised their awareness about climate impacts and taught them about careers related to sustainability and renewable energy, among other industries. “Osman has a very strong mindset about fostering an environmentally friendly way of living,” said Jamal Dar (executive director, AYCO). Osman introduced staff and families to recycling, showing community members how to use the different collection bins and sort materials, Dar said. Such hands-on education is key, he contends, since most refugee families have no knowledge of recycling, having spent decades in refugee camps. Many adults cannot speak or read English, so flier-based campaigns are ineffective. “There’s a big gap when it comes to communication and services within the community that we serve,” Dar said.
IN MEMORIAM A STRONGER VOICE
Osman drew inspiration from recently established small, volunteer Muslim American environmental groups that were becoming increasingly visible, including the Wisconsin Green Muslims, Virginia-based Green Muslims or Faithfully Sustainable. The latter was created in New York City by two Muslim college students who launched a campaign targeting overconsumption during Eid al-Fitr. “There’s growing interest in our community not only in caring for the environment, but also in connecting with nature as part of our faith and our religious obligations to God,” said Sevim Kalyoncu (executive director, Green Muslims). This increase in awareness corresponds partly with a shift in how Americans and the government view Muslim Americans, Kalyoncu said. More than two decades after 9/11, about 3.5 million Muslims live in the U.S. There’s also been a rise in Muslim American politicians — including the nation’s first two Muslim congresswomen and local legislators, including state Sen. Kayse Jama (D-Portland) and Washington County Commissioner Nafisa Fai, both Somali American. “We have a stronger voice and we feel more comfortable speaking out,” Kalyoncu said. “And we’re getting more involved in issues of the country and of the world because of that.” Many Muslim Americans also remain connected to where their relatives still live, she said, which regularly see droughts, water scarcity and floods intensified by a rapidly changing climate. It’s important to have environmental groups and climate organizers who represent and focus on Muslim Americans as “a stepping stone” that connects Muslims to the wider environmental movement, Kalyoncu said. Many Muslims find that connection in their local mosque or cultural center. And that’s where the ISNA’s Green Initiative, launched nine years ago, comes in. This program guides mosques and cultural centers on how to implement environmentally friendly practices, among them waste reduction, recycling and installing solar panels, said Saiyid Masroor Shah (chair). Three years ago, the organization partnered with the EPA to produce an ENERGY STAR guidebook for Muslim congregations to track their energy use and improve energy efficiency. ISNA also promotes a Green
Ramadan and offers resources on other climate actions. “This is our obligation, because the Quran mentions over and over again that we are the caretakers of this world,” Shah said. “And part of the Prophet’s (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) teachings, his methods of conservation practices, is to tell us not to waste food or water.”
YOUTH LEADERS
In September, Osman flew to New York City to attend the first-ever conference in the U.S. focused on the climate movement and Islam. She met other Muslim American environmental leaders and heard from panelists about how climate change impacts poverty and health, how urban farming can help food-insecure families and how the fashion market is trying to become more sustainable. The conference gave her hope and made her realize that she, as a young Muslima climate activist, isn’t alone and can make a difference. “Being in this space with other Muslims who came from a familiar background and seeing change-makers who are just as passionate about environmental and climate justice felt like a dream come true,” she wrote after returning home. This fall, Osman returned full time to PSU to finish her bachelors’ degree in community development. In the future, she plans to study urban planning to ensure that all communities of color aren’t bearing disproportionate climate burdens. In the meantime, she continues to volunteer with AYCO, lead hikes for African and Muslim teens, as well as develop a new environmental justice program with the Portland Harbor Community Coalition to get more youths of color interested in nature and the environment. She hopes to take them to the same recycling plants and landfill sites she saw, so they, too, can understand how trash and over-consumption affect the environment. “We believe that Allah is going to ask us what we did and what our role was when there are injustices going on,” Osman said. “When I think of my legacy, I hope to be a mentor to youth… so they can advocate for themselves and recognize the power of their voice.” ih Gosia Wozniacka is an environmental reporter for The Oregonian/ OregonLive. Republished with permission. This article is a condensed and modified version of a longer article written by Gosia Wozniacka that first appeared in The Oregonian/OregonLive.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
61
Saleemul Huq 1952-2023
Climate Change Expert
P
rofessor Saleemul Huq (founder and director, Inter national Centre for Climate Change and Development [ICCCAD], Dhaka) passed away on Oct. 28, 2023 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was part of the author team for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) third, fourth and fifth assessment reports, spanning from 1997 to 2014. An expert in climate change, environment, and development, he focused on adapting to climate change and mitigating its effects from the perspective of the Least Developing Countries (LDCs). He attended all the sessions of the Conferences of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and was an active adviser on adaptation, loss and damage, and climate finance to the UNFCCC’s LDC group of negotiators. At its COP27 event, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Huq was instrumental in reaching the agreement to establish a loss and damage fund, a project that he had worked on for many years. A dual Bangladeshi-British citizen, in 2022 Huq was honored with the Order of the British Empire for his efforts to combat climate change. He published hundreds of scientific as well as popular articles and in 2019 was recognized as one of the top twenty global influencers on climate change policy. He was also a senior fellow at the U.K.-based International Institute for Environment & Development and senior adviser on locally led adaptation at the Global Centre on Adaptation. Due to his parents’ diplomatic postings, he grew up in Europe, Asia and Africa. He moved to the U.K. during the 1970s to study at Imperial College London, where he obtained his doctorate in botany in 1978. Dr. Huq is survived by his wife Kashana, son Saqib, and daughter Sadaf. ih
NEW RELEASES The Sirah of the Prophet (pbuh): A Contemporary and Original Analysis Dr. Yasir Qadhi (Salah Sharief, ed.) 2023. Pp.512. HB. $46.47. PB. $29.92. Kindle $14.99 Kube Publishing Ltd., Markfield, U.K. ollowing Yasir Qadhi’s ground-breaking video lecture series on the sirah of Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), this compilation is an equally impactful written adaptation. It provides a refreshing insight into the Final Messenger’s life and contextualizes it in modern-day context. It’s not just a chronological account, but one that offers beneficial and actionable lessons for our daily lives.
F
Islam and Evolution Shoaib Ahmed Malik 2023. Pp. 362. HB. $170.00. PB. $48.95 Routledge alik attempts to equip the reader with a holistic and accessible account of Islam and evolution. His book therefore guides the reader through the different variables that have played a part in the ongoing dialogue between Muslim creationists and evolutionists. This work views the discussion through the lens of al-Ghazali (1058-1111). By understanding him as an Ash’arite theologian, a particular strand of Sunni theology, his metaphysical and hermeneutic ideas are taken to explore if and how much Neo-Darwinian evolution can be accepted. The author shows that his ideas can be used to reach an alignment between Islam and Neo-Darwinian evolution. Malik offers a detailed examination that seeks to offer clarity — if not agreement — in the midst of an intense intellectual conflict and polarity among Muslims. It will be of interest to scholars of science and religion, theology, philosophy of religion, Islamic and religious studies.
M
The Struggle for the People’s King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement (Kindle Edition) Hajar Yazdiha 2023. Pp. 286. HB. $95.00. PB. $29.95. Kindle $16.18 Princeton University Press n the post-civil rights era, wide-ranging groups have made civil rights claims that echo those made by the Black civil rights activists of the 1960s, from people with disabilities to women’s rights activists and other coalitions. Increasingly, since the 1980s white, right-wing social movements, from family values coalitions to the alt-right, now claim this collective memory to portray themselves as the newly oppressed minorities. This book reveals how, as these powerful groups remake collective memory toward competing political ends, they generate offshoots of remembrance that distort history and threaten the very foundations of multicultural democracy. In the revisionist memories of white conservatives, gun rights activists are the new Rosa Parks, antiabortion activists are
I
62
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
freedom riders, and antigay groups are the defenders of Martin Luther King’s Christian vision. Drawing on a wealth of evidence ranging from newspaper articles and organizational documents to television transcripts, press releases and focus groups, Yazdiha documents the consequential reimagining of the civil rights movement in American political culture from 1980 to today. She shows how King’s public memory and civil rights have been transformed into a vacated, sanitized collective memory that evades social reality and perpetuates racial inequality. While she focuses primarily on MLK, she also provides a unique time to delve into the often overlooked yet essential aspects of Muslim and Black relations within the broader context of civil rights activism. Powerful and persuasive, The Struggle for the People’s King demonstrates that these oppositional uses of memory fracture our collective understanding of who we are, how we got here, and where we go next. My Garden over Gaza Sarah Musa (Illus. Saffia Bazlamit) 2022. Pp. 36. (ages 4+). PB. $13.99 Ruqaya’s Bookshelf, Canada culturally integral story about the perseverance of the Palestinian spirit. Noura is a strong young lady who diligently cares for her little brother Esam and her father’s rooftop garden. But life in Gaza is hard even for the young. Can Noura keep working with all her heart even after losing the thing she loves the most? This book doesn’t let you claim ignorance regarding the plight of Palestinians, and it shows cruelty, a specific inexcusable cruelty, in a children’s book that can both haunt and infuriate you.
A
Searching for God, Finding Love Teresa Lesher 2024. Pp. 146. $19.95 PB. Tughra Books, Clifton, N.J. esher writes:“One of my earliest memories is of contemplating God. I was a freckle-faced girl of five, sitting quietly in catechism class when the teacher casually said, ‘God is bigger than everything.’ The words hit me like a blast force. The classroom disappeared, the teacher’s voice muted, and I gasped at the revelation. Bigger than the tallest tree in the yard? Bigger than a mountain? Bigger than the world? The enormity of God impressed me, but I couldn’t help wondering, ‘If He is bigger than anything, where is He?’” In her memoir, Lesher shares her search for God. She explores factors that have made her who she is and who lead her in her quest for the Divine. She dissects basic concepts that have been essential for her understanding of God as well as paradigms that shape her experience of Him. She shares her journey along the Divine Path and closer to Divine Presence through expressions of submission to Him. This quest for God takes her to her innermost self and ends with a discovery of life, an understanding of love, and a commitment to truth. ih
L
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) P.O. Box 38 • Plainfield, IN 46168-0038
NON PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #15 KENT, OH