Islamic Horizons July/August 2025

A Star Arose 100 Years Ago

May 19, 2025 would have been Civil Rights leader Malcolm X’s 100th birthday. As we witness Israel’s genocide in Gaza today, we must remember that 60 years ago, Malcolm X and other prominent activists were already condemning Zionism and calling for the right of the Palestinian people to return to their land. In a 1964 essay, Malcolm X wrote, “Zionist logic is the same logic that brought Hitler and the Nazis into power... It is the same logic that says that because my grandfather came from Ireland, I have the right to go back to Ireland and take over the whole country” (The Egyptian Gazette, Sept. 17, 1964).

During a speech in Detroit that same year, he said, “We don’t need a divided Palestine; we need a whole Palestine.”

Dr. James Jones, a veteran of the Civil Rights Movements, takes Islamic Horizons readers through a series of unfortunate racist decisions made by the United States Supreme Court. This painful past is being extended and exacerbated today under false pretenses from the current presidential administration such as liberty, independence, security, and national pride.

In April, ISNA held its 26th Education Forum focusing on “Bridging Tradition & Innovation: Cultivating Hope and Joy in Our Schools.”

Rasheed Rabbi, who has been a constant source of enlightenment on the ISNA convention scene states that the ISNA annual convention is a call to action to recognize and renew America’s righteous spirit — not rhetorically, but strategically. More than a conference that merely offers novel ideas, it’s a gathering of conscience, a platform of resistance, and a place for communities to come together to uphold the true American spirit.

ISNA invites everyone to speak the truth, to demand justice, and to embody freedom. The convention will not merely discuss these principles — it will model them. Through critical

dialogue, faith-rooted actions, and collective resolve, the ISNA 2025 annual convention aims to empower individuals, families, communities, and leaders to restore our legacy.

To be righteous is not to be passive. It is to stand firmly, act boldly, and love deeply — this land, its people, and their collective potential.

Also, in this issue, Professor Nadia B. Ahmad asserts that now is the time for Muslims to set the agenda. The Muslim American community, she reminds us, is at a generational turning point, one that calls not for cautious optimism or slow, negotiated progress, but for decisive and unapologetic agenda-setting. For too long, she states, we have been trained to believe that our victories lie in representation, access, and reconciliation. But history has shown time and again that systems do not change through symbolic presence alone.

Lawyer Faisal Kutty discusses Muslims seeking beyond a seat at the table, pointing out when representation becomes complicity.

Lauren Banko offers a striking review of Louis Theroux’s BBC documentary The Settlers (2025) which chronicles atrocities committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians, their homes, and their lands. For the viewer, these atrocities are haunting because they are so mundane. Their mundanity stems from the fact that they have been going on since Israel began its military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip in June of 1967.

Still, this comes at a moment in which the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using “full force” — not only unhindered but also constantly militarily replenished by the U.S., U.K., and other European countries — to continue the 77-yearlong genocide against Palestinians, now in play in Gaza since October 2023. As such, Gaza remains in sight, literally and figuratively, throughout the hour-long documentary. ih

PUBLISHER

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)

PRESIDENT

Syed Imtiaz Ahmad

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Basharat Saleem

EDITOR

Omer Bin Abdullah

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Bareerah Zafar

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Iqbal Unus, Chair: M. Ahmadullah Siddiqi, Saba Ali, Rasheed Rabbi, Wafa Unus

ISLAMIC HORIZONS

is a bimonthly publication of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) P.O. Box 38 Plainfield, IN 46168-0038

Copyright © 2025 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

Renewing the American Spirit: Prophetic Ideals for Challenging Times

Looking Ahead to ISNA’s 62nd Annual Convention

BY RASHEED RABBI

False ceasefires and peace treaties masked ulterior agendas. Gender discourse was distorted to sabotage the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts. Education and research are defunded to stifle a nation’s future. Aggressive crackdowns on immigration stoked the ageold fear of racism. And the list goes on.

These are not isolated acts but coordinated tactics of a sweeping agenda unfolding through a barrage of executive orders under the second Trump administration. As of May 14, 2025, 152 executive orders, 39 memoranda, and 54 proclamations have irrevocably reshaped policy, sharpened hidden agendas, and sent shockwaves nationwide. While political analysts frame these actions within the familiar slogans like “Make America Great Again,” “America First,” and “Peace Through Strength,” the deeper truth has been laid bare: these slogans are mere façades. These orders are not reforms but instruments of erosion. Not solutions but strikes against the very spirit of America. Their intent is not to fix but to fracture, not to strengthen but to suppress. To call them merely deceptive would be an understatement. These are lies inked with deceptive intent long before the signatures on these contentious documents dried.

A PARODY OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

The 2024 presidential election’s defining issue was the Gaza ceasefire. Despite standing atop a mountain of corpses, bathing in Palestinian blood, and inhaling their dying breaths, the Biden administration remained

unmoved. Its refusal to act exposed a partisan allegiance to Israel which was steeped in political expediency.

That inertia became the perfect electoral bait that President Donald Trump seized. He offered what Joe Biden couldn’t: the promise of peace. Trump promised to deliver a ceasefire, which won him the Michigan Muslim vote, a key factor in his 2024 electoral victory (Sarah McCammon, “Arab and Muslim voters helped deliver Michigan to Trump. They’re not all happy so far,” March 4, 2025. NPR). Yet, before even taking office, he reneged. What followed wasn’t peace, but rather a more calculated bloodletting in Gaza and across Palestine.

His so-called three-phase ceasefire for Gaza hasn’t paused the bloodshed; instead, it has paved the way for a genocidal ethnic cleansing executed with unwavering U.S. backing (Harb, Ali. “What Does Trump’s Ethnic Cleansing Proposal Mean for Ceasefire Deal?” Al Jazeera. Feb 8, 2025). Even in his May trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE, Trump labeled Gaza a “Freedom Zone,” reinforcing “his proposal to displace Palestinians from the territory just as Israel plans.”

The betrayal extends beyond Gaza. It reflects a broader foreign policy that deepens global divisions. Consider Ukraine. On Feb. 28, Republican leaders hailed President Volodymyr Zelensky as a heroic defender of democracy in the morning, but after an afternoon closed-door meeting with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, they rebranded him as an ungrateful warmonger (Peter Baker, et al. “Trump Administration

Updates: Trump and Vance Berate Zelensky, Exposing Break between Wartime Allies.” The New York Times. Feb. 28, 2025).

This isn’t foreign policy; it’s foreign improv. Allies are cherished until they’re inconvenient. Enemies are condemned until they’re useful. Commitments are made with solemnity only to be broken at the speed of a tweet. Can nations truly still rely on U.S. leadership when it moves not by principle, but by personal convenience?

DEI REDEFINED AS “DON’T EVEN INCLUDE”

The war at home came swift. Within hours of taking office on Jan. 20, Trump eradicated every DEI program across federal agencies and institutions. This singular act dismantled policies that provided marginalized groups equal access to opportunities at the federal level. Without DEI, corporate hiring regresses, schools lose equitable funding, and workplaces abandon fair treatment for all. “His baseless attacks on DEI are attacks on the promise of America — the promise that everyone should be able to build the life of their dreams without barriers standing in their way,” Andrea Abrams, Executive director of the Defending American Values Coalition, told USA Today (Jessica Guynn, “DEI Explained: What Is DEI and Why Is It So Divisive? What You Need to Know.” USA Today. March 5, 2025).

FROM MERIT TO MAGA: MONEY TAKES OVER ACADEMIA

The education sector is also under attack. Federal funding cuts target universities where protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza have taken place. The Trump administration cut $2.2 billion in funding from Harvard, $400 million from Columbia, $210 million from Princeton, and millions more from dozens of other institutions of higher learning in the United States (Roy, Yash. “Trump Administration Suspends Dozens of Research Grants to Princeton.” CNN. April 1, 2025).

This isn’t about antisemitism, as the administration claims; it’s about silencing academic dissent. Suspending federal funding revokes the intellectual freedom of American universities. Ideological conformity is dictating funding. Universities now face an impossible choice: comply with political mandates or risk financial collapse.

The very principles that once made American universities the envy of the world — free speech and academic independence — are now under siege (Sharon Lurye and Jocelyn Gecker. “Colleges’ Federal Funding in Doubt under Trump Thanks to Cuts, Investigations.” AP News, March 28, 2025). This slow erosion of academic freedom is part of a broader effort

to consolidate control over public discourse, an “unspoken promise of Trump’s return” (M. Gessen. “Opinion: This Is the Dark, Unspoken Promise of Trump’s Return.” The Salt Lake Tribune. November 17, 2024).

DEPORTING DREAMS, IMPORTING DECLINE

The administration’s immigration stance also exceeds prior political posturing, advancing the false narrative that America is under siege

unconstitutional, violating the separation of powers that gives Congress, not the president, authority over federal spending.

In March alone, layoffs surged by 205%, with over 275,000 jobs eliminated, one of the highest monthly spikes in U.S. history. A major driver? Mass firings led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an entity with no Congressional mandate or legal basis.

The ISNA annual convention is a call to action to recognize and renew Muslim Americans’ righteous spirit not rhetorically, but strategically. More than a conference that merely offers ideas, it’s a gathering of conscience, a platform of resistance, a place for communities to come together to uphold the true American spirit.

by illegal immigrants. Within his first 100 days in office, Trump invoked archaic immigration laws, questioned judges’ power to rule against his decisions, and attempted to end several legal immigration pathways (Maria Briceño & Maria Ramirez Uribe. “How Falsehoods Drove Trump’s Immigration Crackdown in His First 100 Days.” Al Jazeera, April 29, 2025).

Drastic restrictions and abrupt policy shifts have generated uncertainty for millions, from asylum seekers to scholars to businesses reliant on immigrant labor. While national security and economic concerns are valid considerations in shaping immigration policy, unilateral and ideological executive actions fail to address the complexities of the issue in a sustainable or legally-sound manner.

THE FINE ART OF COLLAPSING MARKETS

And even if you dodge these issues, the reeling economy won’t spare you. Stocks are tumbling, shedding over $5 trillion in market value in just three weeks in March 2025 (Jesse Pound, “U.S. stock market loses $5 trillion in value in three weeks,” CNBC, March 14, 2025). Markets are in a tailspin. Business leaders are panicking. Consumers are frightened and confused, and economists are desperately trying to make sense of a capricious tariff policy that punishes Americans more than foreign business interests. Within only 100 days in the Oval Office, Trump has driven an economy that the world envied to the brink of imminent recession (CNN).

Nor do the unilateral federal job cuts demonstrate reform; rather, they are purges. Democrats, labor unions, and watchdog groups condemn the moves as

THE MUSK DOCTRINE: POWER WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY

Perhaps no one embodied the epitome of this administration’s collision of wealth, racist ideology, and unregulated authority more than Elon Musk. Though he left his position at the White House in May, Musk remained the largest individual donor in the 2024 presidential election, funneling over $290 million to Republican causes." Before his departure, he operated as a "special government employee," shaping federal policy while profiting directly from it.

His companies, SpaceX, Tesla, and Starlink, collectively received nearly $38 billion in federal contracts, subsidies, and tax breaks (Desmond Butler. “Elon Musk’s Business Empire Is Built on $38 Billion in Government Funding.” The Washington Post, Feb. 26, 2025). 53% of registered voters disapprove of him, and he hadn’t received an official appointment from the Senate. His position was not for public service. It was profiteering disguised as patriotism. When unelected billionaires dictate public policy, democracy is not merely weakened but is reconfigured into corporate oligarchy. And we may be closer to that reality than we think.

ISNA’S CALL TO CONSCIENCE

These glimpses of widespread depravity at the federal level are meant neither to discourage nor to fuel partisan attacks. Every administration has strengths and flaws, but the above concerns are recent and deeply interconnected. They are escalating too fast, even for an urgent call for leaders and citizens to act on behalf of the greater good of a nation

pledged to freedom and unity. That’s exactly what ISNA’s annual convention upholds.

What we are witnessing is not just policy shifts or misguided reforms; it is an orchestrated act of betrayal cloaked in patriotism designed to seize the American spirit and its founding promises of pluralism.

Despite a Republican House majority that could advance laws through standard procedures, governance now relies on executive actions at an unprecedented scale. This trend circumvents the checks and balances designed to ensure democracy, disregards institutional norms, and reflects a broad mistrust of the U.S. political system’s foundations.

Likewise, the speed and scale of these changes exemplify a restructuring of American institutions to fit a singular ideological vision. It shows power is no longer shared but wielded. It portrays an emerging political landscape defined by volatility, polarization, and departure from established norms.

The truth is unsettling, but confronting it is essential. Preserving democratic principles, institutional integrity, and public trust — the core of the American political system — demands scrutiny and accountability. The future of America depends not just on who holds power, but on how that power is exercised.

A CALL TO RENEW THE AMERICAN SPIRIT AT THE 62ND ANNUAL ISNA CONVENTION

The ISNA annual convention is a call to action to recognize and renew Muslim Americans’ righteous spirit not rhetorically, but strategically. More than a conference that merely offers ideas, it’s a gathering of conscience, a platform of resistance, a place for communities to come together to uphold the true American spirit.

ISNA invites all to speak the truth to demand justice, to embody freedom. The convention will not merely discuss these principles; it will model them. Through critical dialogue, faith-rooted actions, and collective resolve, the ISNA 2025 annual convention aims to empower individuals, families, communities, and leaders to restore our legacy.

To be righteous is not to be passive. It is to stand firmly, act boldly, and love deeply this land, its people, and its promise.

We stand united to renew America’s spirit by defending the truth.

We protect its future by fighting for justice. We keep it free by following prophetic ideals in this challenging time. ih

Rasheed Rabbi, community, prison, and hospital chaplain at NOVA, Doctor of Ministry from Boston University, and MA in Religious Studies from Hartford International University. He is the founder of e-Dawah and Secretary of the Association of Muslim Scientists, Engineers & Technology Professionals.

Bridging Tradition & Innovation: Cultivating Hope and Joy in Our Schools

A Recap of the 26th ISNA Education Forum

BY CRYSTAL HABIB

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) held its 26th Education Forum on April 18 to 20, 2025 in Chicago where it welcomed over 530 educators, administrators, and leaders from the Islamic education community. The event’s theme, “Bridging Tradition & Innovation: Cultivating Hope and Joy in Our Schools,” underscored a collective commitment to nurturing an educational environment that respects Islamic tradition while embracing modern pedagogical advancements.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

This year’s forum included more than 40 distinguished speakers and offered over 20 interactive sessions, making it a comprehensive learning experience for attendees. The sessions featured a diverse array of topics critical to contemporary Islamic education, including Arabic, Quranic and Islamic Studies, Curriculum and Instruction, Mental Health and Wellness, and Administration and Leadership. The event addressed the challenges educators face while providing solutions through collaborative discussion of shared experiences.

A lively bazaar with 20 vendors offered a variety of goods showcasing various

educational products, Islamic art, prayer mats, perfumes, abayas, and essential services that catered to the needs of attendees. The vibrant energy in the hallways highlighted the spirit of collaboration and community that the ISNA Education Forum fosters, encouraging interaction and dialogue among participants.

COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS

This year’s forum was bolstered by partnerships with the Council of Islamic Schools Based in North America (CISNA) and Weekend Islamic Schools Educational Resources (WISER). These collaborations played a vital role in ensuring that the content presented was relevant and tailored to meet the evolving needs of Islamic educators. Workshops and discussions were informed by current trends and best practices, allowing attendees to walk away with actionable insights applicable to their respective institutions.

RECOGNIZING MUSLIM EXCELLENCE

The forum served as a platform to recognize outstanding contributions to the field of Islamic education. The prestigious Lifetime Service Award was presented to past ISNA president Safaa Zarzour, Assistant Director

of Little Horizons Academy, honoring his unwavering dedication and extensive impact on Islamic education and community leadership. With roles including former President of ISNA and superintendent of Universal Schools, Zarzour’s commitment exemplifies the essence of service to future generations.

KEY SESSIONS

Among the many impactful sessions were:

“Revolutionizing Arabic Classrooms with Technology” by ESL and Arabic educator Fatima Raafat, PhD, which focused on integrating innovative technologies into Arabic language teaching, elevating the student learning experience.

“ Teaching Tadabbur to Cultivate Spiritual Resilience” led by Ismail ibn Ali, the Head of School and Program Manager at the Center for Innovative Religious Education at Al Faith Academy. This session emphasized the value of spiritual reflection through Qur’ānic contemplation which leads to student transformation.

“Leading Meaningful Practices to Strengthen School Environments” by Principal Haleema Syed from the Islamic Center of Naperville Noor Academy offered practical strategies for fostering positive relationships between staff, students, and parents to create thriving school cultures.

“Promoting Social Justice in Our Schools” was led by Amaarah DeCuir from the American University School of Education and author and educator Rukayat Yakub from Ribaat Academic Institute. It discussed the role of anti-Blackness in justifying slavery and subsequent acts of exclusion and aggression in the United States. The presenters stated that Islam was purposeful in elevating every racial and ethnic group and as such, it is the duty of every Muslim to do something about it in an effort to take care of all members of humanity.

“A Preventative Approach to Preserving Muslim Mental Health in Western Culture” was conducted by Dr. Sarfraz Khan, adjunct professor of psychiatry at the Indiana

Safa Zarzour (middle) receives the Lifetime Service Award from Executive Director Basharat Saleem (right).

University School of Education. “Ultimately the goal is to prevent mental illness the same way we strive to prevent other types of illnesses,” Khan said. He focused on the responsibility that parents have in raising their children and that there is a limited window for raising them well. Dr. Khan emphasized Frederick Douglass’ famous quote, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

“ Pursuing Excellence in Team Leadership: Effective Behaviors for School Team” was led by CISNA president William White and featured an interactive workshop that explored research-based best practices for team building using the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team framework created by business management expert Patrick Lencioni. Participants reflected on their experiences working within Muslim organizations, learned simple and effective framework for team behaviors, and identified key issues.

“Enhancing Student Engagement, Achievement, and Joy Through STEM Challenges,” led by University of Houston Clear Lake graduate assistant Maisa Meziou, offered a dynamic STEM activity that engaged students, integrated STEM disciplines, and aligned with learning standards. The activity featured was The Bucket Challenge, a cost-effective, accessible, and simple activity that showcased how STEM challenges can elevate student engagement, enhance achievement, and infuse joy into learning.

“Evolution, Free Will, and the Human Experience: Navigating Life’s Big Questions” featured a panel that included educator, author, and youth activist Habeeb Quadri; educator and consultant for the High Quality Educational Consulting Aisha Basith; Director of Initiative on Islam and Medicine Aasim I. Padela; educator Bilal Ali Ansari; and physician and pharmaceutical executive Ahsan M. Arozullah. This session, aimed at high school and college education, explored integrating the study of biosciences into Islamic curriculum, tackling critical topics that can confuse Muslim students. It emphasized the use of revelation as a genuine source of knowledge when addressing fundamental questions about the human being. By applying a holistic epistemological framework, students have increased their knowledge, preparedness, and faith when addressing topics of friction between science and Islam.

“Empowering Islamic Education with AI: Practical Tools for Teachers” was led by AI

experts and co-founders of Nur Al Huda AI, Ibrahim Murtuza and Mohammed Abdul Jabbar and explored how Islamic schools can harness the potential of AI to enhance education. This session provided educators with practical AI tools to streamline lesson planning, personalize instruction, and reinforce an Islamic worldview in the classroom. Participants explored real-world applications, engaged in interactive demonstrations, and left with actionable strategies to implement AI effectively.

HIGHLIGHTED MOMENTS AND INITIATIVES

During the Saturday Luncheon, ISNA’s Mental Health Initiative was introduced by its Chair, Salman Ahmad who is a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. candidate at the University of Miami where he founded the Muslim American Project. This initiative aims to promote mental wellness and resilience in Muslim communities by leveraging Islamic teachings coupled with contemporary mental health principles. The full introduction to this service can be found through the mental health portal on the ISNA Website.

Keynote speaker Huda Alkaff from the ISNA Green Initiative Team discussed environmental justice and the significance of Chicago in the history of the movement. “As Muslims, we are tasked to care for our planet, a principle echoed throughout the Quran,” she said. Her insights brought attention to the significance of environmental stewardship for future generations.

PRE-CONFERENCES AND UNIQUE OFFERINGS

Pre-conferences allowed for day-long deep dives into several topics. New this year was a tour of two campuses of MCC (Muslim Community Center) Academy which allowed school leaders to learn about the development of a local Islamic school, gain practical insights, and become informed about best practices through the observation of a variety of school activities and presentations led by MCC staff.

The Arabic and Quran workshop provided participants an opportunity to learn how storytelling is a valuable pedagogical strategy that sparks curiosity, enhances communication skills, and demonstrates and promotes Islamic morals and values. Educators who took part in that workshop concluded their session by creating lesson plans that incorporated storytelling within

their contexts. The Health and Wellness workshop focused on equipping educators with tools to address mental health challenges among Muslim youth.

AN ENRICHING GATHERING

The Forum was a resounding success marked by enthusiastic participation, enriching discussions, and significant networking opportunities. Each session, workshop, and conversation contributed to a renewed commitment to excellence in Islamic education. Attendees left inspired to implement new strategies and insights that will positively impact their students and communities. For more detailed information about the sessions and presenters, please explore the ISNA website under the resources section labeled “Education Forum Papers.”

ISNA extends a heartfelt thank you to the program committee for their dedication, which includes Co-Chairs Abir Catovic and Azra Naqvi, and Ziad Abdalla, Majida Abdul-Kareem, Salah Ayari, Magda Saleh Elkdai, Kathy Jamil, Farea Khan, and Nancy Nassr, alongside ISNA staff members, Programs Manager Muktar Ahmad, Project Manager Tabasum Ahmad, Communication and Social Media Coordinator Crystal Habib, and Program Intern Malaika Khan.

Special thanks to our sponsors: American Islamic College, Fawakih Institute, and Diwan, Islamic Services Foundation, School Pro, and IQRA. We appreciate the attendees, the hotel and banquet hall staff, volunteers, staff members and all those who helped make this event successful. May Allah reward your work! ih

Crystal Habib is the communications and social media manager at ISNA.

COMMUNITY MATTERS

The First Latino Mosque in the Midwest

On May 5, Chicago-based grassroots organization Ojala Foundation officially purchased property in Berwyn, Ill. that will serve as the first Latino-led mosque in the Midwest. This former church is housed in a 1948-built Gothic building with easy access to public transportation and 14,000 square feet ready to be repurposed into a prayer area, large banquet/community hall, classrooms, and a library.

Two decades ago, Latino Muslims in Cook County had little to no resources that helped them connect Islam and their heritage. With the help of the Ojala Foundation, they have been able to bridge that gap. This new mosque will go beyond just being a building for the Latino community. It will be a sanctuary for prayer and culture, for healing and heritage; a space created by and for Latino Muslims with a vision that will carry forward for generations.

The Ojala Foundation purchased the property for $1.3 million. They still need $700,000 to complete renovations. Those interested in donating to fund this new mosque can do so at ojalafoundation.org/donation.

On May 7, the United Nations announced the appointment of the High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), Miguel Ángel Moratinos, as the UN Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia. This historic appointment marks a major milestone in the United Nations’ efforts to combat the alarming rise in hatred, intolerance, and discrimination against Muslims worldwide, a Foreign Office statement said.

Moratinos has served as the UN Under-Secretary-General, holding the post of UNAOC since January 2019.

In February 2020, he was designated by the UN Secretary General as the UN Focal Point to monitor antisemitism and enhance a system-wide response.

As a believer in the value of multilateralism, Moratinos helped in the creation and launch of the UN Alliance of Civilizations in 2005. He also supported the Group of Friends for UN Reform.

In March 2019, Moratinos was awarded with the “League of Arab States” Award by the League of Arab States for his role in strengthening Arab-Spanish relations. Moratinos graduated with a degree in Law and Political Sciences at the University Complutense in Madrid and a degree in Diplomatic Studies at the Spanish Diplomatic School.

national, and regional meetings and conferences. Azarian served for four years as a Discipline Peer Reviewer for the Fulbright Scholar Program from 2015 to 2018 and published 78 reviews in the AMS’s Mathematical Reviews and the European Mathematical Society’s zbMATH Open. These honors recognize his outstanding contributions to research, problem creation, and his unparalleled service to the mathematics community.

Dr. Umair A. Shah, the former Secretary of Health of Washington State, received the Chancellor Robert D. Sparks, M.D., Award in Public Health and Preventive Medicine from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) on May 9.

During this year’s convocation address, Shah celebrated UNMC’s graduates and shared five reflections from his own journey. Shah said while things may appear differently, people are largely the same alluding to differing political ideologies. He also placed emphasis on being ready to pivot as things will change. He said that behind every data point is a story, and behind every story is a life. He urged the graduates to listen to that story and to not be afraid of taking on challenges. He concluded with a reminder to always do good.

The Chancellor Robert D. Sparks, M.D., Award was established in 1997 in honor of Dr. Sparks, the first president and CEO of Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC). It honors individuals or organizations that have demonstrated outstanding concern for the health of communities.

University of Evansville Prof. Mohammad K. Azarian made history as the first Muslim and the first Iranian American mathematician to have two prestigious mathematics awards named in his honor by the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

His extensive academic work includes the publication of 47 papers, 87 problems, and over 60 presentations at international,

The Mohammad K. Azarian Prize for Mathematical Reviewers, established by AMS, honors mathematicians who have demonstrated exceptional contributions to the peer review field. The Mohammad K. Azarian Scholar Award, established by MAA, celebrates excellence in mathematical problem creation. This award recognizes individuals whose original, thought-provoking problems challenge and inspire the mathematical community.

The inaugural award will be presented in August at MathFest 2025 in Sacramento.

M. Affan Badar, Ph.D, Vice President of ISNA USA, was recognized by the Indiana State University (ISU) with the 2025 Faculty Distinguished Service Award on April 17. The award is given based on continued dedication and leadership at the university, professional, and community levels. In 2023, he received the ISU Theodore Dreiser Distinguished Research/Creativity Award.

Badar is a professor of Engineering and director of the Ph.D in Technology Management program at Bailey College of Engineering and Technology at ISU. He was the Professor and Chair at the Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management Department at University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates from 2016 to 2018. At ISU, he was the interim Associate Dean of Curriculum, Accreditation, and Outreach from 2014 to 2015. From 2010 to 2014, he served as the chair of the Applied Engineering and Technology Management department. He has also served the University Faculty Senate, Faculty Senate Executive Committee, and College Faculty Council in different capacities including leadership roles. For engineering and technology accreditation in the United States, he is an ABET/ETAC commissioner and started as a program evaluator in 2010 for ETAC and EAC.

California Legislator to be U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles

President Donald Trump has chosen California Republican state lawmaker Bill Essayli to be the next U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. Essayli will oversee federal law enforcement in the Central District of California, the nation’s most populous federal court jurisdiction encompassing nearly 20 million residents. He served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the office earlier in his career.

The son of Lebanese immigrants, Essayli became the first Muslim member of the California chamber when he was elected in 2022. Since then, he has represented a conservative pocket of inland Southern California in the statehouse.

Essayli will replace acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally who filled the post earlier this year after Biden-appointed Martin Estrada left for private practice just before Trump’s inauguration.

Cornell University’s Muslim chaplain, Numan Dugmeoglu, and the Diwan Center for Muslim Life received the 29th annual James A. Perkins Prize for Interracial and Intercultural Peace and Harmony during a ceremony on April 21 at Willard Straight Hall, reported Laura Gallup, a communications lead for Student and Campus Life for the Cornel Chronicle

Each year, the $5,000 Perkins Prize is awarded to a Cornell program, organization, or event making the most significant contribution to furthering the ideal of the university’s community while respecting values of diversity.

Dugmeoglu, who joined in November 2023, has brought stability and increased visibility to Cornell’s Muslim community of at least 1,000 students, faculty, and staff, said Marla Love, the Robert W. and Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students. Students from the Diwan Center attended the ceremony and Dugmeoglu accepted the award on behalf of the group.

Winchester, Va.-based Shenandoah University bestowed the Doctoris Honoris Causa degree on Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, formally presented by University President Dr. Tracy Fitzsimmons at a ceremony held at the International Islamic University, Gombak Campus, in Kuala Lumpur on April 11. The award was in recognition of Anwar Ibrahim’s contribution to leadership and community development. The ceremony was attended by Selangor Chief Minister Amirduddin Shaari and about 3,000 staff and students, reported Bernama TV. For more details visit: https://www.su.edu/ blog/2025/04/28/shenandoah-university-awards-honorary-doctorate-to-malaysian-prime-minister/ ih

“Building bridges across identities is not always easy,” Dugmeoglu said. “But in those spaces, I have seen something beautiful: students who lean into discomfort with courage, who seek not only to understand others but to transform themselves.”

Dugmeoglu continued, “Unity is not accomplished through uniformity in the absence of difference, but rather through the wholehearted embracing of diversity. In fact, our differences are exactly what we need to bring to life the mosaic-like tapestry of our shared community here on campus.”

Early in his career, Omar worked in the telecom and technology solutions industries in leadership roles for over a decade, including at AT&T and Verizon.

Asif Mahmod Malik (D) was re-elected as a Trustee for Maine Township, a suburb of Chicago, on April 1. Malik, who holds degrees in science and agricultural management, currently serves as the traffic manager for the Cook County Circuit Court.

Amir Omar was elected mayor of Richardson, Texas on May 3. The son of a Palestinian father and an Iranian mother, Omar (B.S. Texas A&M ’96; MBA University of Texas at Dallas ‘13), who previously served on the city council, defeated the incumbent Bob Dubey with 55% of the votes.

Omar is the Council liaison to the Environmental Advisory Commission (EAC); the Council liaison to the Retail Committee; and is on the Methodist Richardson Medical Center Foundation board.

As the Council liaison to the EAC in 2010, Omar championed the “Tree The Town” initiative, a program that aimed to plant of 50,000 trees in Richardson over the next 10 years.

In May 2012, Omar was selected by the nonprofit One Man Dallas as “the man aged 24-44 who represents the best of DFW community engagement.” That year, he was also named Regional Community Leader of the Year by the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce.

The Chicago-based Niles Township High School District 219 Board of Education inducted three new members during their meeting on May 6. Board elections were held on April 1 as part of the consolidated election cycle. Nour Akhras, MD, Kandice Cooley, and Lindley Wisnewski were sworn in and seated during the Organization of the Board. A Morton Grove resident of 10 years and an immigrant who left Syria at the age of four, Akhras brings decades of experience in pediatric health care and global humanitarian work to her new role. As a board member for medical Non-Governmental Organizations such as MedGlobal and the Syrian American

Dr. Nour Akhras (second from left) with the District 219 School Board of Niles Township

(l-r) Dr. Tracy Fitzsimmons, Anwar Ibrahim, and Dr. M. Yaqub Mirza, founder and trustee of the Center for Islam in the Contemporary World at Shenandoah University (Photo: (c) Muhammad Nabil Alma Aman)

Medical Society, she has traveled the world providing care to displaced children. She is the mother of four children, including two future Niles North High School students.

Her motivation to serve on the D219 Board stems from her understanding of how a child’s social and emotional environment impacts their overall health.

In addition to her work as a physician and advocate, she is the author of Just One: A Journey of Perseverance and Conviction, a book that humanizes the refugee experience.

families have become friends. We belong to a kind of a club, if you will, that neither family wants to be a part of, but we are very grateful that we have each other,” he said. “Rachel and Ayşenur had a lot in common… They both still need to have an investigation into their killing.”

Washington State House adopted resolution HR 4661 on April 23, recognizing Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi’s life and activism. Her family attended the reading of the resolution and spoke at a press conference afterward. Eygi graduated from the University of Washington in June 2024 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures.

On Sept. 6, 2024, an Israeli sniper killed the 26-year-old activist as she observed a protest in the West Bank against Israel’s theft of Palestinian land. Since then, her family and other advocates have called for justice and accountability for her killing. They also called for support for Washington State Senate Joint Memorial 8012 which calls for an independent U.S.-led investigation into Eygi’s killing to ensure justice and accountability.

“Ayşenur’s death was no accident. It was a targeted, brutal act — a cold and unjust killing of a young woman who devoted her life to peace,” said Ozden Eygi Bennett, Ayşenur’s sister. “We will not be silent. We will not stop demanding justice. We will not stop fighting for the truth. And we will not rest until this government does what it is obligated to do: investigate the death of an American citizen.”

In his remarks, Ayşenur’s husband Hamid Ali recalled the death of another Washingtonian activist, Rachel Corrie, who was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003 while peacefully protesting in Rafah. “If Rachel’s killing had been adequately investigated, perhaps Ayşenur would still be with us today,” Ali said. “I urge all of you to support this call and in doing so help prevent the possibility of another Rachel or another Ayşenur in our future.”

Rachel Corrie’s father, Craig Corrie, was also in attendance in support of the bill. “Our

The city of Santa Clara commemorated the month of April as American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month with a special presentation at its city council meeting on April 8. The proclamation recognized the “rich history and significant contributions that Muslim Americans have had on [the] city and community.” The presentation took place during the first few minutes of the meeting.

Additionally, the Bay Area cities of Berkeley, Dublin, and Milpitas honored local Muslim community members by officially proclaiming April as American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month at their respective city council meetings April 15. The presentations were done at the beginning of each meeting.

Following resolutions passed by both chambers of the Florida Legislature, May 2025 was recognized as Florida Muslim-American Heritage Month.

To commemorate the occasion, CAIR-Florida’s Imam Abdullah Jaber delivered a Jumu‘ah Khutbah at Masjid Al-Ansar, Florida’s first Islamic center, located in Miami’s inner city. After the Friday prayer, remarks were offered by Masjid Al-Ansar’s resident imam and founder, Imam Nasir Ahmad, a long-standing community leader.

In April, the Florida House of Representatives adopted HR 8069, a resolution introduced by Rep. Anna Eskamani and co-sponsored by Reps. Rita Harris and Angie Nixon. Shortly thereafter, the Florida Senate adopted SR 1384, sponsored by Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith. Both resolutions recognize May as Muslim-American Heritage Month and celebrate the contributions and culture of Muslim Americans in Florida.

On Feb. 28, 2025, Muslims celebrated the opening of one of the largest mosques

built in Woodland, inland California. The Woodland Mosque serves this city of just over 60,000 people.

Woodland Mosque Board President Muhammad Ahad Parvez presented plaques from the community to Mohammad Usman Sadiq for his engineering and project management contribution.

Reportedly, Muslims from Pakistan first settled in Woodland, Calif., in 1957, and the first South Asian Muslims settled in inland California over a hundred years ago.

This mosque, which took six years to complete, had its groundbreaking ceremony in 2019 which was partially delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a powerful gesture of solidarity, a large banner displaying the names of the supporting churches and faith communities, alongside a message of unity, was erected at the corner of the new mosque site visible to all who passed by.

University of Maryland students voted in support of University System of Maryland Foundation and University of Maryland College Park (UMCP) Foundation divesting from certain defense, military, and security companies in the Student Government Association (SGA) election in April, securing 55% of the vote.

The ballot question called on the SGA to begin lobbying the university system and the UMCP foundation to divest from companies such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, that may be complicit in human rights violations in places such as Palestine, Myanmar, and the Philippines (Pera Onal,

“UMD students vote in support of divestment referendum,” April 18, 2025, Diamondback).

The SGA passed an emergency bill on March 5 to hold the nonbinding campuswide referendum during the election held from April 1 to 3. The ballot question comes months after more than 650 students signed a petition urging SGA to add the question to its 2025 election ballot, The Diamondback previously reported.

This university’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter circulated the petition, which came just after a nearly identical SGA resolution failed to advance in November.

Discussions about divestment have increased at this university since Israel’s genocide in Gaza began in October 2023.

The university, however, wrote in a statement to The Diamondback that the results of the referendum have no bearing on the operations or policies of the university or its foundations.

The Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) hosted its 10th Annual National Muslim Advocacy Day under the theme “Defending Rights, Shaping Policy” on April 28 and 29 in Washington, D.C. This milestone brought together over 700 Muslim leaders, activists, and constituents from across the country to directly engage with members of Congress on policies that impact Muslim communities. Together, they held over 220 meetings with Congress members and their staff, delivering one powerful message: Our rights matter. Our voices count.

This year’s National Muslim Advocacy Day focused on holding elected officials accountable and ensuring that Muslim communities have a strong voice in shaping policies that affect us all.

From now until July 31, Express Newark, supported by Rutgers University, is hosting Ritual, a series of exhibitions and events that explore the relationship between Islamic spiritual practices, rituals, and art featuring experimentations in photography, film, sound art, and textiles.

While many of the artists have some relationship with Muslim-majority contexts

worldwide, the exhibition also spanned Newark — which has long been home to one of the nation’s largest African American Muslim communities — while also branching out beyond the domestic borders. Express Newark is a center for art, design, and digital storytelling where people co-create to advocate for social change. “Our exhibitions seek to capture the dynamic histories, intergenerational experiences, vibrant lives, and integral roles that Muslim communities have in Newark, and ultimately, our nation,’’ said Salamishah Tillet, Express Newark’s Executive Director. Ritual featured work by artists, curators, students, and community members who have immersed themselves in nonsecular expressions of spirituality and Islamic traditions across the Muslim world. By bridging traditional spiritual practices and aesthetic innovations, these artistic explorations turn towards Muslim interiorities — an often underrepresented perspective in art — and inspire new discourses, worldviews, and conversations about belief and identity.

“These exhibitions allow us to have an in-depth conversation with so many artists about work that often spans different centuries and countries,” Tillet said. “They give us all a unique opportunity to refresh our perspectives about what we think we know and see, while also allowing us to more deeply reconnect to each other.”

This year, Express Newark hosted its first international artist in residence as part of Ritual. Younes Baba-Ali is a Moroccan-born multimedia artist based in Brussels who engages the public by mixing technology, objects, sound, video, and photography with political, social, and ecological issues.

Throughout his residency, he is developing a two-part installation, “Carroussa Sonore,” which translates to “sounding cart.” It engages those who live and work in Newark. Local artists and students work closely with Baba-Ali to create site-specific sound art works performed throughout Newark neighborhoods by street vendors and performance artists.

“Carroussa Sonore” departs from a religious act and becomes an intervention that

archives urban soundscapes, abstract noises, and alternative narratives throughout the African Diaspora.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the constitutionality of a Social Studies curriculum that included instructional videos about Islam (in a World Cultures and Geography class), dismissing a parent’s claim that her son’s middle school curriculum violated the Constitution by teaching about Islam, reported Colleen Murphy from NJ Advance Media.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal appellate court that reviews decisions from district courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In its decision, issued May 12, the court said that the Chatham School District’s curriculum does not show any signs of promoting a specific religion.

The district said that their aim was to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of global cultures and beliefs, as required by state standards.

They also explained that the videos were meant to educate students about the basics of Islam and noted that the videos were provided to students but not shown in class or required to be watched by students. ih

JUSTICE DECLARED, JUSTICE DENIED

Living in the Centennial Era of Malcolm X

BY JIMMY JONES

“O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for God can best protect both” (Quran 4:135).

This powerful statement from the Muslim holy book is also found in an unexpected place. According to Harvard University’s “Ask a Librarian” service, these words are displayed in Wasserstein Hall on the Harvard Law School campus as part of the “Words of Justice” art exhibit. Ironically, even though this high standard of justice can be celebrated at an elite American educational institution, it can also be easily denied.

Perhaps the most emblematic example of the denial of justice in the United States are those oft repeated words that appear in the second paragraph of the country’s Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed

by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

This compelling declaration of equality and justice sounds magnificent. However, when it was passed by the Second Continental Congress in 1776, this declaration failed miserably when it came to the rights of enslaved Black “men.” Further, even though “men” was commonly used at that time as inclusive of males and females, women had to struggle for almost a century and a half in order to obtain the right to vote in electoral politics. It has only been 105 years since women ultimately received that right with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. Thus, for Black enslaved people and women in this country, the justice declared by the Declaration of Independence was, in reality, justice denied.

But the battle for justice did not end in 1920. For instance, on June 8, 1925, in Gitlow vs. New York, the U.S. Supreme Court

established that the First Amendment’s free speech protections applied to states. Up until this point, the understanding was that the Constitution’s Bill of Rights (which includes the First Amendment) only applied to federal law. Today, this Supreme Court ruling supporting universally protected free speech is being aggressively challenged.

Currently, the full force of the U.S. government is being weaponized to prosecute free speech. Under the pretext of fighting antisemitism and terrorism, American politicians have sought to defend Israel’s killing of over 50,000 Gazans (mainly women and children) since Oct. 7, 2023 in a so-called “war” bankrolled by American taxpayers. For Muslims, Arabs, Palestinian Americans, allied organizations like Jewish Voices for Peace, and for the country’s diverse body of university students standing up for justice in Palestine, the current McCarthy-like crackdown on free speech is a textbook case of justice denied.

Malcolm X meets with members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Cairo's Shepheard's Hotel, on Sept. 15, 1964 (UNC Press).

MALCOLM LITTLE

Gitlow vs. New York was decided when Malcolm Little (later Malcolm X) was only 21 days old living in Omaha, Neb. He was the fourth of seven children born to Earl and Louise Little. He also had 3 half siblings from his father’s previous marriage. When Little was just 12 days shy of his second birthday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued another infamous ruling. In Buck v Bell, the court held that a 21-year-old white woman could be forcibly sterilized because, as Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes stated, “three generations of imbeciles are enough.”

In this case, the justices declared 8-1 that it was in the state’s best interest to sterilize such people to help improve society and the white race. This unjust decision led to the forced sterilization of over 60,000 people in more than 30 states between 1927 and 1979 as part of the then popular Eugenics movement. Subsequent researchers have called this a “war against the weak.”

The America that Malcolm Little was born into was filled with this kind of injustice. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, over 4,400 Black Americans were lynched between Reconstruction and World War II. Little’s America was a world in which you needed to be the right type of person in order to simply survive.

Little, a post World War I baby, was born into a family deeply influenced by Marcus Garvey’s pan-Africanist United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). In his iconic Autobiography (1965), Little remembered his father: “the image of him that made me proudest was his crusading and militant campaigning with the words of Marcus Garvey. . . it was only me that he sometimes took with him to the Garvey UNIA meetings which he held quietly in different people’s homes.”

When Little was about 6 years old, Earl Little died in Lansing, Mich. in a mysterious streetcar “accident” which Malcolm believed was really a consequence of his outspokenness and organizing around racial issues. Again, although the Supreme Court made a justice-declared ruling supporting universal free speech, it was apparent that when it came to descendants of formerly enslaved people (like his father) and immigrants (like his mother), this was just another case of justice denied.

Both parents’ involvement in the UNIA, his father’s suspicious death, and his mother’s

devastating institutionalization when he was 12 were events that had a great impact on the man that he was to become. Thus, when Little encountered Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam, he was prepared to accept these illuminating new teachings.

MALCOLM X

In the 100 years since Malcolm Little’s birth on May 19, 1925, we have seen justice declared then ultimately denied multiple times. For example, on May 17, 1954 as Malcolm X was about to turn 29, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling declaring the

In his new book, Mark Whitaker meticulously detailed how Malcom X posthumously continues to impact all Americans. On page xvii of The Afterlife of Malcolm X: An Outcast Turned Icon’s Enduring Impact on America, Whitaker wrote, “In the 21st century, the influence of Malcolm X on American politics ranged from the hold he had over the imagination of Barack Obama, the country’s first Black president, to the inspiration he provided to the young leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement that in the summer of 2020 produced the largest outpouring of interracial protest in support of racial justice in a generation.”

Despite such duplicitous justice declared/ justice denied realities, Malcolm X went on to become an articulate and assertive international spokesperson for human rights. Up until his assassination in front of his pregnant wife and four young daughters on Feb. 21, 1965 at the age of 39, he consistently spoke truth to power.

“separate but equal” doctrine unconstitutional. This ruling overturned the infamous 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case which allowed states to maintain segregated but supposedly “equal” public facilities. This justice declared Supreme Court decision was quickly subverted in 1955 by Brown V Board of Education II, a justice denied ruling which allowed states to move painfully slowly toward desegregation with the vaguely-worded “all deliberate speed” doctrine.

By 1954, Malcolm X was a prominent minister in the Nation of Islam. While much of the Black community saw Brown v. The Board of Education as justice declared, Malcolm saw it as tokenism and hypocrisy. As a proponent of Black nationalism and self-determination, he saw Brown for what it was: another example of justice denied.

Despite such duplicitous justice declared/ justice denied realities, Malcolm X went on to become an articulate and assertive international spokesperson for human rights. Up until his assassination in front of his pregnant wife and four young daughters on Feb. 21, 1965 at the age of 39, he consistently spoke truth to power.

60 years after Malcolm refuted his reputation for condoning violence by urging supporters to cast ballots before resorting to bullets, his name was invoked at a Democratic presidential convention. After Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden at the top of the party’s ticket in the summer of 2024, delegates from Malcolm’s home state of Nebraska proudly wore T-shirts emblazoned with his image on the convention floor in Chicago, one of their native icons during a raucous roll call vote. On the political right, meanwhile, Malcolm X’s calls for Black self-improvement and economic self-reliance have also made him a hero to conservative Black intellectuals, jurists, and policymakers.

100 years after his birth and 60 years after his death, Malcolm X’s iconic persona encourages Muslims and non-Muslims alike to aspire to obey these powerful words of the Quran, “O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourself, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for God can best protect both” (4:135-136). ih

Jimmy E. Jones, DMin, is Executive Vice President and Professor of Comparative Religion and Culture at The Islamic Seminary of America.

LESSONS FROM MALCOLM X’s ‘LETTER FROM MECCA’

A Reflection on Unity to Honor the Leader’s 100th Birthday

BY NAHID WIDAATALLA

El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz’s (Malcolm X) Letter from Mecca, written in April 1964, documents his first Umrah (pilgrimage similar to Hajj). Malcolm X, a prominent African American leader during the Civil Rights Movement, wrote of the interracial dynamics he witnessed between Muslims in the holy city. 61 years later, my own trip to Mecca during Ramadan inspired me to assess his observations and their applicability to the state of the global Ummah today.

MALCOLM X AND RACIAL UNITY

Malcolm X began his letter by emphasizing the spirit of brotherhood he felt during his trip. Worshipping with Muslims of all colors, particularly white Muslims, convinced him that “America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem.”

His experience in Mecca was in stark contrast to 20th century racial segregation in the United States. As a result, he painted Islamic unity as an antidote to anti-Black racism, but his observations don’t mean that Muslim communities are free of anti-Blackness. Unity was not an inherent trait, but rather a conscious choice made by Muslims then and now.

Like Malcom X, I observed the beautiful kindness and generosity of Muslims during my pilgrimage to Mecca. Countless women insisted I break my fast with them, sharing food and drinks without hesitation. Many created space for me to join them on their prayer mats. The sense of peace in the air makes you feel like you are exactly where you need to be.

In an earlier letter written in 1946 before his conversion, Malcolm X vented to his brother from jail about the phoniness of religious preaching he heard from Muslim inmates, calling it “just talk.” In a subsequent letter written in September 1964, X described his newfound membership in the World Muslim League as working towards “a greater degree of

cooperation and working unity in the Muslim world.” This change of heart aptly illustrates the powerful difference between hearing about something, in this case the teachings of Islam, and experiencing it for yourself.

THE SPECTER OF RACISM IN THE MUSLIM WORLD

While Mecca is a place that brings out the best in people, it also has the potential to bring out the worst. 92 million people visited the holy mosque during Ramadan this year, striving to worship as close to the Kaaba as possible. People shoving the elderly and scolding the young were common sights. These negatives, however, can sometimes be exacerbated by race.

The kafala system used in many Middle Eastern countries brings migrant workers from impoverished countries to wealthy Gulf states for cheap labor in exchange for visa sponsorship. These transitory laborers commonly face low wages, poor working conditions, and racial abuse in and outside of the workplace.

South Asian and African migrant workers in Saudi Arabia specifically face substantial discrimination. At a fast-food restaurant in Mecca, I witnessed an Arab man cut in

front of a line of people waiting to pick up their orders. He callously waved his receipt at a South Asian worker, making no eye contact. The worker, visibly intimidated, rushed to put the man’s food items into a bag and handed it to him without question.

But this exchange between the Arab patron and South Asian worker was not an isolated incident. In fact, some argue that anti-Blackness among Muslims is becoming rampant and affects all Muslims who have darker skin. It’s why people choose a mosque based on the racial background of the attendees and why interracial marriages are considered taboo by some Muslims. It’s why atrocities like the ongoing war in Sudan, shadow-funded by the United Arab Emirates, do not get much attention in the Muslim world.

The “white attitude” that Malcolm X describes is not only reserved for white people; it is a fundamental belief that a person is inherently superior to another based on the merit of their race, and because of this, their needs are more worthy of being met.

In his farewell sermon, Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) warned, “An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a White has no superiority over a Black nor a Black has any superiority over a White except by piety and good action.”

WEALTH AND COMMUNITY IN MECCA

In addition to race, social status can shield against negative experiences in Mecca. There is an inherent privilege in having the time, money, and physical health to travel to the holy city. When you are not hustling among sweaty crowds, relaxing and enjoying a hotel meal is a luxury. Malcolm X described his experience as a state guest, highlighting the Saudi government’s provision of “a car, a driver, and a guide,” and “air-conditioned quarters and servants in each city that I visit.” This treatment is by no means normal.

Travelers who aren’t protected by status often cook for themselves, pray on the streets, and walk long distances, often in the sun, to get to their accommodations.

The people living furthest away from the holy mosque are largely African and South Asian, while those living closer by are mostly Arab or Westerners. But inside the mosque, these differences become almost invisible. There is no way to know who is poor, rich, or famous, with everyone wearing the same white ihram and weeping the same tears as they worship. In Surah Al-Hujurat Ayat 13 (49:13 Quran), Allah says, “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.” Umrah gathers people from all corners of the earth, displaying the vastness of Islam and the diversity of Muslims.

Islam’s answer to the “race problem,” as Malcolm X called it, is an emphasis on community. This was most apparent to me during taraweeh and tahajjud prayers, with thousands of Muslims praying fervently for the people of Palestine. During my time in Medina, the second holiest city in Islam, I met a young local woman named Afnan. We sat together on the outskirts of the mosque courtyard, listening to the imam’s Quran recitation. Afnan told me she regularly visits the mosque when she can’t pray, just to listen, observe, and experience the feeling of being around so many Muslims.

In Islam, congregational prayer is an intimate communal experience. Physical touch is exercised between strangers standing shoulder-to-shoulder, while the solid, structured rows of people create a visual of unity. In a Sahih hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar, the Prophet Muhammad said,

[Malcolm X’s] experience in Mecca was in stark contrast to 20th century racial segregation in the United States. As a result, he painted Islamic unity as an antidote to anti-Black racism, but his observations don’t mean that Muslim communities are free of anti-Blackness. Unity is not an inherent trait, but rather a conscious choice made by Muslims then and now.

“Whoever joins up a row, Allah will join him up (with His mercy), and whoever breaks a row, Allah will cut him off (from His mercy)” (Sunan Abī Dāwūd Book 8, Hadith 101).

When gaps in prayer rows occur, they stick out. People shy away from filling these gaps because it can be tough — moving everything to a different line, standing next to someone with a crying child, or praying beside someone who doesn’t smell great. But being part of a community means accepting inconvenience. This includes forgiving the faults of others and sacrificing personal comfort for the sake of something bigger. There may come a time when we are the ones with a crying child or become the elderly person who whispers their prayers a little too loudly.

Sacrificing comfort can also mean using your abilities to uplift another person while disadvantaging yourself. I witnessed countless strong, tall people refrain from pushing ahead in a crowd during Umrah to stay back and shield a weaker person from being shoved.

MALCOLM X, ISLAM, AND SPIRITUAL TRUTH

In his April 1964 letter, Malcolm X discussed the “spiritual path of truth” as a means of healing the disease of racism in America. Much of what he predicts about younger generations leading this search for truth can be seen today in the resistance of university students against institutions that enable the genocide of Palestinians. There is a present-day search for spiritual endurance in a burning world. This endurance, offered by faith, keeps hope alive while comforting the part of us that yearns for an answer to everything.

Malcolm X’s letter from Mecca is therefore a basis for reflection on the condition of Muslims today. While racism persists within Muslim communities, Islam’s unwavering messages of unity, generosity, and brotherhood stand the test of time. ih

Nahid Widaatalla is a public health professional and freelance writer/ journalist, covering social justice, Islam, digital health, and more.

EDUCATION

Utilizing Higher Education and Political Prowess to Inspire an Ideological Shift

Now Is the Time for Muslims to Set the Agenda

BY NADIA B. AHMAD

The Muslim American com -

munity is at a generational turning point, one that calls not for cautious optimism or slow, negotiated progress, but for decisive and unapologetic agenda-setting. For too long, we have been trained to believe that our victories lie in representation, access, and reconciliation. But history has shown time and again that systems do not change through symbolic presence. They shift only when pressure is applied, power is consolidated, and narratives are boldly defined by those willing to lead with principle, not permission.

Higher education is the terrain where these battles are most critical. For decades, Muslim students, faculty, and scholars have been policed, silenced and sidelined within academic institutions. We’ve been told to wait our turn, moderate our voices, and temper our critiques for the sake of civility. But as the moral failures of the academy become impossible to ignore from complicity in genocide to the suppression of free speech, there is now a rare and urgent opening. Now is the time not to barter for influence. Now, we must set the agenda.

FAUX PROGRESS

Post-9/11, many Muslims Americans channeled their energy into ostensibly pragmatic pathways: joining interfaith groups, forming diversity offices, running for local office. These gestures were never meant to be the endpoint, but over time, they became indistinguishable from strategy. The result was a community caught in a loop of incrementalism, reliant on validation from institutions that have continued to devalue our principles and discard our people.

The current political moment clearly demonstrates that we’ve reached the limits of reconciliation politics. The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (628 CE) may have been prudent in a moment of tactical restraint, but our

current context demands the resolve of Uhud (625 CE). The enemy has shown its hand in the form of universities that punish students for advocating for Palestinian liberation, media outlets that suppress Muslim voices, and political parties that exploit our votes while callously ignoring our pain.

It’s time to stop asking for inclusion and start defining the terms of engagement. We are not knocking at the door of their institutions anymore. We are working to build our own.

HIGHER EDUCATION AS AN INTELLECTUAL BATTLEFIELD

Universities are not neutral spaces. They are ideologically saturated arenas that produce knowledge, shape public policy, and determine who is heard and who is erased. For Muslim communities, this has meant decades of surveillance, suspicion, and silencing, particularly around issues of war, empire, and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The suppression endured by Muslims within higher education is systemic, but so too is the opportunity that it provides.

The fractures present in higher

niable. Universities are losing public trust. Faculty are disillusioned. Students are mobilized in ways not seen in decades. And administrations, caught between moral

The current political moment clearly demonstrates that we’ve reached the limits of reconciliation politics. The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (628 CE) may have been prudent in a moment of tactical restraint, but our current context demands the resolve of Uhud (625 CE). The enemy has shown its hand in the form of universities that punish students for advocating for Palestinian liberation, media outlets that suppress Muslim voices, and political parties that exploit our votes while callously ignoring our pain.

education in the United States are unde-

cowardice and economic dependence, are scrambling to preserve their legitimacy. This chaos opens a space not to be managed, but to be claimed.

Muslim North Americans must no longer approach academia as a space to request acceptance into it. Rather, we should see it as a system to be redirected. We need not just more Muslim faculty, we need Muslim-led research centers that shape public discourse. We need endowed chairs that unapologetically center justice, liberation, and resistance. We need academic positions that are not contingent on funding from foreign governments or elite donors with ties to weapons manufacturers or apartheid states. We are not here to participate in the debate. We’re here to reframe it entirely.

STRATEGIC CONTROL, NOT SYMBOLIC WINS

We’ve celebrated firsts for too long: the first hijabi this, the first Muslim that. Now is the

time to move past token milestones and into strategic infrastructure building. Power is not representation. Power is control. It’s agenda-setting. It’s the ability to influence decisions before they’re even on the table. The goal is not to become leaders. The goal is to shape the ecosystem that defines leadership itself. That means controlling funding streams, launching journals, setting accreditation standards, and training the next generation of scholars not to assimilate, but to liberate.

We don’t need more panels. We don’t need more access. We don’t need to explain our humanity. We need to direct policy. We need operational autonomy. We need to assert our political, spiritual, and intellectual vision within academic spaces in the United States without compromise.

RECALIBRATING OUR POLITICAL COMPASS

This shift in strategy must also carry over to the political realm. We can no longer afford to be a community that votes defensively, donates reactively, and organizes sporadically. We must become a force that operates from a clear and principled political compass rooted in anti-colonialism, economic justice, environmental stewardship, and global solidarity.

American political institutions will not reform themselves. We must set the terms of their reform because if we do not, others will, using our names, our identities, and our enforced silence as cover.

Now is the time to ask: What kinds of political futures are we willing to imagine? What kind of intellectual world are we willing to construct? If we continue to operate within the lines drawn for us, we’ll only replicate antiquated colonial systems that were never intended to serve us.

GENERATIONAL THINKING

The political and academic power we seek is not a project targeting one election cycle or one specific political appointment. It’s a generational task. That means investing in institutions that will outlive us, narratives that will carry beyond this decade, and movements that will be resilient long after media attention fades.

We must stop building to respond. We must start building to last.

Jewish and Christian communities in the U.S., for example, built institutions, think tanks, endowed professorships, legal defense

funds, and publishing houses that operate with strategic patience and long-term vision. Muslim Americans have the capacity to do the same only if we stop expecting the existing system to validate us and start imagining structures that operate outside of it.

THE LESSONS OF UHUD AND THE FOLLY OF COMPLACENCY

Uhud reminds us that even the most righteous struggle can be compromised by complacency, internal division, and premature celebrations. That is where we are now. The cost of waiting, appeasing, and compromising our principles for proximity to power has become too high. We are being watched, surveilled, and punished for daring to raise our voices. That is not a sign of failure. It is a signal that we are nearing the truth, and that the institutions around us fear it.

Uhud was a wake-up call not to retreat but to regroup with greater discipline, sharper strategy, and collective resolve.

We must make this the moment where Muslim communities decide: we will no longer outsource our values to other organizations. We will not be managed, moderated, or molded into acceptable versions of ourselves. We will write our own manifestos, define our own alliances, and set our own priorities.

THE WORK OF A GENERATION

To students: do not silence your convictions for the promise of internships or fellowships. You are not naïve, you are necessary.

To scholars: keep writing. Keep teaching. And when they try to suppress you, know that your work is what they feared most.

To community institutions: fund intellectual risk-takers, not political chameleons. Endow the people who dream bigger than the systems they’re navigating.

To parents: raise children who are bold in their faith and fearless in their vision.

To all of us: stop apologizing for wanting more.

This is our opening. We strive not to lead someone else’s movement, but to define our own. The systems are cracking, and we should not spend our energy trying to hold them up. We need to build something new. Let the world know the era of inclusion politics is over. The era of agenda-setting has begun. ih

Nadia B. Ahmad is a law professor at Barry University and a Ph.D. candidate at the Yale School of the Environment. Her research centers environmental justice, AI, and energy policy.

Muslims in Texas Push Back Against Islamophobia

Refusing to Stay Silent in the Face of Prejudice

BY ZAHRA N. AHMED

As anti-Muslim sentiment

intensifies across the United States, Texas stands out as a state where growing diversity meets deepening suspicion and increased targeting of Muslim communities. But rather than simply enduring it, Muslims there are responding with civic power, grassroots resistance, and a renewed sense of purpose.

Shaimaa Zayan, 41, knows this struggle intimately. As the Operations Manager at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Austin, she spends her days supporting victims of Islamophobic abuse by documenting stories, advocating for policy change, and connecting community members to resources. Yet nothing prepared her for the day her work became personal.

During a routine doctor’s visit, Zayan stood quietly in line wearing her neatly-done hijab. Behind her, an older man gestured at her headscarf and asked, “Don’t you feel hot in all that?” She responded politely and moved on, but he kept going. His tone shifted from curious to accusatory when he asked whether Muslim women were allowed to speak to men. He then said with disdain, “We should convert [Muslims] to Christianity so you stop killing us.”

“His hateful words made me feel unsafe,” Zayan said. “I was afraid he might physically hurt me.”

Fearing further escalation, Zayan pulled out her phone and began recording, repeating his words aloud so others in the clinic could hear. The man eventually fell silent, but the damage was done. When her doctor examined her, Zayan showed clear physiological signs of stress, including high blood pressure and heart rate. Her individual experience is just one of thousands.

ISLAMOPHOBIC VIOLENCE IN TEXAS

In 2023, CAIR received more than 8,000 complaints nationwide — the highest number in its 30-year history. In 2024, complaints increased by nearly 600, marking a 7.4% rise. CAIR linked the sharp rise to Israel’s Gaza Genocide, which reignited anti-Muslim rhetoric in U.S. politics and media. Law enforcement encounters surged

We all need to have the courage to speak up.”

emphasizing the need for swift action.

For Bhojani, the issue is deeply personal; his faith and life experience shape his approach to public service. He emphasized that Islam teaches the importance of giving back to the community and has made it a priority to ensure hate crimes are properly recognized and addressed — not just for Muslims but for all Texans.

However, that commitment has been tested. During his campaigns, Bhojani often faced Islamophobic rhetoric. “When I ran for office, people would repeat what they heard in the news and project it onto me,” he said, pointing to unfounded fears about Sharia law in Texas.

as well, rising from 295 in 2023 to 506 in 2024 — a 71.5% jump that coincided with the wave of student-led anti-genocide encampments on college campuses. In Texas, Muslim visibility has grown, and so has the backlash. In some cases, that hostility has turned violent. (“New CAIR Civil Rights Report Reveals Highest Number of Complaints in Group’s 30-Year History,” April 2, 2024, Council on American-Islamic Relations).

In Euless, Texas, a woman attempted to drown two Palestinian American children, a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old, in a swimming pool. Initially released on bail, she was later charged with a hate crime after community advocates linked the assault to rising anti-Muslim bigotry.

The attack quickly became a flashpoint in Texas, underscoring the urgent need to confront Islamophobia and protect vulnerable communities — especially Muslim children. The case drew widespread outrage and galvanized local leaders.

Among those leading the response was Muslim American State Representative Salman Bhojani. He worked closely with community groups and law enforcement to raise awareness, demand accountability, and ensure the incident wasn’t dismissed or overlooked.

“These kids were put in a life-or-death struggle,” Bhojani told Islamic Horizons,

Rather than retreat, Bhojani used those attacks as motivation to push for inclusive policies and protections for marginalized communities. He continues to advocate for civil rights and pluralism, holding up his own story as proof of what’s possible in public life.

CIVIC RESPONSES AND POLITICAL CHALLENGES

While Bhojani fought for political change, Zayan’s experience marked a turning point. For years, she had internalized a common Muslim instinct to brush off microaggressions in the name of peace. But this time, she chose to confront the moment head-on, capturing it on film instead of staying silent. Her experience changed how she saw her role not only as an advocate, but also as an active participant in a larger movement of resistance.

“We shouldn’t tolerate this kind of behavior,” she said. “Whether it’s crime, harassment, or public humiliation, we all need to report these incidents and have the courage to speak up.”

That show of resistance was on full display in April at the Texas Capitol where hundreds gathered for Texas Muslim Capitol Day, an annual event focused on advocacy, networking, and civic engagement.

During the event, a group of agitators who disguised themselves as participants stormed the stage and shouted anti-Muslim slurs. Despite the disruption, attendees remained focused, continuing their

meetings with lawmakers and attending civil rights workshops. Their steady presence sent a clear message: Muslim Texans are not going anywhere.

Political allies also showed up. State Rep. Ron Reynolds (D), a longtime civil rights advocate, assured the crowd. “You’re all welcome here — and so is CAIR,” he said.

But even as some officials affirm their support, Muslim Texans continue to face hostility — not only from fringe agitators but also from the very institutions meant to protect them. Reynolds’ call for solidarity underscored that support from allies is critical, but silence from powerful leaders enables discrimination.

That climate of repression has real consequences. When the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) proposed a 400-acre development in Josephine, Texas — known as EPIC City — top state officials responded with suspicion and hostility. The plan includes homes, schools, commercial spaces, parks, and a mosque. Though still in the early planning stages, state leaders moved to halt the project before construction began. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) urged the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the proposed development, echoing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in referencing conspiracy theories about “Sharia cities” and “no-go zones” — rhetoric long used to stoke fear of Muslims.

“Christian Nationalists are using this moment to further alienate the Muslim community and pro-Palestinian allies,” said CAIR Houston Director William White. He compared the rhetoric to the use of post-9/11 fear mongering that justified discriminatory policies.

AN INCLUSIVE VISION

As these conversations continue, local leaders are charting new paths of engagement and inclusion. In Irving, community leader Yasir Arafat is redefining resistance through service, leadership, and steady civic involvement. A longtime organizer and former vice president of the Islamic Center of Irving (ICI), the 42-year-old has extended his influence beyond the mosque into city governance. Today, Arafat serves on the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau board and the Dallas County Historical Commission, becoming the first Muslim appointed to the city’s tourism board.

“Civic engagement is my life,” Arafat said. For him, it’s more than representation; it’s

about building bridges, changing perceptions, and making sure Muslims are recognized as part of American society. His commitment began in 2014 when low voter turnout left the Muslim community politically vulnerable.

“We were being cornered,” he said.

Arafat helped launch voter registration drives, interfaith initiatives, and community partnerships to encourage Muslims to take an active role in civic life. His work shows that Muslims belong and contribute in many ways.

Through a partnership between the North Texas Food Bank and ICI, Arafat and other volunteers distribute more than 50,000 pounds of food each month to families across the community. The outreach program serves both Muslim and non-Muslim families — a reflection of a faith rooted in service and solidarity. He continues to encourage broader community involvement and participation in local decision-making processes.

“We’re not just here for ourselves,” he said. “We’re here for everyone.”

That inclusive vision led to a voter registration campaign that contributed to two historic political wins: Nuzhat Hye became the first Muslim woman elected to the Irving Independent School District Board in 2018, and Abdul Khabeer became the first Muslim elected to public office when he won a city council seat in 2023. Together, these victories show the growing impact the community can have when they engage in public life.

BEAM ACADEMY: PREPARING TOMORROW’S MUSLIM AMERICAN LEADERS TODAY

Still, Arafat knows lasting change takes time. It requires years of cultivating leaders and connecting deeply with the community. That’s where programs like BEAM Academy — Building and Enriching American Muslims — play a vital role. With programs in Plano, Allen, Frisco, and Richardson, this North Texas academy is carving out a niche that blends faith, academics, and physical development for students navigating their formative years.

Founded by Farah Kuzbari, the academy offers weekend classes, after-school clubs, and enrichment programs focused on leadership, public speaking, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement. Sports and outdoor activities, including annual campouts, round out the experience — all within a framework grounded in Islamic values.

“Raising confident Muslims also means raising compassionate neighbors, bridge-builders, and community leaders working side by side with others to build a better future for all,” she said.

That mission resonates with parents like Adeeba Alzaman, BEAM PTO president and mother of two children enrolled in its Sunday Islamic school. At home, she has open conversations with her kids about identity and faith.

“BEAM reinforces pride in who my children are,” she said. “It’s a place where my kids feel grounded, valued, and connected to their faith.”

That foundation extended beyond the classroom during a civic engagement workshop at BEAM Academy, where Sumbel Zeb helped students learn how to use their voices effectively in public life. As secretary of the Collin County Democratic Party, Zeb’s commitment to youth empowerment stems from isolation she felt as a middle school student in the small town of Rockwall, Texas. “I was asked if my dad beat me or my mom,” she recalled. “People hold distorted views from the start.” The academy’s focus on inclusion and community stands in contrast to her experience. Zeb’s response to bias is simple and direct: Get involved.

“It’s important [for] leadership roles — whether it’s serving on committees, volunteering, engaging elected officials, joining city councils or school boards, or even being a PTA mom or dad,” Zeb said. “It normalizes who Muslims are and builds bridges with the wider community.”

Echoing that sentiment, Kuzbari said creating a sense of belonging is central to BEAM’s mission. “When Islam is lived as a shared, value-based way of life,” she said, “students stay grounded and grow into leaders who are capable of shaping their communities.”

She believes the current generation of Muslim youth in Texas is becoming better equipped to confront challenges like Islamophobia by engaging with communities and instigating long-term, positive change.

THE FUTURE FOR MUSLIMS TEXANS

Though Muslim communities across Texas have grown, harmful stereotypes persist in some areas. U.S. Rep. Al Green (D) who represents southeastern Texas, has taken action to challenge prejudice. His co-sponsored bill created a Texas state office to monitor and combat anti-Muslim hate. He also met

ISLAM IN AMERICA

with the Islamic Society of Greater Houston to oppose President Trump’s travel ban on Muslim-majority countries, condemning the policy’s portrayal of Muslims as “radicals.” But harmful Muslim narratives of being violent, foreign, or extreme can’t be undone with visibility and allyship alone. Lasting change requires structural reforms in schools, policies, and public life.

Some states are moving ahead with such reforms. New York City schools have adopted plans addressing Islamophobia and antisemitism, including training for principals and more inclusive curriculums. California’s “Education to End Hate” initiative equips teachers to combat anti-Muslim bias in classrooms.

While such programs remain limited in Texas, progress is emerging. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Tex.) has introduced a bill to address Islamophobia in schools. Although the Republican-led Texas legislature has pushed back, the bill shows a growing awareness of the issue.

Today, Muslim-led organizations and their allies continue to mobilize at the grassroots level. Coalitions formed with churches, synagogues, labor unions, and civil rights groups are framing Islamophobia as a broader human rights concern. The Texas Civil Rights Project works across faith and racial lines to challenge systemic discrimination. National groups like Interfaith Worker Justice unite religious communities to support marginalized Muslim workers.

Coalition-building, while not new, is gaining strength. “We’re not in the same place as 25 years ago,” said White. “We have many more allies who understand the Constitution applies to everyone and are willing to stand with us.”

Texas is part of a larger national movement against Islamophobia, which has been shaped by history, politics, and the state’s shifting demographics. Muslim Americans are turning to civic engagement, community organizing, and policy advocacy to challenge stereotypes and influence decisions at the local level. Their efforts embody the push for equal rights in a country where religious bias is entangled with policy decisions. While challenges remain, Muslim communities nationwide are building networks of support and making their voices heard. ih

Muslim Women Must Take Active Leadership Roles in Mosques

Mosques Not Welcoming Toward Women Need to Change

BY MOMMINA TARAR

Due to societal expectations and cultural restrictions that often have nothing to do with religion, many Muslim women feel they are confined to a domestic role and rarely attend Jummah (Friday) prayer at the mosque. Interpretations of Islamic teachings on women being allowed in mosques differ from scholar to scholar. Some emphasize the need for gender segregation while allowing a designated women’s area. Others believe women should focus more on praying at home. Other interpretations say women are an integral part of society and should be allowed to pray and practice alongside men. Due to such varying interpretations and cultural expectations, women face unfair conditions within mosques. In some mosques in North America, women enter through the kitchen or an alleyway while the men enter through the front door.

And when they are allowed to attend prayer, Muslim women are often subjected to atrocious conditions . In some instances, the women’s section of the mosque is a cramped space lacking air conditioning and other necessary facilities. Sometimes, the women’s area of the mosque is closed off entirely. For example, The Islamic Center of Detroit keeps its women’s section locked except on Fridays and during the month of Ramadan.

“Me and my brother went to the mosque on a normal day. I tried opening the door multiple times, but it wouldn’t budge,” said a female mosque attendee who wishes to remain anonymous. “I felt ashamed and disappointed that my local mosque wants sisters to enter from the men’s entrance if they wish to pray on normal days.”

Portland, Oregon resident Fama Gedi has encountered similar barriers. While trying to attend prayer at a local mosque, she was confronted by a man who tried to physically bar her from entering.

“He said, ‘no you can’t go in…you are not welcome here. Women aren’t allowed at the masjid,’” Gedi recalled. “It was very heartbreaking.”

After bringing up the incident with mosque leadership, Gedi received apologies and was later told the mosque would be moving to a new location which would include a women’s section. But that proved to be inadequate. “[The women’s section at the new location] is such a small space,” she said. “If you don’t get there before khutbah starts, you’re outside.”

Gedi admits that the city’s other mosques handle this issue better. “[The mosque I go to now is] well maintained and the women are involved. We meet once a month, we talk about what we’re doing for our community,”

Zahra N. Ahmed, based in Houston, Texas, is a storyteller with more than a decade of journalism experience. Her work focuses on the Muslim experience, using human-centered reporting to explore identity, faith, and belonging.

she said. “Just knowing that an opportunity like that exists and allowing women to be in the leadership space… you’re not just a worshipper, you are part of the community.”

While Gedi was able to find a new mosque that fit her needs, other Muslim American women cannot access better facilities.

Unfair conditions not only hinder women’s ability to focus on prayer but make it difficult to build community with one another. Mosques are not only for prayer — they are the cornerstone for building community, making friendships, finding resources, providing refuge for the homeless, and so much more.

“Culture vs. religion is one major factor that has influenced women’s roles in masjids,” says Mahroz Murtaza, a volunteer at Houston’s Clear Lake Islamic Center, the area’s largest mosque. She said cultural norms tend to restrict women from attending and participating in mosque activities and events, therefore, the majority of the mosque’s events, prayer space, and leadership positions are male-centric.

However, she acknowledged that this is not always the case, and that there has been a shift in recent years. “Leaders are now acknowledging the positive impact on women’s roles in masjids and are making efforts to offer bigger prayer spaces, educational programs, safe places, resources, etc.,” she said.

This shift would reflect the role of women throughout Islamic history. At the time of Prophet Muhammad (Sallu Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), women had access to mosques, would pray in their assigned section, and were active participants in Islamic society. Mosques were brimming with study circles and intellectual discourse in events that were attended by both men and women. It was known that the Prophet would also have a designated time each week to teach women exclusively. During this era, they would also attend the five daily prayers at the mosque. As the hadith states, “Do not prevent the female servants of God from going to the mosque” (Muslim, Abu Dawud).

As scholars and teachers, women were pioneers in education and possess vast amounts of Islamic knowledge. Uns bint Abdulkarīm bin Ahmad al-Lakhmī al-Nastrāwī, wife of the 15th century scholar Ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalāni, was a scholar herself, and regularly gave public lectures at the Great Mosque of ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās in Egypt. Famous for her narration and transmission of the Hadīth, she was one of the only women allowed to give public lectures and her lectures on the Hadīth were so profound that they were attended by renowned scholars of the time.

And famously, it was at a mosque that a female congregant interjected and questioned

Caliph Omar al-Khattab (radi Allahu ‘anhu) about his knowledge of fiqh of mehr, citing Quran 4:20. Upon hearing this, he stood up again, and corrected himself (Ibn Kathir, vol.I, p. 468).

“Prophet Muhammad included women in the community,” said Asmah Rafati, a participant and volunteer at San Antonio’s Muslim Children Education and Civic Center (MCECC). “They were not excluded, seen as a burden, or meant to be hidden. They were an active part of society…This influenced women’s roles at the masjid by allowing women to be involved and also [to] contribute in ways to enhance the Muslim community.”

Despite some struggles, improvements

These needs are the bare minimum that every woman attending a mosque should be provided with. With more women on mosque boards and in leadership roles, women should finally be given an avenue to confront their grievances and have their voice heard.

“Many times, the sisters’ prayer space seems to be an afterthought… I’ve seen many spaces where sisters have to walk through the kitchen or an alleyway to get to prayer,” said Lubna Shaikh, executive director at the West Valley Muslim Association (WVMA) in Los Gatos, Calif. “I’d love to see for all masjids that sisters have a proper prayer area with ease of accessibility… that is in line with Islam and appropriate to our reality as Muslims in America.”

Mosques are not only for prayer — they are the cornerstone for building community, making friendships, finding resources, providing refuge for the homeless, and so much more.

are being made as more Muslim women get involved in local mosques. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2020, women represented more than a quarter of participants at 21% of U.S. mosques compared to just 14% in 2011. Women are also more involved with community and social services, education, and youth programs. Many mosques have implemented women-specific activities and events where women and girls can actively participate in their community and build healthy relationships with other women in their community.

“I’m regularly praying [at the mosque]; [I attend] Jummah prayers, Friday night prayers, and [other] the events they host,” Rafati said. “It’s just the environment itself, the opportunity to talk to people, meet new people, and be involved with my masjid community that makes it meaningful.”

But the responsibility for creating femalefriendly spaces within the mosque does not fall on women alone. Mosque leadership must provide the resources that will allow women to comfortably practice their faith. For example, Dar AlNoor Islamic Community Center in Manassas, Va., offers a dedicated women’s section on the top floor with a large bathroom. The Jaffari Community Centre in Vaughan, Ontario also offers a large, well-maintained women’s section along with a religious advisor. The center also offers readings and literature on personal development, spiritual growth, and women’s issues.

Lubna is on a mission to make the WVMA a space to grow spiritually, socially, and personally. “My role is to help take the masjid to the next level in terms of being a space of intentional and holistic growth for the community.” Among these improvements are unique initiatives for adults and children including theater, improv, and a stitching club.

Some of the mosque’s women-centered programs include halaqas, fitness classes, the empowerment project, and parenting workshops. Lubna also emphasizes the importance of having an integrated mosque where both men and women participate in events equally. “It makes me happy to share that we don’t need to do a lot of sister-only programming as there is a lot of integration and sisters are very much in the forefront of planning, executing, and attending all events.”

Women’s roles in mosques must go beyond women’s sections. They are pivotal to the functioning of society; women are the backbone of their communities and their households. Women have tremendous amounts of knowledge to offer and should be recognized for their efforts. They are teachers, scholars, community leaders, mothers, and sisters. By allowing women the freedom and space to be involved in their mosques and to practice their faith, we are setting the precedent for future Muslim women to feel uplifted, loved, and supported wholeheartedly. ih Mommina Tarar is a freelance reporter who covers culture, faith, travel, and intersectional social/racial justice.

New Muslim Matchmaking Service Uses AI to Find Your Perfect Match

A Modern Technological Approach to Muslim Matchmaking

BY SANAA ASIF

In a tech-centric age when finding a matrimonial match online is increasingly common, many Muslims are torn between mainstream platforms that don’t reflect their religious values and traditional matchmaking methods that lack modern ideals. Around 2015, the emergence of Muslim matchmaking apps like Muzz (launched in the U.K. in 2015 as Muzmatch) and Salams attempted to address this gap by offering faith-based matrimony programs catering to Muslims. A recent Muslim matchmaking service founded in 2022 strives to match partners through a unique approach — by utilizing AI to promote efficiency, reduce user costs, and increase accessibility for Muslim Americans. Founded by Zachariah Elkordy, Inpairs seeks to revolutionize matchmaking in the Muslim community through the use of modern technology.

FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY

Elkordy was first inspired to create Inpairs in 2021 when many of friends reached out to him asking if he could connect them with potential spouses. He posted a message on his Instagram story encouraging those who were looking to get married to send him a DM. “I had over 75 people DM me that night,” Elkordy told Islamic Horizons. However, balancing his time between his studies as a medical student and setting people up through Instagram, Elkordy realized the inefficiency of this process. He created a Google Form for those looking to be matched and was surprised to see over 250 submissions within a week. “There’s clearly a huge need here,” he said. “I played around with a few ideas publicly, posting on my [Instagram] stories, and made TikToks for around six months until I narrowed in on the idea of what Inpairs is today.”

As Elkordy began building Inpairs, he realized AI could aid him. “I was trying to figure out what the issues with some of these other matchmaking services are, like

why they’re really expensive,” Elkordy said. He realized the main factor driving those high costs was the number of matchmakers needed at other services. “How can I provide a high-quality, consistent service at a more affordable price point? I realized that the clear solution is AI.”

This ambitious plan came with its challenges, one being Elkordy’s difficulty in finding a business partner with a technical background. After months of searching and receiving periodic help from friends, he decided to take matters into his own hands and build the platform on his own. “That’s how I was able to overcome it, by realizing that it was taking too long and [I wasn’t] going to get anywhere unless I started doing it myself,” he said.

However, six months after launching the beta version of Inpairs, Elkordy realized he needed help. He then brought in two software engineers based in Gaza. “At Inpairs, we’re very focused on building long-term relationships… Every dollar that comes in goes back into the company,” Elkordy said. “And so, a lot of that has gone into making sure that the guys on the team are well compensated for the work they do because they’re putting in many, many, many, many hours into making [Inpairs] what it is.”

While Inpairs doesn’t offer a free plan, their subscription options are much cheaper than their competitors, ranging from $20 to $35 a month. The cheapest option offers up to three matches per month from the Exclusive Pairing pool, while the pricier options give you access to either the Masjid Partnership pool or to both the Masjid Partnership and Exclusive Pairing pool. Inpairs software is updated weekly to keep up with the data brought in from new matches.

While the beginning stage of Inpairs was, in Elkordy’s words, “genuinely horrible,” the service has come a long way. Initially, the software was set up to ask users introductory questions about themselves and their ideal spouse, but it didn’t implement their answers to give personalized matches. In other words, the matches were completely random. “Now we’re able to put out what we think is a really high-fidelity match,” Elkordy said. “We just introduced this feature where we can present a match to somebody if we think that we have a really good fit for them within a minute of them signing up. So [the service is] a lot quicker and a lot more accurate.”

Elkordy believes a major factor that sets Inpairs apart from other Muslim matchmaking services is their marketing skills. Inpairs is especially active on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram and regularly posts interviews discussing marriage with imams, Islamic scholars, or just average Muslim couples. “We’re just focused on making a solid online brand with effective marketing tactics… And then at the end of the day, [we] provide a really great service,” Elkordy said. Inpairs currently has over 15,000 and 20,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram respectively.

Additionally, Inpairs recently launched Inpairs Masjid, connecting Muslim communities across the U.S. through a central platform. “We’re the first of any service to link Masjids in this way at a national scale,” Elkordy said. Inspired by Elkordy’s own experience

Founder Zachariah Elkordy.

PHOTO CREDIT: INPAIRS

meeting his wife, the Masjid Partnership program allows users to connect with masjids around the country. “Even if you’re not from that community, you’re still able to make a reasonable assessment about somebody.”

THE MATCHING PROCESS

To explain Inpairs’ matching process, Elkordy used a hypothetical user named Muhammad as an example. “Muhammad finds Inpairs and he decides to sign up. He fills out a maybe 15-ish minute intake form,” Elkordy illustrated. Muhammed will answer questions about himself, his passions, his deen, and his preferences for a spouse. “We try to make it as engaging and fun as possible as he’s filling it out, too.”

If Inpairs has a good match for Muhammed, he’ll be presented with it immediately after he signs up. “After that, we’ll have our matchmakers go through, do fidelity checks, and make sure that all of the AI’s matches are good,” Elkordy said. Inpairs will then have their pair drops, which are usually twice a month. “We give Muhammad up to three potential matches. And he has 24 hours to say yes or no to the first match before moving on to the next matches.” Once both users say yes, the screen automatically pops up with their contact information which they can then use to get in touch.

USER EXPERIENCE

Medina Latic, a user from Chicago, first heard about Inpairs through a friend who saw Elkordy’s TikToks. “Honestly, I went into it blind. My best friend and I were working at a cafe one day when she pitched me the idea. She said she’d run it for me,” Latic recalled. She said she appreciated the intention of the platform. “The questions they asked were very deep and honest. It gave me an opportunity to really communicate who I am and what I am looking for,” she said. However, Latic saw an opportunity for Inpairs to address an inconsistency in the number of matches given. “The part I was most disappointed in was that some months you might not get matched, but you still get charged. In addition, when you do get matched, you only have 24 hours to accept the match, otherwise they disappear forever.”

The inconvenient nature of this issue was reinforced when Latic’s match period fell on Eid al-Fitr and her match didn’t respond, leading her to wonder whether it was the short time frame that didn’t give him a chance to address the match. “This might not be the

A recent Muslim matchmaking service founded in 2022 strives to match partners through a unique approach — by utilizing AI to promote efficiency, reduce user costs, and increase accessibility for Muslim Americans. Founded by Zachariah Elkordy, Inpairs seeks to revolutionize matchmaking in the Muslim community through the use of modern technology.

case, but with the way the platform was set up at the time, I’d never know,” Latic says. When she addressed this issue in a TikTok, Elkordy reached out and assured her the company was working on a feature that would not charge users when they didn’t receive a match and another one that would allow users to connect with previous matches.

When comparing Inpairs to other matchmaking websites, Latic said other services offer more matches, but she doesn’t know whether that is a good or bad feature. “I think other apps give you a lot more matches and people to talk to, though most of these people often aren’t looking for what you are,” she said. “It’s sort of a shot in the dark and you have to do all the work to figure it out.” She was excited about Inpairs because it was an opportunity for her to have a quality connection with a person who truly satisfied her most in-depth criteria. “I think the platform has a lot of potential, they just need to continue implementing user feedback,” Latic said.

Additionally, guaranteeing data security is an important part of Inpairs’ user experience. According to its privacy policy, the

platform collects personal data like profile details, match preferences, and religious affiliation, but it ensures that this sensitive data is processed only with explicit consent. Inpairs also conducts identity verifications with masjids in their Masjid Partnership program to limit potential scams on the service. The service’s AI-driven matchmaking program is regularly updated to maintain accuracy while protecting user data, and the company states it “regularly review [its] practices and systems to ensure data security.”

THE FUTURE OF INPAIRS

As opposed to other countries such as the U.K., the U.S. doesn’t have as much diversity in matchmaking tools, Elkordy observed. “Our goal is to become the premier way that Muslims in the U.S. find their significant other. After that, maybe we can explore moving to other countries, but we really want to make sure that we are the best in class locally before we expand,” he said. ih

Sanaa Asif is a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She explores the intersection of technology, business, and education, and how it transforms young generations, through her writing, studies, and volunteer efforts.

Reformed Muslim Convict Shares Impact of Accepting Islam

How Embracing Islam Shifts Core Values and Changes Trajectory of Life

BY ROMY SHARIEFF

Amember from the Umrah (pilgrimage similar to Hajj) group adjusted Abdur Raqiyb Mutawakil Rashaad’s ihram (pilgrimage attire) before heading to the Kaaba, the Haram ash-Sharif. At 79, this was his first Umrah. He had often dreamed of this moment while serving his prison sentence — life without parole — which began in 1980 under the Maryland Three Strikes (habitual offender) law.

Rashaad is an articulate, intelligent man. There is no remnant of his prior life as he carries himself with an air of humbleness and integrity. He possesses what so many of us are searching for: the heart of a believer. His story is not unique. Street life enticed him as a teenager which led to confinement in various detention centers. In prison, he rose to second in command of an infamous prison gang. He commanded respect by his willingness to act. But after six years as leader, he left gang life when he was introduced to the Sunni school of Islam. It transformed his life and now, has performed one of the most sacred religious rituals in all of Islam.

THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

His story reflects the ingrained systemic factors that drive inequality in America. Muslims are keenly aware of racial and ethnic profiling, especially after the events of 9/11. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People reported that one in three Black men can expect to be sentenced for an offence sometime in their lifetime, and they are five times more likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts. 47% of inmates wrongfully convicted are Black.

story that could be very different according to Rashaad. He opened up about his life in order to help young people make better decisions since the illusion of glory that the streets portray continues to destroy lives.

Rashaad’s father was a cook in the U.S. Navy and would often be away at sea. “I saw him maybe three times in four years,” Rashaad told Islamic Horizons. That absence impacted him deeply. Street life gave him a

solitary confinement. “It’s a bare room with a hole to urinate and defecate in. No flush. They would bring a mattress from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.,” he said, noting that being isolated impacted him psychologically.

CAN ISLAM REDUCE RECIDIVISM RATES?

Rashaad said the reason why the recidivism rate is so high and why inmates get increased sentences while in prison is imminent danger. “Prison is a revolving door,” he explained. Convicts who have an upcoming release date act differently from ones who don’t. “There is a lot of mental health disease in prison and it’s a real possibility that at any time, you can get stabbed. Gangs give you some protection and there is a lot of recruitment. It’s a terrible thing not to be in one. You need to have the mindset to be willing to kill, otherwise you will be preyed upon.”

sense of belonging and respect. Street rules governed life. “You don’t betray people. Loyalty is important. You take your guidance from the street. Someone might suggest something, and that seed gets planted. The streets were my apprenticeship to crime.”

Furthermore, Black Americans are 11.5 times more likely to be a victim of homicide than white Americans. Each of these statistics represents a real person with a tragic

At 15, Rashaad was detained at the National Training School for Boys in Washington D.C. from which he escaped. After six months as a fugitive, he was picked up in a grocery store on mistaken identity. Rather than betray his acquaintance, street code returned him back to the correctional facility, but this time to

That same mindset stays with inmates as they attempt to reintegrate into a society that plays by different rules, and as a result, many return to prison. Except a select few. Rashaad believes Islam is the only way to truly rehabilitate someone.

“Islam is a different guidance system, and it transforms how you think and act,” he said. That navigation system led him to leave gang life which redirected the path of his life. “You can’t be in a gang and be Muslim.”

Amin Anderson, an instructor at the Tayba Foundation who served 33 years before being released on parole, elaborated that Muslims in prison have a reputation for using non-violent approaches to solve issues. “Prison leadership will engage Muslims to negotiate disputes between gangs because of our credibility and ability to bring forth peaceful solutions,” he said. “There is remedy through some means in accordance with Islamic principles. Muslims are congruent

with actions and words. We don’t do drugs or engage in haram practices. Muslims are respected for that.”

Anderson reflected on his own internal transformation. “Before I accepted Islam, I had lost my humanity,” he said. “I came to understand what real loyalty, trust, honesty, and self-restraint was through the model of the Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). No matter what people did to him, he always gave back something beauti-

boys and captures them into the cycle of the prison industrial complex. He believes it takes a multifaceted approach. “The street is more powerful than family or anything else other than real Islam. You are impressionable; someone suggests you go do something to prove yourself and you want to be accepted and respected,” he said. “You need to show them what the alternative is.”

Acknowledging that it is a monumental feat, he continued, “Kids need consistency

With his 80th birthday approaching in July, Rashaad reflects on how Islam changed his life by bringing peace to his heart. He now imagines a brighter future for young people today. With an Islamic framework, he is confident each child can live up to their full potential.

ful. His model of true love for Allah changed my outlook. It restored my love for humanity and all of creation. I began to understand that I didn’t have to choose between the streets or my family if I put Islam first.”

Rashaad first joined the Nation of Islam in the 1960s. He said that street rules still applied and violence was part of the culture. The doctrine didn’t require any internal shift. His curiosity about Sunni Islam began after reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X. “I respected him as a man and he was talking about how he was praying with white people and how Sunni Islam opened his heart. I started reading books about real Islam in the prison library,” he said.

Anderson said the ideology of the white man being the devil that the Nation preached was appealing to young Black men because it gave them someone else to blame. “Islam requires personal responsibility and accountability. Each of us has a choice of how we operate in life regardless of circumstances.”

REHABILITATION THROUGH ISLAM

Rashaad witnessed the impact of Islam on his life shortly after his release when a man cut the line at the grocery store. “That level of disrespect in prison may have led to a different ending, even a homicide. Islam taught me patience and gave me a different way to look at life.”

Rashaad questioned how this transformation can occur before street life entraps

and presence. Building stability and creating trust so they feel safe takes time and commitment. If you can get the kids to the masjid, that’s a good start.”

Having regularly scheduled youth events that children enjoy creates an opportunity to be exposed to the core values of Islam. Local masjids in Richmond, Va., offer events like soccer, basketball nights, and scouts. But how can at-risk kids get there if parents are absent or are working? That is one of the challenges that requires community engagement.

“It takes a tribe to raise a child, but it starts with changing the framework of thought. Someone recognizes your potential and lets you see that in yourself,” said Anderson. That is what Shaykh Rami, founder of the Tayba Foundation, did for him. “I was willing to do anything to earn someone’s trust. Once I accepted Islam, trust was freely given to me. It’s an incredible feeling and something that you want to protect.”

Parents today compete against a range of enemies. Rashaad stressed the importance of monitoring kids’ acquaintances because the influence of peers outweighs the family. Al Hasan al-Basri phrased it as, “Associate yourself with many believing friends. Certainly, they will be able to intercede for you on the Day of Judgement” (Tafseer al-Baghawi, 3/473).

Shaykh Abu Abdillah Yunus Ibn Mahmoud, founder of the Beacons of Light programme in London, U.K., goes even further. He warns that social media, online

content, and exposure to the entertainment industry are far more insidious. His advice is to be judicious about what content we consume.

ISLAMIC OUTREACH AND THE TAYBA FOUNDATION

Incarcerated individuals need Islamic outreach. The Tayba Foundation is filling that gap. “Our curriculum incorporates self-development exercises that challenge students to reflect internally,” Anderson said. “Without reaching in, the mindset won’t change.” The organization also prioritizes providing a compassionate support system through different communication methods.

The foundation is also working on expanding their recorded classes to reach students through the prison education system. Anderson said the state systems are moving faster with computer literacy than federal and there is always the challenge of getting materials into institutions. Tayba welcomes collaborating with local prisons and dawah groups to increase their success.

Finally, individuals who have been wrongfully sentenced need help. The Innocence Project gives hope for a life beyond the wall to a subset of those incarcerated. But others are left to rely on an overstretched public defender’s office. Rashaad had a fortuitous opening. “Merle Unger [from Unger vs. State of Maryland] slept on my tier. When he won his case for erroneous instructions given to the jury, the public defender’s office was instructed to seek out all offenders that this decision affected. Once I filed a Post Conviction Petition, the public defender office got involved.” Rashaad was released on unconditional parole in 2013.

Rashaad spent more time in prison than the law allowed. This stole his family life and his ability to contribute to society. After performing Umrah he felt it was time to seek legal help to rectify the injustice.

With his 80th birthday approaching in July, Rashaad reflects on how Islam changed his life by bringing peace to his heart. He now imagines a brighter future for young people today. With an Islamic framework, he is sure each child can live up to their full potential.

The Umrah group called him Shaykh out of respect and love. As Rashaad settled into a wheelchair and began his Umrah, the transformative power of Islam was fully evident and present. ih

Romy Sharieff is a licensed midwife and founding contributor of the Bryan J Westfield Scholarship. romysharieff@yahoo.com.

PALESTINE

Us For Them

A Christian Call to Care for Our Muslim Neighbors

BY DENNIS P. ALLAN

In the opening chapter of Genesis (1:27), the first book in the Bible, the author writes,

“So God created mankind in His image, in the image of God, He created them; male and female He created them.”

Almost universally, Christians agree on the theological implications of these words. Every person regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, ability, or status carries intrinsic worth. This is not because of what they do or possess. For Christians, every person is inherently valuable because they bear God’s image. As such, dignity isn’t earned or assigned. It’s given because it’s rooted in God. Therefore, any form of dehumanization — racism, violence, religious persecution, exploitation, indifference — strikes against the heart of God’s creative intent.

This foundational Christian truth finds its parallel in Islamic teaching. The Quran teaches, “We have honored the children of Adam” (17:70) which affirms that all human beings possess sacred dignity. While Muslims speak primarily of humans as stewards of creation (Quran 2:30), rather than image bearers of God, both faith traditions arrive at the same theological conclusion: every person carries inherent worth that demands support and care.

Both faiths recognize that caring for those who suffer is not optional but essential, a reflection of our sacred obligation to honor the dignity God has imbued to every person.

In fact, Jesus’ (‘alayhi as salaam) public ministry included ethical lessons that invited people to practice self-giving love and care for their neighbors, regardless of ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN

In a story known as The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus talks about a man who had been beaten and left for dead on the roadside. He was ignored by his own people, whose indifference to his plight led them to cross to the other side of the road to avoid helping him. The injured man is rescued not by one of his own people but by a Samaritan, a member of an ethnic group despised by Jesus’ audience. Samaritans were only allowed to be seen as a people violently opposed to Jesus’ followers. By making a Samaritan the hero, Jesus upended his listeners’ deeply ingrained ethnic and religious prejudices. Jesus insists, through the story, that demonstrating compassion and care for fellow humans takes precedence over ethnic and religious hostilities.

Today, many evangelical Christians in the United States find themselves walking the same road as the people mentioned in Jesus’ parable. They see the suffering of their Muslim neighbors — especially Palestinians (Muslims and Christians alike) — and are tempted to deny the image of God in them by ignoring the plight of their neighbor. They’re tempted to choose indifference and cross to the other side of the road.

These evangelical Christians would choose to turn away from the images and videos of families’ and children’s bodies mangled and distorted, destroyed by a bomb or missile in Gaza. They hear or read stories about the intentional targeting of civilian safe zones or a famine that could kill thousands, including children. They justify their indifference citing historical complexity, theological differences, geographic distance, or cultural unfamiliarity. But the Parable of the Good Samaritan doesn’t allow for indifference in the face of suffering. It compels Christians to ask: What kind of neighbor will I be?

Will we uphold the dignity of our neighbor or will we cross to the other side of the road and absolve ourselves of any and all responsibility for their suffering? Will we advocate for the well-being of our Palestinian neighbors

and demonstrate tangible care, or will we choose to remain disengaged despite knowing the desperate plight of our fellow image bearers?

BUILDING A JUST WORLD

At the heart of the Christian faith is a belief that God’s people have an active role to play in building a more just world. In the Old Testament, Prophet Jeremiah (‘alayhi as salam) speaks with his countrymen who’ve been conquered and taken into exile in a foreign land, a nation equated with godlessness, idolatry, injustice, and oppression. Yet Jeremiah doesn’t encourage his people to form isolated communities ensuring their own welfare exclusively. Instead, he instructs them to demonstrate care and to seek the wholeness, well-being, security, prosperity, and flourishing of their neighbors, working for the good of all

The Good Samaritan — Original artwork for illustration in Look and Learn or The Bible Story

people regardless of their religious identity, race, or ethnicity.

For Christians, indifference towards the plight and suffering of people in need isn’t permitted, regardless of their ethnic and religious differences. What is required of Christians is intentional compassion, care, and support, a self-giving love that sacrifices for the well-being of the other.

It’s teachings like those recorded in Jeremiah and the Parable of the Good Samaritan that challenge Christians’ indifference towards the needs of their Muslim and Palestinian neighbors today.

These ethics of self-giving love, seeking the well-being of people who are different, and upholding the dignity of all people continue to sit at the heart of the Christian tradition. Yet there are conservative Christian faith leaders like Robert Jeffress, the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, and Franklin Graham III, the President of Samaritan’s Purse,

Both Christianity and Islam recognize that caring for those who suffer is not optional but essential, a reflection of a sacred obligation to honor the dignity God has imbued to every person.

who have called Islam an “evil” and “wicked” religion. And there are evangelical politicians and cultural commentators like Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, and Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, who describe Muslims as culturally regressive and violently opposed to Christianity. These conservative Christian leaders, because of their platforms and prominence, can speak in ways that appear to represent views held by all Christians in the United States.

They do not.

In 2015 the band Gungor—a Denver-based Christian music group—released a song titled “Us or Them.” The song’s message that

“When the lines are drawn…

When it’s us or them…

It is all a lie…

There’s no need to shed more blood…

Cause if it’s us or them

It’s us for them…”

These lyrics, in many ways, were a response to a cultural reality that permeated much of American society that year. United States President Donald Trump had announced his candidacy and six months later called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” Then, in a March 2016 interview with CNN claimed, “Islam hates us.”

The President’s language implied that to be Christian is to be American, and to be Muslim is to be anti-American. It’s language

that legitimized and emboldened anti-Muslim sentiment within portions of the American populace, including some Christian spaces. Additionally, it further fractured relationships and eroded trust between Christians and Muslims.

THE TRUE CHRISTIAN TRADITION

This brings us back to the Parable of the Good Samaritan. It’s a story about crossing ethnic and religious lines to acknowledge the inherent dignity of people and to help those who are suffering, regardless of theological differences or historical complexity. Jesus instructed his listeners to care for the beaten man regardless of the geopolitics of the road to Jericho.

It also draws us into another of Jesus’ most prominent teachings, known as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:7). He said, “Blessed are those who mourn.”

Jesus’ followers shouldn’t be people who practice indifference but should mourn the deaths of their Palestinian sisters and brothers. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). The people who model their lives after Jesus shouldn’t just seek to maintain order but should actively work for justice. And Jesus taught, “Love your enemies.” The people who belong to Jesus should seek to care for every person, even those they might believe are their enemies.

Jesus consistently offered compassion, care, and support

to people experiencing marginalization, insecurity, and vulnerability, and Christians in America should, too.

Recently, I received an email from a congregant who is partnering with a Palestinian-led organization that’s working to connect Christian churches to families in Gaza who need care and support. This work aptly demonstrates that Christians in the U.S. should speak with moral clarity about the systemic killing and mass starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, provide legal aid and advocacy to people targeted by government policies, create interfaith coalitions to defend people of different religions against threats of violence, and provide economic support for relief organizations. More Christians in the U.S. must take up this work. .

Christians who live close to Jesus’ heart know they’re meant to serve, help, and protect their neighbors regardless of their religious or ethnic identities. In fact, Jesus and His closest followers taught that any distinction based on religion, ethnicity, social standing, or gender had no place in the Christian community.

Christians everywhere should proclaim this teaching and reclaim this ethic today. They should align with the teaching and witness of the ancient prophets and Jesus.

We should offer our compassion, care, and support to our Muslim and Palestinian neighbors with the same kind of self-giving love Jesus demonstrated throughout his ministry. Otherwise, we risk repeating the mistake the people in the Parable of the Good Samaritan made, and we will fail in our calling to build a more just world for all of God’s people. ih

Dennis P. Allan is a pastor at Garden City Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He studied theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is a fellow at the Center for Christianity and Public Life in Washington D.C.

Beyond the Seat at the Table

When Representation Becomes Complicity

BY FAISAL KUTTY

Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebration was meant to be a triumphant moment — a nostalgic nod to the past and a confident step into the future. But instead of a flawless showcase of innovation, the company found itself confronted with a very different kind of legacy, one rooted not in software but in silence, complicity, and moral failure.

As Microsoft’s three most powerful leaders — current CEO Satya Nadella, former CEO Steve Ballmer, and co-founder Bill Gates — took the stage, the mood shifted abruptly. Vaniya Agrawal, a young Indian American software engineer in the company’s artificial intelligence division, stood up and accused these leaders of enabling the mass murder of Palestinians in Gaza.

“50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft technology. How dare you? Shame on all of you for celebrating on their blood,” she declared before security pushed her out.

Earlier that day, another Microsoft employee, Harvard graduate and Moroccan American engineer, Ibtihal Aboussad, disrupted a keynote address by AI chief Mustafa Suleyman. “How dare you celebrate when Microsoft is killing children,” she shouted, pointing to the company’s direct involvement in supplying AI technologies used by the Israeli military. Her protest wasn’t random, it was born of long-suppressed frustration after more than a year of failed internal efforts to raise ethical concerns.

By the following week, both women were fired.

Their courage, however, has only amplified. Their words now echo far beyond the walls of Microsoft’s Redmond campus,

and their example serves as both an indictment of the limits of institutional diversity and a rallying call for moral clarity.

This wasn’t simply a case of workplace unrest. It was a reckoning. These employees weren’t demanding higher pay or better perks. They were demanding that their labor not be used to power war crimes.

An Associated Press investigation earlier this year revealed that the so-called Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) was using Microsoft and OpenAI’s AI technologies to conduct military operations in Gaza and Lebanon (Michael Biesecker, Sam Mednick and Garance Burke, As Israel uses US-made AI models in war,

services increased by 200 times following the events of Oct. 7, 2023 (Harry Davies and Yuval Abraham, Revealed: Microsoft deepened ties with Israeli military to provide tech support during Gaza war, Jan. 23, 2025, The Guardian). This wasn’t accidental. This was business.

Microsoft, like many other major corporations, is proud of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. It touts its multicultural teams, its employee resource groups, and its global reach. But as both Aboussad and Agrawal discovered, this inclusion has limits.

For over a year, Aboussad and her colleagues attempted to raise concerns through internal channels. Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim employees were repeatedly sidelined, their criticisms ignored or labeled disruptive. Some were disciplined simply for holding vigils or wearing symbolic pins. Others were quietly pushed out.

concerns arise about tech’s role in who lives and who dies, Feb. 18, 2025, AP). The technologies facilitated everything from target selection to surveillance infrastructure to real-time battlefield analysis. Microsoft’s cloud services, via Azure, played a central role in processing massive data sets used to locate targets, often with lethal consequences.

The report confirmed what many feared: AI tools developed for “empowering humanity” were being weaponized. Additionally, internal company documents showed that Microsoft had a $133 million contract with Israel’s Ministry of Defense and that Israeli military usage of Microsoft

In an internal email circulated shortly before her public protest, Aboussad wrote, “When I moved to the AI Platform, I was excited to contribute to cutting-edge technology for the good of humanity. I was not informed that Microsoft would sell my work to the Israeli military to spy on and murder journalists, doctors, aid workers, and entire civilian families.”

Her experience mirrors a pattern seen across sectors. Institutions eager to showcase diversity often do so with unspoken conditions: representation is welcome only if it’s apolitical. Advocacy is tolerated only if it doesn’t threaten power.

In recent years, there has been a well-meaning push to ensure that marginalized communities are “represented” in elite institutions. But what good is a seat at the table if you’re asked to remain silent once you sit down?

This kind of conditional inclusion is not progress. It’s

performance. It turns diversity into a box-checking exercise, one that may elevate individual careers but does little to protect the communities those individuals seemingly represent.

In some cases, representation can be worse than silence. When people see someone “like them” in positions of power, they may assume their voices are being heard. It creates the illusion of accountability while suppressing actual dissent. It convinces people outside the room that progress is being made, even when the room is built on compromise and silence.

This is the danger of tokenism. It transforms what should be a platform for advocacy into a tool for pacification.

Aboussad’s treatment is a case study in how institutions neutralize dissent from within. Despite working at the cutting edge of AI, contributing to some of Microsoft’s most high-profile projects, she was deemed expendable the moment she challenged her employer’s moral direction.

These employees dismissal was framed as a response to “disruption” and “misconduct.” But let’s be clear: their only disruption was forcing a company to reckon with the consequences of its actions.

If DEI means anything, it must include the right to speak out. It must protect, not punish, those who raise concerns rooted in basic human rights and international law. And yet, too often, companies use DEI as a shield, parading their inclusive hiring practices while silencing those who try to make that inclusion meaningful.

Corporate complicity in state violence is not new. During the Holocaust, IBM provided the Nazi regime punch card systems, tools that facilitated surveillance, registration, and logistical coordination of genocide. The company profited while claiming ignorance (Edwin Black,

IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance Between Nazi Germany and America’s Most Powerful Corporation, Crown, 2001). Decades later, it remains a case study in ethical failure.

In South Africa, companies that supported the Apartheid regime faced global boycotts and lasting reputational damage. Eventually, many of them disavowed their roles, but only after

— those who understand that success without ethics is failure by another name.

Their story has already inspired others. The Microsoft workers-led No Azure for Apartheid campaign demanding an end to the company’s complicity in Israel’s apartheid and genocide has gained global traction. Conversations are shifting. Engineers are questioning

i nclude marginalized voices but also empower them to lead with conviction even when that leadership makes others uncomfortable.

This is especially true in fields like technology, where the tools that we build shape the world we live in. We cannot afford to separate technical excellence from ethical responsibility. The two must walk hand in hand.

In recent years, there has been a well-meaning push to ensure that marginalized communities are “represented” in elite institutions. But what good is a seat at the table if you’re asked to remain silent once you sit down? This kind of conditional inclusion is not progress, it’s performance. It turns diversity into a boxchecking exercise, one that may elevate individual careers but does little to protect the communities those individuals seemingly represent.

immense pressure from activists, workers, and global civil society.

Today, companies like Microsoft face a different kind of accountability. Every action is recorded, every leak can go viral, and every employee has the potential to become a whistleblower. And the younger generation is watching closely. They are generally more informed, more connected, and far less willing to separate technology from ethics.

Aboussad and Agrawal didn’t just walk away from high-paying jobs at a global tech giant. They walked away with their integrity intact. And they will not be unemployed for long.

Educated at elite institutions, trained in high-demand fields, and armed with a clarity of conscience, these women represent the kind of talent that principled organizations should be proud to welcome. They are exactly the kind of leaders the future needs

whether they want to “write code that kills.” Consumers are asking whether convenience is worth complicity. And companies are being forced to answer not just to shareholders, but to society.

These events are also moments for Muslims and ethics-favoring investors to question where their funds are being invested. Indeed, it is possible for employees to even transfer their retirement accounts from unethical to ethical funds and bonds.

Every person has a role in shaping the future. For some, that may mean working within flawed institutions and pushing for reform. For others, it may mean stepping away when conscience demands it. But it must be noted that silence is never neutral. One either upholds injustice or helps dismantle it.

True progress demands that we move beyond symbolic gestures. It requires building institutions that not only

Aboussad and Agrawal exemplify what it means to lead with integrity. In an age when careers are built on personal branding and institutional loyalty, they chose principle over comfort.

They reminded us that speaking up matters. That resistance from within is powerful. That representation is only valuable if it carries with it a responsibility to speak the truth.

They didn’t just resign. They refused to be complicit. And in doing so, they reignited a conversation about what real leadership, real inclusion, and real progress look like.

May their courage ripple far and wide. And may the next generation of technologists, lawyers, workers, and leaders follow their lead not just into rooms of power, but into the work of transforming them. ih

Faisal Kutty, J.D., LL.M., is a lawyer, law professor, and regular contributor to The Toronto Star and Newsweek. You can follow him on X @faisalkutty.

Documenting the Audacity of Atrocity

A Review of Louis Theroux’s The Settlers (2025)

BY LAUREN BANKO

Louis Theroux’s 2025 documentary The Settlers , produced by the BBC and available on BBC iPlayer, chronicles atrocities committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians, their homes, and their lands. For the viewer, these atrocities are haunting because they are so mundane. Their mundanity stems from the fact that they have been going on since Israel began its military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip in June of 1967.

The documentary film focuses on the most rightwing and extremist of Israel’s settlers in occupied Palestine. Still, this comes at a moment in which the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to use “full force” to continue the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza that began in October 2023. As such, Gaza remains in sight, literally and figuratively, throughout the hourlong documentary.

The term “settlers” refers to Israelis, overwhelmingly Jewish, who live in territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. These lands are not officially under Israeli sovereignty. They are located in the Palestinian West Bank labelled by Israelis and Christian Zionists as “Judea and Samaria.” Israeli settlers are often motivated by religious or ideological beliefs as they view the West Bank as part of the biblical “Land of Israel.” Over half a million Israelis live illegally as settlers in the occupied West Bank and over 200,000 live in illegally annexed East Jerusalem.

Theroux’s documentary aims to expose the ideological narratives, actions, and demands of Israel’s settlers in both the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It features the most vociferous, noxious of extremist

settler leaders, Daniella Weiss.

Known as the “godmother” of the settler project, she is responsible for taking the lead in creating hundreds of outposts and settlements over the course of her nearly 80 years of

age. Weiss spoke several times to mild-mannered Theroux as he traveled across the West Bank and southern Israel in late 2024.

Weiss, an early and leading member of Israel’s settlement lobby Gush Emunim (Bloc of

the Faithful) since the 1970s, currently lives in the settlement of Kedumim. When speaking to Theroux, she stressed her support for Israel’s resettlement of Gaza and removal of all Arabs and shared plans as to how she and her followers intend to do this.

One of the documentary’s most shocking scenes features Theroux following Weiss in her vehicle to the border between Israel and Gaza as she attempts to enter the besieged Gaza Strip. She is stopped by so-called Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who intercept her car. Her reason for attempting this, as she explained to Theroux, is to show other Israelis that they can simply enter Gaza. The nonchalant nature of Weiss’s action and her routinized explanation for it are deeply disturbing.

The United States government is far from blameless in t hese atrocities. The Settlers comes at a time when the United States has given Israel a full license to commit genocide in Gaza. Worse yet, Washington further compounded the humanitarian crisis in Palestine when the Trump administration terminated President Biden’s travel ban on extremist settlers and his sanctions against extremist Zionist organizations.

It is often said that the most extremist of these settlers — those responsible for over 1800 incidents of violence against Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023 — are in the minority. And, according to a January 2025 poll in Israel, just 26% of

Israeli citizens support re-establishing the settlement of Gush Katif in Gaza (Ellie Grant. “Who is Daniella Weiss? The ‘Godmother’ of Israel’s settler movement now calling for a return to Gaza.” Apr. 28, 2025. The Jewish Chronicle. ). But Weiss, with her casual manner in speaking about ethnic cleansing, is supported by extremist, pro-settler ministers in Israel’s current government. Men like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir frequently express their support for not only the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and new settlements in Gaza, but the murderous actions carried out by settlers against Palestinians.

Theroux, for his part, is not naïve. He is aware of the post1967 history of the Israeli occupation and of Palestinian resistance, making clear to state that the occupation and settlements are illegal under international law. He is also aware of what Zionism has aimed to do since the establishment of the state in 1948. Theroux even made a previous documentary about Israeli right-wing extremists in 2011 (The Ultra-Zionists). At one point in The Settlers, when Theroux and his small team are passing through an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank near Hebron, a soldier queries how long they will be in Israel. Theroux responds curtly, “Hang on, I don’t think we’re in Israel.” He continues to question the soldier’s claim, insisting that they were in the Palestinian West Bank.

At another point in the film, an American Jewish settler named Ari Abramowitz refuses to recognize that Palestinians exist, arguing that to say, “the Palestinian territories” in reference what he calls “the heart of Judea” is to admit that “a Jihadist Palestinian state” exists in “right in the heart of Israel.” In response, Theroux

presses Abramowitz as to why he insists on referring to a Jihadist rather than “a Palestinian state.” Theroux gets Abramowitz to admit that what he aspires to do is to take territory through war against Palestinian Arabs.

Theroux’s film is disturbing not just for the content — the practices and ideologies of

15% of Israeli settlers in the West Bank hold American citizenship (Chris McGreal. “How American citizens are leading rise of ‘settler violence’ on Palestinian lands.” Dec. 15, 2023. The Guardian).

Theroux also spends a good deal of time with Palestinians who have faced extreme settler

in a building alongside the production team, recently critiqued the final production, saying that Palestinian experiences and voices regarding the violence of Israeli settlers did not get equal time (Mohammad Hureini. “I was in the BBC documentary ‘The Settlers.’” May 6, 2025. Mondoweiss).

Herein lies a crucial lesson that The Settlers illustrates consistently: the unshakable belief amongst the settler movement and its supporters of the inviolability of Jewish presence in what they believe is the biblical land of Israel. The settlers blissfully endorse violence against Palestinians as a means to achieve such a presence.

the Israeli settlers — but for the character of the Israelis he speaks to. Abramowitz is deeply tense throughout his interview with Theroux with various weapons strapped to his body. In one scene, Theroux refers to Weiss as a sociopath after she refuses to acknowledge that Palestinians under military occupation are human beings whose lives are equal to the lives of any other human being. This comment comes after Weiss pushes Theroux to deliberately get him to push her back, in her way of explaining settler violence as exaggerated.

Israel’s genocide in Gaza is referred to throughout the film. An early scene shows Orthodox Jewish tourists in southern Israel gathering to view what Theroux called “the ruins” of Gaza. The Israelis he speaks to at various events repeatedly stress their right to go into Gaza, take Palestinian land there, and ethnically cleanse Palestinians from that land. And a depressing number of his interview subjects are American. According to statistics from 2023, about

violence. In filming daily interactions between Palestinians in Hebron with settlers and soldiers who control most of the old city, the sheer arrogance and propensity to violence by the latter of the two groups becomes readily clear. The settlers’ ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinians in the old city with the support of the IDF is also evident. The documentary shows that residents cannot reach their homes without going through checkpoints and gates while facing daily harassment.

Palestinians featured in the film have also spoken out since The Settlers first aired in late April 2025. Palestinian rights activist and Hebron native Issa Amro said soldiers raided his house, threatened to arrest him, and physically harassed him for his part in walking with Theroux around Hebron (“Israeli soldiers, settlers harass Palestinian activist featured in BBC film.” May 4, 2025. Al Jazeera.). Mohammad Hureini from Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills, who was featured in the documentary hiding from Israeli soldiers

Theroux’s voiceover, which closes the film, notes that the settlers he encountered felt themselves accountable only to God. Herein lies a crucial lesson that The Settlers illustrates consistently: the unshakable belief amongst the settler movement and its supporters of the inviolability of Jewish presence in what they believe is the biblical land of Israel. The settlers blissfully endorse violence against Palestinians as a means to achieve such a presence.

Theroux is aware of the complex process of settler colonialism in terms of its practice and ideology, and he is aware that Palestinian resistance comes as an ongoing response to ethnic cleansing. By showing that Israeli settlers feel that their religion has promised them the right to take the lives of other humans, Theroux deconstructs the very premise that his interlocutors believe in so vehemently. ih

Lauren Banko is a research fellow at the University of Manchester. She received her PhD in Near and Middle Eastern History from SOAS, London. Her research centers around the history of Palestine, refugees and displacement, borders, and migration in the history of the Middle East.

A Will to Stay Alive and a Tradition to Sustain Palestinian American Women on

Grief, Resistance, and Refusing Silence

BY TAMARA SYED

Palestinian Americans exist within two worlds: ensconced in the safety net of America while witnessing the ethnic cleansing of all that we hold dear in Palestine.

As a Palestinian American journalist, watching a genocide in my ancestral homeland has been both personal and paralyzing. In this piece, I speak with a multitude of Palestinian women: a Gen Z artist, entertainment professionals, two mothers — one of whom who recently gave birth — each collectively mourning from a different place in life.

The grief in bearing witness to Israeli atrocities in Palestine carries with it an emotional weight for Noor*, 24. She is a Palestinian who recently immigrated to California from a Gulf Cooperation Council country and she faces that reminder daily. “Every single thing that I do, I’m reminded of Palestine,” she said. “Even if it’s a mundane task like doing dishes, driving around to run errands, or just simply getting my work done, I’m constantly reminded that people in Gaza have been stripped, deprived, and forced into unlivable conditions.”

Witnessing Palestinians bake bread out of animal fodder or grow gardens in their tents is a reminder of their perseverance even in the midst of impending death.

“And even then, I see them persevere and find ways to make their day-to-day work,” Noor said.

In the middle of the ongoing bombardment of Gaza, Mary Saleh-Greenfield, 32, gave birth to her second daughter. “It was the most emotionally dissonant experience I’ve ever had holding this tiny, perfect life while my people were being killed,” she said. “Every cry from my daughter reminded me of the cries of children in Gaza.”

Childbirth should be a joyous occasion, but for Saleh-Greenfield, navigating grief while raising children has taken an emotional toll. “I was pregnant with my daughter, Scarlett, and it put me in a terrible mental space. There’s guilt for laughing when others are grieving,” she said. “But I also remind myself that joy is a form of resistance. Raising children with dignity, love, and

hope — especially Palestinian children — is a declaration that we believe in a future worth fighting for.”

As a Christian Palestinian American, Saleh-Greenfield believes Muslims and Christians are united in their struggle to free Palestine. “Our traditions may be different, but our shared values of dignity, community, sacrifice, and resistance are the same.”

Western media often perpetuates a false narrative that the ongoing genocide in Gaza is a religious war. But Palestinians understand the harm of this incorrect notion. “When Palestine is framed only through a religious lens, we lose sight of its richness, its diversity, its culture, and its people as a whole. This struggle isn’t just Muslim or Christian, it’s Palestinian. And it belongs to all of us who believe in justice,” SalehGreenfield said.

Bay Area-based Jameelah ShomanNsour is a creative operations manager in the retail industry and a mother of two. She grew up deeply rooted in her Palestinian identity and the current genocide in Gaza has profoundly shaped the way she navigates motherhood. “Processing this genocide is impossible without a great deal of faith and understanding of the history and plight of the Palestinians,” she said. “There have been many unbearable moments as I’ve scrolled

through social media, trying to process what is happening. I’ve tried to put myself in the shoes of the mother mourning her child, or the father desperate because his children haven’t eaten for days.”

With two young children, a 10-yearold son and a nearly 5-year-old daughter, Shoman-Nsour approached conversations about Gaza with her children with honesty.

“My son already had a basic understanding of Palestine’s history before Oct. 7th. We’ve instilled a strong Muslim identity in our children, and second to that, an understanding of their heritage. When the genocide began, we gave him just enough information to be aware and to speak if the topic came up at school,” she explained.

Some moments have been painful, like when a classmate told her son, “The Palestinians are hurting the Israelis.” ShomanNsour guided him through the confusion, encouraging compassion and truthfulness. “Never do we want our children to stick up for Palestine from a nationalistic perspective, but from a human one,” she emphasized. “Our answers always come back to our Islamic values. We tell them to pray, trust in God’s plan, and remember that being a good human and a good Muslim go hand in hand.”

Shoman-Nsour this moment in history deepened her faith. “Prayer and du‘ā’

grounded me. It reminded me to trust in Allah. My faith has always been the foundation and now, it’s what keeps me upright,” she said.

For Loren Medina Jassir, 46, a Palestinian Cuban American music publicist based in Los Angeles, the past year and a half has brought a swell of emotions from “violent rage” to “a deep, cutting, visceral sadness”.

“Gaza has radicalized me in the most profound ways,” she said. “It has forever changed my outlook on life.”

Jassir, who works in the Latin music industry, says her outspoken support for Palestine has led to professional fallout including being blacklisted by Zionists in the music industry.

Navigating the entertainment industry as a Palestinian American can be polarizing and diminishing, but for Aliya* a Los Angelesbased Palestinian American working at an organization that uplifts underrepresented voices, her workplace is a reminder that there are some seats at the table. “I don’t feel like I have to hide, at least at work,” she said. “My organization is pro-Palestinian and the people who choose to partner with us are on the liberal end. I’m part of an organization that is conscious of the power of narrative and the behemoth of power we’re up against in the industry.”

However, conversations outside her bubble, particularly with powerful agencies, have been disillusioning. “Those have been the most demoralizing conversations. It feels like the people at the agencies are evil and think they’re not evil,” she said. “I’ve had people mention ‘the two-sided nature of the war,’ and it makes it so clear we’re existing in such different narratives.”

Even naming her identity as Palestinian in casual conversation carries weight. “There’s this anxiety that if you bring up your identity, people are going to negate it. You brace for a debate or a story about someone’s 2010 mission trip, and I have opinions on those,” she said with a laugh.

Although these women come from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, are at different points in their career, and are separated by generations, they share many common threads in their identity as Palestinians.

Jassir understands the importance of standing up to injustice through her upbringing. “I was raised by a political prisoner, as my father is Cuban, and by a fearless Palestinian woman,” she said. “Staying silent and not mobilizing

Witnessing Palestinians bake bread out of animal fodder or grow gardens in their tents is a reminder of their perseverance even in the midst of impending death.

has never been an option in my family. At this point, your silence is unforgivable. Despite all the loss, I found the most beautiful community fighting for collective liberation and a newfound strength in the rubble.”

Saleh-Greenfield is raising her children with the same pride that has been a guiding light for her in these dark times. “I want them to grow up proud knowing where they come from. I want them to know they’re not just American or just Palestinian, but the living intersection of both,” she said.

In the face of ethnic cleansing, Palestinians and Palestinian Americans persevere through upholding cultural practices from dances like the dabke, a traditional dance performed at protests and weddings, to the ancient embroidery technique of tatreez

To these women, choosing to uphold cultural traditions is an act of resistance. “I’ve been making a few embroidery pieces to keep myself grounded. I’ve really experimented with different styles, and I’ve also been reading up on different motifs and what they mean,” Noor said.

Another act of defiance for some Palestinians, especially in the West, is

proudly speaking their language. “I’ve found myself having conversations in Arabic more, especially in the Palestinian dialect,” Noor said. “I realized that I spend way too much time speaking in English that I want to hold on to, strengthen, and preserve the dialect that my family and I continue to speak in despite not being in Palestine.”

Through her NGO, Travel With Purpose, Jassir created a children’s arts camp for Palestinian refugees in Cairo. “I think about them every single hour of every single day and they give me strength on the days I am so consumed with grief I can barely breathe,” she said.

Amid the dread, Aliya found solace in a simple exercise: writing a list of things she is looking forward to or hopes for. “It was actually quite powerful to put ‘a Free Palestine’ on the hope list,” she says. “That felt kind of reassuring, to an extent. There’s still hope.” ih

*Names have been changed for privacy.

Tamara Syed is a Los Angeles-based Bangladeshi Palestinian journalist, writer and director. Her work explores the intersection of identity, grief and liberation. She believes in the power of storytelling to incite change through empathy.

Jordan Bans Muslim Brotherhood

An Analysis

BY OMAR ZAHRAN

On April 23, 2025, the Jordanian Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya announced a comprehensive ban on the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimeen), declaring it an “illegal organization” effective immediately. The move was described as a “clean break” and a “final divorce” from Jordan’s past policy of containment.

The ban covers all Brotherhood-related activities in the country, including the promotion of its ideology. Authorities closed all Brotherhood offices — even those shared with other groups — and expedited the confiscation of its assets. Jordanian police also raided the headquarters of the Brotherhood’s political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), seizing documents and computers. News media outlets were prohibited from publishing any Brotherhood-affiliated content after the raids. Social media sites were also monitored by Jordanian authorities.

This sweeping crackdown signals a deliberate effort to eliminate the Brotherhood’s operational capacity in Jordan surpassing previous legal restrictions. Analysts note that the ban treats the Brotherhood not just as an illegal entity but as an existential threat, making a return to the status quo ante unlikely.

The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928, was officially registered in Jordan in 1945. It operated legally for decades, building broad public support

especially in urban centers. Historically, it pursued peaceful, institutional means to achieve its goals, even participating in local and national elections. The Brotherhood’s claim of legality stems from the fact that King Abdullah I — the present king’s great-grandfather — performed the opening ceremony of the Brotherhood’s first headquarters in Jordan. Since then, many of Jordan’s political elite were either members or supporters of al-Ikhwan.

Jordan’s regional policy toward the Brotherhood was unique, balancing tolerance with containment. But tensions escalated after the Brotherhood opposed the July 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty negotiated between then U.S. President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin, and Jordanian King Hussein. Conflict between the Brotherhood and the Jordanian state further escalated during the Arab Spring.

Despite a 2020 court order dissolving the Brotherhood, the group continued operating with tacit state tolerance (“Jordan top court dissolves country’s Muslim Brotherhood,” July 21, 2020, AFP). The IAF remained Jordan’s largest opposition party winning 31 out of 138 seats in the 2024 elections and effectively tripling its representation in the House of Representatives amid public anger over the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza (“Jordan’s Islamist opposition party tops parliamentary elections,” Sept. 11, 2024, Aljazeera).

weapon transfers via Syria. For its part, the Brotherhood vehemently denied involvement, though these denials allow that some members may have acted independently. Leaked documents claimed to be signed confessions state that the ultimate destination of these weapons was the Palestinian West Bank and that they were not meant for use in Jordan. On April 30, Jordan’s State Security Court sentenced four of the accused men to 20 years in prison for “transporting and storing explosives and automatic weapons,” according to The Jordan Times.

This sweeping crackdown signals a deliberate effort to eliminate the Brotherhood’s operational capacity in Jordan surpassing previous legal restrictions. Analysts note that the ban treats the Brotherhood not just as an illegal entity but as an existential threat, making a return to the status quo ante unlikely.

Still, the all-out ban reflects the failure of Jordan’s containment strategy. Past measures, like licensing the Muslim Brotherhood Society in 2015 (an Ikhwan splinter faction), did not curb the Brotherhood’s influence. The 2024 electoral success of the IAF, fueled by pro-Palestine sentiment amongst the Jordanian public, likely prompted the state to tighten control as it has come to view the Brotherhood’s growing influence as a threat to state sovereignty.

The ban follows accusations of a foiled April 2025 plot involving Brotherhood members who were accused of manufacturing short-range missiles, smuggling weapons, recruiting militants, and planning attacks on security forces at sensitive sites (Suleiman Al-Khalidi, “Jordan says it has foiled attacks by Muslim Brotherhood,” April 16, 2025, Reuters).

Authorities linked the suspects to “unlicensed groups” and released alleged confessions tying them to the Brotherhood. The Interior Ministry accused the group of operating covertly to destabilize the Jordanian government.

Reports suggested that the accused had outside ties including alleged Iranian

The government framed the plot as crossing a “red line” justifying the shift from containment to suppression.

The Cradle, however, noted, “While the crackdown can be viewed as an internal security measure, its timing and broader political implications suggest that it was also influenced by external pressures, notably from the U.S. (Jordan’s Brotherhood crackdown: Will Amman’s ‘security’ measures backfire? April 29, 2025).

Reactions were varied. The IAF distanced itself by freezing out members linked to the alleged plot. The public was split between supporters of national security and critics accusing the government of scapegoating. Across the region, Gulf states tacitly endorsed the ban; Hamas and Brotherhood factions throughout the Middle East condemned it. On the international front, some Western allies balanced security concerns with unease over civil liberties.

In the immediate future, the IAF faces an existential crisis. Some believe the Jordanian government will continue to grant latitude for its operations. Others suggest that the state will send the message that reform is mandated if the IAF wants to continue to

operate within the confines of the Jordanian political system. However, not allowing the IAF’s unfettered operation within the political system may risk the radicalization of Jordan’s youth, further internal unrest, and strained regional ties. A beneficial result of this policy though could include Jordan’s alignment with anti-Brotherhood states.

The banning of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan marks a historic shift ending that state’s unique policy of Brotherhood engagement. The long-term impacts of this shift hinge upon whether the move stabilizes Jordan or fuels further instability. Regionally, there are strong hopes in Jordan’s ability to weather this storm as it has done historically. ih

Omar Zahran is a freelance writer.

Gatekeeping Humanity

How Canada Picks and Chooses Its Refugees

BY FAISAL KUTTY

Canada prides itself on being a global leader in human rights and humanitarianism, but a closer look at its refugee policies suggests otherwise. The glaring disparity in how Canada has treated refugees from Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine provides prima facie evidence of a discriminatory immigration system, one where race, religion, and geopolitical interests appear to determine who gets in and how fast.

THE NUMBERS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

On March 6, 2025, Canada closed the Gaza Temporary Visa Program after receiving 5,000 applications. Of those, 645 people made it into Canada. To do so, they had to first escape the horrors of Gaza, a near-impossible feat given the ongoing Israeli bombardment, border closures, and manmade humanitarian catastrophe there created by Israel and its Western allies. The Gaza Temporary Visa Program in Canada required applicants to pay an application fee of C$100 per person or C$500 for a family of five or more, along with a biometrics fee of C$170 for a family of two or more. Although the Gaza program was closed on March 6, the government retroactively waived the application and biometrics fees for eligible Palestinian applicants and their family members, issuing refunds to those who had already paid.

In contrast, the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) saw 1,189,320 applications. Nearly 963,000 were approved, and as of February 2025, 298,128 Ukrainians successfully settled in Canada. Visa application fees, biometric collection fees, and work permit application fees, among others, were waived for all CUAET applicants.

Meanwhile, the Sudan Pathway Program, meant to facilitate the entry of family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents from Sudan, was capped at 3,250 applications in May 2024, causing the program to be paused indefinitely. While the cap was later extended to include an

additional 1,700 applications, bringing the total to just over 5,000, it remains the only program requiring financial sponsorship from Sudanese Canadians who wish to bring their family and loved ones out of a war zone and into safety in Canada.

In the case of the Sudan Pathway Program, many families stepped up to fulfill the financial requirement needed to rescue their family members only to be met with discriminatory delays, unexplained bureaucratic obstacles, and unbearably slow processing times. Many families lost loved ones while waiting for applications to get approved. Applicants were also required to demonstrate a minimum financial commitment of C$9,900 to privately sponsor one individual, in addition to a processing fee of C$635 per adult and C$175 per child. So far, 399 applications representing 800+ people have been approved, and 179 applicants have arrived in Canada (Isha Bhargava. “Sudanese Canadians demand urgency from Ottawa almost 1 year after applying for family members to flee war,” Feb 14, 2025, CBC News).

A DIFFERENTIATED RESPONSE TO CRISIS

Why has Canada facilitated the entry of nearly a million Ukrainian refugees while shutting the door on Palestinian and Sudanese applicants? Why are refugees of color, particularly those from Muslim-majority countries, left to navigate a cruel, bureaucratic maze, often at the cost of their lives?

When Canada wants to move quickly, it does. The bureaucratic machinery that streamlined Ukrainian resettlement could have been extended to Sudanese and Palestinian refugees fleeing equally dire — if

not worse — circumstances. Instead, these groups are left with exclusionary policies that create insurmountable barriers, forcing them to risk death rather than be welcomed to safety.

The stark contrast in Canada’s treatment of refugees is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern. Syrian refugees faced an uphill battle before public pressure forced the government to act. Afghan refugees who worked alongside Canadian military

Canada is at a crossroads. It can either uphold its commitment to universal human rights or continue down a path that echoes its history of exclusion, racial hierarchy, and selective compassion.

forces were left stranded while Western allies evacuated thousands of their compatriots. Palestinians and Sudanese refugees now face similarly deliberate neglect while Ukrainian refugees received the fastest, most generous resettlement program in modern Canadian history.

This isn’t about charity; it’s about justice. A refugee’s right to safety should not be determined by their race, religion, or geopolitical convenience. Yet, Canada’s refugee system continues to operate on a two-tiered framework, offering swift protection to some while placing impossible obstacles before others.

Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke eloquently about Canada’s commitment to human rights, inclusion, and compassion. But words are meaningless if they are not backed by action. The government must immediately reform its refugee policies to ensure that people fleeing Gaza, Sudan,

and other crisis zones are granted the same access to safety as Ukrainians.

This means reopening and expanding the Gaza and Sudan resettlement programs, removing arbitrary caps on applications for racialized refugees, and creating fasttrack pathways that match the efficiency of CUAET. Additionally, Canada must ensure transparency in immigration decisions to prevent systemic bias and uphold its commitment to equal treatment for all refugees.

Canada is at a crossroads. It can either uphold its commitment to universal human rights or continue down a path reflecting its dark, segregated history, one in which a person’s status in the country is determined by the color of their skin.

The numbers don’t lie. The discrimination is clear. And history will judge us for it. ih

You can make an impact with as little as $10 per month!

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

George Washington University Textile Museum Displays Art from Islamic World

Celebrating the Museum’s 100th Year

BY YERUSALEM WORK

The Textile Museum at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. is celebrating its centennial this year. This 100-year-old institution is a treasure trove of priceless cultural artifacts from across the world. With free admission and a convenient location, this museum is an attractive, historical, and must-visit destination for all.

The museum is located within walking distance of the Foggy Bottom metro station in the heart of Washington, D.C. The fourth floor, the highest level, is reserved for the Arthur D. Jenkins Library, a non-circulating textile-arts library. It is a repository of rare multimedia materials that significantly bolster the museum’s mission.

Visitors enter through the first floor which houses the museum store and the Artisans Gallery. This shop is overflowing with pillows, bags, scarves, and books, all high-quality possessing vibrant colors and designs. It is where you can take a sample of a well-made textile home with you.

The second and third floors contain exhibits that draw in high traffic, and the museum’s basement hosts a center where visitors can get firsthand experience with textile design by creating digitized images at a computer kiosk. Using a computer program, visitors can choose their own garment (bag, blanket, or shirt), fiber (wool, cotton, or silk), structure (knit, woven, or felt), main color, and accent color (red, yellow, blue, green, and black). At the end of this process, visitors can email their finished works to themselves. This makes for a fetching e-souvenir that helps participants gain a deeper appreciation for the thought that goes behind the creation of contemporary textiles.

There are also opportunities for visitors to try out textile-making techniques. The loom provides both warp and weft (vertical and horizontal) threads where visitors can experiment with making knots, a vital and intricate part of the textile-making process. Practicing the art and craft of textile design offers visitors an immersive museum experience which is bound to create a lasting appreciation of this form of historical and cultural expression.

MUSLIMS AND TEXTILES

The Islamic World is sometimes known as the “Textile Society” because of the vital role this artform played in daily life in antiquity. The museum displays a sizable collection of Islamic textiles — textiles made or used by those who profess faith in Islam — distinguished by geometric designs, vegetal motifs, and floral patterns each bearing meticulous attention to minute detail. Whether massive carpets towering over patrons or modestly sized wall hangings, items in the museum’s collection are carefully placed by dedicated curators to enrich the viewer’s overall experience. Some objects are encased in glass while others are displayed with no barrier between the viewer and the artifact. Patrons are allowed to take photographs as long as they omit the flash.

Within The Textile Museum, representation of the Islamic World is impressively diverse. Of the more than 21,000 items in the museum’s international collection, some of the most precious, notable, and rare pieces are from Muslim artisans. Here, samples from the entire Muslim World are on display. Visitors can browse through

Kilim; Iran, Kashan; late 16th century/early 17th century. Silk warp and weft and metallic-wrapped silk weft yarn; interlocked and dovetailed tapestry weave; 229 x 131. The Textile Museum Collection R33.28.1. Acquired by George Hewitt Myers in 1926.

authentic pieces from Egypt, North Africa, Spain, India, Turkey, the Caucasus, Iran, Central Asia, and China. Textiles on display here date from as early as the fourth century and represent a remarkable diversity of purpose. Some items present the colorful garb worn by nomads and villagers across the ages; others exhibit the trappings of the royal courts of the Muslim World.

The largest carpet in The Textile Museum’s collection is 340 inches in height and 131 inches in width and is made of cotton and wool with asymmetrical knots. This piece dates to the Safavid period (1501-1736) in Northwestern Iran, likely either modern day Tabriz or Isfahan, though the exact geographical origin is uncertain.

The museum also displays a rectangular kilim, a flat, woven carpet or rug, that also originates from Iran and dates to the Safavid period. The kilim is composed of a dragon and phoenix medallion, animal and floral motifs, corner quarter medallions, and cartouches.

Within The Textile Museum, representation of the Islamic World is impressively diverse.

Of the more than 21,000 items in the museum’s international collection, some of the most precious, notable, and rare pieces are from Muslim artisans.

When visiting Washington, D.C., these artistic treasures are not to be missed.

HONORING TEXTILE CREATIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

The exhibit “Intrinsic Beauty: Celebrating the Art of Textiles,” which will remain on display until June 14, features textiles from around the world. Here, visitors can travel the globe without being far from home. Guided tours are available to the public at scheduled times or by appointment.

The second centennial exhibit, “Enduring Traditions: Celebrating the World of Textiles,” will be on display from August 16th to December 20th. Textiles that have played a role in celebrations,

performances, and religious ceremonies will be gathered here to represent a wide array of cultures and geographies. Carpets that once decorated palaces and festive robes that once adorned royal families will tell the stories of communities and their traditions.

The Arabic saying, “The eye sees far, but the hand can’t reach,” seems apropos in this context. With one glance in this museum, viewers can see meaningful slices of life as they encounter rugs, carpets, and other textiles from periods long past. In this way, The Textile Museum’s sumptuous collection can be seen as well as felt but only with the mind, heart, and soul. The collection in general cannot be physically touched.

Although in the museum’s basement, there is an interactive gallery where different fabrics can be physically touched. This tactile component gives museum patrons a genuine encounter with fabrics that have served humanity from time immemorial.

The Textile Museum was founded by George Hewitt Myers in 1925. It was formerly located in two historic buildings: the Myers family home (designed by John Russell Pope) and an adjacent building designed by Waddy Wood.

In 2015, it relocated to The George Washington University’s Foggy Bottom campus and re-opened as The George Washington University’s Textile Museum.

The Textile Museum is a treat for all ages. It is truly family-friendly and appropriate for a wide range of eclectic audiences. It welcomes engagement from scholars, enthusiasts, and tourists from all cultural backgrounds. ih

Yerusalem Work is a creative writer and an educator with a master’s degree in library science. She currently teaches English as a Second Language for international students in the Washington, D.C. area.

Carpet, Safavid (1501-1736), northwest Iran, probably late 15th or early 16th century. Cotton, wool; knotted pile, asymmetrical knot, open right. The Textile Museum Collection 1960.9.1. Gift of Joseph V. McMullan in memory of George Hewitt Myers.

The Silence that Saved a Beloved Scholar

A Meditation on Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

BY YAHIA LABABIDI

In 1095, at the age of 37, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111) stood at the height of his fame. A scholar among scholars, he dazzled minds from Nishapur to Baghdad, commanding the respect of sultans and students alike. But inside of him, a storm was brewing. One day, while giving a lecture, he fell mute. What he once commanded effortlessly — speech, persuasion, rhetoric — had abandoned him. It was not illness alone that had afflicted him; it was a rupture of the soul.

“I was convinced,” he later wrote, “that I

stood on the edge of a crumbling cliff.” All the knowledge he had amassed — philosophy, jurisprudence, theology — now felt to him like sham and pretense. And so, he did what few in his position ever dare. He left his post. He walked away from prestige and power, turned his back on empire and applause, and withdrew into silence and solitude.

He did not lose his voice. He surrendered it.

With the world at his feet, al-Ghazali disappeared into obscurity — wandering, praying, weeping, seeking. His departure was

not a rejection of reason. It was a search for something reason could no longer provide. “The visible world is a trace of that invisible one,” he wrote, “and the former follows the latter like a shadow.” He was searching for the spiritual light behind the physical forms.

“Were it not,” he said, “that He has placed an image of the whole world within your very being, you would have no knowledge of that which is apart from yourself.” His retreat was a descent into the Self in an effort to encounter the Real. It was an engagement of a deeper kind.

Ghazali’s crisis did not mark the collapse of his intellect; it marked its transcendence. He had reached the limit of philosophy’s power to nourish the soul. The polymath who once bested everyone who stood to argue against him now found himself undone by longing. Still, he did not denounce reason. Instead, he called for harmony between reason and revelation.

“He who is a proponent of mere blind imitation… is ignorant,” he wrote, “and he who is satisfied with the intellect alone… is deluded.” One must unite both sources. “The intellectual sciences are like foods,” he said, “and the sciences of religious law are as medicines.” One nourishes, the other heals. Together, they lead to wholeness.

He became whole not through conquest, but through surrender.

But what is healing in an age of spiritual illness? Mohammad Abu Laylah, writing on Ghazali, observed, “Great reformers have their sicknesses and sorrows, not because of their own state of health, but because the state of their nation drags them down.” Ghazali’s illness was not personal, it was prophetic — a rupture brought on by the sickness of the world. His silence was both protest and prayer.

20th century Czech novelist Franz Kafka glimpsed this paradox too. “No more psychology,” he wrote. “All these so-called illnesses… are facts of faith.” To suffer, for some, is to bear the weight of the collective. Ghazali suffered for us while also pointing toward a way through.

The modern world, obsessed with analysis and performance, often bypasses the soul’s cry. Ghazali saw the danger. “Desire makes slaves out of kings,” he wrote, “and patience makes kings out of slaves.” And again: “Only that which cannot be lost in a shipwreck is yours.” His medicine always addressed what endures.

The book Ghazali: The Revival of Islam by Eric Ormsby (Oneworld Academic, 2007) traces the drama of his life with clarity and admiration, revealing a man who combined the razor’s edge of logic with the humility of a mystic. If we were to search for a Western parallel, we might arrive at Augustine or Aquinas — the alliance of reason with revelation.

Ghazali remains a colossus in the Muslim world. His influence shaped centuries of thought. He restored inwardness to outward practice and gave permission to question. “Anyone who does not doubt will

Ghazali remains a colossus in the Muslim world. His influence shaped centuries of thought. He restored inwardness to outward practice and gave permission to question. “Anyone who does not doubt will not investigate,” he said, “and anyone who does not investigate cannot see.”

in an aphorism. This idea hints at the way of those entrusted with secrets. T. J. Winter, in this book’s foreword, said, “Because of the danger of misunderstanding by those who understand only outward words… the full doctrine of the soul must remain veiled.” This isn’t secrecy; it’s reverence. Some things must ripen before they can be revealed.

Here, one hears echoes of Greek philosopher Plotinus, who spoke of the soul’s ascent beyond intellect, and the need to “withdraw into oneself” to discover the light that burns behind all appearances. “Withdraw,” he said, “into yourself and look. And if you do not find yourself beautiful yet, act as does the creator of a statue.” Both thinkers, from different worlds, describe the same journey: inward, upward, onward, and into silence.

Scholar and President of Zaytuna College Hamza Yusuf called Ghazali the single most important Muslim after the Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Yusuf’s own spiritual project echoes Ghazali not only in content but in tone: disciplined, introspective, grounded. He was a scholar with the heart of a poet and soul of a mystic. A reminder that reform does not require novelty. It demands a return to the source, with cleaner hands.

Yusuf’s edition of The Marvels of the Heart, with its lucid translation and luminous introduction, is itself an act of devotion — bridging the centuries with clarity and grace. His eloquence, steeped in both tradition and tenderness, brings Ghazali’s insights into the present with renewed urgency. To listen to Yusuf speak on the maladies of the heart is to hear the echo of Ghazali’s voice — calm, corrective, and ultimately, fixed upon the soul’s final destination.

Ghazali’s voice, first silenced, then renewed, teaches something essential. Knowledge alone is not enough. Speech can be shallow. The soul speaks best when the heart has been broken open. In his silence, he became a witness. And when he spoke again, it was not as a jurist or philosopher, but as a true shaheed, one who had seen the transcendent.

not investigate,” he said, “and anyone who does not investigate cannot see.”

In his book The Marvels of the Heart (Fons Vitae Publishing, Trans. Walter James Skellie), al-Ghazali explores the hidden architecture of the soul. “The guardian of the riddle must speak in riddles,” I once wrote

Ghazali shows us that the path to truth runs through the heart, that surrender deepens strength, and that it is possible to walk away from everything and return with more than you ever had. ih

Yahia Lababidi is the author of more than a dozen books, most recently Palestine Wail (Daraja Press, 2024) and What Remains To Be Said (Wild Goose Publications, 2025).

Navigating Market Turbulence with Faith

How Halal Investing Can be an Anchor in a Volatile World

BY SALAH OBEIDALLAH

The return of tariff-centered trade policies under the Trump administration reignited global market volatility. Investors — already grappling with inflation, interest rate swings, and geopolitical unrest — are expressing concern about what lies ahead. Yet, as our history and faith teach us, the path forward does not include panic but rather embraces steadfastness.

For Muslim investors, this moment is not merely a test of nerves; it is a reminder of why Sharia-compliant investing is both ethically sound and financially prudent.

TARIFFS: AN ANCIENT TOOL WITH ISLAMIC ORIGINS

Surprisingly to some, the word “tariff” is derived from the Arabic term tarifa, meaning “a list” or “notification” particularly in the context of pricing or trade. During the Golden Age of Islamic civilization (roughly between the eighth and 14th centuries), trade was highly regulated with principles of justice, transparency, and fairness at its core. Muslim markets thrived on structured commerce that discouraged exploitation and prioritized social and economic balance.

Fast forward to today and tariffs are once again in the spotlight, this time as instruments of geopolitical maneuvering. The latest wave, aimed at foreign trade partners such as China, has rattled

global markets and disrupted key sectors. Yet history tells us that such shocks are rarely permanent.

VOLATILITY IS NORMAL; RECOVERY IS HISTORICAL

Volatility may feel alarming in the current moment, but over the long run, it is part and parcel of the investing journey. Market dips are not new, they are cyclical and temporary.

Below is a historical look at some of the market’s greatest crises and their recoveries:

These recoveries affirm a powerful truth: markets rebound. The real risk lies not in volatility, but in abandoning the market during fear-driven moments. Missing out on even a handful of the market’s best days can cut a portfolio’s returns in half.

FAITH-BASED INVESTING: A BUILT-IN RESILIENCE

Islamic finance is structured around core values that prioritize sustainability, justice, and ethical investment. In contrast to conventional investing, halal portfolios avoid interest-bearing assets, speculative ventures, and companies involved in prohibited industries (such as alcohol, gambling, pornography, and weapons manufacturing). These conditions are not only a moral obligation but should be considered a strategic advantage in times of uncertainty.

Take, for example, the Iman Fund (IMANX), one of the longest-standing halal mutual funds in the United States. Since its inception, it provided Muslim investors with a disciplined, transparent, and faith-aligned vehicle for long-term growth. By investing in financially robust companies and screening out highly leveraged or volatile stocks, IMANX embodies a “value-with-values” approach that can offer stability during market downturns.

Other respected Sharia-compliant funds, such as the Amana Growth Fund (AMAGX) and Azzad Ethical Fund (ADJEX), reinforce this growing movement toward principled investing. While each halal fund has its nuances, they all share a commitment to ethical governance, social responsibility, and long-term stewardship, values deeply rooted in the Quran and Sunnah.

FOR MUSLIMS, INVESTING IS A SPIRITUAL DECISION

The Quran calls believers to seek that which is halal and tayyib (pure), including in matters of finance, stating, “O you who believe! Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly” (4:29).

The Quran also teaches that avoiding riba (interest), gharar (excessive uncertainty), and haram income is a religious obligation. Investing in a Sharia-compliant manner safeguards one’s wealth, conscience, and akhirah (the Hereafter).

In the face of volatile markets, this spiritual perspective becomes even more essential. Halal investing reminds us that profit is not just a number, it is a trust, an amanah, that must be managed with sincerity and purpose.

HOLDING STEADY: THE WAY FORWARD

So, what should Muslim investors do during periods of market uncertainty?

For Muslim investors, this moment is not merely a test of nerves; it is a reminder of why Sharia-compliant investing is both ethically sound and financially prudent.

Stay calm. Volatility is normal. Panic will not help you navigate market fluctuations.

Review your goals. Reassess your plan, if need be, but don’t abandon it.

Rely on your values. Shariah-compliant investing was built for moments like these.

Seek barakah (blessings), not just returns. Long-term wealth is built through discipline; spiritual wealth comes through divine trust.

ANCHORED BY FAITH, POSITIONED FOR GROWTH

The market may sway, but our iman (faith) must stand firm. By investing through halal-certified vehicles like the Iman Fund, Muslims can weather financial storms with a clear conscience and a confident heart.

In every era of turbulence, the Quran calls us to patience, perseverance, and trust in God’s plan: “Indeed, those who say, ‘Our Lord is God,’ and then remain steadfast — no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve” (46:13).

Let your investment strategy reflect your faith. Let your wealth be a source of good. And let your patience, in economic markets and in life, be your path to reward. ih

Salah

Obeidallah is President of Allied Asset Advisors.

The Glaring Gap in Maternal Care for Muslim American Women

Pregnant Muslim Women Should Know their Options and their Rights

BY JANELLE CARLSON

Giving birth is the culmination of nine months of work, using both body and mind in shaping a pregnancy. Surprisingly perhaps, maternal and infant death rates in the United States today are on a slow rise (Justina Petrullo, “US Has Highest Infant, Maternal Mortality Rates Despite the Most Health Care Spending,” The American Journal of Managed Care, Jan. 31, 2023), while maternal and infant health rates have been steadily improving in many other parts of the world.

Maternal mortality refers to the death of a woman during pregnancy, childbirth, or within the postpartum period following childbirth or the termination of a pregnancy. These deaths can be caused by conditions such as excessive bleeding, seizures, or other medical conditions that are related to pregnancy.

A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control found the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. increased by 27% between 2018 and 2022. The U.S. has an average of 22.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. By contrast, in Canada, the number of maternal deaths is around 10 per 100,000 live births.

GLARING GAPS IN MATERNAL CARE IN THE UNITED STATES

There are many reasons why the U.S. is falling behind the rest of the world in maternal and infant health. Prevailing causes include a lack of access to health care combined with persistent health inequities. These issues go deeper for Muslim women. Muslim women who are pregnant in the U.S. not only struggle to find access to quality maternal health care, they are also more likely to face discrimination and cultural insensitivities.

In an article for the University of Southern California Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, Tasmiha Khan discussed the lack of regard for Muslim women’s modesty

and bodily autonomy in the hospital system. She recalled an appointment during her own pregnancy at which no women doctors were available to examine her. Her male doctor entered the room while a woman technician performed her ultrasound, a circumstance which denied her privacy and violated her modesty.

“I felt like I was being asked to compromise my beliefs. And no real measures were taken to ensure I would be comfortable — not even when I was near tears,” Khan said.

This disregard may be an aftereffect of misogyny, racism, Islamophobia, or an overworked medical system. Regardless, oversights like this one can cause Muslim mothers to hesitate to seek care.

The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) found that Muslims are one of the most likely groups to face discrimination in institutional settings like hospitals.

Women of color must also contend with systemic racism in the health care industry which affects their access to life-saving treatments and increases the risk of maternal mortality. Women in rural areas are the most likely to suffer from maternal care deserts. These are communities without hospitals with maternity wards or birthing centers. Some women in these deserts are forced to drive 100 miles in search of care.

There are many reasons for the existence of maternal care deserts. There are fewer hospitals in rural areas compared to urban areas while the hospitals that do exist may not perform enough births to justify maintaining maternity wards. And both hospitals and birth centers have to confront the fact that, in rural areas, Medicaid covers about 50% of all births and has notoriously low reimbursement rates.

Many women have no choice but to give in to the system because delaying care can increase the likelihood of harmful, and sometimes fatal, outcomes.

MIDWIVES, ACCOMMODATIONS, AND HOSPITAL FRIENDS

Many Muslim women believe God is the final determiner of health and that answers to health struggles may be found in faith. In terms of maternal health, this belief system may prompt patients to arrange for female health care providers in advance.

While female doctors and midwives are often in short supply, seeking them out can be worthwhile. Research shows women gen-

Additionally, Monroe said mothers should not be afraid to ask for someone to accompany them, whether a family member or a female member of the medical staff. This female advocate may be present during exams to request an explanation of care being given or to ensure halal foods get delivered to the patient.

For those looking to hire a midwife, Shannon Greika at Divine Birth Midwifery in Greenwood, Ind., suggested looking into

Many Muslim women believe God is the final determiner of health and that answers to health struggles may be found in faith. In terms of maternal health, this belief system may prompt patients to arrange for female health care providers in advance.

erally feel more secure with a female doctor, and midwives have been “associated with fewer interventions (epidurals, episiotomies, instrumental births), higher patient satisfaction, and comparable or lower rates of maternal or infant adverse outcomes than other care models” (Sonenberg, Andrea and Mason, Diana, “Maternity Care Deserts in the US,” 2023. JAMA). Moreover, midwives are often able to oversee home births, allowing mothers and families more control over the birthing process.

When looking for a female practitioner or midwife, sooner is almost always better. It also may mean preparing for a longer drive and additional planning in case of an emergency. And while there are a handful of Muslim licensed midwives scattered across the U.S., they are more present in some states than in others.

“As a Muslim woman and mother of seven, I would recommend [hiring] a doula and [knowing] your patients’ rights,” said Boston-based midwife Shafia Monroe, who MadameNoire named “Queen Mother of a Midwife Movement.”

“Your accommodations are part of your rights. You can ask for a female to be in the room with you. It’s the law [for the hospital to accommodate you]. If you have to go to the hospital, walk in with prayer and good intentions.”

the legislation around midwifery as licensing requirements differ from state to state. She also recommends being prepared to travel. She, herself, is willing to travel within a 100-mile radius outside of Indianapolis for prospective clients but often has to turn down women who live in rural Indiana. For those she cannot serve, she recommends looking for a doula through websites like Doula-Match. This lack of nearby maternal care makes finding both a provider and/or a midwife a hard task, and even if both can be found, emergencies happen.

A MORE MOTHER-INCLUSIVE SOCIETY

In many ways, the maternal health crisis in the United States goes beyond individual action. Obtaining a degree in obstetrics or becoming a midwife in the U.S., where there are only four midwives per 1000 births, has an outsized impact. Moreover, being a provider or a midwife who is aware of the importance of religious beliefs allows these beliefs to become integrated into care.

Shannon and Monroe offer courses for those wishing to enter this field. They consider their roles important in filling the gap in Muslim-centric maternal care.

But there are other ways to create a more mother-welcoming society. The Quran (2:33) informs that children should be nursed until the age of 2. But the modern

workplace remains hostile toward nursing mothers as many places of business still do not have a designated space for nursing.

In 2018, the U.S. delegation to the World Health Assembly caused outrage for its attempts to oppose resolutions promoting breastfeeding. In fact, the U.S. went so far as to threaten delegates from Ecuador with trade penalties and the withdrawal of military aid if they refused to drop the resolution (A. Jacobs, “Opposition to breast-feeding resolution by U.S. stuns World Health officials.” July 2, 2018. The New York Times).

IMPROVING MATERNAL HEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES

Organizations like The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) note that the U.S. is one of the only wealthy countries that does not provide paid parental leave and medical insurance typically does not cover midwives. Still, there is support for initiatives and programs that increase maternal health. Importantly, some mosques, like the Richardson, Texas-based Islamic Association of North Texas, have stepped in to help tackle some of the health disparities that account for high maternal mortality rates.

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) only provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave and for certain eligible employees in the United States.

But at the Richland, Texas-based Muslim Community Center for Human Services (MCCHS), underserved community members can access primary care and social support including a domestic violence support group. And at the moment, they are fundraising for a mobile clinic to provide care to more rural communities.

MCCHS Program Director Nikki Emadi notes that even though they are unable to provide all the services they would like, they are still able to make a difference. She recounts a Tunisian woman who came to their clinic while pregnant, and while they were obliged to refer her to another care provider, they were able to provide domestic violence counseling, help her make her appointments, and facilitated her application for U.S. citizenship.

These kinds of initiatives may just be the answer for America’s existing maternal health care gap. ih

Janelle Carlson has an MA in Development Studies and Sociology. Her writing focuses on human rights and food security. Her work is available at Responsible Statecraft, Ambrook Research, and Nonprofit Quarterly among others.

Philadelphia’s Halal Food Scene is a Testament to Islamic Diversity

Forging Faith through Sustenance

BY CYNTHIA GRIFFITH

Some politicians falsely claim Islam was spread by the sword, when in fact, in the U.S., it has always been spread by the knife… and the fork. In Philadelphia, Islam grew through a combination of good character and fabulous fare, and the religion is reaching every corner of Philly one plate at a time.

From quaint Yemeni coffee shops and corner cafès to modern markets, charming bistros, and fusion restaurants, halal cuisine is undeniably a Philadelphia staple. Pull up a seat and say “Bismillah” as we explore the local eateries of Philadelphia, one heaping halal forkful at a time.

TRIED AND TRUE HALAL FOOD SPOTS IN PHILADELPHIA

The halal food scene in the City of Brotherly Love is as culturally rich and diverse as Muslim Americans themselves. Residents and visitors will find popup halal Chinese fusion restaurants and caffeinated Yemeni delights. There are classic, iconic staples serving halal food for generations alongside new, aspiring chefs. Bustling intersections feature halal carts serving everything from pancakes to curried chicken, falafels to fish hoagies, and more.

Saad’s — This Middle Eastern gem has been capturing the hearts of Philly food lovers since the mid-1990s. The brick-andmortar restaurant seen today has its roots in a humble food truck that once wheeled through the streets of University City. Their secret to 36 years of success is simple: they serve up halal versions of Philly favorites like classic cheesesteaks, turkey hoagies, and the legendary Philly fish hoagie. The latter sandwich is a nod to the historic Islamic traditions of Philadelphia’s halal food scene which began during the Civil Rights Movement. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Philly fish hoagie became synonymous with the Nation of Islam, according to former members. It was a Philadelphian twist on the classic fish fry and was often seen at fundraisers for

the African American Muslim community. Nation of Islam members who converted into Sunni Muslims brought the fried fish hoagie with them, along with all of its iconic toppings. This dish specifically pays homage to Sister Muhammad’s Kitchen, a historical eatery that closed in 2022 after 23 years of serving cheesesteaks and uplifting Black Muslim Philadelphians.

Makkah Market — Makkah Market is another mid-’90s Middle Eastern eatery that’s still serving greatness in the City of Brotherly Love but with a twist. This multifaceted shop contains a café, restaurant, grocery store, and bazaar. Notably, it’s open around the clock and is almost always busy. Here, you can sip a steamy Arabic coffee

while waiting for your chicken shawarma and baklava. On the way out, you can shop for your favorite halal meats, pick up some exciting Islamic literature, or purchase a new prayer rug, a Palestinian keffiyeh, or a new hijab all in one location.

Kilimandjaro — Traditional African fare is served in an intimate, romantic setting at this staple halal restaurant that’s been open in various Philadelphia locations since 2005. This restaurant offers a an urban yet worldly take on Senegalese cuisine. Standout classics from the menu include cotelette, a savory, grilled lamb marinated in African spices; thieboudienne, a one-pot fish, rice, and vegetable platter which is the national dish of Senegal; and their famous red snapper, easily one of the tastiest dishes in hit Philly. As a bonus, their plantains are bananas!

Al-Shams — Al-Shams is a halal franchise featuring delectable American cuisine. This chain opened six restaurants in under 14 years but they are still growing. All of their locations feature breakfast, lunch, and dinner options that run the gambit from trendy salmon cheesesteaks to traditional Arab delights like lamb maroosh and falafel wraps drizzled with tahini sauce. You can also find a classic Philly breakfast platter with beef bacon, turkey sausage, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and more.

HALAL PHILLY EATERIES: HOT AND NEW

Up-and-comers are stirring things up in the City of Brotherly Love too. From fusion foods to breakfast specials to birria tacos, mocktails and chicken lollipops to Teriyaki turkey wings, here’s a look at what’s hot and new.

Woondal — Date nights have never looked as good as they do in this new halal hot spot located off Castor Avenue that opened in 2024. Upon arrival, guests are greeted by enthusiastic team members who aim to please. Their booths are cozy and colorful with ornate artwork illuminated by carefully appointed light fixtures. Toward the back are deep booths with a curtain-lined section situated that allow for a private and secluded meal. There is a cozy corner off to the side similar to Stephen Starr spaces like Pod and Alma de Cuba but on a smaller, more digestible scale.

Patrons will want to inhale their delightfully spicy naga wings then wash them down with a strawberry coconut refresher mocktail. If spice is your niche, Woondal wings will not disappoint. For a milder treat, their marinated chicken lollipops are divine.

“We are committed to offering authentic Indian and Mediterranean cuisine that is 100% halal, fresh, and made with love,” said owner Mostofa Kamal Badol. “I always looked for places in the Northeast area for my family to dine privately with halal food. It was hard finding something like this. I wanted my restaurant to serve in a way where families can come and feel at home. For me, privacy and comfort while dining are important. We take pride in creating a welcoming environment where families and communities can gather and enjoy high-quality, flavorful dishes with ease.”

Cilantro — Surviving the pandemic was not a cakewalk for this family-owned halal eatery on S. 4th St., but the Alazzazy family made it work. Cilantro is a vibrant restaurant adorned with fizzy drinks and eclectic décor. It opened in 2019, right on the edge of 2020’s international health emergency. The Alazzazy family, which hails from Egypt, told WHYY they stayed afloat through hard times by pumping out to-go orders and shipping their Egyptian-inspired flavors across Philadelphia.

Cilantro is the place to find a chilled, sparkling Laziza, a delicious, non-alcoholic alternative to the malt beverages served in adjacent upscale eateries. Like the furnishings, the menu here is an expansive work of art with international appeal. Their offerings include traditional savory grilled items, Egyptian classics, and some Italian surprises

If you ever want to know who the Muslims of America are, come to Philadelphia and get a taste of how cultures cross, souls connect, and tastebuds intertwine.

like the super cheesy chicken alfredo which could stand up to a Zagat-rated Italian bistro version any day of the week. Complimentary baklava often completes the meal, making for an experience that exceeds expectations.

Halal Fusion Chinese — If you’ve ever had a hankering for Chinese food with Zabiha meat (prepared to meet halal standards), look no further. All the classic Asianstyle dishes Americans grew up on can be found here. From chicken wings to lo mein, shrimp fried rice, and almost everything in between, this new addition to the halal Philly food market gleams with potential.

Sy’s Palace Soul Food — This halal Philly Soul Food spot has been popularized by celebrities like Tone Trump, Ms. Jade, and Philadelphia Freeway, making it the perfect eatery if you’re into what’s trendy. Red velvet cake and strawberry banana pudding are starring performers on a menu that features almost every soul food dish you might imagine from collard greens and mac and cheese

to beef bacon served with a side of cheesy scrambled eggs. Owner Sydia’s story has been featured on Black Entertainment Television (BET). Sydia, once a bank robber committed to a life of crime, addressed her traumatic past and built an inspiring present by forging faith through comfort food. Today, what once was a vision of prison is a palace serving up some of the most scrumptious soul food in the city.

HALAL MEALS ON WHEELS: FOOD TRUCKS WORTH CRASHING OUT OVER

Many legendary restaurants begin on wheels, and Philadelphia’s food truck scene is bursting with halal options. Here are a few highlights we’ve seen on the streets in 2025:

Bro & Sis Halal — Usually parked on Ridge and Leverington, this well-known food truck is famous for its massive portions, homemade sauces, and their lamb hoagie sandwiches.

Northwest Halal Food Truck — Situated at North 4th St. and Spring Garden St., this flavorful food truck makes great falafels and lamb gyros.

THERE’S ALWAYS A TASTE OF ISLAM IN PHILADELPHIA

Islam is a culturally diverse religion that draws in people from all walks of life. This much is evident throughout the Philly landscape, and particularly in its popular modern cuisine. If you ever want to know who the Muslims of America are, come to Philadelphia and get a taste of the way in which cultures cross, souls connect, and tastebuds intertwine. ih

Cynthia C. Griffith is a social justice journalist with a passion for environmental and civil rights issues. Her writing on the earth, space, faith, science, politics, and literature have appeared on several popular websites.

Science in Service to Humanity

An Islamic Perspective

BY M. BASHEER AHMED

During the early period of Christianity, Christians misinterpreted the Bible, leading to the condemnation of science and philosophy (Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy. George Allen & Unwin, Ltd., London, 1945). As a result, during the second and third centuries, Christian fundamentalists burned libraries destroying countless books written by Greek and Roman scholars. Discouraging the teaching of science led to the Dark Ages of Europe which lasted for a thousand years (Tim O’Neill, “The Destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria,” July 2, 2017, History for Atheists).

The Quran corrected this misinterpretation. The first revealed verse said, “Read! In the Name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists), has created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, who has taught (writing) by the pen, has taught man that which he knew not” (96:15). This well-known verse does not implore the praising or worshiping of God. Instead, it emphasizes the importance of knowledge and the application of literacy to preserve it. The Quran encourages scientific inquiry

throughout its pages; there are over 800 verses in the Quran dealing with natural phenomena (“Islam and Science: What’s the Connection?” Kharchoufa.com October 26, 2024).

God gave humans the gift of intelligence, critical thinking, and decision-making (10:101, 2:164, 16:67, and 45:05). From time immemorial, humans processed information and used that information to raise children, teach new skills, set up governments, and develop innovations like agriculture and medicine. In the 20th century, science replaced the information processed in human brains with information processed in technical systems. Today, individuals access and distribute information by contacting electronic networks, databases, and personal computers that are interconnected through various networks. Cognitive processes have thereby been transferred to computers and increasingly, to artificial intelligence systems (Alexander & Ervin Laszlo, “The Contribution of the Systems Sciences to the Humanities.” Systems Research and Behavioral Science 14(1): 5-19, January 1997).

WHAT IS SCIENCE?

Science is a pursuit of knowledge and a tool for progress, inventing new things to make life comfortable. It revolutionized space travel and modernized medicine. Science is intrinsic to human life and now, we cannot live without it.

SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON MODERN LIFE

Scientific discoveries have had more influence upon human life in the last 200 years than they have in the previous two thousand.

Electricity: Electricity can change night into day. It not only helps us run appliances and utilities but also vehicles, heavy machinery, and other industries. Contemporary society is completely dependent on electricity.

Transportation: Scientific innovations have made traveling faster and easier thereby remaking global society. We progressed from bicycles to cars, from buses to trains and airplanes, and now we travel in space.

Communication and information technology: The internet, smartphones, social media, and satellite technology have revolutionized how we access information, bridging global divides.

Health Care: Science has revolutionized health care, transforming once-fatal diseases into manageable conditions. Vaccines eradicated smallpox and polio, and recently, mRNA technology enabled the rapid development of the Covid-19 development. Penicillin and broad-spectrum antibiotics eradicated deadly diseases like cholera, typhoid, and tuberculosis and controlled serious infections. Imaging technologies like MRI and CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) have led to gene editing allowing scientists to edit DNA by cutting and modifying specific genetic sequences. This advancement allows for the correction of genetic errors and the development of new medical treatments for a variety of ailments. Advances in surgical treatment make it possible to transplant nearly every part of the physical body. Diabetes and heart disease

are now under control. The invention of assistance technology like hearing aids and eyeglasses have made life much more comfortable. These discoveries along with many others have saved millions of lives and have improved millions of others.

Education and accessibility: Online learning platforms and open-access educational apps like the Khan Academy make it easy to access new knowledge. In regions with limited intellectual resources, mobile technology delivers agricultural advice, health care information, and literacy tools. Science education cultivates critical thinking, equipping future generations to tackle emerging challenges.

Environmental science: Early warning systems for natural disasters have saved thousands of lives. Furthermore, renewable energy technologies, solar panels, and wind turbines are helping to preserve the planet for future generations.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

And yet, much of science’s progress, which should contribute to our well-being, has been transformed into an instrument of destruction. For example, several global governments misused nuclear power by making weapons of mass destruction.

In other cases, science has led to environmental degradation (e.g., pollution from industrialization). Also, the introduction of robotics, artificial intelligence, cloning, and other forms of transhumanism threatens the dignity of humankind. With sophisticated technology in various industries, machines perform better and more efficiently than humans. As a result, unemployment and widespread poverty are among the most pressing social issues of our time and some regions of the globe still lack access to basic health care or clean energy despite existing advanced technologies. Despite marked technological progress then, there remains a desperate need for equitable distribution of earth’s resources.

Still, when guided by ethics and empathy, science becomes a powerful force for addressing humanity’s most significant challenges — disease, hunger, inequality, and environmental collapse. However, its potential for misuse necessitates careful consideration of ethical implications in scientific research and application. Collaboration among scientists, policymakers, and impacted communities is vital to steer innovation toward equity and sustainability. We should look towards

scientific discoveries and technology to make man’s life on earth more human in every aspect (Jude Onyeakazi, “Science and Technology to Mankind.” Oct. 31, 2023, Journal of Technology in Society).

AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE

Muslims in the early period of Islam did not believe that there was a conflict between science and religion and they made significant advancements in various fields like mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and chemistry. The contributions of Muslim scientists in

knowledge, particularly science, nations decline. But when there is harmony between faith, knowledge, and wisdom, nations can reach great heights.

During the ascent of the West, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (d. 1898) expressed his admiration for England’s scientific progress saying, “If only the youth of my nation could learn from the English, whose young people are constantly engaged in scientific activities and dedicated to advancing society, the situation back home would be vastly improved.”

The scientific mindset encourages individuals to make decisions based on reason and evidence rather than blind faith or tradition. By nurturing a scientific mindset, we can build a more informed, innovative, and resilient society capable of addressing the complex challenges of the 21st century.

the Middle Ages transformed science into a structured, rigorous discipline that later laid the foundation for the Renaissance. These Islamic scholars demonstrated that scientific achievement aimed at improving human life is, in fact, a religious duty.

Today, Muslim nations fall behind the rest of the world in industrial and scientific development. Muslim majority countries spend just 0.5% of GDP on research and development while Global Northern states spend up to 10% of GDP in these areas (Jim Al-Khalili, “How can Muslim countries revive interest in the sciences?” Feb. 8, 2016, World Economic Forum). Globally, only 1% of all working scientists are Muslims.

Still, several Muslim scholars in India and Egypt have inspired Muslims worldwide to study science and technology.

Indian scholars Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (d. 1958) and Maulana Abul Hasan Nadvi (d.1999) were aware that the West learned about science, philosophy, and medicine from the work of great Muslim scientists and scholars from the 16th century. Later, when Muslim majority states taught that science was contrary to religion, they fell into intellectual decline. This in turn led to the overall decline of the Muslim East which coincided with the intellectual ascent of western nations. When religion rivals

Renowned Islamic scholar Khaled Abou El-Fadl, the Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law, emphasized the importance of reason, critical thinking, and historical context in understanding the Quran’s message. He viewed the Quran as the most important guide for addressing society’s contemporary challenges.

The scientific mindset encourages individuals to make decisions based on reason and evidence rather than blind faith or tradition. By nurturing a scientific mindset, we can build a more informed, innovative, and resilient society capable of addressing the complex challenges of the 21st century.

The time has come to move beyond boasting about past glories. Instead, we must critically assess our present state and implement scientific strategies to shape a brighter future. Muslims can ensure a dignified and prosperous future by integrating scientific progress with critical thinking and a strong ethical framework. With its capacity to expand human knowledge, improve lives, and address global challenges, science is an indispensable force in the service of humanity. ih

Basheer

Ahmed, MD, a former Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, is the President Emeritus of the Institute of Medieval and Post-Medieval Studies.

ENVIRONMENT

Rollbacks on Climate Initiatives Could Prove Detrimental

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

BY ISNA GREEN INITIATIVE TEAM

In 2024, the world continued to warm and extreme weather events reached unprecedented levels. Many regions experienced record-breaking heat waves, stronger hurricanes and typhoons, severe flooding, and widespread wildfires.

“Climate change contributed to the deaths of at least 3,700 people and the displacement of millions in 26 weather events,” said a December 2024 report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Record-breaking global temperatures in 2024 translated to record-breaking downpours. The last 12 months have been marked by many devastating floods. Hot seas and warmer air fueled more destructive storms, including Hurricane Helene and Typhoon Gaemi.”

POLLUTION AND POLICY

Transportation continues to be the largest source of planet-warming emissions. Millions of Americans continue to suffer under the weight of vehicular and industrial pollution. In the United States, passenger cars, trucks, and power plants that use fossil fuels account for much of that pollution.

As part of his ambitious climate agenda, former President Joe Biden promulgated the most significant climate regulations in U.S. history. He rejoined the Paris agreement and was successful in passing the Inflation Reduction Act which heavily invested in clean energy and the reduction of Greenhouse gas emissions. Through bipartisan infrastructure legislation and executive orders, the U.S. strengthened its power grid, promoted clean energy, and reduced fossil fuel production.

President Donald Trump, however, is hostile to green energy and dismissive of the ongoing climate crisis. As a result, the current administration’s 2025 deregulatory agenda for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) represents one of the most aggressive policy initiatives ever designed to tear down environmental protections

nationwide. Under the Trump administration, the EPA has announced actions targeting climate, public health, and pollution regulations under the guise that these measures will reduce costs, boost energy production, and empower individual states. However, these drastic regulation rollbacks prioritize short-term economic gains against long-term environmental and public health protections. Currently, these moves face fierce legal opposition but, if implemented, they could exacerbate pollution and deepen the already dire climate crisis.

Below is a breakdown of the key components of Trump’s attack on climate regulations:

A revisitation/cancellation of the 2009 Endangerment Finding which established greenhouse gases as a threat to public health and enabled regulations like vehicle emissions standards. The rationale given is that the finding ignored compliance costs and global contributions to climate change (e.g., China and India’s emissions). If repealed, it would undermine the legal basis for challenges to most federal climate regulations.

A modification to the clean power

plant plan initiated by the Biden administration which was aimed at reducing their carbon emissions. According to the Trump administration, it stifles coal and natural gas industries. This move is supposed to prioritize state-led energy strategies .

The freezing of fuel efficiency standards at 2020 levels and a revocation of California’s waiver allowing that state to set stricter rules. This is meant to benefit the auto industry by reducing compliance costs. Such action will increase transportation emissions at the expense of the environment.

An alteration to the cost-benefit analysis which was meant to reduce the air toxicity from coal-fired power plants. Although the rule does not change, the justification undermines and weakens future enforcement.

A roll back of the economic and public health policy rules. Instead of preventing 200,000 deaths by reducing respiratory illnesses, heart disease, and asthma, it could lead to over 20,000 emergency room visits and 89 million days of restricted activity for children.

In addition, as part of its reorganization, the EPA is getting rid of the two offices that

are primarily responsible for regulating climate and air pollution by the end of 2025: the Office of Atmospheric Protection (OAP) and Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. This signals a likely end to much of the agency’s vital climate protection work.

IMPACTS OF THE CUTS

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said he is likely to move programs to curb smog, soot, and toxic emissions into other offices. This could discard most of the OAP’s work including a program that requires the country’s biggest polluters to report their greenhouse gas emissions.

According to Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, the loss of reliable federal data about greenhouse gas emissions would undermine climate action by states, local governments, and the private sector. “This kind of information is vital for us to understand where the heat-trapping emissions are coming from and how that’s changing over time,” she said. “There’s no reason to get rid of it, except to try to bury the evidence.”

The current administration has also terminated EPA’s environmental justice offices including those addressing pollution in marginalized communities. This action will be

President Donald Trump, however, is hostile to green energy and dismissive of the ongoing climate crisis. As a result, the current administration’s 2025 deregulatory agenda for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) represents one of the most aggressive policy initiatives ever designed to tear down environmental protections nationwide.

The Trump administration also recently announced the elimination of the Office of Research and Development which was a centralized arm for research and science that employed over 1,500 people (Stephen Lee, “EPA Weighs Axing Research Office Key to Agency Rulemaking,” March 18, 2025, Bloomberg Law). The EPA’s greenhouse gas reporting program is probably on the chopping block too, though oil and gas operations may still have to report their emissions for the time being. Congress mandated that reporting and created a methane management program in the 2022 climate law. Republican lawmakers could pull that back later this year in a budget reconciliation package.

It is also likely that the EPA’s annual greenhouse gas inventory may be eliminated as it is not mandated by statute. A host of other domestic and international programs and partnerships designed to measure, track, or reduce climate-forcing emissions, which mostly grew up through a series of executive and agency actions, may likewise be eliminated.

disproportionately detrimental to low-income and minority populations.

While the administration claims deregulation will save trillions in hidden taxes, this claim is contradicted by the EPA’s own data which shows that climate regulations, if they are implemented as designed, could deliver $254 billion annually in health care savings versus $40 billion in costs coming from compliance with Trump administration cuts. Auto and fossil fuel industries will likely largely support the rollbacks, citing reduced regulatory burdens and cost reduction. However, some Republicans and businesses are expressing concerns about legal chaos and market instability that could result if Trump’s cuts are taken to their fullest extent.

HOPE FOR A MORE JUST FUTURE FOR THE CLIMATE

But the Trump cuts are not yet the law of the land. This is because repealing government regulations requires compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act including a public comment period and scientific justification. For example, revising the

endangerment finding would demand new scientific assessments as well as input from reconstituted advisory boards.

Former EPA administrators such as Gina McCarthy vow to bring lawsuits to block these harmful cuts. Courts previously vacated Trump-era rules like the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, signaling skepticism toward deregulatory overreach.

Muslims following these developments should remember that Islam has obligated us to take care of the earth. The Quran and Hadith have many references to this responsibility that serve as daily reminders. The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), through the Green Initiative Team, has been actively working towards promoting conservation and sustainability since 2014. It made history in 2016 as the first Islamic organization to commit to fossil fuel divestment. Through our efforts, the Fiqh Council of North America issued a fatwa in 2019 declaring fossil fuel divestment as a moral and religious obligation.

The ISNA Green Initiative Team will continue to promote the importance of environmental sustainability and warn of the threats of climate change. We request your support and participation to make the world a better place to live. ih

The ISNA Green Initiative Team is Huda Alkaff, Saffet Catovic, Nana Firman, Uzma Mirza, and S. Masroor Shah (Chair).

Palestine and Climate Justice

When the Color of Oppression is Green

BY RAUDAH YUNUS

In recent years, the term “climate justice” has moved from the fringes of activism into mainstream discussions about the environment. But what exactly does it mean? Is it the same as environmental justice?

While the two are related, they are not identical. Environmental justice is a broader term, typically referring to the fair distribution of environmental benefits like access to clean air, water, and protection from pollution. It addresses the fact that marginalized communities often bear the brunt of environmental degradation. Climate justice, on the other hand, is more specific; it focuses on how the climate crisis impacts different communities in unequal ways. Climate justice recognizes that climate change is not just a scientific or environmental issue, but a political one tied to power and privilege.

Understanding climate justice is critical because the communities least responsible for climate change — often in the Global South — are also the ones most vulnerable to its consequences. Rising sea levels, extreme weather, droughts, and displacement disproportionately affect countries and people who contribute the least to global emissions. This is not coincidental; it reflects a deep-seated pattern of global inequality, much of which is rooted in colonial history. The same systems that enabled colonial exploitation, racial inequality, and economic marginalization now shape who suffers most in a warming world. Whether we are talking about extractive industries on Indigenous land or the disproportionate carbon footprints of wealthy nations, the climate crisis reveals and reinforces long-standing global inequities.

GREEN COLONIALISM DEFINED

One of the lesser-known but increasingly relevant notions within climate justice discourse is “green colonialism,” a term that may sound contradictory (Guillaume Blanc, The Invention of Green Colonialism, 2022, Wiley). After all, “green” often suggests something clean or sustainable. But green colonialism describes a troubling reality: the exploitation of Indigenous and colonized peoples using environmental and climate policies. It occurs when the pursuit of climate solutions replicates colonial power dynamics in resource extraction and land occupation in the name of sustainability.

Green colonialism can take many forms. Sometimes it appears as large-scale renewable energy projects built on Indigenous lands without consent. Other times, conservation laws are used to evict local

communities under the guise of protecting nature. At its core, green colonialism continues the logic of traditional colonialism: taking land, imposing control, and prioritizing the needs of states or corporations at the expense of marginalized communities. Historically, colonial powers justified their conquests by claiming they were bringing “civilization” or “development.” Today, green colonialism enacts a similar logic; only this time, the justification is ecological. For example, carbon offset projects may involve planting forests on land taken from Indigenous communities, supposedly to reduce emissions elsewhere. Or rich countries might invest in “clean” energy in the Global South, not for the benefit of local populations, but to meet their own climate goals. These endeavors often appear well-meaning, but they ignore local knowledge systems, land rights, and the actual needs of affected communities. In doing so, they replicate the same extractive dynamics that caused environmental destruction in the first place.

GREEN COLONIALISM IN PALESTINE

Nowhere is the intersection of climate justice, colonialism, and politics more evident than in Palestine. For decades, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have endured systemic land dispossession, environmental degradation, and extractivism under the broader context of Israeli occupation. But what is less often discussed is how Israel uses trees, forests, and nature as tools to advance its apartheid agenda.

In the West Bank, one of the clearest examples is Israel’s use of environmental narratives to justify land grabs. Selected areas are designated as “nature reserves” or “green zones,” which might sound like an environmentally conscious designation. But the unstated goal is to make these areas inaccessible to Palestinians, preventing them from (re)building homes or cultivating their own land. Over time, the lands are used for expansion of illegal settlements, many of which consume disproportionately high levels of water and other resources.

The recent wildfire in Israel, which has been described as the largest in Israel’s history, is but a manifestation of green colonialism (“‘Largest Wildfires in Israel’s History’ — Everything You Need to Know,” May 1, 2025, Palestine Chronicle). Experts have linked this environmental disaster to decades of ecologically misguided afforestation. Since the early 20th century, Israel has engaged in

mass tree-planting campaigns across historic Palestine to “green the desert.” The newly planted trees are non-native species such as European pines and eucalyptus. These are invasive and highly flammable species that are poorly suited to the Mediterranean ecosystem. Their dense planting on land previously home to Palestinian villages — hundreds of which were demolished or Judaized — was not only environmentally questionable but politically motivated. According to Visualizing Palestine, over

projects often result in displacement and loss of access to ancestral lands.

In South Africa, the legacy of apartheid still shapes land ownership and environmental policy. Green colonialism has manifested through ecotourism and conservation in areas that exclude Black South Africans from land that was once theirs (Koot, S., Büscher, B., & Thakholi, L. “The new green apartheid? Race, capital and logics of enclosure in South Africa’s wildlife economy.” Environment and Planning E, 7(1), 123-140, 2024.).

Climate justice recognizes that climate change is not just a scientific or environmental issue, but a political one tied to power and privilege.

800,000 Palestinian olive trees have been uprooted since 1967 and replaced by non-native trees that pose threat to the local wildlife and biodiversity.

In 2024, when a series of intense heat waves swept through the region, these flammable forests became tinderboxes. The resulting wildfires burned thousands of acres and forced mass evacuations. This highlights how the artificial imposition of “green” policies rooted in colonial logic can generate new forms of environmental vulnerability. What was marketed as reforestation (or afforestation, in some cases) turned out to be ecologically destructive providing a stark example of how green colonialism is both unjust and unsustainable.

GREEN COLONIALISM AROUND THE WORLD

Green colonialism affects communities outside of Palestine as well. In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have long maintained a deep, spiritual relationship with their land. Yet government conservation policies have historically excluded them from managing these lands. In some cases, traditional practices like controlled burning or hunting were banned in national parks under the assumption that Indigenous methods were harmful to the environment. In recent years, some large-scale renewable energy projects in Australia sparked controversy for being built without the informed consent of Indigenous communities. Framed as progress toward a green economy, these

The promotion of a “pristine wilderness” often erases the fact that these areas were once inhabited, farmed, and maintained by local communities. Moreover, mining for so-called “green minerals” like lithium or cobalt often happens in poor, Black communities under exploitative conditions and with little benefit to them.

Similar patterns can be found in Kenya and Tanzania. There, Maasai communities have been evicted from their land in the name of conservation and safari tourism (“Tanzania: Maasai Forcibly Displaced for Game Reserve,” April 27, 2023, Human Rights Watch). In India, forest-dwelling Adivasi tribes have been displaced by carbon offset and tree-planting schemes (Lou Del Bello, “In India, Indigenous Tribes Clash with the Government Over Trees,” Jan. 6, 2020. Undark.). In Latin America, Indigenous resistance to hydroelectric dams and wind farms — projects backed by international climate funds — has been met with harsh repression.

A common thread ties these cases together: environmental goals are being pursued without respect for the rights, voices, and/or agency of local communities. In many cases, the climate crisis becomes an excuse to ignore historical injustices or even perpetuate new ones.

WHY CLIMATE JUSTICE CONCERNS US ALL

It is easy to think of green colonialism as something distant, something that happens in other countries or to other people. But the

truth is climate justice directly or indirectly affects all of us. If climate solutions are built on inequality, they will never be sustainable. A just transition means not only switching to renewable energy or reducing carbon emissions; it also means dismantling the systems of oppression that caused the crisis to begin with.

So what can we do? First, we need to listen. The voices of Indigenous peoples, communities of color, and those most affected by climate change must be at the center of decision-making. Climate solutions imposed from above — whether by governments, corporations, or international institutions — often fail because they ignore extensive local knowledge and/or political realities.

Second, we need to question the narratives around “green” development. Not everything labeled sustainable is just. For instance, if an electric vehicle relies on cobalt mined by child labor in Congo, is it ethical or just environmentally friendly? Cobalt mining has significant negative impacts on environmental health and individual well-being. Near mines, toxic dumping contaminates water while high concentrations of cobalt in the soil harms nutrients that crops need for soil fertility (Charlotte Davey, “The Environmental Impacts of Cobalt Mining in Congo,” March 28, 2023, Earth.Org).

If a solar farm displaces a rural community, is it really green? If millions of trees are planted to erase the history and culture of a population, is that truly conservation? If wind farms negatively impact animal life through collisions with turbines, habitat disruption, and/or noise pollution, is it environmentally friendly (Kumara, H.N., Babu, S., Rao, G.B. et al. “Responses of birds and mammals to long-established wind farms in India.” Sci Rep 12, 1339 (2022))?

Third, we must support movements and policies that link climate action with social justice. That means pushing for land restoration initiatives, resisting exploitative development projects, and investing in community-led solutions. It means holding corporations and governments accountable not just for their emissions but for how their policies affect people on the ground, particularly communities with the least voice in policy debates.

People must recognize their own role. Whether we are students, professionals, activists, or simply concerned citizens, we all have a part to play in shaping a more just future. Fighting climate change is not just about carbon footprints or recycling; it’s about fighting for dignity, equity, and a livable world for everyone.

This topic is especially relevant for the global ummah. As a community deeply affected by war, displacement, pollution, and occupation — from Palestine to Sudan, from Kashmir to Yemen — Muslims should not view climate justice as a Western or external issue. The climate justice framework offers a powerful language to speak about liberation, sovereignty, and dignity, values deeply rooted in the Islamic tradition. This tradition gives us the tools to speak the global language of justice while advancing the causes that bind us together.

Rather than being passive recipients of “green aid” or targets of environmental criticism, Muslim communities must reclaim agency. It is time for Muslim scholars, thinkers, and youth to develop our own frameworks rooted in Islamic ethics, environmental stewardship (khilafah), and social justice that challenge both climate inaction and climate imperialism. We are not outsiders to this conversation. In many ways, we are at its heart. ih

Raudah M. Yunus is a researcher, writer and activist from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She is currently pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship in the United States.

IN MEMORIAM

Ghulam-Haider Aasi

1942–2025 Scholar and Interfaith Leader

Ghulam-Haider Aasi, Ph.D., founding chair of History of Religions at American Islamic College (AIC) in Chicago, passed away on March 31, 2025, in Evanston, Illinois.

Aasi, who was born in Pakistan, served on the faculty of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago for three decades from 1988 until his retirement in 2018. He was a lifelong scholar of Islam, interfaith leader, and beloved teacher.

He pursued advanced studies in the History of Religion, earning his Ph.D. from Temple University under his professor and advisor (late) Dr. Ismail al-Faruqi.

Under Aasi’s leadership, AIC became an institution for critical scholarship in Islamic history, philosophy, and religion, including interfaith education, offering programs that attracted students from diverse backgrounds. His contributions were commemorated in 2021 with a Lifetime Achievement Award that recognized his lasting impact on the college’s mission and community.

Beyond higher education, Aasi was active in Muslim-Christian dialogue locally and nationally. He participated in interfaith faculty trips and teaching exchanges, and his scholarship reached across traditions and borders. Friends and colleagues remember his humility, warmth, and generous spirit.

Through his deep knowledge and commitment to scholarship, Aasi shaped the minds of many through his courses on Christian-Muslim relations at AIC, Catholic Theological Union, and The Lutheran School of Theology (LST). His lasting influence extends beyond academia as he inspired countless with his unwavering kindness, humility, and patience.

In addition to his academic work on the History of Religions and Islam, Aasi leaves behind a legacy of impactful interfaith relations. He was dedicated to promoting respect, understanding, and cooperation among diverse faith communities, acknowledging and welcoming the various perspectives within each, including Islam, to have a more truthful and open dialogue. His publications included Muslim Understanding Of Other Religions. A Study Of Ibn Hazm’S Kitab Al-Fasl Fi Al-Milal Wa Al-Ahwa Wa Al-Nihal (1991) and a contribution to Peacebuilding by,

between, and beyond Muslims and Evangelical Christians (2009). These publications reflect his dedication to fostering respectful and informed interfaith conversations.

Aasi joined other scholars in bringing the mission and vision for A Center for ChristianMuslim Engagement for Peace and Justice into realization with support from the Kolschowsky family and Dr. James Kenneth Echols, who served as the fifth president of the LSTC from 1997-2011.

In addition to his tenure at LSTC, Aasi co-designed and co-taught numerous courses on Islam and Christian-Muslim relations at Catholic Theological Union (CTU) with Dr. Scott Alexander, emphasizing mutual respect and understanding.

Since 1986, Aasi was an integral member of the Islamic Foundation North (IFN) community in Libertyville, Ill. He established the curriculum for IFN’s Sunday school and taught and championed adult religious education for many years. In recognition of his exceptional contributions to interfaith understanding, Aasi received the Nostra Aetate Award in 2022 from the Archdiocese of Chicago. This honor underscored his role as a bridgebuilder and his unwavering commitment to promoting peace and understanding among diverse religious communities.

Aasi’s commitment to interfaith dialogue extended beyond academia. He was a key figure in the Conference for Improved Muslim-Christian Relations, an initiative that began in 1985 and aimed to promote mutual understanding between these communities through joint events and collaborative efforts.

He is survived by his wife and five children.

American Islamic College hosted a Memorial Gathering in his honor on May 3. ih

Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell

1931–2025

A Fearless Ally

Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Camp bell, leader of the Council of Churches, a fearless ally to Muslim Americans, and an ardent supporter and advocate for the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), passed away on March 26 at the age of 93. It was the final page turned in an extraordinary life.

Just after ISNA’s inception, when the organization was a target of false accusations of Islamic extremism, Rev. Campbell opened many doors for the organization all while supporting Muslim Americans wholeheartedly.

Council; the first woman to serve as the Executive Director of the U.S. Office of the World Council of Churches; the first ordained woman to serve as the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States; and the first woman to serve as the director of religion at the Chautauqua Institution.

At the height of American racial violence in the early 1960’s, Rev. Campbell invited Martin Luther King, Jr. to speak to her all-white congregation in Cleveland. When the church refused him entry, his outdoor service gathered more than 3000 people.

Rev. Campbell graduated from the University of Michigan (U of M) with a degree in Speech and English where she was recognized as the university’s top woman debater. During her college years, she met and married lawyer Paul Barton Campbell who graduated from the U of M Law School.

Rev. Campbell spent the rest of her years as a successful and dedicated politician and public servant. She was elected to several prominent offices culminating in her election as the first and, to date, only female mayor of Cleveland in 2001. At the time of economic uncertainty throughout the country, she served as president and CEO of the United States Capitol Historical Society.

While raising her family, Rev. Campbell’s faith led her to become deeply involved in social issues in the Cleveland area. Her home became a crossroads for various activist movements such as the fight for racial justice and calls to end the Vietnam War. Among many other causes, Rev. Campbell worked hard to help Clevelanders elect the first Black mayor of a major American city, Carl Stokes, who ascended to office in 1967.

After she and Paul divorced in 1974, Rev. Campbell devoted her energy to the ecumenical movement. At age 49, Rev. Campbell was ordained to the Christian ministry by the National Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s denomination. Soon after, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) recognized her ordination. She was later also ordained by the American Baptist Church.

Her career was one of many firsts; she was the first woman to serve as the Assistant Executive Director of the Greater Cleveland Interchurch

Rev. Campbell participated in several historic events. She led a delegation to meet with Pope John Paul II to present him with a copy of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. She was part of the delegation led by President Bill Clinton to attend the funeral of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Along with her friend, Rev. Jesse Jackson, she traveled to Belgrade during the Balkan wars and with the help of the Serbian Orthodox Church, negotiated the release of imprisoned American soldiers. She and renowned astronomer Carl Sagan co-founded the National Religious Partnership for the Environment.

She served as an election observer when Nelson Mandela was elected as the first Black president of South Africa. She was the only woman in the procession of over 200 clergy at the ascension of Desmond Tutu to the position of Archbishop of the Anglican Church in South Africa. Archbishop Tutu called Rev. Campbell “a woman of courage and compassion” and stated, “She helped put an end to the evil of apartheid.”

Throughout her career, she won numerous awards such as the Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award from the Interfaith Alliance. She was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame and the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame. She has also received 14 honorary degrees from various institutions including Wake Forest University, Saint Bonaventure University, and Monrovia University in Liberia.

Rev. Campbell is survived by her three children, Jane Louise, Paul Barton, Jr., and James W. Campbell, her eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren with a fifth on the way.

In 2017, at age 86, Rev. Campbell married Rev. Albert Pennybacker, who was both her longtime mentor and professional partner organizing responses to social and political injustice. He preceded her in death in 2022. ih

Artists of the Middle East: 1900 to Now Saeb Eigner 2025. Pp. 400/580 illustrations. HB $85.00 Thames and Hudson Publishing, London, England

Saeb Eigner, a specialist in Arab arts and culture with a deep knowledge of the Middle East, celebrates an entire region of breathtaking creativity in his book, Artists of the Middle East. Here, readers will learn about the innovative, spectacular, and politically resonant work of more than 250 artists. This collection presents a groundbreaking survey of more than a century of artistic activity from 1900 to the present spanning diverse art movements and communities from Morocco to Iran.

Eigner shares his intimate knowledge of the stylistic, literary, and linguistic histories of the Middle East and North Africa in the detailed biographies of almost 100 artists from the region ranging from early modernists to contemporary artists. Further insight comes through the concise profiles of almost 160 additional artists who helped shape this rich cultural landscape.

This book — the first ever A to Z survey of major modern and contemporary artists of the Middle East — is essential for those who are interested in modern or contemporary art. It establishes a dialogue between works that engages with the prominent issues of our era and the ever-changing social, political, and religious contexts of artistic creation.

Mirror in the Sand: Coming of Age of a Chinese Girl in 1970s Jordan Fawzia Mai Tung 2025. Pp. 304. PB $18.00. Kindle $9.99, also available on Kindle Unlimited Independently Published

In her book Mirror in the Sand: Coming of Age of a Chinese Girl in 1970s Jordan, author Fawzia Mai Tung recollects her life in Amman, Jordan in the 1970s and early 1980s, a time when this Middle Eastern capital was blossoming from a laid-back, sleepy city into a modern metropolis.

In her 11 years in the City of the Seven Hills, she too evolved from an accidental Chinese immigrant into a journalist and a psychiatrist mesmerized by the city’s rose-tinted gold dust at sundown, its archaeological treasures littering the landscape, and the generous hospitality of its people. Mai Tung reveals that the city also harbored some harsher cultural baggage like male chauvinism, honor killings, and a general condemnation of psychiatric patients.

Fired with youthful ardor for reform, Tung threw herself wholeheartedly into her work, only to find herself burned once again.

A Genocide Foretold: Reporting on Survival and Resistance in Occupied Palestine

Chris Hedges

2025. Pp. 208. PB $18.95. Kindle $12.99

Seven Stories Press, New York, N.Y.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Chris Hedges, the former Middle East Bureau Chief for The New York Times, documented seven years of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. In his book, A Genocide Foretold: Reporting on Survival and Resistance in Occupied Palestine, he discusses his time in Ramallah in July 2024 during Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

With intimate and harrowing portraits of the human consequences of oppression, occupation, and violence experienced in Palestine today, Hedges issues a call to action urging humanity to bear witness and engage with the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

The book confronts the stark realities of life under siege in Gaza and the heroic efforts ordinary Palestinians are waging to resist and survive.

Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir of Surviving India’s Caste System

(Expanded Edition)

Yashica Dutt

2025. Pp. 264. HB $29.95 Kindle: $14.99

Beacon Press, Boston, Mass.

Born into a “formerly untouchable, manual-scavenging family in small-town India,” Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar Award winner Yashica Dutt was brought up to not appear “Dalit looking”. Although prejudice against Dalits, who compose 25% of India’s population, has been illegal since 1950, the caste system remains alive and well. Dutt’s critically acclaimed coming-of-age story, Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir of Surviving India’s Caste System (originally published in India in 2019), blends her personal history with extensive research and reporting.

This expanded edition includes two new chapters covering how the caste system traveled to the United States, its history in America, and the continuation of bias by South Asian American communities in professional sectors. This publication follows a push for the first California statewide bill (SB 403) to explicitly ban caste discrimination in 2023. The bill was effectively vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Oct. 9 of the same year.

India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent

Audrey Truschke 2025. Pp. 712. HB $39.95 Kindle: $31.16

Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.

Professor of South Asian History at Rutgers University Audrey Truschke tells the fascinating story of the Indian Subcontinent — which includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and parts of Afghanistan — and the people who have lived there.

A sweeping account of five millennia from the dawn of the Indus Valley Civilization to the 21st century, this engaging and richly-textured narrative chronicles the most important political, social, religious, intellectual, and cultural events of the region. Truschke describes how the region has been continually reshaped by its astonishing diversity, religious and political innovations, and social stratification.

Emphasizing the diversity of human experiences on the subcontinent, the book presents a wide range of voices, including those of women, religious minorities, lower classes, and other marginalized groups.

Mariam’s Dream: The Story of Mariam Al-Shaar andHer Food Truck of Hope

Leila Boukarim (Illus. Sona Avedikian) 2025. Pp. 44. HB $17.99 Kindle: $11.99 Reading age: 5-8 years Chronicle Books, San Francisco, Calif.

Mariam’s Dream: The Story of Mariam Al-Shaar and Her Food Truck of Hope follows real-life freedom dreamer Mariam Al-Shaar, founder of Soufra, a women-run kitchen in the Bourj Al-Barajneh refugee camp.

Founded in 1948 in Beirut, Lebanon, the camp has housed refugees from Palestine, Syria, and Iraq. Many have lived in this camp their entire lives — including Al-Shaar. To know Mariam’s story, which grabbed international attention through the award-winning documentary Soufra, is to be reminded that one person can change the world. This picture book is a perfect resource for anyone eager to learn more.

This is a story about how one woman can make a huge difference. But first, she will need money, the right papers, and will need to overcome being told that it’s impossible and that she should not risk it. But with the women of the camp behind her, she is determined to make it happen.

Young readers will discover the joys of cooking, the power of community, and the flavors of Palestine, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon in this poignant story written for anyone who has ever felt walled in and dreamed of something more. ih