Imam Zaid Shakir's blog on Washington Post

Alhamdulillah, Imam Zaid has his own page on the WP website. He has made three posts in the last week or so. The first post got about 153 comments. Most of the comments, however, missed the mark. Despite that, he persisted and remained patient. He made a general comment in response to those copmments and continued. Read the posts yourself. The last one is in relation to Thanks Giving Day in the US and it is briliant. IZ is the man. Here goes the text:

For Lincoln, Also A Day Of Penitence

In 1789, declaring the first national day of thanksgiving, George Washington mentioned, “…the many and signal favors of Almighty God.”

He recommended a day dedicated “to the service of that great and glorious being.” In 1863, when Abraham Lincoln declared what would become an annual Thanksgiving celebration, he saw it “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

Their wording suggests that they envisioned a holiday of religious significance, although the day has gradually come to be better known for its cultural practices.

From an Islamic perspective, both believers and non-believers could celebrate a day of thanksgiving. Most scholars see thankfulness as both acknowledging a blessing from God and working to show appreciation for that blessing through one’s enhanced service to God and humanity. Others take a broader view and see thankfulness as any customary expression of appreciation for a boon received.

In this country, a full day of thanksgiving should involve expressing our collective appreciation for the many boons we have received, while acknowledging that to greater or lesser extents they have come at the price of deprivation and suffering for others. That acknowledgement should ideally translate into a renewed commitment on our part to work to improve the lives and alleviate the suffering of those others, wherever they may be.

For those who would view these latter thoughts as inconsistent with the spirit of Thanksgiving Day, we would remind them that Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation contained many sobering sentiments. For example, he felt the day should also be one of “humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience.” As we survey our sad lot, I do not think too many of us would feel we are above his advice.

The stolen dream of Iraqi freedom

A sad BBC report about Iraq after the war:

Mohammed's father - and many others I have met - say life was better under Saddam Hussein.

Brutal and terrible, but nowhere near as bad as it is now.

Iraq has become Hell.

The horrors are so searing, so frequent that fear is a rampant virus, destabilising normal life so that even a trip to the shops or the walk to school are tainted with deep anxiety.

Is there a suicide bomber on this minibus? Is that parked car a bomb? Is that bag in that bicycle basket somebody's vegetables or explosives?

Under Saddam, they say, you knew where the "red line" was. Now there is no red line.

Group Demands Probe of Imams' Removal

From The Guardian:

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called Tuesday for an investigation into the behavior of airline staff and airport security in the removal of six Muslim scholars from a US Airways flight a day earlier.

A passenger raised concerns about the imams - three of whom said their normal evening prayers in the airport terminal before boarding the Phoenix-bound plane, according to one - through a note passed to a flight attendant, according to Andrea Rader, a spokeswoman for US Airways.

``We are concerned that crew members, passengers and security personnel may have succumbed to fear and prejudice based on stereotyping of Muslims and Islam,'' Nihad Awad, the council's executive director, said in a news release.

Beyond the veil

Fareena Alam gives her 2 cents about the veil debate in a well written article published in Newsweek. While she is critical of people who are throwing the veil up as an issue, she is also critical of Muslims and i think she gets it right when she says:

Muslims are not necessarily helping themselves, either. Instead of focusing on the powerful theological message of Islam and its relevance to modern Europe, some critics say, Muslims spend too much energy defending the outward symbols of their faith. "Crises like this expose a spiritual vacuum," says Navid Akhtar, a British documentary filmmaker. "We are becoming a religion that is obsessed by icons. We forget that we worship God, not our headscarves or our beards." Muslims indeed have a duty not to alarm their neighbors, he adds, much as Straw and Blair imply. "If your neighbor is frightened of you, it's not all his fault," Akhtar says. "You have a responsibility to meet him halfway, to try and calm him down."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

The hat

From SOME:Wisdom

If someone gave you a beautiful, expensive new hat, wouldn’t you be grateful for the generous gift? But shouldn’t you be even more grateful for the One Who gave you the head to put that hat on. [Shaykh Muzaffer Ozak]

Vince McMahon Lives In My Mosque

Javed Memon hits the nail on it's head in this peice about......

Suck it." Did he really just say that? "Suck it." This time he held his hands high, crossed them and smacked them against his thighs, gesturing to his crotch. That was, uhh, unexpected.

After shaking off the reality that is a 9 year old South Asian Muslim kid telling me to suck his private parts, I reflected [again] upon what it means that our kids (and adults) find it "fun" to watch women getting stripped and spanked. It isn't just "those other kids," either. It is our kids. Our kids who we let sit in front of the television without speaking to them about what they are watching, and then make them go to the mosque where we tell them to memorize verses that they don't understand. You may be wondering what I'm writing about...

Allow me introduce you to World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. It used to be known as WWF for those of you 80's kids out there. The first responses I receive when asking aunties and uncles about this usually consist of, "Oh, it's just fake wrestling." or "It's just fun, just entertainment." READ ON

Who speaks for her?

From "United Nation" blog ( posted by sister Aaminah):

The politicians of my nation? The well-meaning feminists and leftists who want to "save" me? My family and friends who are "concerned" about so-called Islamists? My husband, my son, my brother, my father; whatever male family member is available?

I cannot be asked to speak for anyone else's experience or needs. If you want to know how a migrant worker feels, please, ask a few migrant workers. If you want to know why black men feel systematically disenfranchised, please, go meet with some of the boys on the corner and ask them. If you want to know how a Saudi woman feels about not being able to drive, or how an Afghan woman feels about the burqa, go to Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan and engage in dialogue with the women living it.

If you want to know what an American Muslim woman thinks, ask me. Don't ask my husband, my non-Muslim mother, my employer, or some Christian theologian. Ask me. I am only one, and my words do not represent every other American Muslim woman, but they do represent me. And I can speak for myself, thank you very much.

The cost of Canada's Black Gold

An article dicussing the environmental cost of Alberta's Oil Sands. The cost of black gold ( from Speigel Online):

But what is most worrying is that the Canadian government is no longer able to meet the targets for emissions reductions it set when it signed the Kyoto Protocol. Experts have calculated that emissions in areas with oil sands will continue to rise. By 2015, the area around Fort McMurray is expected to produce as much carbon dioxide as all of Denmark. But Charles Ruigrok -- the head of Syncrude, one of the veterans of the oil sands industry -- shrugs off the problem: "I believe technology will fix it."

Even if that prediction doesn't come true, it's unlikely Canada will curb petroleum extraction for ecological reasons. The economic boom in the north has spread to the entire province of Alberta. The province that used to be Canada's problem child is now experiencing a change in fortunes. White truffles and Mercedes cabriolets have become popular purchases in Edmonton, the provincial capital. Alberta is debt-free and doesn't even impose value-added (sales) tax on its residents.

Large Steeped Tea double double with milk,

A lot of us go on trips and wonder where the nearest Tim Hortons is on our route. Well I just found out you can find all the Tim Hortons on your route at this link ( just enter your origin and destination and it will give you all the TIm Hortons along your route.

Large Steeped Tea double double with milk, here I come.

Compatibility and marriage

Looking for someone compatible for marriage? ( or are you looking for someone who can make good roti:-)). Well either way Psychology Today has something to say about that:

"Compatibility is overrated. The similarities or personality traits that attract people to each other may not hold up over time. You might be attracted to someone because you both love to ski, but then one of you blows out a knee. When people are divorcing, they'll say, "We have nothing in common." But they have kids, a house and 30 years of shared experience. Values about money and children run very deep and are important. The surface ones—antiques, sports, travel and gourmet coffee—don't matter. —William J. Doherty, professor and marriage and family therapy program director, University of Minnesota""

Click here to read full article

Crazy Moon

While I celebrated Eid with my local masjid, I do agree with Zaytuna's take on the issue ( sighting the moon within the astronomically possible moon sighting window). Anyways an interesting comment from Irving on SAF space's blog about the whole moon issue, really hit my note:

When they met, the way they looked,
I knew that I was through.

Oh, you crazy moon,
What did you do?

- Crazy Moon, an old song of the 1930s

Shahada through Sh. Habib Ali

A young man converts to Islam

Beyond Skimpy Skirts, a Rare Debate on Identity

From the NY times:

South Asians call it “the best run Indian city,” Arabs celebrate it as a model of Arab accomplishment, and Westerners embrace it for its endless sunshine and luxury lifestyle.

With more than 150 nationalities and almost as many expressions of culture, Dubai is one of the most diverse cities in the Middle East.

But after decades of selling dreams to foreigners, this Persian Gulf emirate has begun debating the limits of multiculturalism. READ ON

Rhthyms of Ramadan

From the Toronto Star:

You could read the Qur'an from cover to cover without learning the spirit of Islam. But getting to know those living the faith daily opens windows to a world that can seem strange to an outsider.

It's not easy to find people of any faith willing to risk revealing their private lives to a stranger, let alone the million-plus people who read the Saturday Star.

In September, I got an email from a reader suggesting I spend time in a Muslim home to "see" what Ramadan is like. Sending out feelers from my Rolodex of Muslim contacts, I was delighted with a generous offer from the Khan family of Maple.

There's something about rising at 4 a.m. and trekking a trafficless Highway 407 to Vaughan that feels sacred, a tranquility rarely felt in the hectic daylight hours. You get to appreciate the starry sky and dawn that most of us miss — and the importance of making time for simple things.

Muslim generosity was felt the moment the Khans invited photographer Charla Jones and me into their home, not only because of the delicious breakfast we were offered, but because of the trust and faith they placed in us to deliver their story.

It struck me how time-conscious they were in sticking to the sahar and iftar timetable distributed by their mosque. "We've 15 minutes for breakfast," Tanya would remind us.

Asif was quick to issue a challenge: "Why don't you two try to fast?" And we gladly accepted.

We were amazed by the traffic headed to the mosque so early: "Where are all these people coming from?" Charla mused.

The white mosque glowed against a dark horizon, where we were received with welcoming smiles and warm greetings. How intrusive must it be to hear a camera click or see a stranger scribbling away amid a sermon?

Following the family through their day was fun, but as blood sugar dropped we started to feel cranky. There were moments of temptation as we drove alone from the mosque to Tanya's school, passing a Coffee Time.

We could have cheated, but like Asif, we figured it would defeat the purpose of the experience. For us, the fast wasn't so much about empathy for the poor as experiencing the challenge Muslims face, observing these rituals in a non-Muslim world.

I don't have a sweet tooth, but never had dates tasted so delicious as when we broke the fast. The sense of reward is that much sweeter for the effort it takes. That's something I learned from my day with the Khans — which resonates with the Confucian teachings I learned in my Chinese home.

I can't help but admire the determination of Muslims during Ramadan. What we lived for a day, they will have repeated 30 times by Monday, the joyous holiday of Eid ul Fitr.

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL STORY FROM THE TORINTO STAR

Sh Abdul Hakim Murad and Jermey Smith: An Organic Iftar

Lectures delivered at An Organic Iftar - We Are What We Eat (the joint event by Q-News, IFEES and Islamic Circles), by Shaykh Abdal-Hakim Murad (Cambridge University) and Jeremy Smith (Managing Editor, The Ecologist). An evening of organic potluck iftar. In this world of instant gratification and over indulgence we lose sight of the fact that we are what we eat. Eat the wrong foods and our bodies will become polluted because food is our fuel and we must help the engine that drives our bodies. However, partaking of the wrong things is not limited to food. We often talk about following the Sunnah, understanding Tawhid and being spiritual, but how much of these have we really implemented this Ramadan?

Imam Zaid and Shiekh Hamza on Surah Rahman and Surah Asr

Sheikh Hamza on Surah Al Balad