So 10 years ago from today two planes crashed into the World Trade Center and completely changed (re: screwed) the course of history forever. I had just spent my first year in Saudi Arabia and I was just about to turn 17 later that month when I turned on my TV and saw all hell break loose. I still remember my reaction: bewilderment, mixed feelings, not sure what to make of it. I guess I would have had a much stronger reaction had I actually still been living in the US. The reports came out that the attacks were carried out by so called "islamic" terrorists from Al Qaeda. Now things had gotten even more twisted. Because I was also "islamic". But I was also an american. Two sides of a coin that is still flipping in mid-air to this day. Little did I know this dichotomy would eventually define me as an american who happened to be muslim and a muslim who happened to be american.
Well the 10th anniversary was a fairly quiet affair as was the rest of the day, typical for a Sunday. While nothing particularly interesting happened that day, more interesting things occurred three days prior. On Thursday September 8th I had the opportunity to visit Georgetown University's Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding for an event called "Religion and the American-Muslim Community Post 9/11". The speakers wereJohn Esposito, Linda Moreno, Arsalan Iftikhar, and the keynote speaker wasKaren Armstrong.
Here's a video clip of me speaking with Professor John Esposito. Check it out!
Check out the other videos from the event on my youtube channel.
The event itself was good however I wasn't completely sure if doing so would really affect any immediate change to the current islamophobic environment prevalent in parts of the US media and unfortunately, the government as well. I was also a bit disappointed by the lack of media coverage the event received. However in general it was a fairly eye-opening event, particularly the talk given by Linda Moreno. You can see her video right here.
Ok ok first off.....wishing everyone Eid Mubarak! Even though i'm like almost 2 weeks late....ya know...cuz thats how I roll. My eid was pretty uneventful, I basically went down to Fairfax in virginia to pray Salat al-Eid at my uncle's masjid then just hung out at his place for a while. This is of course just days after Maryland was struck with Hurricane Irene which hit the northeast coast of the USA. So what did you guys do for Eid?
Now that we've looked at what exactly happened in London we need to ask ourselves an obvious yet crucial question. Why did this happen?As The Merovingian in The Matrix Reloaded aptly puts it "Our only hope, our only peace is to understand it. To understand the why. Why is the only source of power. Without it you are powerless."
Ok charming french accents aside we must understand why these riots took place, and I think thats where things get a little bit interesting. I need to make something clear, the riots have nothing to do with "race" or a "liberal agenda" contrary to what some right wing conservative outlets would have us believe. The rioters came from diverse backgrounds and I highly doubt that their political beliefs spurred them to loot stores and set cars on fire. So while it wasn't about liberalism or race, it however had everything to do with class. And when I mean class I'm talking about the Upper class, Middle class, and the Working class. What we're seeing is young members of the Working Class rising up and rioting against the economic imbalance that is prevalent in the UK as in many other countries as well. The unavailability of jobs and general unemployment rates are a major factor at play here as it was in the protests in Greece. In fact, things aren't looking so good here in the USA either according to the recent Gallup polls despite a moderate improvement in job conditions just last month. In the UK its not just the working class that are struggling to find jobs but it seems the middle class isn't having a great time either. And many of these people who DO have a job however are finding it increasingly difficult to afford their standard of living. Costs are going up but salaries and wages on the other hand aren't. In fact in most cases they're even going down.
Now what we know from Police reports coming out of the UK is that the vast majority of the rioters arrested were young working class people, many of whom were teenagers (born in the 1990s). Now get this, according to the BBC the highest employment rates between 6.0 - 7.9 % were prevalent in the largest urban cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester, etc etc. Well guess what?These are the same exact areas which were hit by riots.
*cue dramatic music*
I think we have a significant correlation here, Ladies & Gentlemen. Quick someone phone Prime Minister Cameron about this! More statistics can be found here at the Office of National Statistics and on their youtube channel.
What the UK government needs to do is come up with a viable economic solution, not harsher police measure as was ranted by the PM David Cameron. In fact whats happening in London is symptomatic of a greater economic problem across Europe and in the USA in general. You have to be completely nuts to give tax cuts to the insanely rich while increasing taxes for the not so rich. As long as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer these problems will continue. Now I'm not saying that this excuses the actions of the idiots who went out and looted shops and stores in London, however at the same time we also cannot ignore the economic situation in the UK which is no doubt the underlying factor behind these riots.
My first reaction on Saturday evening was.....what.the.hell.is.going.on.in.London?! As if the nonsense in Syria wasn't insane enough now we have riots breaking out in London too? Latest news reports coming in speak of riots, looting, violence, and arson spreading out from London to other major cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham, and Gloucester.
So how did this all get started? Lets rewind the clock back to Thursday August 4th, when 29 year alleged drug dealer Mark Duggan was shot dead in a police operation during an attempted arrest in Tottenham, an area in the London borough of Haringey. His death and the circumstances surrounding his fatal shooting were questioned by his family and friends during a peaceful protest in front of a Tottenham police station on Saturday August 6th. However things soon changed when reports of a police assault on a 16 year old girl began to surface, subsequently sparking off a violent riot by several youth gangs. Attacks were carried out in Tottenham late into the night on police cars, a double decker bus, local businesses, and homes. Several assaults on police officers and looting of stores were reported as well.
By sunday and monday the violent riots had spread into other areas of London with even more looting and vandalism of shops and police cars. Due to the local police force being overwhelmed, local turkish and kurdish shopkeepers were forced to protect themselves by forming vigilante 'units'. On monday reports starting coming out that there was also sporadic incidents of violence being experienced in cities outside of London, notably in Bristol, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Nottingham. Cars were set alight and even incidents of news reporters being assaulted by teenage gangs began to surface.
The violence and vandalism peaked all through yesterday (Tuesday) and early today. Several fires were started in parts of London such as Barking, Clapham Junction, Ealing, and Croydon as well as the looting of several major retail stores and banks in East Ham. A 26 year old man was shot dead in Croydon as well. The police were able to make over 500 arrests in London and 100 arrests in Brimingham.
However the worst was yet to come.
Due to the preoccupation of the police force in trying to fend off rioters (as if thats an excuse) many shopkeepers and business owners were left to fend for themselves and their neighborhoods, most notably amongst the turkish, kurdish, and south asian desi communities. However standing in the line of fire has its risks. In the city of Birmingham early this morning three british pakistani men (two of whom were brothers) were mowed down in an apparent hit and run while trying to protect local businesses and a mosque from looters and rioters. The three victims were 21 year-old Haroon Jahan and brothers Abdul Musavir, 31, and Shazad Ali, 30. All three subsequently died from their injuries.
So apparently theres been a breakthrough with the donations for Park 51's NYChildren project. Someone pledged $20,000 raising the amount of donations to $64, 237 which is just under $6000 short of the required $70,000! Mashallah! Unfortunately today is also the last day for donations (Aug 10). I tried my best to help raise awareness about the issue by handing out flyers at my local mosque and in M street in Washington DC as well as posting on facebook & twitter. I don't even know if it made a significant difference to be honest. I'm beginning to think I have a OCD hero complex or something. I always find myself having to do something about anything that nobody is doing anything about. Maybe I'm just a sucker....
Anyways today IS the last day to raise donations for this project. If theres anything you can do to help (donate, hand out flyers, facebook, twitter, youtube, etc) and if you believe you can make a difference, today is the day to do it Inshallah! Never lose hope.
Okaaaaay... I know I should have finished this at least by yesterday, but what can I tell ya...I gotta work too ya know. So if you haven't already figured it out, I attended the "Muslim Americans: Faith, Freedom, & Future" event by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center this past Tuesday (Aug 2nd) in Washington DC. For all extents and purposes I thought it was going to be a literal snooze fest. I had woken up later than I had planned and anticipating intense traffic on my drive into Washington DC, I wasn't particularly in the best of moods. But Alhamdulillah I was wrong. The traffic was relatively light and I managed to step into the glittering lobby of The National Press Club with ten minutes to spare on the clock before the event kicked off at the scheduled 10:00 am (he shoots, he scores!).
Shortly before the event
The event started with a brief introduction by PBS Newshour's distinguished senior correspondent Ray Suarez followed by opening remarks by Dr. Jocelyn Cesari, a research fellow in Political Science and Director of "Islam in West" program at Harvard. You can view both of them on my Youtube channel here and here.
However the real meat and potatoes of the whole event came next with Senior analyst of the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center, Mohamed Younis's presentation of the in depth study of the Gallup surveys conducted throughout 2010.
Mohamed Younis
Among the key findings presented were:
Though most major religious groups rate their lives better now than in 2008, Muslim Americans' life evaluation ratings have increased the most. Sixty percent are thriving in 2011, up substantially from 2008.
Muslim Americans are among the most critical of the institutions and interventions associated with counterterrorism. They are the most likely among major American religious groups to see U.S. actions, not misinformation, as causing unfavorable views of the U.S. in majority-Muslim countries.
Nearly all Muslim Americans (92%) say Muslims living in the U.S. have no sympathy for al Qaeda.
Muslim Americans' political and social views are often closest to those of Jewish Americans, who are more likely than other major religious groups (at 70%) to believe Muslim Americans have no sympathy for al Qaeda. Jewish Americans also view U.S. Muslims as loyal to America (80%) and are more likely than Muslims Americans themselves to say that there is prejudice toward U.S. Muslims (66% vs. 60%). Additionally Jewish Americans and Muslim Americans show similar levels of support for a future in which an independent Palestinian state would coexist alongside of Israel (78% and 81%, respectively).
Muslim Americans have high levels of confidence in many American civic institutions. Fifty-seven percent say they have confidence in the honesty of elections, the highest percentage of all major U.S. religious groups studied.
Muslim Americans are as likely as other major faith communities to have confidence in the country's judicial system and in the quality and integrity of the U.S. media.
Muslim Americans (83%) are the most likely of all major U.S. religious groups to say the Iraq war was a mistake.
The part which particularly piqued my interest was the fact that 57% of american muslims say they have confidence in the honesty of elections. Saay whaaat?! I totally expected that number to be lower! You can watch portions of that presentation here and here. You can also see some of the slides here in my yfrog page. And if you're just too damn lazy to do all of that you can read Mohamed Younis's article about the Gallup study findings right here or watch him talk about it in this segment of PBS Newshour.
After the presentation, a panel discussion was held with the following panelists:
(L-R)
Mohamed Younis Senior Analyst of the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center
Rabbi Saperstein Director and Counsel, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Imam Mohamed Magid
President, Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)
Ray Suarez (Mediator)
D. Paul Monteiro Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement
They were joined by Dr. Jocelyn Cesari for the Q&A session directly after the panel discussion.
You can view portions of the panel discussion here, here, and here.
Overall I was fairly impressed by the study itself. It was very thorough and managed to hit on important and significant points across the board. I liked the fact that the report also gave a series of recommendations for government and civic leaders.To quote Mohamed Younis:
"The report provides a snapshot of the Muslim American community as we see it today," said Younis. "As we look toward the next 10 years, it is vital to consider what actions can be taken to positively impact the U.S. Muslim community."
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Imam Mohamed Magid & Yours Truly
On another note, besides taking this kodak moment with Imam Mohamed Magid, I also managed to bump into activist extraordinaire Raquel Evita Saraswati who was also present at the event. And here I was thinking I was the only tweep who managed to get out of bed to show up!
What do you get when you mix 1 part dictatorship and 2 parts brutal family legacy? A syria killer! Get it? Astaghfirallah I can't believe I'm even joking about this. While most of us were celebrating the advent of this year's month of Ramadan, others elsewhere where picking up pieces of their friends and family....literally. An apparent crack down on anti-government protesters in Syria has turned into something so bloody that its no doubt re-opened very very old scars. In an ill-advised attempt to reassert his authority, Bashar Al-Assad sent in state military forces comprising of tanks, snipers, and militiamen on July 31st on the eve of Ramadan into the central syrian city of Hama killing at least 50 people. The ensuing carnage continued unabated all through yesterday raising the death toll to at least 100. Eerily reminiscent of a similar episode in the very same city in 1982 when Bashar's father Hafez al-Assad ordered a similar attack to crush an anti-Ba'ath uprising that left a horrific trail of 10,000 dead victims.
Surely his son wouldn't be so foolish as to follow in his footsteps. Well...surprise surprise...apparently he is. Before the assault on Hama, I had a tremendous amount of respect for Bashar al-Assad, perhaps naively so. Yes he might be a dictator, but at least he was one of the better dictators, paling in comparison to many of the other regimes around Syria. Well mannered, well spoken, well educated and with a professional and humble demeanor to boot. I admired the fact that he was able to maintain Syria economically without having to cow down and bow his head to the interests of the USA and/or Israel. Syria, home to Damascus, the oldest continually inhabited settlement on earth with its diverse religious identities and long rich history is indeed a marvel to behold. But what does any of that mean when you're killing your own country's civilian population in a desperate attempt to quell potential opposition? These are not the actions of a civilized individual. It seems I was wrong about you Mr. al-Assad. Did you really think that your political tighthold in Syria would last forever? Nothing lasts forever in this world. In the end you really are no different from any of the other despotic egomaniacs running their own little side-shows in the middle east. And it also seems you are no different from your father.
Like father, like son.
The old adage seems most fitting, wouldn't you agree?
Tis the season to be fasting falalalala LAAA la laaaaa laaa.......wait hold on a sec. I think I'm getting mixed up with another holiday.
Anyways I want to wish a very merry Ramadan to all muslims everywhere and especially to my loyal blog readers (all three of you lulz). So with the end of the month of Shaban and the start of Ramadan just an hour away, It got me thinking....time really flies doesn't it? This month has been one hell of a ride, I finished the summer classes I wanted to take, I moved to maryland, started a new job, and learned a hard lesson about myself.
Now that I'm all settled in the next question is.....how do I want to spend Ramadan this year? I need to use this blessed month to improve on the things that I think are necessary for me. One of the things I personally believe I need to improve on is trying to be a better man. A man you say? Yes a man is honorable and chivalrous. A man is brave. A man always does the right thing, no matter what the cost. In short I need to be like this:
Ok I admit I watched Lord of the Rings the other night. Gimme a break already! But all jokes aside I personally believe that its just something I need to improve on Inshallah. And don't get me wrong I'm not saying that I'm not already a gentleman as it is (what would the other alternative be...an orc?)
So what does it mean to be a man? A man is:
1) Honest. Even when the truth may be hard to say or hear. He doesn't lie to save himself nor does he lie to make himself sound more important or interesting.
2) Honorable. He does the right thing even when doing the opposite would be more beneficial for him.
3) Compassionate. He shows sympathy and concern for others. and tries to help when he can.
4) Educated. A man tries his best to seek knowledge.
5) Diligent. He always works hard to make sure his goals are accomplished. He doesn't let anyone or anything stand in his way (including himself).
6) Introspective. He is always in touch with his feelings and emotions and is reflective of his actions.
7) Leader. He chooses his own path and direction in life and follows it for himself.
8) Responsible. A man is conscious of his obligations and duties and always makes sure that his affairs are in order.
Sound familiar? All my requirements for being a "man", are also requirements for being a good muslim. Indeed all of these characteristics were exemplified and espoused by The Prophet (pbuh). We're only as good as we allow ourselves to be. So why not be the best that we can possibly be using the best role model we have? Inshallah.
Now some other things on my checklist I plan on getting done are:
1) Finishing the Quran at least once during this month.
2) Memorizing that surah I've been meaning to do for a while.
3) Learning up on some much needed hadith.
4) Improve any deficiencies I think I may have in my prayer or Quranic pronunciation.
5) Helping out more at my local masjid. 6) Attend all the tarawih prayers 7) Finish off all the work I've put on hold
8) Eat more hummus (just kidding)
Now if you haven't checked this out I highly suggest you do so. Its a series of animated videos on how to be a productive muslim during the month of Ramadan. Check out their youtube channel right here.
Abdal Hakim Murad is probably my favorite academic 3alim al-din from Europe. Not only are his lectures on islamic theology, history and other related contemporary issues extremely informative and insightful but they're also simple and to the point Mashallah. I recommend his videos to anyone interested in increasing their 3ilm al-din. “It is only those who have knowledge amongst His slaves that fear Allah.” - Al-Quran(35:28)
In other news, Whole Foods has decided to run a Ramadan marketing campaign with the halal frozen brand Saffron Road. How cool is that? Now if only Whole Foods can reduce their crazy prices somehow. And maybe get Walmart to jump in on the fun. I really hope this thing works out well. You can read up more about that in this article right here.
And in a more bizarre twist, its seems that Apple has finally outgrown even the US treasury.
US Treasury cash balance = $ 73.8 billion Apple cash balance = $76.2 billion
Maybe Obama should just kick out Tim Geithner and let Steve Jobs take his place . Instead of the Apple Store we'll just have one big Apple Treasury. Has a nice ring to it doesn't it? Check out more about it right here.
I made a deal with a friend that I'd advertise her blog if she sent me a big package of assorted baked homemade muffins (just kidding!). Check out her blog "Tears & Laughter" right here.
Been meaning to put this up for a while now. The Park 51 Islamic Community Center in NYC also known as the "Ground Zero Mosque" by its unscrupulous detractors is trying to raise money for their NYChildren photography exhibit. You can donate anything as small as $1 or $5 to $50, $100, or even more. Any contribution helps whether you live in the USA or not. However they have a set deadline for August 10th so please let other people know as well Inshallah. If you'd like to donate online please click here. And you can also find more information about NYChildren on Park 51's official website right here.
The reason I'm doing this is because after the hell they went through last year I believe this a positive step forward. Allahu 3alam I don't know how they're going to raise enough money in 12 days. I'm personally going to distribute some flyers at my local mosque today after Friday prayers in order to raise some awareness on the issue. Allah works in mysterious ways, so let us never lose hope.
So by now you've all probably heard about the tragedy that hit in Oslo less than a week ago on July 22nd. 68 people were killed through the shooting spree at a Labor Party youth camp on the norwegian island of Utoeya by terrorist Anders Behring Breivik. He is also allegedly involved in the bomb attack that ripped through Oslo's government district resulting in the death of 7 people.
Whats interesting about this particular incident is the actual media storm that ensued. Even though initial reports coming out of norway's TV2 indicated that a "blonde, nordic man" had been arrested in connection to the attacks, the reaction of most news outlets was to simply presume that he must have been a convert to Islam hence a connection to Al Qaeda. So eager was the news media to involve muslims in the attacks that they jumped on even the least credible information source possible. Thus emerged reports that a group called "The Helpers of the Global Jihad" had claimed responsiblity for the attacks. Source? From a (now deleted) discussion thread on an obscure arabic militant forum website called "Shmukh", where the quote of responsibility was diligently copy/pasted (in arabic) by one Will McCant, a blogger at www.jihadica.com. This was immediately picked up and published by The New York Times.
My first reaction was......"That doesn't even make sense. Why would islamic extremists attack Norway of all places?" My bewilderment did not cease despite answers that perhaps it was because of Norway's involvement with NATO. So they were compelled to attack Norway but not Denmark from which the cartoons of The Prophet (pbuh) originated from? It just didn't add up.
My skepticism was redeemed by Norway's official police report when it soon became apparently clear that the perpetrator of the attacks was not muslim nor had any ties to Al Qaeda, but was a radical right-wing christian fundamentalist from Norway.
But wait, it gets even better.
The 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik held anti-Muslim, anti-government and anti-immigration views, undoubtedly a hallmark of right-wing neo-conservatives in the USA and right-wing anti-immigration movements like the English Defence League (EDL) in Europe. This became no more obvious when it was discovered that Breivik had in fact written a 1,500-page manifesto entitled "2083: A European Declaration of Independence" espousing the same views that many if not all right-wing neo-cons enshrine on a daily basis. He goes on to cite the works of such infamous islamophobes as Robert Spencer, Daniel Pipes, and Pamela Geller as "required reading", all of whom have amusingly tried to distance themselves from Breivik and his criminal actions.
As soon as the US media caught up to the fact that the terrorist acts were carried out by a blue-eyed blonde-haired radical right-wing christian, they immediately dropped the "terrorist" label opting for more benign terms as "madman" and "lunatic". Bill O' Reilly of Fox News even went so far as saying that Breivik was not a christian fundamentalist.
This ridiculous double standard is not just insulting to its viewers but is also an indication of a severe lack of objective journalistic practice. Given that journalistic integrity in the US is almost nearly non-existent these days, you'd still think they'd be able to call a spade a spade even if its staring at you straight in the face. Well.....apparently not.
Ahlan wa sahlan! Yes its true I am indeed back. Now before you all start waving your pitchforks and torches at me and demanding an explanation of why I took an almost near 1 year hiatus and attempt to sacrifice me to the children of the corn (bad movie reference there), allow me to humbly explain.
A lot of stuff happened in my life during these many many months. Very important things which no doubt carry immensely significant and profound implications for my future For example, I lost a couple of pounds and Rebecca Black has continued to make soul sucking songs. Seriously. I dare you to try listening to just one of her songs (just one!), but I digress.
What a lot of you may not know is that I actually moved out of saudia and went back to the USA late last year to finally pursue higher studies. It's been quite a while since I've been back and settling down hasn't been a piece of cake. On top of managing my college applications, taking classes, getting a job, getting an apartment, getting a life (oh snap), and having to remind myself that this isn't saudia where the burgers at Burger King are actually halal, I've also had to prioritize my time to compensate my religious obligations. Don't get me wrong I wuv my country, but it really sucks when your nearest masjid is a 15 minute drive away instead of a 5 minute walk down the street. Baaah but its alright, if other american muslims can manage, then I can too Inshallah.
And just in case you were curious, no I don't live in california. I dunno, apparently everybody thinks anyone who goes to the USA goes to cali for some reason. Maybe Six Flags has finally come out with a mildly comprehensible marketing campaign for once, who knows. I on the other hand actually live in around the Washington DC area in south Maryland. Thats right, east coast represent!
A lot of things have happened this year with the arab uprisings, the recent attacks in oslo, and whatnot, so I'll definitely need to play catch up. Do any you guys use Twitter or Google +? If you do, add me:
