Islamic Horizons March/April 2022

MARCH/APRIL 2022/1443 | $4.00 | WWW.ISNA.NET

INTEGRATING ISLAMIC SPACE AND MUSLIM VOICE | GREENING OUR RAMADAN

The Tentacles of Islamophobia Worm their Way into Minds

ISLAMIC HORIZONS | VOL. 51 NO. 2 MARCH/APRIL 2022 | VISIT ISNA ONLINE AT: WWW.ISNA.NET

ISNA Conference Report 14

Op-ED

Resiliency, Hope and Faith

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We Prayed Where They Trampled

Cover Story

Profile

18 The Tentacles of Islamophobia Worm Their Way into Minds 20 What would you do with $105,865,763?

22 Politicians Have No Interest in Checking Islamophobia

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Serving Humanity

46 The First Hijra as a Model 47 In the Footsteps of the First Muhajirun

23 Integrating Islamic Space and Muslim Voice 25 A Caravan on the Road to Becoming Fully Human

Environment

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28 Greening Our Ramadan

50 There is Never a Halaloween 51 Social Media, Cancel Culture and Mob Rule

Finance Mosque Board Financial Literacy Matters Requesting a Halal 401k Option

In Memoriam

30 Building a Muslim-Run E-Commerce Business in the U.S. 31 Growing Food that Feeds the Body and Soul

56 57 57 58 59 60

Education

39 Why and How to Maintain Abstinence in a Hypersexualized World

Society

53 54

Enterprise

Family Matters

A Genocide by Any Measure

Heritage

26 How to Improve our Report Card with Earth?

36 Emerging Themes in Islamic School Mission Statements 37 CISNA’s Presence on the Federal Level Continues to Grow 38 Back At School

Gazing at the Sky for More Thrills

Muslims Living As Minorities

34 Teaching About Indigenous Peoples Consciously

Abdullah Abdelhamid Bade Robert Dickson Crane Zeba (Elisabeth) Siddiqui Maulana M. Yusuf Islahi Mohammed Hashir Faruqi Omar Afzal

Tribute 60

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu

Departments 6 8 10 62

Editorial ISNA Matters Community Matters New Releases

DESIGN & LAYOUT BY: Gamal Abdelaziz COPYEDITOR: Jay Willoughby. The views expressed in Islamic Horizons are not necessarily the views of its editors nor of the Islamic Society of North America. Islamic Horizons does not accept unsolicitated articles or submissions. All references to the Quran made are from The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Amana, Brentwood, MD.

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EDITORIAL

Islamophobia: A Malignancy Overdue for Excision

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h e C ou n c i l of I sl a m i c American Relations’ latest report on Islamophobia, a now-$1.5 billion racket in the U.S., names those organizations that fund the spread of this pre-pandemic malignancy.

Islamophobia is hardly a new phenomenon. It’s been around ever since the moment Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) declared “There is no deity but God.” When this became public knowledge, he and his Companions were targeted by Makka’s Islamophobes.

As if he knew what would happen centuries later, he warned, “There will come a time when holding on to your religion will be like holding burning coal” (“Al-Tirmidhi,” 2260).

Over the following 1,400+ years, the world has seen many manifestations of Islamophobia, among them Pope Urban II’s (d. 1099) 1095 Speech of Clermont, which called for fellow Europeans to unleash the First Crusade “as Christ’s heralds to publish this everywhere and to persuade all people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and rich, to carry aid promptly to those Christians and to destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends.” We may have heard some sort of regret for what followed, but “Sorry” is a valueless word when the hurt caused is not undone.

This strongly held prejudice sometimes manifests in ways that are beyond many people’s imagination: The Bush administration’s “war of choice” invasion and subsequent destruction of Iraq and the 20-year nightmare imposed on Afghanistan, just to mention a few.

Luke Peterson overviews this surging cottage industry and how its tentacles are working their way ever deeper into our society. He cites Prof. Jack Shaheen (d.

2017), who analyzed how 100+ years of Hollywood products continue to strengthen this enduring negativity and hostility.

But Islamophobia also serves a similar — and more sinister — purpose: as a tool for some to keep American support buoyed for their imperial dreams. After 6

all, they’re simply giving the “terrorist,” “extremist,” “barbaric” — dear readers, please insert the prejudicial adjectives of your choice — Muslims what they deserve.

Trump and post-Trump, we have seen a quantum increase in Islamophobia, especially now that some hatemongers have become lawmakers and powerbrokers.

Now is the time that Muslim Americans need to stand resolute and together, even at the cost of worldly aspirations, to help their fellow citizens overcome this mentally and morally debilitating ailment.

Wakar Uddin reminds us of the Rohingyas’ continued sufferings at the hands of Myanmar’s religious bigots and the military. The Gambia v. Myanmar case, presented to the International Court of Justice on November 11, 2019, remains ongoing.

Sara Swetzoff takes us to Ethiopia, the ancient land that welcomed a group of Companions fleeing persecution – the First Hijrah.

Rasheed Rabbi offers a vivid account of chaplaincy and how chaplains help people confront their challenges and trials.

In this issue, Islamic Horizons, which strives to introduce Muslim entrepreneurs who provide beneficial products and services, features Mango Creek (self-care products) and Halal Pastures (healthy food).

We also bid farewell to Zeba (Elisabeth) Siddiqui, author, illustrator and part of the new wave of Muslim pioneers in the U.S.; Hashir Faruqi, who opened a Muslim chapter in journalism; Robert Crane (Faruq Abdul-Haqq), a beacon of learning and scholarship; Abdullah Bade, who freely shared his legal acumen to help MSA, ISNA and all those who sought guidance; Omar Afzal, an indefatigable striver with a flair for moonsighting issues; and Maulana M. Yusuf Islahi, a respected scholar and spiritual mentor who regularly visited the U.S. to share his learning.

This issue also includes South African journalist Ayesha Kajee’s memoriam for Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu, a solid friend of the Palestinians and staunch opponent of the invasion of Iraq. ih

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

PUBLISHER The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) PRESIDENT Safaa Zarzour EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Basharat Saleem EDITOR Omer Bin Abdullah EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Iqbal Unus, Chair: M. Ahmadullah Siddiqi, Saba Ali ISLAMIC HORIZONS is a bimonthly publication of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) P.O. Box 38 Plainfield, IN 46168‑0038 Copyright @2022 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 https://isna.net/islamic-horizons/ For inquiries: membership@isna.net ADVERTISING For rates contact Islamic Horizons at (703) 742‑8108, E-mail horizons@isna.net, www.isna.net CORRESPONDENCE Send all correspondence and/or Letters to the Editor at: Islamic Horizons P.O. Box 38 Plainfield, IN 46168‑0038 Email: horizons@isna.net

ISNA MATTERS

Azhar Azeez, ISNA treasurer and a former president (first row, second left) and Imam Omar Suleiman, president of Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research and a columnist at Religion News Service (rear, first right) were part of an interfaith group of clergy that gathered at Good Shepherd Roman Catholic Community in Colleyville, Texas, to support law enforcement and the families of those taken hostage in the 11-hour standoff on Jan. 15, 2022, at Congregation Beth Israel. (Photo © Azhar Azeez)

Dallas-area Muslim community leaders dispelled any notion that the synagogue was targeted because of any antipathy toward Islam.

Imam Omar Suleiman said, “None of us are going to fall for the more nefarious narrative spun as a result of this. The rabbi and his family and the congregation understood right away that it wasn’t the Muslim community that was attacking them.

It was the Muslim community that was supporting them. This attacker was acting alone.”

(Source: Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service, Jan. 18, 2022) The Washington Post (Jan. 16) noted, “Azhar Azeez, former president of the Islamic Society of North America, was at Good Shepherd, the Catholic church, waiting with Cytron-Walker’s wife and other faith leaders when the news of the first release arrived.

“The assembled — evangelical pastor, rabbi, priest, imam — joined in a group prayer, eyes closed, heads down.

“Though some seek ‘to build walls and divide us,’ Azeez said, ‘we are not going to budge. We are all together.’” ih

CORRIGEMDUM We apologize to readers that in our editorial of Jan./ Feb.2022 issue (page 6), a typo went unnoticed. The sentence should correctly read as: He invites Muslims to “reform” not Islam, but ourselves, and to learn from the spiritual, intellectual and political acumen of our beloved Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), who brilliantly recalibrated Islam’s religious and social practice as he built an inclusive Islam-based community in Yathrib (renamed Madina after his hijra).

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ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

23RD ANNUAL ISNA EDUCATION FORUM In collaboration with CISNA

Save the date May 13-15, 2022 Chicago, Illinois Details coming soon.

For questions: convention@isna.net

COMMUNITY MATTERS Senate Confirms Ambassador Rashad Hussain The Senate confirmed Rashad Hussain as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom on Dec. 16, 2021 — the first Muslim American and South Asian to hold this position. The previous officeholders were Rabbi David Saperstein (2015-17) under Obama, and attorney and Republican politician Sam Brownback (2018-21) under Trump.

Saperstein received 67 votes, Brownback received 51 and Hussain received 85 votes in favor and 5 opposed.

Congress set up this State Department position to “advance the right to freedom of religion abroad, to denounce the violation of that right, and to recommend appropriate responses by the U.S. Government when this right is violated.”

Hussain, 42, a hafiz, attorney, diplomat and professor, has served in various roles, among them senior counsel at the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, U.S. Special Envoy of President Barack Obama to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, U.S. Special Envoy for strategic counterterrorism communications, Department of Justice trial attorney and a criminal and national security prosecutor.

He helped develop messaging centers in the UAE, Nigeria, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, Dr. Amin Madani, BS, MD, PhD, a general surgeon with Toronto’s Sprott Department of Surgery at the University Health Network. While researching the techniques and thought processes used by the most elite, highest-skilled surgeons, a group of data and computer scientists, it was suggested that he use artificial intelligence (AI) to mimic their minds. Initially, “a big skeptic,” his resulting collaboration produced a prototype that uses computer vision — an AI field that trains computers to interpret and understand images — to identify in real time areas of an organ that are either safe or dangerous to dissect.

Madani’s technology, still in its early stages, is currently only applicable to gallbladder surgeries. But as he told CBC on Dec. 29, 2021, it has the potential to improve surgery particularly in rural communities, remote areas and lower-income countries that lack surgical expertise.

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and also helped set up the framework for the U.S. Global Engagement Center.

The Wyoming-born Hussain has a BA (University of North Carolina), MPA (John F. Kennedy School of Government), MA (Arabic and Islamic Studies, Harvard University) and JD (Yale Law School). While at Yale, he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal.

In January 2013, Hussain received the Distinguished Honor Award from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

He has also taught as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown Law Center and the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. He also speaks Urdu, Arabic and Spanish. ih The prototype was developed by feeding hundreds of hours of gallbladder surgery videos into a software program and integrating annotations from expert surgeons who identified where they would dissect. After a frame-by-frame analysis of the data, the algorithm begins to recognize patterns and develops the ability to make independent decisions.

The algorithm consistently identified “go” and “no-go” zones as well as the liver, gallbladder and hepatocystic triangle with an accuracy ranging from 93 to 95%, according to a 2020 study of 290 videos from 153 surgeons that was published in the academic journal Annals of Surgery. Madani was the lead author.

Madani is determined to find out if this software will improve the surgeons’ performance in the operating room and reduce complications.

Aliredha Walji assumed duties as the CEO of ShariaPortfolio on Jan. 1 as Naushad Virji, (founder and CEO) moved on to growing and expanding the ShariaPortfolio Canada and SP Funds.

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

Walji, who joined the firm in 2014, worked his way up from regional manager to managing the advisor team, which has seen a doubling in the AUM growth in the U.S. In 2018, he was appointed vice president and, the following year, assumed the additional position of chief compliance officer.

“ShariaPortfolio USA is in a strong position in the market and with the focused, experienced and knowledgeable leadership that Aliredha brings, I am sure it will become an even stronger brand and provide a higher level of quality service to clients,” commented Virji.

Aside from his ongoing contributions to the ShariaPortfolio blog, Walji has also served as U.S. correspondent at Islamic Finance News and been featured in Forbes as well as U.S. News and World Report.

Walji said, “We are being faced with many obstacles, including the global pandemic.

As we navigate various market cycles, I am committed to ensuring [that] we continue to offer excellent service without compromising on values. The Halal investing industry is evolving in exciting ways. We are ready to help investors capitalize on the opportunities that lie ahead.”

The Chagrin Valley Islamic Center of Solon (CVICS), Ohio, opened its doors for prayer on Nov. 19, 2021.

Mayor Eddy Kraus said he has long respected the city’s Muslim community and that opposition to the mosque may have come from “ignorance.”

The closest mosques to Solon are those in Richmond Heights, Parma and Cuyahoga Falls. But according to CVCIS finance director Masroor Malik, all of them are at least 35 minutes away. He added, “Our mosque is going to be the beacon for all faiths, not just the Muslim [faith].”

Discussions about building the mosque began approximately nine years ago at a dinner in a local home. Fundraising began five years ago, and the mosque, designed by architect Uzma Mirza of Indianapolis, was built in roughly two years at a cost of $3.1 million. This price includes site work as well as design and construction.

The mosque, which stands on a 5.2-acre lot, can hold 300 people. This two-story building has a 7,500-square-foot footprint and occupies 12,500 square feet. Inside is the main prayer room and a women-only mezzanine, as well as a quiet room, classroom, lobby, offices, kitchen and restrooms.

On Jan. 3, federal court judge Michael P. Mills ruled in favor of the Abraham House of God, a mosque in Horn Lake, Miss.

— DeSoto County’s first mosque — that the city had blocked last November.

A municipal official who opposed the mosque admitted that the plan was initially blocked “because they’re Muslims.”

Mills found that the denial of the mosque’s building permit violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act as well as the First Amendment’s free exercise clause. The city of Horn Lake, located about a mile south of Memphis, Tenn., also agreed to pay $25,000 to the developer for the litigation’s associated costs and other legal fees.

Heather L. Weaver, an ACLU attorney, stated, “This case should serve as a warning

to local zoning officials across the country that they cannot let bigotry against a particular faith dictate their decisions. The anti-Muslim prejudice we saw in Horn Lake is all too common, and we won’t hesitate to challenge official bias of this nature wherever and whenever it may arise.” ih

ACHIEVERS Huda Alkaff of Wisconsin Green Muslims, Milwaukee, is among the six awardees of the annual Catalyst Award.

Sponsored by Rachel’s Network, this award honors female leaders of color for their commitment to a healthy planet and provides them with a cash prize, networking opportunities and national recognition.

“We have been honored to get to know women at the forefront of the environmental movement through the Catalyst Award,” said network president Fern Shepard. “This year’s awardees and finalists demonstrate that women of color are catalyzing change across our field, from environmental justice and energy equity to marine science and health. Their leadership is transforming our world for the better.”

Alkaff, an ecologist and environmental educator, is founder and director of Wisconsin Green Muslims, a grassroots group she started in 2005 to connect faith, environmental justice and sustainability through education and service. In addition to having taught environmental studies courses at the University of Wisconsin, she is a founding member and leader of the Interfaith Earth Network and Wisconsin Interfaith Power and Light and serves on the national Interfaith Power and Light Campaigns Committee, national Greening Ramadan Task Force and the Milwaukee Environmental Consortium board of directors.

Nafeesa Syeed was appointed Los Angeles Times assistant op-ed editor on Dec. 13, 2021. Her career as a journalist has spanned the U.S., South Asia, the Middle East as well as North and East Africa.

She has reported and edited for the

Associated Press in the Iowa and Washington bureaus, was a Bloomberg national security reporter and Middle East correspondent in Dubai and served as longform editor at the New Delhi-based Caravan magazine.

In addition, she has also worked as a producer for award-winning documentaries at Al Jazeera English and as a co-author for “Arab Women Rising.” Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, USA Today and Vice, among others.

Syeed (BA, Georgetown University; MA, SOAS, the University of London) is currently a visiting scholar at UCLA’s International Institute and the 2021-22 Writing in Color Fellow at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop.

Taiba Sultana defeated Sandra Vulcano, who had held the Easton City council seat for five consecutive terms, in last May’s Democratic primary.

She took the oath of office on Jan. 4, 2021.

Taiba, who came to Pennsylvania from Pakistan in 2003, told voters, “You have elected the first woman of color to serve on the council, the first Muslim, the first Asian and the first-generation immigrant, past outward appearances and cultural and religious differences, and voted for a person.”

She also is a member of Governor Wolf ’s Commission on Higher Education and a member of the College Textbook Policies Advisory for the Pennsylvania State Board of Education.

Naila Alam, a member of the Herndon (Va.) Town Council, was appointed to Governor Ralph Northam’s (R) Advisory Board on Service and Volunteerism.

A graduate of the political leadership program at the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute, Alam has received numerous awards for her volunteerism, including a Presidential Volunteer Service Award from former President Obama’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, recognition by former President George W. Bush’s Faith-Based and

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COMMUNITY MATTERS Community Initiatives, Champion of Compassion from the Department of Labor and other federal and state recognitions. She has also been recognized by Fairfax County and Northern Virginia Family Services for assisting immigrant communities, has received the Herndon Rotary Club’s Service Above Self and Certificate of Achievement awards, as well as the Herndon mayor’s Volunteer Appreciation Award annually since 2003 and the Distinguished Volunteer Award in 2019.

During 2014-15, Alam served on Governor Terry McAuliffe’s Public Guardian and Conservator and Advisory Council.

Zainab Ali Hussein (BA, history and political science; MA, counseling) was appointed chief of staff in the City of Dearborn, Mich. — the first Arab American Muslim to hold this position — by Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.

Hussein, the Michigan Department of State’s deputy chief of staff, has gained experience in many areas and at various levels.

Governor Whitmer also appointed her to the statewide 2020 Census Complete Count Committee.

Bushra Amiwala (DePaul, 2020), who has used her school board seat in suburban Chicago as a beacon of reconciliation and understanding, was named among Religion News Service’s 2021 rising stars in religion. This underscores the ongoing influence religion has in every sphere of American culture.

Skokie resident Amiwala, the youngest Muslim ever to hold elected office in the U.S., and probably the state’s only hijab-wearing officeholder, told the Chicago Tribune last April, “My faith teaches me the importance of service work and getting involved in the community.”

She was profiled in an ABC/Hulu documentary, “Our America: Women Forward,” and appeared in “And She Could Be Next” on PBS and on Amazon Prime’s “RUN.” And as if that were not enough, Amiwala is a busy public speaker and works full time as a sales representative for Google.

On Jan. 1, Cmdr. Issa Shahin, who has 12

served with the Dearborn Police since 1998, became the first Muslim to lead the department. He was appointed by the city’s first Arab American and Muslim mayor, Abdullah Hammoud.

Dearborn has one of Michigan’s largest city police departments, in part because of a voter-approved city requirement that it must maintain a certain minimum level of police officers. In addition to its 110,000 residents, Dearborn, home of Ford Motor Company’s headquarters, has a daily influx of employees and shoppers that greatly increases the number of people in the city.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) appointed its first-ever Pakistani American deputy inspector by elevating precinct Commanding Officer Adeel S. Rana to the post on Dec. 22, 2021.

Last year, Rana made history when he became the first Muslim American to be appointed as precinct Commanding Officer in the force’s history.

Having joined the NYPD as an auxiliary police officer in 1995, three years later he joined the New York Army National Guard.

While there, he racked up some 5,000 volunteer service hours assisting in arrests of violent offenders during robberies, assaults and murders. At that time, he also served at the World Trade Center after 9/11.

He continued his passion for community outreach even after becoming a police officer in 2004. During that year he entered the police academy, where he was selected company sergeant and assigned to the 61st Precinct.

Upon graduation, he was assigned as assistant field intelligence officer. In 2007, he was asked to join the Community Affairs Bureau in a project of Immigrant Community Outreach. He developed the NYPD Youth Soccer & Cricket program, which

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

eventually attracted 5,000+ diverse Muslim youth from around the city.

In 2009, he was promoted to sergeant and assigned to the 72nd Precinct. The next year he was transferred to community affairs to continue helping with the youth and community programs he had developed.

In 2013, Rana was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to Transit District 20 as the operations coordinator. In 2014 he was back in community affairs, due to his outstanding outreach efforts, as the Immigrant Outreach Unit’s commanding officer.

In 2015, the NYPD selected him to participate in a U.S. State Department-sponsored law enforcement exchange program with Pakistan.

Abir Catovic, principal of Pillars Academy, South River, N.J., was awarded the 2021 New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Awards for her service to education.

She left her promising career at IBM during the early 1990s to start an Islamic school. After 28 years, it’s now one of the state’s most established Islamic schools with over 600 students.

This award, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious recognition program for volunteer/public service, is the Senate’s official recognition program. The New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Award administers this program and, through the New Jersey State Governor’s Council on Volunteerism, confers the official recognition.

Its recipients are honored for their measurable community impact and represent outstanding acts of public service, without expecting either recognition or compensation. In sum, they have demonstrated unique vision, dedication and tenacity of “heroic proportions” and serve as an inspiration for others.

The presentation was held on Sept. 12, 2021, at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, N.J. The Forbes 30 Under 30 for 2022 includes: Bashima Islam (BS, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology; PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), currently an assistant professor at Boston’s

SPACE DONATED BY THE ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is engineering the next generation of Internet of Things Devices & Examples to operate without batteries. She is developing intermittently powered devices using solar energy and radio frequency, as well as an acoustic sensing wearable to warn pedestrians of the danger of approaching cars.

Amin Aalipour (BS, Stanford University; MD, Stanford School of Medicine, PhD, Stanford University) is a resident physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. A physician-scientist and a co-inventor on four patents for cancer-related biomarkers, he focuses on improving the early detection of cancers. One of his inventions is a magnetic wire that enters the bloodstream. In pig models, it collected up to 80 times more biomarkers than a single blood draw.

Natasha Sheybani (BS, Virginia Commonwealth University; PhD, University of Virginia), an assistant professor at the University of Virginia, is developing therapies to treat cancer using ultrasound. Her dissertation research,

which combines ultrasound with chemotherapy for breast cancer, is being tested in a clinical trial. As an NIH Director Early Independence Award winner, her lab will receive nearly $2 million in funding over five years.

Yanni Barghouty, a dropout of Georgia Institute of Technology, cofounder and CEO of Cosmic Shielding Corporation, is building the next generation of radiation shielding to protect instruments, satellites and people from cosmic rays. The one-year-old company has raised $6 million in funding and is preparing to send its first radiation shield to the International Space Station next year. ih LATE TO NOTE Last November 29, the City of Philadelphia officially celebrated the “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.”

Mayor Jim Kenny was the keynote speaker

at the event, which also featured remarks by three city council members, a state senator and a state representative. Each of them spoke

It is Quran, Not Koran Publishers Weekly updated its stylebook late January, replacing “Koran” with “Quran.”

Islamic Horizons editor Omer Bin Abdullah was one of three experts they consulted to affect this change, which helped them realize that the outdated term was disrespectful.

In 1990, Omer Bin Abdullah helped AP realize that the recommended ‘Moslem’ in their AP Stylebook — which is widely used by the media industry — was disrespectful and must be replaced with the correct usage: Muslim. ih about the contributions that Palestinian Americans are making to the city and the country. There were Palestinian flags, music and maamoul (Middle Eastern pastries). An official city proclamation declaring solidarity with the Palestinian people was read.

CORRIGENDUM In the ISNA Green Initiative Team article published in January-February 2022 issue (p. 51), the photo was wrongly captioned as “The Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, Ill.” It should have read “The Islamic Center of Evansville, Newburgh, Ind.”

ISNA CONFERENCE REPORT

Ashley Berner

Yasir Qazi

Resiliency, Hope and Faith Islamic schools and educators on staying committed to mission

BY THE TRACK LEADERS’ COMMITTEE

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he West Coast ISNA Education Forum (WCIEF), hosted by ISNA in collaboration with the Council of Islamic Schools in North America (CISNA) and the Aldeen Foundation, held its second virtual forum in its 10th year on Jan. 15-16.

The timely theme was “Resiliency, Hope and Faith: Staying Committed to Mission.”

Our schools have found creative ways to meet their students’ needs in a remote learning environment. This school leaders-led initiative caused the WCIEF committee and its chairperson Necva Ozgur, who has chaired or co-chaired it from the beginning, to choose this theme.

The conference featured four tracks: Islamic Studies, Arabic/Quran, Curriculum and Instruction, and Leadership. Each track held several sessions led by experts in their given fields and attended by educators nationwide. More than 600 participants registered for the conference.

Keynote speaker Jihad Turk (doctoral candidate, University of Southern California) reviewed the evolution of learning theories: behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism and experientialism. He spoke of the importance of the power of faith and hope and of storytelling. He also explained how we can use these elements to build resiliency and remain committed to our mission.

This year’s forum included two very 14

engaging and beneficial general sessions: (1) Faruk Rahmnovic (professor, philosophy department, Lewis University), who offered a systematic framework for applying critical thinking in the classroom, and (2) a panel on mental health. Suzy Ismail (founding director, Cornerstone) focused on the requirements for creating mentally and emotionally healthy classroom environments, which includes employing a holistic methodology that considers spiritual psycho-socio-emotional wellness.

Alaa Mohammad (The Family and Youth Institute) offered many strategies for educators’ self-care, something that has become a greater concern over the past two years.

CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION TRACK

This track provided strategies, resources and tools for educators to implement in their classes. The presenters shared a wealth of expertise and experience and held the participants’ attention with thought-provoking and interactive discussions. In the first session, Susan Labadi (president, Genius School, Inc.) used her “Don’t Be the Crazy Chicken: Surviving Stress as an Educator” to address a variety of ways for educators to balance their professional and personal lives while stressing the value and importance of both. Labadi has a distinguished career in education as a classroom teacher, educator and school administrator. Her company conducts workshops

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

to train educators, parents and other professionals in stress reduction, positive school culture, social emotional intelligence and mindfulness. All of these are key aspects for teachers and administrators to maintain excellence inside and outside the classroom.

During her session “Content-Rich Curriculum, Ashley Berner (director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Educational Policy) outlined the essential components of a content-rich curriculum as background knowledge and high-quality content. Both components are vital in enriching the curriculum and ensuring that students are making real-life connections and extensions with what they are learning. In addition, she discussed the importance of using primary and secondary sources that resonate with students and their backgrounds. She also talked about having a strong school culture that allows students to be engaged with their diverse academic classes.

Susan Douglass (K-14 Education outreach director, Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies) used her session to address “Integrating Curriculum Across the Humanities, STEM and Islamic Studies.” In addition to offering practical examples of how to integrate the curriculum from her own teaching as well as the curriculum units she has authored and produced, she emphasized that integration takes place with careful and detailed planning and preparation. In fact, the most optimal time for it to occur is while revising and enhancing the annual curriculum. Teachers often hope to adjust their daily lesson plans, but this is no more than a band-aid approach to integration. One approach is to introduce cross-curricular projects and assignments within the classroom. Another one is to have

ISNA CONFERENCE REPORT teachers co-plan their lessons, which proves quite successful in curriculum integration.

Overall, this track’s sessions provided hands-on strategies and resources that can be used in the participants’ classrooms.

Moreover, the presenters sparked the urgency and necessity for school administrators and teachers to discuss the many tools that teachers need to provide the best curriculum instruction. This process should be viewed as an ongoing conversation throughout the academic school year and revisited in professional development workshops among the key stakeholders.

ARABIC/QURAN TRACK

This session opened with a presentation by Basma AlSaleem (chair, International eTurn Council for Teaching Arabic to Speakers of Other Languages, Amman, Jordan) about language assessment. In her “TASOL Standardized Test in Six Steps,” she explained the six steps teachers should use to design their assessment process, among them the importance of defining goals, paying meticulous attention when choosing every word in their directions and instructions, as well as how most tests’ question should have a clear, expected answer. The most important final step is for the teacher to be able to analyze any test results and recognize the indicators of how well the students understand the learned material.

Ustadha Marwa Thabit (instructor of the Arabic language, Orange County) devoted her session to the language and technology tools and resources that can both facilitate learning and make practicing Arabic more enjoyable by enabling the students to retain and utilize their vocabulary in a fun context.

The Sunday morning presentation, “Celebrate to Educate,” featured Ustadaha Samar Dalati (instructor, University of Redlands; Sunday School instructor/ curriculum developer, Islamic Center of Southern California), who explained how Arabic teachers can practice various Arabic language skills during Islamic or secular holidays to bring communities and families together and strengthen relationships. She emphasized how joyful times and effective methods can help increase students’ interest and engagement, which leads to vocabulary retention and language acquisition.

The last session, Dalia El-Deeb’s (director, Ahlul-Qur’an Academy and of the Bayaan Academy’s hifdh program) “Tafseer Standards: Towards a More Effective Teaching of the Holy Qur’an,” discussed the definition 16

LEADERSHIP TRACK

Tabassum Ahmad, project manager, ISNA Convention Dept., coordinates from ISNA headquarters

SUCCESSFUL CHANGE AGENTS CLEARLY ARTICULATE THE WHY BEHIND THE CHANGE AND ENGAGE WITH THE PEOPLE THEY ARE AFFECTING ON A HUMAN LEVEL SO THEY WILL TRUST WHO THEY ARE FOLLOWING. of tafseer, its importance and the standards needed to teach it to non-native speakers.

She gave ample examples of how to select the correct vocabulary, how teaching Arabic can help Muslims understand the Quran and why Arabic should be taught in Islamic schools.

ISLAMIC STUDIES TRACK

This track was a home run for many of the attendees. The first session, Fahd Tasleem’s (research fellow and instructor, Sapience Institute) presentation on why Islam should be taught as a worldview vs. a religion, was complemented by Sh. Suhaib Webb’s (founder, Ella Collins Institute of Islamic and Cultural Studies) analysis of how to help students develop an Islamic worldview.

His engaging session shared many powerful ideas, one of which is nurturing the fitra.

On the conference’s second day, Yasir Qadhi (dean, The Islamic Seminary of America; resident scholar, East Plano Islamic Center) expounded on how to nurture students’ fitra to help prevent un-Islamic beliefs.

Alaa Mohammad concluded the track with her critical topic: how to make Islamic studies a positive experience.

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

The biggest takeaways from Douglas Reeves’ (founder, DouglasReeves.com and ChangeLeaders.com) session on teacher retention and burnout revolved around seven key areas. Primary discussion points were improved feedback, building collective efficacy, allowing teacher autonomy, fostering collaboration among teachers and boosting respect for the teaching profession.

Anthony Mohammed (CEO, New Frontier 21) spoke of developing a school culture for transformational leadership. In short, he contends that if we want schools to improve, we must be willing to get uncomfortable because real change happens only if we are eager to be empowered and start a movement for change. We need the skill to make a technical change and the will to change the human side of things by making a cultural change. Successful change agents clearly articulate the why behind the change and engage with the people they are affecting on a human level so they will trust who they are following. Finally, the leader must be competent and have the functional capacity to know how to make change happen.

Each leadership session concluded with a rich discussion of the topics presented.

Overall, the leadership track was timely and relevant to current needs and in line with the conference’s theme.

One of the attendees said, “I enjoyed the presentations and the time allowed for questions and answers... As a new teacher, I have faced many Covid-related challenges in the classroom. The workshops have reinvigorated and reminded me why I decided to go into teaching. I was very focused on teaching the content and standards, which seemed to be the focus in California. These workshops reminded me that I can still do so while moving to a 21st-century classroom and teaching in a way that resonates with students. The workshops provided me with many resources and ideas on how to present information to my students going forward.”

Safaa Zarzour (president, ISNA; former president, CISNA) delivered the closing remarks. ih Program Committee: Necva Ozgur (chair and educator/consultant), Sadeq Al-Hasan (board member, Consultants for Islamic Schools Excellence), Shahida AliKhan (retired principal), Sufia Azmat (executive director, Council of Islamic Schools in North America), Thouraya Boubetra (language counselor, Aldeen Foundation), Azra Naqvi (principal, Hadi School of Excellence), Fawad Yacoob (interim principal, Minaret Academy) and Maisa Youssef (principal, Orange Crescent School).

COVER STORY

THE TENTACLES OF ISLAMOPHOBIA WORM THEIR WAY INTO MINDS Will Muslim minorities ever be fully accepted?

I

BY LUKE PETERSON

n recent years, the U.S. has made great strides in recognizing systemic racism and discrimination practiced against people of color, women and other minorities. According to a statement by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which governs labor laws, hiring practices, and access to resources within the United States, federal law states that non-discriminatory practice must be extended to everyone “regardless of race, color, national origin [or] religion” in addition to several other “worthy” marginalized groups.

While several religious and marginalized groups now enjoy legal protection, a question remains: What about the practitioners of certain religions who continue to endure discrimination within various public and private institutions? Specifically, recent evidence shows that Muslims remain “otherized,” as well as discriminated against and harassed even within ostensibly liberal institutions like universities and public offices. Is it fair, then, to consider the U.S. a truly liberal democracy given the persistence of such realities?

How can American institutions combat Islamophobia or even become aware of its continued flourishing? Or has this phenomenon simply become a normalized fixture within our political, educational and cultural infrastructure? In short, is it here to stay?

If the current American political discourse is any measure to go by, the answer is, unfortunately, a resounding “Yes!” Congress now contains at least two prominent Muslim American women who have been targeted with threats and hate speech, even within the halls of Congress itself. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.; Palestinian) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.; Somali refugee-immigrant) both identify as Muslim and have commented upon the degree of abuse directed toward them not only from members of the public 18

and media, but also from fellow lawmakers.

In one well-known exchange last November, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) posted a video calling Omar a member of the “jihad squad” and suggested that she would be a safe travel companion only if she were not “wearing a backpack.” The Democratic Congressional leadership swiftly rebuked Boebert; few Republican leaders joined them.

This double-standard in the case of Muslims evinces a clear line between liberal and conservative. And, if Congressional districting really represents a cross-section of the American political spectrum, then roughly half of the country still deems Muslims a threat.

The Republican Representatives’ bigotry is equally troubling. According to a recent Institute for Social Policy and Understanding report, Muslim Americans have been this country’s most vulnerable religious minority for the last five years. In that report, Muslim Americans said they have experienced some form of discrimination based on their religious beliefs “at about [a rate of] 60% between 2016 and 2020.” As evidenced by Boebert and her fellow Republicans’ bigotry, “[t]his is reflected in modern political discourse, where Islamophobic violence, or threats of violence, and overall dehumanization of Muslim individuals have been fueled by political parties and have commonly gone unchecked and uncondemned by prominent political leaders” (Ayah Ziyadeh, Dec. 20, 2021, “War on Elected Muslim Women in the US: Does Institutional Islamophobia Exist?” Politics Today). Even in 2022, Muslim Americans remain condemned to a peripheral status, which begs questions related to the truly liberal nature of American democracy today.

In educational circles, the ugly face of Islamophobia is all too visible. Researching 600+ Muslim students aged 11 to 18 in California’s public education system

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

between 2010 and 2016, CAIR found that more than 55% of them had been bullied because they were Muslim, while 33% of Muslimas reported being “offensively touched” while wearing the hijab. Further, 20% suffered discrimination by a teacher or other staff member for the same reason (Sean McCollum, Spring 2017, “Expelling Islamophobia,” Learning for Justice).

In their comprehensive “Islamophobia in U.S. Education” (2019), Shabana Mir (American Islamic College, Chicago) and

Loukia K. Sarroub (College of Education and Human Sciences, University of NebraskaLincoln) found that Islamophobia is an endemic problem in both secondary and higher education, even in those institutions that pride themselves on cultivating an environment of inclusivity, diversity and acceptance. Since 2016, they have noted a dramatic rise in Islamophobic attacks on school-aged and university students coinciding with an increase in attacks on mosques, Muslim community centers and Muslims themselves. They attributed this to the rise of former President Trump’s racist and xenophobic rhetoric and his Muslim Ban.

Thus emboldened, several of his supporters lashed out at Muslim students and created an environment of fear and trauma.

In my opinion, no discussion of Islamophobia is complete without conducting an assessment of American pop culture and the television, film and other media products that it regularly disseminates to audiences nationwide, given that Hollywood’s contributions to contemporary American culture profoundly influence the country’s moral and ethical value systems.

The last several decades have seen a proliferation of Hollywood films and other cultural products designed to acquire public support

WHILE SEVERAL MARGINALIZED GROUPS NOW ENJOY LEGAL PROTECTION, A QUESTION REMAINS: WHAT ABOUT THE PRACTITIONERS OF CERTAIN RELIGIONS WHO CONTINUE TO ENDURE DISCRIMINATION WITHIN VARIOUS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS?

for Washington’s political and military agendas to remain a hegemonic and ideological actor on the international political stage.

For example, propagandistic movies such as “The Hurt Locker” (2008), “The Kite Runner” (2007), “The Green Zone” (2010), “Lone Survivor” (2013), “Restrepo” (2010), “The Messenger” (2009), “The Kingdom” (2007) and “American Sniper” (2014) have sought to induce large segments of the American populace to endorse and support the armed forces as well as Washington’s wars of choice and, in so doing, to demonize Islam and Muslims worldwide, especially those populations unfortunate enough to be in the path of a recent American invasion.

The groundbreaking book “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People” (2001), a 100-year historical tour of representations of Arabs and Muslims and how Hollywood really began with Orientalist Arab stereotypes, dissected a slanderous history dating from cinema’s earliest days to contemporary Hollywood blockbusters that feature machine-gun wielding and bomb-blowing evil Arabs by Award-winning film authority Prof. Jack G. Shaheen (d. 2017), noting that only Native Americans have been more relentlessly smeared on the silver screen.

Presenting an exciting ahistorical and decontextualized world, one full of car chases, gun fights, near-miss explosions, love affairs, passionate romance and thrilling, high-tech espionage, the “mission” at hand is immediate, critical and, most importantly, righteous. In this myopic value system, a minimized indigenous society is used only as set-props and backdrops. Muslim culture, Middle Eastern societies and local populations are no more than staging material set in place to tell the story of American do-goodery and ethnic and religious supremacy.

In these products, only the white Christian protagonist and his/her allies are not one-dimensional characters. The white hero is reflective and thoughtful, intelligent and responsible. The protagonist has a family, a personal history and is presented as a “complete person” with which the viewing audience can easily relate.

These people make difficult but ultimately righteous life-and-death decisions and are always infused with moral and religious rectitude. However, their non-white Muslim antagonists are expendable and dispensable, and callously disregard their own life and/or that of their families. Why? Because they’re obsessed with martyrdom and prefer

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COVER STORY death and destruction to life, liberty and lawfulness.

As a result, these “sociopaths” prove to American viewing audiences that the Arab, Muslim and Other has less objective human value than the white protagonist and his/her comrades. This differentiation in terms of form, function and, crucially, motivation between the American hero and the Muslim villain provides a video record of racial and cultural stratification reified and sustained by an active, conceptual vocabulary that helps construct subjective and largely inflexible frames of collective association and deflective dissociation — the ever-popular us vs. them.

In our politics, schools and, most certainly, our cultural products, the U.S. promotes the construction of Muslims generally, and of Muslim Americans specifically, as a present Other. These simplistic, often binary constructions derive from our assertions that Muslims like Reps. Tlaib and Omar are decidedly unlike us. They are reified wherever we allow Muslim students to be victimized by bullies and bigots. And they are ubiquitously distributed in our film and TV products, which portray Muslims as having a profound disregard for humanity, the likes of which we simply cannot fathom. Muslims are in the U.S., therefore, but remain outside its mainstream cultural and political spaces. In other words, we allow them into American society, but only in a muted form.

And so, disturbing as it is for those concerned about American racism, Republican neo-fascism, and the true embrace of liberal democracy in the U.S., Islamophobia remains a de facto form of engagement in public institutions. While its documentation and identification may be on the rise, the country and its foundational institutions still have a great deal of work to do when it comes to rectifying these practices and enfolding our Muslim brothers and sisters within the banner of legal protection from discrimination, as is being done for so many other marginalized groups today. ih

WHAT WOULD Y WITH $105,865

Still no cure in sight for a m pre-pandemic virus — Islam

BY ISMAIL ALLISON

$

105,865,763. According to the findings of “Islamophobia in the Mainstream,” the recently published report by the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations (CAIR), this country’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, that’s the amount of money

Luke Peterson, PhD (The University of Cambridge [King’s College]), Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, works on investigating language, media and knowledge surrounding political conflict in the Middle East. He lives in Pittsburgh, where he regularly contributes to local, national and international media.

20

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

received by 26 anti-Muslim organizations between 2017 and 2019.

These organizations are part of what CAIR identifies as the country’s Islamophobia Network, an interconnected, interdependent web of politicians, think tanks, scholars, religious groups and activists who promote

YOU DO 5,763?

malignant mophobia

social media, the press, public hearings, and other avenues.” They also support and advocate for policies that negatively impact Muslims at home and abroad, such as former President Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban. Network groups also enable special interest lobbying by anti-Muslim bigots.

Organizations belonging to the network have targeted local Muslim communities with public displays of animus and bigotry, such as the anti-sharia demonstrations organized by Brigitte Gabriel’s ACT for America.

By promoting anti-Muslim bigotry in politics and the media, the Islamophobia Network creates hostility toward Muslims in society.

Surveys of Muslim students conducted

BECAUSE CONTRIBUTORS TO DAFS ARE FREQUENTLY ANONYMOUS, IT’S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO TRACK FUNDS TO THEIR ULTIMATE SOURCE. CAIR’S REPORT EXPLAINS THAT THE MAINSTREAM DAFS BEING USED TO FUNNEL MONEY TO ISLAMOPHOBIA NETWORK GROUPS MAY NOT EVEN BE AWARE OF WHO THEY’RE FUNDING. anti-Muslim bigotry. Despite their extremism, CAIR’s report demonstrates that this network receives much of its funding through reputable, mainstream charities.

Among these charities are donor-advised funds like the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Foundation and the Schwab Charitable Gift Fund. CAIR’s report explains that donor-advised funds, or DAFs, differ from private foundations in that at their core are private contracts between donors and funds that guarantee the former with immediate tax write-offs and come with no requirement that the contribution be put to charitable uses.

Because contributors to DAFs are frequently anonymous, it’s nearly impossible to track funds to their ultimate source. CAIR’s report explains that the mainstream DAFs being used to funnel money to Islamophobia Network groups may not even be aware of who they’re funding.

So, what does the Islamophobia Network do with all that money? CAIR’s report explains that the recipients use it to spread false information about Islam and Muslims in the U.S. and around the world “through

by CAIR offices in Texas, California and Massachusetts in recent years revealed that Muslim students face high levels of religiously motivated bullying. Many do not feel safe expressing their Muslim identity or contributing to classroom discussions on Islam and Muslims.

CAIR’s report documented 16 antimosque incidents from 2019 to 2020, including incidents of damage, destruction and vandalism, and intimidation and harassment.

The Islamophobia Network’s influence reaches higher than classrooms and houses of worship. CAIR’s report lists 40 instances in which institutional leaders, which it defines as those who hold positions of power and influence within respected institutions, such as a police chief or school board member, posted anti-Muslim content online.

Trump appointed seven individuals with histories of anti-Muslim bigotry to positions of national prominence. Among them was Kayleigh McEnany, appointed White House Press Secretary in 2020. In 2016, she wrote on Twitter that “Obama endlessly preaches tolerance of Islam but

never mentions this — ‘Genocide: Christian Population in Iraq Drops 80% in a Decade.”

In an op-ed she wrote for The Hill in 2017, McEnany criticized (now former) German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2005-21) and other European leaders for allowing Muslim refugees to enter their nations, which, she claimed, “resulted in a culture in crisis — a culture without democratic, freedom-loving identity and constantly under murderous attack from cancers within.”

In May 2020, the U.S. Agency for International Aid (USAID) appointed Mark Kevin Lloyd, who referred to Islam as a “barbaric cult,” as its religious freedom adviser. Trump also appointed Tony Perkins, who has a long history of anti-Muslim rhetoric, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in 2019.

In 2020, Trump appointed white supremacist sympathizer and noted anti-Muslim bigot Sebastian Gorka, who said that terrorism is rooted in Islam and the “martial parts” of the Quran, to the National Security Education Board. He also appointed Charles M. Kupperman, an individual with close ties to individuals and organizations within the Islamophobia Network, as deputy national security adviser.

With anti-Muslim bigotry being promoted by the Islamophobia Network and permeating some of our nation’s most powerful institutions, as well as having a direct negative impact on the lives of American Muslims, CAIR’s report calls on the charitable organizations used by bigots to funnel money to implement clear anti-hate policies to ensure that funds don’t go to hate groups.

CAIR’s report recommends that charities familiarize staff and stakeholders with key network players, hold educational initiatives on anti-Muslim bigotry for staff and board members, and investigate grantmaking procedures to learn if they are being used to funnel money to hate groups.

CAIR also calls on interfaith communities to implement faith-based programs aimed at marginalizing hate speech and anti-Muslim bigotry in local communities.

Speaking at a virtual press conference announcing the publication of his “Islamophobia in the Mainstream,” Huzaifa Shahbaz (research and advocacy coordinator, CAIR) said, “Until we take Islamophobia seriously, we will unfortunately continue to see anti-Muslim bigotry on the rise.” ih Ismail Allison is national communications coordinator at CAIR, Washington, D.C.

MARCH/APRIL 2022 ISLAMIC HORIZONS

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COVER STORY OPINION

POLITICIANS HAVE NO INTEREST IN CHECKING ISLAMOPHOBIA S. AMJAD HUSSAIN

A

nti-Semitism and racism ARE rampant in America, and so is Islamophobia. However, while politicians refrain from uttering anti-Jewish diatribes or racial slurs, no such restraint is exercised when it comes to Islam and Muslims.

Last November Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R., Colo.) called Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D. Minn.) a terrorist, and the congressional Republican leadership looked the other way.

Like the mascot of Motorola’s “His Master’s Voice,” they are enthralled by the voice of their master sitting in Florida pulling the strings.

When some Democratic members of the House proposed a bill to curb Islamophobia, there was fierce opposition along party lines. Should we infer that while the majority of Democrats are against Islamophobia, the other party condones it?

The bill, Combating International Islamophobia Act (H.R. 5665), passed the House along party lines with one Republican joining the majority. The bill envisions the creation of an office in the State Department that would monitor Islamophobia not only in the United States, but across the world. When prejudice and racism become institutionalized, they must be opposed at the national level by enacting pertinent laws. If the Senate passes the bill, President Biden has said he will sign it.

Islamophobia is rampant because Muslims in America lack organizations such as Anti-Defamation League or NAACP, two effective organizations battling anti-Semitism and racism.

The only significant Muslim organization is the Council of American-Islamic Relations. Sometimes CAIR is the only voice pointing out bigotry against Muslims in America.

Some people might say that Islam­ophobia is not a big problem in this country. Those people have not been at the receiving end of hatred and are perhaps unaware of the coordinated efforts by many groups that are actively promoting hatred against Muslims.

There are 41 organizations around the world, as mentioned by Wikipedia, that propagate hate against Muslims. This list includes The Alt-Right, the American Freedom Defense Initiative, ACT! For America, the Christian Action Network, the Jewish Defense League, the Ku Klux Klan, the New Independent Baptist Church, the Stop Islamization of America (with chapters in Denmark, Europe and Norway), and the Hindu Mahasabha.

These organizations are funded by a number of tax-exempt 22

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

organizations. CAIR published a document titled American Philanthropy and the Islamophobia Network that named many well-known organizations. There are 1096 entities — foundations, family funds and individuals — that spend $1.5 billion a year to demean and minimize Muslims in this country and spread falsehoods about their religion.

Among the top donors, as documented by CAIR, are Vanguard Charitable, Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, Jewish Communal Fund, National Christian Foundation, Adelson Family Foundation, Mirowski Family Foundation Inc., and Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism Inc. Ms. Boebert is not the only one hurling insults at Muslims and their religion. In the past decade, as the country has leaned more to the right, Islamophobia has been on the rise. Leading the pack was none other than former President Donald Trump.

On banning some Muslims from entering the United States, he said, “That’s right, we need a travel ban for certain dangerous countries, not some politically correct term that won’t help us protect our people.”

His Attorney General Jeff Sessions had said, “Once again we face a totalitarian threat to the free world. This time it is from ideological and apocalyptic Islam.” He did not weigh in on the insurrection of Jan. 6 last year when a different kind of totalitarian takeover of the government was attempted. Steve Bannon, a one-time Trump adviser, had said that Islam is something much darker than Hitler and the Nazis.

And Michael Flynn, the national security adviser to President Trump, had compared Islam to malignant cancer that had already metastasized. Flynn had the shortest tenure as national security adviser, was convicted of lying to the FBI and later pardoned by President Trump.

Since then, he is supporting and promoting the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory.

All these individuals had served in the previous government.

In November 2017, the Republican National Committee posted an online survey that contained the following questions: 1. Are you concerned by the potential spread of Sharia Law? 2. Do you want to see more done to stop radical Islamic terrorists from coming to our shores?

This is a glaring example of a major political party sowing seeds of Islamophobia.

Many states have passed laws against the Shariah. Had it not been a serious effort to discredit Muslims and Islam, it would be laughable. It was reminiscent of the movie "The Russians are Coming" or Chicken Little screaming that the sky was falling.

It is interesting that in America there are religious courts that administer Catholic canon law and Jewish Halacha law with the consent of litigants.

Islamophobia should be condemned the same way we condemn anti-Semitism and racism. ih S. Amjad Hussain is an emeritus professor of surgery and humanities at the University of Toledo. His column runs every other week in The Ohio Blade.

[Very lightly copyedited and republished with the author’s permission. Originally published in The Ohio Blade, Jan. 19, 2022]

SERVING HUMANITY

Integrating Islamic Space and the Muslim Voice How chaplaincy in American institutions is providing solace to seekers of support in faith

BY RASHEED RABBI

M

uslims in American hospitals, prisons and the armed forces no longer need a scholarly and authoritative imams; rather , they need a pastoral figure who works closely with them to navigate through their struggle spiritually. Unlike typical Imam, who often seemed to offer religious advice and supplications, these chaplains stress on engaging with the care seekers according to their varied religious terms to expand on it and employ their spiritual drives. Muslim chaplains are not always affiliated to any mosque, but appointed by the state and institutions for religious accommodation, advocacy for civil rights and Islamic rehabilitative services to develop an ethos of proactive grassroots peer support system.

Their gender and sectarian affiliations don’t get in the way of their mission. Clothed in hospital gowns, orange-glow jumpsuits or military uniforms, they counsel and fulfill the staff and members’ psycho-spiritual needs and infuse Islam within a rigid Christian framework of pastoral care to establish the new “face of Islam” in American institutes (Understanding Muslim Chaplaincy by Sophie Gilliat-Ray, and Mansur Ali).

Rooted in the Latin pastoralis (related to herdsman or shepherds), pastoral care emerged from the Judeo-Christian tradition of being a “shepherd,” as were Moses and Jesus (‘alyhum as salam), to their respective “flocks.” These professionals usually undergo intensive training under the canonical frame of references of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) to provide spiritual care, professional counseling

Lt. Col. Dawud Agbere, a Muslim chaplain, with his family at the Pentagon iftar (© Army News Service, July 2, 2015)

and psychotherapy to empower and heal their patients.

While the clinical method of pastoral training began in the 1920s, Muslim chaplains have integrated Islamic traditions of pastoral care within their communities for almost six decades with the victory of First Amendment lawsuits in 1960s. Their continued service shifted Islamic chaplaincy’s scope from an occasional “visiting imam” to a resident “Muslim chaplain,” a historical development still unknown to many.

THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHAPLAINCY American chaplaincy traces its origin to the colonial era. During the American Revolution, the U.S. Army hired chaplains, primarily Protestants and “unofficial” Roman Catholics, to protect the First Amendment right of religious freedom. With the Second Constitutional Congress’ support, President George Washington also set a monthly fee of $20, slightly more than a first lieutenant’s pay (http://

www.csmonitor.com/2007/1030/ p25s02-usmi.html).

The pressing wartime situation increased the need for chaplains in subsequent wars. As Muslims started enlisting, Muslim chaplains had to be included. In 1953 Abdallah Igram, a Muslim Lebanese American and World War II Army veteran, began lobbying President Eisenhower to replace the “X” traditionally used for both Islam and no religious affiliation. Eventually, the letter “I” was adopted (https:// beta.prx.org/stories/18895).

In the 1940s, local Nation of Islam (NOI) imams and Muslim community leaders started to visit prisons. Over the next two decades, more organized efforts were made to advocate for Muslim prisoners’ religious rights in the court system and, during the 1960s, to receive religious accommodation (Kowalski, M., & Becker, W. [2015]. A developing profession: Muslim chaplains in American public life. Contemporary Islam, 9(1),17-44. https://doi. org/10.1007/s11562-014-0308-9).

These efforts increased in the 1970s, for more NOI adherents were joining the Army, motivated

by Warith Deen Mohammed’s emphasis on institutional patriotism and mainstream Islam. To meet this new need, in 1993 Abdul Rasheed Muhammad became the first appointed Muslim chaplain to the U.S. Army.

Likewise the MSA, since its inception in1963, has helped Muslim students develop a religious identity, carry on religious dialogue and maintain other faith traditions on campus. More than 600 MSA chapters across the U.S. have silently been providing the underlying framework for Islamic chaplaincy on campuses. With the MSA’s continued visibility and growing number of Muslim students on urban campuses, university officials felt compelled to invest in Muslim chaplains. In 1999, Georgetown University hired the first full-time Muslim chaplain (Kowalski & Becker, 2015). Later, Brown, Princeton, Yale, Duke and other universities followed suit.

Over the last 30 years, chaplaincy has been evolving in other areas as well, like agriculture, sports, fire services and airports and grew as a tax-funded institution. Today, our chaplains are an equal stakeholder in shaping this new frontier.

A UNIQUE SPACE AND VOICE TO CARRY FORWARD This country’s diverse religious demographic has made chaplaincy an interfaith and religiously pluralistic profession. However, being non-proselytizing and based on compassion and introspection, chaplaincy facilitates a uniquely welcoming space in multifaith environments. This role’s very nature also enables chaplains to integrate the competing notions of Islam, Muslim communities and culture in the American political and religious landscapes.

While their institutional attachment broadens Islam’s global space, the chaplains’ connection to local mosques and Muslim communities also instills a safe interpersonal space for care-seekers to nurture an active connection to the greater Muslim community. Based on their tenureship,

MARCH/APRIL 2022 ISLAMIC HORIZONS

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SERVING HUMANITY chaplains’ roles continue to shape institutional policies, staff training and development and improve Muslims’ networks and theological maturity.

In some prisons or hospitals, Muslim chaplains are perhaps the only Muslims that other staff meet on a regular basis. Their presence is equally crucial on university campuses. Regardless of where they serve, these professionals adopt Islamic terminology to express their role and vision for Muslim communities.

Formed in 2011 to promote future research and development in the field of Islamic chaplaincy, the Association of Muslim Chaplains’ (AMC) webpage highlights four values: 1) ikhlas (sincerity) for others as fi sabil Allah (for the sake of God), 2) nasiha (good counsel) predicated upon religious responsibility, 3) rahma (mercy) to reflect the Prophet’s (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) example and 4) haya’ (dignity) to demonstrate modesty, respect, honor, good morals and humility before God and care-seekers.

Such translation of Arabic jargon to Western caregiving and appropriation of Islamic theology to pastoral care through chaplaincy pervasively put an Islamic voice into U.S. institutions.

Leading Muslim chaplains make this voice louder by reinterpreting and relating the scriptural sources and anecdotes to modern pastoral settings. For example, Harvard University’s Dr. Khalil Abdur-Rashid reiterated 12:3555 through the chaplaincy lens, explaining how Prophet Yusuf (‘alayhi as salam) gave dawah in prison and later professionalized his spiritual venture by becoming a state employee.

Similarly, Dr. Bilal Ansari (director for Islamic chaplaincy, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace [HIURP; formerly Hartford Seminary]), relates Prophet Muhammad’s role to pastoral care services. To him, Moses’ experiences in Mada’in were extended and culminated in Prophet Muhammad’s exemplary practices, who was, and still is the Muslim communities’ arbitrator of the best spiritual conduct.

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(Late) Imam Ghayth-Nur Kashif, chairman of the Council of Imams of Washington, and a Korean War veteran, who helped negotiate for the chaplainship.

ACKNOWLEDGING MUSLIM RIGHTS AND INTEGRATING ISLAM DREW MORE ATTENTION IN 1970S, WHEN INCREASING NOI ADHERENTS WERE JOINING THE ARMY, MOTIVATED BY WARITH DEEN MOHAMMED, WHO STRESSED BOTH INSTITUTIONAL PATRIOTISM AND MAINSTREAM ISLAM. Comparing the Prophet’s early Companions with contemporary converted communities, Ansari further relates the tahajjud prayer, performed by the new Muslims in Makkah, as indicative of their identity and “a mandatory spiritual exercise of intimacy and discipline” (Pastoral Care and Counseling: Redefining the Paradigms [2004], pp. 21-24). These creative reassessments help promote the Islamic voice in pastoral care settings.

This voice also finds new channels through its empirical programs. For example, Northern Virginia’s iNova Hospital’s NODA (No One Die Alone) initiative ensures the presence

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

of chaplains with dying patients and profoundly blurs cultural and religious boundaries to extend Muslim space in compassionate services. While adding more visibility to the Muslims’ funeral services and mourning traditions, NODA also ascertains that the institution hears and acknowledges the reasoning underlying specific Islamic practices.

As a result, more universities are adopting Islamic Spiritual Care classes. This year, HIURP celebrated its 20th anniversary of accredited Islamic chaplaincy.

Dr. Ingrid Mattson, a former ISNA president, pioneered this program after 9/11 with a twin vision to train Muslim chaplains and to develop Islamic chaplaincy as a discipline. The American Islamic College, the Bayan Islamic Graduate School and the Islamic Seminary of America have also developed innovative programs to integrate Islamic theology with psychotherapeutic theories and modalities to meet the needs of both students and institutions.

While chaplaincy in the military, prisons, universities and other institutions require a single unit of CPE or 400 hours of clinical training, hospital chaplaincy requires a graduate theological degree and 1,600 of CPE training. Increasing numbers of students are committing to these new programs along with the lengthy CPE training to master emerging avenues to embed Islam in the U.S.. Several Muslim endorsing organizations have also stepped forward to align their qualifications within rigid federal guidelines.

THE DISTINCT DYNAMIC OF MUSLIM AMERICAN LEADERSHIP Both in form and function, Muslim chaplains manifest their calling by religious conviction, institutional processes and mainstream society’s expectations. For them, the separation between church and state appears beneficial, as Khalid Latif (executive director and chaplain, New York University) noted, for this allows the interplay religious pluralism, constitutional freedom, multifaith care and interfaith dialogue

without governmental interference (Harvey Stark, “Looking for Leadership: Discovering American Islam in the Muslim Chaplaincy,” 2015, p. 215).

Their acquired understanding of institutional dynamics and politics, collaboration with multi-faith colleagues, along with coordinating counseling and care, constitute a distinct skillset for professional religious leadership. Hence, it’s not surprising that chaplains are often viewed as “credible Muslim role models” in Muslim American communities (Understanding Muslim Chaplaincy, by Sophie Gilliat-Ray, and Mansur Ali, p. 132).

This preference comes particularly from their transformative style of leadership. While they are adjusting to and translating an inherently American profession, along with an historically Protestant practice, Islamic concepts are also being translated into and for an American context to frame the chaplaincy for Muslim professionals. Such an approach connotes a fluid process of interpretation and examination of how religious leaders can understand their roles and develop new tactics to communicate faith.

An added benefit here is that Muslim chaplains are considered part of the solution, unlike imams and Muslim religious leaders, whom the media often portray as part of the problem. Chaplaincy simultaneously resolves that liminality of traditional imams and relocates them from the unhealthy hierarchy of Muslim leadership to harness immanent spirituality throughout the community. With its steady growth, academic endorsements, embedded authority in individual institutions and professionalism, Islamic pastoral care and Muslim chaplains is no more a glimmer of hope, but a sustaining future of Muslim leadership in the U.S. ih Rasheed Rabbi, an IT professional, who is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry from Boston University, followed by an MA in religious studies (2016) and Islamic Chaplaincy (2017) from Hartford Seminary, is also founder of e-Dawah (www. edawah.net) and secretary of the Association of Muslim Scientists, Engineers & Technology Professionals. He serves as a khateeb at the ADAMS Center and a Muslim chaplain at iNova Fairfax, iNovaLoudoun and multiple Detention Centers in Northern Virginia.

A Caravan on the Road to Becoming Fully Human Muslim chaplaincy promotes a deliberative Islamic theology to embrace religion pragmatically

BY RASHEED RABBI

Chaplains meet at the ISNA Convention

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umi’s caravan to debunk despair (39:54 — Come, Come,/ Whoever you are / Wanderer, idolater, worshipper of fire / Come even though you have broken / Your vows a thousand times / Come and Come yet again, ours is not a caravan of despair) and uphold compassionately comprehensive Islam is perhaps advancing professionally by Muslim American chaplains, who extend their heartiest welcome to all, from the oft-returning inmates to the atheists. They are always vigilant to stimulate our hidden longing for God, especially when we struggle to make sense of loss and suffering in hospitals, crises on the battlefields, isolation in prisons, overwhelming circumstances on campuses and other moments of vulnerability.

In their capacity as public institution appointees, chaplains offer both emotional space and a safety net to careseekers so they can open up or even release emotional outbursts, such as, “Why did it happen to me?”

This oft-silent burning question becomes evident in ways that chaplains are masters at discerning, and thereby enable careseekers

to confront their sufferings in the light of religion to conquer despondency, disillusionment and despair. In such situations, the latter’s first attempts to provide answers reveal the raw presuppositions of the God– human relationship that shape their entire lives and everyday activities. In pastoral terms, this is known as embedded theology.

MUSLIM CHAPLAINS CREATE RECURRING GROUNDS TO EXEMPLIFY THE DRILL OF EVALUATING THE BELIEFS WE’VE TAKEN FOR GRANTED TO LET US CONTINUOUSLY EXPERIENCE BOTH OF THE IMMANENT AND THE TRANSCENDENT GOD.

A common example of this is the unconscious affirmation when we Muslims learn of someone’s death: “Verily, we belong to God, and to Him are we destined to return” (2:156). This Islamic expression potentially wraps up our memories, beliefs, feelings, values and hope (Howard Stone and James Duke. 1996. “How to Think Theologically,” p.15), waiting to be explored. To that end, chaplains step forward with a systematic approach to unpack these elements, an undertaking that starts with lending a compassionate shoulder to the grieving friends and families so they can unburden their memories, the primary reason for dwelling in denial.

Even Umar al-Khattab was in denial when he heard of the Prophet’s (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) demise. Many such narratives help resituate a grieving person’s faith-based conviction that no death is untimely because the exact time of one’s birth and death is divinely predetermined and appointed. This process of correlating prophetic narrations and sacred stories with careseekers’ memory, which involves reflecting together to evaluate and reorient their understanding of faith as well as expanding upon it further and/or synthesizing a new one, is called deliberative theology. Although Islamic theology differs from its Christian counterpart, the above process facilitates a discourse that simultaneously includes our creed, worship and rituals, ethics and law to exercise our jurisprudential scholars’ legal reasoning.

Thus, Muslim American chaplains are helping us travel with a caravan working its way toward a revived mode of Islamic theology. There’s no barrier to boarding this caravan. Chaplains enjoy handling all skepticism and reservations with relentless enthusiasm to engage in godly discourse. At the moment of initial shock or the denial of it, becoming aware of embedded theology functions as an antidote for despair, and examining it with a mentor exudes the courage to evaluate and develop new beliefs so that one can better relate to his/her suffering. Both chaplains and careseekers engage in this process of deliberative theology to bring God into the midst of the latter’s experiences of loss, crisis and struggle.

Being accrued over time, unquestioned and even unspoken, it’s easy to carry the embedded theology for years. However, this unintentionally accrued theology developed in a Western society could be at odds with Islam, a reality that Muslim chaplains also try

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SERVING HUMANITY to address. For example, during the diagnosis of a terminal illness, the patient’s family often contends that disclosing it could cause unnecessary pain and suffering. This perception is widely held in Muslim communities as well.

In response, Muslim chaplains refer to the Prophet’s heart-touching story of when God disclosed his impending death. Although the manner of being informed could be specific to him, his experience demonstrates that the patient’s right to know is universal. The Prophet also hinted about the death of Fatima (radi Allahu ‘anh), his only surviving daughter, who passed away within six months of her father’s demise.

Although knowing the truth is shocking, the vigor of a sudden shock stokes a fuller awareness of a situation that chaplains capitalize on for their patients to theologize more deliberatively about their experience of God and relate their sufferings.

Doing so helps us find either the immanent God we have known all along, or the transcendent God who reveals anew by removing the veils of ambiguity. Muslim chaplains create recurring grounds to exemplify the drill of evaluating the beliefs we’ve taken for granted to let us continuously experience both of the immanent and the transcendent God. As a way to embrace this practice more pervasively, Muslim chaplains frequently personify God by mentioning His beautiful names (7:180; 20:8), among them the Resurrector (al-Ba‘ith), the EverLiving (al-Hayy), the Self Existing (al-Qayyum), the Giver of Life (al-Muhyi), the First (al-Awwal), the Last (al-Akhir), the Subduer (al-Qahhar) and the Taker of Life (al-Mumit). Interestingly, these names are often known as tanzih (transcendent) and tashbih (immanent) (journals.sfu.ca/rpfs/index.php/ rpfs/article/view/234) and function as a bridge between two disparate worlds — faith and reason, belief and knowledge, beauty and truth, divine and human — to become a complete human being.

The more we can tolerate the complexity and ambiguity of deliberative theology, the more rewarding will be our journey on this caravan to experience God. It rekindles our conscientiousness, an inborn longing to live a life “that witnesses to God in the most fitting way possible” (Stone and Duke. p.1819). Such a renewed conscientiousness is the moral basis for a lasting relationship with God, one that enables to withstand life’s complexity and vulnerability, and its resulting theological perspectives can be used pragmatically to serve as a social basis for strategies seeking healing, equality and justice. ih Rasheed Rabbi, an IT professional who earned an MA in religious studies (2016) from Hartford Seminary and is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry from Boston University, is also founder of e-Dawah (www.edawah.net) and secretary of the Association of Muslim Scientists, Engineers & Technology Professionals.

He serves as a khateeb and Friday prayer leader at the ADAMS Center and a certified Muslim chaplain at iNova Fairfax, iNovaLoudoun and Virginia’s Alexandria and Loudoun Adult Detention Centers.

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ENVIRONMENT How to Improve our Report Card with the Earth Simple steps for a better record on Judgement Day

BY ROMY SHARIEFF

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rayers are sometimes answered in real time. For example, I asked for inspiration on how to incorporate certain Islamic principles into my everyday life, and Quran 99:4 was my answer. Loosely translated, it says: “On that Day, Earth will declare her news.”

It instilled a sense of awakening. Had my thoughts and actions been kind toward Earth? Would it testify for or against me? What behaviors could I change to encourage a favorable testimony? Recycling seemed like an appropriate and easy first step. But as the bins filled up, Earth seemed to say, “Stop making waste.”

Our throwaway culture, known as a linear economy, has created an environmental crisis that impacts our most precious resources — soil, air and water. From the toxins produced in the manufacturing of packaging, such as plastics, to the 100 million trees destroyed annually for unread junk mail, to the non-degradable polystyrene that litters our communities and collects in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch; from beginning to end, the consequences of a single use disposal lifestyle are already visible and detailed on the National Geographic’s website. One grim forecast is that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans. While some suggest that a circular economy with innovative packaging are key elements of the solution, prevention is still better than cure (Woolven, J. [2021]. “The solution to the plastic pollution.” Ellen MacArthur Foundation).

For example, single-use materials such as disposal containers, utensils, latex balloons and straws make up the largest percent of debris found in coastal cleanup efforts according to Katie Register of Virginia Clean Waterways. She explains, “Yes, we have to recycle, but we can’t recycle our way out of this problem… If you walk into your bathroom and the bathtub is overflowing with water, the first thing you do is not grab a mop…you turn off the faucet, then you start cleaning up.”

So how do we as individual Muslims make a difference? In three simple steps: • Refuse junk mail. For $2, DMAchoice.org allows a household to stop receiving most junk mail. To stop credit card offers for free, visit optoutprescreen. com. This once-and-done step takes less than 10 minutes and can save up to 41 lbs. of junk mail per household each year. Consult https://www.consumer.ftc. gov/articles/how-stop-junk-mail.

• Bring your own reusable bag. Adopting a new pattern of behavior is worth the commitment. The website www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/ estimates that one person will use approximately 22,000 disposable plastic shopping bags in his/her lifetime. Some statistics estimate that only 1% is recycled. Using reusable

bags, would keep the other 99% of disposable plastic bags out of landfills and waterways, thereby protecting wildlife.

• Install a faucet water filter. In addition to filtering industrial toxins, filling a reusable bottle when going out can save an average of 156 plastic bottles per person per year. If you must buy a drink, consider a can which has a higher recycling rate than plastic according to www.epa.gov.

Mosques and Islamic schools across the country can make a significant impact as well. Aliya Farooq (member, the Virginia Governor’s Council on Environmental Justice; chair, Virginia Interfaith Power and Light) says these are the top three priorities to lead our communities in sustainable practices:

WHAT BEHAVIORS COULD I CHANGE TO ENCOURAGE A FAVORABLE TESTIMONY? RECYCLING SEEMED LIKE AN APPROPRIATE AND EASY FIRST STEP. BUT AS THE BINS FILLED UP, THE EARTH SEEMED TO SAY, “STOP MAKING WASTE.” • One khutba (at least) a year on environmental stewardship. Lack of environmental education and shifting priorities are additional obstacles in convincing Muslims to act in a more sustainable way. For example, the recent Afghani refugee crisis has been an important focus, but action can still move forward on other initiatives. “As leaders of the masjids, the imam can steer the administration [and community] in the right direction.” says Farooq. Email lists and organizational social media can also be leveraged to distribute Earth-friendly tips on a regular basis.

• Ban Styrofoam. “Unlike plastics, Styrofoam can’t be recycled and it’s known to be harmful to health,” she adds. The policy also needs to include private and sponsored functions at the facility.

• Create Green teams. Another challenge facing Muslim organizations is lack

of continuity. “Each time the administration changes… the views of the person in charge filters in,” says Farooq.

Establishing Green teams provides continuity and keeps the momentum going in waste reduction strategies. For example, prior to the pandemic, the Islamic Center of Virginia stopped providing single-use plastic water bottles, opting to sell refillable bottles at a minimal cost before Ramadan. At the same time, the masjid, updated the water fountain with a bottle filling station.

This innovation reduced iftar expenses and significantly decreased the amount of plastic waste created by the facility. Farooq suggests that the team can implement other green policies such as sensor water faucets, LED lights, community gardens or planting trees.

But how do we convince individuals and communities to act? Islam asks us to act upon belief regardless of what others are doing. But change is hard: so what’s the incentive? “All the motivation in our religion is based on one thing, and that’s our Aakhira” says Farooq. “We have to answer to God. How are we going to answer? ‘I didn’t have time, I didn’t care, it wasn’t my problem?’ This world is a blessing for us. It’s a gift and we’re going to be held accountable for what we did with this world and how we left it.”

We sometimes underestimate the impact of one person’s actions both now and in the future. My prayer now is that everyone reading this adopts at least one of these changes so we can witness what that impact will be. ih Romy Sharieff, a licensed midwife and former ambassador to Midwives For Haiti, is the founding contributor of the Bryan J. Westfield Scholarship.

ENVIRONMENT

Greening Our Ramadan

God has presented a time to learn and it should be utilized to help our planet too

BY ISNA GREEN INITIATIVE TEAM

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amadan presents the perfect opportunity to recharge our spiritual batteries by seeking forgiveness for our shortcomings and reflecting upon God’s signs in creation. As stewards of this planet, we’re responsible to ensure a sustainable environment.

Record heat waves, wildfires, drought, storms and flooding have shown that climate change is here and getting worse. The extreme weather we faced last year should serve as a warning sign of what will happen if we ignore another public health crisis.

Scientists have been warning for years that extreme weather is going to become more frequent and severe. This past summer alone, 1 in 3 Americans personally suffered its impact.

Since 2015, the ISNA Green Initiative Team (https://isna.net/isna-green-initiative/) has organized “Greening Our Ramadan” campaigns to encourage environmentally friendly practices wherever we are in order to reduce our carbon footprint and become responsible stewards.

This month of merciful divine blessings, when the Quran’s revelation began, is a month of submission for spiritual uplifting, balance and control of physical desires; of UNFORTUNATELY, MUSLIMS STILL WASTE A fasting and remembering the less fortunate; of focusing on charity and self-control so CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF FOOD AND WATER we can better reflect upon our stewardship DURING RAMADAN BECAUSE RECYCLING HAS NOT and ask: “What are we doing to our environYET BECOME A HABIT. AND YET DESPITE ment and ourselves? Where are we going?

And why?”

THIS, A NEW GLOBAL MUSLIM TRADITION According to 6:165, “And it is He who has IS SLOWLY ARISING … made you successors upon Earth and has raised some of you above others in degrees (of rank) that He may try you through what He has given you…” Simply stated, 6:38 proclaims the humanity is responsible for safeguarding the environment — all of or an animal eats from it, is regarded as having perits resources, ecosystems and communities, and a hadith reminds us, “Earth has formed a charitable deed” (“Sahih al-Bukhari,” book been made a mosque for me, and a thing to purify (to perform tayammum)” 41, hadith no. 1).

Unfortunately, Muslims still waste a considerable (“Sahih al-Bukhari,” book 8, hadith no. 87).

Therefore, we must preserve our planet and learn to live with all non-human amount of food and water during Ramadan because communities in a balanced way so that we can become an eco-friendly umma. recycling has not yet become a habit. And yet despite We introduced an ISNA Green Home Guide rubric as a tool for estab- this, a new global Muslim tradition is slowly arising, lishing a baraka-based (praising of God) rating system that quantifies your one that aligns with the well-known verse: “For it is He who has brought into being gardens “greening of Ramadan” through various types of praise (e.g., tasbih, tahmid, — [both] the cultivated ones and those growing wild tahlil and takbir).

We plan to release informational updates on www.isna.net. All participants will — the date-palm, fields bearing multiform produce, receive a certificate, and the environmental advocacy Pen and Inkpot Foundation the olive tree and the pomegranate: [all] resembling will plant a tree on behalf of your mosque, Islamic center, or home. As the hadith one another and yet so different! Eat of their fruit says: “Every Muslim who plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, a person when it comes to fruition and give [the poor] their 28

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

due on harvest day. Do not waste [God’s bounties]: Verily, He does not love the wasteful!” (6:141).

Abdullah ibn Amr reported that one day the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) passed by Sa‘d while he was performing ablution and asked, “What is this excess?” Sa‘d asked, “Is there excessive use of water in ablution?” The Prophet replied, “Yes, even if you were on the banks of a flowing river” (“Sunan Ibn Majah,” hadith no. 425). Therefore, let’s be more environmentally conscious, socially responsible and compassionate while fasting.

Every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost 248 million tons, the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (254 million tons) (http:// www.fao.org/; May 11, 2011). Feeding America reports that 72 billion pounds of food is wasted, while 50 million people may have been hungry in 2020 and that a further 52 billion pounds from manufacturers, grocery stores and restaurants end up in landfills (https://www.feedingamerica.org/).

The total generation of municipal solid waste in 2018 was 292.4 million tons. Of this, plastics amounted to 35 million tons (12.2%), reported the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (epa.gov).

As we fast, let’s reaffirm our sense of self-restraint and accountability to the Creator, the Provider of Sustenance, and adopt green practices by engaging in some of the following actions.

• Reduce food waste and overconsumption. Eat more fruit and vegetables and less meat. Remember that the Prophet ate mostly grains, dates, water, milk, honey, vegetables, and fruits. Take only what you can finish, eat moderately and don’t waste food, for the Prophet advised us that one “cannot fill a vessel worse than his/her stomach” and that he/she should fill one-third of it with food, one-third with drink and one-third with air (“Sunan al-Tirmidhi,” hadith no. 2380).

• Recycle material, especially plastic water bottles. Plastics now take up 25-30% of our landfills. In the U.S., 1,500 plastic water bottles are used every second; of these, 70% never make it to a recycling bin (https://drinkopenwater. com/). Minimize the use of plastics, most of which have a long decomposition life, by replacing them with rapidly biodegradable or paper products. Avoid all Styrofoam, which can remain intact for over a thousand of years (https://sciencing. com/longstyrofoam-break-down-5407877.html).

• Bring your own reusable water bottles and mugs to iftar and tarawih events, because 80% of plastic bottles are not recycled.

• Replace light bulbs with energy-saver LED bulbs. Consider working toward an Energy Star certification for your facility, installing solar panels and using light sensors. Reduce your use of water, even when making wudu’. Use low flow, Energy Star plumbing fixtures and sensors. Think about planting a garden or a potted plant. Maybe try growing some of your own food. Plant a tree, which is considered a charitable act. Read about the Prophet’s medicine and natural herbal remedies (https://www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC3447072/).

• Buy fair-trade products. Get a daily dose of vitamin D by walking during the day. Join civic activities and/or community social projects, volunteer at homeless shelters, collect food for food pantries, invite non-Muslims to community and home dinners, and take care of Muslim inmates in nearby jails. Involve children and youth in age-appropriate Ramadan activities, such as serving as Green ambassadors during community dinners.

• Ask your khateeb to deliver at least one Friday khutba on the Quranic imperative to conserve and protect the environment and its social good. Conduct Energy Star training and appoint/elect a community green coordinator.

Team members recently collaborated with the Environmental Protection Agency and compiled the “First Energy Star Booklet for Muslim Communities” (www.energystar.gov/) to explain how to make buildings more energy efficient.

Over the years, we have conducted many webinars; given awards for community participation; participated in Earth Week; and worked with IMANA, MANA, Interfaith Power & Light, GreenFaith, Wisconsin Green Muslims and similar organizations. We have also made presentations at ISNA conventions, conferences and forums. ISNA encourages all communities to form a local Green Initiative Team and have a Green Ramadan.

Ramadan is a roadmap to achieving balance with the environment. Let’s use it to reflect and act upon our stewardship, refresh our tawakkul and make our outward actions reflect the envisioned balance. Let’s save Earth’s resources and communities from the waste, mass pollution, global climate change, species extinction, habitat loss, ecosystem degradation, unsustainable farming and rising zoonotic diseases caused by our negligent actions. Let’s do our best to reduce the negative impacts that fall on the most vulnerable, many of whom live in the inner cities. Although they are the least responsible, they pay a disproportionate price in terms of the ensuing harm and negative health impacts. May God help us celebrate a greener Ramadan this year.

We ask you to join us and thank all mosques and households who have participated in previous Green Ramadan campaigns.

To receive your ISNA Home and/or Masjid Rubric, please register at www. isna.net. ih ISNA Green Initiative Team: Huda Alkaff, Saffet Catovic, Nana Firman, Uzma Mirza and Saiyid Masroor Shah (chair)

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ENTERPRISE Building a Muslim-Run E-Commerce Business in the U.S. A personal care incident leads to an experience, joy and fulfilment

BY RABIYAH SYED

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ast October, a MUSLIM AMERICAN small business excitedly announced, “We landed in Italy!”

The celebrant was Mango Creek (www.mangocreek.net), a Northern Virginia home-based business founded and run by Mohammad H. Burney and his wife, Hina Jawed, who make all-natural and organic body and self-care products and candles.

Along with Mango Creek, Burney, a software engineer by day, is also the founder of Seemi’s Confections — a halal, handmade gourmet chocolate boutique.

As the pandemic continues to drive e-commerce retail to new levels, Burney has carved his niche online by handcrafting all-natural, preservative-free products made with ethically sourced and certified organic ingredients. The driving force behind every Mango Creek product is to lessen customers’ dependency on harsh chemical-laden products that have known long-term harmful effects.

Mango Creek’s story started with an unfortunate allergic reaction to an organic body product. After consulting with a doctor, the couple discovered that although a product may be labeled organic or natural, it can still contain harmful ingredients. Their ensuing research led them to start making their own soaps and candles. Slowly replacing their off-the-shelf personal products with their own creations, they shared the excess with friends and family.

Burney says that “there was initially no intention to start a business. But as we continued to receive positive feedback, we slowly 30

during Ramadan 2018 and fills a need for halal gourmet chocolates. Their Eid chocolate boxes turned out to be a resounding success, with shipments to over 28 states.

Now in its fourth year, Seemi’s continues to provide a varied selection of gourmet treats catering for all occasions.

RAISING THE BAR ON PRODUCT QUALITY

WITH THE GROWING SUCCESS OF MANGO CREEK, BURNEY DECIDED TO PURSUE HIS LONG-TERM INTEREST IN AND PASSION FOR THE CULINARY ARTS. THE RESULT — SEEMI’S CONFECTIONS (WWW. SEEMISCONFECTIONS.COM) — BEGAN DURING RAMADAN 2018 AND FILLS A NEED FOR HALAL GOURMET CHOCOLATES. THEIR EID CHOCOLATE BOXES TURNED OUT TO BE A RESOUNDING SUCCESS, WITH SHIPMENTS TO OVER 28 STATES.

started adding more variety in our soaps, and candles and finally decided to launch in January 2018.”

When they first started, Mango Creek only made candles and soaps. Over time, however, they have expanded into creating whipped body butters, lotion bars, bath bombs and a full range of men’s grooming products. They continue to add new products to their existing 30+ distinct items.

With the growing success of Mango Creek, Burney decided to pursue his longterm interest in and passion for the culinary arts. The result — Seemi’s Confections (www.seemisconfections.com) — began

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

Making quality products can be time consuming. Burney explains that each product went through a long trial-and-error period before it attained the desired quality.

Although the process is now quicker, due to the perfected recipes, the manufacturing process still takes time because many of the products require multiple steps. For example, while making soap only takes two hours per batch, it needs approximately one month to cure. Candles, hand-poured a dozen at a time, require two weeks to cure. The creation of these products is truly a family operation.

While Burney and his wife are responsible for making the products, their sons, aged 13, 10 and 6, contribute by helping with packaging, shipping and inventory management – and also double as taste testers for the chocolates! As Hani ibn Niyar reported, “Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said that the best type of working and earning is [that] for which a man works with his hands and does honest trading” (“Ibn Hanbal” and “Musnad Ahmad” 15523).

Burney takes great pride in telling us, “We use only the best ingredients when creating our products — whether for Mango Creek or Seemi’s Confections.” They source their products from other small U.S. businesses that procure certified organic raw materials worldwide. Additionally, many of the ingredients are also Fairtrade.

Fairtrade guarantees fair wages and treatment of workers and ensures ethically sourced and produced products. A FAIRTRADE mark signifies that the product has met stringent international standards.

The fair-trade system is also aligned with the Quran’s command: “And to the people of Midian We sent their brother Shu’aib. He said, “O my people! Worship God — you have no other god except Him. A clear proof has already come to you from your Lord.

So, give just measure and weight, do not defraud people of their property, nor spread corruption in the land after it has been set in order. This is for your own good if you are [truly] believers” (7:85).

Growing Food that Feeds the Body and Soul Halal Pastures Farms was born out of a professional couple’s desire to feed their family wholesome food

BY DIANE SALEH

As a growing business, like many small businesses Mango Creek faces various challenges. Burney admits, “Getting the word out continues to be the biggest hurdle.” Despite having a social media presence and website for both brands, he states, attracting potential clients in a crowded market takes a lot of effort. In addition to their online presence, they can also be found at various farmers markets, as well as at craft and holiday markets in the Northern Virginia area.

Their efforts recently resulted in a major milestone: acquiring an international presence. A boutique in Italy has become the first overseas retailer to carry a variety of Mango Creek products. Burney and his team hope to continue expanding abroad, “Canada is something we are quite interested in, with its proximity and ease of transporting goods, although we are open to all overseas markets.”

WHY MUSLIMS SHOULD SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES

Mango Creek is classified as a small business, an economic sector considered the heart of the American economy. According to the U.S. Office of Advocacy, 44% percent of the country’s economy is fueled by small businesses and, as of 2020, they employ 47% of all American workers. As Muslims, we need to diversify our buying across the many amazing small businesses in our community.

The pandemic, which continues to adversely affect everyone, has hit small businesses especially hard. Supporting them not only provides growth opportunities, but also enables our communities to thrive. ih Rabiyah Syed, a student at Naperville Central, loves photography and aspires to be a speech pathologist.

Malaak, 9, Noah, 3 and Salahudeen, 2, lend a hand to their parents on the farm.

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ne night my husband Samer and I were sitting in our apartment in Queens, N.Y., reading how Egypt had rejected several tons of genetically modified corn coming from the U.S. He was a fund manager, and I had been practicing corporate law. The only label we looked for when shopping was halal. The article made us curious. Why would a country with a largely poor population turn away food?

This was about a decade ago, before most people like us had heard of genetically modified organisms (GMO). We immediately started digging, researching genetically modified foods and learned how unhealthy and even dangerous they could be to our bodies. The Quran commands us to “not alter God’s creation” (4:119). From that point forward, we stopped eating GMO food and even produce and meat coming from farms that used commercial and chemical pesticides, growth hormones and synthetic fertilizers. But the best way to ensure that our family was eating tayyab (pure), was to grow it ourselves. Organically. Halal Pastures was born out of a need to feed our family wholesome food.

Owning and operating a farm is both rewarding and challenging. We have been growing our farm for the last seven years and , God bless, it continues to grow. And since we both continue to work full-time and now have children, there are days when we’re in the field before sunrise or when I’m on the phone with a federal judge while a rooster’s

crowing in the background, a warning that a predator is nearby.

Samer always says that family farming means just that — a farm run by a family.

By having a family involved, we don’t have to worry so much about labor. Our siblings, parents, friends and cousins have helped us plant hundreds of seeds, till the land, harvest, build our greenhouse and high tunnel — a structure tall enough for a tractor to work in, where plants grow right in the ground as they would in a garden — feed the animals and run the farm’s day-to-day operations.

We had to learn about our land and animals. For example, not all vegetables do well in the same plot. Corn, for example, did not grow well for us. We also have an ongoing battle with cucumber beetles, which seem to love our cucumbers that grow outside. Granted, they have the upper hand because we don’t use chemical pesticides. We had our soil tested for its nutrient composition and tried a variety of seeds to see what grows well and what doesn’t.

It took years of trial and error to learn which vegetables blossomed on our land.

We also learned about how animals need to thrive naturally. Watching our goats give birth was one of the more incredible moments to witness. Subhan Allah, a goat can have up to three kids (i.e., babies). The mother cares for her kid just like we care for our children. We would place her and the kid in the barn so they could bond and enjoy some quiet time. It was no different than what a human mother would do with

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ENTERPRISE her own newborn. Our daughter Malaak, at that time a toddler, learned about birth from watching this part of life, which to her was just another day on the farm.

The pandemic has been difficult for our farm. Last year, lumber prices increased so much that we had to put off certain projects, such as building a bigger barn and fencing part of the land. The cost of organic grains for chicken feed also increased. Our organic seed deliveries were delayed due to the sheer volume of orders the supplier was receiving, so we ended up planting later in the season.

Alhamdu lillah, everything worked out in the end because we were able to sell the vegetables at our farmer’s market. We also have a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) that allows people to share in our weekly harvest.

The organizations we relied on to help us get started included Stone Barn Farms — a nonprofit farm and educational center — and Cornell Cooperative Extension. They have classes about farming techniques. For example, we learned that adding vinegar and garlic to our chickens’ water keeps them healthy by strengthening their immune systems. There is a plethora of YouTube videos to help troubleshoot issues such as how to keep spider mites from eating the crops grown in the high tunnel. After a lot of research, we learned that their predator was the ladybug. So, we bought 3,000 ladybugs and released them in the high tunnel. Problem solved.

Talking to other experienced farmers, such as Muslim-owned Norwich Meadows Farms, has been great in sharing ways to improve our yields. Haifa and Zaid Kurdieh, one of the most experienced, hardworking, and successful farming couples we have the pleasure of knowing, encouraged us as we learned the ropes.

A big part of what we do is providing certified organic and certified halal meat.

Those who come to our farm, regardless of religion, do so because they want food from animals that are raised sustainably and slaughtered humanely. In addition to our own farming, we work with farmers who help raise our animals for slaughter. They are USDA-certified organic and like us, small family enterprises.

We have a very strong relationship with our farmers and share similar philosophies about raising animals humanely, sustainably, organically and naturally. Our cows, lambs, chickens and turkeys are all certified organic.

Our livestock is also 100% grass-fed. We are now raising our goat herd and, insha Allah, 32

Malaak giving bird care

A BIG PART OF WHAT WE DO IS PROVIDING CERTIFIED ORGANIC AND CERTIFIED HALAL MEAT. THOSE WHO COME TO OUR FARM, REGARDLESS OF RELIGION, DO SO BECAUSE THEY WANT FOOD FROM ANIMALS THAT ARE RAISED SUSTAINABLY AND SLAUGHTERED HUMANELY. hope to have certified organic goats as well.

Organic certification is important because it ensures, at a minimum, that the animals and poultry were raised humanely, given non-GMO grains, received no growth hormones and had no contact with any synthetic fertilizers. General USDA guidelines allow animals to be fed with GMO grains and growth hormones and do not ensure they are raised humanely Obtaining organic certification is a very difficult, long, costly and onerous process that requires multiple audits throughout the year, random testing of animals and very strict recordkeeping that must be shared with the certifying body. But we feel strongly that the organic label is proof that our animals

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

and poultry are raised naturally, humanely and without any hormones or GMO grains.

The certification, although challenging, is worth the peace of mind.

Our organic meat is also certified zabiha halal. We take the slaughtering aspect very seriously. For example, when slaughtering cows, we make sure that they don’t witness each other’s death. Our beloved Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) emphasized the importance of showing mercy to animals while slaughtering them. A hadith relates, “God has ordained kindness (and excellence) in everything. If the killing (of animals) is to be done, do it in the best manner. And when you slaughter, do it in the best manner.

Sharpen the knife and put the animal at ease” (“Sahih Muslim”).

Our slaughter crew is Muslim — most often it’s Samer. There are several organizations that certify meat as halal. We chose Halal Food Standards Alliance of America (HFSAA; https://www.hfsaa.org/) as our certifiers because its members are young scholars who share our beliefs that for meat to be halal, it must come from animals that are hand slaughtered while still conscious.

HFSAA visited our facilities and watched us slaughter the animals and poultry. Their certificate is proof that we’re following the divine guiding principles and the Prophet.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service, about 89% of the country’s small farms rely on non-farm-related work to supplement their household income. Samer and I continue to work full-time jobs to support our farming endeavor. But we also learned quickly that farming isn’t a part-time job.

There were many days when we started at 5 a.m. and finished at midnight. For example, seeds planted in the seedling greenhouse need to be checked on throughout the day to make sure that they have enough water and heat.

The animals, especially if they are pregnant, need continual monitoring. Crops, if they aren’t harvested, will get enormous or just rot. During the summer and fall months, we harvest every day, rain or shine. But this hectic lifestyle is worthwhile because we’re committed to making good food for our family and community. My children eat food that we grow from a labor of love, and the food we’re putting out into the world is wholesome. ih Diane Saleh is a lawyer, a law graduate of Syracuse University and co-owner of Halal Pastures (www.halalpastures.com; IG @halalpasturesfarms) located in Orange County, N.Y.

EDUCATION

Teaching About Indigenous Peoples Consciously Islamic schools must move away from teaching through colonist-centered stereotypes

BY SHIMA KHAN

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slamic schools have a moral, ethical and religious responsibility to debunk harmful stereotypes about the people of the First Nations.

A look at an Islamic school’s Facebook post about how they “celebrate[d] Native American culture” in their preschool and Pre-K classes was not just disturbing, but also alarming. The posted photos were horrific, to say the least: Teachers in hijab with face paint, students wearing feather-adorned hats and one even dressed as a pilgrim [read colonizer].

As a parent and educator who is on high alert during Thanksgiving week, upon seeing this post I was not only embarrassed for my community, but also furious at this blatant perpetuation of stereotypes.

The issue is that the “feast” was meant to be a fun day for the kids and the teachers, most of whom must be immigrants to this country and on their own individual journeys of recognizing power and privilege. We can only hope the school didn’t include the myth of the original Thanksgiving, one where the Natives and Pilgrims broke bread together peacefully. Perpetuating these harmful stereotypes about the Indigenous People contributes to the false narrative that exists not only in the U.S., but around the world —that Indigenous People are a thing of the past, that they no longer exist.

However, worst of all is the lack of recognition of the genocide that took place. History CERTAINLY, FAMILIES WHO PARTAKE IN A can be taught in an age-appropriate manner, GRATITUDE DINNER, WHICH WAS ALWAYS A but teachers [and parents] must educate themselves first.

PRACTICE OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, CAN First, each tribe has a separate language, DO SO. SIMULTANEOUSLY, IT’S IMPORTANT TO culture and way of dress, just as people on any other continent do. To lump them RECOGNIZE THAT UPHOLDING THE together as a monolith is harmful. Second, MYTH OF THANKSGIVING IS TO UPHOLD the “feast” being celebrated is that of the setWHITE SUPREMACY. tler colonists returning to Plymouth (Mass.) from Connecticut, where they had massacred hundreds of the Pequot people. As the Wampanoag had no choice but to sign a treaty after this massacre, fearing that they would be next, there was nothing celebra- recognize that upholding the myth of Thanksgiving tory about this meal. is to uphold white supremacy.

What followed was the First Nations’ almost complete erasure through disease, Islamic schools have the unique opportunity to murder and forced migration, all of which reduced the population from millions raise and nurture changemakers. They are affinity to thousands over the centuries. The details can be shared in an age-appropriate spaces that, if used correctly, can uplift and center the manner. Revamping the curriculum to be mindful of this violent history is the voices of other marginalized groups. Islamic schools’ responsible thing to do. curriculum needs to focus on a critical analysis of the Certainly, families who partake in a gratitude dinner, which was always a country’s history, as well as its foundation and underpractice of the Indigenous Peoples, can do so. Simultaneously, it’s important to lying premise. In the late 1960s, the Black Panthers 34

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In Indigenous circles, the occupation of Palestine is named and discussed unapologetically. Muslim Americans need to do better in terms of recognizing that they also sit on stolen land in the United States of America.

American Muslims have the unique opportunity to live out the values of social justice that Islam teaches.

Islam is a faith of activism, and commitment to social justice is an act of worship. Piety can be achieved through individual worship and one’s quest for salvation, and by wanting for your neighbor what you want for yourself. Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), said, “A moment of justice is better than seventy years of worship whose nights are spent with praying and days with fasting” (“Mishkat ul-Anwar,” 544).

It is our divine responsibility to be more than allies.

We must step into action. The spaces and structures are in place, and we must use them thoughtfully and consciously.

TIPS

founded the Oakland Community School, among many other community efforts, where students were seen and taught as changemakers and critical thinkers. Their minds and souls were nourished via engagement with their own community, its history and a sense of solidarity with other marginalized groups.

Islamic schools can channel the same energy into our schools. To do so, administrators, teachers and parents will need to move out of their comfort zones to seek beyond the “packaged” material created by a mindless following of myths — the “White man as savior.”

Instead of teaching about Native Americans through a feast full of stereotypes, what if we started by making land acknowledgements, learning about the tribes that exist today and local prayer towns? Instead of reinforcing the Indigenous Peoples’ invisibility and erasure, what if we introduced students to the annual Day of Mourning protest that takes place in Plymouth on the last Thursday of November? How about taking an intersectional approach and inviting Native American Muslim speakers or reading their narratives?

As poet Maya Angelou (d.2014) reminds us, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” It’s our responsibility as a community to unlearn the settler colonist narrative and relearn the narrative that First Nations have been speaking out about. This isn’t promoting transactional solidarity by any means, but I hope that we realize that our efforts, as a community, are lacking when it comes to standing up for others, especially the Indigenous and Black, Hispanic and Asian communities.

➤ Start every meeting and official event with a Land Acknowledgement: Honoring the space you inhabit means that you understand and acknowledge that wherever you are in the Americas, you are in Native spaces. It means knowing that Indigenous People are this land’s original caretakers and have a connection to it. ➤ Share resources with your teaching staff: Talk about the difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation. Use our own experience as a community that is often misrepresented (and exoticized) as the access point to uplift the voices of other BIPOC communities. ➤ Advocate for and fundraise to preserve Indigenous languages and cultures. ➤ An excellent resource is Judy Dow’s (Abenaki) “Deconstructing the Myths of ‘The First Thanksgiving’” (http://oyate.org/index.php). It should be a must-read while preparing for the last week of November. Center the voices of Indigenous People. ➤ If you haven’t already, change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day in your calendars, towns and cities. ➤ Read books such as: “We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga,” by Traci Sorell (Cherokee); “The First Strawberries,” by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki); “Four Seasons of Corn: A Winnebago Tradition,” by Sally M. Hunter (Ojibwe) and “Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message,” by Jake Swamp (Mohawk). ➤ Also, support Indigenous businesses, donate to their causes, center their voices and share narratives of Native Americans in your community. ih Shima Khan, Department of English, Wellesley High School, Wellesley, Mass.

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EDUCATION

Emerging Themes in Islamic School Mission Statements How well are Islamic schools doing their jobs?

BY SUFIA AZMAT

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never reviewed it; five had reviewed it during the accreditation or re-accreditation process. Only three principals stated that their mission statements were reviewed regularly.

When asked about stakeholder involvement in establishing, developing and reviewing the mission statement, three schools involved more than three such groups and four involved three or fewer such groups. Seven principals indicated that only the board members determined the mission statement. None of the interviewed principals’ schools maintained a written policy or procedure for developing and reviewing their mission statements. Almost all schools had posted their mission statements on their websites and stated them in their handbooks. A majority also posted it in the classrooms; three principals claimed that it was read at every staff meeting.

he broad themes emerging from a study conducted by this author are similar to those identified by early Muslim scholars. This survey suggests that the school administrators agreed on the primary purpose of their schools and that the commonalities in themes illustrate our diverse communities’ agreement on what they hope for from an Islamic school education.

In general, a major goal of private school education is to provide educational tools and an environment in which students can achieve academic excellence and become productive members of society. But for most Islamic schools, religious development and identity seem to be more important goals.

Data was collected from 52 Islamic schools, and interviews were conducted MISSION STATEMENT ANALYSIS with 14 of their principals. Two methods were used to gather data. The first method The coding system used to analyze and review the reviewed mission statements randomly selected from their websites. These schools mission statements’ content counted and categorized ranged from one to 38 years old; the average age was twenty. Enrollment was their repeated words into broader themes. Among the between 19 and 821 students. The total combined enrollment was 11,418 students; key phrases were variations of the following: “provide the average enrollment was 220 students. Seven schools were Pre-K-5, 16 were academic excellence,” “develop Islamic morals,” “nurPre-K-8 and 29 were Pre-K-12. The schools, located across the U.S., on average ture future leaders,” “serve community and humanity had been operating for 19 years. The second method involved emailing 26 of the (social responsibility),” “be lifelong learners,” “be of 52 school principals, selected at random, good moral character,” “gain a religious eduand requesting a 30-minute phone interview. cation,” “provide a safe and nurturing enviWHEN ASKED ABOUT The objective, verifiable data gathered ronment” and “perform public service.” Data from the school's uploaded mission state- STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT reveal that a majority of the schools have IN ESTABLISHING, ments included the number of words in each three or four themes in their mission statestatement and the frequency with which DEVELOPING AND REVIEWING ments. The five broad themes articulated certain words occurred. Other objective across school mission statements, based THE MISSION STATEMENT, data gathered from conversations with the on this analysis, are academic excellence, THREE SCHOOLS INVOLVED responding principals were the mission spiritual development, civic responsibility, leadership and environment. statement’s age, when it was last reviewed, MORE THAN THREE SUCH Words related to spiritual development whether there was a written policy for devel- GROUPS AND FOUR INVOLVED oping and reviewing it, where it was posted appear with greater frequency in Islamic THREE OR FEWER SUCH and the how long the respondent had been schools’ mission statements. The goals of GROUPS. SEVEN PRINCIPALS contemporary Islamic schools reflect the serving as that school’s principal.

The average time of the 14 principals’ same importance given to academic excelINDICATED THAT ONLY lence and moral character as was identified service at their current school was five years; THE BOARD MEMBERS six of them were in their first or second year. by classical Muslim philosophers. These DETERMINED THE One of them had a Bachelor’s degree in edumission statements provide for a full eduMISSION STATEMENT. cation, eight had acquired either a Master’s cational program that includes academic degree or certification in school leadership excellence as a key component. Analysis and three had obtained PhDs in educational also indicates that the founders of Islamic leadership. Their schools’ average enrollment was 298 students. On average, schools and their students’ parents desire to pass on they had been operating for 19 years. Seven of them offered high school classes. their faith to the next generation.

The general consensus is that mission statements should be clear and concise, But are Islamic schools holding themselves three to four sentences long and contain 20 to 30 words. The average length for accountable to meeting these laudable goals? Are this study’s 52 schools was 41 words. The average word count for the interviewed these communities’ hopes and dreams, as reflected principals’ schools was 48 words. in the school’s mission statements, being carried out Eight of the 14 principals could not recall their school’s mission statement. in the schools? These are the questions we must all be Two of them said it was too long, four were able to identify some of its compo- concerned with as we pray for and envision a bright nents and six of them could recite it verbatim. The mission statement’s age, when future for our children. ih compared to that of the school, revealed that all of them had been developed Sufia Azmat (M.Ed., Bayan Islamic Graduate School), is executive director of the when the school was established or shortly thereafter. Half of these schools had Council of Islamic Schools in North America.

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ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

CISNA’s Presence on the Federal Level Continues to Grow Covid-19: Catalyst for Resiliency and Growth

BY SUFIA AZMAT

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he Council of Islamic Schools in North America (CISNA; cisnausa. org), the world’s largest and only member-based Islamic accreditation agency, provides a means to review and evaluate all aspects of a school’s program by stressing quality and integrity based on best practices and high standards. Along with emphasizing continuous data-based improvement in the areas of teaching and learning, these standards enable effective leadership and governance. A global leader in supporting Islamic schools, CISNA saw a growing demand during 2021 not just for school accreditation, but also to expand its levels in advocacy, outreach and professional development offerings.

CISNA’s work at the state and national level seeks to safeguard equitable access for our students, gives Islamic schools a stronger voice in legislation, disseminates information about Islamic education to policymakers and helps make resources available to Islamic schools.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) invited CISNA to its exclusive listening session, held on Dec. 15, 2021. The CDC School Support Section, in cooperation with the Covid-19 Emergency Response Unit, organized this event to help form a collaborative relationship with us and to learn more about the mitigation and safety strategies implemented in our schools. Also present were representatives and health scientists from the School Investigations Team, the Vaccine Confidence and Demand Team, the School Guidance Team, the Screening and Testing Team and representatives from various community schools. This opportunity for others to hear Muslim voices on the unique experiences of private faith-based schools resulted in an increased offering of support for our schools. The CDC will be adding to the number of languages in which resources are offered, and we look forward to future programming and collaboration.

An analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), a federal

CISNA’S WORK AT THE STATE AND NATIONAL LEVELS SEEKS TO SAFEGUARD EQUITABLE ACCESS FOR OUR STUDENTS, GIVES ISLAMIC SCHOOLS A STRONGER VOICE IN LEGISLATION, DISSEMINATES INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAMIC EDUCATION TO POLICYMAKERS AND HELPS MAKE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO ISLAMIC SCHOOLS. legislative branch agency that conducts research for Congress, also contacted CISNA. The GAO has recently begun work on equitable services in the context of meeting private school students’ requirements in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended most recently in 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). As part of this work, they reached out to learn our perspectives on issues related to how local educational agencies/school districts work with private schools to determine the population eligible to receive equitable services, the amount of funds school districts reserve to provide them, the types and methods of providing them, Covid’s effects on them, as well as the most common/significant complaints private schools have about their provision. CISNA is surveying Islamic schools to gather and share data with the GAO to improve and increase services for our students, which was sent out this January.

On Dec. 8, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the Carson v. Makin case.

CISNA is a signatory on an amicus brief filed

by the Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Clinic. Many experts agree that the court seems ready to rule that the Maine school choice program discriminates against religious schools. This may have wide-ranging implications for Blaine amendments in state constitutions and could open up more states to private school choice programs.

Muslim students in states with robust school choice options benefit greatly from these opportunities, and CISNA encourages all parents to learn more about their states’ school choice programs and encourage their legislators to support them.

CISNA teamed up with DLP Academy (https://www.dlpacademy.com/) to introduce the Educational Leadership Toolkit, which delivers professional development to help educators excel. The first of its kind, this monthly subscription of comprehensive and accessible resources from experts across the nation allows educators and school leaders to learn remotely and join discussions with fellow educators.

During February 2022, CISNA held its second Annual Arabic Spelling Bee. The first one, held in April 2021, produced winners from Al-Hikmah School, Safa and Marwa Islamic School, Bright Horizons Academy Islamic School of Louisville, Greater Lansing Islamic School and ILM Academy.

Considering the need for a platform to confront, discuss, and find solutions for the issues facing our Islamic schools, CISNA is in talks with Associations of Islamic schools in Australia, South Africa, the U.K. and other countries to form a global association of Islamic schools. One of this organization’s aims will be to promote interaction and foster a culture of collaboration and inclusivity at a global level. Those interested in supporting or learning more about this initiative may contact Sufia Azmat at cisnaoffice@gmail.com.

The CISNA board comprises Reem Abdelrazek (principal, Annoor Academy of Knoxville, Tenn.), Ziad Abdulla (principal,The Huda Academy, Ark.), Fawzia Belal (principal, Qalam Collegiate Academy, Tex.), Azra Naqvi (principal, Hadi School of Excellence, Ill.), Farah Naz (principal, Everest Academy, Tex.), Leila Shatara (head of school, Noor-UlIman School, N.J.), Salman Syed (school board chair, Al Salam Day School, Mo.), William White (principal, Islamic School of Louisville, Ky.), and Ibrahim Yousef (principal, Nashville International Academy, Tenn.). ih .Sufia Azmat is CISNA’s executive director.

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EDUCATION

Back At School

their earbuds up their hijabs and watching Netflix in the classroom with the chill teacher, or even buying themselves their next Amazon purchase from the comfort of the chemistry lab.

A student offers her perspective in CovidAside from those activities, laptops have become extremely useful for classes in which teachers ask students to fact-check or that are era schooling lecture-based with teachers speaking faster than I can write. I take digital notes for every class now, except for Arabic and math. We

BY HIBA KHAN submit almost all our classwork and homework online, so it makes studying a whole lot easier. t felt like I had never left.

My first year in high school was Something I really missed about in-person school was the clubs and online last year, and surprisingly it organizations. Last year I joined the wasn’t as bad as you’d think it would be. Except for midterms and finals, we Mock Trial team, and online meetings were cruising. It was an easy routine to were not the greatest. This year, we split our meetings up during the week with a fall back on. Home-cooked meals during English class and fuzzy pajamas below combination of Zoom and gatherings in webcams were more than enough for one of the classrooms after school. The me to feel comfortable. variety keeps us engaged, and it’s so much And then they announced that we easier to bounce ideas off each other.

Soccer was another aspect. My team were going back in person, full-time, for hasn’t been playing in our regular league the 2021-22 school year. Classmates and this year, but some of my teammates and friends celebrated our return, but my first feeling was something else: fear.

I enjoy messing around with a ball during DID YOU HEAR THAT I’ve always been afraid of a lot of gym class and reminiscing on that last things — fire, heights, scary stories and, soccer practice the day before school shut SO-AND-SO TESTED POSITIVE?” at one point, even squirrels. But now my down in 2020. The boys’ team managed CONSISTENTLY BECAME THE FIRST biggest fear is bringing Covid home or an undefeated season in the fall, and THING I HEARD EVERY DAY … unknowingly spreading it to fellow stucheering them on in the worst weather dents and teachers. Causing people to get UNTIL ONE DAY, THEY SENT US AN felt like everything high school should be. sick without realizing it. I used different But remember that fear? It came back.

EMAIL SAYING THAT WE MIGHT methods to deal with my former fears. For After a few months of in-person example, for natural disasters and storms school, cases started popping up. Most HAVE BEEN EXPOSED BY A PEER I would watch the weather channel to of them were in elementary school, but I learn how to be prepared for the worst. WHO TESTED POSITIVE. THEY SAID had teachers, classmates and fellow club So, that became my philosophy for members who had children and siblings WE COULD RETURN TO SCHOOL fears: preparation and prevention. in the classes that were sent home to WITHOUT HESITATION, AND WE When school started, they assured quarantine. It didn’t make any sense to us that we would be safe and that preme why we still passed by one another WERE RECOMMENDED TO cautionary measures would ensure a in classes and hallways.

GET TESTED. “Did you hear that so-and-so tested minimal spread of the virus. I fell back positive?” consistently became the first on preparation and prevention: extra thing I heard every day … until one day, masks and hand sanitizer in my bag, double-masking at school and regularly disinfecting my belongings. they sent us an email saying that we might have been exposed by a They told us to wear masks, use hand sanitizer and wash our peer who had tested positive. They said we could return to school hands often. But nobody really cared. Half the class wore their without hesitation, and we were recommended to get tested.

I panicked. I requested to participate in school via Zoom until masks below their noses, and sometimes so would the teachers.

“I just can’t breathe, it’s so hot in here,” they’d say, before dropping I had my own test done to limit the possible spread. My request the strings of their masks behind their ears. “It’s just so annoying was rejected. to wear these, isn’t it?”

And now they’re requiring tests before we return from winter The hallways were even worse. Every class would pile on up next to break. To give us enough time to get tested, our first week back at each other, removing any breathing room left between the classrooms. school is online.

I dreaded going to my locker, because I knew people would crowd Ironically enough, we laughed when we found out. One week around one another and act as if it were early 2020 again. online, or another two years? We were told to take all of our books Since being online last year opened plenty of resources for us to home, “just in case.” use, we are now allowed to bring our laptops into school or borrow Preparation and prevention. It all came back to fear. Fear of high one. This usually leads to texting during classes and teachers calling school and fear of the virus. Fear of the future. Fear of the unknown. ih out students for laughing at their screens in the middle of a math Hiba Khan is a high school sophomore from New Jersey. She enjoys reading, playing sports, and pracproblem. During lunch, female students don’t shy away from sticking ticing piano.

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FAMILY MATTERS

Why and How to Maintain Abstinence in a Hypersexualized World Sexual desire is a test from God. People are responsible for learning how to weaken its power to control them.

BY AMBER KHAN

WHY IS SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE PROHIBITED?

For many Muslim youth today, waiting until marriage seems impossible.

Ali-Faisal’s study revealed that their greatest source of sex education is the media, which often presents sex as normal, consequence-free and casual. In the real world, casual sex comes with many risks, such as: Physical Risks. Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) spread when having oral, anal or sexual intercourse

with an infected person. The more partners, the higher the chance of contracting an STD, especially if protection is not used. According to “Sunan Ibn Majah,” the rise in sexual diseases is a sign of the Day of Judgment: “If zina prevails until people advertise for it in public,

COURTESY OF THE FAMILY AND YOUTH INSTITUTE WWW.THEFYI.ORG

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slam considers sex a normal, healthy act of worship and a form of charity. However, recognizing its great responsibility, we are to be married before engaging in it. Amy Adamczyk and Brittany E. Hayes’s 2012 study on religion and sexual behaviors found that Muslims are the least likely to have extramarital sex (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/ full/10.1177/0003122412458672).

But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. A 2001 research study by Dr. Sameera Ahmed (executive director, The Family & Youth Institute), found that 54% of Muslim American college students have had premarital sex.

A 2014 study by Sobia Ali-Faisal, Ph.D. (cofounder, MAC Research: Excavating Truth to Create Cultural Change) surveyed Muslim North Americans aged 17-35 and reported that 67% have had premarital sex; of those who didn’t, 50% have considered it.

Focusing on why waiting until marriage benefits and protects us and how to handle sexual desire and pressure can help us embrace the wisdom behind its ruling.

then God will afflict them with diseases that did not exist in their forefathers.”

Another physical risk is unwanted pregnancy, an oft-forgotten fact when the focus is on pleasure. This shows the great responsibility of choosing one’s sexual partner. In Islam, this relationship must be legitimate and recognized so that each person accepts responsibility when intimate. “And they who guard their private parts except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they will not be blamed” (23:5-6).

Mental Risks. Premarital sex can also strongly impact how we feel about ourselves. Thomas Moore (“The Soul of Sex: Cultivating Life as an Act of Love,” 1999) states, “We have a habit of talking about sex as merely physical, and yet, nothing has more soul... Even if sex is loveless, empty, or manipulative, still, it has strong repercussions in the soul, and bad sexual experiences leave a lasting, haunting impression.”

Social Risks. Engaging in premarital sex doesn’t just affect those involved, but everyone in society. It can lead to others becoming influenced, a rise in STDs, unwanted pregnancies, children born without a family unit, sexual violence, immoral sexual acts and more.

Spiritual Risks. Incidents of Muslims dating and engaging in kissing, touching or oral sex are on the rise. They may make the excuse that it’s okay because they aren’t having sexual intercourse. However, all extra-marital sexual acts are sinful, and justifying a small sin only makes it easier to justify a bigger sin. The Quranic warning “Do not draw near to zina …” (17:32) clearly states not to get near it, which is different from not committing it, for “… it is a fahisha (indecency) and its way is evil.”

Premarital sex can lead to an indecency in the heart.

HOW CAN I CONTROL MY SEXUAL DESIRES?

Take Preventive Measures. Lowering one’s gaze in both the real and digital world can help in this regard. “Tell the believing men that they should lower their gaze ... Tell the believing women that they should lower their gaze...” (24:30-31). These verses also

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FAMILY MATTERS talk about guarding one’s private parts, such as in dress and behavior.

Outer modesty can fuel inner modesty in thoughts, speech and behavior.

Another way is to regulate gender interactions according to the following guidelines: Focus on sharing knowledge, asking questions, giving advice and avoiding unnecessary personal questions and flirting; stay in the presence of others; and maintain personal space through modest attire and behavior.

Take Active Measures. According to the 2018 U.S. Census Bureau’s report, the average age of marriage is the highest in recorded history: 28 for women and 30 for men. This has led to making halal hard and haram easy. Marriage is so much more than just fulfilling one’s sexual urges. If one isn’t ready, then, “O young men, whoever among you can afford it, let him get married, for it helps him to lower his gaze and protect his chastity. And whoever cannot do that, let him fast, for it will be a protection for him” (“Sahih Muslim,” hadith no. 1400). Fasting instills self-control and discipline in all areas of life.

OP-ED

We Prayed Wher

What the Capitol Insurrection me

BY SAYYID M. SYEED

FOCUSING ON WHY WAITING UNTIL MARRIAGE BENEFITS AND PROTECTS US AND HOW TO HANDLE SEXUAL DESIRE AND PRESSURE CAN HELP US EMBRACE THE WISDOM BEHIND ITS RULING. If one is still completing his or her higher education but struggling with chastity, then make marriage a priority and seek the parents’ financial help. “There are three whom God is bound to help: the mujahid who strives for the sake of God, the slave who wants to pay off his manumission, and a man who gets married, seeking to remain chaste” ("Tirmidhi,” 1655).

Other action measures include enjoying single life through healthy productivity such as activism, volunteering, exercising, learning a new hobby, spending time with friends and family, traveling, holding firm to the daily salah and making dua.

Remember the Reward for Chastity. Rather than viewing abstinence as something embarrassing or to be ashamed of, view it as one of our greatest qualities. After all, it signifies our perseverance and nobility.

Not many people are capable of such self-control, so be proud. Chastity is a characteristic of the righteous, such as Maryam and Prophet Yusuf (‘alayhum as salam), and greatly rewarded. “There are seven whom God will shade on a day when there is no shade but His … a man who is tempted by a beautiful woman of high status, but he rejects her, saying, ‘I fear God’…” (“Sahih al-Bukhari,” 629). Conversely, because Islam assigns equal right to both, this hadith also applies to women.

As for those who have slipped up and succumbed, know that no sin is greater than the mercy of God. “…Surely, God will forgive all sins. Surely, He is the One who is the Most-Forgiving, the Very-Merciful (39:53).

This is a small introduction to a much larger discussion. Sex education and other health-related topics that center the Muslim narrative form the basis of my book series, “Islamic Health” (Noorart, 2022), the first of its kind to address Muslim youth’s most common health questions. It is specifically designed for Islamic and weekend schools, youth study circles and at-home discussions. For updates, follow @IslamicHealthSeries on Instagram or contact IslamicHealthEducation@gmail.com. ih Amber Khan, D.O., author of the “Islamic Health” book series, shares the importance of teaching Muslim youth about health from the Islamic perspective.

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ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

O

n January 6 last year, I watched in horror as rioters tore through the U.S. Capitol, claiming to exercise their First Amendment rights, when in reality they were desecrating and destroying both the building and any sense of security or stability we as Americans might have felt about such a sacred space.

It’s the same space where, not so long ago, I had put my head to the floor in prayer for our country with my fellow Muslims and friends of other faiths. I pray now, as those who perpetuated this terror are brought to justice and as we mark the one-year anniversary, that we instead watch the restoration of the true democratic values that the building and those who work in it represent.

But we must also confront how this horrific day unfolded and what allowed it to happen, if for no other reason than to make it a historic marker of our zero-tolerance for such heinous acts.

Over the past three decades, I’ve been connected to the Capitol Hill complex in ways that are deeply personal while bringing national and international leaders and activists to the building as part of my interfaith advocacy. I’ve worked closely with allies across multifaith communities, and often in a bipartisan fashion, to advocate for expanding health care, eradicating poverty, ending hunger, battling hate crimes, promoting religious freedom, asserting inclusion and other critical, people-centric policies for all Americans. Through this faithful work, I’ve established lasting friendships with members of Congress on both sides of the political aisle.

In 1998 I traveled from ISNA headquarters to give the inaugural sermon at the first regular Friday prayers held in

re They Trampled

eans to a Muslim American

the Capitol Hill complex. Until then, Washington’s Muslims would pray at existing mosques, community centers and even houses of worship of other faiths.

Realizing the demand and importance of fulfilling this religious obligation for the growing number of young Muslim interns and staffers on the Hill, Friday prayers were started in the basement of the Capitol that year. In 1997, members were officially given a Capitol room in which to pray.

The Friday prayers have since been a part of the Washington scene for residents and visitors alike.

Capitol staff and security are all familiar with the Friday prayer space; anyone can come to observe, listen and engage with worshippers who needed nothing but the cleared floor to pray on.

As I hosted foreign delegations and leaders, we would talk about the Muslim American experience as a unique one, with all of its complexities and diversity. At one event organized by the National Prayer Breakfast Committee, I met an imam who believed strongly that being Muslim and American were mutually incompatible. I invited him to give the sermon that day in the Capitol and saw how interacting with us impacted his thinking.

Similarly, other like-minded people came to the Capitol and left with a better understanding of the possibilities of a distinct Muslim American identity — the integration of this identity in a natural form within the political sphere.

There is a photograph from January 6 with someone brazenly carrying a huge Confederate flag through a hallway with a portrait of Senator Charles Sumner (R-Mass.) hanging in the background.

I especially remember passing by that very spot and informing visitors of this senator being beaten inside the chambers in 1856 for his anti-slavery positions.

I would say that this incident happened two or three years before the Civil War. One would think that when the prolonged and painful war ended, so did racism and injustice. But I always emphasized, while standing in front of that portrait, that the first civil rights law was passed only 100 years after the Civil War. Walking the halls and remembering the portraits, the busts and the history, I am also acutely aware that representation matters.

Muslims had a respectable room given to us for prayers and for breaking fast during Ramadan, but, more importantly, we now have more elected representation in the actual chambers than ever before.

Visiting leaders from around the world would remark that Muslim officials must have been voted in because of the larger Muslim populations in their districts, as if they were only allowed in because of this demographic concentration. But I have been proud and loud that our Muslim representatives at all levels of government have been elected by a diversity of constituents for their platforms, advocacy and commitment to bettering our country.

Those lawmakers working in the Capitol represent all of us, and we represent the constituency that keeps them aligned with the ideals and promises of the U.S. Although my actual former office, the ISNA Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances, was a block away, the Capitol was our place to think, dream and work alongside others answering the call to serve our communities.

This office, located at 110 Maryland Avenue, N.W., is right next door to the Supreme Court, the Senate and, of course, close to the Congress building, where we offered our Friday prayers.

It was painful to watch the insurrection and related vitriol spewed by those who would harm our institutions and democracy. But I feel more fervently now that even hours after storming the building, the nation will reassert itself, just as it started to do so during the time of Senator Sumner, who, with his righteous stance, was honored by being buried in the Capitol Rotunda.

CAPITOL STAFF AND SECURITY ARE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE FRIDAY PRAYER SPACE; ANYONE CAN COME TO OBSERVE, LISTEN AND ENGAGE WITH WORSHIPPERS WHO NEEDED NOTHING BUT THE CLEARED FLOOR TO PRAY ON.

This reassertion comes from the forces opposed to what the insurrectionists stood for. The relentless and critical work of the anti-racist movement, especially Black Lives Matter, has given strength and vigor to quell the insurrection and has kept our country aligned with our ideals.

If the insurrectionists had succeeded, we could then say that our country has fallen into the hands of those who would assert the negative narrative, a hateful direction for our nation. And we still have challenges ahead, for the powerful and inevitable sweep toward inclusion, social justice, equity and democratic ideals isn’t going to be an easy one or without dissent and discord.

But the pendulum is swinging in that direction, and I’m glad to be witnessing this realignment, knowing that we are on the side of all that is good. As we celebrated the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in January, and as our attention returns to rebuilding the Capitol and the White House from within, I am even more confident that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” ih Sayyid M. Syeed, a former ISNA president, served as national director for the ISNA Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances in Washington, D.C. from 1994 to 2006.

[Editor’s note: Copyedited and published with the author’s permission. A version of this article was published by Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs’ Berkley Forum, Jan. 5, 2022. https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/ responses/we-prayed-where-they-trampled-what-the-capitol-insurrectionmeans-to-an-american-muslim]

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PROFILE

Gazing at the Sky for More Thrills Hashima Hasan played key role in launching of NASA’s Webb Space Telescope

BY ZAFAR IQBAL

“

What are the odds of a girl born in the newly formed Republic of India to become a program/discipline scientist at NASA?” asked Hashima Hasan as she reminisced about her early school days during a recent NASA podcast interview.

The words of her sixth-grade teacher in Loreto Convent, Lucknow, that they could do anything if worked hard made a big impact on her. The all-girls educational institution established in 1872, had recently allowed girls to take STEM courses.

Inspired by the scientific career of her great-uncle Dr. Husain Zaheer (director general, India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research [CSIR]) and later on by her aunt Dr. Najma Zaheer, a renowned biologist, she took up the challenge and became interested in science.

Hasan says that her mother, a college graduate herself, had unwavering faith in her capabilities and encouraged her to pursue her ambitions. The inspiration to pursue space science was born when, in 1957, her grandmother gathered the entire family in 42

her backyard during the early dawn to watch Sputnik I pass by — a fascinating sight in the clear sky. She was starstruck!

“When Sputnik was launched, it came out in the newspaper that you would be able to see it pass overhead at 5 in the morning.

And my grandmother woke up everyone — the entire household — to see it. There was a big crowd in the backyard to watch Sputnik go by.

“Then, Yuri Gagarin made a tour of India.

He came to our city — Lucknow — and there was a reception for him. My mother got invitations for all of us to see the cosmonaut.

We were just little kids. We ran right to the stage — there was no security then — and said hello to him. He gave us little booklets and autographs. It was a big inspiration for me. I remember just staring at that booklet he gave me. I kept it for years.”

When NASA was formed, she eagerly followed every success and failure reported in the newspapers and clearly remembers the day that man landed on the Moon.

Hasan completed a BS, securing fifth position at Lucknow University. She followed this up with an MS (physics) at Aligarh Muslim

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

University (AMU), where she secured first place and a gold medal. She started her doctoral MPhil program under the tutelage of the legendary AMU physics professor Dr. Zillur Rahman Khan, and took the bold step of applying for doctoral studies at Oxford University in 1973. Encouraged by Dr. Rais Ahmad (head, Department of Physics, AMU), she applied for and received a Commonwealth Scholarship and joined Oxford.

Three years later, with a DPhil (theoretical nuclear physics) in hand, she returned to India as a postdoctoral scholar at Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). With scholars like astrophysicist Dr. J. V. Narlikar (emeritus professor, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics) — who, along with Sir Fred Hoyle, developed the conformal gravity Hoyle–Narlikar theory — and Dr. Obaid Siddiqi (founder-director, TIFR National Center for Biological Sciences; d.2013;), TIFR was a haven of intellectual thought.

After two intense years at TIFR, she secured a faculty position in physics at the University of Poona, Pune. While there, as the only non-Marathi-speaking faculty member,

she recalls that the atmosphere was welcoming, respectful, academic, and idyllic. She enjoyed teaching the postgraduate students.

Her life took an important turn after her marriage to Dr. Aftab Ansari (scientific officer, National Institutes of Health) and move to Raleigh, N.C. to join him. She pursued her passion for nuclear physics at Duke University, switching gears two years later to atmospheric science when the U.S. National Research Council awarded her a resident research associateship.

data archives; or management of advisory committees and communication with educators and the public.

Hasan has managed every aspect of astrophysics during her more than 27 years at NASA headquarters. One of her significant responsibilities is that of working as the deputy program scientist of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a successor to the Hubble. Her responsibilities have included oversight during the mission development phase to make sure that the

HASAN HAS MANAGED EVERY ASPECT OF ASTROPHYSICS DURING HER MORE THAN 27 YEARS AT NASA HEADQUARTERS. ONE OF HER SIGNIFICANT RESPONSIBILITIES IS THAT OF WORKING AS THE DEPUTY PROGRAM SCIENTIST OF THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE (JWST), A SUCCESSOR TO THE HUBBLE.

A year later, the couple was back in India, this time with an infant son. Her first experience as a working mother came when she started research in nuclear physics at Mumbai’s Bhabha Atomic Research Center. When they returned to the U.S. with their second son, her journey took a turn toward NASA. Arriving in Baltimore, she sought research opportunities and was hired by the newly formed Space Telescope Science Institute to write simulation software for the optics of the soon-to-be-launched Hubble Space Telescope and its science instruments.

Never one to turn down a challenge, she once again switched gears from nuclear physics — this time toward optics and astronomy.

Little did she know that within a few years she would be using her software to analyze the Hubble mirror’s optical error and made responsible for keeping it in the best focus until a fix was designed.

After the first servicing mission repaired the Hubble, she took advantage of an opportunity at NASA headquarters in Washington D.C. to work as senior scientist. Thus began her career in science management. “There was never a dull moment at NASA headquarters,” she says. Every second keeps one intellectually on the edge — whether it is the strategic planning for the next flight mission; the solicitation, review and selection of new technology, research program and payloads on sounding rockets and balloons; the next Explorer mission; direction of the

science requirements were being met and that the best science observation program was selected for the operation phase. She is currently serving as JWST spokesperson to the media and delivering invited talks to school students.

After many years of hard work with its partners, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, NASA launched JWST from the European spaceport of Kourou, French Guiana, on Dec. 25, 2021.

The telescope, equipped with multiple instruments, will be positioned at Lagrange Point 2, located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth or more than four times beyond the Moon.

Its mission stretches from five to 15 years. In her position at JWST, she was part of the team on board when the world’s largest and most powerful telescope was launched. This was an exhilarating moment for her, the entire JWST team and indeed the entire world.

Once in operation, JWST will show the wonders of the universe never seen before.

The world is eagerly waiting for those first science images. Hasan is gazing at the night skies at her home in the U.S. with the same wonder that she gazed at it as a little girl in Lucknow — it is the same sky with the same mysteries waiting for all of us to discover. ih Zafar Iqbal, Ph.D. (All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, in 1972), served as a faculty member at the Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. From 1994-2020, he served as scientific review advisor with the Veterans Health Administration.

He has served with several scientific, literary, social and cultural organizations in the U.S.

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SEEKING ADAMS Youth Program Coordinators (YPCs) Department: ADAMS Youth Committee Reporting Relationships: Reports to: General Manager Engages with: Youth Committee; Imam’s Office Role Purpose: The All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) is accepting several applications for full and part time Youth Program Coordinators (YPCs). The YPCs will serve as mentors and guides to the ADAMS Youth and shall be responsible for coordinating programs at the ADAMS Main Center and its Branches.

Both Sisters and Brothers are encouraged to apply. YPC positions are open to both paid and volunteer applicants.

Role: ◆ The YPCs will build upon the existing foundation and history of the ADAMS Youth Programs and be members of the ADAMS Youth Committee. ◆ The YPCs will foster personal relationships with the ADAMS youth and empower them to organize their own events and programs within the larger ADAMS Branch structure. ◆ The YPCs will further advocate for ADAMS Youth and help create space for them within the ADAMS framework wherever necessary. ◆ The YPCs shall be focused on engaging with the ADAMS youth during afternoon, evening, and/or weekend timeframes Key Responsibilities: ◆ Coordinating programs within the ADAMS Main Center, ADAMS Branches and their Youth leadership, ◆ Supervising weekly programs (such as halaqas and sports programs), ◆ Supporting area high school MSAs, ◆ Facilitating participation in the annual MIST competition, organization and participating in local Youth related camps and conferences, and other active engagements as necessary. ◆ All efforts should be directed towards having the youth connect to the masjid, as well as to one another. ◆ The YPCs will take advice regarding Youth programs and activities from the ADAMS Youth Committee and the Imam’s Office, and will report directly to the ADAMS General Manager Major Qualifications: ◆ Ability to work outside traditional working hours ◆ Highly motivated, self-directed, and enthusiastic about Youth activism ◆ Ability to communicate effectively in spoken and written English, especially with Youth ◆ Deep understanding of challenges and opportunities of Muslim American Youth ◆ Strong understanding of the fundamentals of Islam ◆ Strong understanding of the Islamic etiquettes, manners, and character ◆ Passionate about Islam as a way of life and guiding young Muslims ◆ Have organizational, management and leadership skills ◆ Ability to work well with others in a team environment ◆ Ability to work with diverse populations and different age groups ◆ Ability to network with ADAMS Branches and external Muslim communities Desired Qualifications & Soft Skills: Ability to manage budgets and manage funds ◆ Familiarity with basic computer skills: Email, Internet, MS Office, Google Docs, etc. ◆ Ability to report regularly on Youth activities with progress metrics ◆ Ability to problem solve, improvise and be resourceful ◆ Have a valid driver’s license ◆ 2 - 4 years of experience in running youth programs ◆ Preferably born or raised in America Submission Requirements: Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, and three (3) references to HR@adamscenter.org. Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until all positions are filled.

MUSLIMS LIVING AS MINORITIES

A Genocide by any Measure The Burmese military continues its campaign of genocide against the Rohingya Muslims

A

s the international community’s attention to the Rohingya crisis in Burma (renamed Myanmar by the military) continues to deepen, this Muslim minority’s identity and background have become more relevant. Many in the international community ask, “Who are the Rohingya, and why are they being driven out of their homeland and exterminated?”

The Rohingya are an ethnic minority indigenous to Arakan, which the military dictatorship has renamed “Rakhine State.”

Until 1874 it was a sovereign nation known as “The Kingdom of Arakan,” where the Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine people lived together in peace. The kingdom fell to the invading Burmese (Bama) Kongbaung Dynasty in 1874.

The etymology of “Rohingya” is signified by the natives as Rohang (pronounced as Rooang), a region in northern Arakan.

Dr. Francis Buchanan, author of “Asiatic Researches on Transactions: History and Antiquities, the Arts, Sciences, and Literature” (1799), has documented that they are native to Arakan and at the time identified themselves as “Rooinga.”

The country’s Rohingya population was approximately 4 million. Now, however, only 700,000 remain — the military’s systematic violence and institutionalized ethnic cleansing campaigns have forced more than 3 million of them to flee to Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and several Middle East countries. The largest exodus to Bangladesh occurred during the military’s August 2017 implemented self-proclaimed “ground clearance operation” — 750,000 people were displaced.

Currently, Bangladesh has over 1.2 million Rohingya in refugee camps, including those who were forced out before 2017.

THE CONSTITUTION AND ROHINGYA CITIZENSHIP

For the past several decades, the military has concealed the fact that the post-independence democratic Burmese government had recognized the Rohingya as one of the 44

country’s national races and ethnic minorities. Since independence in 1948, numerous Rohingya leaders have contested and/ or been elected to serve the country and their Arakanese constituencies in the civilian governments during the 1950s and 1960s, the multiparty national election in 1990 and the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Assembly of the Union) and state assembly until 2015.

Twenty-six Rohingya parliamentarians served their constituents in representative assemblies from 1947-2015.

In the 2010 election, two Rohingya political parties, the National Democratic Party for Development (NDPD) and the National Democratic and Peace Party (NDPP), participated in the national election. Additionally, several Rohingya candidates stood from the military’s Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and others ran as independents. Three Rohingya USDP candidates were elected to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, and two to the Arakan state assembly. The USDP-run government abruptly revoked Rohingya voting rights in 2015, and since then no Rohingya candidates have been allowed to contest elections at any level.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND THE MASTERMINDS OF VIOLENCE

Human rights violations against the Rohingya are deeply institutionalized as well as systemic and systematic. These range from depriving them of the freedoms of movement and worship; denying basic education and health care and destroying places of worship; confiscating land and building settlements (natala) on Rohingya land; and from arbitrary arrest, extortion, rape and sex slavery to human trafficking by the armed forces.

During the military’s 60-year rule, this widespread persecution has provided fertile ground for the growth of ultra-nationalist ideology among the general Burmese population and the fear that the Rohingya supposedly pose a threat to Buddhism because they want to “Islamize Arakan State.”

On July 12, 2012, long-serving Gen.

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

© MUBASSAR ADNAN KHAN

BY WAKAR UDDIN

The Kutupalong Rohingya Refugee Camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, is on the border of the nation of Myanmar next to the Nafs River.

The 740,000 Rohingya—including more than 400,000 children—have fled into Cox’s Bazar (UNHCR) Oct. 2017.

Thein Sein and president of the former USDP-led government, characterized the Rohingya as a national security threat and advocated their expulsion (June 20, 2017; www.law.upenn.edu/live/news/7191) and transferal to any country “willing to take them” (July 13, 2012; www.dvb.no/).

The military’s dehumanization of the Rohingya has been widespread, even comparing them to animals. According to the Los Angeles Times (Dec. 26, 2107), this attitude is so deep that a military diplomat who called them “ugly as ogres” was promoted.

THE ROHINGYA GENOCIDE

The actual blueprint for genocide dates to the early 1960s with a highly sophisticated and strategic plan to eliminate this ethnic minority by destroying everything “Rohingya.” It stayed under the international radar for at least five decades. The first major instrument of genocide became obvious only in 1982 when the military dictatorship devised its own 1982 Citizenship law, which primarily targeted the Rohingya.

This was done tactfully after approximately 200,000 Rohingya refugees were repatriated, a portion of whom had been forced into Bangladesh by Nagamin Sitsinye

(OIC), the Council of Foreign Ministers Conference, the European Union, the Muslim World League, ASEAN and several government institutions, among them the U.S. State Department, White House and Congress. This latter body passed several resolutions, and Washington sanctioned several senior military officers and further tightened its existing sanctions on Myanmar.

Interestingly, the country’s single largest source of foreign exchange is the oil and gas industry ($1.5 billion in 2019), which includes joint venture partnerships with international oil and gas majors such as Chevron, an American multinational energy corporation, and TotalEnergies SE, a French multinational integrated oil and gas company [Under shareholder pressure, the French conglomerate announced on Jan. 21, that it is withdrawing from Myanmar over the deteriorating human-rights situation since the military coup].

FOR THE PAST SEVERAL DECADES, THE MILITARY HAS CONCEALED THE FACT THAT THE POSTINDEPENDENCE DEMOCRATIC BURMESE GOVERNMENT HAD RECOGNIZED THE ROHINGYA AS ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S NATIONAL RACES AND ETHNIC MINORITIES. (Operation King Dragon), a 1978 population clearance operation. Following this campaign’s failure, the military junta reached an agreement with Bangladesh, and Rohingya refugees were repatriated due to their undeniable citizenship documents.

This operation set the stage for the military’s subsequent genocidal campaigns that caused waves of Rohingya seeking refuge abroad. The most brutal and ruthless military assault took place in August 2017, when over 750,000 of them fled to neighboring Bangladesh. Along with mass killings, dismemberment, gang rapes and mutilation, burning them inside their locked homes, throwing children into fires and shooting at escaping families, the military committed several other incomprehensible crimes.

The ongoing horror was so immense that the widespread international outcry finally attracted the attention of the UN General Assembly and Security Council, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation

THE ROHINGYA GENOCIDE CASE AT THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

The international outrage over the military’s decades-long genocidal acts and crimes against the Rohingya was further heightened in 2017, when the Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU) — the organization OIC helped form — urgently requested the OIC to convene an emergency meeting to bring the military to justice. The OIC, along with the wider international community’s support, agreed and approved it at the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers’ Conference in Dhaka the following year. Consequently, on Nov. 11, 2019, OIC member state The Gambia filed a case — “Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar)” or the Rohingya Genocide case against Myanmar — at the International Court of Justice (ICJ; or the World Court).

In its court filing, The Gambia lodged

a 35-page application against Burma/ Myanmar, a signatory of the 1948 Genocide Convention. The application alleged that Myanmar has violated its obligations and committed acts and crimes of genocide against the Rohingya in Arakan/Rakhine state, as well as Articles I, II and III of the 1948 Convention. Leader and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, along with a legal team, represented Myanmar.

The Gambia also requested the enactment of provisional protection measures. At the ensuing ICJ public hearing, held during Dec. 10-12, 2019, The Gambia’s team provided “brutal descriptions” of atrocities. On Jan. 23, 2020, the ICJ issued an order on The Gambia’s request for provisional measures ordering Myanmar to prevent genocidal acts and crimes against the Rohingya during the pendency of the case and to report regularly on its implementation of the order.

The ICJ also issued a procedural order, setting filing deadlines of July 23, 2020, for The Gambia’s Memorial, and Jan. 25, 2021, for Myanmar’s responsive CounterMemorial. On May 18, 2020, the court extended The Gambia’s memorial and set a filing deadline of Oct. 23, 2020. An extension was also granted to Myanmar until July 23, 2021.

On Feb. 1, 2021, a military coup deposed the democratically elected government on the false allegation of voter fraud in the 2020 national election. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party had won that election by a landslide — over 80% votes of the nationally renowned analysts on Myanmar say that the Rohingya issue and the ICJ case were the major factors behind the coup. The military junta replaced both her and her team with a military group led

by Col. (ret.) Wunna Maung Lwin, who had been foreign minister of the military’s previous USDP government.

The case remains ongoing, and a hearing is scheduled for Feb. 21-28, 2022 (as we go to press). Myanmar has filed a preliminary objection. Currently, the international community is pursuing various avenues to bring these perpetrators of the genocide and crimes to justice. The ICJ will have a significant impact and implication on the future filing of the case at the International Criminal Court. ih Wakar Uddin, Ph.D., is professor, The Pennsylvania State University; director general, the Arakan Rohingya Union; founding chairman, The Burmese Rohingya Association of North America; member, Supreme Council of The Muslim World League.

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HERITAGE

The First Hijra as a Model for Migration Justice Ethiopia’s legacy and future in regional peacebuilding

BY SARA SWETZOFF

O

ver the past year, Ethiopia’s conflict between national forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attracted international headlines. This ongoing tragedy should be a matter of grave concern to American Muslims and everyone of conscience around the world.

Last November, Washington pulled out all non-essential embassy staff and revoked trade privileges, sparking protests in Ethiopia and the diaspora. Meanwhile, human rights advocates continually warn of urgent famine conditions in the Tigray region.

Geopolitical factors have become increasingly intense, from Egypt’s opposition to Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam to the latter’s new weapons contracts with Iran, Turkey and the UAE. Social media swirls with sweeping “hot takes” posts implying that Ethiopia is next on the regime-change list, despite Washington’s having worked closely with – and generously bankrolled – every post-communist government coalition. Ethiopia is also the West’s primary partner in its decades-long campaign against Al-Shabab and other non-state actors in the Horn of Africa.

The support only increased in 2018, when newly elected Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came into office with bold plans to privatize state assets and open up the economy. It took nearly a year of war before Washington officially sanctioned the Ethiopian government, straining diplomatic relations between the two countries and spurring allegations of American interventionism.

The war in Tigray, initially a power struggle between political elites, has now become an all-out inter-ethnic conflict and existential battle to define Ethiopia. Addis 46

Ababa classifies the TPLF as a seditious terrorist organization, while the TPLF refers to the national government as illegitimate and genocidal. At the end of the day, civilians of all ethnic groups and religions – especially women, children and elders – have paid the highest price in the sustained conflict.

SEEKING THE FUTURE IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE PAST

Yet hope remains. From the exciting day in 2018 when Mr. Abiy assumed office, Ethiopian civil society organizers have advocated national reconciliation. In many ways they predicted this war, which has exposed the state’s fragility. They also know how to fix it: implement the age-old cultural matrixes of tolerance, unity and justice that have sustained this ancient land throughout the eras.

Pan-Africanists might mention the 1896 anti-colonial victory against Italy at Adwa, or Emperor Haile Selassie’s role in preserving the fragile Organization of African States in 1964. But Muslims are more likely familiar with a much earlier example of Ethiopian

A fourteenth century manuscript illustration

by Persian painter Rashid-Din.The scene depicts Al-Najashi refusing the demands of a hostile Meccan delegation that traveled to Axum to apprehend the refugees.

peacebuilding: the Migration to Abyssinia, or the “First Hijra.”

In 7 ah (613 ce), some of the Sahaba sought asylum in the Christian Kingdom of Axum at the invitation of the Negus (king), called Al-Najashi in Arabic. A hadith relates, “If you have to migrate, migrate towards Habash” (Ibn Ishaq, “Sirat Rasulillah,” 2004).

According to “Tafsir ibn Kathir,” a second larger group joined them two years later.

Numbering 117 in all, Axum now had almost three times more Muslims than Makka.

Within a decade, most of them relocated to Madina, whereas others remained in the region or set sail for Southeast Asia.

One might argue that Axum’s generosity and tolerance enabled the early Muslim community to survive and grow. In Muslim traditions, Al-Najashi was not just a passive host: he wept at the Quran’s recitation, provided feasts for special events (e.g., Umm Habiba’s long-distance marriage to the Prophet [salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam]) and facilitated the

THE FIRST HIJRA SPEAKS TO THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERRELIGIOUS AND INTER-ETHNIC RESPECT FOR ALL ETHIOPIANS, WHEREVER THEY MAY BE. THIS PRECEDENT, WHICH CAN HELP RESOLVE THE CURRENT INTERNAL CONFLICT, ALSO SPEAKS TO HOW AND WHY ETHIOPIA COULD BE AN ANCHOR OF SOCIOPOLITICAL JUSTICE FOR BOTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST.

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

In the Footsteps of the First Muhajirun

Muslims have lived in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia since the earliest days of Islam

© AMITCHELL125 - OWN WORK, CC BY-SA 4.0, HTTPS://COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG/W/INDEX.PHP?CURID=99384698

BY SARA SWETZOFF

migrants’ return to Arabia.

In gratitude, the Prophet declared Axum a “favored land.” Upon learning of Al-Najashi’s passing, he honored him with a Muslim funeral prayer despite his Christian faith. Today, Ethiopia is about 35% Muslim.

The eastern city of Harar (“City of Saints” in Arabic) is often referred to as Islam’s fourth holiest city due to its many mosques and shrines dating to the 10th century.

ETHIOPIA AND THE RED SEA REGION TODAY

Ethiopia’s current status as a host country for millions of regional refugees echoes this event. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as of June 2021 it was hosting nearly a million registered refugees and asylum-seekers, making it the third-largest host in Africa and tenth worldwide. As a reference of comparison: the US accepted zero Yemeni refugees in 2021 and only 50 during the Trump years; Ethiopia has hosted more than 3,000 Yemenis since 2016 and continually welcomes more.

Furthermore, in January 2019 Ethiopia’s Parliament passed one of the world’s most integrative refugee laws. While it has yet to be comprehensively implemented – in part due to challenges at the institutional level in the run-up to the current war – it grants refugees property rights, recognition of their degrees and certifications from their home country or previous country of residence, the right to attend school and work, freedom of movement and more expansive eligibility for asylum.

The First Hijra represents the region’s legacy of interreligious and inter-ethnic respect. This precedent, which can help resolve the current internal conflict, also speaks to how and why Ethiopia could be

T

hree historic mosques in the Horn of Africa chart the path of the first group of Muhajirun: Eritrea’s Sahaba Mosque, Ethiopia’s Al-Najashi Mosque and Somalia’s Mosque of the Two Qiblas.

The Sahaba Mosque, located in the Red Sea coastal town of Massawa, was built adjacent to the famous ancient port of Adulis, where they likely landed. In fact, many consider it the world’s oldest mosque. However, there is some uncertainty as to whether or not it predates the Quba Mosque on the outskirts of Madina.

The current structure is of later construction and now in disrepair, but the mosque retains its original qibla facing Jerusalem. Prayers are still held there occasionally, of course, with the worshippers facing the Kaaba in Makkah.

From the coast, the Muhajirun traveled about 190 miles southwest to Negash in current-day Ethiopia. The Christian Axumite king presumably permitted them to settle

in that area, about 125 east of his capital city Axum. This city remains a sacred place for Ethiopian Christians, who believe that

THE MEANING AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ‘HIJRA’ IS EMBODIED IN THE ISLAMIC CALENDAR. SINCE ITS INCEPTION, THE ISLAMIC CALENDAR REPRESENTS A HISTORY OF PERPETUAL STRUGGLE BETWEEN TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD, FREEDOM AND OPPRESSION, LIGHT AND DARKNESS, AND BETWEEN PEACE AND WAR.”

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MUSLIMS LIVING AS MINORITIES an anchor of sociopolitical justice for all of Africa and the Middle East: Overcoming divisions to forge genuine solidarity is the only way to build grassroots power strong enough to bring about global justice. Divisions based on religion, ethnicity, or any other grouping pit people against each other and keep a region or country vulnerable to elite agendas, warmongers and extractive foreign interests.

THE YEMEN WAR AND THE ETHIO-YEMENI MIGRANT COMMUNITY

AlNajashi Mosque, which was restored with Turkish government help, was damaged due to receiving fire during the current war.

the Ark of the Covenant remains in its oldest church. Both Axum and Negash are in the Tigray region, one of the country’s eleven ethnic states.

Negash is therefore widely recognized as the Muhajirun’s first settlement, as evidenced by the excavation of a local seventh-century cemetery. The name of the local mosque, Al-Najashi, is the Arabic transliteration of “Negus,” which means “king” in ancient Geez. The king who hosted the Muslim refugees is buried within the mosque’s compound, as are several of the Sahaba who remained in Ethiopia.

Most of the Muhajirun returned to Arabia to rejoin their community and then relocated to Madina; however, a small group settled in Zeila, contemporary Somalia. There, in 627, they constructed the Mosque of Two Qiblas. The first qibla faces Jerusalem, and the second one faces Makkah.

CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES AND LEGACIES

In early 2018, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency completed a multiyear restoration of the Al-Najashi Mosque for a very specific purpose: In July, Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a joint declaration of peace and reopened their shared border for the first time in decades. Eritrean Muslims celebrated on the 10th of Muharram by holding a gathering in the thousands at the mosque.

Unfortunately, it was damaged by shelling and reportedly looted during the current war. In December 2020, reports trickled out that Ethiopian 48

and Eritrean troops were responsible for the damage. In an interview with BBC Amharic soon after, Abebaw Ayalew (deputy director, Ethiopian Heritage Preservation Authority), stated that a professional team was on its way to document the damage to both the Al-Najashi Mosque and a nearby church and to chart a plan for repairs. He stated, "These sites are not only places of worship. [They are] also the heritage of the whole of Ethiopia."

Meanwhile, members of both diasporas commemorate the First Hijra’s significance worldwide. In 1986, Ethiopian Muslims established The First Hijra Muslim Community Center in Washington, D.C. Located on Georgia Avenue just a mile north of the nation’s preeminent historically Black college, Howard University, this mosque has become an important part of Washington’s Pan-African landscape.

The foundation’s website explains the significance of its name: “The meaning and the significance of ‘Hijra’ is embodied in the Islamic calendar. Since its inception, the Islamic calendar represents a history of perpetual struggle between truth and falsehood, freedom and oppression, light and darkness, and between peace and war. The migration to Ethiopia and generous offer of political asylum to the oppressed companions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the birth of freedom of expression and beliefs, whereas the Second Migration of the Prophet Muhammad to Madinah celebrates the end of oppression.” ih

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

Unfortunately, Yemenis are all too familiar with this equation. Over the past three years, I interviewed 50+ Yemeni refugees and Ethiopian returnees residing in Addis Ababa. The approximately 3,000 registered Yemeni refugees are part of a larger blended migrant community that includes Ethiopian nationals who repatriated with their Yemeni-citizen children, spouses, friends and relatives. Since the beginning of the war in Yemen, the International Organization for Migration has evacuated tens of thousands of Ethiopians, both recently arrived migrants heading overland for Saudi Arabia, as well as thousands of Ethiopian nationals who were longtime residents of Yemen.

While my interviews usually started by addressing migration pathways, economic challenges and bureaucratic hurdles to accessing services, they always wandered toward opportunities for intercultural understanding and unity. Yemeni refugees mentioned Ethiopia’s hospitality and acceptance, and Ethiopian returnees spoke nostalgically about pre-war Yemen’s quiet safety and general quality of life.

Many interviewees then turned to regional and deep historical analyses: If the precarity and opportunism of war deepens fanaticism and intolerance, how can Yemen heal itself? What’s the vision for a liberated and unified Yemen, and what role might religion and culture play in it? How did the many faiths and peoples live together when Arabia was home to equal numbers of indigenous Christians, Jews and Muslims?

The two countries’ ancient special relationship extends back to the time of Prophet Sulayman and the Queen of Sheba. In fact, at the height of Axumite power, Yemen was most likely a province of the African kingdom. All of this was common knowledge to my interviewees. In one conversation with a North Yemeni refugee elder and his Ethiopian returnee wife, we might cover Najran, the Himyarites, Surat al-Fil (Quran, Chap. 105), the First Hijra, Oromo Sufism and the 1977 Red Sea “quadripartite summit” in Taiz. Based on this rich shared history, one interviewee even recommended that Yemen seek membership in the African Union!

Nearly all interviewees who had been in Ethiopia for over a year concurred that its multifaith national identity provides a compelling model for coexistence in Yemen.

Religion is already a complex and intimate vehicle for solidarity and belonging, for among the refugees and returnees are converts to both Islam and Christianity. A small group of Yemenis hosts an Arabic-language Bible

IMAM POSITION

Al-Azhar Islamic Foundation in Barrington, IL Job Summary: The AIF Al-Azhar Islamic Foundation (AIF) was founded by a group of Chicagoland’s American Muslims seeks a full-time Sunni Imam to grow with the organization and lead the community during religious and educational activities.

Minimum Qualifications:

A photo from the early Ethiopian evacuation missions during the Yemen War shows piles of suitcases, a testament to the settled lives that so many had to leave behind.

study every week; some participants identify as converts, whereas others attend to better appreciate the religious beliefs of their neighbors and colleagues in Addis Ababa.

THE LARGER VISION FOR PEACE

In response to the Trump administration’s Muslim travel ban, organizations such as San Francisco’s Arab Resource & Organizing Center rallied around the migration justice call: “Freedom to Stay, Freedom to Move, Freedom to Return, Freedom to Resist.” For Ethiopian lawyer Abadir Ibrahim, the First Hijra exemplifies this call. He refers to Ethiopia as “the birthplace of the Hijri Model of migrant rights,” which has “deep symbolic significance” to both peoples, as evidenced by its “positive impacts on the lives of migrants on both sides of the Red Sea.” He elaborated, “[P]acked in that history one finds discourses and values connected with justice, liberty and non-discrimination; the freedom of thought, religion, expression and association; due process rights; and the rights of refugees to a hearing and to social services. Due to their historic and symbolic significance, these were values that easily found a home in Dimtsachin Yisema, a Muslim-based grassroots human rights movement in Ethiopia that was widely supported by the North American Ethiopian Muslim community.” [Note: Islamic Horizons covered this movement in its Sept./Oct. 2018 issue.]

This interrelationship between international migrant justice and domestic civil liberties gets at the core of how the First Hijra can open our political imagination to global prospects for peace. Although “democracy” has now become a hollow word, the imperative transcends terminology: to establish universal assurances that the core interests of diverse groups are secure, regardless of electoral turnover at the national level. As one of the world’s most diverse and multilingual democratic federations, the only never-colonized African country and a leading host of refugees and asylees, Ethiopia must find a pathway to sustainable peace — for the sake of the Ethiopians, the larger Red Sea region and the world. ih Sara Swetzoff is a PhD candidate in African Studies at Howard University and a Fulbright Ethiopia 2020 awardee.

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Education: › BA in Islamic Studies, Islamic theology, or a related field. › Strong knowledge of Quranic tajweed rules, Aqeeda, Fiqh, Hadith & Seerah. › Fluency in Arabic and English (spoken and written).

Work Experience: › 2-4 years of work experience in an Islamic education or religious institution. › Experience with teaching at, or leading, an Islamic community or school.

Skills & Competencies: › Ability to interact with and relate to youth. › Commitment to knowledge seeking and Islamic education of youth and adults. › Strong understanding of Islam in the West, and challenges of Muslims in America. › Ability to establish good working relationships with people of different backgrounds. › Proven ability to collaborate with higher administration of an institution. › Strong written and oral presentation skills. › Demonstrated ability to handle confidential information related to board activities Certifications: US Permanent resident or Citizen Working Conditions: › Work 40 hours per week. › Mosque environment. › Day, evening and weekend hours.

Salary and Benefits: Compensation package is very competitive and commensurate on qualifications and experience.

Application Documents: › Cover letter stating interest in position › Resume or CV › Recommendation letters (2) › List of references (3) How to Apply: Please send application documents to: imamcommitte@azharamerica.org Additional details about responsibilities will be provided

SOCIETY

There is Never a Halaloween

scholar Zaid Shaker posted, reminding us of Halloween’s questionable origins (“Between the Deen and Halloween,” https://www. facebook.com/imamzaidshakir). What was surprising and shocking was the vehemence of fellow Muslims’ responses. How dare he spoil their harmless fun, taking candy out of the mouths of Muslim children, depriving them of yet another holiday that everyone celebrates and has little to do with its former traditions. Wow! One for all the armchair scholars out there. What’s happening to us? Okay, celebrate Halloween or any other non-Muslim holiday with your little ones.

“There’s no compulsion in religion” (2:256) and “To you your way

BY NOOR SAADEH and to me mine” (109:6). But attack the scholar? We need a reset.

We can talk — and we have talked — about the origins of most of these holidays. Pagan, satanic even, insulting to our Indigenous brothers and sisters and others. But let’s take a real look at what’s behind all the lights, glamor and fun that observant Muslims feel so deprived of or are warned away from. It’s all about making money.

Period. And like our fellow citizens, we fall for it hook, line and sinker.

As I spend time in both the Middle East and the U.S., I see a worrying trend in Muslim lands. After all, the holidays are big moneymakers and that’s what matters, right? Dabke dancing Santas in Jerusalem? Even the idea of the very European concept of Christmas trees and snowmen decorations in the lands that Jesus (‘alayhi as salam) walked and lived in seems ludicrous.

Last year in Jordan, more young people, even girls in hijab, were donning Halloween costumes and various malls offered Haunted House venues. Parents were eager to pose their children for selfies alongside goblins and ghouls. Photos of Amman’s Queen Alia Airport looked positively festive with Christmas decorations and Christmas in Dubai holiday offerings everywhere. Food, fashion and holiday traditions appear like a tsunami, emanating from California and reaching ctober 2021 and it was holiday time. Not Eid of Japan, taking everything and everyone in its path. Sadly, Muslims course. The American holidays. Culture shock awaited me are all-too-willing victims. when I returned from a wonderful summer in Jordan with Succumbing to pop culture pressure, the constant need for more jaunts to the indescribably beautiful and historic Istanbul and endorphin hits and the unrelenting search for pleasure, happiness plunged straight into the “Holiday Season.” and ease affects us all. There are plenty of Actually, I was relieved to have missed Qur’anic verses that elaborate the reality of BEFORE THE 1900S the buildup. Over the years I found myself life: tests, trials and struggle. However, it’s AND THE ADVENT OF and so many other, who may be considered safer and easier to go with the flow. conservative, Muslims getting caught up in MARKETING (CLEVERLY Overseas, to raise the most intelligent chilall the fuss and revelry simply because it’s in dren with access to brilliant futures pushes DEPICTED IN AMC’S our face every minute. many parents to send them to international Before the 1900s and the advent of marPERIOD DRAMA “MAD schools where Islamic studies are diluted more keting (cleverly depicted in AMC’s period each year. Native-speaker English teachers are MEN” (2007-15), THESE drama “Mad Men” [2007-15]), these holidays highly sought after, and with them come expowere simply not such a big deal. Thanksgiving sure and the use of the Western holidays as a HOLIDAYS WERE teaching tool. My Arab neighbors here was simply a time for celebrating the harvest, SIMPLY NOT SUCH A BIG “fun” gratitude to one’s Creator and gathering the complain that their grandchildren living in DEAL. THANKSGIVING, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries cannot family. There was no Black Friday mayhem or Cyber Monday, no month-long rush to deccommunicate with them in Arabic. Their first FOR EXAMPLE, WAS orate, buy gifts, send cards, eat, drink and be language is English.

SIMPLY A TIME FOR merry for 30 days, culminating in a drunken Similar reports from other Muslim counrevelry come New Year’s Eve followed by yet tries confirm a worrying trend. Foreign CELEBRATING THE more feasting, football frenzy and after-holdomestic help that tend to raise many chilHARVEST, GRATITUDE dren of more affluent families in the region iday sales. What a brilliant plan to add more money to the big business’ coffers.

TO ONE’S CREATOR AND also exacerbate the situation. They speak So, when I began to see social media posts only English to their charges and expose advocating Halaloween, I went a little crazy. GATHERING THE FAMILY them further to all things Western. Can The much respected and beloved American Muslims step back, turn off the media for

Reconsidering the non-Muslim holidays

O

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ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

a moment, breathe and recall what God advises and warns us about in Quran and ask ourselves where we are going with all this?

Most of us know of the irreligious aspects of the Western/ non-Muslim holidays. Yet knowing the inappropriate background no longer seems to deter us. So, let’s raise a few other objections as to why it might not be in our best interests to support and spend our hard-earned cash for these festivities.

Every Halloween, 600 million lbs. of candy is sold in the U.S., making up the overall 10% of the country’s annual candy sales — and the treats generate nearly $2 billion in sales each year (Stacy Liberatore, “The Bitter Truth About Halloween Candy,” www.dailymail.co.uk, Oct. 28, 2021). These treats have negative impacts on the environment and human rights. Sugar, cocoa and palm oil, popular ingredients used in many candies, are from crops mostly grown in the Amazon, where forests are converted into farmland through a process of slash and burn agriculture. Not only are we destroying forests, but the process also releases greenhouse gases.

Child and trafficked labor in many countries work these farms. These are same ingredients sold for Easter and Valentine’s Day treats as well. Shouldn’t this give us pause? (Jade McClain, “Are Our Treats Too Tricky?” https://www.nyu.edu, Oct 27, 2021).

The 16th annual Autumn at the Dallas Arboretum Festival for example, once again displayed 90,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash hailing from the state’s pumpkin capital, Floydada (https://www. dallasarboretum.org/). How many hundreds of thousands of farms grow fir trees purely for the Christmas season? They are planted, watered and tended only to be chopped down, decorated and then discarded; some are mulched, and others end up in landfills. Some reports say that $3000 Christmas trees were sold in Saudi Arabia; while it was officially refuted, photos of public décor show abundant Christmas cheer. Muslims might well consider these things before joining in the festivities, for God dislikes waste (6:141).

In his book “Green Deen” (https://g.co/kgs/kSo3gZ), Ibrahim Abdul-Matin relates that Muslims are told to act as a khalif (caretaker) of His creation (2:230 and 33:72). The connections between Islamic teachings and environmentalism are long standing and deep. AbdulMatin draws on research, scripture and interviews with American Muslims to trace Islam’s preoccupation with humanity’s collective role as Earth’s steward. Even our Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) declared that “Earth is a mosque” (“Sahih al-Bukhari” 438, Book 8, Hadith 87). We must begin to treat our planet as such. We can appreciate the gifts and contributions that Islam and Muslims have brought to environmentalism and continue this movement started by our predecessors.

These are other strong incentives to curtail our rush to celebrate those holidays that are not our own. We do not participate in the wastage that God dislikes, and we can find better uses for the halal salaries we strive earnestly to earn, spend and share as charity. Consider that the number of people who seek counseling and the need of medication increases as episodes of depression and the numbers of suicides spike following what is constantly advertised as a time of joy, peace and goodwill. Pouring our hard-earned cash into capitalism and consumerism of Western interest-fueled banks, institutions and industries ultimately supports those who dealt the death blow to our ummah and continues to fuel separation and division between us today. So just what are we missing if we don’t participate? ih Noor Saadeh is co-founder of Noorart, Inc. (www.noorart.com).

Social Media, Cancel Culture and Mob Rule It is time to accept that social media can also be anti-social, and people must act on it

BY SALMAN SIDDIQUI

I

magine you just got home from work. Work was so busy that you ended up working through lunch. All you ate today was a granola bar and some almonds. Your supervisor went off on you today. If he had given you a chance to explain, you could’ve let him know that he was yelling about something you had already taken care of and that wasn’t your fault in the first place.

You open the fridge and realize you haven’t had time to get groceries in a while. You grab your phone to order food. As you complete your order, you see that the estimated delivery time is two hours. Not only that, but they’ve added $5.00 for delivery plus a $4.50 service charge, and of course a tip too. You grab your keys and head out to one of the few halal restaurants in your area. You phoned ahead so that your food would be ready.

When you get there, you realize they lost your order. Now you have to wait for them to make it.

As you wait, you begin to lose your patience. You pull out your phone and start to scroll through your twitter feed. You’re still waiting. You send a tweet, “Why do restaurants even take your order if they never learned to listen in elementary school?”

You put your phone away.

Later that night, you check your phone. You see quite a few Twitter notifications. Dozens are already angry about your post.

They comment, “Do you know how difficult the restaurant business is?” “Service workers have to put up with a lot. What’s the matter with you?” and “Everyone makes mistakes. Sorry you had to wait an extra 10 minutes.”

That’s where the internet war starts. Scores or maybe hundreds start yelling at each other. They would not behave like this in person, but once online they start forgetting their manners. It’s so easy to do this from behind a screen.

It’s not as though the values are absent. We see Islamic reminders. We’ve become proficient in giving eloquent speeches and writing beautifully worded social media posts. Everyone agrees with the concept, but how much do we apply it? When you see someone say something insensitive online, do you respond respectfully or go on the offensive? We should never shed our adab (manners) simply because we’re interacting online. People are arguing over matters of fiqh, news stories, opinions and even basic daily events. It’s rarely a healthy discussion, and too often it turns into a series of personal insults.

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SOCIETY Abdullah bin Amr narrated: “The Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) never used derogatory language, neither a fahish (indecency) nor a mutafahish (exaggeration). He used to say, ‘The best among you are those who have the best manners and character’” (“Sahih al-Bukhari,” 3559).

Consider the following example of some comments on a recent post (identifying information blanked to protect privacy):

WHEN INTERACTING ONLINE, WE SHOULD REMEMBER OUR MANNERS. FOR EXAMPLE, WE CAN BE AWARE OF HOW MUCH COMMUNICATION IS LOST THROUGH THE INTERNET. WE OFTEN DON’T KNOW THE RELEVANT CONTEXT, THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES, AND WHERE THEY’RE COMING FROM OR THE TONE.

As you can see, the comments are neither constructive nor polite.

They stimulate argument and hurt feelings. People will even resort to personal attacks.

When interacting online, we should remember our manners.

For example, we can be aware of how much communication is lost through the internet. We often don’t know the relevant context, the people themselves, and where they’re coming from or the tone. How we interpret it can affect our own state of mind. As Muslims, though, we should strive to be the best of people (3:110).

Ibn Abi Mulaykah reported: Umar ibn al-Khattab said, “It is not allowed for a Muslim who hears a word from his brother to assume evil of him if he can find something good about it” (“Al-Tamhid,” 18/20).

If you have a following on social media, try to use it to promote good manners. Use your influence in a positive way by behaving with good manners. If someone offends you, stay silent.

If you see something bad, say something good. Try not to call people out, for exposing their mistakes publicly often creates even more problems. Try to be understanding of the fact that there is a human being behind the post. Promote the idea of expressing your opinion in a non-confrontational manner. Social media influencers are called so because they actually do have a lot of influence.

Ibn Mas‘ud reported: The Prophet said, “Shall I not tell you of one forbidden for Hellfire or Hellfire is forbidden for him? It is everyone [who is] accessible, polite and easygoing” (“Sunan al-Tirmidhi,” 2488).

Online communication is a big part of modern life. You may communicate online on an ongoing basis with people you’ve never met in real life. This can happen socially or professionally.

People make long-term friends and enemies online. They meet and even get married online through social media or apps. Mutual understanding is more important now than ever. Muslims have a responsibility to be leaders in good conduct online as well as in person. ih Salman Siddiqui is a pharmacist and an aspiring writer.

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FINANCE

Mosque Board Financial Literacy Matters Overcoming one’s fears of numbers

BY SADIA QURESHI

A

n often-overlooked aspect of Islamic centers’ governance is their board members’ financial literacy.

While highly skilled in their own areas of expertise, many of them often lack relevant training and experience in this regard. In addition, their meetings and interactions focus more on discussing program accomplishments or legal matters.

However, the mosque’s management must help these individuals embrace and understand financial data. Achieving this goal, with some creativity and perseverance, can add tremendous value to achieving Islamic centers and nonprofits’ missions.

WHY ARE PEOPLE INTIMIDATED

BY NUMBERS?

Let’s admit it: Numbers are rare in meetings or discussions (“unfamiliar”); financial numbers and spreadsheets are simply dry, somewhat boring and cause anxiety; require you to pay serious attention (“disruptive”); and mean that a learning curve is right in your face. So, your immediate response is an entitlement to self-exemption because if it’s never been your “thing” or natural aptitude.

Numbers also mean a lot of responsibility, because a small error can cause great harm. And thus, the common attitude is “Since I didn’t engage with financials, I’m not responsible.” But one should be aware of just how costly this attitude might be.

For example, the famous 2018 case of Missing Oxford Comma where Portland, Me., dairy delivery-truck drivers won $5 million from their employer for years of unpaid overtime wages, all because of how commas were used in state legislation governing overtime payments. Also, in 1872, the United States Tariff

THE ENSUING STRESS AND ANXIETY CAUSE PEOPLE TO AVOID NUMBERS. LACK OF SUPPORT FROM THOSE WHO UNDERSTAND FINANCIALS JUST INCREASES THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, BOTH OF THESE ISSUES CAN BE RESOLVED BY INTENTIONALLY CREATING A CULTURE IN WHICH THEY ARE A NORMAL PART OF REGULAR BOARD MEETINGS OR INTERACTIONS, PHONE DISCUSSIONS, PROGRAM REVIEWS AND GOAL SETTING.

Act, as originally drafted in 1870, included an unwanted comma that cost taxpayers nearly $2 million (the equivalent of $40 million plus today).

In addition, numbers require transparency and accountability, especially with reconciliations, which means “a lot of extra high responsibility work” and are seen as a “specialty” — someone else’s job. “That’s why we hired an accountant. Why should I spend time on something I’m not responsible for?”

The ensuing stress and anxiety cause people to avoid numbers. Lack of support from those who understand financials just increases the problem. However, both of these issues can be resolved by intentionally creating a culture in which they are a normal part of regular board meetings or interactions, phone discussions, program reviews and goal setting.

IMPROVING THE BOARD’S FINANCIAL LITERACY

➤ Offer financial literacy workshops to all members. These trainings may include, among others, financial planning, budgeting, investing, understanding and reviewing financial statements, financial internal controls, financial reporting, budget reconciliations and how to spot errors or discrepancies. As hiring professional trainers can be costly, collaborating with other Islamic organizations for subject matter experts or willing volunteers can help save funds. In exchange, you may offer some type of cross training in your organization’s area of expertise. You can also periodically screen and share free online resources for your board and staff.

Help the board understand the importance of investing excess funds and cash savings to protect the institution from inflation and the impact of donor fatigue or lapse. For example, the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT; info@nait.net) offers “free” customized financial literacy workshops. With their expertise in finance and investing, they can also help with your mosque’s halal investing and sustainable fund development goals.

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FINANCE ➤ Help them understand the center’s operational and financial model. Elected and selected board members often have little or no prior background in mosque or nonprofit operations, which makes digesting financials even harder. Once they fully understand the model and what’s important to monitor, they will more likely grasp and understand the financial data’s “whys and hows.” ➤ Attach a bit of financial accountability to each member’s role. This will help them care and learn. Keep discussions on programs, people or impact connected with finances; they are not separate. Helping them learn why certain numbers matter in measuring their department or committee’s progress toward the stated goals will motivate them to track specific numbers in relation to the organization.

For example, what number should board members leading a youth committee care about if they want specific outcomes for their program, or a zakat committee lead care about if he or she aims to support X number of people, programs or communities? This skill will also help them refrain from making program decisions that may impact the center’s overall financial health. ➤ Share financial information timely and in an easy-to-digest manner. Keep it brief yet comprehensive enough to be meaningful and reflect the vision.

Avoid too much specialized jargon and terminology.

For example, the commonly used term “accounts receivable” can be hard to understand. And so they may feel too embarrassed to ask what it means. If using jargon is necessary, provide its definition.

Otherwise, use simple layperson language and put the term in parenthesis. Also, use images, colors, simple charts, symbolic figures, shapes and maybe words instead of actual numbers, where possible, to make financial reports look less intimidating. ➤ Share financial insights regularly in meetings. Not only does this make financial matters more familiar, but it also helps build mutual trust and transparency between the board and management/staff.

Invite the accountant or finance person to meetings so board members can talk with them directly. The more the board sees and hears about numbers, the more they will begin to feel at ease when dealing 54

with them. Their questions will reveal in which financial areas they need further training and education. ➤ Create a financial dashboard. This will help them track certain indicators for the organization’s overall financial health and program performance. For example, color-code certain areas, such as red (negative performance — too much expense), orange (on track but needs monitoring and attention — a little slip could be costly) and green (keep up the good work, well within budget + revenue).

Consider using the specific donor management software or client management tools used by some nonprofits, such as Salesforce, that automatically creates custom dashboards. ➤ Engage board members in the budgeting process. This may seem difficult and time consuming, but not doing so will likely cause these individuals to be less invested in meaningfully enforcing or monitoring those budgets. ➤ Engage them in defining financial internal controls. Although they won’t be the ones actually practicing the controls, participating in policy development will help them understand the financial processes and procedures if they are assigned a role in the policy or in other areas that involve financial risk management and monitoring. ➤ Meet in person to review financial information. Personal meetings are far more effective than just emailing intimidating, dry and stress-causing spreadsheets. Such encounters will help board members retain and make better sense of the data. Sometimes, an easier process also helps make hard things seem easier. ➤ Adopt a whistleblower policy. Doing so will help board members understand the steps and procedures in the case of a financial breach or fraud. ➤ Implement the tips consistently.

Understandably, making busy board members interested in financials is a bit challenging. But incorporating two tips at a time and implementing them consistently will significantly help members improve their financial literacy and become effective financial stewards for your nonprofit’s success. ih Sadia Qureshi is a communications consultant for nonprofit organizations.

[Editor’s note: Copyedited and published with permission from the North American Islamic Trust, Inc.©]

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

Requesting a Ha from Your Emplo

How to lobby your company fo meets Islamic guidelines

BY AMAL OMER

A

s we all know, purity is a key aspect of our Islamic faith. This is not just limited to the foods we consume or personal hygiene. Purity also extends to our earnings, the source of our income, and how we invest.

Financial institutions like Azzad Asset Management and Saturna Capital offer halal investment options that screen out companies that profit from alcohol, tobacco, pornography, gambling, insurance, interest and firearms.

This screening also avoids investing in conventional bonds that generate income from interest (riba) and companies with high-debt ratios.

For many of us, living in a non-Muslim society requires being diligent to ensure that we consider Islamic guidelines in all aspects of our lives. One area that can often be overlooked is our employer retirement savings plans, such as a 401k or 403b.

Typically, these plans offer limited investment options that are not halal, as they invest in the aforementioned companies or bonds. If

alal 401k Option oyer

or a retirement plan that

CFP®, senior investment strategist and financial planner at Azzad Asset Management.

“We always recommend requesting a self-directed option that allows them to have a brokerage account through their retirement plan. They can then purchase halal mutual funds or have us manage the account for them as their fiduciary.”

Iqbal also advised grouping with other Muslim colleagues to lobby for the option to be made available. It can be helpful for employers to see that there is a demand for a halal-compliant 401k within the organization.

She added that “choosing not to par-

CREATING AWARENESS ABOUT THE NEED FOR HALAL INVESTMENT OPTIONS COULD ALSO DEVELOP AN INCENTIVE FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO OFFER SUCH PLANS AND FOR COMPANIES TO INCLUDE THEM IN THEIR BENEFIT PACKAGES.

a halal investment option is not available at your company, there are steps you can take to ask for an accommodation.

In working to help your employer, typically the organization’s human resources department, understand your request for halal-compliant investment options, it can be explained as ethical or socially responsible investing that meets Islamic guidelines. While socially responsible funds may screen out impermissible lines of business, only halal funds will screen for financial ratios and interest.

You can also contact your company’s 401k provider to see if they offer halal funds or a self-directed option and share this in your communication with your human resources department. If the option is available, this helps spell out the solution for your employer: adding the halal funds or self-directed option to their benefit offering.

“Oftentimes employers are not aware that their employees have religious and ethical investment requirements,” said Fatima Iqbal,

ticipate [in the 401k] can mean losing out on tax-advantaged retirement savings and potential employer matching contributions.”

It’s important to note for your employer that not having a halal-compliant option available means that you are unable to participate in the company’s 401k and therefore aren’t being provided access to the benefits offered to the other employees. You can also review your organization’s equal employment opportunity (EEO) policy, which may advise you to apply for an accommodation to access benefits based on your religious beliefs. You can also draw the employers' attention to ERISA laws: The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

According to laws enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against employees because of their religion. Although employers are not in violation of the Department of Labor laws if they do not meet employees’ ethical requirements, it’s in their best interest and

their EEO policy that they accommodate equal access to the benefits offered.

And, as companies look to enhance their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, you can highlight that offering such a plan is an asset that can help retain and attract talent. Raising the need for inclusive benefits can also help organizations better understand the role of faith as they establish DEI offices.

While Muslims are encouraged to be unobtrusive about their good deeds, living in non-Muslim societies, where we often navigate unique situations like this, God willing, it can be a sadaqa to share with others how you have pursued an accommodation in this matter or in other affairs, to abstain from the unlawful and attain the lawful. God tells us, “If you disclose your sadaqaat (charity), it is well; but if you conceal them and give them to the poor, that is better for you” (2:271) and “Those who spend their money in the night and in the day, secretly and openly, they will have their reward with their Lord. There is no fear over them, nor will they grieve›› (2:274).

Creating awareness about the need for halal investment options could also develop an incentive for financial institutions to offer such plans and for companies to include them in their benefit packages. As Muslims, we must uphold our values in all aspects of our lives, including our finances. When we take the initiative to practice our faith with the best of intentions, we can strengthen our iman, bring baraka to our wealth and make the path easier for the future-generation of Muslims. ih Amal Omer is a freelance writer based in the Washington, D.C., area.

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MARCH/APRIL 2022 ISLAMIC HORIZONS

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IN MEMORIAM Abdullah Abdelhamid Bade Attorney and Community Benefactor 1935-2021

L

egal counsel and advisor for numerous U.S.-based Muslim organizations, attorney Abdullah Abdelhamid Bade (pronounced ba-day), 86, passed away in northern Virginia on Dec. 7, 2021.

Born in a small farming village in British India in 1935, Bade became the first in his family and his district to attain higher education with a law degree (LLB) and master’s in economics from the University of Bombay. He followed this with a master’s in law (LLM) in 1966 from the London School of Economics & Political Science on a full scholarship. The following year, he achieved the status of barrister-at-law at the Lincoln’s Inn in London.

After migrating to the U.S. in 1971, Bade accepted a position at an Indianapolis-based law firm as the editor of legal textbooks and journals. He became a citizen in 1975, passed the Indiana Bar the next year and established a private legal practice in family law, immigration and not-for-profit corporate law in Indianapolis. He closed it 31 years later. At the same time, he offered pro-bono advice to Muslim students on immigration and domestic conflict resolution.

Beginning in 1976, Bade also served as legal counsel for the Muslim Students Association of the United States of Canada (MSA), the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) and, later on, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

He crafted and reviewed the legal framework for establishing ISNA’s subsidiary organizations, as well as for many local mosques and national Islamic organizations.

Besides shaping constitutions and bylaws, his always diligent legal work safeguarded many mosques and related properties from damaging litigation.

Maseer, one of his three children, remembers his father as one who “led an exemplary life. He was

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In 1995, ISNA recognized Abdullah Bade with the Community Building & Professional Service Award, which was presented to him at its 52nd annual convention, by (then) ISNA president Azhar Azeez (left) a resilient man. No matter how difficult the situation, he always maintained equanimity and kept his emotions in check, allowing intellect and reason to prevail. He was low-key, soft-spoken and shunned public recognition. From him and our mother, we learned many values, including integrity, honesty, sincerity, transparency, humility, respect, charity, kindness and a tireless work ethic. Although he spoke little, his words were precise and impactful.

His focus in life was not just to be a Muslim, but to actually act and live as a Muslim.”

M. Yaqub Mirza, a former MSA president and general manager of NAIT, who worked with Bade, remembers that he “did not focus on his compensation (which was often below market rates), but dedicated himself to serving the Muslim community … with legal issues confronting many affiliated Islamic centers and schools around the country.” Mirza adds, “I know no one who served MSA, MCA, ISNA, AMSE, AMSS, FID and many more organizations as my beloved brother the Late Abdullah Bade did.”

Hisham Altalib, a co-founder of the SAAR Foundation and current president of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), admires Bade’s professional help

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

to the community and to NAIT and SAAR, specifically during the community’s early years, noting that “benefits of his voluntary efforts reflected well on the American Muslim community as well as the international ummah overseas.”

Sayyid M. Syeed, a former MSA president and ISNA secretary general, considers Abdullah Bade “a lynchpin” in terms of how “we organized our new communities around the country and taught them the need to build a local organization around a constitution.” Syeed adds, “People could call him around the clock and this modest man was ready to provide advice…. to not a dozen or a few scores, but to hundreds of centers around the country.”

Ahmed ElHattab, former director of the ISNA Development Foundation, found in Bade a man of integrity who didn’t compromise his principles. “He was a persistent, hardworking man and paid full attention to details,” says ElHattab. “He cared a lot about the wellbeing of family and family relations and was a supportive and loving father.”

Architect Mazen Ayoubi remembers Bade as a professional dedicated to helping Islamic centers, schools and communities nationwide as they transformed from student associations into well-established community organizations.

He recalls, “On many occasions I worked with him in preparing legal proceedings to protect and preserve the rights of Muslim communities.”

Ayoubi further noted, “As a former legal counsel for NAIT, Bade left a legacy to be proud of… I hope other legal professionals will follow his lead.”

Abdullah Abdulhamid Bade is survived by his wife of 50+ years, two sons, a daughter and eight grandchildren. He will be missed dearly and long remembered by family, friends and fellow professionals. ih Contributed by Dr. Iqbal Unus, chairman of Islamic Horizons advisory board, and a former ISNA secretary general.

Robert Dickson Crane An Intellectual Ambassador to 1929-2021

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obert Dickson Crane, a great soul and a dear friend to many, passed away on Dec. 12, 2021, at the age of 92. Ever since he embraced Islam in the early 1980s, he worked diligently to clarify issues about the meaning of Sharia as the canon of the justice and defend the Muslim community against its far right and neocon detractors.

Crane’s academic journey was long and rich with accomplishments.

It started with studying Russian at Harvard University in 1945 at the age of 16, and the sociology of religion at University of Munich in Alliedoccupied Germany. He graduated with a B.A. from Northwestern University in 1956, followed by a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he became the Harvard International Law Society’s first president. He was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1960.

Fluent in six languages, Crane co-founded the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington’s first foreign policy think tank. He went on to serve as director of Third World Studies at The Hudson Institute, executive director of the American Indian National Bank and president of The Native American Economic Development Corporation. In 1976, at the State Department’s request, he spent a year working as the principal economic and budget advisor to the Bahraini finance minister to help prepare a five-year plan. Crane was also one of the two principal founders of Reagan’s Presidential Task Force on Economic Justice.

His life journey took a turn when, it is said, President Nixon asked Crane, in his capacity of advisor on foreign affairs and deputy director of the National Security Council, to prepare research on Islam for him and attend Islamic seminars and lectures to learn more about the subject.

Crane’s immersion in his assignment led to his conversion in 1981.

e (Faruq ‘Abd al Haqq) both the East and the West

Dr. Hasan Awan, who has known Crane since his MSA days, says, “He was truly a kind of political and intellectual ambassador of the West to the Islamic world and of Islam to the Western world,” adding that “His system and philosophy were as Islamic as they were Western: incorporating the ideals of both.”

Dr. Louay Safi, his colleague at the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), reminisces, “I had the opportunity to interact with him closely on a number of occasions and was always impressed by his unfailing proclivity to ground his political positions in his deep moral commitments. His firm and unwavering public standing was combined with a down-to-earth attitude and demeanor. I had the honor and joy of observing the strength of his conviction and the beauty of his character through our frequent interactions first in Washington D.C. in the 1980s and early 1990s when he was actively involved in supporting the Muslim American community, and later in Doha as an academic colleague at Hamad bin Khalifa University.”

Since the early 1980s, Crane was a Muslim activist, serving at the Islamic Center of Washington and IIIT and helping to found the now defunct American Muslim

Council and the Muslim American Bar Association. In 1994, he established his Center for Civilizational Renewal in Santa Fe, N.M., where he produced his book, “Shaping the Future: Challenge and Response.”

He later set up the Center for Public Policy Research in Springfield, Va., and served as managing director of its scholarly Middle East Affairs Journal. He published his works as head of his Islamic Institute for Strategic Studies and as senior research fellow at IIIT. In 2011 he joined the Qatar Foundation in Qatar to teach a course on “How Policy is Made in Washington,” becoming a full professor and director at the Center for the Study of Islamic Thought and Muslim Societies the following year.

This led to his work on his four-volume textbook, “Islam and Muslims: Essence and Practice,” as a model and part of a proposal for a Holistic Education Center to produce textbooks on various world religions by spiritual scholars in these religions.

Over his academic and professional career, Crane authored or coauthored more than a dozen books and over 50 professional articles on comparative legal systems, global strategy and information management. He was listed in The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims.

Crane’s daughter Marietta Crane remembers her father as one committed to world peace. She states, “After the shock wave of the Iranian revolution in 1979, which took the US intelligence community by surprise, he decided to convert to Islam and immerse himself in the Muslim world so that he could first of all gain a deep understanding of its religious tenants and then attempt to explain to the radical, terroristic elements that their understanding of Islam was contrary to what had been preached by Mohammad.”

Dr. Robert Dickson Crane was indeed an exceptional bridge builder. He will be long remembered and missed. ih Contributed by Dr. Iqbal Unus, chairman of Islamic Horizons advisory board, and a former ISNA secretary general.

Zeba (Elisabeth) Siddiqui Beloved Mother and Grandmother, Author and Illustrator, and among Pioneers of Islam in America 1934-2021

“

There are those who possess a certain specialness with God — perhaps it is their big hearts, or their capacity to transcend themselves and be lovingly present with others’ in their praying, grief, sorrow and struggle, in their moments of joy and courage.

Perhaps it is their sincerity. Or, yet, maybe it is their incredible faith and focus to fulfill their divine mission on this earth that differentiates them as human beings. Whatever it may be, a teacher of mine taught me: well done is better than well said.

Ultimately, we are heirs only of our good works if they are accepted by God. My maternal grandmother was a woman whose legacy will outlive her nearly 88 years,” wrote her granddaughter, Nura Jandali in her tribute on social media.

Our beloved mother Zeba Siddiqui passed away on Dec. 16, 2021, in Ft. Collins, Colo., where she had lived since 1964. A cherished grandmother of 18 and great-grandmother to 18 children, she died peacefully surrounded by her husband of 64 years, Dr. Mohammed Moinuddin Siddiqui, and her five children, Mateen, Ameena, Selima, Yusuf and Hediye.

Her foundational books have guided numerous converts and been translated into other languages. Her children’s books, among the first of their kind, gave identity to generations of Muslim American children.

But while she is mourned and celebrated for her incredible contributions, she is more deeply mourned by all of those who experienced her kindness, compassion, support and selfless giving first-hand. She left this world still working on what she loved best — writing; she was revising her most popular book, “What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims.”

Known by both her birth name

“Elisabeth” and “Zeba,” the name given her by my father’s grandmother after their marriage in 1957, she also wrote under the pen names of Suzanne Haneef and Marian Kazi.

Raised as Anglican, she converted in the early 1960s after her marriage and exposure to Islam through various avenues, including the Muslim Youth Camp in California that we attended for many years. Both my parents became active with the newly formed MSA in the mid1960s and regularly attended its annual conventions. She joined the MSA Women’s Committee and contributed to two of their early publications: “The Muslim World Cookbook” and “Parents Manual: A Guide for Muslim Parents Living in North America.” She also edited the “Islamic Correspondence Course” that my father developed to educate converts and others about Islam. As Iman Elkadi recounts their early activism, “As members of the Women’s Committee of the then MSA, we collaborated in writing the Parents' Manual, planned women’s sessions and activities for the conventions, and compiled a directory of Muslim women who attended the conventions.”

A pivotal period in her life occurred in 1970-71, when our family spent a year long sabbatical in Turkey. Her first major work, “Adhan over Anatolia: The Diary

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IN MEMORIAM of an American Muslim” (1973), written under the pen name Marian Kazi, describes her experiences and reflections on Turkey and the state of Muslims generally. Other sabbaticals included a year in Jordan and another in Kuwait. Through her travels, she not only gained a deeper knowledge of Islam, but also embraced the warm ethos of Muslim cultures that was part of her inherent nature to begin with — generosity, sacrifice, selflessness, helping the indigent and so many other praiseworthy qualities.

Her talents and creativity took various forms. As Nura Jandali remembers, “From as early as I can remember, we spent our childhood summers visiting my grandparents in Colorado. My grandmother came from an artistic, musical background and we gained a greater appreciation of her many talents through her creative prowess. In between telling us stories, my grandmother devoted every waking moment typing away to produce some of the most preliminary and formative books. Her writings catered to every audience — each and every book a manifestation of her devotion to preserving and conveying Islam in America. At times she would spend hours searching for a single word in her Arabic/English dictionary looking to find the perfect translation so that the meaning could be conveyed with accuracy.”

Over the next few years she wrote, illustrated, edited or contributed to publications, among them the “Muslim World Coloring Book,” which contains many of the art forms and architecture she saw during her travels; “Karavan: Tales and Plays for Children” (1977), “What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims” (1979), “Kareem and Fatimah” (1990), “Islam: The Path of God” (1996) and the two-volume “A History of the Prophets of Islam” (2002). She also edited and added hadith reference numbers for Norma Tarazi’s “The Child in Islam” (1995) and edited and transcribed numerous scholarly works.

As Abdul Malik Mujahid wrote on social media, “Zeba Siddiqui, a

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pioneering American Muslim writer has passed away. Three generations ... benefited from her.”

Her reach was both global and local. She attended Islamic conferences in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, where then-President Zia ul-Haq personally welcomed her.

Her friend and co-MSA/ISNA active worker Iman Elkadi recounts one of the trips, “In December 1980, we traveled to Nigeria to participate in a Muslim women’s conference at Bayero University in Kano. We stayed in touch over the years by phone and through correspondence and occasional visits. Sister Zeba was a dear and respected friend who will be sorely missed. May Allah reward her and bless her with His mercy.”

As one of Ft. Collins’ longest Muslim residents, she welcomed generations of foreign students.

Her many local volunteer activities included sponsoring and aiding Cambodian and Bosnian refugees, collecting and distributing charity to the needy, co-founding the interfaith group Women for Peace and Justice and serving on the hospital’s ethics committee. She also helped countless women in need, morally, financially and physically, even in her last years and conducted classes for new converts at the masjid.

As Nura Jandali eulogized her, “It was the outpouring of love that drew everyone to her; she was a mother to the destitute, the convert who had no parents, to those struggling with spiritual and physical infirmity, suffering from poverty and inmates writing her letters from prison asking questions about Islam. Theirs was an elect generation, laying down the foundation of Islam in America, when our numbers were few as a community in a desolate landscape for Muslims. She was someone who had a living, breathing, dynamic interactive relationship with God. May Allah accept her as one of His beloved slaves, for I know she eagerly awaited her meeting with Him.” ih Contributed by her daughter Ameena Jandali, a founding member and content manager for Islamic Networks Group and former member of ISNA’s Majlis ash-Shura.

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

Maulana M. Yusuf Islahi: Life and Legacy Respected Scholar & Spiritual Mentor 1932-2021

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haikh Muhammad Yusuf Islahi, 89, an internationally known scholar and spiritual mentor, passed away on Dec. 21, 2021, in India after a brief illness.

His family was from Attock, Punjab, pre-partition India. During his childhood, he moved to Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), with his father, the hafiz and Hadith scholar Shaikh Abdul Qadeem Khan.

Having memorized the Quran while still young, he studied there until high school and then pursued Arabic and Islamic studies at Saharanpur’s Mazahirul Uloom. His keen interest in the Quran caused him to enroll in Azamgarh’s Madrasah Al-Islah, where he became a special student of Maulana Akhtar Ahsan, who followed Maulana Hamiduddin Farahi’s tafseer method. Upon graduation, Shaikh Yusuf took the honorific title Islahi like many others who graduated from this academic institution.

During his studies, Shaikh Yusuf became interested in Maulana Maududi’s writings, joined India’s Jama’at Islami (JI) and was soon elevated to its higher ranks. After graduation, he returned to Bareilly, led its JI branch and was eventually chosen as a member of the JI

national consultative body, a post he retained until his death.

A moderate, kind and courteous person, Shaikh Yusuf was peaceful, avoided controversy and disliked division. He delivered his speeches and wrote articles in simple but very powerful and effective beautiful Urdu. Famous for his Quranic lessons, he emphasized the sacred text’s coherent, dynamic and action-oriented message.

Shaikh Yusuf published articles in two monthly magazines – his own Zikra and the JI’s Zindigi — and authored 60+ books. In the preface of his most famous and popular book, “Adab Zindgi” (“Etiquettes of Life”), he wrote, “Civility and good manners, dignity and courtesy, neatness and purity, prudence and discretion, organization and discipline, keen aesthetic sense, magnanimity and nobility of temperament, sympathy and consideration, mildness and pleasant speech, hospitality and humility, selflessness and sacrifice, sincerity and freedom from lust, fortitude and perseverance, sense of responsibility and industry, fear of God and piety, reliance on God and bold initiative — these are the magnificent features of a true Islamic life.”

His “Qur’ani Ta’limat” (“Quranic Teachings”) summarized the main Qur’anic teachings. His two-volume “Asan Fiqh” related matters of everyday fiqh, and “Da’i Azam” emphasized the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) as the greatest da’i. He also wrote many short books on social issues and the life of great Muslims.

During his first visit to the U.S. in 1979 at my invitation, Shaikh Yusuf spent several months lecturing in New Jersey, New York and other states. When I moved to California in 1981, I invited him to our First International Sirah Conference

(1982) organized by Garden Grove’s Islamic Society of Orange County.

The Chicago community and ICNA also invited him to several of their conventions.

Shaikh Yusuf was very concerned with educating Muslim girls. After the death of my fatherin-law Maulana Abdul Hai, founder of Rampur’s women-only Jameatus Salehat seminary, and of his successor my father Tawassul Husain Siddiqi, Shaikh Yusuf took charge.

Under him, its reputation attracted thousands of Indian Muslimas. He urged all Muslims to promote and support such efforts.

In the U.S., he was the spiritual patron and counsellor of ICNA’s da’wah programs, especially “Why Islam.”

A very sociable, pleasant and kind person, he had a great sense of humor, liked to listen to Urdu poetry and share good jokes. Many Muslims were attracted to his gatherings and loved to spend time with him.

Along with his wife (my older sister), this family-oriented man had eight children and 61 years of happily married life. After his wife’s death in 2017, he became closer to his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. My siblings and I called him Bhai Sahib (honorable brother), because he was a loving elder brother to me and a fatherly figure to my younger siblings and our children.

During the last two years, because of Covid-19, he stayed at home in Rampur. Whenever I called him and asked how he was doing, his answer was always “Alhamdu lillah, I cannot give enough thanks to Allah.” When I asked about his health, he used to say, “I am well, but our country India is sick (referring to the socio-political conditions).”

Thousands of people around the world have remembered him fondly and mourned the death of this great leader and mentor who affected their lives. May Allah bless him and grant him the best. ih Contributed by Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi

Mohammed Hashir Faruqi Journalist, Thinker, Humanist and Voice of Reason

1930-2022

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ohammed Hashir Faruqi, the 92-year-old frail-looking but giant of a truthful writer, left this world in London on Jan. 11 after paving the way for robust journalism with a Muslim vibe with his sacrifices and backbreaking work.

A legend in his own right, in 1970 Faruqi founded the Impact magazine in London “to promote a genuine understanding of Islam and Muslims to the English-reading audience worldwide.”

Against all odds, he worked tirelessly to raise human rights issues, writing against injustice and violations of human dignity and urging Muslims to stand peacefully for weak and marginalized people.

With very few resources and working from a dilapidated tworoom London office, Faruqi, trained initially as an entomologist, worked long hours to give voice to a community that was baffled by its negative stereotyped image in the West.

Born in eastern Uttar Pradesh in January 1930, Faruqi joined the Pakistan Movement, which sought a separate homeland for Muslims in post-British India, and formed a Muslim Student Union at Kanpur Agricultural College to mobilize the youth to create a new state that would ensure equality and justice for all.

In the 1960s he moved to London and decided to become the voice of newly arriving Muslim immigrants.

As a first step, he started an Englishlanguage newspaper, even though many of his Muslim contemporaries thought that such a venture would fail in a highly competitive world.

It took him ten years to achieve his dream and refute their prediction.

In addition to being a regular contributor to the weekly meetings of the London Islamic Center, he also contributed a column to The Muslim, the monthly magazine of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies in the UK and EIRE.

During the Iranian Revolution, he was in the news — he was among the hostages in the 1980 Iranian embassy siege. People remember his efforts to end the siege peacefully.

In 2003 he helped organize Prince Charles’ visit to the Leicester-based Islamic Foundation in Markfield.

Ten years later, when The Muslim News presented him with the editor’s lifetime achievement award, Ahmed Versi said, “He is our connection from the world we inhabit now to a Muslim world that began its uncertain journey in the midst of decolonization, war and new modern identities.”

Once launched, Impact became a voice of honest journalism, truth and fair and balanced reporting.

With the help of a few dedicated supporters, among them Saleem Siddiqi, he proved that dreams could come true on the wings of sincerity and humility. The wages were minimum and the task was huge, but Faruqi’s team worked late hours, often neglecting their families, to publish the magazine regularly.

Impact became a source of honest writing in the Muslim world.

Newspapers published in India, Pakistan, Turkey, the Middle East and Africa began reprinting its articles, thereby inspiring young people to start their own English-language publications in their regions.

Moreover, his writings proved that Muslims could write their own stories and discern fact from fiction.

During his long tenure as

Impact’s editor-in-chief, he trained several Muslim youth in journalism. His creed was simple: Be fair, bold and balanced in your writing.

Never compromise on facts. Always stand for human dignity. Never yield to propaganda, and serve God by serving humanity. These were the principles he always advocated to those who sought his advice.

Syed Ubaidur Rehman, author of “Biographical Encyclopedia of Indian Muslim Freedom Fighters,” wrote, “He was such a selfless person.

His death is a massive loss for the Muslim ummah. Once I walked into his office near Finsbury Street uninvited. He welcomed a youth like me with open arms, showering his blessing like an elder who knew me for ages and didn’t allow me to leave without sharing a sumptuous lunch with him. He continued to write to me, without me regularly responding to his emails. His death will be unforgettable, especially for those who yearned to see credible Muslim media. Before Aljazeera and other contemporary media, Impact was a torchbearer for enthusiasts of the Muslim press.”

Mohammad Ghazali Khan (editor, www.urdumediamonitor. com), one of the British journalists he trained, said in his Facebook post, “One of the pillars of Muslim journalism in Britain, Muhammad Hashir Faruqi, died in London today. I worked with him for more than eight years. Not only was he my teacher in practical journalism, but he also did many personal favors for me. May Allah grant him the highest level of paradise.”

Dr. Syed M. Syeed, a former ISNA president, wrote, “We worked together on many issues, and I invited him multiple times to our conventions.”

Faruqi also served as a director at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education (2008-16).

His wife Fakhira preceded him in death a few years ago. Sons Ausaf, Rafay and Irfan, as well as daughter Sadia, survive him. ih Contributed by Aslam Abdullah, a Southern Californian and resident scholar with Islamicity.org.

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TRIBUTE

IN MEMORIAM

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu

Of Toyi Toyis and Pink Tutus: Reflections on the Life of a Remarkable Nobel Peace Laureate

Omar Afzal Islamic Worker and Moonsighting Researcher

1939-2022

O

mar Afzal, a dedicated Islamic worker and a devoted moonsighting researcher, passed away on January 3 after suffering a heart attack in Jacksonville, Fla. He was popularly identified as an Ithacan due his long residence in Ithaca, N.Y., where he was resident there as a Southeast Asia assistant at Cornell University (1973) until he retired during the late 1990s.

Although academically trained in linguistics (M.A., English language and literature, Aligarh Muslim University, 1965; M.A., linguistics, Delhi University, 1971; Ph.D., linguistics, Cornell University, 1978) he was very interested in the Islamic calendar, moonsighting and the public dissemination of new research results.

During the 1990s and 2000s, he would share his moonsighting research with senior Islamic Crescent Observation Project members. He also used to host a moonsighting website (islamicmoon.com) and write widely about prayer times (e.g., “When to Pray Fajr and Isha,” 1993).

Starting off as a teacher of English literature in India’s

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Gauhati University, he went on to become an instructor of Urdu and Hindi at the American Institute of Indian Studies (1970-72), an English language and literature instructor at Delhi University, a chairperson of the Center for Research and Communication and adviser to the Muslim Educational and Cultural Association, which serves Cornell University and the greater Ithaca area.

In addition to these accomplishments, Afzal was very popular for his research on crescent sighting and Islamic dates, as well as a national coordinator at the Crescent Observation International Forum (1981-96). An active member of the MSA and ICNA from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, he established Cornell’s MSA chapter and served as MSA’s East Zone president.

He was a regular writer, assistant editor and member of the advisory board of The Message International, ICNA’s flagship magazine. His publications include “The Life of Muhammad,” “Issues in the Lunar Calendar,” “Calculating Prayer Times” and co-editor of “Islamic Identity and the Struggle for Justice” (1996).

His wife Salma Afzal and his five children Bushra, Iqbal, Sameena, Sadia and Mary survive him. ih Contributed by Zaheer Uddin, executive director at Mission Kindness International, New York, N.Y.

ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

President Barack Obama greets Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu as he arrives at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation Youth Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, June 30, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

“

My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”

This sentiment perfectly encapsulates the spirit of ubuntu (Zulu: I am, because you are) epitomized

by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu (1931-2021). When I was a high-school and university student in the turbulent 1980s and early 1990s in South Africa, Tutu was a key anti-apartheid figure. Unlike the near-mythical status attained by Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada and other decades-long prisoners on Robben Island, Tutu was right there — highly visible and defiant despite constant harassment and repeated arrests. And unlike those fighters forced into exile from South Africa, his presence conferred gravitas on the United Democratic Front, the broad internal anti-apartheid movement.

First as Bishop of Johannesburg and then as Archbishop of Cape Town, the first Black man to hold both positions, his moral authority was a constant thorn in the flesh of the Afrikaner Nationalists who had

framed apartheid from a warped interpretation of Christianity.

The Arch, as he was affectionately called even in retirement, never lost that defiance, visibility and presence. Right up until his death, he denounced materialism and corruption and spoke truth to power, despite the discomfort and anger this engendered among some of his former colleagues.

In many respects Tutu was a most unlikely religious leader. Not adhering to the traditional English Anglican stiff-upper-lip mold, he sang, jived and marched through life with fervor and passionate prayers.

Journalist Gus Silber recounts that when a caller to a radio program berated the Arch for his “undignified” toyi-toying — clapping and singing in church — Tutu responded “I don't care for dignity! … I am an African. I am me. I will dance in Washington, I will dance in St-Martin's-in-the-Field, I will clap my hands and make a joyful noise unto the Lord. What makes you think that God does not laugh?"

World famous for his raucous chuckle and earthy sense of

humor, not to mention his compassion and empathy as chair of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), it was that latter role that plumbed the depths of his emotions — almost as a placeholder for our collective national psyche.

We witnessed the Arch’s righteous fury at the intransigent lack of remorse of some of apartheid’s worst monsters and his anguished pleas to Mama Winnie Mandela to apologize for her “football club’s” controversial actions, including the killing of a young club member.

But perhaps most poignantly, we glimpsed uncontrollable pain when, face down on his desk, he sobbed after hearing wheelchair-bound Singqokwana Ernest Malgas testify about decades of torture, harassment and imprisonment.

Nearly everyone who’s ever met the Arch has at least one anecdote about his characteristic humor, his faith and conversing with God, as well as how his gigantic spirit and personal courage tended to obscure his relatively small stature.

Numerous eyewitness accounts detail how a lone, short bishop confronted an angry mob in east Johannesburg and saved a man accused of being a collaborator from being “necklaced” (killed by placing a burning tire around his neck).

Photographer and historian Omar Badsha recalls how, when the police were about to use an armored vehicle to storm a small Cape Town church where protestors had barricaded themselves, the Arch faced them down, screaming, “This is the House of the Lord!” A burly policeman then picked him up by the neck and carried him to a nearby police station, where he and several others, including Omar, were detained and later released.

Though we’d previously been in the same mass gatherings and TRC hearings, I first actually spoke to the Arch at the Cape Town premiere of La Boheme Noir in 1997/8.

He arrived while I was on the phone with my best friend. She begged me to get his autograph for her five-yearold niece Aneesa, who obsessively chanted “The Pink Tutu” whenever

she spotted him on TV. Seeing my efforts to reach him, he waved off two menacing members of his heavy security detail and motioned me over.

Giggling uproariously upon hearing of his young fan and charmed to hear that he ranked higher in her estimation than Barney the dinosaur, he autographed my program, adding “The Pink Tutu” below his signature.

This incident testifies to the grace, humor, humility and expansive humanness that he embodied.

I also witnessed his deep affection for his wife Leah and the blowback from the withering scorn he could direct at those he felt were betraying his beloved “Rainbow Nation.” Sadly, in recent years this term that he had coined to convey this country’s beautiful heterogeneity has been used to mock and belittle him. Some “born-frees” — the post-apartheid youth — have labelled him a sellout and scorn this idea due to the frustratingly slow pace of economic change. Other detractors are angered by what they see as his betrayal of Winnie Mandela, or by the ANC’s failure to implement the TRC’s recommendations.

In 1984 Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting the apartheid regime, which he characterized “as evil, immoral and unchristian as the nazi regime.” A life-long vocal — and sometimes lone — defender of various human rights, which earned him hatred in some quarters and endangered his life, he’d always respond, “As a Christian, I do not fear death.”

While his anti-apartheid activities angered its supporters, including the Reagan administration, his support for gay rights incurred the wrath of many fundamentalists and his vociferous defense of the rights of the people of Palestine, Iraq and Myanmar, among others, raised the ire of those oppressive regimes’ supporters. Tutu opposed the Iraq war and refused to attend a summit on “leadership” with Tony Blair, whom he characterized as a warmonger.

A longtime friend of the Palestinian cause, his own travels in Palestine moved him to declare,

“I know first-hand that Israel has created an apartheid reality within its borders and through its occupation. The parallels to my own beloved South Africa are painfully stark indeed.” He supported the BDS movement and actively called for Washington to implement sanctions.

In his foreword for the Rev. Dr. Michael Prior’s book “Speaking the Truth: Zionism, Israel, and Occupation” (2004), Tutu emphasized his optimism, “My visits to the Holy Land remind me so much of South Africa: apartheid is back, complete with the ‘Separation Wall’ and bantustans. History, it seems, repeats itself. Yet, if peace could come to South Africa, surely it can also come to the Holy Land.” Tutu’s stance on Palestine caused Alan Dershowitz, the renowned U.S. constitutional lawyer and ardent defender of Israel, to brand him as “evil” and “the most influential antisemite of our time,” as reported in The Guardian (Dec. 30, 2021) — a truly laughable assertion.

Even at home the Arch would not be silenced. In fact, he lambasted the descent of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), his former political home, into corruption and greed.

Memorably, he addressed then-President Zuma, “You and your government don’t represent me, you represent your own interests … I’m warning you as I warned the [Afrikaner] Nationalists … one day we will pray for the defeat of the ANC … (your behavior) is totally at variance with the things for which we stood.” Tutu was also livid when Pretoria refused the Dalai Lama a visa to attend his 80th birthday celebration.

The Arch loved life and had a keen aesthetic appreciation, as embodied in his declaration, “We were made to enjoy music, to enjoy beautiful sunsets, to enjoy looking at the billows of the sea and to be thrilled with a rose that is bedecked with dew.

Human beings are actually created for the transcendent, for the sublime, for the beautiful, for the truthful.”

Tutu believed in the equality of everyone, going so far as to good-humouredly and a little archly (pun

intended!) tease the British monarch when they met. A proponent of interfaith dialogue, he once proclaimed, “God is not Christian. God accepts as pleasing those who live by the best lights available to them that they can discern. All truth, all sense of beauty, all awareness of goodness has one source, God, who is not confined to one place, time or people.”

In 1996, the Arch retired from the primacy, became Archbishop Emeritus and, in 2010, withdrew from public life. However, he continued working with the Elders, the group of international leaders he cofounded in 2007 to promote conflict resolution and problem solving across the globe. His death was followed by a funeral with no fanfare and a simple pine coffin, symbolic of his humility and his contempt for greed and materialism.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu lived the entirety of his time on Earth epitomizing his conviction: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” ih Ayesha Kajee is a South Africa-based consultant on governance, human rights and education issues.

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MARCH/APRIL 2022 ISLAMIC HORIZONS

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NEW RELEASES The Messenger of Mercy: The Covenants of Coexistence from the Prophet of Pluralism John Andrew Morrow 2021. Pp 288. PB Sanbun Publishers, New Delhi, India he Messenger of Mercy overviews Islam’s ideals and the Prophet’s (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) life with a particular focus and his letters, treaties and covenants to and with Jews, Christians, Samaritans and Zoroastrians. Issues of faith, as well as morals, ethics and social justice, and how Muslims implemented them, are presented.

“A powerful contribution to our Islamic commitment to peace building,” said Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed (former national director, ISNA’s Office of Interfaith and Community Alliances; a former president, ISNA).

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Muslims of the Heartland: How Syrian Immigrants Made a Home in the American Midwest Edward E. Curtis IV 2022. Pp. 256. HB. $30.00. Kindle. $16.50 NYU Press, New York, N.Y. descendant of Syrian Midwesterners, Curtis’ “Muslims of the Heartland” dispels the notion that the Midwest is uniformly white and shaped exclusively by Christian values.

The author portrays the intrepid Muslim sodbusters on the Dakotas’ short-grass prairies, peddlers of needles and lace on Cedar Rapids’ streets and workers in Michigan City’s railroad car factories. Learn how the first two generations of Midwestern Syrians created a life that was Arab, Muslim and American.

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The Muslim Resolutions: Bosniak Responses to World War Two Atrocities in Bosnia and Herzegovina Hikmet Karcic, Ferid Dautovic and Ermin Sinanovic (eds.)

2021. Pp. 228. PB. $20.00 Center for Islam in the Contemporary World at Shenandoah University, Sterling, Va. April 6, 1941, the Axis powers attacked Yugoslavia. Within days, its army surrendered and the country was occupied. A German puppet ruled Serbia. The Ustashas’ The Independent State of Croatia introduced Nazi-style laws and atrocities against Serbs, Jews and Roma. Bosniaks (then referred to as Muslims), between a rock and a hard place and without proper political representation or institutions, were split: some joined the Croats, the Serb royalists (Chetniks) and Nazi Germany, hoping for greater autonomy. The Ustasha regime did not target Bosniaks en masse; however, many of their elites disagreed with the new regime’s policies.

Generally labeled “enemies” or “collaborators,” the Bosniak elites used their condemnation of the regime’s policies as a way to seek Bosnia’s autonomy, hoping thereby to improve the country’s position and their people’s security. This book recounts these efforts during and after WWII.

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Hear Us Speak: Letters from Arab Women Suzan Kanoo 2021. Pp. 144. HB. $21.99. Kindle. $8.99 ForbesBooks, Charleston, S.C. anoo’s interviews with Arab women seek to lift the “veil of mystery” about their lives. A very successful Arab businesswoman and CEO, she has seen firsthand how Arab legislation and culture have not always kept pace with our evolving world. The letters reveal story after story of courageous, resilient Muslimas who emerge stronger after each setback.

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ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022

The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom Sahar F. Aziz 2021. Pp. 356. HB. $85.00 PB$29.95 Kindle $24.95 University of California Press ziz focusing on a religious minority, which has been treated as a racial minority, objectified as terrorist, denied the religious freedom that America claims as its pride, and instead subjected to the profiling, monitoring, and policing, which America has too often practiced. The book serves as useful tool for understanding how American law and culture have constructed an image of the Muslim that bears no resemblance to reality and betrays the country's failure to practice what its professes to preach; and how the laws are weaponized against Muslim Americans.

Aziz, explores the gap between America’s aspiration for and fulfillment of religious freedom, and provides the crucial historical and legal background of the links between white Protestant Christian supremacy in the U.S., which racialized not only the Indigenous People and African Americans as inferior but also American Catholics, Jews, and Mormons, not to mention East Asian immigrants, and the currently blazing racialization of Muslim immigrants and their American descendants.

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Cartier and Islamic Art: In Search of Modernity Heather Ecker, Judith Henon-Reynaud, Evelyne Posseme, Sarah Schleuning (eds.)

2022. Pp. 320+500 illus. HB. $70.00 Thames & Hudson, New York, N.Y. ouis Cartier, the founder’s grandson, a collector and patron of the arts, was entranced by Islamic arts, especially Persian book arts. Their geometric shapes, color combinations and motifs are apparent in Cartier jewelry to this day. His younger brother Jacques, an expert in precious stones, traveled to India and the Gulf (1911-12) to experience the region’s culture and bring home treasures: natural pearls. This pivotal moment, when the dialogue between these two worlds opened up, eventually blossomed into a beautiful relationship that has lasted for decades.

Published to accompany a major exhibition at Paris’ Musée des Arts Decoratifs and the Dallas Museum of Art (May-Sept. 2022), distinguished scholars of both Islam and the decorative arts delve into the Cartier archives. Photographs are accompanied by in-depth texts.

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Metalwork from the Arab World and the Mediterranean Doris Behrens-Abouseif 2021. Pp. 340+350 illus. HB. $85.00 Thames & Hudson, New York, N.Y. he latest in the series on the treasures of “The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait,” assembled by Sheikh Nasser al-Sabah (d. 2020) as this volume was in preparation, offers a historical glimpse of Syrian, Egyptian, Iraqi and Yemeni metalwork: exquisite platters, serving vessels, candlesticks, pen boxes and beautifully decorated bronze bowls, lunch boxes, door knockers, buckets and lamps. Many important unpublished pieces are also featured.

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God’s Guidance for Humans Akhtar A. Alvi 2021. Pp. 570. HB. $42.12. PB. $33.10.

Kindle. $3.99 rchway Publications, Bloomington, Ind. Alvi shares the Quran’s answers to whatever is going on in one’s life. The main topics are what people must do to earn eternal life in paradise, why they must work instead of beg, what it means to have full conviction in God, why Muslims must view themselves as part of a larger unity and the purpose of life. ih

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