Islamic Horizons May/Jun 12

May/June 2012/1433 | $4.00 | www.isna.net

Donation Dilemmas | My Halal Kitchen | Mustafa Davis and “Wayward Son”

NYPD Spying Citizens discover being Muslim makes you

a suspect, and take action to prevent new targets.

Matchmaking, Marriage and Finding The One

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UNRWA’s microfinancing program helps Palestinian women recover financial independence.

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Small Steps, Large Rewards

Re Annu gis al tra ISN pa tio A Co ge n n v 31 Fo en rm tion

Whether you find your mate online or through a matchmaker, read tips for a fruitful search and lasting union.

Contents

Vol. 41 No. 3 May/June 2012 visit isna online at: www.isna.net

Cover Story 14 Under the NYPD Paranoiascope

Muslims in New York react and organize following revelations that the NYPD and CIA have been collaborating to monitor, spy and entrap local Muslims.

16 NYPD Playing FBI: The Political Impact

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Political officials and civil rights groups ask the Justice Department to investigate the NYPD’s intelligence division.

Muslims in Action

Organization Brings Domestic Violence Awareness to Darfur A Holistic Kitchen Toastmasters Helps Muslim American Outreach

Politics and Society

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28 Get Out the Muslim Vote 30 Aspiring to International Development 35 The Donation Dilemma

Around the World

38 Empowered Palestinian Women 40 Children’s Art from the Heart 42 Syrian Activist Tours US, Calls for Intervention 43 44 46 48 49 51 53 55

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Muslims and Culture

A New American Fashion?

A Conversation with Mustafa Davis Islamic Art, History Finds Its Place In New York Rohina Malik: Unveiled

Family Life

51 6 8 11 58 60

Departments Editorial ISNA Matters Community Matters Reviews Food for the Spirit

Marital Bliss to Marital Myths Preparing for the Marriage, Not Just the Wedding Love, Virtually Examining Muslim Marriage and Divorce in North America Matchmaker, Matchmaker, DESIGN & LAYOUT BY: Gamal Abdelaziz, A-Ztype Copyeditor: Meha Ahmad. The views expressed in Islamic Make Me a Match

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

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

Building Strong Families

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uslim Americans and their local and national organizations are striving to help build stronger families.

Numbers may have grown. But the last study conducted about divorce rate among Muslim Americans was in the early 1990s by the late New York-based sociologist Ilyas Ba-Yunus. According to his research, the continental Muslim divorce rate stood at 31 percent.

Most first-generation Muslim Americans have experienced extended families where challenges such as premarital counseling and matters of marital discord were met from within. However, the developing field of Muslim-led counseling is a matter of solace. This field is not just attracting self-taught practitioners but practitioners graduated from mainstream programs. It is heartening to note that several programs are offering training in counseling and also training trainers of counselors. And thankfully such counseling is grounded in faith, where guidance is channeled through resources that every Muslim trusts: the Quran and the Sunnah. And, indeed, the family life of Prophet Muhammad is an excellent source to learn from.

The Quran reminds us that in any form of counseling, or private talks, God is present and hears what we say (58:7).

The Quran also teaches us that the private talk in our counseling is to help others to be righteous and to be obedient to God (58:9). And efforts expended in bringing people together is considered sadaqah, and rewarded by God. The area of premarital counseling is expanding as more and more local, regional, and national Islamic organizations focus on this area. In this regard, Muslims are guided by the Quranic advice: “And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy.

Indeed, in that are signs for a people who give thought” (30:21).

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Indeed, Muslim organizations such as the Islamic Social Services AssociationUSA are promoting premarital counseling nationwide, bringing cities into area counseling networks.

Are such phases of counseling enough?

No; the education must go beyond.

Certainly our values have changed and are changing. Muslims are becoming fixated on diplomas and degrees. The now discontinued (thankfully) matrimonial advertising in this magazine was an ample reflection of such thinking: a doctor could only marry another doctor.

Perhaps some may feel more comfortable discussing pulmonary valves at dinnertime. But such an outlook has become intense.

It is heartening to note that greater focus is being placed on family issues.

A recent report, “Understanding Trends in American Muslim Divorce and Marriage: A Discussion Guide for Families and Communities,” was published by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding and is directed at the Muslim community and community leaders.

Among other things, the report finds that imams’ attitudes and approaches toward cases sometimes differed as a result of how sympathetic they were to women’s complaints, rather than allegiances toward a particular school of law.

While Islamic centers and Islamic organizations can provide the broad outlines, including advice from scholars, it is parents themselves who need to think and start focusing on what sort of outlook they want to nurture in their children.

Muslims are repeatedly reminded about being a balanced Ummah, treading a middle path. Balance begins at the individual level, carrying over to the family and community. ISNA is committed to continuously evaluating how it can be a stronger player in both fostering and promoting strong families, while developing new resources.

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Islamic Horizons March/April 2012

PUBLISHER The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) PRE SID ENT Mohamed Hagmagid Ali SECRE TA RY GENER A L Safaa Zarzour ED IT O R

Omer Bin Abdullah A ssistant Editor Deanna Othman ED IT O RIA L A DVIS O RY B OA RD

Susan Douglass (Chair); Dr. Jimmy Jones; Dr. Sulayman Nyang; Dr. Ingrid Mattson.

ISL A MI C H O RIZO NS

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ISNA Matters MSA Conference: Knowledge is Way to Paradise The theme “Knowledge: Pathway to Paradise” was manifested beautifully in a conference setting hosted by MSA National at the University of Chicago from March 16-18. Throughout the entire weekend, students coming from varying parts of the Midwest accounted for about 115 attendees. With a wonderful panel of speakers, local and national, scholars such as Mufti Hussain Kamani, Farhan Abdel Azeez, Sa’ad Quadri, Northwestern Chaplain Tahera Ahmad, University of Chicago’s Jawad Qureshi, Humaira Basith, Mosque Foundation’s resident scholar Imam Kifah Mustapha, Dr. Altaf Hussain, Rabya Khan, and former Qabeelat Wasat Ameer Saqib Shafi shared their wisdom with all those who attended.

The opening night started with a spiritually uplifting lecture given by Mufti Hussein Kamani on the sacredness of knowledge and the strife in which past scholars endured to verify a single prophetic tradition, let alone the life they’ve given in pursuit of preserving and binding references of God and His messengers. Many students agree

Imam Kifah Mustapha

that they didn’t leave with a sense of despair, but rather inspired to utilize the books that remain on shelves collecting dust, and the scholars that reside within our reach.

Imam Mustapha delivered a profound lecture on Qadaa and Qadr, relatively translated as destiny, he started off with quoting the Prophet Muhammad: “Guard Allah’s orders, and God will guard you. Remember God and He shall remember you, and know if a group of people gathered to benefit you, none will benefit you unless God has willed so and if a group of people gathered to harm you, none will harm you

ISNA Participates in Interfaith Peace Mission Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, National Director, ISNA Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances, was part of the Interfaith Mission for Peace and Understanding that toured Indonesia, Jordan, and Jerusalem, during Feb. 18-29.

In Indonesia, the delegation met with interfaith leaders, religious leaders, NGOs and civic activists working toward interfaith harmony. They met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoy-

ono of Indonesia, Foreign Minister R.M. Marty Natalegawa, Minister for Religious Affairs Suryadharma Ali, and Nasaruddin Umar, vice minister of religious affairs.

In Jordan, they met with Prince El-Hassan bin Talal, Abdul Salam Al-Abbadi, minister of Awqaf Islamic Affairs and Holy Places, and other religious leaders.

The Muslim delegates performed Jumaa prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. The

ISNA Co-Hosts Workshop on Muslim Education, Integration in the US, Germany ISNA and the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies of Johns Hopkins University co-hosted a workshop focusing on the keys to Muslim integration, including education, in the U.S. and Germany in February.

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ISNA convened Muslim leaders who joined an interdisciplinary group of young scholars, practitioners, and experts from Germany and the U.S to discuss Muslim integration and education in both countries.

The primary goals of the workshop were to

unless God has willed so. The pens have been lifted and the ink has dried.”

This quote in essence sets the stage for the beautiful words to follow, destiny as explained by the scholar does not interfere with our free will, but rather it is accepting that God has knowledge over all that we do or intend to do. A refreshing take on fate was that although good and evil are both created by God, nothing is purely evil, even the creation of Satan as described by Mustapha, he is a fixed temptation in this world, so that the more we repel him the closer we are to God. Interesting to note is how supplications play into our destiny, as asked by a member of the audience, Mustapha responded that duaa, supplication, is a part of our destiny; God knew that we would pray thus preventing a calamity to occur and a blessing to be revealed. Former University of Michigan MSA president Farhan Abdel Aziz discussed the purpose of MSA: to provide an Islamic atmosphere on campus and to be of service to the Muslim brethren.

All in all, the conference was a success and allowed all those who attended to walk home understanding a deeper aspect of knowledge, our pathway to Paradise.

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delegations that participated in various interfaith events and discussions, also met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Upon their return to D.C., the delegates met with senior officials from the National Security Council dealing with the Middle East and with officials doing outreach to America’s faith communities.

President Obama was invited. Later, the final meeting of the Interfaith Mission, held at Capitol Hill, was co-hosted by the Indonesian Caucus and by members of Congress representing each of the Abrahamic faith communities.

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exchange ideas and expertise regarding the subject matter in a candid atmosphere as well as to develop a transatlantic network of young Muslim leaders from the U.S. and Germany. Participants analyzed Islamic education, the role of imams, Muslim organizations and questions of representation and leadership, and the relevance of technology in integration.

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Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

ISNA Joins Coalition Calling for Candidates to Remain Fair and Ethical in Campaigns ISNA is co-signatory on the “Interfaith Statement of Principles,” issued by a diverse coalition of major national religious organizations calling on the presidential candidates and all candidates for public office this election year to help ensure decency, honesty and fair play in elections by conducting campaigns that honor our nation’s traditions of religious liberty and avoid sowing religious discord.

The statement calls upon candidates for public office to remember that what is ethical is every bit as important as what is legal and to: • attempt to fulfill the promise of America by seeking to serve and be responsive to the full range of constituents, irrespective of their religion.

• conduct their campaigns without appeals, overt or implicit, for support based upon religion.

• reject appeals or messages to voters that reflect religious prejudice, bias, or stereotyping.

• engage in vigorous debate on important and disputed issues, without deliberately encouraging division in the electorate along religious lines, or between voters who characterize themselves as religious and voters who do not.

“It is perfectly acceptable for political candidates to share their own moral and religious beliefs with the community. However, what we have seen recently goes far beyond that and now includes attacks and the demonizing of other religions,” says ISNA Secretary General Safaa Zarzour. “This drives a wedge between the religious communities at a time when it is critical for all of us to pull together to face the great economic and social challenges impacting our nation.”

While ISNA, as a nonprofit organization, does not endorse any party or candidate but encourages everyone to evaluate candidates at every level on the basis of their position on issues of importance to them. Two voter guides, organized by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and the Council on American Islamic Relations are available online.

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Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Senior Pentagon Official Delivers Apology to Muslims for Quran Burnings

In February, ISNA President Imam Mohamed Magid hosted an event featuring senior Pentagon officials and U.S. military chaplains. The event served as an opportunity for the Department of Defense (DOD) to deliver an official apology for the actions of American soldiers in Afghanistan who unknowingly burned Qurans at Bagram Airfield in February.

Speakers included Peter Lavoy, acting assistant secretary of Defense for Asia and Pacific Security Affairs, ISNA President Imam Mohamed Magid, and U.S. Military Chaplain Lt. Col. Abdul Rasheed Muhammad.

Lavoy apologized on behalf of the DOD to the American Muslim community and assured attendees that the

Quran burnings were an unfortunate mistake. He highlighted the many diverse faiths represented in the U.S. military and the strong commitment by the DOD to respect each and every one of those religious beliefs equally. He also assured attendees that the military is investigating the incident and all troops are being retrained in the handling of religious materials.

“We are pleased with the rapid response from the DOD and the White House and with their strategies to prevent these actions from occurring in the future,” Magid said. “This is an opportunity for us to move forward from this unfortunate incident and to build new partnerships.”

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Imam Position

Islamic Society of Tulsa (IST) is currently looking for an Imam to lead our community.

Criteria: • A self-motivated leader with excellent communication skills.

• Excellent command of English and deep knowledge of Arabic • Experience as an imam working with diverse communities in U.S. • Excellent recitation of the Qur’an (preferably Hafiz) with extensive Islamic knowledge and a bachelors degree in Islamic studies • Excellent skills (managerial, organizational, technological) Salary: Commensurate with qualifications and experience Tulsa: An estimated 10,000 Muslims live in Tulsa. Tulsa is the 2nd largest city in OK. It was ranked #1 in US for cost of living and #2 for quality of life. Tulsa’s moderate climate is one of its greatest features, and hence the abundance of outdoor activities. The Islamic Society of Tulsa is located on the same campus as Peace Academy — a full time accredited Islamic school.

Contact: Submit resume to Ibrahim Kazi.

(Email: mrkazi@hotmail.com, ph: 918- 814- 5322) www.istulsa.org http://peaceacademytulsa.org/ 9

ISNA Matters

ISNA, Others Continue Dialogue with the FBI on Inaccurate Training Materials

FBI Director Robert Mueller

In a continuing effort to address concerns related to inflammatory training material, the FBI recently met with community and interfaith organizations to provide an update on steps taken by the agency to rectify the matter.

On Feb. 8, the American-Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee, the Arab American Institute, Interfaith Alliance, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), D.C.-based think-tank Muflehun, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Shoulder-to-Shoulder campaign had an opportunity to discuss the matter with the Public Affairs Office of the FBI. Director Robert Mueller joined the meeting to discuss these matters with the representatives from the organizations.

The conversation with Mueller centered on material used by the agency that depicts falsehoods and negative connotations of the Muslim American community. Mueller informed the participants that the FBI took the review of the training material very seriously, and he pursued the matter with urgency to ensure that this does not occur again in the future.

Mueller also informed participants that, to date, nearly all related FBI train10

ing materials, including more than 160,000 pages of documents, were reviewed by subject matter experts multiple times. Consequently, more than 700 documents and 300 presentations of material have been deemed unusable by the FBI and pulled from the training curriculum.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to share with Mueller other matters of concern to community members. Issues related to privacy, including the surveillance of mosques, were discussed.

Mueller has testified before Congress about the invaluable contribution that the Muslim community makes to the nation’s security, noting a recent bomb plot in Tampa, Fla., that was foiled thanks to a joint effort by the FBI and the local Muslim community.

The changes proposed by the FBI to the training modules are a welcomed first step in ensuring that such a mistake does not occur again in the future. The group asked Mueller to issue a formal statement on this matter acknowledging the negative impact of these training materials on the Muslim community.

Representatives from the community and interfaith organizations also stressed the importance of transparency by the FBI in dealing with these matters, and suggested that a committee of community leaders and experts be assembled to review FBI-issued training material issued. Meeting participants requested that the training process be open and transparent moving forward, and requested future meetings with Mueller to continue the conversation.

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Imam Needed

MUSLIM COMMUNITY OF NEW JERSEY 15 South Second Street • Fords, NJ 08863 Tel: (732) 738-5100 info@mcnjonline.com • www.mcnjonline.com The Muslim Community of New Jersey is looking for a fulltime Imam for their masjid in Woodbridge Township.

The imam will serve as the religious leader of the community and play a crucial role in the weekend Islamic School.

Qualified candidates will have at least bachelor’s degree from a reputable accredited Islamic university, knowledge of Islamic Fiqh, Shari’ah, and Hadith. He will be equipped with excellent oratory skills. The Imam should be fluent in English with a working knowledge of Arabic. Besides leading prayers, the Imam will establish regular dars classes for both young and adults, provide matrimonial services, and help with Islamic weekend school teaching/curriculum.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Community Matters Women Trailblazers Honored in Muslim Community The Muslim Women’s Alliance (MWA) celebrated Women’s History Month in March with its annual awards luncheon in Oak Brook, Ill. Attended by more than 500 women, it was an afternoon of unity, empowerment and inspiration to celebrate women’s economic, political and social achievements.

MWA executive director Anisha Ismail Patel discussed how Muslim women historically come from a “strong legacy of leaders and have the responsibility to continue this tradition.”

The MWA Inspiring Muslim Woman’s Awards were presented to Ameena Matthews, a behavior practitioner, pediatrician Nour Akhras, and Iffath Hasan, an author and teacher.

Akhras called for involvement in aiding the thousands of Syrians who have fled Bashar Assad’s brutal regime. Last September, Akhras traveled with a Syrian American Medical Society physicians group to provide urgent medical care and relief for some of the displaced Syrians at several refugee camps situated

Muslim American Charity Hospital in India The Palo Alto, Calif.-based Indian Muslim Relief & Charities (IMRC) inaugurated the five-story Indo-U.S. Diabetes Research Center & Multispecialty Hospital on Jan.15 in Hyderabad, India, in cooperation with the Sahayata Trust.

The hospital, located in the economicallychallenged Malakpet area, has an exclusive wing for women and children. The respected scholar Maulana Syed Salman Hussain Nadwi performed the inaugural, while the inauguration of the second and third floors was done by Hyderabad mayor Mohammed Majeed Hussain, and Malakpet parliamentarian Ahmed Balala.

The hospital offers an array of medical and diagnostic services like diabetology, gynecology, nephrology, urology, pediatrics, orthopedics, ophthalmology, surgery, scans,

labs, X-rays, and mammography, and the city’s first diabetic’s research facility.

Manzoor Ghori, chairman of IMRC & Sahayata Trust, said that this nonprofit venture is the first hospital to be built by non-resident Indians of Hyderabad, to serve their city. The hospital, he said, will conduct educational awareness and prevention program on many diseases, especially diabetes.

However, work continues on the fourth and fifth floors and facilities like diabetology, orthopedic, pediatrics, and gynecology.

Also, in January, IMRC conducted its third India Health Initiative, where Muslim American health professionals volunteered their time in Indian cities Lucknow, Hyderabad, and Delhi, providing free health and eye examinations and prescription medication (as needed) to people in rural areas.

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in Turkey along the volatile Syrian border.

Renowned teacher Hafidha Iffath Hasan offered a touching tribute to her mother. In a traditionally male-dominated field, Hasan holds a unique role as a scholar in Muslim society and someone who assists young women in memorizing the Quran. Hasan has also connected with the younger Muslims through her prolific use of social media.

Ameena Matthews was named Chicago Tribune’s “Chicagoan of the Year” for her dedication to community activism for peace building and social change. In 2006, she joined Ceasefire, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization, an award-winning scientific public health model that has been proven to reduce shootings and killings.

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CAIR Elects New Chairman The D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has elected Omar Zaki as its new national board chairman.

Zaki, a U.S. Army veteran and a Southern Califor ni a sma l l business owner, succeeds former State Senator Larry Shaw (NC), who will remain on CAIR’s board.

Zaki, active with CAIR and t h e Mu s l i m American community, served on CAIR’s national board since 2011. He previously served as director of government relations for the CAIR Southern California chapter. In that capacity, he helped create a multicultural advisory council for the FBI and served as an advisor on it from 2004-06. He also served as member in Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca’s advisory council.

Zaki also serves on the City of Riverside Human Relations Commission, the board of the International Relations Council of Sister Cites International, and the California Council on Criminal Justice. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Riverside, Calif.

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Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

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Community Matters

U.S. Mosques Ethnically Diverse, Encourage Civic Engagement About 2.6 million Muslim Americans attend each of the two annual Eid prayers, said Ihsan Bagby, introducing the comprehensive study of mosques and the attitudes of mosque leaders in the U.S., in D.C. on Feb. 29.

Bagby, associate professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky, and the report’s author, said that the number of American mosques increased 74 percent since 2000 and that Islamic houses of worship are ethnicallydiverse institutions led by officials who advocate positive civic engagement.

The findings show, Bagby said, that Muslims are carving out a place for themselves despite the post-9/11 backlash.

“There was a fear after 9/11 that the Muslim community would isolate themselves in the face of religious discrimination and Islamophobia targeted at them, said ISNA Secretary General Safaa Zarzour. “This study shows that, despite this discrimination, we have remained resilient and have continued to integrate into mainstream society.”

The U.S. Mosque Survey 2011 is part of a larger study of American congregations called Faith Communities Today (FACT), which is a project of Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership, a multi-faith coalition of denominations and faith groups.

The number of mosques and mosque participants continues to show significant growth, from 1,209 mosques in 2000 to 2,106 in 2011.

“Against a backdrop of an overall decline in religious participation in the past decade, the Muslim growth of more than 30 percent is especially dramatic,” said David Roozen, director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, Hartford Seminary.

The overwhelming majority of mosques are in cities, but the number located in suburbs rose from 16 percent in 2000 to 28 percent in 2011. The Northeast once had the largest number of mosques, but Islamic centers are now concentrated in the South and West, the study found.

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NEWS BRIEFS Veteran “Toronto Star” columnist Haroon Siddiqui, who has long championed the rights of minorities, is one of the first recipients of Canada’s new Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, created to mark the 60th anniversary of the queen’s accession to the throne.

Siddiqui is one of 36 distinguished Ontarians — journalists, politicians, athletes, lawyers, entertainers, and human rights activists — who were presented with the newly minted medals Feb. 6 by Ontario Lt.-Gov. David Onley to recognize “tremendous achievements and contributions to their country.”

The medals, created by the Canadian Heraldic Authority and approved by Queen Elizabeth II, were manufactured by the Royal Canadian Mint.

In 2000, and 2001 he became a member of the Order of Ontario, for crafting “a broader definition of the Canadian identity.” In 2001, York University awarded him an honorary doctorate. This year, the National Press Club in Ottawa recognized him with the World Press Freedom Award by for his James Minifie Memorial Lecture at the University of Regina, warning against “creeping censorship” in Canada under media concentration.

1996. Before working for Kucinich, Jadallah was a program director for the Arab American Community Center for Economic and Social Services (AACCESS).

Also honored was for CAMEO president Abdullah “Abby” Mina.

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MTI School of Knowledge, also dubbed Islamic School of Indianapolis, was crowned state champion for the second time in three years at the Indiana Councils on World Affairs’ Academic WorldQuest 2012, held Feb. 25.

MTI participated in the 2012 series of Academic WorldQuest organized by the World Affairs Councils of America. MTI students in grades 9-12 won the competition.

The team game tests the students’ knowledge of international affairs, politics, current events, the global economy, geography, world history, and general knowledge about the world. Some of the region’s top schools competed.

MTI will be sponsored by the Indiana Council on World Affairs to go to the national competition held on April 21 in D.C. to represent the state.

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Fridley, Minn.-based Al-Amal School students won awards at the 2012 Minnesota State Science Fair. They competed with 500 others finalists.

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Ohio-based Cleveland American Middle East Organization (CAMEO) bestowed a community service award to Malak Jadallah, a long-serving aide to Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) on March 3 at the organization’s 42nd anniversary dinner.

Jadallah, a Palestinian immigrant who came to U.S. in 1990, has worked for Kucinich as a constituent service representative specializing in immigration and visa issues since

Tenth grader Fatuma Qorane went home with the Navy Award; fellow tenth graders Mahmoud Mire and Ahmed Idris both won the Regional Ricoh Sustainable Development Award; eighth grader Rahema Rashid was awarded the State Science and Engineering Fair: 2012 Best 8th Grade Research Paper Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

award; freshmen Suboohi Khan, Sidhra Musani, Jouman Hamade, Erum Osman, and Sarah Siddiqui were also recognized by the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force for their participation in the Fair’s Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at the 2012.

Even the ruling Hindu state government conceded that more than 2,000 Muslims were killed in those riots.

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U.S.- and Canada-based alumni of the Islamia College (now called Islamic College University), Peshawar, Pakistan, are planning to mark the 100th year of the foundation of their alma mater.

The venerable institution, founded in 1913 as the first Muslim institution of higher learning in North West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Province), along the lines of the famous Aligarh Muslim University that was founded 37 years earlier in 1875 by the Muslim religious and educational reformer Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.

Islamia College was founded by the visionary reformer Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Khan, popularly known as the Frontier Sir Syed.

Islamic College University has, in the past century, played a pivotal role in educating Muslim youth in the northwest frontier areas of the Indian subcontinent.

Dr. S. Amjad Hussain, emeritus professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Toledo, said efforts are underway at establishing an alumni association in the U.S. and Canada and coordinate festivities being planned in Peshawar in 2013.

For information, contact: Dr. Sadiq Abdullah (asadiqr@gmail.com); and Dr. S. Amjad Hussain (aghaji@bex.net).

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Muslim Americans of Indian origin marked the 10th anniversary of the antiMuslim pogrom (riot, attack) in Gujarat, India, that left some 5,000 Indian Muslim dead, hundreds of women raped and thousands more forced to flee their homes, when Hindu mobs attacked and massacred Muslims on the pretext that they had allegedly set afire a railway train carrying Hindu pilgrims.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

teaching constitutional law at two Cambridge area high schools as part of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project — a nationwide program dedicated to teaching high school students about their constitutional rights. Also, during 2010-11, she volunteered as a pro bono legal volunteer with the American Civil Liberties Union, and conducted “Know Your Rights” trainings for community members. Aliya is the daughter of the late MIT scholar Dr. Omar Khalidi.

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The sufferings continue. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based Indian Muslim Relief & Charities, in collaboration with local organizations, continues its efforts in assisting survivors of the riots. Gagan Sethi, co-founder of Janvikas, won a landmark class action suit, securing $2.7 million (Indian Rs. 1,300 million) in repatriation for losses, Of these, $2.25 million have already been disbursed among the victims.

The Indian American Muslim Council, an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos, marked the anniversary by renewing its call for justice and reparation for the victims.

Midamar Corp., a U.S. halal food pioneer and global supply chain leader, was crowned the winner of the coveted and prestigious international award for “Best New Halal Food” for the second year in a row—the first and only American company to win the award—at Gulfood 2012, the region’s biggest such show, held in Dubai from Feb. 19 to 22.

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Aliya Khalidi is the newest assistant district attorney for the Middlesex (Mass.) district attorney’s office.

Khalidi, a graduate of Wellesley College and Suffolk University Law School, at Suffolk, Khalidi was commencement speaker and recipient of the John E. Fenton, Jr. Public Service Award that recognizes students who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to public service law as a career and excelled academically. Additionally, she was president and founder of the Muslim Law Students Association and the vice president of the South Asian Law Students Association.

Khalidi spent the 2010-11 school year

Smoked Peppered Halal Beef Strips were deemed the “Best New Halal Food.” Midamar was awarded the 2011 title for the All Natural ABF Air Chilled Halal Whole Chicken.

Midamar also won the equally sought after 2012 international award “Best New Fast Food Product or Innovation” for Halal Hickory Smoked Chopped and Formed Beef Strips. More than 5,000 companies were invited to compete for the awards, with more than 120 submissions from 30 countries. The submitted products were judged by a panel of international food experts.

Established in 1974, Midamar (www. midamar.com), the first halal food American company to export USDA approved protein products to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, has been attending Gulfood since it was established more than 25 years ago and was the first American company to participate in the event.

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Under the NYPD

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Islamic Horizons  May/June 2012

Paranoiascope

By Janne Louise Andersen

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f New York Chief Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly thought his participation at the Fordham Law School’s alumni luncheon on March 3 could be a low-profile visit, the angry group of students and activists—demonstrating outside, demanding his resignation—would soon remind him of the unpopular stance of his department among the city’s Muslims and civil rights activists.

“Hey Ray Kelly, you can’t hide, we can see your racist side,” the crowd chanted. The parole was amplified between the Wall Street high-rises and resembled a thousand-man presence while actually being a humble 100.

“Ray-cist! Ray-cist,” the protesters cried out while raising their signs against the entrance of the restaurant guarded by NYPD officers.

This was the latest of several rallies, calling for an investigation of the NYPD counter-terrorism program and the police commissioner’s resignation or firing, since the news broke last August that, since 9/11,

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

the NYPD had “become one of the nation’s most aggressive domestic intelligence agencies, targeting ethnic communities in ways that would run afoul of civil liberties rules if practiced by the federal government,” according to an Associated Press investigation.

For eight months, a team of four AP journalists had undertaken an investigation: obtaining classified reports, internal documents and testimonies from anonymous officers, bit-by-bit revealing the existence of an undercover domestic counterterrorism program run by a secret NYPD

This is an NYPD joint project with the CIA to monitor, spy and entrap members of the Muslim community in what is being passed off as a security program, but in fact is a major violation of people’s civil rights,” said Sammer Abulaila, a Muslim activist, photographer and blogger.

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Cover Story unit, the Demographics Unit. It employed 16 NYPD officers and a veteran CIA officer who, according to the AP reports, designed the intelligence-gathering program all while on the CIA’s payroll—itself controversial because the CIA is prohibited from gathering intelligence inside the U.S. Initially, NYPD spokesperson Paul Browne denied the unit’s existence. That was until the AP leaked a PowerPoint presentation that had been used to guide the officers in detecting radicalized elements among so-called “Ancestries of Interest.” A slide in the presentation defines these as 28 Muslim countries along with the category “American Black Muslim.” Moreover, the officers, referred to as “rakers,” were instructed to go undercover in Islamic bookstores, clubs and hookah cafes to “identify businesses and or employment indicative of a specific ethnicity.” Here, Pakistani cab drivers were singled out as an example.

At times, the notes recorded in police files were detailed, such as when an officer reported that a local sandwich shop, where “the majority of the customers are religious Muslims,” is closed during Friday prayers and “serves only Halal meat.”

Police officials told the AP that this detailed note-taking was the result of enormous pressure inside the department. Offi-

cers assigned to conduct interviews and visit homes were told by supervisors that, if the subject of their interviews one day turned violent, their reports would be scrutinized with an eye for what warning signs were missed.

Everyday practices of Muslims criminalized For most New Yorkers, the detailed insight to NYPD’s scrutiny of New York’s Muslim communities came as a surprise, but for many Muslims it confirmed a feeling that had existed underneath the surface of most Muslims communities.

“It was a conspiracy theory a year ago that this is probably happening. Now we have the documents to prove it,” says Cyrus McGoldrick, civil right manager of the Council of American-Islamic Relations in New York, who has been one of the leading organizers of protest against the program.

Sammer Abulaila, a Muslim activist, photographer and blogger, says that nobody would believe him, but rather would call him a conspiracist when he started his blog demographicsunited.com—a title that plays on the name of the Demographics Unit.

“This is an NYPD joint project with the CIA to monitor, spy and entrap members of the Muslim community in what is being passed off as a security program, but in fact

NYPD Playing FBI: The Political Impact

AP

leaked a report on Feb. 22 that, for months in mid-2007, plainclothes officers from the New York Police Department’s Demographics Units went undercover across Newark, N.J., photographing and eavesdropping on conversations inside businesses owned or frequented by Muslims.

The result was a 60-page report, obtained

by AP, containing brief summaries of businesses and their clientele and a list of 16 mosques, referred to as “Islamic Religious Institutions,” where investigators recorded license plates and photographed and videotape those attending the Friday prayer. The file offered no evidence of criminal activity.

This investigation undertaken solely by the NYPD could not even have been performed under federal rules unless the FBI 16

believed that the mosque itself was part of a criminal enterprise, in which case federal agents would need approval from senior FBI and Justice Department officials.

Federal law enforcement officials told the AP that the mosque itself was never under federal investigation and they were unaware the NYPD was monitoring it.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker said the NYPD never told him that its officers were conducting surveillance on Muslims in Newark

Protester holds sign at protest in New York on March 3. and that he was offended by the NYPD’s secret surveillance of his city’s Muslims.

Simultaneously, AP broke another story that the NYPD had placed informants or undercover officers in the Muslim Student Associations in universities all over the Northeast — infiltrating the student groups and trawling their websites, regardless of not being suspected of any wrongdoing.

Most of the universities immediately denounced this procedure.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

After this news, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and the president of Rutgers University in New Jersey urged the state attorney general to investigate the NYPD’s surveillance activities. Christie sharply criticized the NYPD for not informing federal law enforcement agencies about their secret surveillance and said that he didn’t recall being briefed about the spying in 2007 while he was the state’s top federal prosecutor.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

is a major violation of people’s civil rights,” he said early on.

Abulaila, who views the operation simply as racial profiling, says that where the police in a normal criminal investigation usually talk about “a person of interest,” the NYPD now makes whole communities criminal leads with the new category “ancestry of interest.’

“So now people who are Arab, Turkish, African American, any ethnicity or nationality loosely connected to Islam, are now considered a lead in a criminal investigation,” Abulaila says.

That issue has legal significance. The NYPD says it follows the same guidelines as the FBI, which cannot use undercover agents to monitor communities without first receiving an allegation or indication of criminal activity. Following a class-action lawsuit in 1985 against the NYPD for spying on war protesters and activists, a court order has limited how the department can monitor activities protected by the First Amendment.

That order allows the department to conduct background checks only when police have information about possible criminal activity, and only as part of “prompt and extremely limited” checking of leads.

Kelly has repeatedly stated that he “categorically” denies the idea that the NYPD was spying, and that they only go were leads

take them in their monitoring of the Muslim community.

“We do not employ undercover or confidential informants unless there is information indicating the possibility of unlawful activity,” Browne wrote in an email to the AP. Abulaila disagrees.

“In fact, the recently revealed documents by the AP show that, what the police chief and mayors are calling leads, are actually everyday practice of Muslims,” Abulaila says.

An incident—six months prior to the AP revelations—made people question the NYPD’s relationship to the Muslims in New York before protests even began.

The following day, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), in a letter to the U.S. General Attorney and CIA director, asked federal authorities to investigate the affair.

Since late August, 34 members of Congress, Muslim civil rights groups and, most recently, Ivy League universities and New Jersey officials have asked the Justice Department to investigate the NYPD’s intelligence division.

On the last day of February, several months after receiving complaints about the New York Police Department’s surveillance of entire Muslim American neighborhoods, the Justice Department announced that it was beginning a review to decide whether to investigate civil rights violations.

U.S. General Attorney Eric Holder said there were 17 or 18 Justice Department investigations about how police around the country interact with citizens.

“I’m not saying that will be something we would do here, but if we think that there’s a basis for it, we will do that,” Holder said.

Senator Menendez has also urged Holder

to look into the NYPD’s operations outside New York. The Obama administration has pointedly refused to endorse or repudiate the NYPD programs, which, according to recent AP reports, are at least partly funded under a White House federal grant intended to help law enforcement fight drug crimes.

Following these statements Mayor Bloomberg invoked the 1993 terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center and the 9/11 attacks that destroyed it, in a renewed defense of the NYPD. “We said back then we are not going to forget this time around,” Bloomberg said.

“We will not. We are not going to forget.”

He added, “To let our guard down would just be an outrage.”

Bloomberg said criticism of the police department actions was “just misplaced” and “pandering.”

Regardless, experts say the New York general attorney might be forced to give into conducting an investigation as the New Jersey general attorney undertakes his own.

The Third Jihad “Americans are being told that many of the mainstream Muslim groups are also moderate. When in fact if you look a little closer, you’ll see a very different reality. One of their primary tactics is deception.”

Ominous Arabic music plays to the voice of frequent Fox News guest and selfdescribed “Muslim neoconservative” Dr. Zuhdi Jasser as he narrates the film while incessant video imagery appear on the screen: explosions and masked men with guns and knives, dead children and an edited photograph that shows a black and white Islamic flag flying over the White House.

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Cover Story “This is the true agenda of much of Islam in America,” Jasser says, “A strategy to infiltrate and dominate America.”

What follows is more than an hour of Jasser introducing a row of neoconservative Islam critics speaking about the nature and “threat” of Islam, ranging from academics, former CIA, and sitting government officials—including Kelly.

The film, “The Third Jihad,” was produced

by Clarion Fund, a nonprofit group that also produced “War on the West,” an anti-Muslim propaganda film that was distributed to millions of voters in swing states prior to the 2008 U.S. election. Moreover, the New York Times reported it “attracted support from the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a major supporter of Israel who has helped reshape the Republican presidential primary by pouring millions of dollars into a so-called super PAC that backs Newt Gingrich.”

But the film had also been distributed elsewhere—inside the NYPD. The Village Voice first reported on the film’s screening as part of police training in January 2011.

The film quickly went viral among Muslims and civil rights activist and caused furor.

Police spokesman Paul Browne was quick to denounce the film as merely “wacky” and not to be shown again. He claimed that the segment showing police commissioner Kelly came from an unrelated interview.

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School filed a Freedom of Information request with the police to find out when the film had been screened. The police were not cooperating. It would take them nine months until they obtained the release of the document—which told a story different from Browne’s: the film had been shown to nearly 1,500 officers in training.

And the director of the film claimed that Kelly sat for an exclusive interview with the filmmakers—an idea initially supported by Browne himself.

At this point, a year after the video was reported on, Kelly had no other option than to officially state his regret. But, at this point, it was all too little too late.

the noise of the traffic. It then proceeded to elevate to the bankers and brokers in their offices of the high-rises of downtown Manhattan.

During the prayer call, around 150 Muslim New Yorkers, of all skin colors, trickled in, took off their shoes, sat down on the plastic-covered October-chilled tiles of the Occupy Wall Street camp and listened to the sermon of Imam Aiyub Abdul Baki from the Islamic Leadership Council of New York.

“We are also the 99 percent. We are also suffering from racism and discrimination.

Islam-bashing is on the increase,” Baki said before undertaking the final prayers.

“Mic check!” The call came from McGold-

rick. “We are here to protest, we are here to raise our voices. Please give a huge applause for yourselves and for Occupy Wall Street.”

The past weeks, CAIR had organized town hall meetings and teach-ins around the issue of NYPD’s surveillance of Muslim New Yorkers.

“We had the idea to have our Jummah prayer here and join our struggle with Occupy Wall Street,” McGoldrick said after the event. “And it really took off. A lot of people are excited and it’s being replicated around the country: Boston, Florida, California.” The 23-year-old man wearing a white-diamond patterned kufi was one big smile.

Friday prayers against Ray Kelly When the AP released its findings in August, the ground for unrest was prepared. During the peak of the Occupy Wall Street encampment on Wall Street, the clear high-pitched declaration of Allahu Akbar topped the buzz of the activists in Zuccotti Park and 18

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

The protesters’ enthusiasm made the organizers replicate the event on Nov. 15, 2011 where 500 to 700 Muslims attended prayer and a subsequent rally to demand an end to racial, ethnic and religious profiling.

This time, the muezzin’s call was amplified by a sound system and echoed between the government building walls in Foley Square. The Zuccotti Park OWS camp had been raided by the NYPD some days earlier.

Imam Taleb Abdul-Rashid stepped up to the microphone on the mobile stage.

“The Prophet Mohammad said, when you see an evil, change it with your hand. And if you are not able to that, speak out against it, and if you not able to do that, resist it in

your heart.” His deep voice rung out to the shoeless worshippers on the ground and all the bystanders.

“We are here to say that this particular surveillance of our community, not only of the mosques—we knew you were in the mosques—but your surveillance of our children in the schools, your surveillance of the places where we sit down and drink tea, we are here to speak out against that,” said the imam, an African American Muslim from Mosque of the Islamic Brotherhood in Harlem.

The speakers also included representatives from the Arab American Association of New York, CAIR, DRUM, National Lawyers

Guild and CUNY’s Law School program Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility [CLEAR]. All of these groups have since continued organizing around this issue. In addition, representatives were present from Jews for Social and Economical Justice and The Interfaith Coalition for Christens, Jews and Muslims in Brooklyn.

As the last speaker left the stage, the crowd started marching to the large police headquarters building, known as One Police Plaza, where they started chanting for Police Commissioner Kelly’s ouster (“Hey hey, ho ho, Ray Kelly has got to go”).

Abulaila was excited to see Muslim Americans engage politically in the aftermath of 9/11. He worried about the community’s capability to sustain the courage to speak up.

“The reason why the movement is still embryonic is largely because of fear,” Abulaila says. “Today, simply being a Muslim means you are a suspect. Therefore, it becomes important to not equip law enforcement with the means to criminalize you.”

The apprehension of “The Pipe Bomber” Two days after that rally, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Kelly and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. announced in a joint press conference the arrest of 27-yearold Jose Pimentel for plotting to blow up police stations and postal offices with homemade bombs. A video demonstration at the press conference illustrated a car being blown up by the same type of bomb Pimentel was said to have been building.

Federal authorities typically handle terrorism cases. But after the FBI, which had monitored Pimentel, decided not to pursue charges against him, the case was picked up by the NYPD, bringing the case to a state level. Here state prosecutors are allowed to charge Pimentel with conspiracy, even if he was acting alongside an informant; federal law does not permit charging such a conspiracy.

FBI investigators were concerned that the case raised some entrapment questions, several sources told the New York Times. Some investigators wondered whether Pimentel could have afforded the necessary knowhow to produce a pipe bomb on his own, had he not received help from the NYPD informant. The informant’s drug use in the case also concerned the investigators, officials told Talking Point Memo. They said Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

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Cover Story the informant had smoked marijuana with Pimentel, who was most likely high when making some of the recorded statements used against him in court.

Moreover, Pimentel, a Dominican-born U.S. citizen who converted to Islam two years earlier, also tried to circumcise himself, according to New York Times reports.

Pimentel has been indicted on charges of weapons possession and conspiracy as crimes of terrorism and could face life in prison if convicted.

The use of informants in preventive law enforcement is not new.

A report from New York University Law School’s Center on Law and Security states that, “since the early years of America’s War on Terror, the FBI has developed a strategy of preventive law enforcement in which agents seek to identify not only individuals engaged in terrorist activity, but those who, if approached with strong enough incentives, will agree to participate in terrorism.”

In 2009 and 2012, that happened in 10 of those cases.

The report documents a rise in indictments over the past three years that are “significantly affected by FBI informant operations.” Since 2009, nearly half of all terrorism cases have involved informants and at least 15 percent of those can be considered sting operations.

The Center on Law and Security finds the tendency troublesome and encourages public conversation about issues such as “the weakened presumption of innocence when it comes to terrorism suspects, the excessive reliance on overly broad material support statutes, and the narrow line between legitimate FBI preventive tactics and entrapment.”

Giving up liberty for more security In the case of NYPD’s counter-terrorism program, it is the use of informants in statelevel law enforcement that causes concern.

An increasing body of nonprofit legal and civil rights based groups, many of them present at the Friday prayer rally, are criticizing this approach to preemptive law enforcement and have set up legal counseling and know-your-rights workshops at 20

mosques and other community centers on how to interact with law enforcement, on informants and infiltration.

In an interview at CAIR’s office, McGoldrick shares the organization’s concern about the use of informants. He said that most of all local terrorism cases were “either preempt to prosecution and/or an entrapment case where an informant pushed the crime forward.”

He refers to the case of the 2004 plot, uncovered by the NYPD, to bomb the Herald Square subway station in Manhattan by a tip from a Muslim street vendor who got suspicious and called the police.

“That was foiled not because police were hanging out in hookah bars and coffee shop,” McGoldrick says.

AP notes that of those “plots” often described as thwarted by the NYPD, the NYPD has played little or no role in preventing many of those attacks.

Some, like a cyanide plot against the subway system, were discovered among evidence obtained overseas but were never set into motion. Others, like the 2006 plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners using liquid explosives, were thwarted by U.S. and international authorities, and plans never got off the ground.

And some, like the 2008 subway plot, went unnoticed, even though undercover officers and informants in 2006 were infiltrating both the mosque where the perpetrator Najibullah Zazi prayed, and the Muslim student organization at a local college that his conspirator Adis Medunjanin attended.

The plot, that officials have called the most serious terrorist threat to the U.S. since 9/11, was only discovered after U.S. intelligence intercepted an email revealing that Zazi was trying to make a bomb.

“Those who give up their liberty for more security neither deserve liberty nor security,” McGoldrick said quoting Benjamin Franklin.

He understands, however, that everyone wants to feel safe and calls for a debate about effective policing.

“We count on police to look for crime, but not to manufacture crime. Our tax dollars should not be allowing NYPD to play James Bond in prayer rooms in Philadelphia’s New Haven. We are closing schools and social services and paying for them to go whitewater rafting,” McGoldrick said with reference to another AP report revealing that an undercover operative went on a whitewater rafting trip to gather intelligence among a group of Muslim Yale students.

It’s questionable whether U.S. Muslims today feel loyal enough to go to the police with tips like the Muslim street vendor. Firstly, the many stories of undercover agents and informants in the Muslim communities have created widespread paranoia and hesitance of cooperating with police.

Secondly, the AP investigation has also revealed that some of the same mosques that city leaders visited to publicly prove their alliances have also been under NYPD surveillance.

The breach of trust is not helped by the fact that neither the police commissioner nor Bloomberg will admit the flaws of the program.

“Mic check!” shouted Amna Akbar from CUNY CLEAR at the rally at the Fordham luncheon. “The AP has confirmed what Muslims have known for years. We are a growing force of people, students, professors, workers, Muslims, and we are here together to say NO MORE.” Another protester joined in.

“Enjoy your final year in New York City.”

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Janne Louise Andersen is a freelance journalist based in NYC covering issues among Arab diaspora communities.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Muslims in Action

Organization Brings Domestic Violence Awareness to Darfur

Photo credit: Maha Alkhateeb

By Salma Abugideiri

I

n January 2012, Peaceful Families Project (PFP) was invited to provide domestic violence prevention workshops to imams and other leaders in Nyala, Darfur by Humanity Organization, a local human rights organization led by Mohamed Zakaria, an imam and attorney.

The PFP team of two trainers and a researcher-photographer was composed of Magid, Maha Alkhateeb and myself. In many ways, we discovered that the people of Darfur struggle with domestic violence in some of the same ways that U.S. communities do. The people expressed suffering from a lack of resources, information, and funding, as well as barriers between women and the male leadership when seeking help for family violence issues.

At the same time, there were differences.

We heard from lawyers, imams and educators that it was a common occurrence for young men and women to be married without either one’s consent, and without imams ever seeing the two required witnesses. We learned that fathers, in their capacity as wali, had the right to end a marriage within the first year if they objected to it and there was no pregnancy.

We learned that while female genital mutilation (FGM) is against the law, it is still a very common practice that is abusive in and of itself, but that also leads to further

22

abuse when wives refuse intimacy to avoid being in pain. And we learned that in some of the tribes, the prevailing belief (among men and women) is that a man who does not beat his wife does not really love her.

We also learned that while women have very active roles in public society, these same professional women report they often have no voice at home.

We were struck by the level of energy and enthusiasm that the workshop participants expressed. Educators talked about their plans to write curricula for teachers and students about healthy relationships and domestic violence. Female leaders from the IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps described their plans to use their study circles and women’s centers to raise awareness about domestic violence.

Imams shared ideas of how to better develop themselves so they could play a more proactive and instrumental role in changing some of the cultural norms that are not consistent with Islamic values.

Midwives committed to abstain from practicing FGM as they understood the destructive health implications, as well as the ways in which the practice is not Islamic.

We also saw many men working hard to improve the legal and social conditions for women and children, and serving as positive role models to others.

We learned about the major obstacles the lawyers at the Humanity Organization have overcome, such as the possibility of criminal charges for simply speaking out against domestic violence. We were told stories of the transformative impact of Humanity Organization founder Imam Zakaria’s revolutionary khutbahs in which he spoke against domestic violence and taught his community about healthy relationships.

We met attorneys who were dealing with very challenging cases, including women who were imprisoned for killing their abusive husband with boiling oil or water and girls who had been chained to their bed to keep them from running away after a forced marriage.

In the workshop for imams and female leaders, we were surprised to hear that participants were most grateful to be armed with knowledge from the Quran and Sunnah to help them in their efforts to combat domestic violence. Although none of the ayahs and hadith that were discussed were new to them, just as we discover in our workshops in the U.S., many people had not thought about the practical application of concepts such as love, compassion, mercy, and tranquility that are part of the Quranic marriage model and how these concepts cannot be part of a home in which any family member lives in fear of being harmed.

Reflecting back on the lifetime of learning that occurred in less than a week, I am struck by the resilience of Darfur’s people who have been severely impacted by war in the region for several years. Some of the consequences of the war include homelessness, street children, and unemployment. Yet the participants in our workshops expressed optimism, hope and determination to use Islamic concepts to improve the quality of family relationships.

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Peaceful Families Project is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing domestic violence in Muslim communities through education & training. For more information, or to support our work, visit www.peacefulfamilies.org.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

49th Annual ISNA Convention

13th Annual Community Service Recognition Luncheon Saturday, September 1, 2012 Washington DC Convention Center 801 Mount Vernon Place NW • Washington, DC 20001

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Karen Armstrong is a provocative, original thinker on the role of religion in the modern world.

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The Mahboob Khan Community Service Award will be announced and presented To purchase tickets visit www.isna.net Tickets are $200 per seat and $2000 per table of 10 seats.

Complimentary professional child care will be provided for children under 10.

Previous Award Recipients Jamal Badawi – 2000 | Ahmed Elkadi – 2001 | Moinuddin Siddiqui – 2002 | Ahmad Sakr – 2003 Sharifa Alkhateeb – 2004 | Muzammil Siddiqi – 2004 | Ilyas Ba Yunus – 2005 | Mohammad Cheema – 2006 Ahmed Tatonji – 2007 | Jamal Barzinji – 2008 | Mahmoud Rashdan – 2009 Siraj Wahhaj – 2010 | Hisham Altalib – 2011

Muslims in Action

A Holistic Kitchen Will a passion translated into a profession help create awareness about the needs of Muslim consumers?

By Abu Amal Hadhrami

A

comment on MyHalalKitchen.com reads, “Because there is definitely a learning curve to eating halal in the U.S., several years ago I thought about starting a blog to help others and share my experiences. Glad to see someone else [emphasis added] had the same idea. Looking forward to more posts.”

This someone else is Yvonne Maffei, who taught Spanish and English Language and literature for nearly 10 years before deciding to pursue food writing and the teaching the culinary arts within a halal context on a full-time basis.

And what a treat it is. She has more than 4,000 followers on Twitter, and her Facebook likes are nearly 15,000, and growing. This reflects her level of influence.

“All of the people who join me on these social networks are the reason I’m there,” Maffei says. “They’ve been so receptive to my work, masha’Allah, and it’s such a joy to be able to interact with everyone in this way.

As much as I try to share what I know, I’m always learning something new from them.”

Maffei was born and raised in the U.S., and claims a Sicilian and Puerto-Rican ethnic heritage. A Chicago resident, Maffei says that she and her husband “frequently scope out ways to eat the same kinds of food we were raised on, as long as that food is halal, raised humanely, and grown without poisonous toxins and chemicals.

Unfortunately, that’s not always an easy thing to do. We try our best—and when-

Yvonne Maffei

ever I find ways to do that, I have to share it with my readers.”

She is passionate about wholesome food, nutrition, gardening, and learning about culinary traditions of cultures around the world, Maffei says.

“I love real food and am concerned about the current state of our food industry and other factors that jeopardize our food freedom and fair and equal access to healthy food for all. It helps that I love to cook and the kitchen and garden are my favorite parts of the house—I could literally cook and discuss food topics all day long.”

Maffei has been cooking and photographing food since she was about 14 years

When readers respond and leave comments on MyHalalKitchen.com or my social media pages about more of what they are looking for, they are the ones creating the most awareness of their needs.”

24

old. Her parents, who were always very passionate about ethnic cuisine, taught her early on to appreciate a variety of foods not normally seen in suburban American markets at that time.

“They allowed me to help shop for foods as well as to cook interesting dishes and then take pleasure in the final result by photographing them with my own camera. They encouraged my passion for living a healthy lifestyle and for learning about healthy cooking by gifting me subscriptions to monthly food magazines like ‘Gourmet’ and ‘Saveur.’”

This hands-on activity combined with a love of learning about how to live a healthy lifestyle by eating the right foods has kept her excited about cooking ever since. And she is always trying to learn more whenever and wherever possible. When one of her recipes was published in the May 2008 issue of “Cooking Light” magazine, it was all the inspiration she needed to make a necessary life and career change.

Since starting her blog, Maffei has been covered by NPR, Chicago Tribune and Forbes. She says that each of coverage was a little different, but revolved around the topic of food in Ramadan. For example, the NPR and the Chicago Tribune interviews featured the types of dishes she was making for iftar. Forbes discussed the month-long campaign during Ramadan to bring awareness about Saffron Road’s halal frozen meals that are available in Whole Foods Markets. Part of the campaign involved her partnership with these two companies in that they offered some very generous giveaways hosted on the My Halal Kitchen site during Ramadan.

Asked how her blog started, Maffei says, “I had been teaching for several years and decided to switch up my platform from the classroom to the Internet and my kitchen.

I knew I wanted to share my passion for cooking and teach others how to [make] any cuisine halal and a blog was the best way I knew to start.”

MyHalalKitchen.com offer visitors recipes, articles about food, reviews of books and food documentaries and discussions about healthy living, including information Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

on ways to clean the home without using toxic, chemical-based products—information that she recently published in her book, “Clean Your Kitchen Green.” On the site’s resource page, visitors can find out where to get products to make halal dishes, as well as tools to help make cooking easier.

The blog created a platform for her to do work outside of the website. Since launching My Halal Kitchen, she has conducted cooking demonstrations and lectures in a variety of venues to demonstrate eating healthy within halal dietary guidelines. She also offers customized cooking lessons to people interested in learning the how-to’s of cooking while in the privacy of their own home. Additionally, she has been hired to

has to offer to them. This brings her a mix of readers from around the globe, regardless of faith.

“I am so grateful for this diversity that beautifies what’s already there,” she says.

Maffei hopes to be able to keep on “doing more of what I’m doing to produce quality content for my readers. I have a lot of things in mind for what I would like to be able to do in the future, but I know that Allah is the best of planners and as such, I try to take things one day at a time.”

When it comes to helping create awareness about the needs of Muslim consumers, Maffei says she tries to make those needs known through her work but that the ultimate power lies with the consumer.

Universal School Where Islam and Education Come Together

7350 W. 93rd Street, Bridgeview, Illinois 60455 (708) 599-4100 • Fax (708)599-1588 www.universalschool.org email: hr@universalschool.org

Official Openings for 2012-2013 School Year ❖ We offer our teachers competitive salaries, health insurance, sick and personal leave, and a tuition discount for children of faculty members. ❖ Universal School is one of the largest Pre K–12th grade Islamic Schools in North America with nearly 700 students. The 70,000 square ft. modern building houses 32 classrooms, regulations size gymnasium, fitness center, state of the art science lab, one journalism lab, 2 computer labs, a library, cafeteria with a full service kitchen, an inside regulation size basketball court, soccer field, and playground. ❖ Send resumes to: Universal School, Chairman of Staff Selection Committee, 7350 W. 93rd St., Bridgeview, Illinois 60455, via email: hr@universalschool.org, or fax it to (708)599-1588.

Visit www.universalschool.org for more information. help reconstruct school lunch menus by educating cooking staff on healthy cooking methods, using fresh ingredients and implementing colorful, flavorful food that kids will eat and enjoy.

Maffei has received positive feedback and encouragement by people thanking her for the material offered on her website and in her personal speaking appearances.

“That is enough motivation for me to keep going and bringing people information I hope is always beneficial to their lives.”

She says that people interested in cooking with all natural ingredients and learning how to run the house in an eco-friendly way are really interested in what My Halal Kitchen Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

“[I] hope that I am also filling a portion of those needs with my recipes and suggestions for halal substitutes in cooking and everyday halal living. When readers respond and leave comments on MyHalalKitchen. com or my social media pages about more of what they are looking for, they are the ones creating the most awareness of their needs—this is a very advantageous position to be in as a consumer, which is why I always encourage the dialogue with me there. It’s also a great opportunity to learn from one another, which is what I enjoy most.”

She is currently working on a cookbook.

Po s i t i o n s av a i l a b l e: Assistant Principal ❖ Elementary teacher Computers ❖ Arabic ❖ High School Chemistry All applicants must be U.S. certified in their respective fields, and/or have experience in the area of interest.

Resumes also accepted for all teaching positions.

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Abu Amal Hadhrami is a freelance writer.

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Muslims in Action

Toastmasters Helps Muslim American Outreach Are Muslim Americans utilizing available resources such as Toastmasters to upgrade their outreach skills?

By Ruth Nasrullah

T

arek Dawoud, a 36-year-old software engineer from Seattle, relates that after 9/11, the Muslim community in his area received many requests for information about Islam.

In response, they created a speakers bureau, but their efforts weren’t always effective.

“Everybody was just kind of winging it,” he says. “So a group of us decided to do some ‘quality control.’”

A friend told him about the Toastmasters organization, and he and a group of colleagues formed a club, which became their communications training base, so to speak.

Dawoud now regularly speaks about his faith at schools, churches and other venues.

Toastmasters is an international nonprofit organization with a structured program for improving communication and leadership skills. Toastmasters clubs meet all over the world and membership includes nearly all nationalities, religions and viewpoints.

As Dawoud’s experience illustrates, polished and informative communication skills are crucial to promoting accurate understanding and a positive impression of Muslims and Islam.

The Toastmasters educational program consists of focused assignments that address aspects of public speaking such as speech organization, body language, and use of visual aids. Members develop leadership skills by assuming designated meeting roles and serving as officers.

Rana Elshamy, a recent graduate of the University of South Florida, has also used Toastmasters to develop her communication skills.

Elshamy has been a member since July 2011, after finding her Sarasota, Fla. club through the Toastmasters website (Toastmasters.org).

Her very first Toastmasters speech described the benefits of Ramadan, a topic about which many in the audience knew little to nothing.

Like Dawoud, she has found the program a tremendous help in dispelling misconceptions about her life as a Muslim.

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“I deal with a lot of misunderstandings and repetition of the same questions and ideas,” says Elshamy. “I feel it’s my responsibility to correct those misconceptions and stereotypes.”

Elshamy describes the response from fellow club members as “wonderful”; many have thanked her for opening their eyes to aspects of Islam with which they were not familiar.

The ADAMS Speakers Club in Sterling, Va., which meets at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society’s Islamic center, has about 25 percent non-Muslim membership, according to Margaret Farchtchi, club president.

Farchtchi, an American-born-and-raised convert to Islam, appreciates the comfortable atmosphere the club offers to an interfaith, intercultural group.

“Whether we are from India or Pakistan or Iowa,” says Farchtchi, “we are still sharing ourselves with the group and becoming close in that way. Using the Toastmasters program of prepared speeches and evaluation helps

us all in our individual goals of becoming communicators and leaders.”

The club did not intentionally market to non-Muslims, assuming that people of other faiths might be uneasy meeting at an Islamic center with a Muslim-majority club, but as it turns out the setting was no hindrance.

Toastmasters meetings also offer an opportunity for non-native English speakers to improve their language skills in a supportive setting. Every meeting includes formal evaluations, and the ADAMS club takes advantage of this feedback to help members better their English skills.

“That is a great thing about the Toastmasters program; one person isn’t telling everyone how to do things,” comments Farchtchi. “That adds a lot of validity to everything being said.”

As first-generation Muslims polish their speaking skills, other clubs groom the next generation for excellence. One such club is the Houston Family Speakers in Houston.

Although formal Toastmasters membership is only offered to those 18 and above, the HSF club includes their children in meetings.

The children, ranging from kindergarten to high school age, present prepared speeches and practice impromptu speaking.

“This club’s goal is that children increase confidence and increase pride in their identity, to help them accurately and articulately answer not-so-easy questions and to serve as leaders in America,” says club founder Hannah Hawk. “We hope to create a model that can be replicated across the globe.”

Hawk’s vision has enabled the club’s children to improve in skill and poise. Cantara Ali, 16, says Toastmasters has taught her to put things in a way people understand.

Her father, Liaqat Ali, notes that the children’s comfort level is important.

“One thing I’ve learned from Toastmasters is that it’s all right to be nervous.”

■

Ruth Nasrullah is a freelance writer living in Houston.

I deal with a lot of misunderstandings and repetition of the same questions and ideas,” says Elshamy. “I feel it’s my responsibility to correct those misconceptions and stereotypes.”

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Politics and Society Op-Ed

Get Out the Muslim Vote Muslims need to exercise their civic duties to break the cycle of marginalization.

By Marwa Abed

W

hen doing research on Muslim voting patterns in the U.S., many analysts will find that a great majority of the studies done—or at least the ones that have the highest ranking on a Google search—seem to focus more on how “American” Muslim Americans are, rather than their sense of civic engagement.

Why were there numerous polls such as an August 2011 Pew Research Poll that concluded, “Muslim Americans [show] no signs of growth in alienation or support for extremism.” If Muslims are still being questioned about “how much support for extremism” they have, how will they even get to the point where they are accepted as Democrats or Republicans, or just voters in general?

Recent controversy has mounted surrounding the NYPD Muslim surveillance cases. The New York Police Department had been given federal funding to spy on Muslims living in New York and across the East Coast for fear of terrorism. Why do these cases exist?

Not only is this surveillance prejudicial and unconstitutional, it is ostracizing. Muslim Americans have demonstrated difficulty in putting trust in the government, if the government in turn puts no trust in them.

About 47 percent of Americans, not just 28

those in the NYPD, believe Muslim and American values are incompatible, according to the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution report, “What it Means to be American: Attitudes in an Increasingly Diverse America 10 Years after 9/11.”

Are Muslims contributing in any way to this marginalization or has their exclusion been propagated by politicians and the media? As we enter an election year, “Muslim issues” have been used a wedge topic to instigate division and procure votes among rightwing conservatives. Muslims should not be political scapegoats, but political forerunners.

In 2008, almost 57 percent of all voting age Americans voted. So, if one were to contemplate the idea of the Muslim vote—or the lack thereof—what is really being discussed is an encompassing American epidemic. However, Muslims should not be let off the hook.

A Gallup Center for Muslim Studies report examines Muslim statistics in areas such as voter registration and political views in comparison with other religious groups.

It compares the views of Muslim American youth between the ages of 18 and 29 and their levels of civic engagement with those of similar-aged Americans of other religious backgrounds (Jews, Catholics, Protestants, etc.). The report finds that only 51 percent

of young Muslim Americans are registered to vote. This is one of the lowest percentages among all the young Americans surveyed.

As 2011 brought revolutions across the Middle East, with people dying for democracy, why haven’t Americans or Muslims or Muslim Americans, generally, exercised this right, this privilege?

There are 2.75 million Muslims living in the U.S., according to the Pew Research Center (CAIR has the number at 7 million), a majority (63 percent) of whom are first-generation immigrants. The fact that Muslim Americans are a relatively new population gives them some room for stagnation, but not much.

From the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act to the NYPD surveillance and the Irvine 11, to the overall sense of Islamophobia, Muslim Americans must reclaim their voice and demand that they be accepted as equal partners in this society.

The Muslim Americans are here to stay. As Muslims transition from no longer being a new infant community, they must start to take greater leaps toward integration.

To cement the Muslim communities status as qualified and significant Americans, they must first vote. A vote is a ticket to say that a person—politically and socially—matters.

If a greater majority of Muslims registered to vote and actually voted in New York, for example, Mayor Bloomberg may have reacted much differently to the surveillance cases.

With all skepticism aside, politicians really are the employees of the citizens. Muslim Americans are doing themselves a disservice by not participating. The broader American public, similarly, is doing society a disservice by alienating Muslims, a people—like all immigrant communities—who have made great contributions to this country.

The cycle of marginalization of the Muslim American community is one that is both institutional and propagated by the media and politicians, but also one that has unfortunately been internalized by many Muslims. If the Muslims in America feel they are unaccepted, they may choose to alienate themselves.

In the 2008 election, CAIR found that there had been 2,728 cases reported of Muslim civil rights complaints. This should not be the case. We must break the cycle of fear-mongering and exclusion, and encourage greater Muslim acceptance through civic participation.

Marwa Abed, a Palestinian American residing in Chicago, currently works in immigrant organizing.

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Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

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Politics and Society

Muslim Americans Aspiring to International Development

By Mehrunisa Qayyum

M

anal Omar writes, speaks, implements and believes in a mission of global conflict resolution. Omar, who serves as the United States Institute for Peace director of Iraq, Iran, and North Africa programs, possesses an unparalleled drive and fervor for her work.

Despite her numerous visits to conflictridden countries, her management insight stems from her upbeat enthusiasm to listen—whether it is to foreign criticism or her support staff.

When I spoke to Omar, she was in between country visits to Libya and Yemen.

What lessons, I wondered, had she learned from her experiences?

Omar is no stranger to the American public space as a Muslim American woman of Palestinian descent. She represents the person that precedes all the rhetoric. Government recruiters’ significant efforts try to pull Muslim Americans into public service.

Omar was already doing that in the pre9/11 world. Since then, she has spoken at the National Council of U.S.-Arab Relations regarding refugee and women’s rights; the Muslim Public Affairs Council on grassroots engagement; and showcased her book, “Barefoot in Baghdad” on a book tour that included the the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee.

She advises college students interested in pursuing international development.

“Don’t let international development define you by your language or geographic expertise; focus on an issue area” that mirrors your personal passion, she says.

In 2000, Omar was working for the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Oil-forFood Programme in Iraq. Her World Bank experience demonstrates how international development work is not limited to just economics and finance. Rather, a variety of disciplines inform the field of international development.

Despite her extensive professional experience, she decided to return to school at Georgetown University and obtain her masters degree in Contemporary Arab Studies.

30

Manal Omar

“I wanted a better understanding of what I observed working on the Oil-for-Food Programme—such as the discrepancies between rich and poor.”

Iraq is not only a post-conflict country rebuilding after what is termed “brain drain,” but it presents significant socioeconomic challenges that international aid organizations must consider as international development policy practitioners design programs and award grants to local non-governmental organizations. Her decision to concentrate on economics complements her daily decision-making routine in assessing the grant awarding decisions as her office tracks the progress of women and conflict-centered programs, such as that reach across professions.

Many first-generation American parents, Muslim or not, would question why a young, bright professional would choose to rotate in different positions at different organizations. They may protest that such a field lacks stability when compared to traditional fields like law, medicine or engineering—where

one remains in the same city or with the same employer for possibly decades.

“Often international conflict resolution, is seen with suspicion—even among the most liberal and educated,” Omar says.

“So I apply the same transparency in my work as much as possible—including with my immediate family.”

Similarly, while many parents might fear that their daughter is traveling to high-risk countries to undertake field work, Omar has gained the leadership experience needed to serve in a Senior Executive Staff role (SES in civil service terms). Just as importantly, Omar’s rotation between the World Bank, UNESCO, and USIP has afforded her the opportunity to manage in high-stress environments because she is adept at change and cultural differences.

As a result, she says, “It’s okay not be seen as a local...and I would never speak on behalf of Palestinians even though I’m of Palestinian descent because I am not living through the struggles in Palestine.”

As a manager of multimillion-dollar projects, one of Omar’s challenges is to manage people. Some might believe that the only way to get something done right, is to do it oneself. However, as a manager, such thinking only alienates staff who have the skills, but need the guidance.

“I am a firm believer in team work and delegation. I make myself available for coaching and mentoring because there is no way I could manage projects abroad and in Washington, D.C. if I didn’t have fabulous staff.”

Omar highlights how she learned that delegating to her support team members is what allows her to see various projects through. As a director for several countries, she cannot afford to focus on one project at a time because, often, countries experience challenges that cut across the region.

No matter where Omar’s work takes her, she always comes back to the U.S. Often, in international development, professionals in her field either become enveloped in the bureaucracy, or stick to only “their kind” in the region. Manal Omar rejects these stereotypes by making time to open her door to advise young Muslim Americans in the field of international development, public service, and engaging the Muslim community, both locally and globally.

■

Mehrunisa Qayyum, an international development consultant, who has written for the GAO, Middle East Institute, AltMuslimah, Goatmilk and Kabobfest, is founder of the political economy blog www.pitapolicy.com.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

49th Annual ISNA Convention August 31 – September 3, 2012 One Nation Under God: Striving for the Common Good Washington DC Convention Center 801 Mount Vernon Place NW • Washington, DC 20001

Ev ents Include: • Main Sessions (ISNA, MSA, MYNA) • Break-Out Sessions • Bazaar with more than 550 booths • Islamic Entertainment • Qira’at Competition • Meet the Author • Community Service Recognition Luncheon (CSRL) • Matrimonial Banquets • Art Exhibit • Islamic Film Festival • Basketball Tournament • Children’s Program • Babysitting • and much more…

Early Registration Deadline July 10, 2012 We encourage you to register now as the hotel rooms are being booked quickly F or R e g is t r at ion & Hot e l R e se rvat ions : visit: WWW.ISNA.NET or call: (317) 838-8129 or email convention@isna.net F or B a z a a r B o ot h s & Sp ons or sh i ps : visit: WWW.ISNA.NET or call: (317) 838-8131 or email akhan@isna.net C on v e n t ion Pro g r a m: email: programs@isna.net or call: (317) 839-8157 ext 231

R egis t r at ion For m We encourage you to register online at www.isna.net. This will ensure accuracy and instant confirmation for registration as well as hotel rooms.

Early Registr ation Deadline is July 10, 2012.

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Hot e l R e se rvat ion Early Registr ation Deadline is July 10, 2012.

How to Reserv e Your Room August 31 – September 3, 2012 1.

2.

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Hotel reservations must be made either online or on this form and sent along with the registration form. Based on hotel availability, you will receive your confirmation within 3 weeks. Confirmation for online reservations will be sent by e-mail immediately.

Rooms are assigned on a first-come first-serve and availability basis.

If the hotel of your choice is full, you will be assigned to the next alternative.

Bed type is not guaranteed & is subject to availability. There may be an extra charge for rollaway beds. (You will be notified at check in.)

Since there are a limited number of rooms with two double beds, and in consideration for those with families, please only request rooms with 2 beds if it is absolutely necessary.

4. CANCELLATION: You will receive your confirmation directly from the hotel. If you do not cancel 3-weeks prior to your arrival date, your deposit will be forfeited. Cancellations will be done only by ISNA. Fax your written request to 317-839-1822.

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Hotel Information Rates do not include state or local taxes.

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Renaissance DC Hotel (Across from the convention center)

$109 per night

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I n for m at ion Early Registr ation Deadline is July 10, 2012.

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Please complete fully, neatly, accurately. Send prior to registration deadline. You can take advantage of the on-line registration process and receive your confirmation immediately.

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All fees are in US$. If you are organizing a large group to attend the convention, please call us for special discounts.

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• Free Islamic Horizons Magazine • Hijrah Calendar • ... and much more

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To qualify for the student registration rates (University or School), fax a copy of your student ID to (317) 839-1822.

Community Serv ice Recognition Luncheon (CSRL)

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Distribution of unapproved literature or other materials or solicitation of any kind during the convention is strictly prohibited.

Registration Deadline, Confirmations, Cancellations & Refunds:

• Early registration deadline is July 10, 2012.

• Full Registration Fees Refund will be issued for cancellations before July 10, 2012. Written cancellation request must be sent to convention@isna.net or faxed to (317) 839-1822.

No refunds will be issued after July 10, 2012.

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The Community Service Recognition Luncheon is a formal luncheon hosted by the ISNA Founders’ Committee (IFC) to recognize an outstanding leader in the North American Muslim community.

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• Purchase tickets online at www.isna.net • Children under 12 will not be permitted to attend • Complimentary babysitting provided

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Send Registration Forms to: Fax: (317) 839-1822 Mail: ISNA Convention Registration P.O. Box 38 • Plainfield, IN 46168

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Politics and Society

Tabish Ahsan with his wife, Maheen, and children, Tanzeel and Mahnoor.

The Donation Dilemma

Opinions vary among Muslims and scholars on deducting charitable giving at tax time.

by Kiran Ansari

A

s soon as the New Year rolls around, so do donation receipts from organizations that you supported the previous year. They thank you for your generosity and provide a written record with a tax-exempt number so, come tax time, donors have everything handy.

Well, many donors at least.

It may sound obvious to some – getting money back from the government for doing a good deed sounds simple. You helped someone last year and you are able to get a tax break for it. However, not everyone looks at it that way.

Maheen and Tabish Ahsan of Louisiana believe that since their only intention when giving charity is fee-sabeelillah (in the way of God), they require no reciprocation. They do not want a worldly benefit from Uncle Sam and want to save all the reward for the Hereafter.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

“We choose not to include our charitable donations on our tax return,” says Maheen.

“However, since both anonymous and public contributions are allowed in the Quran, we respect everyone’s choices as reward depends on the niyah (intention).”

In the Quran 2:271, it says, “If you disclose your charitable expenditures, they are good; but if you conceal them and give them to the poor, it is better for you, and He will

remove from you some of your misdeeds [thereby]. And God, with what you do, is [fully] acquainted.”

The Ahsans are not alone. At times, people have even forgotten where they had donated during the course of the year and they feel that they do not need to be reminded of their charity when all they seek is God’s acceptance.

“The topic of charitable donations comes up every tax season,” says Eaman Shebley, an Illinois accountant and tax preparer. “I have some clients who choose not to disclose their contributions and others who avail every possible deduction that is allowed. For instance, if you volunteer at a nonprofit, you might even be able to get a tax break for the miles you drive for that purpose. My job is to advise them on the options and not argue. It is their decision.”

Muslims have a rukhsah (allowance) to combine intentions. Therefore if someone makes a donation to please God and he gets a tax benefit, it is acceptable.” — Imam Kifah Mustapha 35

Who to Give

by Kiran Ansari

L

iving in metropolitan cities like New York, Houston, Los Angeles or Chicago usually means at least 25 fundraising dinners a year. Add to that Ramadan appeals, year-end donation reminders, your local mosque, Islamic schools or a disaster or humanitarian need, and people are left wondering how they can fulfill all these calls. Even if you live in a small town, online appeals and Facebook causes can leave you flustered.

God reminds us not turn away one who asks: “And as for the petitioner, do not repel [him].” (93:10) One option is to allocate the amount to be given in charity at the beginning of the year and then divide it among all the causes that approach you. Evaluate the amount you have decided upon. If it is too comfortable, consider increasing it.

In the third chapter of the Quran, verse 92, God says, “Never will you attain the good [reward] until you spend [in God’s way] from that which you love. And whatever you spend - indeed, God is Knowing of it.”

When you feel that every mailbox, inbox and donation box is calling your name, here are a few things you can do. Toss the mail and delete the emails? Choose one organization and write them a hefty check and be done with? Or try to share your donations with several causes.

Collect all the brochures that come in the mail and write each one a check. The amount does not need to be huge, but the effect will be magnified. This way you can reap rewards from multiple channels. You will have diversified your investments because we do not know which has the highest return with the Almighty.

You will also have at least reimbursed the organization the cost of printing and mailing and will have become a welcome addition to their database. You will also be able to follow the organizations’ work throughout the year.

All this is possible with a $10 check to each verified organization that asks for your support.

You can also allocate money to donate by making small sacrifices. Don’t send all your shirts to the dry-cleaner. Launder and iron them at home while listening to an audio lecture on HalalTube.com. Skip the fancy coffee or the business class travel.

Of course, you can choose to be extra generous with one or two causes. Sponsoring orphans may be on your family’s priority list or construction of an area mosque might earn your support. Some choose to donate to charities overseas as they feel their dollar can be stretched further. Others choose to fulfill the rights of the neighbor and contribute locally.

Whatever option you choose, do it with all your heart. If times are really tough and you cannot write as many checks as you would like to, there are other ways to give. Give your time to the organization. Ask your children to give toys in great condition, give food to the hungry, give free babysitting to a mother who would like to go study Quran.

Donate to charities outside the Muslim community. Whether it is the March of Dimes, cancer research or a shelter for battered women in your neighborhood, remember them in your donations, too. Consider making donations in the name of a loved one who has passed away. A brick in a mosque or helping get an Islamic book published or setting up a water fountain are ways to strive for sadqah e jaariyah (perpetual reward) for those who have passed on.

You can give by raising awareness. Ask your friends, your coworkers and your dentist to support clean drinking water, education, civil rights or whatever hits home. Ask your friends to “like” your cause on Facebook or “follow” it on Twitter with just a click. Never write off someone. You never know who is willing to help your cause unless you ask.

The next time you feel your inbox is flooded with email requests to donate online or perforated lines on donation forms, don’t toss them away. Think of all the ways you can give—even if it’s a dollar—and then invest all that you possibly can in the stock that has a Divine guarantee.

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Personally, Shebley does deduct her charitable donations as she believes that supporting noble causes is not just a religious obligation, but an American value as well.

“As a Muslim American, I want to take advantage of what my nation has to offer.

The way I see it, by saving money on taxes, I can help even more people.”

Talath Aalia of Georgia agrees. She believes all diligent taxpayers have a right to enjoy a tax benefit when possible. That said, she would focus on the cause rather than choose a charity based on whether they can issue a tax-deduction receipt or not.

Imam Kifah Mustapha, imam and associate director at the Mosque Foundation in Illinois, believes that from a religious perspective, Muslims have a rukhsah (allowance) to combine intentions. Therefore, if someone

makes a donation to please God and he gets a tax benefit, it is acceptable. He cites the example in the Quran that after someone completes the Hajj, he is allowed to conduct business transactions in the same trip.

Apart from the reward debate, another reason why some Muslims are cautious about declaring their charitable donations is because they feel it will raise red flags on their tax return. Since some Muslim charitable organizations were under fire in the post-9/11 world, they fear unwarranted scrutiny.

However, Shebley recommends looking into organizations like Muslim Advocates (www.muslimadvocates.org ) that have a Strengthening Charities program enabling Muslim nonprofits to learn best practices and get accreditation.

Taking the fun out of fundraisers?

Personally, the Ahsans steer away from attending fundraisers and prefer to write a check instead.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Politics and Society

Accountant and tax preparer, Eaman Shebley

“We became a little weary of the politics involved with some organizations in the state we lived in formerly,” says Maheen. “We definitely keep in touch with the happenings of our local masjid but try not to get too involved in their internal affairs.”

The Osman family in New York, however, enjoys attending fundraisers as they feel it is a social gathering with a purpose.

“When we meet for potlucks or birthdays, it is purely for fun,” says Zaheer Osman.

“However, at a fundraising dinner, we learn more about a worthy cause meet friends and have a good meal, too. We encourage our children to accompany us so that they know what’s new in the local community and the plight of Muslims around the world.”

Talath Aalia feels that the American fundraising model is flawed. While it may not be possible to reciprocate the Bait ul Maal (state treasury) from the time of the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), she feels that the Muslim American community has way too many organizations, oftentimes competing with one another and duplicating effort.

“If all our [mosques] were true community centers, we would just have to support our local masjid and it would in turn help the refugees, the needy and the sick without us having to listen to speeches by five different organizations,” Aalia says. “The issue is we make these huge masajid and then have trouble paying for its expenses every month.

The masjid should only be as big as the community can afford.”

Instead of always tapping on individual donors, she suggests seeking corporate sponsorships instead. It’s a win-win situation: the company markets its products and gets a tax write-off and your nonprofit gets the money.

Imam Kifah Mustapha is well known in Midwest circles for mobilizing people Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

to donate. While he definitely respects the anonymous donors’ wishes, he sees that around 60-70 percent of donations at dinners are public and believes that it helps motivate others to take out their checkbooks, too.

“People come to a fundraising event with a number in mind,” Mustapha says. “But when they see the environment of giving around them, God touches them in His Mercy and they often donate much more than they had planned. It creates a sense of, ‘If I can do it, so can you.’

“We find accounts of how the Prophet Muhammad used to stand up and ask people to donate,” Mustapha says. “There are famous traditions of Muslims like Abu Bakr and Umar (‘alayhum rahmat) of competing with one another in giving more of their wealth in God’s way.”

In fact, the Quran says, “So for this let the competitors compete” (83:26).

Oftentimes, donors pledge a certain amount each month for a year. They sign a pledge form at the event and unfortunately, nonprofit administrators have to spend a lot of time and money with repeated reminders, phone calls and mailing to remind the people to fulfill their pledge.

“God knows each person’s ability,” says Mustapha. “If someone is able to pay, it is a religious commitment on him to comply.

However, it there have been some unforeseen circumstances in his life and he is unable to fulfill his pledge, then God is All-Aware.”

In such situations, donors should let the organization know truthfully so that they do not spend further resources in follow-up.

He explained that it all boils down to the intention, which is something exclusively between a person and his Lord. There could be a person, who gives in secret, but his intention is tainted and there could be someone who pledges $20,000 at a fundraiser with the purest intention of seeking God’s pleasure.

“It is not the execution of the sadaqah that is the deciding factor, but rather the intention,” he says.

Any U.S. tax advice contained in this article was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by readers for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code or applicable state or local tax law provisions. Contact a tax professional for advice.

■

Kiran Ansari is a freelance writer and mom in suburban Chicago. She has bylines in more than 20 publications and can be reached at kiran@kiranansari.com

Seeking an IMAM The Islamic Society of Augusta (ISA) is seeking a full time Imam.

The ISA serves an ethnically diverse, well-educated, growing Muslim community. We are near completing a new larger center that includes a mosque, weekend school, multipurpose hall, and sports complex.

The Imam is expected to conduct the usual religious duties, be involved with the youth, and be an active participant in Da’wah and interfaith activities.

Requirements: • BA from an accredited Islamic institution of higher learning. MA or Ph.D. is preferred.

• Comprehensive knowledge of Quran, Hadeeth and Fiqh.

• In-depth knowledge of the various Islamic schools of thought.

• Comprehensive knowledge of Arabic (spoken and written).

• Very articulate in the English language, both spoken and written.

• Good interpersonal skills. Ability to interact with Muslim youth, college students, as well as adults.

• Excellent communication skills, including with non-Muslims, for Da’wah, interfaith activities, and interfacing with other community organizations.

• Preferably a Hafiz.

• Able to participate in some administrative functions, including up-to-date computer skills.

• US citizen or permanent resident.

Compensation will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, names of three references, and their contact information, to the ISA secretary,

Dr. Saleem Salaymeh P.O. Box 204594 Augusta, GA 30907 or email: srsalaymeh@hotmail.com

37

Around the World

Empowered Palestinian Women Microfinancing helps Palestinian women attain the right to earn a livelihood in their devastated homeland.

By Kristin Szremski

U

nder a crystal June sky on the hills overlooking Hebron in the occupied West Bank, a young black-and-white calf sucks on Hajar Okali’s fingers, while she talks about struggling to keep it alive. The calf ’s mother – a dairy cow and Hajar’s only source of income – died while giving birth to the calf, a bull, four weeks before.

through Muwaffaq Noufal, Hebron branch manager for UN Relief and Works Agency’s Microfinance and Microenterprise Department. “And no matter what is happening, we are living,” she says matter-of-factly, smiling at the children who showed up when a UN vehicle arrived in their village.

When the cow died, Hajar was seven months into an eleven-month repayment

experience in his 1999 book, “Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the battle against poverty.”

Yunus, who was an economics professor in Bangladesh, realized that the poorest of the poor often were neglected when it came to government anti-poverty measures or NGO aid programs. As long as development programs ignored the most destitute, they would not be able to lift themselves out of poverty, Yunus said. So he devised the Grameen model of microfinance that targeted the bottom half of the world’s poorest, a group that included many women. Grameen means “rural” or “village” in Bengali, and it was these remote areas in Bangladesh that Yunus first targeted for his microcredit lending.

Providing loans to women, Yunus found, helped to stabilize not only the family unit but the village social structure as well. Studies have found that women who receive microfinance loans are more likely than men to invest in health and education with proceeds from their business enterprises, thereby helping to raise the family’s standard of living.

Photo credit: Kristin Szremski

Women’s Household Credit

(Left) Mouwaffaq Noufal, Hebron branch manager of UNRWA’s Microfinance, (right) Mouwaffaq Noufal and Afaaf Khadoor, caseworker, speak to Hajar Okali about her plans to sell the young calf once it grows big enough.

Okali and her 70-year-old husband are among the area’s poorest of the poor, living on less than the equivalent of $1.25 per day. Their hardscrabble existence had been funded by selling the milk produced by their one and only cow. Then it died, leaving them dependant upon their son, a day laborer who works sporadically in Israel. But he has six children to raise and his work is unreliable.

Every day, he must request a new permit to enter Israel from occupation authorities and they don’t always grant him one.

Hajar hoped to raise the bull to maturity, sell him and use the proceeds to purchase another dairy cow. But how was she going to support herself and her husband – let alone feed the calf?

“We are living from the soil,” she says 38

plan for a Women’s Household Credit loan of $600 she had used to buy supplemental feed for it. She can’t get another loan until the first one is paid back. Looking around the parched ground surrounding her bare-bones, self-constructed cement block home, Hajar desperately tries to come up with a plan.

Noufal has no doubt she’ll eventually settle on a way out of her dilemma.

“No one in this world has no plan in life,” he says.

This philosophy is at the core of microfinance programs targeting the world’s destitute. The belief that “everyone has a plan” is what spurred Noble Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus to create a groundbreaking financial system for poor women in the 1970s. He wrote about this

UNRWA’s microfinance department began in Gaza in 1991 with a capital fund of just more than $300,000. Since then it has expanded to 20 branches in Gaza, Syria, Jordan and the West Bank. Offering several products to a variety of customers from small business owners to entrepreneurial housewives, UNRWA microfinance had issued nearly 226,000 loans totaling more than $257 million through the end of 2010.

Total Women’s Household Credit investment in the West Bank grew from slightly more than $42,000 in 2009, when it began, to more than $900,000 in 2010. The program supports 1,114 women home-based entrepreneurs, according to UNRWA. Women may apply for other microfinance products, but only the Women’s Household Credit allows the money to be used to build household assets or to pay for education, medical or emergency expenses, in addition to supporting a home-based business.

While women make up 62 percent of all microfinance clients in the Middle East and North Africa, and comprise 70 percent of all such loans in Asia, they account for just 35 percent of UNRWA microfinance clients, according to the microfinance department’s 2010 annual report. Yet that number continues to grow, Noufal said. The Hebron Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

branch alone adds about 30 women clients what affects their daily lives. Israeli-imposed immediately put into practice the skills they per month. roadblocks, checkpoints, restricted travel already know—to weave, husk rice paddies, The Hebron office is successful in large permits and the “separation barrier,” which raise cows.” part because UNRWA has hired a number in most places is a 30-foot-high concrete Mariam Fousfous, fondly referred to as of women employees, a benchmark of a suc- wall, have combined to restrict Palestinians’ Umm Nidal (“Mother of Nidal”) is one who cessful gender-based loan program, experts freedom of movement, and this affects their is putting her skill to work. A diminutive say. One such employee is Afaaf Khadoor, ability to find and maintain meaningful woman who’s been on her own since her who spends much of her time driving the employment. A full 90 percent of Palestin- husband died 16 years ago, Mariam found winding roads in remote villages, visiting ians in the West Bank are prohibited from a way to make her small $800 loan pay off in clients and looking for new opportunities. entering Jerusalem, the city that was once bigger dividends. First, she purchased four “My job is very hard,” Khadoor says. “But their economic hub. And many, such as goats, expanding her herd to eight. She didn’t it is interesting and I like it very much.”

Hajar Okali’s son, must get permits every- want to see them off as soon as they matured.

In 2011, the Hebron office, the biggest day to travel inside Israel, where they hope She used her loan for feed to maintain the UNRWA microfinance branch in the West to get picked up for day labor jobs. flock until goat meat would be at a premium, Bank with 21 employees, had 600 women A UN report to the General Assembly in near Eid or the summer wedding season. clients, of which nearly 400 get Women’s February 2012 said the total cost of Israel’s Noufal pointed to Mariam as an example Household Credit loans, ranging from $200 occupation to the Palestinian economy was of the kinds of creative ideas people on the to $3,000. Loan repayment is 97 percent, about $7 billion in 2010, almost 85 percent of margins come up with, even without a fancy which surpasses the international rate of the gross domestic product, according to the MBA or finishing elementary school, for about 95 percent repayment, Noufal says.

Palestinian Ministry of National Economy that matter.

UNRWA’s microfinance “is a self-sus- and the Applied Research Institute – JeruRaising goats is, if not lucrative, at least a taining program,” says UNRWA Secretary salem. This belies media reports that the decent means of making a living, according General Filippo Grandi. “Contributors to Instar Jabareen, a mother of six. With are used to build capital, but then it’s a just a ninth-grade education, she’s been able to furnish a home for her son, pay revolving capital that produces income, which is then used to provide additional for his education, fund a trip to perform loans.”

Umrah herself and invest in two pieces of The microfinance department gold with the earnings she’s made from her flock of lambs and goats. has run independently of the refugee To try to supplement her husband’s agency’s budget since 1997. Funding is income, Jabareen sold sweets and small provided by various countries, including the U.S., France, Australia, Canada and toys to the village children but abanGermany, as well as Sudan, Saudi Arabia doned that enterprise after about one and Libya. One of the most important year. She then applied for a Women’s contributors to the expansion of microHousehold Credit loan and used the finance into the West Bank, however, Nama Dudeen, left, discusses her embroidery work in her $700 to purchase her first livestock. She’s has come from the PalFund Trust Fund home in Kurza village near Hebron. repaid that loan and now has a second financed by the OPEC Fund for Interloan of $1,400. Together, she and her national Development (OFID), which has West Bank economy is thriving. husband, who is also a microfinance client, contributed $10 million to the project.

UNRWA said the economy is actually have 50 goats and lambs. Jabareen makes faltering. Rising unemployment and infla- yogurt products from their milk and also A question of human rights, tion caused a 2.6 percent decline in pur- sells some for meat. Her specialty is kishik, chasing power in 2010, when West Bank a large ball of dried, salty yogurt that’s used not profits “Development should be defined as a human unemployment was 25 percent, and daily mainly for making the popular Palestinian rights issue, not as a question of simply wages for refugees were 12 percent lower dish, mansaf. increasing the gross national product. […] If than for non-refugees.

Noufal, who was a banker before joinyou go out in the real world, you cannot miss As a result, 67 percent of UNRWA micro- ing UNRWA’s microfinance department in seeing that the poor are poor not because finance client families in the West Bank are 2007, never regretted exchanging a profitable they are untrained or illiterate, but because low-income, living below twice the Palestine job with set hours for one that keeps him they cannot retain the returns of their labor,” National Poverty Line. Twenty-five percent so busy he has two telephones on his office wrote Yunus. “They have no control over are poor, living below the poverty line of desk as well as one cell phone – and they all capital that gives people the power to rise about $3.50 per day and 10 percent fell under ring constantly. out of poverty. Why can they not control any the USAID extreme poverty line of about “I am so proud of what I do,” he said. “We capital? Because they do not inherit any capi- $2.50 per person per day. Just 0.2 percent are targeting a very special kind of woman tal or credit and nobody gives them access lived on less than $1.25 per person per day. … they are cultivating life.” to it because they are not credit-worthy.”

“I firmly believe that all human beings Palestinians, in many cases, can’t control have an innate skill,” Yunus wrote. “Giving Kristin Szremski is the director of media and communicacapital because they don’t control much of the poor access to credit allows them to tions for the American Muslims for Palestine.

■

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

39

Around the World

Conceived from the Heart Inner voices of Palestinian children have a small window of expression.

W

hat does censored art look like? When asked to draw the images of their everyday lives, Palestinian children from ages 8 to 14 depicted themselves surrounded by tanks and guns, fire and smoke.

One drawing, in bright crayon, portrays an Israeli soldier aiming his gun at the figure of a young boy cowering in the corner of his room. Another features a young girl behind bars, a bandage over her left eye, crying red tears. In their artwork, all the children displayed a disturbingly accurate knowledge of

at the Children’s Museum of Art in Oakland. The drawings, rendered in crayon, watercolor paints and pencil, were the product of a therapy program designed to help the children heal from the trauma and loss they experienced after the three-week Israeli bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip, also known as Operation Cast Lead. Just before the artwork was scheduled to be put on display, the museum’s board of directors canceled the show. They cited pressure from local Jewish groups, though a museum board member told the “San Francisco Gate” that the decision was “not political.”

war machinery, labeling F-16s correctly and drawing tanks with precise detail.

The end product, both chilling and insightful, was a collection of images and motifs from the daily lives of Palestinian children put together to create a “A Child’s View in Gaza.” The traveling art exhibit, which opened to the public at the Levantine Cultural Center in Los Angeles, has inspired thoughtful discussion—and much controversy.

Last fall, the exhibit was slated to debut

Museum chairman Hilmon Sorey, in a statement, contended that the artwork was too graphic—though an earlier exhibit of similar art by Iraqi children had not received the same treatment.

“Our aim, as with all exhibits, is to foster insight and understanding,” Sorey says. “However, upon further review and engagement with the community, it became clear that this exhibit was not appropriate for an open gallery accessible by all children.”

Photo credit: Tasbeeh Herwees

By Tasbeeh Herwees

It’s crazy to me that it takes this much effort to put up a few drawings by children without being torn down.”

— Kristen Ess Schurr, CodePink 40

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Jordan Elgrably, co-founder of the Levantine Cultural Center, who helped bring the show to Los Angeles, doesn’t agree.

“We feel like the arts have to be provocative,” Elgrably says. “If it’s not provocative, it won’t shake us from our routine, our lethargy.”

Elgrably believes that Jewish groups who called for the cancellation of the exhibit were misguided.

“They believe that being patriotic to Israel is an important part of the Jewish identity.”

At a reception he hosted for the show at the Hollywood Woman’s Club, he discussed the artwork with a panel of pro-Palestinian activists. Elgrably, an Arab Jew, addressed the Star of David motif present in almost all the artwork. “[It’s] on everything from tanks to F-16s,” Elgrably said. “[The Star of David] is associated with this brutality. [...] That’s unfair to the Jewish community because in Gaza it’s seen as a sign of oppression when a lot of us in America are against it.”

Kristen Ess Schurr, a representative from CodePink, spoke at the event about her own experiences in Gaza as a journalist and voiced her support of the exhibit. She said, “It’s crazy to me that it takes this much effort to put up a few drawings by children without being torn down. When I look at these images here on the wall, I recognize every single one of these. I saw these things, too.”

Elgrably wants to air the representative voices of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that do not get to be heard very often.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

“This is about narrative, and whose narrative gets to be told,” Elgrably says. “Palestinians’ narrative don’t get to be told.”

■

Tasbeeh Herwees is a Libyan American journalist living in Southern California.

IMAM-QURAN TEACHER JOB TITLE: Imam/Quran Teacher.

LOCATION: 7326 E. Sligh Ave., Tampa, Fl 33610, the largest and most diverse community and Mosque in southeast United States, Florida.

DUTIES: Teaching the reading and memorization of the Holy Quran with Tajweed & proper pronunciation.

REQUIREMENTS: ➲ Hifzul Quran. ➲ Fluency in English and Arabic is a plus. ➲ Ability to lead five daily prayers. ➲ Islamic Society of Tampa offers a good payment and benefits package.

PLEASE SEND RESUME TO: Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area (ISTABA) 7326 East Sligh Ave., Tampa, Fl 33610 Phone: 813-628-0007 Fax: 813-628-0020 email: Inf@ISTABA.Org

SlighMasjid@Gmail.Com website: www.ISTABA.org Attan. Br. MAHMOUD ELKASABY Cell: 813-270-5441

41

Around the World

Syrian Activist Tours US, Calls for Intervention

The activist known around the world as “Danny” left Homs to raise awareness on Syria plight.

Photo credit: Ameer Al-Khudari

By Eman Sahloul

D

anny Abdul Dayem, a 23-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent, became the iconic voice of Syria when he took the role of citizen journalist, as so many have, in light of the escalating brutality in Syria. His heart-wrenching news reports and calls for help amidst the rubble and devastation, his voice often drowned out by the sound of rockets, have gone viral, broadcasted by the likes of CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and al-Arabiya.

After spending months in Homs, Syria’s most bombarded city, Danny had to flee the country for safety. This escape was not his first.

In September, when the revolution had not yet heated up to the full-blown indiscriminate massacre it is now, Danny left for London after being shot in his backside by Assad forces.

Since his departure from Syria, Danny wasted no time in spreading awareness and calling international governments to action. His firsthand accounts of the humanitarian situation in Syria have universally legitimized his notorious pleas for foreign intervention and condemnation of the feeble attempts the UN has made to end the violence. His repeated exclamations of having become acclimated to seeing bodies in the streets, scouring for bread, running across the street to avoid getting sniped, and holding burials of friends in the middle of the night embodies the horrific circumstances these people encounter daily.

42

In addition to numerous televised interviews, Danny has traveled and continues to travel to different states in the U.S. and countries in Europe.

On March 7, Danny gathered with more than 200 members of the Chicago community in an effort to raise money for Syrian civilians, as well as shed light on circumstances that too often seem absent in media reports.

Danny spoke with Horizons, and shared his experiences and thoughts about how Muslims, as well as the general international community, can participate in bringing justice and peace to the Syrian people.

IH: How and why did you get involved in this revolution?

Abdul Dayem: I was there from the beginning, from the first demonstration in Homs.

This is my country and they’ve treated us like animals for as long as I can remember. Four years ago, I was beaten up by forces for no

reason. Of course I’m going to get involved.

This is my country. We’ve been oppressed for years. No more. If the regime wants to stop the people in Homs, it will have to kill the 1,800,000 people living there. We will not stop.

IH: We both know that the UN has failed in taking any legitimate action. What do you think we, the people, should do?

AD: First, be brothers. The people on the ground in Syria, who are under constant shelling, are more united than we are here.

Be brothers.

Second, I encourage that you weaponize the FSA (Free Syria Army: soldiers that have defected from the regime). I don’t care what anyone says; the FSA are the only people standing in the way between Bashar’s army and innocent civilians. We have to defend ourselves. No one else is helping us. People keep arguing about we [shouldn’t] support the FSA and all I say is go into Homs for one month, and try to come out saying the same thing. Without the FSA, they [Assad forces] would have been in our houses slaughtering us with knives. The FSA is all we have.

IH: Are Assad forces only targeting Muslims?

AD: Yes, the majority are Muslims.

Mosques are being destroyed, Qurans are being burned. But there are Christians, Kurds and others who are being attacked, too.

IH: Are the numbers the UN gives even close to how many people have actually died?

AD: No. This 8,000 victims is wrong.

60,000 people have died. There are mass graves, hundreds of thousands of people in prisons who have been tortured to death and have not been taken into account. People are still under rubble and in the street, dead, and we can’t get to them because the snipers will kill us, too.

IH: What is the medical situation in Homs?

AD: All the field hospitals have been bombed. We treat people in houses with no medical supplies. We have bandages. There are only four doctors in all of Baba Amr (the central area of shelling in Homs). People are dying from injuries. Doctors are being targeted by forces for helping. Anyone who helps is being targeted.

IH: What do you hope to accomplish now that you are out of Syria?

AD: I’m spreading the word. I’m trying to make people care. I want governments to do something. Syria needs help. We need help.

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Eman Sahloul is a sophomore at Benedictine University studying biochemistry and global affairs.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Muslims and Culture

A New American Fashion?

Seeking a style of our own

By Susan Labadi

E

very year, as the temperatures rise, people shed their cold weather layers to bask in the glory of the sun, socialize and play outdoors. Crowds stroll the sidewalks and parks, and parties abound with fashion also bursting in color and style. It makes an enjoyable scene; however, for the Muslims American women who are mindful of modesty, it also presents challenges. Not every style is adaptable, and sometimes our efforts at modification look ridiculous.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

enjoy diverse opportunities, and exercise has been correlated with brain plasticity, learning potential, memory, and increased

Picture courtesy of Modern Mary.

Even taking our children to swim lessons, the public pool, or the beach brings anxiety when trying to avert our gaze from the general norm of immodest exposure.

Many women face the conflict of following the trends in fashion versus adopting fashion that does not conflict with our values. Does one compromise? Ask God’s forgiveness in the situation? Try to find a balanced solution?

Finally, swimwear options are appearing that are sporty and protect the skin from possible skin cancer. In Australia, with a high percentage of skin cancer cases, people are increasingly opting for more modest swim fashions, and major sporting goods stores are carrying attractive attire that block out ultraviolet rays. The primary shortcoming women cite with such options is they still do not leave much to the imagination about the silhouette of the person wearing them. In other words, they cover, but they may be still so revealing of one’s shape and considered inappropriate by standards of Islamic modesty.

It is comforting to note an increasing interest in active physical fitness and participation in sports among the younger generation of Muslim Americans, but we see a split sometimes in our interpretation of what is considered acceptable. For some Muslims, they are able to be accommodated in single gender, private, enclosed spaces to enjoy various activities from swimming, to basketball, to Zumba.

For others, the only way to have access to these sports is to use facilities open to the general public, whether in health clubs, park district buildings, school settings, or the outdoors. Increasingly, we see Muslim women lifting weights, taking aerobics classes, fencing, and being active in triathlons. They

bone density. It also has a positive mental benefit, improves balance and flexibility.

Yet, what to wear?!

Among Muslim women, some are wholly dressed like the common crowd, some wear hijab but are not as concerned with the fit of their clothing. Others cover up down to their bottoms, knees, or ankles. Bright colors versus drab colors, bling versus “let’s not wear ostentatious buttons,” and scarves revealing hair and oversized earrings versus not a hair in sight. Hijab does not come with a one-style-fits-all option.

With the plurality of immigrant cultures represented in traditional garb, there is a need for a distinct Muslim design indus-

try, and defining women’s needs and desires takes geopolitical negotiating skills. Many Muslims are long established in this country, and they have no foreign reference.

Their identity is nothing but American and Muslim, so how can they bridge fashion and practical attire with modesty acceptable to Allah?

When queried on Facebook about the difficulties faced by Muslim American women, questions ranged from, “Aren’t we supposed to be hardly seen and rarely heard in public?” to “Can modeling and modesty mix?” There was even a father who shared that his daughter favors the bright colors and modest fashions of Malaysia.

Colleagues at the American Halal Association, headquartered near Chicago, concurred that, in America, fashion trends seem to be set by East and West coasts, while our own local stores do not carry the same caliber of edgy fashion. Regional issues are relevant, as the nation’s climates can also be quite varied. Even a Facebook comment from a non-Muslim woman in Arizona wished for attractive, stylish, and modest clothing.

She further added, “So much of what is offered in the traditional shopping centers is horribly inappropriate, even for non-Muslim women.”

That reminded me of when a relative, an international pilot, was accompanied by my husband and observed how women around the world seem to put more care into their appearance compared to the American woman. At the mall, women were often dressed in sweat pants and hoodies reminiscent of the People of Walmart website, while he saw nothing of that in all the other cities of the countries he’s traveled.

There is a challenge and an opportunity to meet, whereby flowing and tropical-colored fashion would be perfect for the southwest and southern states, something stylish and haute couture could work in the northeast, practical and versatile clothing matches the weather extremes in the north-central region, and clean lines with minimalist perfection seems to reflect the west coast’s culture. All-American, elegantly functional, beautiful, and modest, that is the vision for halal apparel.

Because anyone can become Muslim: what better way to invite people to Islam than to have a distinct American Muslim fashion culture?

■

Susan Labadi is project coordinator of the American Halal Association. www.americanhalalassociation.org.

43

Muslims and Culture

A Conversation with Mustafa Davis The filmmaker discusses his new film “Wayward Son.”

By Islamic Horizons staff

A

t a Chicago screening of his recent film, “Wayward Son: The Jordan Richter Story”—the intimate portrait of a professional skateboarder’s struggle to bring together both his profession and his newfound faith in Islam—filmmaker Mustafa Davis sat down with Horizons to talk about his “portrait” style of filming, his upcoming project about Muslims in prison, and what he has to say to others who want to break into the filmmaking scene.

IH: What prompted you to tell this particular story?

Mustafa Davis: I had met Jordan and he was right at the point where he was going through his transition. When I met him he was still stuck at “Should I skateboard or should I not skateboard?” So as a filmmaker you have to catch a story as it’s happening. I didn’t have much time, so literally we met and we started shooting probably a couple weeks later. Because documentary films—you’re not scripting it, and it’s real life. You can’t pause real life, you just have to start shooting when the story is happening. His story was happening right at the moment.

IH: Why do you think it’s relevant now to share Jordan’s story?

Davis: Jordan’s story, for me, is representative of a lot of people’s stories living in America. Not just converts—although Jordan is a convert—I don’t think the story only resonates with converts. [...]

I think it was relevant a long time ago, but as a community, we tend to brush our issues under the rug. We don’t really talk about the issues. We do behind closed doors with our best friend or our close companions, but when it comes to the community forum, because we feel like we’re supposed to be this perfect Utopian Muslim community, we don’t like to talk about our real issues.

So for me, now was a perfect time because Islam in America is going through a very major shift, there are big changes going on. […] Now is the time because there’s this shift 44

and I think everyone kind of feels it, where it’s okay to be American. Now is the time for this conversation to happen.

IH: What were some of the challenges you faced while making the film?

Davis: It was emotionally taxing making the film. There were times during the inter-

It’s easy to make a film; it’s difficult to make a good film.”

views where I was holding back tears myself.

And in fact, even editing the film—because you sit with it, and you’re analyzing it—it was so emotionally taxing for me because Jordan’s story is essentially my story from another perspective. So after I finished editing the film, I took a one-week road trip just to get out, just me and my car, and I drove up the coast of California. I didn’t want to think, I didn’t want to talk to anybody. I kind of just wanted to do a detox.

That was a challenge. And the other challenge is, I’m an independent filmmaker, so im able to make my films with a really low budget. And so that poses a challenge. How can you make a feature documentary film that is going to stand up against other films that are being made for $200,000, $300,000 Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

when you’re working with $5,000, $10,000, $50,000 budgets?

IH: You’ve done screenings of your documentary around the country, but how can other people see this film?

Davis: We’re going to release the film.

(The film is still in pre-release so we’re just doing screenings right now for people who are interested.) But we’re looking at probably an early-May release of the film. We’re probably just going to put it out as an online download and a DVD, because we just want people to see it.

IH: You’ve said that the style of the documentary is “portrait.” Why did you choose that style?

Davis: A portrait film—I don’t even know if that’s really a technical term—its just kind of a term that I created for this style of film where you don’t really manipulate your subject or your character to prove or disprove an agenda. Just kind of let them narrate their story in their own way. And I find it to be more intimate. And I think, even in short film like “Jordan Richter’s Story”—it’s a 36 minute film, which isn’t a long time to tell somebody’s entire life—but I feel because he’s telling it from his personal narrative that you’re still finding connection with him. So I just find it to be a more intimate style of filmmaking.

IH: What was a highlight of making this film?

Davis: One of the things I enjoyed most— not just from this film, but from being a documentary filmmaker in general—is that everybody I’ve ever had as a subject of a film are all close friends now because you are sharing very intimate experiences and I feel honored to be able to do what I do and I feel honored that they trust me enough to expose so much of themselves, to be so vulnerable with me. A lot of times they are telling me things that they haven’t told anybody else.

And they’re doing so knowing it’s going to be shown to the public. So I enjoy the fact that anybody that I’ve ever had they are all very close friends.

IH: What kind of feedback have you gotten on this film?

Davis: The response has been great, from both the Muslim community and the nonMuslim community. I think the non-Muslims like it because they get a glimpse into the Muslim community that they don’t typically get and it’s sort of an unbiased glimpse where I’m not making films that are trying to pitch Islam as a Utopia and “everything’s great and like us, we’re not bad.”

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

There is a small portion of the Muslim community that doesn’t like what I do, either because they don’t believe in filmmaking as a permissible art or because I use music in my films, but more so than that there’s a small portion of the community that doesn’t like what I do because they say I’m airing out the dirty laundry of the Muslims. I’m not too concerned because I’m a storyteller, and these are real stories. I’m not manipulating, these are just real people and their real experiences. You can create a piece of art that is perfect, and there’s always going to be people who like it and people who don’t. So it’s been mixed, but overall, about 90 percent of people who’ve seen the film, it’s been very positive.

IH: Any future work on the horizons that you can tell us about?

Davis: We’re working on a film that’s going to be executive produced by Ta’leef Collective, like “Wayward Son” was, called “Prison Blues.” And it’s a film that is about several brothers who were incarcerated and then embraced Islam in prison and have come back out. So it’s about the transformative process of first converting to Islam and then coming back out and trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle on the outside. This is proving so far to be the most emotionally taxing of any of the films that I’ve done. But I think it’s going to be a good film—real stories, very, very real, heart-wrenching—often scary— stories that I think people need to hear.

IH: What advice do you want to give to people aspiring to go into film, photography and entertainment?

Davis: You have to love it, because you’re married to it. It’s difficult. Filmmaking is not an easy thing. It’s easy to make a film; it’s difficult to make a good film. And it takes a lot of practice. I’ve been doing this for 12 years now and I’ll never show you guys my early films. (Laughs) Because they’re so absolutely horrible. And especially if you’re going to get into the documentary genre, you have to genuinely like people because part of the success of the documentary filmmaker is his or her ability to create a rapport with the people that they’re filming, otherwise they won’t open up to them and give them that intimacy. So like people, and be able to get beyond the criticism. And as an artist, you really have to have a very thick skin. Because you’re pouring your heart into your art.

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45

Muslims and Culture

Islamic Art, History Finds Its Place In New York NYC’s Metropolitan Museum offers a pleasing introduction to Islam and Muslims.

By Abu Ali Bafaquih

U

mar Aqta, a renowned calligrapher, in trying to astonish the sultan, Timur (the Lame), presented a copy of the Quran so small that it could fit under a signet ring. However, the sultan was unmoved. Aqta then wrote a Quran so large that it had to be brought to Timur on a cart.

A fragment of this copy of the Quran that contains two lines of Chapter 28, verses 82-84 scripted a meter long, is displayed at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), which reopened a dazzling display of Islamic art and artifacts. The section, “The Arts of Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia,” reopened in November 2001 after an eightyear, $50-million renovation. The Met houses nearly 12,000 works in 15 galleries drawn

from an area that extends from Spain in the west to India in the east. Some 1,200 works of art in all media are on view at any time, representing all major regions and artistic styles, from the 7th century and onward.

This copy, calligraphed in an elegant muhaqqaq style (a difficult and beautiful type of Arabic calligraphy) in colors and gold on paper, was probably the largest ever produced.

Originally, each page included seven lines of script. A double-page would fit perfectly into

the gigantic Quran stand in stone erected for the mosque of Bibi Khanum in Samarqand, commissioned by Ulugh Beg (1394–1449 CE), the grandson of Timur, after Timur’s death.

A page of this Quran is also displayed at the Freer Gallery of Art of the Smithsonian Institution in D.C. In 2009, a line from this work, depicting Chapter 49, Verse 12, was auctioned by Christie’s of London for nearly $90,000.

Formerly the “Islamic Galleries,” the section’s long name omits the word “Islamic” to include not only religious art by Muslims, but also secular works. The Met, home to the world’s largest and most comprehensive display of “Islamic” works dating from the 7th to the 20th century, located east side of the city’s Central Park, had no place to expand. The renovation has added 40 percent more space.

The Met was thorough in its efforts; a team of conservators and scientists engaged in extensive study and conservation of the major objects within the collection, from the Museum’s remarkable collection of manuscripts to fragile glass objects and rare and precious carpets. The museum hosted nearly a dozen in-residence Moroccan masters of traditional interior art to create the Moroccan courtyard. In fact, they donned traditional Moroccan dress while doing the intricate carving using period tools.

“This new geographic orientation signals a revised perspective on this important collection, recognizing that the monumentality of Islam did not create a single, monolithic

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Courtesy Ali Bin Omer

➀

Courtesy Ali Bin Omer

➁

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

➂ artistic expression, but instead connected a vast geographic expanse through centuries of change and cultural influence,” said Thomas Campbell, director of the Metropolitan Museum, at the opening of the exhibit. “The public will find galleries filled with magnificent works of art that evoke the plurality of the Islamic tradition and the vast cross-fertilization of ideas and artistic forms that has shaped our shared cultural heritage.”

Outstanding holdings include collections of: glass and metalwork from Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia; more than 450 carpets from Islamic countries—the largest collec-

➃ tion in the nation—including a 16th-century Egyptian carpet in emerald green and wine red that is a masterpiece of Mamluk design; some 3,000 textiles; pages from a sumptuous copy of the Shahnama, or “Book of Kings,” created for Shah Tahmasp (1514-76 CE); outstanding royal miniatures from the courts of Persia and Mughal India; and a 14th-century glazed ceramic mihrab (prayer niche), from a theological school in Isfahan.

Besides the Moroccan pavilion, the section’s galleries have mihrabs and other highlights that are so common in the Muslim world, creating an ambiance about the place where the works on display were crafted.

➀ R eception Room (Qa’a), dated A.H. 1119/A.D. 1707, Syria, Damascus ➁ T ughra (Official Signature) of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, ca. 1555-60, Turkey, Istanbul ➂ Length of Fabric, ca. 1565–80

Turkey, probably Istanbul ➃ T he Ballard Ottoman Prayer Carpet, ca. 1575-90, Probably Turkey, Istanbul

➅

➄ Moroccan Court, Patti Cadby Birch Court ➅ Iran and Central Asia (9th-13th centuries) New Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia ➆ A rt of the Ottoman Court (14th-20th centuries)-view 1

Koç Family Gallery New Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia Images © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

➆

➄ The section’s Gallery 10, topped by a 33-feet wide, 28-feet long Spanish ceiling, houses the collection’s 800 carpets from Muslim lands.

The Met’s section spans Arab Lands and Iran under the Umayyads and Abbasids (7th-13th centuries CE), Spain, North Africa, and Western Mediterranean (8th19th centuries CE), Iran and Central Asia (9th-13th centuries CE), Egypt and Syria (10th-16th centuries CE), Iran and Central Asia (13th-16th centuries CE), Safavid and later Iran (16th-20th centuries CE), Mughal South Asia (16th-19th centuries CE), Art of the Ottoman Court and the Greater Ottoman World, the Damascus Room (18th century), and the Moroccan Court.

Sheila Canby, who for a decade was curator of the British Museum’s Islamic holdings, curates the Met’s Islamic section. The Met, which insisted on fine details, sought consultation from experts such Walter B. Denny, who teaches art history at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and writes extensively on art of Ottoman Turkey.

Besides Islamic art, there is more to savor.

The Met, founded in 1870, one of the world’s largest and finest art museums, displays more than two million works of art spanning 5,000 years of world culture, from prehistory to the present and from every part of the globe.

Interestingly, the section’s recognition board indicates that there has been no Muslim American contribution to the development of this section.

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Abu Ali Bafaquih is a freelance writer.

47

Muslims and Culture

APlaywright PathRohina Less Traveled Malik speaks of her challenges and triumphs.

By Naazish YarKhan

L

Photo credit: Sadaf Syed.

ike so many South Asians, actor Rohina Malik’s parents wanted her to become a physician. That was not going to happen, and with time, her parents had no choice but to accept it. They watched her grow into a woman who walked a different path from the rest.

But that was then.

“Now, my mother is at my shows, sitting in the front row, whispering with pride to the stranger next to her, ‘I’m Rohina’s mother.’”

Malik is a resident playwright and solo performance artist at Chicago Dramatists, and one of four writers in the inaugural group of The Goodman Theater’s Playwrights Unit.

Her one-woman, critically-acclaimed play, “Unveiled,” sold out during its entire run as well as through the extension, with three other theaters producing the play as well.

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Her plays “Yasmina’s Necklace” and “The Mecca Tales” (a Goodman commission) were both developed and had staged readings at The Goodman Theater. She is also writing her first graphic novel, with artist Michael Klaus Schmidt doing the illustrations.

Malik recently told Horizons what her journey as an actor, opening a window on the Muslim American experience, has been like.

Islamic Horizons: What motivated you to be an actor and playwright?

Malik: It’s in my bones. I just love theater.

I find that when I’m not doing theater, I feel very empty and sad. [My favorite play] is “The Crucible,” by the American playwright Arthur Miller. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism. I love plays that can use the past to reflect issues of today.

IH: Were you always confident you’d be a success?

Malik: I was born and raised in London, England, the child of South Asian immigrants. My mother was born in the Bihar Province of India, and my father was born in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. Growing up in London, racism was something that I faced daily. Maybe that’s why I explore racism so much in my writing. I immigrated to America when I was 15. I wrote my first play in high school, and did a lot of acting. I decided to walk away from the theater world because I was constantly told that, because I was South Asian, I would never make it. I was only 19, and I guess being young, it’s easy to believe such things. I would be in my 30s, a married woman with four small children, when I would pick up the pen again. Now, I can’t put it down.

IH: Could you describe one moment as an actor where you

felt really gratified and confident you’d made the right choice to pursue theatre after all?

Malik: I always say that not even the racism of London prepared me for the backlash after 9/11. People were murdered because of the way they were dressed and, because I wear the hijab, I was verbally and physically attacked in front of my children.

As painful as that experience was, it reawakened the artist in me, the artist that I had repressed for so many years. I wrote and performed “Unveiled” to sold-out houses and received critical acclaim. I love hip-hop and my favorite of the “Unveiled” women is Shabana, a South Asian rapper who lives in London.

A young man at 16th Street Theater asked to speak to me after I performed “Unveiled.”

He told me he thought Muslim women wore the veil, not for God, but to celebrate 9/11.

With tears streaming down his face, he said, “I’m sorry.” It was one of the most powerful moments of my life. Theater is powerful because it creates a collective consciousness.

IH: What are the challenges associated with the profession?

Malik: The biggest challenge is the rejection. It’s a huge part of this industry, and you have to learn to get used to it. There are times when rejection becomes the norm, and you feel your play will never be produced.

I think my faith has really helped deal with rejection, by trusting in God. IH: What is required to be a success story as an actor and playwright?

Malik: Focus on the craft. You can waste so much time worrying about industryrelated issues, but at the end of the day, if your craft is strong, your work will speak for itself. I’ve truly found myself. We live in a very complicated world, and I have often felt voiceless as a Muslim woman. In many ways, my art has given me a voice, and American audiences really do want to listen.

IH: For all your plays, what is your hope in terms of the impact on the audience?

Malik: In today’s Islamophobic climate, I always hope that audiences can see that Muslims are human beings like everyone else, who are just trying to live their lives and do their best.

Rohina Malik tours her one-woman play Unveiled across the US and Canada. You can contact her at Unveiledtheplay@gmail. com.

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Naazish YarKhan is a writer and a communications strategist in the Chicago area.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Family Life

Marital Bliss to Marital Myths

“There is a lack of networking. People need more social situations where they can get to know one another and be more comfortable,” Magid says, “and parents need to start realizing that this is a multi-cultural society.”

leaving many to question their identities as Muslims. For many, the frustration can be too much to bear.

“Many girls do feel after years of trying to get married that following the Islamic way causes hardship. And the non-Muslim way might be easier,” Benhaddou says. But she didn’t give up hope and was married in 2010 after meeting her husband while volunteering at the annual ISNA convention.

In reaction to his disappointments and struggles through this process, Carl also found himself building closer ties with Muslim convert communities.

“It just reinforces my sense of estrangement,” Carl says. This sentiment maintains a separation between Muslims of different ethnic backgrounds, leaving more young Muslims feeling despair.

Another challenge Muslim Americans face is the generation gap between them and their parents, causing a clash between what

This challenge was definitely a road block for 30-year-old Nadia Benhaddou from Chicago. For years, before eventually finding her soulmate, she faced adversity and disappointment. Growing up in a predominantly Palestinian, Muslim community on Chicago’s Southside, her options were limited as Palestinian parents preferred Palestinian girls for their sons.

“Palestinians are very tied to their culture and to their hometowns,” she says. Benhaddou, whose mother is from El Salvador and whose father is from Algeria felt discriminated against when meeting marriage prospects.

This specific challenge to getting married is not only leaving young Muslim men and women unwillingly unmarried, but it is also

the parent is looking for in a spouse for their child, versus what their child actually wants.

“You really just have to find someone on your own,” says Leena Saleh, 23, a communications coordinator in Chicago. “Less and less can you rely on your parents to arrange it for you. They have different ideas of what marriage is and isn’t.”

Although more young adults are looking for a marriage companion on their own, there are still boundaries that exist between the sexes that one has to be weary not to cross.

“The separation between the genders is helpful, but it needs to be in a certain context,” Carl says. “Because this separation exists; families need to be open and help facilitate people meeting.”

By Leen Jaber

W

hen Trent Carl, 24, accepted Islam in 2007, he expected the changes that living a Muslim life would bring. But when he was ready to begin his journey in completing his religion with the sanctity of marriage, he did not expect the challenges he encountered.

“I didn’t encounter racism until after I became Muslim,” says the Texas native about the resistance he felt from immigrant Muslim parents unwilling to accept a convert into their families. Carl found himself under a microscope; his mixed ethnic background, his job and his religion became critically scrutinized. Needless to say, this became a source of great stress to the young Muslim and how he related to his greater Muslim community.

However, Carl is not alone in his struggle.

The challenges he faces are a part of a greater problem facing young Muslim Americans today who are striving to get married. Many Muslim families are still resistant to marrying outside of their ethnicity. Not only does a generation gap exist between these parents and their American-born children, many of these families are also completely unaware of their children’s bi-cultural identity, which causes parents to reject suitable mates that are outside their race or ethnicity.

Second-Generation Struggles “The phenomenon of second generation [Americans] is still growing. This is a challenge,” says Imam Mohamed Magid, ISNA president and imam at ADAMS Center in Sterling, Va. This is one of the four main challenges that Magid cited as existing for Muslim Americans going through the marriage process. “We live in a multi-religion, multicultural society. You don’t know who is who because the Muslim community is scattered throughout the country,” he says when discussing the hesitance Muslim Americans feel when finding suitable partners. In the U.S., there is an underlying fear that both parents and children feel when choosing a spouse because they don’t know people’s backgrounds and families.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

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Family Life The Age Problem A third major challenge facing Muslim Americans today in the marriage process, says Magid, is the issue of age. More women are seeking higher education and professional careers, delaying marriage until their late 20s and early 30s. A problem occurs when men of their age range look for younger mates, leaving suitable, mature and educated Muslim women single.

“Many post-college women in their mid30s have a real challenge in finding someone compatible,” says Salma Abugideiri, a licensed professional counselor, running her private practice since 2001. “By the time these women are ready for marriage, most men their own age are no longer single.”

The issue of age is one of the many reasons more Muslim women are finding themselves moving toward non-Muslim men. As devastating as this may be, there is a shift taking place that is causing Muslim women to turn to non-Muslim men for companionship and marriage.

“Many women find non-Muslim men that treat them in a respectful way and it makes them question marrying Muslim men. It is the sad truth,” Abugideiri says.

She says has been counseling Muslim individuals and couples for years and has seen many examples of this shift.

ferent types of women regardless of age, wealth or previous marital status.

and help them to develop a connection,” says Abugideiri.

Great Expectations

What’s my role?

A final, and possibly the most daunting challenge, facing Muslim Americans trying to get married is the role that expectations play when choosing a mate. Instead of using criteria set forth by Islamic principles, a new set has been created by society and culture that Muslims today are enforcing.

“Males have Hollywood criteria of what women should look like,” Magid says. “And females look for wealth and prestige.”

Not only is the issue of expectations keeping more young Muslims single, but it is also the main contributor to divorce. Today, according to Magid’s experience, 40 percent of Muslim marriages end in divorce. False expec-

Another major contributing factor to divorce is role confusion. Many people do not know what it takes to run a household, both financially and emotionally. The needs of their partners aren’t met, Magid says.

“People are failing at making the shift from being single to being married,” he says.

“You are then left with what I call ‘single married people.’”

Other reasons causing divorce include problems with intimacy, finances, issues with in-laws and infidelity.

Although challenges do exist to getting and staying married, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And there are many practical ways of getting married without sacrificing Islamic values, Magid says.

The Internet is a helpful tool for connecting with other single Muslims throughout the country. Being open to meeting people in the workplace and at school can create wonderful opportunities for marriage. Being active in your community is a unique way of finding someone who shares the same beliefs and passions as you.

This was definitely true for 29-year-old Tarek Yusuf of San Francisco. He met his fiance through doing activist work for Palestine.

“Because we can’t date, meeting through activist work gave us an opportunity to find someone,” he says. “Everything just fell into place easily. It wasn’t forced. It was very organic.”

Singles looking for marriage are encouraged to keep their friends and family in the loop on their interests.

“Married people should be looking out for their unmarried brothers and sisters,” said Leila Khan, 30, who, after great struggle and disappointment, was married in 2010.

Each method of seeking a spouse has its own pros and cons, according to Magid.

“If a person is not mindful of the negatives as well as the positives in each platform, they may make a mistake,” says Magid. He suggests getting to know a person’s background, communicating one’s expectations of marriage, and getting to know the potential spouse in different types of environments.

And, God-willing, you may live happily ever after.

Stigmatizing Divorcees In addition to the stigma of age in the Muslim community, the stigma of divorcees is also problematic. Although the marital ostracizing affects both genders, women tend to bear the brunt of it.

“There is a stigma about divorced people or even widows,” says Magid. “This phenomenon needs to be addressed. People who have been married before actually know more about marriage. We need to give them a chance.”

Ihssan Tahir, 25, who was divorced almost two years ago, says that, having been married, she has a clearer view of what she wants out of a marriage and what it takes to make a marriage truly work.

“I’ve been divorced, and I don’t want to be divorced again,” she says. “I have bigger criteria now. [Being divorced] made me feel stronger. I know who I am and who I want.”

Magid says the stigma was created out of modernity and not the Islamic tradition. At the time of the Prophet Muhammad, these negative stereotypes did not exist. The Prophet himself was open to marrying dif50

Salma Abugideiri

tations of marriage are commonly seen among young couples. For example, explained Abugideiri, many men and women are expected to marry someone from their parents’ home countries. Not only do they find that they have little in common with their spouses, but they have completely different expectations of what the marriage should be like.

Counseling young married couples on a daily basis, Abugideiri has seen a lot of depressed young women who emigrated from their countries to the U.S. who have no family or friends here and are trying to adjust to their new surroundings. However, their husbands don’t know or understand why their marriages are falling apart when they thought they were fulfilling all the expectations of a husband: providing money, a nice home and children.

Many are unaware of the needs of their wives.

“I’ll teach them the communication process to increase listening along with empathy

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Leen Jaber is a freelance reporter from Chicago.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Preparing for the Marriage, Not Just the Wedding Campaign seeks to equip couples with premarital counseling to increase chances of a successful marriage.

By Aneesah Nadir

N

aim and Halimah stop into to the mosque’s office to speak with the imam’s secretary or office manager. They ask about scheduling their premarital education and advisement. This is required before the imam will perform their marriage ceremony. They are planning on getting married in a few months and would like to learn more about the premarital education and advisement program and how it can help their future marriage. They say, “We want to be prepared for the challenges that comes up in marriage, but we have no idea how these services will benefit us.”

Muslims are a marrying community.

Prophet Muhammad declared that marriage is one of his most sacred practices and said, “Whoever dislikes my way of life is not of me” (Bukhari). Even though we value getting married as a community we are not doing well at maintaining healthy lifelong marriages.

Increasingly, Muslims are experiencing marital dissolution at a rate of approximately 33 percent; that means that 1 out of 3 Muslim marriages are experiencing divorce. The consequences of divorce and marital dysfunction impact children, the couple, the extended family and the community.

ISSA-USA’s (Islamic Social Services AssoIslamic Horizons May/June 2012

ciation-USA) national campaign, the Sakinah Healthy Marriage Initiative, promotes healthy marriage among Muslims. As part of this campaign, each year, ISSA-USA hosts National Healthy Muslim Marriage Week the first week of Ramadan. This celebration provides the opportunity during Ramadan to remember what God says in the Quran (30:21 and 7:189) about a healthy marriage.

This is also an opportunity to learn about and put into practice behavior the Prophet exemplified in his married life.

As part of the Sakinah Initiative, ISSAUSA also encourages communities nationwide to implement premarital services. Efforts are underway in Detroit/Dearborn, Atlanta, Phoenix and D.C. to promote healthy mar-

riage and implement premarital services where none exist as well as strengthen efforts that have existed for some time. ISSA-USA has worked with the Muslim Alliance in North America through its SHARE Centers, ACCESS in Dearborn and the Muslim American Society in Phoenix to increase awareness about the importance of the premarital education and advisement. Other efforts are taking place in southern California and other parts of the country.

In the mosque office, Naim and Halimah wonder what premarital services are, what they can expect, who provides the services and how long they should expect to participate in the program. Sadia, the imam’s secretary, explains that premarital services are part of a continuum of marriage services that prevent, intervene and treat marital problems. They include matrimonial services, premarital services, newlywed and marriage services, and divorce services.

Premarital services include premarital education, advisement and counseling.

The Central City Mosque, Sadia informed, requires at least six weekly sessions of premarital education and three sessions of premarital advisement. Requirements vary at mosques. The couple’s mosque has signed on to the Healthy Marriage Covenant because they support healthy marriage and want to contribute to improving positive outcomes for Muslims marrying in their mosque and throughout Central City. She goes on to say all Central City imams have signed the covenant and have agreed to require premarital services before the marriage ceremony.

Before implementing premarital services, couples would stop in after Jummah for the quick “drive-by nikah,” or they would spend months planning the wedding and at the last moment schedule the imam. Marriage education was not on their to-do list. By the time they scheduled the imam, the hall had been rented, the dress and the flowers were purchased and the aunties had their tickets to fly miles and miles for their favorite niece

Before implementing premarital services, couples would stop in after Jummah for the quick “drive-by nikah,” or they would spend months planning the wedding and at the last moment schedule the imam. Marriage education was not on their to-do list.

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Family Life or nephew’s wedding. The imam didn’t know the couple. He didn’t have time to determine if they were compatible and ready to marry.

Nor did he have the opportunity to educate them about some of the basics about marriage in Islam or practical relationship-building skills to help them create a healthy peaceful marriage. Most of the imams in the community didn’t want to do anything to delay the couple’s marriage out of concern they would commit zina (premarital relations).

Domestic violence and divorce were on the rise in the community. It was comparable to the nationwide statistic of 33 percent for Muslims and higher for newly married couples.

No sooner than they wed, they were having problems and within the year they were talking divorce. Other imams were having the same experience, so they all agreed to sign on to the covenant so that couples couldn’t go mosque-hopping to find a mosque that would marry them without premarital services.

It’s only been a couple of years but already Central City is seeing a difference among the couples in the community, indicated Sadia.

Central City Mosque also provides newlywed support and marriage education and enrichment for couples that have been married for some time.

The premarital education classes are held at several area mosques and community agencies, led by a trained marriage educator. The imams assist with the classes by teaching segments on marriage in Islam and Prophet Muhammad’s married life. Each course includes core topics such as communication skills, problem solving, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, relationship expectations, anger management, conflict resolution, and domestic violence awareness.

Course topics also include marriage in Islam, mate selection, rights, roles and responsibilities of each spouse, intimacy and sexuality in marriage, family finances and the legal aspects of marriage according to Islam and U.S. laws. Upon completion of the course, the couple receives a certificate of participation, a copy of which goes into their marriage preparation file.

Additionally, each couple participates in premarital advisement that aims to help them assess their readiness for marriage and more specifically readiness for marriage to each other. In three to five sessions the premarital advisor—a well-trained marriage educator who often has his or her degree in social work, counseling, psychology, marriage and family therapy or pastoral care—assesses marital 52

readiness. By asking them a set of questions and utilizing the results of the pre-marriage inventory, the advisor helps them determine their compatibility and readiness for marriage as well as the strengths and challenges they bring to the marriage.

If there are challenges the couple needs to work on, the advisor may refer the couple for individual or premarital counseling. Some couples have challenges because they are blending their family, bringing children to this marriage from a previous marriage. Others come from different cultures and—though both parents agree on the marriage—one parent may not be as supportive because their future son- or daughter-in-law is not from the culture they preferred. Premarital advisement seeks to give each couple the chance for marital success. It doesn’t mean they won’t have challenges in their marriage but they will be better prepared to handle them. The advisor maintains their confidence by letting the imam know only that there are no unresolved issues remaining before marriage or that they still have unresolved issues to work through.

Naim and Halimah feel more reassured of the benefits of premarital education and advisement and its value for their future marriage now that Sadia has explained it to them. They had read the recent McFarlane study which indicates that almost all of the divorcees in the study wished they had been offered more extensive premarital counseling.

After Sadia’s explanation, they felt premarital

education would better prepare them for a healthy marriage filled with the tranquility, love and compassion that God prescribes in Quran.

Premarital counseling and marriage/relationship education are not new. The Prophet provided education about every aspect of life to his companions, including married life. It is part of our religious tradition. The larger society and other faith traditions realized that couples preparing for marriage need education to stem the rising tide of divorce and marital discord.

A paradigm shift that values prevention and the Islamic perspective of “tying our camel and relying on God” will take place. The Muslim community will include premarital services on their wedding and marriage planning list.

In the near future, couples will be heard saying, “Premarital education and premarital advisement. Check.” They will look forward to the time when it is available throughout the community. And community leaders and imams will agree to its importance by signing the Healthy Marriage Covenant and working with professionals in the field of marriage and family to implement the continuum of marriage services including premarital education, advisement and counseling.

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Note to the reader: The names and locations in this article are fictional, but based on experiences of the writer.

Aneesah Nadir, MSW, PhD serves as the president of the Islamic Social Services Association-USA and the director of ISSA-USA’s Sakinah Healthy Marriage Initiative.

In the name of Allah the most Beneficent, the most Merciful

THE ISLAMIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL (IRFI),

Is soliciting individuals and Organizations to become joint sponsors or Cosponsors of The Second International Conference On

Islamic Renaissance The Objectives of the Conference are to find practical solutions to the problems facing the Muslim Community in the 21st Century.

The areas of interest are: 1. Education 2. Economics and Finance 3. Science and Technology 4. Religion 5. Medicine and Health 1. Submit Abstracts (300 words Max – Microsoft Word).

Deadline: June 30, 2012 2. Notification of acceptance and invitation to submit full paper – in Microsoft Word – July 15, 2012 3. Full Paper due: December 15, 2012 Lecture presentation will be only in PowerPoint Format.

If your paper is selected for presentation, IRFI will provide the boarding, lodging, and Return Travel Expenses to Louisville, KY, USA.

Date: May 24 – 26, 2013 For complete details visit our Website: http://www.irfi.org • E- Mail: IRFI.1988@YAHOO.COM

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Love, Virtually

Online niche matchmaking is growing quickly among Muslims.

By Meha Ahmad

W

e shop online, we bank online, we watch films online, and sometimes even buy our groceries online. And who hasn’t spent hours Skyping, G-chatting, Pinteresting, and Tweeting? With so much of our lives moved to the virtual world, is finding love online the inevitable next step?

Muslims, for one, have not been afraid to take the plunge.

Online singles services are a $3 billion industry whose success is going up, up, up. And with nearly 40 percent of relationships in the U.S. being developed online, more and more Muslims are shedding the stigma of online matchmaking and turning to Internet cupids to find a potential husband or wife.

But while the number of Muslims seeking soulmates online is quickly rising, it is far from a new phenomenon.

Plugging In More than a decade ago, Ali Ardekani— better known by his stage and YouTube name, Baba Ali—was looking to get married. A convert to Islam, there weren’t many avenues for him to meet potential matches.

“Living in Los Angeles, the land of movie stars, it was hard to find a real, genuine person,” Ardekani says, adding that he also lacked the family structure to help him find a match. “I wanted to find a real person, so I did the unthinkable and went online.

And 10 years ago, that was really taboo—a big stigma, especially among Muslims.”

After going through what he felt was a grueling, unscientific, inaccurate and expensive process, Ardekani—co-founder of Ummah Films—says he had to work hard to find his match (which he eventually did, having been married now for about 10 years). Still, he says he felt there needed to be a better way for Muslims to use the Internet to find a match.

Many sites, he says, take the ideas and formulas of popular dating sites and try to “halal-ify” it, thinking it will translate and work for Muslims.

“That’s just not a real way for Muslims to meet each other,” Ardekani says. “We’re not looking for a date, like these other [mainstream] sites; we’re looking for the person we’re going to spend the rest of our life with. The matchmaking sites out there aren’t all bad, but we needed an alternative.” So he decided to build one himself.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

HalfOurDeen.com was launched July 2010. For a few bucks a month, members can create their own private profile and questionnaire. The site uses its own logarithm to find matches. It also offers marriage tips and videos to inform and teach members about the complexities of marriage.

Less than two years since its launch date and the site already boasts nearly 300 success stories. And Ardekani says more and more people sign up all the time.

Like Ihssan Tahir, who signed onto the site several months ago.

Tahir says meeting people online can be more straightforward, easier, and less awkward than meeting people in person.

“I feel like it’s straight to the point. Even if you meet someone organically, you never know if they’re serious about marriage. People online are more upfront about it,” she says.

The Internet, with its ability to connect you to more people around the globe, is an ideal place to find a potential partner, she says.

“I went online because I felt there was more options to find somebody more compatible,” Tahir says. “I really wanted to broaden my horizons rather than just limit myself to people in my neighborhood.”

But she has faced a few setbacks online.

“Sometimes online, people aren’t every honest,” Tahir says. “It’s very easy to hide yourself behind a profile.”

But in the end, she says she doesn’t mind going the untraditional route of finding a spouse.

“Muslims now are very open to looking online than say, five or six years ago. I know people whose families have created a profile for them online,” Tahir says. “Because, in the end, who really cares how you met?”

Ardekani agrees.

“This is a different era,” Ardekani says. “We don’t live in a Muslim world, so if you want to get married, how do you get married? They tell us to jump through hoops; we’re on an obstacle course just to see if we can find someone who wants to get married.”

Accidentally In Love Alia and Bilal Khalili met on Naseeb.com in 2005. Today the couple is married with a child, but Alia says she never thought she would end up finding a husband on the Internet.

“I joined Naseeb.com when it was new, because everybody in college was doing it, and it was just fun,” she says, describing it as an early type of Facebook, for Muslims. “I didn’t actually think I was going to meet the person I was going to marry online.”

When Bilal sent Alia a “salaam,” Alia was hesitant to pursue it.

But with encouragement from her college roommate, she responded and the two developed a rapport.

Though she didn’t think she was doing anything wrong, she says, at the time, being online was still too new for people to accept. So she kept her profile quiet.

“When people saw that I was on, they acted as if I was doing a bad thing by putting myself out there, by saying I’m interested in proposals. It was very faux pas, very taboo,” Alia says. “But now it’s not a big deal, because everyone meets online and they’re so much more open.”

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Family Life She attributes this social shift to social networking sites, particularly Facebook, that have led to “putting yourself out there online” to being a way of life.

Both Alia and Bilal say they recommend online matchmaking to friends, but warn them not to get disenchanted early on. “These things take time,” Alia says. “There is no harm by putting yourself out there. We’re really busy, and it’s hard to find the type of person that you’re looking for in smaller communities. These sites can help bring people together from far away distances that you may never have met otherwise.”

Drawing the Virtual Lines Alia Khalili tells her friends who consider going online to remember where their boundaries are.

“There is a way to maintain your modesty and humility and be online,” she says. “Aunties and uncles think this whole thing is one big scene for pedophiles and stalkers to get all the information they want, but they don’t understand—that’s not what these sites are.”

Ardekani says that online matchmaking, like every other invention in history, has faced fearful critics but needs to be embraced as a valid means of finding one’s potential spouse.

“Just because it’s online, it sounds so new. And people are afraid because it’s new,” he says. “But I’m sure when the telephone came out, it freaked people out. But eventually, you learn to use it as a tool.”

Playing the Waiting Game Wajd Badr says she has been open to using online matchmaking sites for the passed six years, having used Naseeb.com, ISNA Matrimonials, Muslimah.com and Shadi.com. While she’s met some very-near matches, she still hasn’t found The One. “Being matched with the wrong people—it happens often,” Badr says. “Online matchmaking is not always an exact science. But I keep my profile active, because I still think online provides a better chance to meet a wide range of people than meeting someone on occasion in person.”

Badr turned to the Internet because, she says, after college she was no longer surrounded by Muslims or near a strong community, and felt the only way to meet good Muslim matches was through web sites.

“At first I was embarrassed—what if someone recognized me?

And I was skeptical about talking to a complete stranger,” she says.

“But then I realized a lot of people just like me are on these sites, so that made me feel a lot more comfortable about putting myself out there. And every time I thought I was being approached by a stranger, it turned out that we had so many mutual connections and friends.”

Khan says she’s learned that neither meeting someone online nor in person is the one ideal way of finding a match.

“There needs to be a balance between using the Internet as a primary source of finding someone and getting to know them—their thoughts, personality and what is important to them, etc.—and developing a relationship in person.”

Love Knows No Zip Code

Like Baba Ali, Daniel Hummel, a convert to Islam, didn’t exactly have teams of family and friends who could help him find a Muslim wife. “I was having difficulties meeting sisters because of the limitations in the mosque and the cultural obstacles, so I went online.

After some time, I finally met my wife.”

The one hiccup? She lived on a different continent.

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“After about a year of communication online, emails and chatting, we decided that it would be good to meet. I decided to go to Malaysia (where she was working at the time) to meet her and her parents, who had flown in to meet me.

“After they had given us their blessings, I finished up some work in the States, packed my bags and went to Jakarta, Indonesia (her hometown) and got married in December 2005. After several years of living there, we’re back in the States and we’re expecting our first child.”

Hummel doesn’t want to give people the wrong impression, though—it did take time to finally find his match. He spent about a year meeting other singles, only to realize there was not potential.

“When it comes to online matchmaking, there may be a lot of misses. You have to sift through those people to find the real genuine folks. It’s a lot of trial and error. If you put in the time and it’s important to you, the reward is great,” Hummel says.

He says he felt getting to know someone online as opposed to in person (“where there is the potential for your eyes to be glazed over by charm or good looks,” he says) allowed for the foundation of a relationship to be based on a deeper connection and understanding of each other. “[Meeting online] can actually foster a more solid relationship than meeting people through your work or organization,” Hummel says. “When you get to know someone online, it’s not about how someone looks—it’s deeper than that. It’s about things you have in common, it’s about values, about things you learn about each other, and that leads to strong and stable relationships.”

While some Muslims may do a spit-take at the suggestion of creating an online profile, Hummel sees the community at large as being rather proactive in using the Internet as a legitimate tool for getting married.

“I think online meeting is growing faster among Muslims than the general community,” Hummel says, citing the sign-up booths for online matchmaking he saw at last year’s ISNA convention. “I don’t think the Muslim community is dragging their feet on that—I think they’re actually clearing the way and becoming more proactive and more innovative in that field.”

Boosting Your Chances at Love Online One’s profile can make or break your chances of finding happiness through a matchmaking site. As such, some users tweak the truth on their accounts.

The most common profile fibs? About 80 percent of profile lies are about a person’s age, height and weight, according to researchers at Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Baba Ali wants users—be it on HalfOurDeen.com, Naseeb, Shadi, or another site altogether—to remember to be straightforward and truthful.

“Be detailed and be honest. Our whole website is not about how many people you can marry, its about finding that one person who is your other half. You find that one person, and you’re done. So be as honest as possible.”

Wajd Badr’s experience has taught her that, “in the end, the people who are on these sites for the right intentions tend to have better success. I think that if you are just as unwilling to compromise on a website as you are in person, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. You may have many more options online, but being picky is going to find you no results—and that’s true on and offline.”

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Meha Ahmad is the copy editor of Islamic Horizons.

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Examining Muslim Marriage and Divorce in North America

By Hiba Haque and Jonathan Hayden

W

ith so many people voicing opinions about Shariah law in North America and with so little research on the subject, Julie Macfarlane, a fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding and professor at the University of Windsor, set out more than four years ago to examine how North American Muslims are applying Shariah in their daily lives, particularly as it relates to marriage and divorce. Macfarlane’s study emerged with data recently published

by ISPU and presented in her upcoming

study of 212 North American Muslims, including imams, religious scholars, social workers, lawyers and divorced men and women from the U.S. and Canada. This “discussion guide” for families and communities encourages a reexamination of traditional attitudes and approaches toward marriage and divorce, an accommodation of the evolving roles of Muslim spouses, a look into the various factors involved in guiding couples to their decision, and suggestions for Muslims to cope with divorce in their communities.

Different views on religious practice were the main cause of divorce for one in four divorcees in the study. book “Islamic Divorce in North America: A Shari’a Path in a Secular Society.”

“Understanding Trends in American Muslim Divorce and Marriage: A Discussion Guide for Families and Communities” is the first report released by ISPU and is a valuable tool directed at the Muslim community and community leaders. “Shari’a Law: Coming to a Courthouse Near You?: What Shari’a Really Means to American Muslims” followed and detailed how Muslims in North America actually apply Shari’ah in their daily lives, extinguishing some of the myths and fears circulating about Shariah. This article looks at key findings from both reports, as well as suggestions to better deal with the issues that were found.

A Discussion Guide for Families and Communities “Understanding Trends in American Muslim Divorce and Marriage” is based on the findings of a four-year empirical Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Divorce rates are reported to have exceeded 30 percent in the North American Muslim community, making it vital to realize the most common factors that prompt divorce and to equip community leaders to assist in times of marital crisis.

Nikah: A Negotiable Contract The nikah contract forms the basis of a Muslim marriage. The research found that, although 98 percent of the marriages in the study were contracted using a nikah, most individuals admitted to having paid little or no attention to its content. Many of the disputes that arose later in marriages may have been avoided had couples negotiated the clauses in their nikah beforehand. Women in particular would benefit in defining the conditions that would make it permissible for them to obtain a divorce, as the study found that they encountered much difficulty in gaining approval to bring problematic

marriages to an end. Almost all participants in the study wished they had undergone premarital counseling to negotiate the terms of the nikah and avert conflicts.

Keeping Up with Cultural Shifts MacFarlane’s study finds the major source of conflict among married couples to be over changing gender roles and expectations.

As women’s participation in the workplace increases, some husbands do not entertain the change, and upon marriage insist that their wives leave their jobs. Some men found it a challenge to reconcile their wives’ attitudes of independence together with their desire “to be taken care of ” by the husband.

In many cases, wives who worked outside the home were also expected to shoulder the majority of household chores. McFarlane suggests that community leaders also highlight how Islam is compatible with the empowerment of women (in education, in work, and in public life).

Another instance of clash between values ensued in “transnational marriages,” where individuals raised in North America were married to a person from overseas, often a choice made by the parents. Such relationships faced the pressures of age differences, cultural upbringing and language barriers. The study found that often where such arranged marriages did not work out for an older sibling, parents allowed greater independence and choice for subsequent siblings in choosing their partners.

A Divergence of Expectations In addition to adjusting to shifts in contemporary culture, there are certain areas where it is common to expect a divergence of opinion among spouses. Different views on religious practice were the main cause of divorce for one in four divorcees in the study.

Some women reported a “double standard” in their husbands’ religious approach, where husbands would prohibit them from what they deemed un-Islamic, such as particular forms of public dress or communication with men at work, yet themselves would not conform to Islamic obligations such as prayer or abstinence from alcohol. Other women reported that they asked for husbands to share in household tasks or expressed their interest in continuing education and were told they were a “bad Muslim wife.”

In the cases of cross-cultural marriages, 55

Family Life difference in norms of communication and tolerance for conflict were found to be the major points of divergence among couples.

One South Asian man described his distress in finding his American convert wife talking casually about divorce and engaging in heated arguments, saying, “To me, it was foreign to bring up divorce, and to yell so much.”

Other female converts expressed their grief in having husbands tell them that they were not “really” Muslims. In fact, such accusations aimed at the spouse’s religiosity sometimes sparked conflict resulting in emotional and spiritual abuse, at times ending up in divorce.

According to those interviewed for the study, one in three failed marriages was due to domestic violence. McFarlane notes that this rate of domestic violence is in line with the general North American population, and attributes it to the “systemic patriarchy” present in all cultural communities.

Revisiting Ideas about Divorce Almost all couples in the study made serious efforts to reconcile their relationships and only considered divorce as the last and final option. Individuals reported that the community’s stigma surrounding divorce also compelled them to prolong their difficult relationships. In one case, a woman reported being sent back to her abusive husband by her mother and sister who feared reactions from the community. Others were told by their imams to remain patient. Some reported that community tolerance of male violence made appealing for help extremely difficult.

McFarlane notes that this stigma toward divorce is lessening in the Muslim community, but is still a barrier for women seeking divorce, recommending marriage counseling services and the removal of stigma for using such services.

The Role of Imams and Muslim Professionals The study also details the experience of imams in dealing with cases of marriage and particularly with women seeking divorce. Interestingly, imams’ attitudes and approaches toward cases sometimes differed as a result of how sympathetic they were to women’s complaints, rather than allegiances toward a particular school of law.

McFarlane indicates the emergence of 56

regional panels of imams as an encouraging development, where clear policies and guidelines can be formulated to govern such matters. Establishing cooperative relationships between imams and lawyers to provide a complete range of services for divorcing couples, family crisis training for imams and use of professional counselors and social workers by mosques are recommended.

Occasional issues arise in the settlements of disputes; both studies highlight the need for understanding the issues for not only the Muslim community but any professional involved in this type of legal dispute. For example, Macfarlane found that women trying to obtain payment of their promised mahr had difficulty in the court systems as the nikah is not legally enforceable in U.S. or Canada, and is often disregarded as a “contract for a religious purpose.”

Shariah: a Private Matter In her second report released by ISPU, “Shari’a Law: Coming to a Courthouse Near You?: What Shari’a Really Means to American Muslims,” McFarlane details how Muslims in North America actually apply Shariah in their daily lives. This is the first report that actually consults the Muslim community on the meaning of Shariah to their lives.

Those interviewed used religious marriage and divorce on top of, not in place of, civil law. Macfarlane found that none of the respondents suggested that the courts should directly apply Islamic law to Muslims or non-Muslims. She said the idea of forcing Shariah on anyone makes no sense to Muslims.

Shariah is widely regarded as private, family traditions that are separate from the courts and the legal system. The vast majority of respondents in her study regarded Shariah and American law as fully compatible and were insistent that Muslims obey the law of the land. Macfarlane notes that “almost every respondent married and divorced ‘twice’: once in Islam, and once in the legal system.”

Both reports offer unique research aimed at informing not only the Muslim community, but also to policymakers, the media and non-Muslims who want to learn about their neighbors. Macfarlane’s studies give these stakeholders important data to discuss critical issues openly and frankly.

The full reports are available on ISPU’s website, www.ispu.org.

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Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Matchmaker, Matchmaker,

Make Me a Match

by Samana Siddiqui

F

ran Pappert-Shannon, a 53-year-old divorced Canadian convert to Islam, is looking to complete half of her faith by getting married, as Prophet Muhammad advised.

However, she is also seeking a good Muslim matchmaker to help her.

“Because I understand that being married is half of my Deen, I am interested in exploring the Islamic manner of finding a compatible, ethical, devout and wonderful husband,” she says.

As a committed Muslim, PappertShannon says she is interested in utilizing an established, reputable and successful matchmaker in finding an ideal Muslim husband.

Personal matchmaking, versus its online counterpart, has been the preferred method of seeking a spouse in countless cultures for centuries. Although dating and online matchmaking are the main route to marriage in America, there remain roughly 1,500 matchmakers in the U.S., according to the New York-based Matchmaking Institute.

For Muslims in America, however, it is still the “auntie network” that helps them find a life partner. This web of connections to eligible bachelors and bachelorettes through primarily female relatives or friends, remains a preferred method of seeking a suitable spouse.

“Singles and families want to be understood and heard,” says Vaseem Ansari of Companionships, a personal Muslim matchmaking service in Herndon, Va. “They feel it is better to personally know someone rather than rely on the unknown of the online services. Most come from a tradition of referrals where any type of association is better than no known associations.”

It’s something Parveen Ahmad of Chicago has been involved with on an informal basis, successfully matching at least four couples to date.

“My husband has a large family and the guy cousins asked us to look for them and Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

we just suggested people who we thought would be suitable for them from amongst our friends,” she says. Some think that personal matchmakers may be for those who are more serious about finding a lifelong companion.

“I think people choose matchmakers over online service for one reason alone—they are looking to get married and not to date,” says Saliha*, an aspiring Muslim matchmaker.

Trust is also a key reason singles cite for choosing a matchmaker versus an online service.

“The profiles and information placed on Muslim online matching services can be exaggerated, misleading and even deceitful,” says Pappert-Shannon. “It is advantageous to have the services of an ethical and experienced matchmaker who can draw upon her community connections and bring potential marriage partners together, based upon interests and compatibility.”

But the path to establishing a successful match requires the right amount of background checking, as well as guiding and teaching singles throughout the process.

“The criteria defined by the Prophet of Islam for marriage are: physical appearance, family status, wealth and God-consciousness,” says Abrar Ansari, Vaseem’s Ansari’s husband, who is also a matchmaker. “No doubt the Prophet has made God-consciousness the No. 1 priority. At Companionships, we offer a God-conscious framework to help single Muslim men and women to start formulating their own strategy to become their own matchmakers.”

At the Wedded Bliss Foundation in D.C., founder Nisa Muhammad and her husband, Abdul Jalil Muhammad, start off by asking key questions about family and educational background, previous marriages and children, even criminal history. For the Muslims, they also check out the level of Islamic practice.

The background checking is critical to a matchmaker’s work. However, there is a level of confusion about how much responsibility he or she has in vetting prospective matches.

Many Muslims adopt the attitude that it’s important to cover up faults when someone is trying to find out more about a potential spouse. While this may be true in most cases, in matters of marriage, it does not apply.

The example of Prophet Muhammad is relevant in this regard. In one situation, a woman sought his advice about a man who had proposed marriage. He warned her that he was an abusive person.

Another problem with personal matchmaking versus its online counterpart, according to Aneesah Nadir, president of the Islamic Social Services AssociationUSA, is an emphasis on suggesting spouses based on the same race or ethnicity, versus actual compatibility. She says this leaves out those not part of the group, even if a match is suitable.

“The auntie network needs some training and to be more alert about realities,” Nadir says.

Nisa Muhammad agrees, suggesting the community needs something like a matchmaking coalition to “create some quality assurance.”

“Finding the right spouse is one of the most important things a Muslim can do,” says Muhammad. “We put more effort into going to the right college, and finding the right job. Those things come and go but the right spouse, we want for life.”

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Samana Siddiqui, content manager of Sound Vision Foundation’s website (www.soundvision.com), is also writer for the “Chicago Crescent.”

*Name changed for privacy purposes.

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Reviews Movie reviews London River Drama. DVD. March 2012. 88 min.

English (Arabic and French with substitles). $24.95 Cinema Libre Studio, Canoga Park, Calif.

I

n brief, London River is story of two strangers who discover the fate of their respective children in the July 2005 terrorist attacks on London.

Director R achid Bouchareb, thrice nominated for Academy Awards, used the events for telling about clashing cultures united in grief. The story offers a hard look at racial biases and is strongly backed by Elisabeth Sommers (award winning British actor Brenda Blethyn)’s character, whose repressed hysteria clashes with Francophone Muslim African Ousmane (played by awarded Malian actor Sotigui Kouyaté)’s attitude (trust in God). Overall this is a strong and insightful take on prejudice in post-7/7 London.

Elisabeth, a war widow, lives a reclusive life on the shores of Guernsey, until her life is torn apart when she learns of the attacks in London, where her daughter lives. Ousmane, an immigrant from France — who tends to dying elm trees — who has also come to London to look for his son, who he has not seen from birth. When through masjid contacts, he discovers a photo that leads to his son and Jane Sommers, not only being friends but also apartment mates. Jane was learning Arabic, and also converting to Islam. He gets in touch with Elisabeth — who had initially reported him to the police, which led the police to visit Jane’s apartment and collect DNA samples — and they embark on a soul shattering quest to find their flesh and blood that takes them on a journey of discovery and hope, to the gravest depths of despair. It is also a glimpse into Muslim community who were helpful but sort of let Ousmane do the search on his, exhausting his meager resources.

In this quest, they face despair, a brief spell of hope, where viewers are wanting for a happing ending, and then comes the ultimate grief. Both main actors are very honest and beautiful.

They will bring tears to your eyes, I shed a few.

The original film was released in 2009.

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Shadow of Afghanistan: 1959 – 2012 Documentary. DVD. 2012. 90 min.

English and Arabic with subtitles. $19.95 Cinema Libre Studio, Canoga Park, Calif.

I

n the late 1980s, two documentary film crews began recording events overlooked by the mainstream media in Afghanistan. Two crew

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members were killed by the Soviets. Twenty-six years and eighteen trips later, Academy Award nominees Jim Burroughs and Suzanne Bauman, have produced an epic saga of country victimized by conflicting geopolitical interests since the Cold War. The film is a testament and offers the comprehensive analysis that the mainstream media overlook.

It is the story of Afghanistan seen through the eyes of an Afghan fighter, independent filmmakers and a small group of journalists. It encompasses the Soviet invasion, the exile of million of refugees braving Soviet mines, a violent civil war, the Taliban era, and the American invasion, and finally a people still determined to survive.

This is not only a touching production but also shows man’s inhumanity to man. This is a true story of Afghanistan and the not the candy-coated version that one sees on our TV screens. It is a must see for Americans who are deprived of real news by the mainstream media: too focused on the present with no reflection of the past. The message is clear that we need to understand history.

Afghanistan is a complex situation created over several decades to which the U.S. has also contributed. As Burroughs remarks, Afghanistan is a history that is understood, but it is “one that will some back to cast a long shadow.”

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Documentary Film ‘The Interrupters’ Ameena Matthews: Interrupting Violence Inner City Chicago

I

f someone pulls a gun or knife, most people would turn and run. But not Ameena Matthews. When the threat of violence lingers in the air, she draws closer, keeping a watchful eye on the scene as she prepares to intervene.

Matthews works as a “violence interrupter” with CeaseFire, a Chicago-based non-profit organization that works to stop street violence.

Matthews is featured in “The Interrupters,” a documentary film about the work Violence Interrupters are doing in some of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods.

An ex-gang enforcer and daughter of a currently imprisoned Chicago gang leader, Matthews mediates conflicts before they erupt into violence. The documentary follows this fearless mother of two, and her fellow coworkers, also ex-gang members, as she talks down enraged individuals, often youth, who are on the brink of resolving their problems with a gun, knife, or other weapon.

Based on the idea that street violence is behavior-driven, and a curable disease, the violence interrupters step into the center of conflicts to interrupt. Matthews draws on her past to remind others of the negative consequences of violence.

Both captivating and awe-inspiring, “The Interrupters” exposes its audience to the warzone-like world of street violence, and introduces it to the heroes who are working to stop the violence.

To view the documentary, visit www.ceasefirechicago.org.

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Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

An Available Lesson

Short Takes

The Dark Defile: Britain’s Catastrophic Invasion of Afghanistan, 1838-1842 Diana Preston 2012. pp. 320. HB. $28.00.

Walker & Company

Counseling Muslims: Handbook of Mental Health Issues and Interventions Sameera Ahmed and Mona M. Amer (eds.)

2011. pp. 416. HB. $49.95 Routledge Ahmed and Amer have gathered a group of experienced specialists to compile a volume that will guide practitioners on how would you effectively help their Muslim clients while balancing appropriate interventions that are sensitive to religious, cultural, social, and gender differences.

The answers that this handbook provides may help behavioral health practitioners provide religio-culturally competent care to Muslim clients living in North America and other western countries.

R

egime change is not a new concept. Some 170 years ago, Britain — seeking to prevent perceived threats to its empire in India from Russia, Persia, and Afghan tribes — sent its army into Afghanistan to replace the independent-minded king, Dost Mohammed, with the unpopular puppet ruler Shah Shuja. Expecting a quick campaign, the British found themselves trapped by unforeseen circumstances; eventually the tribes united and the seemingly omnipotent British army was slaughtered in 1842 as it desperately retreated through the mountain passes from Kabul to Jalalabad. Only one Briton survived to tell the story. In her well-researched work, Preston recounts the drama of this First Afghan War, one of the opening salvos in the strategic rivalry between Britain and Russia for supremacy in Central Asia.

She is insightful about geography as well as about political and military miscalculation. A model of compelling narrative history, “The Dark Defile” is a fascinating exploration of 19th-century geopolitics, and a cautionary tale that resonates loudly today.

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Slice of the Market

Ottoman Izmir: The Rise of a Cosmopolitan Port, 1840-1880 Sibel Zandi-Sayek 2011. pp. 288. PB $27.50. HB $82.50.

Univ of Minnesota Press The eastern Mediterranean port of Izmir underwent unprecedented change in the mid-19th century. The transformation doubled its population. This Ottoman Izmir provides a fascinating case study for Zandi-Sayek’s book. She analyzes the physical settings and uses architecture and urban forms as primary documents to understand the social fabric.

Prejudice Unveiled: The Myths and Realities about Islam A. M. Amana 2011. pp. 293. PB. $11.35 On Amazon’s bestsellers list on books about Islam, “Prejudice Unveiled” offers a balanced response to issues being debated about Islam and its status. While debunking the popular myths about Islam and the Prophet, Amana offers powerful call for interfaith understanding.

Handbook of Islamic Marketing Ozlem Sandikci and Gillian Rice (eds.)

2011. pp. 544. HB. $245.00 Elgar Original Reference

S

andikci and Rice have assembled a collection from scholars who come from many different backgrounds, providing research and recommendations on how best to serve this previously overlooked segment of consumers, Muslims, who make up a quarter of world markets.

Grains of Sustenance Sadoon Sarwat 2012. pp. 392. PB. $18.00 grainsofsustenance.org Sarwat outlines Islam’s guiding principles and discusses the Islamic perspective on contemporary issues such Shari’ah, jihad, family, women issues, and rights.

This handbook will help alert marketers to the vast opportunities offered by Muslim consumers. It provides material to help them become attuned to the values and principles of Islamic cultures that will drive consumption, product and service choices, brand preference, and brand loyalty in coming years. This book could serve as a guide to those who study and those who participate in the growing field of Muslim branding and marketing.

The collection ranges across key sectors (notably finance, food, and fashion) and territories (of Muslim majority and minority population).

Contributors elaborate the diversity of Muslim experiences, beliefs, and practices that must be considered by marketing professionals seeking to enter this newly recognized market.

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Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

Localizing Islam in Europe: Turkish Islamic Communities in Germany & the Netherlands Ahmet Yükleyen 2012. pp. 304. HB. $39.95.

Syracuse University Press There are now 12 million Muslims in Western Europe.

These immigrant communities are reinterpreting Islam in accordance with local conditions. Yükleyen, in focusing on this adaption, shows Islam and Europe have shaped each other, challenging the aspersions that Islam is antithetical to European secular, democratic, and pluralistic values.

Islam: God’s Final Message to Mankind Abdul Hameed Dogar 2010. Pp. 302. PB. Islamic Foundation, Villa Park, Ill. The author, a highly respected Chicagoland community leader, attempts to present Islam to readers. However, the book lacks organization and subtlety.

Although, aimed at North American readers, there is no discussion on this society’s intense secularization. Instead, we see discussion on topics that date the 1980s. Surprisingly, the book omits mention of current issues such the Gulf, Iraq, and Afghan wars, and terrorism. Nor, it addresses issues that relate to a multiethnic, multi-religious, and a multidimensional country such as the U.S. The book required better editing and production. (Mohammed Wasiuddin, Glen Ellyn, Ill.)

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Food for the Spirit

The Remembrance of God

By Samuel Ross

T

he great 17th century Yemeni scholar Abd-Allah ibn Alawi al-Haddad said, “The remembrance of God (dhikr) has fruits… the least of which is to find it so sweet and pleasurable that every worldly pleasure becomes insignificant by comparison.”

For regular folks like ourselves, however, we can often only dream of tasting such sweetness. We may recall a time when we felt especially close to God, when He had sent the rain clouds of His mercy to moisten our hearts, but, since then, our hearts may have dried from the passage of time. How can we get back to that pristine moment when we felt so close, so certain, so overwhelmed?

And how can we rise beyond to the level of those who are closer to Allah than we’ve ever been before?

According to our teachers, the first step is to achieve the proper understanding of dhikr. One common misconception is that dhikr is akin to the use of magical phrases, whereby merely saying certain praises a particular number of times, even absentmindedly, will transform our spiritual lives.

But while dhikr may be a medicine for ailing hearts, it is not a pill to be popped. Dhikr is an exercise requiring intentionality, focus and the exertion of the heart.

To achieve full efficacy, our scholars have recommended several practices. The first is to clear the mind and heart of everything other than God: idle thoughts about the day’s events, foods we would like to eat, our plans for the evening, etc. God is too great to be

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one of many. He will only come to a heart that is purified and empty for Him. But focusing the mind only on God is not easy. It requires the deliberate leaving of worldly thoughts, and many of us may find it hard to focus for even a minute without our minds wandering. Here it is important to remember that all of us are capable of focusing for some small amount of time.

It is just a matter of slowly increasing our existing abilities through regular practice.

Our teachers assure us that our capacity can eventually grow. Indeed, recent scientific studies have shown that regular meditation exercises actually change the human brain and increase attention span. To facilitate focusing the mind, we can try to sit in a location far from disturbances and to give ourselves a few minutes beforehand to let the chatter in our minds calm down.

Of course, this may not always be possible, and we have been taught in the Quran to remember God at all times, so even a crowded subway car is a place fit for His remembrance. But where we have the option, we should strive for a place that will best facilitate our purpose.

The second practice is to sit in a manner becoming of one entering the presence of a king, for God is the King of kings. If possible, we should be in a state of purity, with clean clothes, and facing the qibla.

The third, and perhaps most important practice, is to strive to connect with God using our hearts, not our minds. In this regard, the common translation of dhikr, “remem-

brance,” can be misleading. “Remembrance” often connotes a mental process, when in fact dhikr is a recollection with one’s entire being, as noted by Shahidullah Faridi in his 1976 work, “Spirituality in Religion.”

To do dhikr of God, we must strive to produce a depth of feeling, for we have been taught by our Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) that we must not merely believe certain realities but also strive to feel certain emotions. The Quran teaches us to not merely believe in God but to love Him, to be grateful to Him, to fear Him, and to be in awe of Him. Several techniques can here be beneficial.

For each of the formulations of praise advised by Prophet Muhammad, there is a particular emotional state that we can strive to cultivate.

As a contemporary Jordanian scholar suggests, when we say “Glory be to God” (subhan Allah) for example, we should try to summon awe-filled admiration for God. When we say “All praise belongs to God” (alhamdu lillah), we should try to summon love and gratitude for Him. When we say “God is the greatest” (Allahu akbar), we should strive to cultivate humility before His infinite majesty and power. When we ask His forgiveness, we should strive to feel fear for the punishment our deeds merit and hope that He will forgive us.

If in seeking to perform dhikr we encounter difficulty—impatient limbs that don’t want to sit still—we should remember that this is to some extent normal and not a sign of any lack of aptitude, let alone a reason to stop. As Imam al-Ghazali notes, many things that initially feel difficult later become easy, even beloved.

For someone not in physical shape for example, the first time one goes for a jog, it Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

can be a painful experience and the temptation to stop and walk nearly irresistible. But in time, physical exercise goes from difficult, to enjoyable, to even addictive. The same holds true for dhikr. And as Ibn ‘Ata-Allah notes, it is better to invoke God’s name heedlessly than not to invoke it at all. After all, God might raise one from absent-minded invocation to invocation with presence. But this can only happen if one is invoking Him in the first place.

One legitimate reason we may find difficulty in dhikr is if our hearts have become sullied with sin. As the Prophet taught, acts of worship polish our hearts, and acts of disobedience tarnish them. If we do not live our lives in conformity with Divine guidance, we may be polluting our hearts faster than our dhikr can cleanse them.

The best way to assess this is simply to study or review what God has made obligatory upon us. Here, we should be wary of the danger of false confidence. How many a sin is from ignorance, unknown to the one committing it.

Last, though the sweetness of dhikr is something to be delighted in, ultimately God

Islamic Horizons May/June 2012

WHAT SPIRITUAL TOPICS MATTER MOST TO YOU?

where you can download this and previous columns at: http://www.isna.net

Please help “Food for the Spirit” better meet your needs by completing a two-minute survey at: www.isna.net/foodforthespiritsurvey must be worshipped for His own sake—not for the spiritual states He might bestow. After all, if one worships God for the states one finds, then we are ultimately worshipping ourselves and not God Himself.

According to a sound hadith, the Prophet once asked, “Shall I not inform you of the best of your actions, the purest in the sight of your Lord, and the most elevating to your degrees?” His companions answered “What is it?” He answered, “The remembrance of God.” May God perfect us in our dhikr, that He elevate us to His noble presence. Ameen.

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We look forward to incorporating your feedback and questions into future columns.

Please send all correspondence to: foodforthespirit@isna.net. Please also visit our website

Below is a checklist we can use to help us improve the quality of our dhikr. Please feel free to cut it out and place it in your office, car, purse, etc.

1. Select some invocations from the Prophet’s sunnah to perform every day without fail. Among the best is Subhan Allah 33x, Alhamdulillah 33x, and Allahu Akbar 34x.

2. If possible, choose a quiet place free from distractions.

3. Be in wudu, facing the qibla.

4. Allow the mind a few minutes to empty itself of its concerns.

5. Try to say the words as if they are your own.

6. Try to cultivate the emotional states suitable for each phrase. a. Subhan Allah (Glory be to God) — Admiration and Awe b. Alhamdulillah (All praise belongs to God) — Love and Gratitude c. Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest) — Humility before Him d. Astaghfirullah (I seek God’s forgiveness) — Fear and Hope

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