Islamic Horizons November/December 2022

Hearts Reconnect

Al hamdu lillah, the in-person 59th ISNA Convention ended the two-year pandemic-imposed hia tus. The crowd, consisting of thou sands of regular and first-time attendees, welcomed the chance to reconnect with friends, speakers and the bazaar.

CBS News (Sept. 3) reported that the “ISNA Convention in Rosemont [Convention Center] is the nation’s larg est gathering and networking event for the Muslim community.”

There were learning opportunities, as well as times to relax and enjoy. However, as the speakers made clear, it’s time to rethink Muslim priorities in North America. The community is rich in professionals from medicine to law and from engineering to technology. And yet it lacks enough qual ified professionals in the crucial areas that make up public communication. Young Muslims need to consider training and excelling in fields such journalism, writ ing, audiovisual communications and public speaking.

After all, we need to be skilled enough to converse on the same level fluency, knowl edge of other faiths, debate and logic as our opponents. How else can we tell our own stories from our own minds and hearts, instead of leaving such efforts to others?

Rasheed Rabbi deserves full credit for compiling the convention report despite facing difficulties. The young Rabiyah Syed also deserves credit for her reporting.

Kiran Ansari, who has returned to the pages of Islamic Horizons after a long absence, offers an interesting sideline of the convention — comments from a few organizers and attendees on what they liked about their experience and what can be improved.

Islamic Horizons invited Khalid Iqbal, a longtime MSA/ISNA leader, to coordinate this issue’s cover story on volunteerism. Despite falling seriously ill, he inspired others to provide two articles. May God restore his health and reward him.

Volunteering, an essential but oft-for gotten aspect of charity, has become restricted to donating money to the mosque or an online Muslim charity.

However, this noble endeavor has taken on a mechanical, almost sanitized, trans actional nature that fosters no connection with fellow humans or society.

To experience volunteerism’s real spirit, Muslims need to remember that the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) encouraged Abu Dharr (‘alayhi rahmat) to love and live with the poor (“Musnad Ahmad,” vol. 5, pg. 159). When we spend time with the socially disadvantaged, we learn about their stories and sorrows, their happiness and hopes. In short, we human ize them and understand that “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

Reem Elghonimi, an author and aca demic, discusses the post-Roe v Wade situation, pointing out that while most Muslim Americans rightly support women’s reproductive rights, we must recognize a glaring omission in that narrative: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during childbirth Black women die from pre ventable conditions at three times the rate of white women and at a higher rate than any other ethnic or racial group (advo cate.nyc.gov/reports/).

Monia Mazigh, the prize-winning Muslim Canadian writer and journalist, shows how Islamophobia is used as a polit ical tool in Quebec, where Muslims and immigrants have become scapegoats in the province’s election cycles.

Dr. Mohammad Abdullah, a retired USDA director, asks how organic the organic food for which we pay premium prices really is.

While we were finalizing this issue, the umma lost a most illustrious scholar, Yusuf al-Qaradawi. No one questions his status as one of the 20th century’s most influential Islamic scholars — some say the Renewer of Islam (al-mujaddid).

Last September, the umma bade farewell to another remarkable person, Syed Ali Geelani, who dedicated his life to upholding the Kashmiris’ right of self-determination, after India brutally usurped their princely state on Oct. 26, 1947. They continue to be held in India’s genocidal grip. ih

PUBLISHER

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)

PRESIDENT Safaa Zarzour

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Basharat Saleem

EDITOR

Omer Bin Abdullah

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Iqbal Unus, Chair: M. Ahmadullah Siddiqi, Saba Ali

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A Grand Return

The 59th and the first post-Covid in-person ISNA Convention garners an enthusiastic audience

BY RASHEED RABBI*

The ISNA annual convention’s in-person return to Chicago’s Donald Stephens Convention Center marked the milestone of forfeiting our two-year digital fatigue. Many speak ers, attendees, sponsors, and others called it the best ISNA convention. With more than 175 speakers, 81 diverse sessions and workshops, 500 + bazaar booths, interfaith banquet, CSRL banquet, nightly entertain ment, hundreds of volunteers and more, this year’s ISNA convention provided a convoy of collaboration that put resilience in action beyond the published papers and discussion podiums.

CBS News (Sept. 3) described it as, “ISNA Convention in Rosemont [Convention Center] is nation’s largest gathering and net working event for the Muslim community.”

Attracting thousands of attendees, scores visited the bazaar’s 540 booths, as well the accompanying art exhibit, film festival, robotics, a women-only fashion show, gym nastics show, and matrimonial banquets. The convention ended with a volunteers’ appreciation luncheon.

Religious leaders and representatives, including ISNA president Safaa Zarzour, vice

president Magda Elkadi Saleh, Mohammad Jalaluddin (ISNA VP, Canada), Irshad Khan (president, CIOGC) and Senator Fady Qaddoura (D-Ind.) spoke during the event’s opening day event.

The convention enabled the exchange of ideas, showcased social and outreach pro grams, provided networking opportunities,

fostered interfaith interaction and good relations with other religious communities and encouraged civic engagements. Zarzour read President Joe Biden’s letter for the ISNA convention, endorsing ISNA’s efforts, on stage on Saturday night. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona’s video message shared the work he has done alongside the Biden administration.

The heart-warming supplication of Capt. Saleha Jabeen, the first female Muslim U.S. Military chaplain, wove everyone together with the same thread of hope and commit ment to work for finding a home in the U.S.

Rashad Hussain (U.S Ambassador at-large for International Religious Freedom) highlighted some of his ongoing efforts at the government officials’ breakfast with political leaders, Homeland Security officials, and civic engagement and business leaders.

The annual Community Service Recognition Luncheon (CSRL) featured Ambassador Hussain as a keynote speaker and a virtual message from Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr (professor, Islamic studies, George Washington University), who received the community service recogni tion award.

Abdul Wahab received the ISNA President’s award for his outstanding ser vice to the community and to ISNA. Medal of Freedom awardee Commissioner Khizr Khan talked about his life in U.S. for the last 40 years and the importance of interfaith work and civic engagement.

Recognizing the ISNA convention’s importance, ABC, CBS, the Chicago Sun Times and other national and international media outlets lent their platforms to dissemi nate the varied lessons of instilling resilience.

The convention addressed many crit ical issues, including instilling resilience in life’s transformative stages, offering a comprehensive curriculum for diverse audiences, and motivating people to put resilience into action.

INSTILLING RESILIENCE IN LIFE’S TRANSFORMATIVE STAGES

The convention’s 10 main sessions, which included a focused discussion forum, enabled the scholars to explain harnessing hope, acting with resilience and securing guidance through faith.

Waleed Basyouni (vice president, AlMaghrib Institute) urged emulating the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), who reflected his own optimism by changing

THE CONVENTION ADDRESSED MANY CRITICAL ISSUES INCLUDING INSTILLING RESILIENCE IN LIFE’S TRANSFORMATIVE STAGES, OFFERING A COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM FOR DIVERSE AUDIENCES, AND MOTIVATING PEOPLE TO PUT RESILIENCE INTO ACTION.

At hand to inaugurate the event were (L-R) Asma Nizamuddin, Ashfaq Hussain, Jack Dorgan, Rosemont City trustee, Safaa Zarzour, Mir Khan, Farah Laman, Basharat Saleem, Irshad Khan.

Yathrib’s (blame and scolding) negative name to Medina (the city of God’s messenger), and noted that the fruit of prayer, when acting according to our faith, is hope. Muzammil Siddiqi, a former ISNA president, remarked that this life is a test (67:2, 29:2) and that our belief and actions will equip us to overcome them with hope and resilience. Mohammad Akram Nadwi (dean, Cambridge Islamic College; principal, Al-Salam Institute) referred to how prophets Noah, Ibrahim, Musa, ‘Isa and Muhammad harnessed hope.

The legacy of Shaykh Muhammad Shareef (founder, AlMaghrib Institute), who recently died aged 48, was commem orated during Friday’s second main session. Its speakers focused on his unique contri butions that inspired hundreds to connect their faith with their life and embrace Islam comprehensively.

Friday’s final session focused on the family, the primary place in which to ger minate the seeds of faith and sustain Islamic values. The family members’ ongoing and

mutual impacts on one another require resil iency to ward off personal stresses or strains and to engender the homogenous flow of mutual harmony and stability. Hence, parents must maintain open communication with, as well as support, their children’s self-worth.

Saturday morning’s sessions started with the discussion of extending those universal virtues of coming together for weaving a loving and supportive community.

Highlighting suicide, addiction, and other perils, Dalia Mogahed (director of research, ISPU) emphasized the need for a stronger community. To build that commu nity, Imam Mohammed Magid named three top tenets: compassion and mercy (21:107; 3:159; 55:1-4); serving the community; and consulting and collaborating with humil ity (49:13). Muzammil Siddique advocated for a mosque-centric community, for their closure during the pandemic revealed just how important they are as sources of God’s mercy and bring diverse people together.

A dedicated Saturday parallel session

(#5A) was scheduled to elaborate upon Ihsan Bagby’s (associate professor, Islamic studies, University of Kentucky) national mosque report and work with Shaykh Muhammad Nur Abdullah (former ISNA president), Nisar-ul-Haq, Mogahed and Ahmad Al-Amin (imam and religious director, Indianapolis Muslim Community Association) to realize mosque-centric com munities this vision.

While mosques arrange informal reli gious education, Islamic schools offer formal Islamic teaching. Session #4A celebrated these schools’ six-decade legacy. Saleh, who asserted that the mosque’s informal class rooms and halaqas are the base that motivates full-fledged Islamic educational institution, revealed that only 10% of Muslim American youth attend Islamic schools. Why? Because of the lack of adequate facilities and/or fund ing. She highlighted some of the common successes and concerns in this regard.

Jimmy Jones (professor and president, The Islamic Seminary of America) focused on the co-articulation of religious and ethnic/national traditions at a very young age and collaboration with non-Islamic schools, citing the joint-venture the Prophet established among the Muhajireen and the Ansar to refine both cultures.

Some consider Islamic education a for eign concept. In response, Habeeb Quadri highlighted five Islamic constructs that, he opined, need to be integrated in each school, depending on the demographics: identity, knowledge, environment, relevance and community building.

The ideas and discussions around instill ing resilience in life’s transformative stages were wrapped up beautifully in Saturday eve ning’s first session, which looked at the ethical responsibility of opposing discrimination,

Former ISNA president Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi joined the ISNA president Safaa Zarzour and executive director Basharat Saleem in honoring Abdul Wahab with the “ISNA President’s Award” for his 30+ years of service as a dedicated volunteer, leader, and ISNA convention chair.

ISNA hosted a reception for Convention volunteers.

ISNA awarded Jacob Bender with its “Abu Talib Award” at the interfaith banquet for his outstanding contributions and support to the Muslim American community and for promoting mutual respect and understanding between faith communities. (L-R) Saffet Catovic, Najeeba Syeed, Magda Elkadi Saleh, Basharat Saleem, Bender, and Safaa Zarzour.

racism, Islamophobia, inequality and other social perils. Mogehad shared that she found a cathedral unaffected amidst the many destroyed mosques in Bosnia during the devastating homicide and drew the lesson that “the tormentors are not our teachers.” Jamila Karim dismissed the myth that African Americans are invisible Muslims by explaining that they diligently aspire to be the “walking Quran,” an approach that we often fail to understand.

The idea of resilience reached its apex during Saturday’s final session, the conven tion’s most attended event. Nadwi explained that communities need hope to arise, as well as hard work, open minds and hearts and full of belief in God, like Prophet Ibrahim. Shaykha Ieasha Prime (resident scholar and curricu lum director, Islamic Society of Baltimore) brought home the theme by noting that our communities are already resilient, as they have survived a century of oppression, dis crimination, inequality and Islamophobia. However, she stated, we need to raise the bar.

Imam Siraj Wahaj referred to prophets Muhammad and Ibrahim to unpack the les sons of resilience and perseverance. Imam Zaid Shakir mentioned that perseverance, not running away from hardship, builds character. We must commit ourselves to God, have hope and be persistent in the face of all challenges to raise the bar of resilience.

Sunday’s session addressed the other aspects of renewing resilience. Rania Awaad (clinical associate professor of psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine) shared some of the research conducted during the pandemic, when 40% of average Americans experienced depression. Imam Magid explained the theo logical emphasis on thinking positive.

The last main session was dedicated to equipping the youth at an early age.

Mufti Hussain Kamani (instructor, Qalam Institute; faculty member, Qalam Seminary), Azhar Azeez (CEO, Muslim Aid USA; a former ISNA president), Prof. Hadia Mubarak (assistant professor of religion, Queens University of Charlotte; a former MSA president), Quadri and Zainedeen Abuhalimeh (president, MYNA) offered a very engaging discussion.

All of these sessions identified what

fosters and hinders resilience — a basic trait for individual survival, interpersonal relationships, and social support.

OFFERING A COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM

While the main sessions provided a highlevel perspective, parallel sessions offered a guided tour with all possible sub-avenues. For example, session #5A familiarized audi ences with the vision of “Ideal mosques in America” and how to sustain it. Multiple full-length sessions explored Islamic finance during a time of hardship and inflation (#5D), investing in a volatile market (#13D) and Islamic home financing (#14D).

Sessions clarified Islamophobia in the U.S. (#6A) and China (#13E), discussed if Islam is being secularized to meet contemporary needs (#5C), how Muslim narratives have been changing in the film industry (#7D), the rise of Muslim television (#14B) and start ing up a new technology firm or how tech nology’s rise can revive Quranic knowledge (#13C). Many others dealt with the strug gles of American life and global crises (e.g., Kashmir, Bangladesh, Palestine and China).

During the CSRL luncheon, Amb. Hussain stated that Muslim Americans must envision an idealistic global identity not only to become fully aware of what’s going on in the world, but also to actively address these issues as best they can.

MOTIVATING PEOPLE TO PUT RESILIENCE INTO ACTION

Despite the abundant scholarship on increas ing resilience, especially post-pandemic, this convention was unique because the speakers and the attendees were able to create per sonal relationships. Recalling her extended family’s support for herself, her mother and

Seyyed Hossein Nasr

A young Bazaar visitor discussing her purchase

Convention organizers and ISNA staff join in grand farewell led by Basharat Saleem (left) and Azhar Azeez.

two sisters after her father’s demise, Mogahed explained that ease comes “with” not “after” hardship” (94:5). Such a precise discussion revealed that we often remain inactive when it comes to transcending a hardship, and therefore miss out on enjoying the subse quent ease. Once we have the correct psycho logical mindset and undertake the required action, the ease will manifest itself.

Siraj Wahhaj (imam, Masjid Al-Taqwa, Brooklyn, N.Y.) shared the story of giving shahada to his 98-year-old mother just a few days before the convention. His account unfolded the various adversities that we may encounter in this country and to prepare ourselves accordingly. After sharing personal anecdotes, Iesha Prime explained that ease is “a victory by Allah” given after hardship; the tears of peoples’ struggle is witnessed by God and with hardship there will be ease.

Similar personal stories from Amb. Ebrahim Rasool, Jamila Karim and other speakers compelled us to contemplate our personal experiences to assess if we can demonstrate adequate resilience. Such intro spection, infused with courage, will enable us to face any hardship and prepare strategies to transform stresses into resiliency. ih Rasheed Rabbi, an IT professional who earned an MA in religious studies (2016) from Hartford Seminary and is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry from Boston University, is also founder of e-Dawah (www. edawah.net) and secretary of the Association of Muslim Scientists, Engineers & Technology Professionals. He serves as a khateeb and Friday prayer leader at the ADAMS Center and is a certified Muslim chaplain at iNova Fairfax, iNovaLoudoun and Virginia’s Alexandria and Loudoun Adult Detention Centers.

*With reporting by Rabiyah Syed, a student at Naperville Central who loves photography and aspires to be a speech pathologist.

Convention Conversations

The good, the great and the can-be-better

BY KIRAN ANSARI

AZoom session may be a good alternative for a work meeting, but it cannot replace the energy of being surrounded by 15,000 fellow Muslims at the annual ISNA Convention. So how did people feel about attending in person after a Covid-hiatus of two years? Here’s a brief recap from some #ISNA59 attendees.

THE REGULARS

Oakbrook, Ill., resident Munazza Shahzad, who has been attending ISNA conventions for around two decades, grew up attending sessions and is now glad her adult chil dren enjoy it too. “The Friday session, ‘Sustaining Islamic Values within the Family,’ was my favorite,” she said. “Shaykh Yaser Birjas (head, Islamic Law and Theory Department, AlMaghrib Institute) and Dr. Rania Awaad (clinical associate profes sor of psychiatry, the Stanford University School of Medicine) were to the point and kept us all interested.”

On Saturday, she loved Imam Siraj Wahaj’s (imam, Al-Taqwa mosque, Brooklyn; leader, The Muslim Alliance in North America) talk about resilience, but wished that she didn’t have to wait so long to hear the main speakers. She applauded the MYNA sessions, such as Mufti Kamani (faculty member, Qalam Seminary) and

Ustadh Ubaydullah Evans’ (scholar-in-res idence, American Learning Institute for Muslims) “Quest for Sacred Knowledge.” She was glad her kids wanted to listen too. “ISNA has always been a family event, and I’m so glad it was back in Chicago and I could attend with both my parents and my kids.”

Lubna Saadeh of Riverwoods, Ill., agrees. She mostly attended MYNA ses sions with her teenaged children and was glad they could discuss the topics later as a family. “My kids loved Ustadh Ubaydullah because of his energy and clear, practical message,” said Saadeh. “My daughter had recently attended the MYNA camp, and it was wonderful to see the youth so excited. I just felt the entertainment was too much like a concert — but not in a good way.”

THE VISITORS

Out-of-state attendees also enjoyed the sessions. Philadelphians Mohammad Abdul Samad and his wife considered attending the convention in person and spending time with their daughter a dream come true. They were very pleased with the reasonable hotel rates, airport shuttle service and ideal location.

They missed Imam Omar Suleiman (founder and president, Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research), who was on

A zhar Azeez (right) and Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad (center) greet Khizr Khan.

ISNA president Safaa Zarzoor delivers the Juma khutba

umra, but nevertheless considered the lineup very impressive. While renowned Islamic scholars like Shaykh AbdulNasir Jangda (founder, director and instructor, Qalam Seminary) always mesmerize the audience, two other speakers made a big impact on the couple. “Mr. Ajit Sahi (advo cacy director, Indian American Muslim Council; receipient of Pluralist Award 2022) addressed how Muslims are being

speakers were always comfortable. From arranging for early check-ins for interna tional guests to providing them with a quiet space to relax before the next session, the volunteers worked around the clock. One thing Nizamuddin would like to see changed is the distance between the assigned hotel rooms, for “it was tough for the volunteers to provide water to the speakers when the rooms were so far apart.”

business should participate at least once every couple of years. “The highlight for me was when one mom stopped by to share how her children have memorized the morning and evening azkaar (supplications) just by listening to Masjidal.”

THE CUSTOMERS

Hana Rasul, 17, from Elgin, Ill., attended the bazaar for the first time as someone who could make her own shopping deci sions. “Before this, I just remember tagging along with my mom and picking up some Islamic books.”

violated in India and downtrodden in Kashmir. He won my heart when he said that he was not a Muslim, but on the side of justice,” said Abdul Samad.

The other notable speaker was Khizr Khan (founder, the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Project; member, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom) who encouraged the youth not to shy away from applying to Ivy League schools. He said that deans of these colleges ask why they don’t see as many applications from Muslim youth. His advice: Don’t be afraid to share how your faith has shaped you and to focus your life (and college application) on how you add value to your community.

Those present also enjoyed listening to Indiana state Sen. Fady Qaddoura (D) and how he inspired the audience to become more civically engaged.

THE ORGANIZERS

“We were a little nervous this year,” said hos pitality chair Asma Nizamuddin. “We didn’t know how many people would actually show up post-pandemic, but al-hamdu lillah it was a memorable experience for everyone.”

While it wasn’t her first-time volunteer ing with ISNA, she was honored that the convention chair asked her to be in charge of hospitality. Her team made sure that the

THE VENDORS

Kiran Malik and her family from Bartlett, Ill., had two booths at this year’s conven tion. This was their first time at ISNA, and they were excited to showcase Masjidal, their cloud-based touchscreen adhan clock. Overall, she was very pleased with the sales and connections they made with customers and other vendors. “We sell online. But the feeling you get when you hear a teary-eyed mom sharing how the clock has helped her special needs son is just another level,” said Malik. “We were able to explain how Masjidal is not your parents’ generation clunky adhan clock. Its content changes every day, and its modern design fits seamlessly with today’s aesthetic.”

The one thing Malik hopes that Muslims will learn is to stop asking for discounts. While she doesn’t want to broad-brush any segment, those who nickel-and-dime small businesses and pay full price at big box retailers should know better. “I asked them if they haggle at the Apple Store,” she joked.

Even though the bazaar layout changed unexpectedly and pre-convention commu nication could have been better, she stated that the atmosphere was collaborative among vendors. Malik believes ISNA is an experience in which every Muslim-owned

She loved the Nominal jewelry booth the most — primarily because of its setup. Everything was $20, and they had a “buy 3, get the 4th free” promo too. Tons of people were working the big booth, and traffic flowed around it without any bottlenecks. There was no waiting to be helped, and transactions were quick and easy. “It was such a no-frill setup, but it was the best customer experi ence,” Rasul remarked. She also liked the com plimentary coffee tasting at the MUHSEN booth, which was being packaged by their adult special needs program participants.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

If there was one area that people were not too happy about, it was the food. From limited choices to inflated prices, there’s a lot of room for improvement. Attendees understand that event prices must be higher than regular retail because of the costs involved. But then the quality and quantity should reflect the prices. “I didn’t eat anything at the food court,” Rasul said. “I couldn’t justify a $5 water bottle and $20 plate of biryani with one small piece of meat. And since the beef tacos had run out, the chicken wasn’t even zabiha. I didn’t expect that at an Islamic convention.”

Attendees also felt that the young kids’ programs could have been better. “Having the kids at an entirely different location is extremely difficult for parents, as they some times have to leave the session for pickup,” noted Saadeh.

Shahzad agreed. Her young nieces and nephews didn’t let their parents enjoy the sessions, because there wasn’t much for chil dren of their age to do. “Logistically, having the prayer upstairs was a little awkward for some. Hopefully, next time they can have the main speakers in bigger halls like they used to,” she added. ih

Kiran Ansari, a writer and editor, resident in a Chicago suburb, enjoys a low-key life with her children, aged 20, 17 and 8.

WE WERE A LITTLE NERVOUS THIS YEAR,” SAID HOSPITALITY CHAIR ASMA NIZAMUDDIN. “WE DIDN’T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD ACTUALLY SHOW UP POST-PANDEMIC, BUT AL-HAMDU LILLAH IT WAS A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE.”

The CuRe: Understanding Culture and Religion

BY JAMIL ABOUSHAAR

Something special happened on the second floor of Chicago’s Donald E. Stephens Convention Center this past Labor Day weekend.

There was no better place for this nation’s Muslim youth to be as the Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA; https://www. myna.org) hosted its 37th annual conven tion. MYNA presented an all-encompassing experience for the participants, from listen ing to impactful lectures delivered by some of this country’s top scholars to reuniting with friends in faith. The thousands of youth coming from different regions united for the sake of God, a truly wonderful sight to behold — especially because the entire event had been planned by the youth for the youth.

One of the global Muslim community’s biggest struggles is balancing deen with dunya. For youth, the struggle is even more convoluted due to the influences coming from their friends and family, Muslim soci ety in the U.S., American culture, as well

as their ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Each one of these pulls them in a different direction and forces them to navigate their surrounding environment’s endless hurdles to find and understand the balance. “The CuRe: Understanding Culture and Religion,” the ethos of this gathering, sought to help them with this undertaking.

This relevant theme ensured that every seat was filled during the lectures and work shops. Youth listened to speakers such as Mufti Hussain Kamani (imam, Islamic Center of Chicago; instructor, Qalam Institute), Shaykh Abdulnasir Jangda (founder and director, Qalam Institute), Shaykh Ubaydullah Evans (ALIM’s first scholar-in-residence), Shaykha Ieasha Prime (resident scholar and curriculum director, Islamic Society of Baltimore) and Dr. Dalia Mogahed (director of research, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding).

Lectures touched on subjects like the seera and Quran while addressing LGBTQ+,

feminism, toxic influences and other social issues.

The instant you entered the “MYNA Zone,” you could see that something was different. The sense of community fostered through MYNA events is unlike other youth-focused programs. Coming from across the nation, they all have different backgrounds, upbringings, experiences and interests — and yet act as if they are blood related. They had last encountered each other months — if not years — ago, but when they met it was as if no time had passed. From the long-time campers and volunteers to the first-ever attendees, all of them shared a comfort and sense of belong ing. They displayed their power throughout the convention, even during the main ISNA sessions, for their chants could be heard throughout the hall.

As the program was closing and attend ees were leaving the final session, there was a surprise waiting for them in the MYNA lounge area: a special Quran recitation ses sion by young qurra’ (reciters). The beautiful recitation of an elementary-aged boy, emu lating the recitation style of Sheikh Abdul Basit Abdul Samad, one of the most iconic modern reciters, clearly softened the audience’s hearts as they gathered to bask in the joy of listening to God’s words.

Given the current state of affairs and the trend toward the decentralization of faith, it’s vital to find and attend Muslim gather ings like this one and other MYNA events to ensure that we stick to and understand our identity and roots.

We must develop ourselves so we can lead as productive Muslims and be the present and future of the umma in this country. This convention gave us the spark; now it’s our job to provide the fuel to build and maintain a fire of passion within our souls, a passion that pushes us to make a difference in our communities. ih

MYNA Offers Six Winter Camps

AS BELIEVERS, WE OFTEN take our knowledge of God’s existence for granted. For many of us, faith in God may feel so natural that we just assume it to be the case. But belief and the quest for existential truth is not as easy for many others, especially in an increasingly faithless society, one in which believing in God is becoming equated with superstition and fantasy.

The evidence for God’s exis tence and Islam as His one true religion is grounded in emo tional, experiential, spiritual, rational, logical and scientific proofs. These proofs give us purpose, meaning, comfort and guidance throughout our lives, and the Quran and Sunna further strengthen our certainty. But how do we learn the case for God’s existence inside and out? How do we use it to relinquish any doubt and to defend our faith when questioned by others?

This winter, Muslim youth in six different locations will have the opportunity to join MYNA at one of its winter camps and explore the brandnew theme of “Proof of the Truth.” This week-long retreat will seek to ground them in faith and strengthen their conviction.

Participants will take a

deep dive into the evidence, including the miracles of the natural world, scientific discov eries, the Quran and Sunna. A host of renowned scholars and teachers will lead lectures and workshops. Past guest speak ers have included Mufti Hussain Kamani (imam, Islamic Center of Chicago; instructor, Qalam Institute), Khadeejah Bari (graduate, Qalam Institute), Imam Ahmed Alamine (Al-Fajr Mosque, Indianapolis) and Ustadha Amina Darwish (asso ciate dean for religious and spir itual life and advisor for Muslim Life, Stanford). Campers will also participate in ziplining, rock-climbing, archery, team sports and other recreational activities.

“In the most formative years of our lives, this relevant topic needs to be discussed, and MYNA’s got us covered,” Maryam Amar (outreach coordinator, MYNA Executive Committee) said. “A week full of spiritual and personal growth surrounded by forever friends. There’s no way I am going to miss out on this, and there’s no way you should either.”

Gain beneficial and applica ble knowledge. Ground your self in your faith. Experience the joy of Islamic companionship. Register today at www.myna. org/camps. ih

A Summer Recap

The beauty of our religion is in its simplicity.

For one week during July and August, over 300 youth from all over the nation came to this realization, thanks to MYNA’s six regional summer retreats. Rooted in the theme “Back to Basics,” these events allowed campers to take a step back and revisit Islam’s roots and learn about the foundations on which it was built.

Ranging from the Islam’s pil lars to iman and ihsan, campers gained knowledge through lec tures, preparing short talks with our scholars’ assistance, as well as cooperating with other camp ers in skits and creative poster workshops to express what they learned. Speakers and staff graded their projects not only for creativity and aesthetics, but also for their content’s accuracy. This ensured that all campers left every work shop with another lesson learned.

In more than half of MYNA’s camps, youth were joined by a resident scholar. Imam Mohamed Herbert, Ustadha Faduma Warsame (chaplain and Muslim Life advisor, University of Minnesota), Imam Ahmed Alamine and Ustadha Khadeejah Bari stayed with camp ers throughout the event, enabling the latter to build a relationship with renowned scholars and open up to them about their questions and concerns.

Youth were also joined by

Mufti Abdulwahab Waheed (a co-founder, Miftaah Institute; a co-founder and director, Michigan Islamic Institute), Ustadha Jannah Sultan (resident scholar, Tarbiya Institute), Ustadha Amina Darwish, Dr. Bilal Ansari (faculty associate in Muslim Pastoral Theology; co-director of MA in chaplaincy; director of Islamic chaplaincy program, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace), Shaykh Mohammed Bemat (coun selor/imam, ISNA), Mufti Hussain Kamani and others.

Campers also got to engage in recreational activities and build new friendships while participat ing in archery, ziplining, hiking, tomahawk and even canoeing. And what adds to all of these events is the MYNA environment. Campers learned they can do so much during the day, still pray every salah on time and wake up for fajr — even tahajjud ! Detached from their smartphones, they made new friends who have similar interests.

“I don’t know where I would’ve been without MYNA,” Mahmoud El-Malah said. “I’ve been going to MYNA camps since I was 12, and I experience every camp as if it’s my first camp. MYNA played a vital role in my upbringing and my childhood. It taught me that no matter where I live, I can always find friends that can bring me closer to Allah. Every single camp has taught me a new aspect of our religion.” ih

Jamil Aboushaar served as the MYNA Convention’s chair.

Native Deen (front) stage a much awaited comeback.

Muslim students in New York’s Brent wood district are being served halal food in school cafeterias starting this school year in September. The Brentwood Union Free School District unanimously passed a res olution on July 20 to offer halal food in the district’s 19 cafeterias.

Trustee Hassan Ahmed, the first Muslim and Pakistani-American official elected in Suffolk County, introduced the resolution to include halal dietary options. He estimates that 1,000+ Muslim families live in the dis trict, which has two mosques.

The Atlantic City (N.J.) school district began serving halal food at several elemen tary schools and the high school during March 2021.

San Francisco’s Arab Resource and Orga nizing Center celebrated the decision. Exec utive Director Lara Kiswani proclaimed: “This resolution demonstrates that racial justice is not just a value. But something that must be an everyday priority and practice in San Francisco Unified School District.”

Supporters of the resolution say it will make Muslim students feel more included in public schools and prevent them from miss ing important school deadlines because of their religious observance. The measure also “foster[s] an environment of diversity and tolerance,” according to the resolution’s text.

Board members Kevine Boggess, Jenny Lam, Matt Alexander and Lisa Weiss man-Ward voted in favor of the measure; Ann Hsu voted against it.

Omar Farah assumed his post as ex ecutive director of Muslim Advocates during August. In his previous po sition — senior staff attor ney and associate director of strategic initiatives at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a cutting-edge national le gal advocacy organization — he worked on some of the most trenchant challenges facing Muslim American communities to day: litigating against post-9/11 abuses of power by representing Muslims detained at Guantánamo Bay and building institu tional bulwarks against white nationalism and institutional racism by helping establish and expand CCR’s presence in the South.

all students demonstrate proficiency in foundational reading skills by recognizing a school corporation (Tri-Township) that has achieved a 100% districtwide passing rate on the 2022 IREAD-3 assessment. It also recognizes large and small elemen tary schools that have achieved the highest schoolwide IREAD-3 pass rate percentage, along with the highest pass rate across all student populations.

Dr. Katie Jenner, the state’s education sec retary, said, “Indiana’s first-ever Educational Excellence Awards Gala brought together some of our most impactful educators and school leaders, whose daily work is helping countless students to ignite their own pur pose, know their value and understand the possibilities for their life’s path. We know that real impact for students happens at the edu cator-level, and our team remains dedicated to supporting educators and amplifying their good work.”

Grants must be used to sustain and ex pand the school’s current impactful pro gramming, support teachers who lead this work, as well as mentor other schools to drive additional innovative strategies through a community of practice.

The San Francisco Unified School District’s (SFUSD) school board voted on Aug. 6 to recognize Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Ad ha as official holidays and close schools and administrative offices on those days begin ning in the 2023-24 school year.

If the holidays fall on a weekend, school will not be in session either the day before or after.

A 2013 demographic study estimated that about 250,000 Muslims live in the Bay Area, of which about 3% live in San Francisco. The study, commissioned by the One Nation Bay Area Project, said the city’s Tenderloin neighborhood in particular had concentra tions of Yemeni, Iraqi, Moroccan, Algerian, Indonesian and Malaysian Muslims.

A graduate of Columbia University and Georgetown University Law School, Farah had partnered with Muslim Advocates on the landmark lawsuit that helped shut down the NYPD’s unconstitutional surveillance program targeting New Jersey’s Muslims.

Voting 5-0-1 on Aug. 23, the Anaheim City Council fulfilled an at least two-dec ades-long demand by officially recognizing an area of Brookhurst Street as Little Arabia — its nickname for years.

Perhaps the nation’s first formal Arab American cultural district, its leaders, business owners and community members had been calling upon councilmembers to bestow this designation.

The first-ever Indiana Educational Excellence Awards, held on Sept. 9, recog nized Eman Schools of Fishers, Ind., with its Excellence in Early Literacy award. It comes with a $170,000 award grant.

This award focuses on ensuring that

Rashad Al-Dabbagh (founder, Arab American Civic Council), who spearheaded the push for years, believes that this move will help uplift their small businesses, sup port the immigrant families and honor this community.

According to the OC Weekly (2012), by the 1980s white flight had left the area mostly abandoned or replaced with seedy businesses.

Hassan Ahmed,

Little Arabia, which grew significantly in the 1990s due to the arrival of Arab immigrants, is now home to thousands of Arab-Americans hailing predominantly from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. Local business leaders began buying distressed homes and selling them to these immigrants. They also bought plazas and office buildings, as well as recruited merchants to start up new businesses in West Anaheim.

During his 2014 State of the City address, an event held at the time by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, Anaheim mayor Tom Tait encouraged the 600+ attendees to visit the district and dine at authentic Arabic restaurants.

A study, which is expected to take 6-9 months to complete, could potentially lead to the expansion of Little Arabia’s boundaries.

Little Arabia residents believe that it will not only acknowledge their contributions to the city and make them feel appreciated, but also help bring in more business.

the Center’s lawsuit, a judge ordered the two sides to work together to establish the city’s first mosque.

The mosque was legally represented by the Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI). “Litigation, however, is still pending regard ing the City Council’s refusal to pay damages to the community for legal fees and violating its civil rights,” CAIR-MI said. The mosque is asking for $1.9 million.

The building housing the mosque is roughly 21,000 sq. ft. in size, with a 11,000 sq. ft. prayer area. The parking lot accommo dates some 155 cars. The project has already cost more than $3 million.

establish The Kanbour Chair of Gynecology.

To advance continued research and schol arly work in the field of gynecology, Dr. Anisa I. Kanbour, a distinguished pathologist and former Medical Director of the Anisa I. Kan bour School of Cytology, made a transforma tional gift to establish The Kanbour Chair of Gynecology. This generous endowment will provide a continuous stream of income to support gynecological research, specifically in the lower genital tract.

Kanbor graduated from Baghdad Med ical College in 1957 and practiced obstetrics and gynecology for several years in Iraq. During a 1964 trip to the U.S. to visit fam ily, she applied for — and received — a scholarship that enabled her to attend the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Medicine. She completed a pa thology residency at Philadelphia General Hospital and came to Magee-Women’s Hos pital in 1969 for a gynecologic pathology fellowship. She remained there until her retirement in January 2013. Over the years, she established herself as an expert in the field of pathology and cytology.

Troy, Mich. inaugurated its first mosque, the Adam Community Center, on Sept. 17, with Mayor Ethan Baker, Shaykh Muhammad Al-Masmari (imam and kha tib, Muslim Unity Center, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Shaykh Mustapha Elturk (ameer, the Islamic Organization of North Ameri ca) and Dawud Walid (executive director, CAIR-MI).

Until now, the large ethnically and reli giously diverse Metro Detroit city of 80,000+ residents had churches, temples and a syna gogue but no mosque, despite its large and recognized Muslim population.

The building is a former restaurant already zoned for assembly use. However, the city refused to provide the Center with a variance to allow it to be used for reli gious use.

The refusal resulted in two lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit: one by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2019 that claimed discrimination in the city’s zoning, and another filed by the Center itself. The Justice Department supports the mosque’s argument to be treated equally, and the court ruled in its favor during March. In

Muslims on Pittsburgh’s North Side broke ground for their Light of the Age Mosque — the city’s first mosque to be built from the ground up — on Aug. 24. They have spent the last two decades praying in a rented building near Allegheny General Hospital.

A large portion of the mosque’s fund ing comes from the late Anisa I. Kanbour, a local physician and longtime supporter of Pittsburgh’s Muslim community who willed $1.5 million to establish the building in the city’s limits. Ever since the 1970s, her brother Fouad Kanbour told the gathering, she had wanted to build a mosque in Pittsburgh.

Imam Hamza Perez, a co-founder of the mosque, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Aug. 24 that he had a dream before receiv ing the funding, in which he came upon a mosque where all the doors except one were locked.

The Manchester Citizens Corporation, a neighborhood group, and its executive director LaShawn Burton-Faulk also helped bring the mosque into the neighborhood.

The late Iraq-born physician (Baghdad Medical College ‘57) endowed The Anisa I. Kanbour School of Cytopathology/Univer sity Health Center of Pittsburgh at Magee Women’s Hospital, Pittsburgh — one of the oldest cytotechnology schools in the country — and also made the transformational gift to

Imam Shane Atkinson (associate chap lain for Muslim life, Elon University) has been awarded a grant from the “Islam on the Edges” program by Shenandoah University’s Center for Is lam in the Contemporary World. The grant will help fund research on the diverse facets of Islam and the Muslim community, including geography, doctrine, culture, language, history and civilizations.

Atkinson’s project, “Where the Mountains Meet: The Devotional Arts of Sacred Harp and Sufi Dhikr,” will focus on the overlap between “sacred harp,” a style of Appalachian gospel music, and the Sufi chants of the Qadiri Sufi order of the Caucasus. He will explore the unique characteristics and shared traits of these vocal and spiritual worship forms while promoting their preservation and modern reconfiguration through a self-composed piece utilizing elements of both styles.

Atkinson, born to a Mississippi South ern Baptist family, feels that this project is a natural expression of what it means to be a Muslim from the Deep South and is honored and excited to be chosen for the grant.

“It’s very encouraging that the broader society is having a more nuanced under standing of who Muslims are,” Atkinson said. “We are not a monolith.”

In addition to his research and work at Elon, Atkinson has been featured in the Harvard University Pluralism Project and starred in the documentary “Redneck Muslim,” directed by Jennifer Taylor. The film shares Atkinson’s story as a convert while staying true to his southern identity and combatting white supremacy. ih

ACHIEVERS

Salma Hussein (MSW, University of Minnesota ’13, Ed.D., Hamline Univ., ’24, LICSW), a K-12 school administrator who has called Minnesota home since migrating from Somalia in 1996, was appointed principal at Gideon Pond Ele mentary in The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage school district.

The 2021 Bush Fellowship recipient, who is pursuing her educational doctorate, also served as board member of The Confeder ation of Somali Community in Minnesota (2015–18) and is the state’s first Somali female principal.

Hussein says, “I had no intention of becoming Minnesota’s first Somali female principal, let alone making history. I am called to educate and foster the minds and hearts of our young people. The work contin ues to facilitate love and strength-based sys tems change. With love, everything is better.”

In high school, she and her sister Fatima founded Girls Initiative in Recreation and Leisurely Sport (GIRLS), a nonprofit orga nization that has blossomed into a cross-cul tural community and safe space for women and girls to exercise and play sports.

Shaykha Ieasha Prime (resident scholar and curriculum director, Islamic Society of Baltimore) is a renowned speaker and educator who has received several scholarly licenses (ijaza). She studied Arabic and Quran at Cairo’s Fajr Institute and then moved to Hadramawt, Yemen, where she studied aqeedah, the Quran, Hadith, Arabic, fiqh and Islamic law, along with “Purification of the Heart” and more at Dar al-Zahra, an Islamic university for women.

A convert for 20+ years, she has spent most of her life as an educator and activist. In addition to being a wife and the mother of three children, Prime been involved in

Dr. Berthena Nabaa-McKinney (D), the first Muslim elected to the board, was sworn in on Aug. 31 to represent District 4 on the Metro Nashville (Tenn.) Board of Education.

In 2020, the Metro Council appointed this former MNPS teacher fill the gap left by the death of Chair Anna Shepherd. On Aug.4, she was elected for the first time.

Nabaa-McKinney owns Nabaa Con sulting, LLC, an educational consulting firm specializing in school improvement for Early Learning and K-12 schools.

Prior to her consultant role, Nabaa-McKinney was the principal at Nashville International Academy and led the school through its restructuring effort to achieve its first-time accreditation. She also led and served on school and district accreditation teams across the state.

During her time at MNPS, Nabaa-McKinney worked at Antioch and Cane Ridge high schools in vari ous roles, including chemistry teacher, science department chair, freshman academy lead and ACT coordinator.

the founding and leadership of numerous Islamic organizations. She remains passion ate about the courses she teaches on tradi tional knowledge, the challenges of race and gender in the Muslim community, as well as spirituality.

Until her recent appointment, she was a commissioner on the Metro Action Commission. Currently, she sits on the boards of the ACLU-TN, PENCIL and Muslim American Cultural Center. She is an alumnus of L’Evate, formerly Leadership Donelson-Hermitage, Class of 2016, and a former co-chair of their youth leadership program, YELL. ih

of the impact made by MY Project USA in Central Ohio in just seven years means a lot to me personally.”

“We celebrate these inspiring individuals who have used their decades of life experi ence to give back in a meaningful way, to be leaders in their communities and to create a better future for us all,” added AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins.

Each winner received $50,000 for their nonprofit organizations. The AARP Inspire Award provides an additional $10,000 to the organization of a Purpose Prize winner based on the public’s vote.

The 2023 AARP Purpose Prize winners include Zerqa Abid, founder and executive director of MY Project USA (Columbus, Ohio), which protects youth from drugs, gangs and human trafficking by empowering them through sports, social services and civic engagement.

The awards ceremony was held Oct. 25 in Washington, D.C. The annual prize is given to five individuals, aged 50 and over, who are using their knowledge and life experience to solve challenging social problems.

Abid said, “This national recognition

Azmat Khan, a Pulitzer Center board member, was honored with the 2022 Cat alyst Award on Oct. 11 by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

According to the Reporters Committee, Khan’s “inves tigations for The New York Times Magazine, the PBS series FRONTLINE, and BuzzFeed’s investigations team have exposed major myths of war, prompting widespread poli cy impact from Washington to Kabul, and winning nearly a dozen awards.”

Khan and her New York Times team won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for their Civilian Casualty Files, an investigation into civilian deaths result ing from U.S. airstrikes in the Middle East. Khan was named to the Pulitzer Center board earlier this year.

Dr. Hanan Almasri took charge as principal of the Islamic Academy of North Texas (IANT) Quranic Academy, Richardson.

With 25+ years of experience in the educa tional field, Almasri has served in various roles, among them a K-12 Quran, Islamic studies, and Arabic teacher; an elementary school teacher; a high school academic counselor a secondary dean of academics; and a middle and high school principal.

She holds a master’s and doctoral degree in educational leadership and policy studies. Her research focuses on improving the reten tion of highly qualified teachers in Islamic schools, thereby improving the quality of education for the student population. She defended her dissertation, “The High Cost of Leaving: Veteran Teacher Retention in Islamic Schools,” during 2022.

She additionally maintains several ed ucator certificates, including Texas Prin cipal Certification: Early Childhood–High School, Early Childhood–6th Grade General Education Certification, Early Childhood–High School ESL Certification and Early Childhood Special Education Certification. She has a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplin ary studies in PK–6 education.

teams include strained silicon, High-K met al gate, FinFet transistors and, most recently, RibbonFET transistors. It added that his contribution to semiconductor technology has been enormous.

ADAMS’ Tahfeedh ul Quran Program (Sterling, Va. branch) announced that Hafidh Imran Boufalla, 12, son of Said Boufalla and Aicha Abdellaoui, completed his hifdh program. He started his journey in September 2019 and finished it in May of this year. Also, Hafidh Ashaj Hossain, 14, son Syed and Mumtahina Hossain, completed his hifdh journey on Aug. 22, which he had started in Sept. 2017. ih

His first book, “Geology and Hazardous Waste Management” (Prentice-Hall, 1996), was used as a textbook at many U.S. and overseas universities and received the Asso ciation of Environmental and Engineering Geologists’ prestigious Holdredge Award in 1998.

Hasan (professor emeritus, environmen tal geology, University of Missouri-Kansas City) is a two-time recipient of the Fulbright Senior Scholar Award (2016, Qatar Univer sity; 2020, University of Jordan) and the only environmental — as well as Muslim — sci entist in the world who has singly authored two college textbooks in this field.

Prof. Syed Eqbal Hasan was invited by the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Department of Earth & Environmental Sci ences to teach a course in waste management during the fall semester, which began in August. This call came one week after John Wiley & Sons published his new college text book, “Introduction to Waste Management” (August 2022). This is his second textbook in the field of environmental science.

A delegation from the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) led by Zalman Ali, director, halal development, and comprising Nurul Hidayah Abubakar, assistant director, halal certification, Diana Husna Beetsma, head of standards and development and Sharifuddin M. Ali, head, halal supply network, visited the office of Islamic Services of America (ISA), in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Sept. 21.

Muhammad (“Mo”) Arsalan Haq, a Pa kistani-American entrepreneur in Kansas City who has extensive experience in the restau rants' management, joined the AMC Theatres as the vice president, food and beverage.

AMC Theaters is the largest movie exhi bition company in the world with approxi mately 1,000 theaters and more than 11,000 screens across the globe serving nearly 350 million guests annually. ih

Tahir Ghani was named 2022 Inventor of the Year at Intel, where he is senior fellow and director of process pathfinding in the Technology Development Group.

In his 28-year career at Intel, Ghani, of ten called “Mr. Transistor,” has filed more than 1,000 patents and led teams respon sible for some of the most revolutionary changes in transistors. An Aug. 17 Intel handout stated that innovations from his

ISA, which has been providing halal certification and auditing to companies, the community, and the halal industry for over 45 years, is one of a few U.S. halal certifiers recognized by MUIS for the Singa pore market.

Zalman Ali said, “Through the briefing and engagement with the ISA team, we have found that ISA is aligned to MUIS’s commitment to Halal integrity and has put in place a Halal quality assurance system that meets MUIS’s standards."

The delegation also visited the Mother Mosque of America, a historical land mark as the nation’s oldest standing purpose-built mosque, and the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids. ih

(Front L-R) Bill Aossey and Zalman Ali; (Rear; L-R), Nurul Hidayah Abubakar, Jalel Aossey, Yassine Tebbal, Sharifuddin Ali, Arben Zeneli, Rahiem Martin, Tariq Igram and Diana Beetsma

A Pathway to a Quran-Centered Life

Muslim need to realize once again that volunteering is an aspect of charity

BY HUDA HELAL

Muslim immigrants in the West, especially in North America, have done an incredible job of integrating into the mainstream. Unlike their non-immigrant counterparts, some of them have fast-tracked their way over the course of just two or three gener ations into such respectable professions as medicine, law and engineering. They have also shown their willingness to embrace modernity.

Unfortunately, they traded a pervasively Islamic society for one that is philosoph ically at odds with Islamic principles. As a result, they separated their spiritual and worldly selves and made their worship a private transaction between themselves and the Creator. This self-made bubble has

blinded them to modernity’s immense spir itual and psychological toll — rising levels of anxiety, depression, despair and other mental illnesses.

Muslims who wish to succeed as Muslims in the midst of modernity must reconfigure their understanding of worship. But how does one encourage them to think of Islam as a transformative rather than a transactional force? One way would be to understand that the pillars of Islam are less of an end goal unto themselves and more of a means to attain goals like humility, selflessness and God’s pleasure.

Volunteering, an essential but oft-forgot ten aspect of charity, has become restricted to donating money to the mosque or an online Muslim charity. However, this noble

endeavor has taken on a mechanical, almost sanitized, transactional nature that fosters no connection with fellow humans or society. Thus, how can one understand the hadith that all Muslims are like one body (“Sahih al-Bukhari,” 6011)?

The Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) encouraged Abu Dharr (‘alayhi rahmat) to love and live with the poor (“Musnad Ahmad,” vol. 5, pg. 159). When we spend time with the socially disadvan taged, we learn about their stories and sor rows, their happiness and hopes. In short, we humanize them and understand that “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

Muslim high school and college stu dents often volunteer, fueled by their desire to encourage good and forbid evil, at their

local shelters or with Muslim charities. Unfortunately, full-time jobs, marriage and families often limit such activities to week end Islamic schools or mosque activities. Muslims need to reignite and extend their youthful passion to other opportunities by serving humanity and, ultimately, connecting with and conveying the prophetic example to our youth. Remember that the Prophet’s Mosque also served as a soup kitchen for the Companions of the Porch (Ahl al-Suffa).

in the inner-city by organizing for social change, cultivating the arts, and operating a holistic health center….” Among other ser vices, it operates food banks and advocates for local businesses and reforming legisla tion that targets people of color. In 2016, a chapter was opened in Atlanta’s West End neighborhood.

➤ Islah LA (https://islahla.org/) serves the Los Angeles community by offering a platform on which inner-city Muslims can

➤ Tayba Foundation (https://www. taybafoundation.org/) serves “all people affected by incarceration, does not discrim inate on the basis of race, color, religion or national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational and admission policies…”

➤ Ek Plate Biryani (https://ekplatebir yani.com/about-us/) comprises a Canadian group of volunteers. Literally meaning “One Plate of Biryani,” it highlights the importance of small consistent change. They moved from “cooked meals to food rations and school lunches, and then on towards lasting clean water solutions and sustainable income projects…”

➤ Paani Project (https://www.paani project.org/), founded by a few University of Michigan students, tackles Pakistan’s water crisis by building wells, supplying medical supply kits and hope. It members are also active in other water-scarce countries.

As the saying goes, charity begins at home. But it shouldn’t end there, for there are endless ways to follow the Prophet’s and his Companions’ example. Anas ibn Malik (‘alayhi rahmat) narrated that the Prophet said, “Good deeds done for people protect those who did them from evil fates, harm and destruction. The people of goodness in the world are the people of goodness in the Hereafter” (“Shu’ab al-Iman,” 7704).

Listed below are some lesser-known organizations that tackle unique issues.

➤ Muhsen (https://muhsen.org/) pro vides resources for differently abled people. It seeks to “establish an inclusive and accessible environment for individuals with disabilities and their families … advocate and educate, conduct training, and implement programs and services across North America to improve the experience within mosques, conventions, related classes and events, as well as to engen der a positive and welcoming community for persons with disabilities….” Its staff has made large inroads in initiating conversations and acknowledging the challenges faced by this formerly ignored community.

➤ IMAN (https://www.imancentral. org/chicago/), founded 25 years ago, advo cates for and offers resources to Chicago’s economically disadvantaged inner-city population. “The Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) is a community organiza tion that fosters health, wellness and healing

address their growing needs. It also seeks to “renew faith, education, unity, family, civic engagement, and economic empowerment in South Los Angeles.”

➤ Nisa Helpline (https://nisahelpline. com/) and Wafa House (https://www.wafa house.org/) focus on women’s concerns, including domestic abuse. Canada-based Nisa Helpline offers “peer-to-peer coun seling, support in creating action plans, referrals, emotional and spiritual support and encouragement to women … well-being of Muslim women in North America and empower them with the tools necessary to lead self-sufficient and dignified lives….”

New Jersey-based Wafa House “caters to the needs of the Middle Eastern and South Asian (survivors) … reunit(es) children with their biological parents after displacement or removal from their homes … counsel ing services and teach(ing) active parent ing skills…” and much more. The North American community needs many more such organizations to address the needs of Muslims who need mental health support and have survived domestic violence.

➤ Ojala Foundation (https://www.ojala foundation.org/) supports Illinois’ Latino Muslims via clothing and food drives and offers “spaces where our brothers and sisters can congregate and feel a sense of belong ing … yearly Eid celebrations for the entire family … iftar da‘wah…”

➤ Islamic Social Services of South Jersey (https://www.isssj.org/) advocates for women to “create sustainable change for themselves, their families, and com munities.” Participants team up with local sister organizations and during emergency situations like the recent floods in Pakistan.

➤ Community SJP’s (https://www.csfnj. org/) dedicated volunteers arranges food drives, care packages and other initiatives for the South Jersey–Philadelphia area.

➤ Care and Share Foundation https:// shareandcare.org/) provides meals, care packages, funeral services and other services.

We have seen what is possible through the three Ds of du‘a, drive and determination. The ideas listed below highlight how we can incorporate the Prophetic examples in our communities:

➤ Hobby clubs for Muslim and non-Muslim youth. Hiking, arts and crafts, reading and other hobbies can be used to encourage one’s understanding of fitra and our relationship with the Divine. After all, children are souls before their bodies and thus finely attuned to their fitra

➤ Volunteering at hospitals and/or nursing homes. Imam al Qurtubi (‘alayhi rahmat; d. 1273) mentions that visiting the sick and the dying softens the heart (“Reminder of the Conditions of the Dead and the Matters of the Heart”). We don’t know how showing such compassion in their time of greatest need might affect them or testify for us on the Day of Judgement (“Sahih Muslim,” 2568).

MUSLIMS WHO WISH TO SUCCEED AS MUSLIMS IN THE MIDST OF MODERNITY MUST RECONFIGURE THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF WORSHIP. BUT HOW DOES ONE ENCOURAGE THEM TO THINK OF ISLAM AS A TRANSFORMATIVE RATHER THAN A TRANSACTIONAL FORCE?

➤ Outreach programs to integrate converts. Converts are often left to fend for themselves after losing the support of their former communities and being forgotten by Muslim groups. Our great est strengths are our unity and the ties of Islam. What better event is there than to welcome our new brothers and sisters in faith?

➤ Fostering relationships between inner-city and resource-rich suburban Muslim communities. We must address the elephant in the room: Economically successful immigrant communities have traditionally ignored the socially disad vantaged African American and Latino Muslims.

➤ Clubs that mentor Muslim youth in academic and social subjects. As our youth face ideologies that are increas ingly at odds with our principles, we should offer them a wholistic support system that anticipates and addresses their needs.

➤ Clubs that help integrate new immigrants. We can provide them with networking opportunities and mentor ship, just as the Muhajireen did for the Ansar.

The Prophet said: “God does not look at your outward appearance and your goods. He looks only at your hearts and your deeds” (“Sahih Muslim,” Birr, 33).

These investments in our commu nity and our eternity inherently come with a high price tag: Volunteers often face judgment and anger from both their community and the people they are trying to help. As disappointing as this can be, we must remind ourselves that our undertaking is with God, the Giver of all things, and not His Creation. Accepting this attribute comforts us in the knowledge that God knows what we do and what’s our hearts, because “God is ever Appreciative, All-Knowing” (4:147).

One of the Saleheen (pious predeces sors) has said, “The people of the world are truly of the poor, as they leave the world without finding the jewel therein: the knowledge of God.” This knowledge is the emptiness we feel in our hearts, that yearning for something deeper even when we have “everything.” May God make us one of those who seek His pleasure until we meet Him. ih

A Commitment to Serve

Individual people really can make a difference

BY SIMA HUSAIN

One evening while at a social gathering, Sumbla Hasan and her friends were talking about the recent influx of Syrian refugees that had settled in their area. Hasan discovered that many of the new arrivals in Detroit weren’t receiving appropriate assistance from reset tlement organizations, so she volunteered her garage to store the donated furniture.

While volunteering, she was deeply dis turbed by their living conditions, lack of basic necessities and inability to provide for themselves. After discussing the need for an organized effort, she and her friends cre ated a WhatsApp group to encourage others to join their grassroot initiative. Naming this group chat Community Helpers (CH; https://communityhelpersusa.org/), she began her career in service. Within a few days, about 150 like-minded volunteers were assigned to various areas in which the refu gees were being placed.

Hasan, along with other amazing vol unteers, delegated and helped provide food for refugees staying in hotels, find volunteer doctors, fill out children’s school admissions forms and take refugees to the Department of Homeland Security office for their paperwork. Gradually, resettle ment and other nonprofit organizations recognized their work, and donors started donating generously.

As CH’s influence grew, Hasan regis tered it as a nonprofit organization. Today, Community Helpers USA is a volun teer-based organization, which means that all of its board members, certified public accountants, lawyers and team volunteers have been working for free since 2017. Most volunteers are professionals who work after hours, during work or whenever they have free time.

Founder and current president Hasan is supported by Faisal Imam (treasurer), Nida Imam (head of logistics and Pakistan Projects) and Safiya Aidross (board member and website manager). Together, they have created a Michigan-based organization that runs both domestic and international successful, ongoing projects. Its goal is to

create stable communities with self-sus taining confident, hopeful and empowered individuals.

CH’s involvement in refugee-related activities was the beginning of its U.S.-based projects. Since then, its members have cre ated food pantries in Ypsilanti for refugees and anybody in need. When Afghan refu gees began arriving in Michigan after the U.S. withdrawal, the Community Helpers Youth Group organized clothing drives in Washtenaw International High School and Greenhills Academy. All the items went directly to refugees temporarily residing in a hotel. Not only did they help distrib ute winter clothes, but during the Covid-19 pandemic they organized the distribution of hard-to-get N95 masks to those who needed them most, as well as fresh meals to frontline workers in hospitals.

Over the years, CH has organized international projects based primarily in Pakistan, India and Yemen and completed

Huda Helal is a freelance writer.

projects in Syria and Bangladesh. Pakistani born-and-raised Hasan aims to give back to her birth country.

CH collaborates with other nonprofits to send food, clothes, Eid gifts, tents and other needed items. One of their significant projects is providing water wells and water tanks to Pakistan and Yemen. Hasan’s system lets donors request that customized name plates for themselves or their loved ones be attached on these wells.

CH has established computer labs in Pakistan to introduce IT into underserved areas so their youth can have a chance to learn essential skills, supported orphanages in Syria by providing winter clothes and fire wood, as well as distributing groceries in Bangladesh. In addition, its members have

distributed food in many countries, espe cially groceries, iftar and Eid clothes around Ramadan and Eid.

Hasan, who finds these projects extremely rewarding, looks forward to continuing them in the future. CH also has many ideas for future projects, such as:

➤ Creating a membership system for providing affordable funeral services, a common concern for many low-income Muslim families. This project can give them peace of mind and decrease their stress level.

➤ Setting up a career advising service. This service would be focused on IT and targeted toward youth and stay-at-home parents who need guidance on choosing a career.

➤ Developing a Muslim senior’s home.

Such homes are still rare in Muslim cultures, despite the fact that some of the elderly people don’t have the necessary support or resources.

What makes CH unique is its members’ willingness to sit down with anyone, discuss their ideas and turn their vision into a reality by launching their project and giving them a leading role. Everyone desires to help others, so she made it easy for working people to volunteer whenever they want.

CH provides volunteer options: visiting in person or supporting from home via such remote options as teaching English, Quran reading and free counseling over the phone. As the nonprofit welcomes ideas with open arms, it’s very easy to become a part of it.

Hasan noted that it’s difficult to trust larger organizations, for donors aren’t exactly sure what their money is going. The personal relationship CH fosters with its donors allows its members to build trust and maintain integrity.

Hasan is inspired by the leadership of Abdul Sattar Edhi (d.2016), the Pakistani humanitarian, philanthropist and ascetic who founded the Edhi Foundation. This nonprofit social welfare organization runs the world’s largest volunteer ambulance network, along with homeless/animal shel ters, orphanages and rehabilitation centers. Inspired by the honorable personality of this very humble, driven and knowledge able person, Hasan uses her charisma and personality to motivate the other board members and volunteers to continue their work throughout the years.

Hasan is driven by the fact that with out CH, many families wouldn’t have been given the tools they need to build their new lives. The lack of appropriate governmen tal support was alarming, and she knows that resettlement organizations haven’t changed much since 2016. Another major motivation for Hasan, along with her board members and volunteers, is gaining good deeds and pleasing God. Having an Islamicbased organization has helped her grow into being a better Muslima, and her work feels more rewarding when it is being done in God’s name.

CH started out as just a WhatsApp group among friends who saw a need and responded to it. All it takes to start the butter fly effect to impactful work is one motivated individual with the right intentions. ih

Sima Husain is a freelance writer.

OVER THE YEARS, CH HAS ORGANIZED INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS BASED PRIMARILY IN PAKISTAN, INDIA AND YEMEN AND COMPLETED PROJECTS IN SYRIA AND BANGLADESH. PAKISTANI BORN-AND-RAISED HASAN AIMS TO GIVE BACK TO HER BIRTH COUNTRY.

Climate Loss and Damage Must Be Addressed Now

The developing world shouldn’t have to cope with climate change on its own

BY THE ISNA GREEN INITIATIVE TEAM

The 27th UN Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP27 (Conference of the Parties), will be held from Nov. 6-18, 2022, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

This year marks 30 years since the 1992 adoption of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and seven years after the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement at COP21. With the slogan “Together for implementation,” COP27 is billed as an “African COP” both for its location as well

as the expectation that Africa’s exposure to some of climate change’s severest impacts will be front and center. As COP27 is taking place on African soil, amidst worsening impacts and unacceptable suffering, it will be a make-or-break event depending on how it responds to addressing loss and damage (L&D).

Under the Paris Climate Agreement, coun tries recognized the importance of “averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate

change, including extreme weather events and slow onset events.” L&D can be averted and minimized by curbing greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation) and taking preemp tive action to protect communities from the consequences of climate change (adaptation).

Addressing L&D is the crucial third pillar of climate action: helping people after they have experienced climate-related impacts. These two issues, a long-running source of tension within UNFCCC negotiations, still have no agreed-upon definition.

At just over 1°C temperature increase, climate impacts are already causing signifi cant L&D worldwide. The poorest countries, however, are being hit first and the hardest. Without sufficient action and support, more than a generation’s worth of human rights and development progress will be wiped out by climate-worsening impacts. As the largest historical emitter, the U.S. has a responsibil ity to respond to take action not just out of a

charitable impulse, but in recognition of the harm done by decades of ongoing emissions.

L&D occur when, due to either slow-onset or sudden events related to climate change, something is irreversibly lost and cannot be repaired or replaced (loss) or something has been broken and requires a financial invest ment to be repaired (damage). These include both financial and nonfinancial losses.

Examples include, but are not limited

• Establish a robust financing L&D system within and beyond the UNFCCC.

• Adequate inclusion of L&D as part of the global stocktake, which occurs every five years, starting in 2023, and is intended to review progress toward the Paris Climate Agreement’s goals.

One reason why L&D has been so con tentious is the developed countries’ concern that compensation caused by adverse climate impacts may be construed as an admission of legal liability and thereby trigger major litigation and compensation claims. As such, these countries fought to include language in the agreement to prevent them from being legally obliged to provide compensation.

However, finance for L&D should not be held back by such a debate. Developed coun tries should provide these funds not because of legal liability, but because supporting vul nerable countries facing unavoidable and existential threats from climate change is the right thing to do.

to, loss of life, income (e.g., destruction of crops by a cyclone or drought, land (e.g., rising sea levels or desertification) and culture (e.g., widespread climate displace ment of communities) • homes damaged by hurricanes or fires and roads damaged by repeated flooding › loss of livelihood (e.g., fish species dying off due to ocean warming) › displacement and loss of homes (e.g., land erosion or mudslides related to sea level rise and/or severe storms) › indigenous com munities’ loss of sacred land due to climate change › and loss of farmland due to climate change, especially for sustenance farmers.

Actions to mitigate these losses and dam ages with direct support must be provided to individuals and marginalized communities, not just to larger international institutions and governments.

We join climate justice voices with the following demands:

• Make L&D a permanent agenda item for future meetings of the COP and subsidiary bodies for every major UNFCCC meeting. These are held each year in May/June and November/December.

• A COP decision to operationalize the Santiago Network on L&D. This network’s vision is to catalyze the technical assistance of relevant organizations, bodies, networks and experts to implement the relevant approaches for averting, minimizing and addressing L&D at all levels in particularly vulnerable developing countries (Decision 2/CMA.2, para 43).

The ISNA Green Initiative Team would like Muslims in general and Muslim Americans in particular to raise their voices for compensation to individuals, commu nities and countries who suffer due to the excessive carbon emissions from the U.S. and other countries. ih

The ISNA Green Initiative Team comprises Huda Alkaff, Saffet Catovic, Nana Firman, Uzma Mirza and Saiyid Masroor Shah (chair)

Things Happen When Neighbors Care

A persistence borne since childhood leads to success in public service

BY THE ISLAMIC HORIZONS STAFF

New York City council member Shahana Hanif, who represents Brooklyn’s 39th ward, remembers that grow ing up in the city after 9/11 was not easy. She became very protective of her Kensington community at the tender age of 10, for even then date she could recognize how Islamophobia was harming her fellow New Yorkers and making them feel unwelcome.

Hanif, the first Muslima elected to the council and the first woman to represent her district, recalls how she responded by bringing together neigh borhood youth in her age group to write a letter to then-President George W. Bush calling on him to end anti-Mus lim racism.

She remarks, “We never heard from him, but continued to deepen our com mitment to safety in our community.”

Hanif, who is chair of the Council’s Immigration Committee, was born and raised in Kensington, Brooklyn, the daughter of two Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants.

She adds, “What was most unsettling was the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) surveillance program that found its way into my life. When I was at Brooklyn College, news broke that the NYPD had planted informants among Muslim college stu dents to report on us. These were my friends. We were just teenagers going about our lives, and we were being treated like potential terrorists. My privacy had been invaded, but I also felt deeply betrayed by my city. That layers and layers of city government and bureaucracy had allowed innocent people to be spied on, harassed and entrapped, all based on some racist witch hunt.”

As a council member, Hanif says it’s her responsibility to hold this city, and especially the NYPD, accountable for the pain they caused to law-abid ing citizens at every opportunity. Just this year, she pushed the NYPD to publicly acknowledge its illegal surveillance program. She adds, “the now former Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller had the audacity to lie to my face, under oath, claiming such a program never existed. But we fought back, demanding accountability and eventually pushed Miller into an early retirement.”

The city, she says, still has a lot of healing to do from this dark chapter; however, she is “hopeful [that] we can acknowledge this pain and begin that process.”

A graduate of public school 230 and Brooklyn College, before being elected to office Hanif directed Organizing and Community Engagement for then-council member and now comp troller Brad Lander. During those years, she led grassroots initiatives like Participatory Budgeting.

Asked if her Bangladeshi back ground has helped her in her suc cessful career, she said, “Starting from when I was young, I have always felt the tight bonds of the Bangladeshi community here in Kensington. I have vivid memories of running around my father’s restaurant and seeing aunties and uncles from all over the commu nity working, eating and building community. They are more than just my neighbors; they are my extended family.

“Being Bangladeshi here in Brooklyn means living the values of a people who were revolutionaries

AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, HANIF SAYS IT’S HER RESPONSIBILITY TO HOLD THIS CITY, AND ESPECIALLY THE NYPD, ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE PAIN THEY CAUSED TO LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY.

Shahana Hanif

to demand language justice and preserve Bangla. It is because of my parents and this massive network of Bangladeshi people that I can speak, read and write in the Bangla language. Being able to communicate in Bangla has made me a stronger advocate and organizer for our community.

“This community continues to do every thing to support me, including when I ran for City Council. We were lucky to have support from all over the district, but no one turned out like Kensington. Not only did the Bangladeshi community turn out in historic numbers to vote for me, but they were also some of our strongest volunteers.

“When I started my campaign, I was counting on my extended Kensington family to be the backbone of our campaign, and they were there every step of the way. From Bangladeshi Americans for Political Progress (BAPP) to the Bangladeshi Ladies Club, my community was the cornerstone of my cam paign. They knocked on doors, talked to their friends and family and made sure that when election day came around, we were electing the first Bangladeshi American to the City Council.”

About facing discrimination by other South Asian communities for being of Bangladeshi origin, Hanif says, “I have, and being honest, it’s not something that’s easy to talk about. Especially having faced discrimination post 9/11, I’ve always tried to maintain a strong sense of solidarity with Muslims and people of color. I know our strength comes from our unified opposi tion to white supremacy, but I also know that ‘colorism’ is just another form of white supremacy in action.

“When South Asians create hierarchies of status with other South Asians or people

of color, we reinforce the racist systems that keep white supremacy at the top of the power structure not just in America, but also in the world.

“Colorism is just a byproduct of colo nialism, one used to serve the old colonial powers in their quest to subjugate our people. When this happens to me, it’s hard because I’m hurt. But I also want to build solidarity. It can be difficult to set aside those personal feelings in service of something more, but I try my best.

“In the larger context of South Asian organizing in the diaspora, Bangladeshi struggles and our history often get excluded or erased. In my work, I am explicit about my Bangladeshi identity and the working-class enclaves that continue to build up our City — Bangladeshis are a visible community and I don’t want the work we are doing as taxi drivers, delivery workers at Dunkin’ Donuts and in other low-wage workplaces to be forgotten.” ih

Kensington, Brooklyn

Developing the Khalifa’s Role

Utilizing STEM and STEAM initiatives in Islamic schools

BY ZAHEERAH SHAKIR-KHAN

To further under stand His creation, G od has enabled us to use science and mathe matics to grasp its full poten tial for our benefit. Recently, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) initia tives have guided the develop ment of many K-12 curricu lum approaches and programs. Program certification and accreditation for these initia tives, which often feed into college and career programs of study and emphasis, can be obtained in many school districts and state educational programs. We want to encourage Islamic schools to pursue these initiatives and incorporate their practices in their curriculum offerings.

To support this endeavor and provide a Quranic per spective on doing so, the C lara Mohammed Schools Network held a “Developing the Khalifah with STEM and STEAM Initiatives from an Islamic Perspective” conference in Atlanta on June 23-34. Our goal was to provide Quranic references, instructional strat egies and prophetic pedagogical tools to equip teachers to present information from a Quranic and Islamic perspective. The goal was to have students and educators

begin to fully explore the sci ences to discover how human beings can become the khalifa of God’s creation for the intended benefit of human society.

To achieve these immediate and long-term goals, the confer ence began with a keynote address by Dr. Qadir Abdus-Sabur (direc tor, New African Ummah Online School) defining the khalifa’s role and highlighting historical events and persons that displayed this role, such as Islam’s golden age and humanity’s progress after its advent. Also emphasized was the role of human beings as individ uals and as a collective society in assuming the responsibility for this role. The notion of succes sion was explained as the need

programs from local and national STEM and STEAM professionals. Our presenters were W.D. Mohammed High School alumni who are now professionals in their fields: Dr. Anisah Nu’Man (Spelman College), Dr. Lateefah Id-Deen (Kennesaw State University), Dr. Ayeeb Sabree (indepen dent data analysis contrac tor), Dr. Macus Lambert (Cornell University and SUNY Downstate Medical School), Dr. Malikah Waajid (Center for Disease Control, Atlanta headquarters) and Ahkillah Johnson (Emory University, pre-medicine graduate). All of them provided detailed and practical information for stu

and opportunity given to every human society and each genera tion to continue this work.

During the conference’s work sessions, participants received strategies for implementing

dents at all developmental and age levels. For students at the lower grades, techniques for hands-on activities with actual examples and take-home mate rials were offered. For middle

and high school students, dis cussions presented benchmark assessment tools to help them understand major and key concepts. Several professionals outlined ways to uncover and prevent student misconceptions.

THE PROPHETIC PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGIES OF TEACHING VIA STORYTELLING, PARABLES, QUESTIONING AND REFLECTIVE THINKING WERE DEMONSTRATED IN ORDER TO PROVIDE TEACHERS WITH INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS THEY CAN USE IN THEIR CLASSROOMS.

College instructors and career professionals outlined signifi cant milestones for instructing and acquiring mathematical and scientific concepts to help PreK-12 teachers support student advancement in proficiency levels.

The prophetic pedagogical strategies of teaching via sto rytelling, parables, questioning and reflective thinking were demonstrated in order to pro vide teachers with instructional methods they can use in their classrooms. Specific examples of science and math concepts and principles were provided from the Quran and Hadith. One example included a lesson

on color based on “And all that He has multiplied for you in the Earth of diverse colors: verify there is a message in this for a people who recollect” (16:13). This is just one of the examples used to demonstrate that God presents many scientific and mathematical principles in the Quran.

One session comprised a middle school science program that, based on the Ascension Model, showed how it used the acronym A-STEAM (Ascending to Service through Training Environmental Stewardship, Adab and Movement). During this presentation, students demonstrated science projects

based on this theme and the higher-level thinking require ments for science projects that benefit society or display natural concepts and an understanding of creation.

The concept of career path ways was introduced for all levels of instruction. All states have such pathways, which consist of courses designed to provide a background for foundational concepts in careers and the associated technologies. These career paths are designed to prepare students for college and/or technical schools. Many programs encourage students to complete a career pathway or associate degree through dual enrollment opportunities while in high school. All schools, regardless of size, should be able to implement basic technology courses, such as coding, robotics and engineering. We demon strated how easily this can be accomplished.

The conference provided indoor and outdoor workshops to illustrate how to develop a school garden and to use the outdoors for environmental sciences. This approach was employed so that everyone could learn to look at all the instructional resources provided in God’s creation and connect them to the Quran.

Finally, participants were given resources and/or links to acquire national, state and local grants and/or resources to support their local initiatives. Information about the National Science Foundation, federal and state grant sources, as well as local nonprofit and government grants, was shared. All participants were given the responsibility to create at least one activity based on the information received to be exe cuted in their school during this school year.

Many Quranic chapters and verses can be used as guiding principles in scientific studies. It is amazing and inspiring to study

the work of Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (d. c. 850), al-Biruni (d. c. 850), Avicenna (d.1037), George Washington Carver (d.1943) and others who based their work on and acknowledged the presence of the Divine in developing their insights. We are blessed both with divine guidance from the revelation of the Holy Quran and by the mission of Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to teach the Quran and set a life example of its teachings.

Now, with the explosion of technology, we are able to fur ther understand and explore the creation. But must do so in a way that contributes to the benefit of human society. In our Islamic schools, how are we developing the khalifa’s role? For instance, 2:30-31states that God will place a successive “human” authority on Earth and that He taught Adam the names of all things. Our Islamic schools have the mission and purpose of becoming knowledgeable of His creation and thereafter teach and promote its best use for humanity.

We would like to thank Amana Mutual Funds Trust, the Islamic Schools League of America and several national mosques in Detroit, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte (N.C.) and Nashville, as well as the gener ous donors and organizations from around the country, that sponsored this conference. We look forward to this becoming an annual event, one where we can deal with various academic subject areas using the beauty and breath of the Quran as our source, Prophet Muhammad as our example and our desire to please God in our actions and work with children in our schools. ih

Dr. Zaheerah Shakir-Khan, an education consul tant, is a retired public and private school admin istrator and former director of the Mohammad Schools of Atlanta.

Islamophobia as a Political Tool

Muslims and immigrants have become scapegoats in Quebec’s election cycles

BY MONIA MAZIGH

During every election season in Quebec, you can safely predict that immigration and/or Muslims will make headlines and be the topics most spoken about. But to be fair to Quebec, we have watched and followed many recent elections that became synony mous with immigration or fearmongering, Islamophobia or the banalization of hate.

The same pattern that happened in France (ABC News, April 25) is happen ing in Italy (Euronews, Aug. 5) and Sweden, where the far-right anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats made gains in the general elec tion (Washington Post, Sept. 14).

It happened in Canada in 2015 when former conservative prime minister Stephen Harper spent his final months in office push ing culturally divisive policies, among them a bill banning the wearing of face coverings during citizenship ceremonies and promis ing to implement a “barbaric cultural prac tices” hotline (The Canadian Press, Nov. 14, 2021).

Quebec’s current provincial elections, held on October 3, are no exception.

Despite gaining a majority in the 2019

election, the center right Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ), comprised of former sover eigntists who dropped the issue from their platform in favor of grabbing and staying in power, is once again surfing on the back of immigrants. During the last election, the party did the same thing and won a majority. This time it’s repeating the same strategy, and it looks like the party will remain in power.

When I first arrived in Quebec in 1991, speaking against immigration was unfath omable. Immigration, specially from Francophone countries, was wanted and badly needed. The only topics during those elections was Quebec’s sovereignty and the French language. Unfortunately for the rad ical believers in Quebec sovereignty, such debates were a sort of cul-de-sac that led nowhere. Sovereignty was an ideologically valid argument but an economically danger ous path for many Quebecers, who feared losing their buying power and quality of life compared to the rest of Canada. The 1995 referendum on independence was rejected by a small margin.

During the announcement of that bitter

defeat, the late Jacques Parizeau, leader of the Parti Quebecois, publicly made his infa mous statement that “we lost because of the money and the ethnic vote” (CBC News, April 3, 2016).

That was the first time a Quebec politician publicly targeted immigrants in a series of rambling words and accused them of being responsible for the failure of a social project. Then, the arrows were likely directed against Montreal’s Anglophones and/or Jewish com munities. Years later, immigration became a favorite and recurring negative topic in Quebec elections.

Elections have changed to the point that when Francois Legault, Quebec’s incumbent prime minister, attacks immigration as a “possible threat to our national cohesion,” he’s talking to the voters who look, speak and think like him (CBC News, Sept. 12). He’s using emotional words to represent immigrants as a threat and make the major ity population believe that they are “one” homogeneous group.

When I was still a student in Quebec, the only “threat” I heard about was the French language’s drowning in an ocean of English.

François Legault (left)

Immigrants weren’t clearly identified as a threat. However, measures were taken to impose French as the language of educa tion for all immigrants. That was called “la Loi 101.” My husband, who immigrated to Quebec in the 1980s with his parents as a teenager from Syria with zero knowledge of French, had to learn it before formally start ing high school. That was a good policy, one of integration, one that encouraged the chil dren of immigrants to feel that they belong.

by former president François Holland determined that French is in decline both in France and worldwide, as well as in many Francophone countries. So, immigration isn’t the sole factor responsible for it. The wide spread of use of English in pop music, on the internet and for education and conferences in most subjects all indicate that French is being threatened by English, not by immigrants.

When I enrolled for my master’s pro gram in finance at the École des Hautes

worsening trend. Karl Blackburn, president of le Conseil du patronat, Quebec’s largest employers’ group, said that trend will leave 1.4 million positions vacant between now and 2030. But Legault claims that immigra tion isn’t the only solution, for robots and automation will be alternatives to explore (CTVNewsMontreal.ca, Sept. 14) — as if no human beings will be needed to make them work or maintain them.

What I find concerning is the absence of organizations challenging and changing the narratives of Quebec’s Muslim commu nities. Aside from the few native informant voices whom the media parades from time to time to reassure the majority about the immigrant “threats,” rare are the voices and organizations that defend the immigrants and Muslims’ rights.

However, today many of these same chil dren felt betrayed after Legault said in one of his rallies that “Quebecers are peaceful. They don’t like conflict and extremism, and violence. And we have to make sure to keep things the way they are now.” He later apolo gized for his statement after being criticized by some politicians and personalities (CTV News Montreal, Sept. 10). Nevertheless, it remains a disturbing and scary statement that was neither true nor appropriate.

Immediately following the last Quebec election, the freshly elected Legault govern ment introduced new legislation that targeted religious symbols, in particular the hijab worn by Muslimas, many of them immigrants. Then hijab was portrayed by some politicians and public intellectuals as a sign of women’s oppression and somehow a tool of prosely tism threatening the “neutrality” of the state. With this legal ban, Muslim women found themselves excluded from being teachers, public servants, or crown prosecutors. This is a clear example that political rhetoric is not merely for public consumption; it has a real impact — in this case, Muslimas and their socioeconomic situation and mental health well-being.

Not only are immigrants accused of bringing violence and extremism with them, but they are also constantly portrayed as responsible for the decline of French (Global News. Sept. 2, 2021).

But this decline is neither new nor specific to Quebec. In 2014, a report commissioned

Commerciales in Montreal, all the papers, studies and readings — in fact, all of the course material — was in English. Only our classes were given in French, and that was in 1992! As a French speaker, I had purposely chosen Montreal so I could study in French, and yet most of my academic readings were in English. I also noticed that the general level of French competency among my fellow students wasn’t very strong.

Many of them used “Anglicism” and had a weak French vocabulary. Even though they were pure laine (Québécois of FrenchCanadian ancestry), the level of French I had received in Tunisia was higher than theirs. Immigration is a symptom of the decline of French, not a direct consequence of it nor the only reason for it.

One of the main reasons for this decline is the aging population. Moreover, Quebec has one of Canada’s lowest birth rates (https://statistique.quebec.ca/, March 18, 2021) — a fact only rarely mentioned in political debates. Who’s serving the old people in their homes and those in the long-term care homes? Most of the time it’s immigrants. The pandemic revealed their vulnerable status, which put pressure on the Legault government to raise their wages and facilitate the regularization of their papers (Global News, June 27).

These examples aren’t mentioned in today’s public debate. All that is left is the immigrants’ “violence and extremism.”

Meanwhile, worker shortage is a

Those political framing and wedge issues picked up by Legault, those on which you must choose a side and leave only limited — if any room — for nuance, have kept these communities in a spiral of reactivity instead of choosing a path of proactiveness and growth.

From the reasonable accommodations debate of 2008 until today, the province’s Muslim communities have been stuck in a put-out-the-fire mode. As a result, they have not built institutions that can potentially resist such storms and change the distorted narratives. This is happening now, but at a very slow pace. And every once in while a new controversy bursts out and brings down the bricks, which then have to be put together again to resist the politics of fear and hate.

Considering these two communities’ precarious reality of being constant targets of political campaigns, many of their mem bers could decide to leave and start over somewhere else in Canada. This additional aspect isn’t discussed enough: the retention rate of immigrants in Quebec as compared to other provinces like Ontario or British Columbia (https://www.settler.ca/english/).

This vicious cycle of staying or leaving, which makes the building of anti-racist and advocacy institutions fragile and slow, is hard to break. Perhaps the younger generation will be more successful than we have been. ih

Monia Mazigh, PhD, an academic, author and human rights activist, is an adjunct professor at Carleton University (Ontario). She has published “Hope and Despair: My Struggle to Free My Husband, Maher Arar” (2008) and three novels, “Mirrors and Mirages” (2015), “Hope Has Two Daughters” (2017) and “Farida” (2020), which won the 2021 Ottawa Book Award prize for French-language fiction. She is currently working on a collection of essays about gendered Islamophobia.

ASIDE FROM THE FEW NATIVE INFORMANT VOICES WHOM THE MEDIA PARADES FROM TIME TO TIME TO REASSURE THE MAJORITY ABOUT THE IMMIGRANT “THREATS,” RARE ARE THE VOICES AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT DEFEND THE IMMIGRANTS AND MUSLIMS’ RIGHTS.

Arizona State University Showcases Muslim American Contributions and Accomplishments

The Center of Muslim Experience in the United States draws on ASU’s charter of inclusivity, public values and community impact

BY ANDREA CHATWOOD

The Center of Muslim Experience in the United States (CME-US) at Arizona State University (AUS) reflects a pioneering endeavor to advance research and deepen public knowl edge on the understudied history of Muslims in the U.S. and their many contributions to American society and culture.

With a student-centered approach, CME-US will facilitate belonging for Muslim students at ASU and work to build mutu ally beneficial partnerships between Muslim communities across the country and the uni versity. The center, which will be housed in the School of Historical, Philosophical and

Religious Studies, is part of the humanities division in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“In creating the vision of CME-US, we were inspired by ASU’s mission of being ‘measured not by whom we exclude, but rather by whom we include and how they succeed,’ and by its commitment to research defined by public value,” Chad Haines (asso ciate professor, religious studies, the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies; co-director, CME-US) told ASU News on August 29. “These values con nect with Islamic ethics of acceptance and working for the social good that is evident

in Muslim American communities and their experiences, providing CME-US a unique opportunity to bridge diverse worlds and advance ASU’s mission.”

During the first three years, Haines and co-director Yasmin Saikia (Hardt-Nickachos Chair in Peace Studies, the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict; profes sor of history, the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies) will work to develop a faculty- and student-led academic project and write a report on “Global Phoenix and Muslim Lives and Contributions.” The study will document the long history of Muslims in the Valley [of the Sun – a moniker earned for its year-round sun and warm temperatures] and their richly diverse cultures, along with their many contributions to making Phoenix a uniquely global city.

In addition, they plan to conduct a “Connections” seminar bringing together faculty, graduate students and journalists to work on writing about Muslims from a new perspective for wider public dissemination. This work will lead to the creation of a dig ital virtual museum on Muslim experiences in the U.S.

“The Muslim contribution to world his tory and culture would be difficult to overstate — and the Muslim experience in the United States has helped to shape the nation,” says Jeffrey Cohen, dean of humanities. “ASU has a population of over 8,000 Muslim faculty, staff and students. They deserve to have their stories, histories and rich cultures valued and shared. Under the leadership of Dr. Haines and Dr. Saikia, CME-US will change the narrative, both locally and nationally, to ensure that the Muslim experience in the U.S. receives the attention it deserves.”

“By creating a space for students to share their own stories, both Muslim and non-Muslim students will benefit from knowing one another and learning to appreciate that socio-cultural differences

Yasmin Saikia and Chad Haines

can benefit improved community-building locally,” Haines states.

The CME-US will also highlight the diversity and creativity of Muslim Americans and their contributions to American culture by organizing events and performances. The center plans to host poetry readings and musical performances, curate exhibits doc umenting Muslim lives and invite Muslim stand-up comics, actors, inspirational speak ers and writers to ASU for public events.

The husband-and-wife duo of Haines and Saikia have co-edited three books: “Women

and Peace in the Islamic World” (2014), “People’s Peace” (2019) and “On Othering” (forthcoming).

“The focus of our books is on sustain able peace forged by everyday lived ethics between people rather than the BandAid solutions of conflict management by international organizations that dominate the field of peace studies. We decided to focus our work on the most misrepresented group in the United States — the Muslims — and tell their story from their perspec tive to transform the relationship between

Muslims and the wider American public,” Saikia says.

She adds, “at the heart of the many mis conceptions of Islam are Muslim women. This needs addressing and discussing so we can transform the skewed image and show the reality of how Muslim women in America are contributing to multiple facets of American community life and well-being.”

The center will develop workshops, public lectures and community outreach to schools and local organizations to educate and advance scholarship of ASU faculty and grad uate students on Muslim American women.

Combining ASU’s power as the coun try’s largest university, the support of ASU’s administration and the state’s vibrant and fast est-growing local Muslim community, Saikia and Haines look forward to the work ahead.

Their aim is to show how Muslim experi ences can help make the U.S. a more dynamic and inclusive country. ih

Andrea Chatwood is communications specialist at The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

[Editor’s note: Edited and published with permission. See ASU News, Aug. 29, 2022]

IN CREATING THE VISION OF CME-US, WE WERE INSPIRED BY ASU’S MISSION OF BEING

‘MEASURED NOT BY WHOM WE EXCLUDE, BUT RATHER BY WHOM WE INCLUDE AND HOW THEY SUCCEED,’ AND BY ITS COMMITMENT TO RESEARCH DEFINED BY PUBLIC VALUE,” CHAD HAINES TOLD ASU NEWS ON AUGUST 29.

Politics and the Pandemic

ISPU’s American Muslim Poll 2022 presents an updated demographic profile of American Muslims

BY DALIA MOGAHED AND ERUM IKRAMULLAH

Fielded between mid-February and mid-March, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding’s (ISPU) “American Muslim Poll 2022: A Politics and Pandemic Status Report” pro vides a snapshot of American Muslims, as well as Americans of other faiths and no faith two years into the Covid-19 pandemic as we enter a new phase: living with the virus.

In its sixth installment, this poll presents an updated demographic profile of Muslim Americans, a pre-midterm election explora tion of several hot-button issues (e.g., gun control and climate change) and an updated Islamophobia Index among American faith and non-faith groups. Based on the research, we offer a selection of recommendations to various stakeholders in a position to address some of the identified challenges facing American Muslim communities.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MUSLIM AMERICANS

➤ More Likely to Be Young and Low Income, but Just as Likely to be College-Educated Muslim Americans are younger than

all the groups surveyed. About one-quar ter of them are between 18 and 29 years old, compared with 2%–12% of the other groups surveyed. Moreover, 7% are aged 65 or older, compared with 22%–39% of the other groups. A younger community is more likely to contribute to the labor force, pay taxes and grow their families. Furthermore, a younger Muslim community means that its youngest members came of age when their community was being targeted and sur veilled, never knowing a pre-9/11 America.

Muslim Americans are also the most likely faith community to have low income. One-third of them (33%) have a total house hold income of $30,000 or less, compared with 12%–26% of the other groups surveyed. About one-fifth of them (22%) have a total household income of $100,000 or more, on par with most of the other groups. Finally, among those aged 25 and older, Muslim Americans (46%) are just as likely as all other groups, except Jews (60%), to have a college degree or higher.

➤ Job Creators

Roughly one in ten Muslims (8%) report

being self-employed or owning their own business. This is just as likely or more likely than the other groups. Self-employed Muslims employ an average of eight workers, resulting in an estimated 1.37 million jobs created.

➤ On Par with Other Faith and NonFaith Groups in Military Service

Roughly 83% of Muslims are U.S. cit izens, which is the least likely of all other groups (92%–99%). But despite this, they are as likely as others to serve in the mil itary (11% of Muslims, 10% of Catholics and Protestants, 13% of white Evangelicals, and 9% of both the nonaffiliated and the general public).

➤ Across Age and Race, They Remain among the Most Devoted to Their Faith

Seven in ten Muslim Americans say reli gion is very important to them, second only to white Evangelicals (83%) and more likely than all the other faith groups (35%–65%). Muslims of all ages were equally likely to rate religion as “very important” to their daily life, suggesting that devotion to faith will endure in the next generation. Muslim Americans of different races and ethnicities were also equally likely to hold this view, suggesting that devotion to faith is a common factor unites this diverse community.

➤ The “In sha’ Allah Voter” Gap Closes

Among Muslims who are eligible to vote, 81% are registered, as compared to eligible Protestants (85%), the nonaffiliated (79%) and the general public (84%). Muslim men are more likely than women to be registered (88% vs. 72%, respectively), presenting an opportunity to direct get out the vote (GOTV) efforts to the latter.

In 2016, ISPU identified a segment of the Muslim community as the “in sha’ Allah voter,” those who say they intend to vote but haven’t registered. For the first time in six years, we find no difference between the percentage intending to vote (79%) and the percentage registered to vote (81%). Previously, we found the proportion who actually voted was roughly 20% less than the proportion who said they intended to vote, signaling the need for GOTV campaigning even after people are registered.

➤ Internalized Islamophobia on the Rise

For the fourth year, we measured the Islamophobia Index in regard to the level of the public endorsement of five negative stereotypes associated with this coun try’s Muslims. The general public scored 25 (on a scale of 0 to 100), on par with 27 in 2020. Muslim Americans scored 26

on the Islamophobia Index, higher than Jewish Americans (17), Protestants (23), the nonaffiliated (22), Catholics (28) and white Evangelicals (30). For Muslims, these scores have increased from 18 (2018) to 26 (2022).

Further analysis reveals that higher Islamophobia Index scores among Muslims are driven primarily by Muslims who identify as “white.” In 2020, white Muslims showed increased Islamophobia with a score of 27, followed by an even larger increase in 2022 with a score of 40, significantly higher than white Evangelicals (30). Further research is

news media, political rhetoric and policy. Research suggests that this steady drum beat of bigoted ideas and state actions have a detrimental impact on the target group’s self-image and mental health.

Another noteworthy and alarming find ing was the disproportionately negative views among white Muslims, who are also the most likely to report experiencing “reg ular” religious discrimination. Some stud ies on internalized racism have surprisingly found that endorsing negative stereotypes about one’s own group is associated with a higher locus of control.

COMPARED WITH OLDER MUSLIMS, INTERNALIZED

respectively), seeking healthcare services (27% vs. 8%, respectively), and on social media from social media platforms them selves (46% vs. 36%, respectively).

Muslims were also more likely to face religious discrimination in interpersonal interactions. Roughly four in 10 Muslims (43%) reported facing discrimination from co-workers, more often than Jews (29%) and the general public (23%). Additionally, 56% of Muslims who report experiencing dis crimination said it came from other social media users, on par with the 51% of Jews and more likely than the general public (45%).

➤ Muslims Families Remain the Most Likely to Have Child Bullied for Their Religion

As noted in 2017 and 2020, Islamophobia’s impact isn’t limited to adults. Their children are also impacted in the form of bullying. In 2022, we find that 48% of Muslim families with school-age children reported having a child who faced religious-based bullying during the past year. This is more likely than Jewish families (13%) and the general public (18%). One-fifth of Muslim families report that the bullying occurred nearly every day. When asked who bullied their child, the par ents mentioned students and adults, both online and in person. ih

needed to explain why there has been such a large increase in Islamophobia among white Muslims.

Endorsing negative stereotypes about one’s own community is referred to as “internalized oppression.” According to ISPU scholar Dr. Muniba Saleem (asso ciate professor in media psychology, Intergroup Communication and Diversity, the University of California), “There are well-documented studies showing that minorities can internalize the negative stereotypes of their group and that can influence their self-esteem, psychologi cal distress, motivation, and performance (David et al., 2019; Siy & Cheryan, 2013; Steele et al., 2002). Other research has exam ined the negative consequences of media stereotypes on minorities’ self-esteem and experiences of shame and embarrassment (Ramasubramanian et al., 2017; Schmadet et al., 2015), as well as concerns of how the majority group will view them (Fujioka, 2005; Tsfati, 2007).”

Compared with older Muslims, internal ized Islamophobia is more prevalent among younger Muslims who have lived most of their post-9/11 lives in a country that has demonized their identity in popular culture,

This suggests that internalized prejudice may actually be a defense mechanism against the trauma of bigotry at the hands of the dominant group by agreeing with those in power, but believing that one has the choice to not be like those tropes. More research is needed to fully understand the why and how of internalized Islamophobia.

➤ Remain the Most Likely to Report Experiencing Religious Discrimination

Roughly six in 10 (62%) Muslim Americans report facing religious discrim ination in the past year, more likely than all other groups surveyed and on par with levels of discrimination reported in the past five years. About half of the Jewish Americans reported facing religious discrimination, making them the next group most likely to do so compared with the other groups (13%–32%).

Among those who reported facing reli gious discrimination in the past year, we asked about whether it occurred in vari ous settings. We find Muslims were more likely than the general public to experience religious discrimination when applying for a job (37% vs. 6%, respectively), interact ing with law enforcement (38% vs. 10%, respectively), at the airport (44% vs. 3%,

Dalia Mogahed is director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in Washington, D.C. Erum Ikramullah is research project manager at ISPU.

Supporting New Converts

Muslims need to prioritize this sacred duty

BY LAURA EL ALAM

Imagine if a newborn chick, recently hatched from an egg, got sep arated from its mother and its flock. The vulnerable little creature would need to find warmth and guidance to live a safe, healthy life. How would you treat such a creature? Would you ignore it? Pretend it wasn’t your problem? Force it to cope on its own?

Each day, people from all walks of life embrace Islam. According to a Pew Research Center study in 2018, about a quarter of American Muslim adults are converts. Unfortunately, like the vulnerable newborn chicks, some converts lose their non-Mus lim family and community’s support and find themselves completely alone, confused and uncomfortable in their fledgling Islamic

identity. While they do have a sincere love of God in their heart, they often lack knowledge about the deen: how to pray, the pillars of the faith, Arabic vocabulary and their new lifestyle’s numerous rules and regulations.

Forming a Muslim identity is a huge undertaking, and, sadly, many converts find little support from their local community or masjid. In fact, some are treated so shabbily that they leave Islam.

How can we avoid a tragedy like this? How can we protect these vulnerable and pure souls, the newest members of our family of believers?

Each of us has a role to play in this regard. Those in leadership positions have the influ ence and ability to make significant change. Even those who simply visit the mosque

and attend community events can make a difference.

These newest siblings-in-faith deserve kindness, support and sincere efforts. Let’s discuss how we can all step up to this noble task, based on our roles and capability.

THOSE IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

When deciding which programs deserve time, space, and resources at their mosque, the board of directors should consider making convert outreach and support a priority. It is helpful to solicit their opin ions on what they need to learn and thrive.

Danielle, a convert in Florida, says, “New Muslims need to learn how to pray and how to say basic things in Arabic like Surat al-Fatiha. They need steppingstones

toward the basics, and we need to recognize people go at different paces. We need to be flexible and take a compassionate approach to helping them.”

She adds, “We need to discern between Islam and culture so we can embrace and hold space for new Muslims without making them feel alienated, bad or wrong for their own culture and upbringing. We need to take converts as they are and help them learn the most important parts of the religion first.”

Ligia, a convert in Texas, says, “I became Muslim after deploying to Afghanistan back in 2012. I’m a Hispanic U.S. army veteran. I was the only Muslim in my military unit and needed spiritual support that I didn’t find in any masjid. The bottom line is Allah is the witness, and on the Day of Judgment He will ask you if you helped spread Islam. We all have a duty to welcome new Muslims and help them as much as we can.”

full time, have their own families and are not able to continue two full-time jobs.”

IMAMS AND TEACHERS

Those who educate through khutbas or Islamic classes should lecture their congrega tions often on the importance of welcoming new Muslims while discouraging national ism and cliques. If their community is split into factions, a way must be found to make it more inclusive.

Amina says, “Our masjid community is somewhat segregated. We have Pakistanis and Arabs. Both cultures are very into stay ing ‘on their own side.’ A lot of the females are shy or just not interested in making friends with people of other cultures. They do not find anything in common with them.”

Ligia adds, “The area where I was living in Miami did not have many mosques around, but at the few ones I went to, women didn’t

training at your masjid or see if you can find a relevant program online. Mentors have the potential to make an enormous, positive impact on a convert’s life.

Nicole, a convert in California, says, “There were no programs when I converted, but a kind sister took me under her wing and taught me how to pray and the basics. She and her husband also supported me through the mat rimonial process. It is essential to have some form of guidance. There was no internet at that time, and word of mouth was the only way to get help. I’m so grateful for the sister who showed me the way. It gave me the incentive to do the same for other new Muslims.”

Welcome newcomers to the mosque warmly. Let them know that you’re willing to follow up with them if they need Islamic guidance or friendship. Host a gathering so they can meet your friends. Make them feel welcome and guide them by your warmth and excellent example, not lectures.

Michelle, a convert in California, says, “I think halal social support is very important. The masjid did not officially offer this when I became a convert. However, Alhamdulillah, I got this support from wonderful sisters in my area. When you can’t do the things that you used to do for fun, it has to be replaced with something else to fill that void. The sisters filled my social and family void. May Allah reward them.”

ALLOCATE SUFFICIENT FUNDS

When planning the budget, board members should consider designating money specif ically for training mentors, running classes and planning social events. This money will ultimately benefit the whole community, because converts often become dynamic, valuable and enthusiastic members.

Amina (not her real name), a former long-time board member at her mosque in California, states, “I believe [paying for] new Muslim outreach/education programs should be the Islamic centers’ responsibility, because they are the hub of the community."

“However, I do not think it should be a ‘vol unteer’ program. The masjid needs to hire Muslims from the local community and have a professional program with ample training. This way it does not feel like an afterthought.”

Having donated countless hours to her mosque, she points out the great burden placed on volunteers. “There are not many people who are willing to volunteer for any activities. I feel the mentality is that ‘the masjid people’ will take care of everything, not think ing that all those ‘masjid people’ are working

have a big area in the masjid and I wasn’t able to see the imam or anything. They had no programs for reverts. The women were not friendly or approachable. When I finally went to a big mosque, no one approached me or welcomed me. What I would like to see in mosques is educating the Muslims on how to be welcoming, polite and open-minded to new sisters and brothers. The lack of empathy in the Muslim community is worrisome.”

ADAPT SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS

Some American mosques have implemented beneficial, successful programs. Consider using their classes and activities as a proto type for your own. For example, the Islamic Institute of Orange County in California offers a popular 12-week program for “new and recommitted Muslims.” The leaders pair converts with a mentor who guides them at a slow and steady pace. Classes teach the basics of prayer and address the converts’ concerns (https://www.iioc.com).

CONNECTING WITH CONVERTS

Consider becoming a mentor. Ask for

Fellow converts with a solid knowledge base should also consider mentoring. If your Islamic center has no such service, see if you can get a program started. Think about what you wish you’d had as a new convert and work to provide that for others.

Offer your insights to your masjid’s lead ership. Who better to explain what services are most needed? Let your voice be heard so that new Muslims can have an easier, more productive experience.

No matter which role we play, our sincere efforts to welcome, teach, befriend and sup port new Muslims will be rewarded greatly. Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to those who follow him, without detracting from their rewards at all” (“Sahih Muslim” 2674). Imagine the blessings that will mul tiply exponentially if we guide others to goodness for the sake of God! ih

Laura El Alam is a prolific author who has contributed to numerous publications since 2009. She is the founder of Sea Glass Writing & Editing, where she provides a wide variety of content writing and editing services.

FORMING A MUSLIM IDENTITY IS A HUGE UNDERTAKING, AND, SADLY, MANY CONVERTS FIND LITTLE SUPPORT FROM THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITY OR MASJID. IN FACT, SOME ARE TREATED SO SHABBILY THAT THEY LEAVE ISLAM.

The Emergence of a Vibrant Community

Pakistani Americans remain fused to Islam and speakers of the graceful, poetic Urdu and their regional languages

BY M I SBAHUDDIN M I RZA

marble inlay work of Qutb Minar’s Alai Darwaza in Delhi. The newly rebuilt three-story mosque’s final phase — com pleting two imposing minarets — is underway. This architec tural masterpiece functions as the focal point of local Pakistani life, from launching Pakistan Day parades to religious and cul tural events. The stores on both sides of Coney Island Avenue for half a linear mile roughly centered from the mosque are owned or operated by Pakistani Americans, and numerous Pakistani families live in the area.

steadily moved up the prosper ity ladder. Some entrepreneurs have become multimillion aires; nine of them are billion aires. Pakistani Americans have also made their mark in other fields, such as media, art and the military. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2019 500,000+ Pakistani Americans were living in the U.S., a 35% increase from 2010. There are Urdu-language radio stations in areas of high Pakistani American populations. Numerous cable and satellite providers offer Pakistani channels such as Geo TV, ARY Digital and PTV.

“

Welcome to Little Pakistan,” proclaim the huge green light post ban ners along Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, N.Y. The street scene appears to be right out of a modern Pakistani city, complete with men and women walking around in their tradi tional shalwar-qameez attire.

All shop signs are in Urdu and English. Restaurants bearing the names of Pakistani cities such as Lahori Chilli display mouthwa tering delicacies. Their special clay tandoori ovens churn out amazing-looking naan (leavened bread), while chefs keep replen ishing trays of delectable biryani and seekh to chapli and Bihari kabobs. Each morning, these restaurants serve their breakfast special: a halwa and puri (wafer thin puffy bread) combination topped with golden brown tea.

Clothing stores bristle with customers, and grocery stores

sell everything from fresh halal meat to prized mangoes imported from Pakistan. Jewelry stores, dazzling the shoppers with their golden products, sig nify Pakistani Americans’ arrival in an extremely niche market.

Talking to Wilfred Chan of the U.K.-based The Guardian (Sept. 7), Fareeha Haq, a staffer at the Council of Peoples Organization (CPO; https:// www.facebook.com/copousa/), a Little Pakistan nonprofit, pointed out, “You can walk out in your traditional clothes and you don’t look awkward. You can get every thing you want that would do in Pakistan — there’s a guy who sells sugarcane juice, just like home.”

The area’s crown jewel is the Grand Makki Masjid. The numerous Islamic calligraphy panels etched on its exterior marble wall reminds you of the Quranic calligraphy etched on the red sandstone walls and

The community celebrates Pakistan’s Independence Day (Aug. 14) and organizes Coney Island Avenue’s famous Brooklyn Mela at (also known as Little Pakistan), in which the Pakistani American Law Enforcement Society participates. The Pakistani American Youth Organization (PAYO; https:// payousa.org/) seeks to uplift and support needy community members excel in academics and other fields, runs a food pantry and distributes essential school supplies to families.

These South Brooklyn Pakistani Americans quickly responded to this year’s devas tating floods in Pakistan. The Guardian noted that “Lahori Chilli, a busy Punjabi restaurant in the heart of Little Pakistan, has raised over $10,000 just by asking people to ‘donate generously’ to three large plastic jars, according to a restaurant worker, Saeed.”

Community members have

Pakistani Americans started moving into this area in the 1980s. Islamic Horizons spoke to Syed Nasir Mahmood (chair man, New York State Board of Pharmacy; president emeritus, Pharmacists Society of the State of New York), one of the early arrivers. He played a key role in organizing attendance at the Makki Masjid, assisting the local Pakistani American community and established the area’s first pharmacy — Punjab Pharmacy. After sustained fundraising, Mahmood is now in Pakistan to help with flood relief operations.

Pakistani Americans have also entered politics. Among them are Omar Ahmed (mayor, San Carlos, Calif.) and Saghir Tahir (member, New Hampshire House of Representatives). Sadaf Jaffer, the former mayor of Montgomery Township, N.J., was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly from the 16th District in 2021, and Faiz Shakir worked as Bernie Sanders’ political advisor and campaign manager during his 2020 presidential campaign.

On August 12, Mohammad Razvi (CEO, COPO) joined Eric Adams (mayor, New York City) and other elected officials, Ayesha Ali (Pakistani Consul General), Adeel Rana (deputy inspector, NYPD) and Ali Rashid (president, APAG) at the raising of the Pakistani flag alongside the American flag in Bowling Green, N.Y. It was the first time since Pakistan’s independence that such an event took place.

Makki Masjid

In the arenas of government and law we find Judge Zahid Quraishi of the U.S. District Court of New Jersey and Zainab Ahmad, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York and current pros ecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice. She specializes in the investigation and prosecution of terrorism cases.

In the medical field, the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America provides or participates in several social and charitable services, among them providing free mobile clinics in the U.S. and Pakistan, free or low-cost medical care in several states and fundraising when natural disasters strike. Besides other projects, its Muskan project performs operations on cleft lips.

AN ANCIENT LAND

Pakistan is home to the ancient Indus Valley civilization, one of the world’s three earliest civiliza tions. Its Harappa and MohenjoDaro languages remain undeci phered. It is a land with a present, a past, and hope for the future of a people of a geographic loca tion — an area that is a mix ture of so many races through the ages, along with the origi nal Jats, Scythians, Parthians, Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Turks and Mongols.

Since obtaining indepen dence in 1947, the county’s p opulation has surged from about 33 million to 236 million

(2022 World Population Review figure). Its 220+ million Muslims makes it the largest Muslim country after Indonesia. The current growth rate, close to 2%, is expected to decline to less than 1% by 2050 (https:// worldpopulationreview.com/ countries/pakistan-population).

The people are mainly con centrated around the Indus River and its tributaries, which provide about two-thirds of the irrigation and residential-use water.

Another issue is deforesta tion. Fatima Khalid et al.’s paper “Deforestation Dynamics in Pakistan: A Critical Review” (2020), states “At the time of independence, Pakistan had 7% green cover but after Bangladesh’s separation in 1971, it was reduced to less than 5%. The forest cover (percent age of land cover) calculated by the World Bank in Pakistan was 1.91 as of 2015” (https:// docslib.org/).

THE ARRIVAL OF ISLAM

Caliph Umar’s (‘alayhi rahmat; r.634-4) armies reached India when they defeated the Sassanid Empire and began launching expeditions eastward. Under Caliph Mu’awiya (r.661-80), Makran, located in present-day southwestern Pakistan, was sub dued and fortified with a garrison. Sometime later, Muslims con quered and integrated Qusdar, Qandabil and al-Qiqan into the Umayyad Empire.

Islam arrived in the heartland of contemporary Pakistan at the beginning of the eighth century, when General Mohammed Bin Qasim led a mission to punish Raja Dahir for not complying with the demand of Hajjaj Bin Yousuf, the Umayyad governor of Iraq and the East, to punish the pirates who had abducted Muslim women. These pirates, known as both the Meds and the Bawarij, were a Scythian tribe who used their distinctive Barja pirate warships to pursue their livelihood. They lived in Sindh under the raja’s rule.

Mohammed Bin Qasim quickly overran the raja’s king dom, annexed all areas up to and including Multan, and annexed the new province to the empire. It was administered by Umayyad and, later on, Abbasid governors. Turkish mercenaries (still non-Muslims) employed by Kashmir’s king prevented them from going any further. When the Abbasids became weak, the Arab Habbari dynasty ruled Sindh from 854 to 1024 and the Ismaili Shia, pledged to the Fatimids of Egypt, ruled Multan.

World history was forever changed when the Turks started converting in the ninth cen tury. This fearless martial race would batter down everything in its path to bring the mes sage of Islam into India all the way from the Himalayas to its southern tip. This drive started with Sultan Mahmud Ghazni

(d.1030), a Persianized Turk who stamped out Fatimid influ ence in Multan and conquered large swathes of contemporary Punjab and Afghanistan. Sultan Muhammad Ghori (d.1206), another Persianized Turk, soon conquered all of northern India. Subsequent Turkic sultans swiftly overpowered the entire Subcontinent and are credited with laying the foundation of Muslim rule there.

Present-day Pakistan, ruled by Muslims for 1,000 years, became a British colony. The Muslims bravely resisted the British and, in the first war of independence (1857), joined with fellow Hindus to militar ily defeat and expel them. In 1947 London partitioned the Subcontinent into independent India and Pakistan. Pakistan, comprising the Muslim-majority areas, lost its eastern wing — sep arated by 1,000+ miles of Indian territory — following India’s 1971 invasion and proclamation of Bangladesh.

Today, the Pakistani Ameri cans are busy providing a stable Islamic footing and sound edu cation to their children so that tomorrow’s torchbearers are better and well-equipped for the future. ih

Misbahuddin Mirza, M.S., P.E., a licensed pro fessional engineer, registered in the States of New York and New Jersey, served as the regional quality control Engineer for the New York State Department of Transportation’s New York City Region. He is the author of the iBook Illustrated “Muslim Travel Guide to Jerusalem.” He has written for major U.S. and Indian publications.

COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE STEADILY MOVED UP THE PROSPERITY LADDER. SOME ENTREPRENEURS HAVE BECOME MULTIMILLIONAIRES; NINE OF THEM ARE BILLIONAIRES. PAKISTANI AMERICANS HAVE ALSO MADE THEIR MARK IN OTHER FIELDS, SUCH AS MEDIA, ART AND THE MILITARY.

How Organic is “Organic” Food?

Are consumers getting what they are paying for?

BY MOHAMMAD ABDULLAH

The Supermarket News’ website (https://www.supermarketnews.com)

noted on May 25, 2021, that organic products sales in the U.S. climbed 12.4% in 2020, breaking the $60 billion mark for the first time. According to another report uploaded to https://geneticliteracy project.org/ on Feb. 18, 2021, these sales are estimated to be worth $272.18 billion by 2027. This report also made a rather stun ning comment: Consumers spend billions on food that might not really be organic.

Disagreements between small-scale, locally grown organic farming advocates and the manufacturers and distributors seeking to profit from this rapidly growing sector have helped set organic standards and requirements. One outcome of this is that the country’s national organic program (NOP) requires all agricultural products labeled “organic” to be produced on certified farms and handled through certified operations.

NOP has the regulatory oversight respon sibilities for the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) organic standards and accreditation of organic certifying agents, as well as the authority to take appropriate legal action and protect the integrity of its organic standards anywhere in the world.

Organic food consumers therefore tend to trust it and pay more for organic products. In doing so, they support an agricultural system that avoids synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and promotes a more biodiverse ecosystem. But in return, they expect to get what they pay for.

A CBS News report (July 12, 2018) sums up this point, “The ‘USDA Organic’ seal gen erally signifies that a product is made and processed with relatively minimal synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and that animals are raised according to certain guidelines. But disputes over the rules, and questions about adherence, may raise doubts about whether the price is justified.”

As this report points out, there seems to be a breakdown in the system. For example,

the final rule provides for importation of organic agricultural products from countries determined to have equivalent requirements, such as soybeans (China), spices (India) and dried fruit (Turkiye). Each exporting coun try may have its own certification system, and the imported food products go through complex global supply chains comprised of many different businesses between the farmer and the final customer. The profes sionals call this “food milage” or “supply chain” challenges.

The U.S. system has similar problems. According to Miles McEvoy, the then USDA Inspector General, “Agricultural products sold or labeled as organic must be produced only on certified farms and handled only through certified operations and that no such system is in place to be sure that it happens” (Food Safety News, Sept. 20, 2017).

Interestingly, Hank Campbell opined in the Detroit News (Oct. 3, 2019) that “Food labels these days are like the Wild West of dishonest advertising. Organic food is widely marketed as the healthier, pesticide-free alternative to conventional options. Yet, the dirty little secret is that organic food is no healthier than its conventional counterpart.”

A 2009 independent study, funded by the UK Food Standards Agency — “Organic food not healthier, says FSA” – (The Guardian, July 29, 2009) said that organic food is no healthier and provided no significant nutri tional benefit compared with conventionally produced food.” Experts and organic food supporters, however, have questioned its conclusions.

Robert L. Paarlberg (professor, Wellesley College; associate, The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University) argued that “some people buy organic food thinking it’s healthy. Others buy organic because they assume it comes from farms that are smaller, more traditional, but this is not a safe assumption either. Most organic food on the market today comes from highly specialized, industrial scale

farms, not so different from those that pro duce conventional food” (news.harvard.edu, Feb. 2, 2021).

Writing in The New Yorker (Nov. 8, 2021), Ian Parker noted that “an estab lished grain trader recently remarked that the organic certification industry is essen tially toothless, and several organic old-tim ers said that farmers often turn to organic production purely for the price advantage. A farm’s organic certification is good for a year. It doesn’t get used up by sales. If a farmer has only a dozen organic apple trees, but agrees to sell you a million organic apples, you are unlikely to learn that you have a problem merely by looking at the orchard’s certification. As long as the farmer maintains control of some fields certified as organic, almost nothing stands in the way of his selling non-organic food obtained elsewhere, as if it all had been grown in those fields.”

ORGANIC FOOD FRAUD

According to the Decernis Food Fraud Database, “organic foods are one of the food types most frequently affected by food fraud.” In addition, Harriet Behar, an Organic Farmers Association Governing Council and Policy Committee member, states that “The Tragedy of Fraud,” that “the scale and elaborate nature of the fraud over the past decade spans hundreds of truck loads, numerous large ocean-going vessels, and hundreds of millions of dollars” (https:// organicfarmersassociation.org).

A few examples:

› Four Midwestern farmers admitted they grew non-organic corn and soybeans, along with a small amount of certified organic grains, and marketed them all as organic. Most of the grains were sold as

animal feed to companies that marketed organic meat and meat products.

› A $12 million shipment of (suppos edly) organic raspberries was intercepted at the Chilean border with fake organic decla rations and fraudulent paperwork claiming they were grown in Chile. They had been imported to Chile from China so the fraud sters could pretend they were locally grown. And they were not organic.

› A shipment of 36 million lbs. of non-organic soybeans from Ukraine was labeled as organic.

Peter Laufer, author of “Organic: A Journalist’s Quest to Discover the Truth Behind Food Labeling” (2014), noted the conflict of interest built into the U.S. system in the U.S.: The companies that inspect organic farmers and processors, as well as certify their product, are paid by those that they certify.

In the midst of all this, some consumers wonder if food certified organic is really organic. According to a Mayo Clinic report (April 22, 2022), they cannot. A report in the Washington Post (May 22, 2017) by Jason Kuo, then a postdoctoral fellow at the Mortara Center for International Studies at Georgetown University, elaborated that

Washington doesn’t enforce its standards, not all countries have U.S.-recognized reg ulations, certification remains challenging in a complex global economy, 33 of the 82 authorized third-party certifying agents are foreign and the USDA has limited resources.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information’s Aug. 14, 2021 report suggested that the USDA develop a strong guardianship regimen by using an effective surveillance system that can identify those guardians who are complicit (doi: 10.3390/foods10081879).

On Sept. 20, 2017, Dan Flynn reported in Food Safety News that the “IG audit rec ommends AMS work with Customs and

8 billion, and some regions are suffering from food insecurity. The use of nitrogen fertilizer helped farmers during the 20th century — and can do so again.

WHAT CONSUMERS MAY WANT TO KNOW Organic food is a big risk for the supply chain to begin with and disruptions in the supply chain make it more difficult to keep the organic and non-organic separated. As a result, some companies are shifting toward sourcing more domestically to avoid global shipping delays. For example, according to Civil Eats, “In 2021, about half of the organic soybean meal Egg Innovations’ farmers fed to chickens came from India; this year, all of it will come from American farmers. It has sent the feed prices soaring and the company is upping its supermarket prices to reflect that cost” (www.civileats.com/2022/01/13/whythe-food-supply-chain-is-strained-again/); and on June 1, 2022, the USDA announced details of a framework for shoring up the food supply chain and transform the food system to benefit consumers, producers and rural communities (https://www.usda.gov/ media/press-releases/2022/06/01/usda-an nounces-framework-shoring-food-supplychain-and-transforming).

Border Protection to review organic import information at the border with an electronic message system between the two agencies.”

After years of criticism, the USDA is finally dealing with this problem by pro posing amendments to protect the organic supply chain’s integrity and build consumer trust in its organic label by strengthening organic control systems, improve farm-tomarket traceability and robustly enforce its own organic regulations.

However, no one should expect organic agriculture to top conventional techniques any time soon. Robyn O’Brien reports on www.robynobrien.com that as of 2016, American farmers had certified less than 1% of their cropland for organic production. Farmers tend to hold back because it requires more labor to handle the composted animal manure used for fertilizer, as well as more labor to control weeds without chemicals.

On the contrary, conventional methods still predominate in many parts of the world. In 1909, Fritz Haber developed a high-tem perature, energy-intensive process to syn thesize plant-available nitrate from the air. Farmers who use it save labor and enjoy higher crop yields. Since then, the world population has increased from 2 to nearly

When organic standards were established in 2000, the then Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman emphasized, “Let me be clear about one thing, the organic label is a marketing tool. It is not a statement about food safety. Nor is ‘organic’ a value judgment about nutrition or quality” (https://ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6390794/).

For more information on these issues, consult https://www.ams.usda.gov. At the grocery store, look at the Price Look Up (PLU) sticker. If the produce is organic, the code will contain five-digits begin ning with 9. Non-organic counterparts will have four digits (https://www.aarp. org>healthy-eating>info-04-2012>re).

The USDA deserves commendation for acknowledging weaknesses in the current NOP and acting to correct it. Hopefully, its proposed amendments will be approved and enforced soon, because consumer trust is the basis for organic farming’s success. Meanwhile, consumers should realize that there is not much difference between organic and non-or ganic food in terms of nutrition. ih

Mohammad Abdullah, DVM, MS (Ag Technology), MPH, retired as deputy district manager at USDA-FSIS, the federal agency that regulates the meat industry. He is author of “A Closer Look at Halal Meat: From Farm to Fork”.

THE USDA DESERVES COMMENDATION FOR ACKNOWLEDGING WEAKNESSES IN THE CURRENT NOP AND ACTING TO CORRECT IT. HOPEFULLY, ITS PROPOSED AMENDMENTS WILL BE APPROVED AND ENFORCED SOON, BECAUSE CONSUMER TRUST IS THE BASIS FOR ORGANIC FARMING’S SUCCESS.

My Life as an Arab Muslima in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BY SHAMIA ALI

Iam a 22-year-old Yemeni who has lived in Ethiopia for seven years. Like many other Ethio-Yemeni families, we left Yemen in 2015 when the war esca lated. Expecting to stay with extended family in Ethiopia for one year at most, now we’re not sure whether we’ll ever go back.

As an Arab Muslima, I experienced some culture shock in Ethiopia. For exam ple, Yemen is an Arabic-speaking Muslimmajority country where social life is quiet and very private, even in the capital. In Ethiopia, however, the federal government uses five official languages — Amharic, Oromo, Afar, Somali and Tigrinya — and Christians and

Muslims each make up about 30-35% of the national population. According to the Ethnologue entry, Ethiopians use 41 lan guages in institutions nationwide and speak 77 local languages.

Ethiopia also has about four times the population of Yemen. Almost 6 million people live in Addis Ababa alone, a very busy international capital with tourists and businesspeople from around the world. Our community of refugees and asylum seekers contains youth from many countries.

Most Ethiopian people are religious. The azan is called, and the Christian Orthodox chanting starts at dawn. Alcohol is widely

available, although drinking is prohibited during many weeks of the year due to the church’s fasting seasons.

Believing that I could maintain my values while integrating, I immersed myself in Ethiopian culture and society. How else could one succeed in our educational and professional pursuits? Al-hamdu lillah, my open-mindedness has helped me learn Amharic and English far better than many of my peers.

Sadly, my efforts sometimes elicited judgment and slander from my own com munity. For example, in school and at the youth center for refugees I would talk to

Maintaining one’s identity and integrating into another culture are not mutually exclusive

my male and female peers about education and social issues. Because of this, insulting rumors began to surface that I had no family to control me and my behavior wasn’t halal.

Many Yemenis here struggle with English, and so I believe that these rumors came from jealousy over my academic suc cess. The combination of critical gossip and hypocritical behavior eventually led me to distance myself from my Yemeni community for a couple of years.

to me. I started to speak Amharic well, and my classmates were impressed to see an Arab speaking it so fluently. I had both Muslim and Christian friends, and the vast majority of them had no issue with my faith.

However, one girl in our class would say things like, “If you all go get food, count me out, because I’ll never eat together with a Muslim.” She claimed that Muslims and their food are dirty, that it’s disgusting to eat with non-Christians and that Christianity is the

ourselves and our beliefs. We must demand respect and dignity, because we can’t buy it or beg for it.

At a family gathering during my last year of high school, I went to the kitchen to politely offer my help. My aunt exclaimed loudly, “Hey girl, did you forget that you are Muslim? How dare you enter the kitchen!” Totally humiliated, I left the kitchen.

I wasn’t allowed to participate in the cooking or touch the uncooked food, but I was allowed to eat with everyone else. As is customary in Ethiopia, after eating we sat around drinking rounds of traditional coffee and talking. The family was discussing life, success and family affairs. They brought up my mom, and at that point my aunt asked her directly, “Why don’t you return to your Christian faith now that you’re back in Ethiopia and living long-distance from your husband in Yemen?”

This was possible partly because I was in an English-language private school with predominantly Ethiopian classmates. I also stopped wearing the hijab in an attempt to downplay my faith — my mother’s Ethiopian Christian family hadn’t really accepted her choice to marry a Muslim in Yemen. I was also trying to fit in at school, where I was profiled as a foreigner and bullied. Many days I was forced to give away my bus money and walk home.

After one particularly long hot walk, I thought, “Enough is enough. I should do something.” I complained to my teacher, and the mean students got suspended for a week. They respected me after that, and school was peaceful again for some time.

As my self-confidence increased, I focused on regaining my own conscious ness and started wearing the hijab again. The school principal called me to his office and said that wearing it wasn’t allowed. When I pointed out that other Muslima students were wearing it, he said they were allowed to do so because they had worn it ever since starting school. He wouldn’t back down, and I was devastated.

When I related this conversation to my mother and asked to change schools, she was supportive and enrolled me in the Islamic Yemen Community School in the Merkato neighborhood. Unfortunately, as that school only went up to grade 10, after one year it was time to transfer to a government school for grades 11 and 12.

Al-hamdu lillah, the students were good

best religion. Her closed-mindedness and bigotry were eye-opening experiences for me.

Thankfully, my other Christian friends would stop her by saying that they didn’t need to associate with someone who insults other religions. They were very respectful of Islam and defended me many times. With their support, I finally told the mean girl, “We’re all humans, and that’s what makes us one.” She started crying and apologizing, and I accepted her apology.

My last story is the heaviest. My mom and I faced some hardships because of her fam ily’s negativity toward Islam. They blamed me for my mom’s decision to continue prac tice Islam even after returning to her family home. My elderly grandmother treated me with cold contempt while showering love and care on her other grandchildren. This was particularly heartbreaking, and I used to cry every night after we first rejoined my mom’s family.

I sought to prove myself by dedicating to my mom’s family. Being hardworking and independent, I started working as a moder ator and interpreter for NGO events, work shops and meetings. I bought everything for myself and my mom. When I entered the university, I worked to pay my own fees and cover the expensive costs of printing and transportation. Whenever my grand mother desired something, I would buy it for her so she would love me and see me as her grandchild.

But since all of my efforts made no dif ference, I learned that we must stand up for

My mother replied, “It’s my personal choice to be Muslim, and not because I married an Arab Muslim. I chose it because Islam is the religion that called to my heart. I am not disrespecting Christianity. I would like to be respected and not insulted for my choice.”

The family then turned their attack on me, saying that my mom had made the worst choice of her life because of me. They asked me, “Why don’t you convert so that we will love and respect you? If you convert, then your mom will also convert.” I replied, “Would you change your religion if you were me?” They said they would, but I replied, “Well then, you are either lying to yourself or you don’t know true belief, because no true believer would ask another to change his/her religion.”

I am proud of my mother, her choices and the strong woman she raised: me. The lessons and trials I’ve undergone as a refugee have strengthened my faith and equipped me with many skills to advocate for myself and others.

There’s no perfect society or community in which we can isolate ourselves, and we can’t stop the forces of globalization and migration from bringing us together. We just have to keep on working to understand each other so we can fight for justice. Insha’Allah, my next “Letter from Addis” will discuss the experience of Yemeni refugees from a policy perspective. ih

Shaima Ali, a fourth-year student in marketing management at Unity University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is a youth association leader at Jesuit Refugee Services. She speaks Arabic, English and Amharic.

BUT SINCE ALL OF MY EFFORTS MADE NO DIFFERENCE, I LEARNED THAT WE MUST STAND UP FOR OURSELVES AND OUR BELIEFS. WE MUST DEMAND RESPECT AND DIGNITY, BECAUSE WE CAN’T BUY IT OR BEG FOR IT.

The Unshakeable Kashmiri Resolve

Syed Ali Gilani’s struggle for self-determination continues

BY GHULAM NABI FAI

Self-determination, despite its ambiguities, has recently blossomed into a pivotal element in interna tional relations as the key to resolv ing long-festering disputes and unforgiv ing conflicts. Exemplary cases have been Namibia, East Timor and South Sudan. In each case, self-determination was fueled by oppressive foreign or national rule. These new countries also derived strength from international law and UN Security Council resolutions.

Kashmir fits these precedents like a glove. The princely state attained independence on Aug. 15, 1947, when British paramountcy lapsed. When an indigenous Kashmiri Muslim insurgency threatened to topple the throne of Hari Singh, the repressive Hindu maharaja (ruler), whose grandfather Gulab Singh was sold Kashmir and its people by the British occupiers under The Treaty of Amritsar (1846), the Indian army invaded on Oct. 26, 1947, relying on an alleged Instrument of Accession to India. In his “The Myth of Indian Claim to Jammu and Kashmir: A Reappraisal” (1994), Alistair Lamb showed that this document is as bogus as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. A British diplomatic historian, Lamb is also the author “The Crisis in Kashmir” (1966),

“Kashmir: A Disputed Legacy: 1846-1990” (1991), “Birth of a Tragedy: Kashmir 1947” (1994), “Incomplete Partition: Genesis of the Kashmir Dispute 1947-1948 (1997) and “The Kashmir Problem” (co-authored with Sibghat ullah Siddiqi, 2021).

Some have said that NATO’s 1999 inter vention in Kosovo to defend the Kosovar Albanians’ human rights against Slobodan Milosevic marked a watershed in the pro tection of human rights. No longer would the world tolerate a nation’s subjugation of its own people. This sanguine observation, was, however, vastly overstated. In fact, this intervention only occurred because the refugee problem spilled over into the European Union countries. That conclu sion is supported by the indifference shown by Bulgarian prime minister Kiril Petkov, who, on March 1, 2022, made a clear dis tinction between Ukrainians and others, “These people (Ukrainians) are Europeans … These people are intelligent; they are edu cated people. ... This is not the refugee wave we have been used to, people we were not sure about their identity, people with unclear pasts, who could have been even terrorists ...” (www.npr.org, March 3).

Until a generally accepted moral duty evolves among peoples and nations to assist

all victims of widespread human rights vio lations by force or other stiff retaliation, it seems that human rights enforcement mech anisms will operate haphazardly and whim sically for reasons unrelated to the harm done to the victims or the perpetrators’ vil lainy. It is our responsibility to jump-start that moral evolution

Syed Ali Geelani (d. 2021; see also, IH, March-April 2021), an iconic and the most recognizable Kashmiri leader, was the symbol of defiance who stood firm for his people’s right to self-determination. Not only was he an intellectual and deep thinker, but also a brilliant and an artic ulate scholar. Above all, he had become an institution.

We remember Gandhi’s statement that Muhammad Ali Jinnah “is incorruptible and brave. I believe no power can buy him.” The same can be said about Geelani. Dr. Sameer Kaul, a well-known cardiologist and Kashmiri Pandit (upper caste Hindu) who served as his long-time personal physician, stated that Geelani is incorruptible, that 80% of the Kashmiris respect him simply because of this fact and that he is honest and sincere to his people (www.rediff.com, Oct. 11, 2010).

The Associated Press reported on Sept. 2, 2021, “During Kashmir’s recent years of civilian protests, the slogan “Na Jhukne Wala Geelani! Na Bikne Wala, Geelani! (Geelani, the one who doesn’t bend! Nor can he be bought out!)” became almost a war cry on the streets.”

Geelani never compromised on the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, a fact echoed by New York Times (Sept. 2, 2021) when it called him an uncompromis ing leader of Kashmir. It also quoted one of the most moving conversations between Geelani and a police officer. “Open the door, I won’t fly away,” he tells him. “We want to perform a funeral for your democracy.”

When Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf (2001-08) suggested sidelining the UN Security Council resolutions to find an out-of-the-box solution, Geelani

Syed Ali Geelani

rejected his proposed a four-point for mula because it ignored the right to self-determination.

Geelani never closed the channel of communication with world leaders or his adversaries. He wrote to N. N. Vohra, then the governor of [illegally Indian-occupied] Jammu & Kashmir, as reported by Daily Tribune (Oct. 14, 2016), “Because of the non-resolution of this issue [Kashmir], the

Parliament, he stated, “I am addressing you on behalf of my people, who have been striving for peace, justice, freedom, and dignity. During these years we have suffered immensely at the hands of your armed forces, which are implementing the policy of subjugation and control over our lives, resources, culture, and dignity. My words may be harsh, as I do not know of any other way of conveying the brutaliza

is a very potent body, powerful enough to influence the global decisions and enforce its own agenda. But what has been pre venting it to perform the role history has cast for it? Why it has not so for succeeded in persuading India to live by its promise and concede right to self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir? The reason, as I see it, has been that major ity of member countries of OIC have not been living by the resolutions adopted on Kashmir in its meetings and summits in their relations with India.”

One of his remarks made at a press con ference (Oct. 26, 2009) — 500,000 Biharis will be given Kashmiri citizenship, as well as 600,000-700,000 members of the army will be given citizenship to change Kashmir’s demography. Then, India will say OK, let’s have a referendum now — has proven prophetic.

region lives in a state of fear, uncertainty, and mistrust. Wars have been fought, thou sands of lives lost, and blood spilled — but to no avail” and that “Kashmir is a political problem and can only be resolved politically, not militarily. No amount of military might will resolve it, which has been made evident during the past seven decades.”

In his Sept. 6, 2013, letter to German chancellor Angela Merkel, Geelani noted, “The Kashmiri people have always been grateful for the principled support for universal human rights and a peaceful, negotiated settlement to all international disputes by the members of the European Union, including Germany. But Kashmiris are dismayed and disappointed by the deci sion of the German Embassy in India to organize a concert in Kashmir conducted by Zubin Mehta as part of ‘broader engage ments’ with Kashmiri people. We believe that this concert is being used by India to legitimize its military Occupation of our land and whitewash its shameful atrocities in Kashmir” (Kashmir Life, September 6, 2013).

In an open letter to members of India’s

tion that my people have faced because of your state policies” (Newsletter, All Parties Hurriyet Conference, July 11, 2009). He urged conscientious Indian parliamentar ians (ibid.) to initiate a debate on the issue of unmarked and/or mass graves, the crimes being perpetrated on the state’s people and agree to end this shameful and tyrannical occupation.

Geelani also wrote to Pakistani parlia mentarians, “We are grateful for the support of the Pakistani people and expect that its politicians and all sections of Pakistani soci ety will continue to extend its moral, polit ical, and diplomatic support to the Jammu and Kashmir freedom struggle. We urge the Pakistani people to protect the sacrifices of people of Jammu and Kashmir during all these years and to not allow any dilution or laxity in the principled stand of Pakistan vis-à-vis Jammu and Kashmir” (Newsletter, All Parties Hurriyet Conference, March 21, 2010).

In his letter to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held at Astana, Kazakhstan, between June 28-30, 2011, Syed Ali Geelani pointed out that “The OIC

The enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill, 2019, has over whelmed Kashmir’s indigenous population. More than 4.1 million domicile certificates have been issued within the past two years to reduce the Muslim-majority population to a minority in their own land. Hirdesh Kumar, chief electoral officer of Jammu & Kashmir, said on Aug. 17, 2022, that “We are expecting an addition of (2 to 2.5 million) new voters in the final list,” including non-Kashmiris living in the region (www.theweek.inwww. theweek.in, Sept. 4).

These facts make it clear that Kashmir’s decades-long suffering is a rebuke to the UN for its inaction. The situation is a call on the conscience of the Security Council members, particularly of the U.S.

Dr. Nazir Gilani wrote to the UN Secretary General during 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Aug. 22, 2021, that the “Modi Government does not seem to have any regard for the two UN Reports on Kashmir, the concerns expressed by United States of America, China, pleadings of the Government of Pakistan and concerns expressed by the international community. Delhi is all out to decimate the Kashmiri Muslims and violate their right to a quality of life and dignity of person in the Valley.”

The death of Geelani, a leader par excel lence, symbol of humanity and champion of human rights worldwide, has brought about the end of an era. ih

Ghulam Nabi Fai, Ph.D., is the chairman, Washington-based World Forum for Peace & Justice. He can be reached at: WhatsApp: 1-202-6076435, or gnfai2003@yahoo.com and www.kashmirawareness.org

UNTIL A GENERALLY ACCEPTED MORAL DUTY EVOLVES AMONG PEOPLES AND NATIONS TO ASSIST ALL VICTIMS OF WIDESPREAD HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY FORCE OR OTHER STIFF RETALIATION, IT SEEMS THAT HUMAN RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS WILL OPERATE HAPHAZARDLY AND WHIMSICALLY FOR REASONS UNRELATED TO THE HARM DONE TO THE VICTIMS OR THE PERPETRATORS’ VILLAINY.

Yes, I “Khan.”

Any equitable Kashmir solution depends on a free and independent Pakistan

BY FARHAN MUJAHID CHAK

On Dec. 18, 2010, Lieut. Gen. Hamid Gul (direc tor-general, Inter-Services Intelligence; d.2015) casu ally affirmed during a live inter view at the Islamabad Press Club that “no one becomes the chief of army staff in Pakistan without U.S. approval.” Every now and then, those words come back to haunt the country’s political and military elites. This accusation is not new, for uninhibited political analysts have always understood that Pakistan’s formidable military rules the roost and is in a constant tug-of-war with U.S. hegemony.

Of course, the level of Washington’s influence has always been open to debate, for it depends on who is leading the military establishment and how much the powers that be are willing to antagonize Pakistan’s population to oblige their purported bene factor’s interests. With the April removal of former prime minister Imran Khan from power by a dubi ous no-confidence vote of people caught red-handed selling their vote, this debate has resurfaced. As such, many are asking “Who controls Pakistan?” After all, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu reportedly demanded Khan’s removal (https://www.dawn.com/ news/1683520).

Since then, Pakistan has undergone a dizzying decline: skyrocketing energy prices, eco nomic collapse and an unprec edented level of popular revolt accompanied by the worst floods in the last 50 years. To make mat ters worse, the new government has made many attempts to sideline Khan, even designating Pakistan’s most popular political leader a terrorist. What makes this particularly outrageous is that this charge comes from an illegitimate government, many members of

whom are out on bail for serious accusations of financial impropri ety. The circus continues to play to its audience while the country falls deeper into crisis. Meanwhile Khan is not backing down — he has held more than dozens mam moth public rallies.

In his World Systems theory, Immanuel Wallerstein (d.2019) describes global order as the unequal distribution of power between the core, mainly the West, and the periphery coun tries of the Global South. The West’s reach can influence the periphery’s internal political structures through local tame rulers — be they in the political, economic, military or judicial spheres. This leads to the untir ing tussle in every post-colonial society between those who work to establish representative gover nance and those who prefer the corrupt status quo.

IMRAN KHAN UPSETS THE STATUS QUO — AGAIN

On one side are the empire’s facil itators or the core’s proprietors, namely, those who excuse their betrayal with such gobbledygook as “enlightened moderation” and enrich themselves while lament ing the punitive austerity measures imposed on the people because “beggars cannot be choosers” (Shehbaz Sharif interview with Shehzad Iqbal, ARY News, April 2). On the other side are those who aim to seize the instruments of state power away from those beholden to market fundamen talism or global hegemony. They seek genuine freedom.

This unforgiving rivalry, which is very real, goes to the crux of the conflict over state power, a brutal struggle further compounded by people vying for their own space. Many don’t want to get involved

or have lost hope for change. That is, until now. After being uncere moniously and arguably unlaw fully removed from office, Imran Khan has politicized the entire country. His will, commitment and perseverance has energized people like never before. He has made clear who stands on what side of the political spectrum, and his pushback has overwhelmed the deep state.

The enduring issue for him and his supporters is how to remove the instruments of state power from the ruling imposters. In fact, members of this privileged class loathe their compatriots and rule only to institutionalize cro nyism, inequality and corruption. This rationalization is required to deliberately obstruct social development, stifle creativity and

mock their own people’s ethical values and moral moorings. A further psychological aspect of these unrepresentative elites and their political cronies is that they embody some of the worst Islamophobic tendencies. This is even more insidious, for it occurs inside a Muslim-majority polity being run by those who claim to be Muslim.

Despite all of this, Imran Khan is maneuvering deftly. For exam ple, he swept by-elections in the vital Punjab province by taking 15 out of 20 constituencies (on August 22) and won another by-election in Karachi. This remarkable feat underlines that one can own all the institutions they want, but that it’s the people who matter. If anything, Khan’s victory against the deep state, foreign interference and corrupt political parties is stunning.

KASHMIRI FREEDOM RESTS ON A STABLE PAKISTAN

Concerning Kashmir, until a sem blance of political stability returns to Pakistan and legitimate rep resentatives remove those with questionable integrity from power, the country can offer no meaningful commitment. Even worse, the sitting government is now discussing opening trade links with India and working on the infamous “Musharraf formula” — a former military dictator (2001-08) — essentially maintaining the status quo and accepting the current ceasefire line as a porous border. And this, despite the fact that both India’s deep state and the Kashmiris have already rejected it! Hence, most Kashmiris inside Indianoccupied Kashmir and those working in the diaspora recog nize that only a free, independent Pakistan will genuinely support its liberation movement.

At the same time, the Kashmiri diaspora must develop a sophisticated approach to its global resistance while recogniz ing Pakistan’s internal challenges and redlines. They must never cede control of their movement to those who may bargain away

HENCE, MOST KASHMIRIS INSIDE INDIAN-OCCUPIED KASHMIR AND THOSE WORKING IN THE DIASPORA RECOGNIZE THAT ONLY A FREE, INDEPENDENT PAKISTAN WILL GENUINELY SUPPORT ITS LIBERATION MOVEMENT.

their future, as those puppet rajas in Pakistan have done.

Throughout the broader post-Arab Spring Middle East, of which Pakistan is an essen tial part, the counterrevolu tionary forces operate in con junction with the deep state and global hegemony. That internal deep state, whether in the form of political parties, judiciary, police or military, undermines the emergence of representative democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Institutions are compro mised, parliamentarians are bought and courts are opened at midnight to hear cases and enforce their will over par liamentary supremacy, all in the name of protecting their ill-gotten wealth and dubious fiefdoms.

One could reasonably argue that the deep state looks upon emerging democratic forces with both amusement and disdain. Although it will never willfully forgo the reins of power, it will allow these new political forces to enter the political arena and then undermine them slowly. In fact, the carrot of giving power is slowly being weaponized to strip away their aura, heighten instability and spread the fake news of “nothing being done.” This subtle character assassi nation is meant to undermine drip by the growing opposi tion movement drip by drip, to make it a spent force, as has been happening to grassroots movements in the Middle East.

So far, though, it hasn’t worked. The people, who hold the real power, are entirely and unreservedly standing behind former Imran Khan and his team. And in that, there is hope — both for the Pakistanis and Kashmiris everywhere. ih

Farhan Mujahid Chak, PhD, secretary-gen eral of Kashmir Civitas (a registered Canadian NGO), is an associate professor of political science at Qatar University and author of “Islam and Pakistan’s Political Culture” (2014).

Shaikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi

Shaikh Yusuf al-Qarad awi, who died in Qatar on Sept. 26 aged 96, was a giant among contemporary Islamic scholars. Rising from a humble birth in the Egyptian Nile Delta village of Saft Turab, no one questions his status as one of the 20th century’s most influential Islamic scholars — some say the Renewer of Islam (al-mujaddid). His father died before his son’s birth, and his mother died when he was just one year old.

Having memorized the Quran before he was 10, he enrolled in al-Azhar University and, in 1953 obtained an under graduate degree from its Faculty of the Principal Sources of Islam (usul al-din).

A year later he earned a graduate degree — first in his class — from its prestigious Faculty of Arabic Language. He then joined Egypt’s Ministry of Religious Endowments, where he worked under the renowned Islamic scholar and public intel lectual Shaykh Mohammed al-Ghazali (d.1996), and later at al-Azhar’s Department of Islamic Culture.

Under al-Ghazali’s tutelage, Qaradawi began what would become an incredibly prolific life as a writer and public scholar of Islam. Most of his 50+ books and countless articles sought to help contemporary Muslims live according to the Quran, the Sunna and within the Sharia’s guidelines by drawing on 14 centuries of Islamic scholarly explanation and comment.

In 1960, Qaradawi published what many consider to be his best-known popular book, “The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam” (Plainfield, Ind.: 1994). It was translated and published in every major language.

In 1961, al-Azhar sent him to Qatar, under a scholar’s exchange program, as head of Qatar’s Religious Institute. While there,

he established the University of Qatar’s Department of Islamic Research in 1973 and earned his takhassus min darajat ustadh specialty at the level of professor (today, Ph.D.) from al-Azhar. His dissertation, “Zakat and Its Efficacy in Resolving Social Problems,” became his magiste rial “Fiqh az-Zakat,” one of the most important Sharia works of our time. It was published six years later, after he finished revising it.

In 1989, he founded Qatar University’s Research Center of Sunna and Sira and remained its director until his death.

In 1997, he established and headed the European Council on Fatwa and Research, head quartered in Dublin, Ireland, because Arab countries refused to permit its establishment on their soil. This body is dedi cated to answering questions and addressing issues to help Muslims understand and live according to the Sharia in the socioeconomic context of Western-style modernity.

In 2002, he followed this by founding — for the same reason — the Dublin-based International Union of Muslim Scholars. The union has issued important international fatwas nullifying and voiding the “Daesh” (ISIS/ISIL) and declar ing its founders Islamically

“unfit” to make such a dec laration or assume any such positions.

Among the world’s most widely read and known Muslim scholars, his weekly televi sion show — via Al Jazeera –“Al-Shari‘ah Wa’l-Haya” (“The Sharia and Life”) caused his global celebrity and esteem to skyrocket among Muslims. An interactive program, Muslims would call in and ask questions or seek guidance. At least 40 mil lion viewers tuned in every week.

Known for his rigorous and consistent condemnation of extremist groups and responses within the Muslim community, he also took a strong stand for the rights of oppressed Muslims, highlighting the lethal persecu tion and dispossession of the Palestinians and the Muslims’ sacred obligation regarding al-Aqsa Mosque and its divinely blessed surroundings.

Prof. Ihsan Bagby (associ ate professor, Department of Islamic Studies, University of Kentucky) reminisces, “He was the main scholar I always looked to for answers and insight. He was my shaikh. His Arabic book ‘Al-Halal Wal-Haram Fil-Islam’ (trans. As ‘The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam,’ 1962) is still a must read.

“I heard him speak at MSA conferences way back, and I had the good fortune to hear him give the Eid khutba in Cairo on Aug. 2, 1981 — an hourlong sermon attended by some 250,000 Egyptians, which was the first major non-government Eid allowed. Here, he mentioned that he had just returned from the U.S. and reported that many Americans are becoming Muslim. (At that moment, I raised my hand.) He commented that it’s good that they met Islam in its ideal form before they met Muslims.”

He is survived by his wives, Aisha Mofenn and Issaad Abdul-Gawad; daughters Ilham, Siham, Ola and Asma, and sons Muhammad, Abdul-Rahman and Osama. ih

Some General Islamic Concepts of Health, Disease and Cure

Our bodies belong to God, who has entrusted people with their care. As such, they aren’t completely free to treat their bodies however they wish

BY HOSSAM FADEL

Islamic scholars have identified the Sharia’s objectives as preserving reli gion, life (and health), intellect, property and progeny.

This article focuses mainly on the second objective. Muslims believe that their bodies belong to God, who has entrusted people with their care. As such, they aren’t com pletely free to treat their bodies however they wish. Rather, they must act in accordance with the instructions of its owner — God. And God says in the Quran, “Whosoever killed a person ... it shall be as if he had killed all humanity” (5:32) and “Do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, God is to you ever Merciful” (4:29).

We are supposed to take care of our bodies by preserving our physical and

mental health. Several ritual practices involve health-promoting actions, among them making ablutions before the five oblig atory daily prayers, bathing, using a miswak (toothbrush/floss) to clean our teeth and eating “from the good produce that God provided” (2:172), such as dates, grapes, figs and pomegranates.

Other injunctions are in part meant to preserve health (e.g., the prohibition of intoxicants and illicit sexual behavior) and promote mental health via prayer, sup plication and submission to God: “Verily, with the remembrance of God do hearts find peace” (13:28).

Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) also recommended health-pro moting actions, including various forms of

physical exercise, such as swimming, archery and horseback riding.

But even if we follow these and the other relevant guidelines, we may still get sick because God ordains all diseases. However, these are not necessarily punishments, for “We will certainly test you with a touch of fear and famine and loss of property, life, and crops. Give good news to those who patiently endure…” (2:155) and “Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods, lives, and the fruits of your toil. But give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere” (2:155).

DISEASE AND TREATMENT

Muslims believe that disease is part of destiny. Yet this is not the same as fatalism, because,

as Abu Darda (radiy Allahu ‘anh) narrates, “The Messenger of God said, ‘God has sent down both the disease and the cure and appointed a cure for every disease. So treat yourselves medically, but use nothing unlaw ful’” (“Sunan Abi Dawud,” Tibb 11, [3874]).

Muslims strongly believe that God is the ultimate healer and that seeking medical advice is required to facilitate this healing

“Feed the hungry, visit the sick and set free the captives” (“Sahih al-Bukhari,” 5649).

Doctors and medicines are but tools in God’s hands. Doctors, despite being qualified and experts in their fields, can do nothing without His will and consent, for He ordains the cure. Prophet Ibrahim (‘alayhi as salam) proclaims, “And when I sicken, then He heals me (26:80).

qualified to do so engage in ijtihad (personal judgment) based on the secondary sources. The most common method used here is qiyas (analogy with a previously reported prece dent or similar action), followed by consen sus (ijma‘), reason (istihsan), presumption of continuity (istishab), consideration of the public interest (istislah) and custom (‘urf).

If still no answer can be found, they then resort to judgment based on whether the recommendation enhances one or more of the Sharia’s objectives without violating any known Islamic rule. In all such cases, scholars will usually seek the opinions of scientists and physicians who specialize in the concerned field to better understand the intricacies involved and why their pro posed solution is necessary or better than traditional procedures.

DEATH

process. Abu Hurayra (radiyallahu ‘anh) narrated, “There is no disease that God has created, except that He also has created its treatment” [The following addition exists in Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi: “There is no cure for only one illness.” He [the Prophet] was asked, “What disease is it?” He answered, “Old age.” [“Sahih al-Bukhari,” Tibb 1).

God does not cure you with what He otherwise made forbidden. For example, do not use medications that contain alcohol or pork products (e.g., porcine insulin). But there are exceptions to this rule if it’s a matter of life and death, for a cardinal Sharia rule is that necessity overrides prohibition.

The Prophet told people to seek the most experienced best qualified healer. Nobody should claim expertise in medicine when they are untrained and unqualified. The Messenger is reported to have said, “Whoever claims to be a physician, though unknown to such profession, is subject to personal liabil ity.” Medical liability is divided in different categories depending on the situation (Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Muhammad al-Akili (tr.). “Natural healing with the medicine of the Prophet.” Philadelphia: Pearl Publishing House; 1993:98-102).]

The Prophet also stressed the spiritual merits of visiting the sick on the grounds that it contributes to the latter’s well-being. He recommended that the visit should occur after the third day if the illness appears to be serious, be short and include words of encouragement and supplication. Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari narrated that the Prophet said,

Muslims’ belief in the hereafter enables them to bear the pain and suffering related to disease or other calamities more readily.

While the default rule is to seek treat ment, all patients have the right to refuse a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure, as long as they are mentally competent and fully informed about its purpose, alternatives and potential harm.

One can refuse treatment in the case of a terminal illness if applying the recom mended therapy may not cure the illness or if it has serious side effects. However, in emergency situations a life-saving treatment (e.g., a blood transfusion) cannot be refused.

Physicians cannot predict when one will die. Nevertheless, it must be determined as precisely as possible because some rit uals and legal decisions are based on the exact moment of death. Examples of rituals include janazah and burial, and examples of legal decisions include `idda for widowed women and inheritance, when the obligatory shares change depending on whether the husband or wife died first in an accident in which both were killed.

Muslims must ascertain the status of their actions before undertaking them. Generally, any action that is not explicitly prohibited is permissible. Even though this includes most aspects of medical care, many modern medical practices and procedures need to be examined to determine their permissibility.

During this process, Islamic scholars consult either the Quran or the Sunna. If a definite answer can’t be found, those who are

Muslims believe that death is no more than a step on their way to the hereafter, where they will meet God and be judged, “You were lifeless and He gave you life, then He will cause you to die and ... Then He will give you death, then life again, and then unto Him ye will return” (2:28) and “Truly, we belong to God and indeed to Him we shall return” (2:156).

While death itself is scary, Muslims aspire to achieve an eternal happy afterlife. Therefore, they tend to be more peaceful as their earthly life is ending. Ideally, they will engage in more prayer, supplication, reading and listening to the Quran, along with giving more charity. In addition, they will try to pay off all their debts; seek the forgiveness of those they have offended, hurt and wronged; and correct their mistakes and repent.

God determines both our birth and death dates, “It is God Who gives you life, then gives you death; then He will gather you together for the Day of Judgment about which there is no doubt: But most people do not understand” (45:26) and “…nor does anyone know in what land he or she is to die …” (31:34).

These are some basic general concepts. Islamic scholars continue to work on more specific concepts, such as end-of-life care, artificial life support, brain death and arti ficial reproductive techniques. ih

Hossam Fadel, M.D., Ph.D. (clinical professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, The Medical College of Georgia, Augusta) is a past president and chair of the Islamic Medical Association of North America’s board of trustees, a past editor of its journal (JIMA) and a past chair of its ethic committee. He is a life member of ISNA.

MUSLIMS MUST ASCERTAIN THE STATUS OF THEIR ACTIONS BEFORE UNDERTAKING THEM. GENERALLY, ANY ACTION THAT IS NOT EXPLICITLY PROHIBITED IS PERMISSIBLE. EVEN THOUGH THIS INCLUDES MOST ASPECTS OF MEDICAL CARE, MANY MODERN MEDICAL PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES NEED TO BE EXAMINED

TO DETERMINE THEIR PERMISSIBILITY.

Muslim Americans are Uniquely Poised to Push back against the Epidemic of Black Childbirth-related Deaths

Lost amid political and legal clashes over reproductive rights, dark-skinned maternal morbidity is a human rights tragedy

BY REEM ELGHONIMI

Since the Supreme Court over turned Roe v Wade on June 24, the ensuing legal reactions by individ ual states are likely to turn midterm elections into a referendum on abortion. Although most American Muslims rightly support women’s reproductive rights (www. ispu.org/2022-abortion-data/), we must rec ognize a glaring omission in that narrative.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during childbirth Black women die from preventable condi tions at three times the rate of white women and at a higher rate than any other ethnic or racial group (advocate.nyc.gov/reports/).

Whereas abortion rights proponents see the lack of quality health care as the main reason for this crisis, the rationale cannot explain Serena Williams’ ordeal in child birth. The tennis star heightened awareness of systemic racism by revealing that she had to draw on every ounce of her authority and status to ensure that an otherwise well-qual ified medical team took her complaints of pain seriously in time to save her life.

Williams’ experience is not rare. The 2022 award-winning documentary “Aftershock” tells the stories of Shamony Gibson and Amber Rose Isaac, two Black mothers who died post partum despite having qualified medical care. And yet their complaints of fatigue, strain and other warning signs were dismissed, and they were denied further examinations. Both orphaned infants survived.

Amid the volatility over abortion, which renders disenfranchised populations invisible and silent, Islamic tradition has preserved women’s priority in emergency medical situations and the value of fetal life. The subtlety in Islam’s position on abortion makes it indispensable today against the jug gernaut of pregnancy-related Black deaths.

Contextualizing how Islamic tradition advanced such a view may help bridge the contemporary polarization to center Black women’s experiences in American public discourse.

EMBRYOLOGY IN QUR’ANIC EXEGESIS

Islamic jurisprudence arose nearly a century and a half after the hijra and followed the movement to record Qur’anic interpretation in writing. While commenting on 23:1314 (below), which describes conception, tafsir authors elaborated assumptions that would inform legal deliberations on abor tion until today.

“We cause him to remain as a drop of sperm in [the womb’s] firm keeping. And then We create out of the drop of sperm a germ-cell, and then We create out of the germ-cell an embryonic lump, and then We create within the embryonic lump bones, and then We clothe the bones with flesh — and then We bring [all] this into being as a new creation: hallowed, therefore, is God, the best of artisans.”

According to the Saudi Arabian exegete/ jurist ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sa‘di, the verses trace atwar al-Adami (phases of gene sis) and tanqilatihi (the shift from one to another). Instead of explaining nutfa only as a drop of semen, he writes that it orig inated bayn al-sulb wa al-tara’ib, the large arteries between the spine and collarbone that transmit the heart’s blood. Instead of defining ‘alaqa as a clinging tissue in utero, he explains that the zygote is secure against any injury or dislocation (mahfutha min al-fasad wa al-rih wa ghayr thalik).

Embryogenesis proceeds from a flexible, ridged flesh (mudgha) to a skeletal struc ture (‘itham) that replaces the flesh, and finally to an exterior layer of skin (lahm)

clothing the bones. Each phase emerges out of the prior form. All occur during rest (fatastaqir) in the womb’s safekeeping, equipping the fetus in proportion to the individual anatomy required (bihasab hajat al-badan ilayha), measure for measure. Repeated three times, the phrase arba‘in yawm stresses the toll each stage exacts on the maternal body for 40 days.

Above all, we notice the profundity of the duration of time female physiology nurtures the unborn. Similarly, paternal biology is associated with the physical heart (rather than desire). Even as a morsel of flesh, gen esis unfurls through biological events and environments imbued with the love and shel ter of Divine largesse. Only in the seventh

phase, designated a new creation (khalqan akhar), does God’s revelation mention the soul (nufikha fihi al-ruh). The sanctuary afforded in the womb, then, is independent of “ensoulment.”

Indeed, the Arabic cognate meaning uterus, al-rahm, is etymologically related to mercy (rahma). In elaborating this pos itive depiction of female biology, al-Sa‘di agreed with the renowned scholar Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali’s medieval ruling on

a maximum seriousness when it is commit ted after it (the foetus) is separated (from the mother) alive” (Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, “The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam,” Plainfield, Ind.: 1994, 202).

Although abortion is always illegal (unless lethal to the mother’s life), the developmental timeline determines the crime’s severity. The more protracted the time fetal biology “mixes” with and depends on the maternal body, the more egregious the crime of “disturbing” or

this oppressive yet accepted custom. But that was not the only reversal Islam initiated, for Islamic law also prioritized the mother’s life in pregnancy-related emergencies.

As the contemporary Egyptian mufti Yusuf al-Qaradawi clarifies, even if “the baby is completely formed,” when carrying to term threatens the mother’s life, “abortion must be performed” (202). The opinion drew on the first part of 2:233: “No human being shall be burdened with more than he/she can bear: neither shall a mother be made to suffer because of her child.”

In a precarious historical era, the verse explicitly enshrined a woman’s right to life by guaranteeing maternal safety.

That these two categories (women and children) simultaneously attained a sociomoral standing and legal status is aston ishing. In the words of one journalist, the controversy over reproductive choice has typically “pitted the fetus against the woman” (Andrew Cockburn, “The Fight to Choose,” Harper’s Magazine, Aug. 2022).

abortion: “The first stages of existence are the settling of the semen in the womb and its mixing with the secretions of the woman… Disturbing it is a crime. When it develops further and becomes a lump, aborting it is a great crime. When it acquires a soul and its creation is completed, the crime becomes more grievous. The crime reaches

“separating.” By referring to the Quranic con tinuum, each scholar pointed out the incre mental, time-intensive and taxing draw on the expectant mother’s health. For al-Ghazzali, as the female body sacrifices more and more on the fetus’ behalf, the mother accrues legal protections with each passing day. In that case, abortion’s permissibility concerned ensoul ment less than the maternal-fetal bond forged as a function of time. In essence, the soul’s endowment, like the delivery of a newborn alive, marks the moment when psychologi cal attachment between mother and progeny reaches its peak, conferring on the mother the best claim to custody.

The language of separation in revelatory verses is telling. Verse 2:233 stipulates, “And if both [parents] decide, by mutual consent and counsel, upon separation [of mother and child], they will incur no sin… if you decide to entrust your children to foster-mothers, you will incur no sin provided you ensure… the safety of the child.”

Another woman may nurse the infant if the biological mother approves the separa tion. Following the same reasoning, al-Ghaz zali judges, “The crime reaches a maximum seriousness when it is committed after… (the fetus) is separated (from the mother) alive.”

The verdict alludes to the particularly lethal intersection of gender and infancy in pre-Islamic Arabia, where female infants were buried alive. Islam’s advent chipped away at

By glossing separation as infanticide, al-Ghazzali exposed a tacit problem — a third party might exploit a pregnancy to expel the embryo/fetus without informed maternal

consent. Overall, Muslim male scholars’ legal works showcase an under-appreciated effort to grant women bodily autonomy as the best means of guaranteeing their and their chil dren’s right to life. Grasping the immensity of this project requires a comparison with Western developments.

THE FEMALE BODY AND WESTERN HISTORY

According to Siddhartha Mukherjee, embry ology began with Pythagoras’ theory that the father determined all the fetus’ “essential information.” Although Aristotle objected to the mother’s exclusion, male-determined heredity was the more convincing notion in Europe until 1700. In this theory, known as preformation, sperm contained a shrunken “minihuman” who began to expand into a fetus after uterine implantation (“The Gene: An Intimate History,” New York: 2016, 21-26).

For a summary of medical, political and legal policies concerning abortion and wom en’s bodies implemented first by the Catholic church and, later, European nations, Dr. Mohammed Albar relates, “The Catholic church … in the 7th century instituted a canon for capital punishment of women who had abortions … Laws were passed making abortion punishable by death, in England in 1524; in Germany in 1531; in France in 1562; and in Russia in 1649 … With the advent of the industrial revolution and social upheav als in the 18th and 19th centuries, European countries gradually revoked the previous

harsh laws … By 1929, the law in Britain allowed abortion if continuation of preg nancy was expected to endanger the health of the expectant mother” (https://www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3439741).

WOMEN’S BODIES AND SOCIAL CHANGE UNDER ISLAM’S PURVIEW

By contrast, Muslims’ accounts of embryo genesis avoided male-centrism from the onset. Because the Quran neither denigrated nor excluded female biology, it inspired revolutionary change in social attitudes, eventually channeling into legal decisions that avoided criminalizing or penalizing women’s bodies. For instance, the Tunisian reformer and legal theorist Muhammad Ibn ‘Ashur (d.1973) thought that female bodily liberty as defined by Islamic tradition was exemplary ground for human rights: “The first category consists of original rights to which people are entitled by their inborn constitution and innate disposition … It also includes one’s right to what ensues from oneself, such as a woman’s right to the children that she bears” (“Treatise on Maqasid al-Shari‘ah,” London: 2006, 240).

Arising out of genetic constitution, the right described is inalienable, defining an individual right. This higher and inseparable status differentiates maternal from paternal custody, “The second category … can be illustrated by the father’s right to his children, whom the Law … in view of their specific relationship to him, considers his offspring

for the following reasons” (241). A father’s right to his children thus depended on the strength of the mother-infant relationship.

As this history discloses, we remain woefully ignorant of the degree Islamic jurisprudence empowered women. Most (non-cleric) Muslims have internalized the nuance in that position and favor protecting maternal and fetal life by honoring that bond.

As Dorothy Roberts affirms, “Respecting Black women’s decisions to bear children is a necessary ingredient of a community that affirms the personhood of all of its members” (“Killing the Black Body”, New York: 2016, 311). As polls open in November, endors ing politicians who support abortion rights can prevent dismantling services critical for underprivileged American women. However, we would do well to remember that Islam secured a sea-change in law (that has never been overturned) by first challenging mis conceptions about women and depicting the female body positively to reform unjust atti tudes and practices. Today, as dark-skinned women and infants face childbirth-related death and separation disproportionately, giving Black women’s voices and stories pri ority in the reproductive rights conversation is vital to transforming public consciousness and perpetuating racial/gender justice. ih

Reem Elghonimi, formerly an IT professional, is an author and academic and holds MAs in Islamic law, history, and arts & human ities. Her work transmits new research from Islamic humanities to the Muslim American community and into K-12 instructional material.lhahj

Healing from Abuse

A rape victim relates her first-person account and her healing

BY STEPHANIE BUSHRA KHAN

A painting by the author © Stephanie Bushra Khan

and spiritual levels. As a victim, they may even start to abuse their own bodies as a way of responding to what has been taken from them.

Rape survivors feel as if the world in no longer a safe place, that there is no one to protect them against harm. There is no comfort, joy or spiritual awaking. What’s left is fear, says Hira Khanzada, a clinical social worker and psychotherapist at the Khalil Center.

But experts such as Khanzada also believe there is a way back to God through therapy and spiritual support.

BREAKING DOWN

I wasn’t Muslim at the time of my attack, but I had this innate belief in the One God. At a young age, I would walk through the tall New England woods in awe of His cre ation. He was my comfort, my protector and my solace.

I met my future husband a few months after the rape. I didn’t know it at the time, but he would be one of the reasons that I survived, the answer to my prayers. He pro tected me, helped me pay for my education and taught me how to take care of myself. I would learn to cook and take care of him as he studied.

Iused to live in a small, rundown apartment while studying art in Massachusetts. One night I was expect ing a friend to come visit. I heard a knock and opened my door — but it wasn’t her. Instead, a stranger forced his way into my living room. I tried to reason with him, but then I saw the knives on my kitchen counter. Afraid that he would use one against me, I gave in. He raped me.

My roommate took me to the hospital that night and called the police. I told them

what had happened, reliving every excru ciating detail of my trauma. The next day, someone set my apartment on fire. I assumed it was him.

That night, I lost my apartment, my art work, my sense of self. But worst of all, I lost my connection with, and trust in, God. I felt He was no longer there for me.

Rape and sexual abuse break a person’s core, their relationship with God. This type of intense trauma clouds their understand ing of trust and love on both the physical

For the first time in my life, I had someone who truly cared for me, guided me. I converted before my marriage. Islam gave me a code to live by, something I desperately needed. I had grown up in a dysfunctional family and was living a bohemian lifestyle. Taking care of my children and husband gave me stability and showed me how to be responsible.

But within a few months of marriage, I started to feel a great deal of shame, even though I understood that my conversion had wiped my slate clean. Nevertheless, I still blamed myself. Praying was difficult. Even just standing on the prayer rug made me feel dirty. I couldn’t wear the hijab because I saw

it as a sign of purity, a quality that I did not possess. Praying at the mosque with friends made me feel like a hypocrite

I was wearing a mask. I was this per fect Muslim mother — involved with my mosque, taking my children to Sunday school, the beautiful Bengali wife cooking and maintaining a household, teaching chil dren about Islam and helping with fundrais ers. But inside I was falling apart. No one knew the battle being waged in my core.

THE WAY BACK TO GOD

To recover, according to Suhail Mullah (director, the Khalil Center, Los Angeles), survivors have to repair their relationship with God. This difficult process takes delib erate work on multiple levels. Survivors must first process what has happened and under stand that it was not their fault. This type of recovery should be done in a therapeutic environment.

It took me 33 years of therapy and several

were even times I no longer wanted to live. My therapist reconnected me with God the same way I did as a child walking in the New England woods — I recognized the Oneness of God that I saw there.

Therapy also helps us engage with dif ficult questions, such as “Why don’t I like God?” These conversations can help us be more compassionate to ourselves and others. By analyzing the good that came from my broken relationship with God, I rebuilt my reliance on Him and accepted what had hap pened and that it wasn’t my fault. I even started to see my attacker as human. All people are born innocent, until something happens to make them hurt others.

“What is Allah trying to teach you in this lesson? It’s all from Allah. He is in con trol of all,” said Abdul Raheem. Beauty is often paired with ugliness, and hardship with ease. After it rains, the sun shines and the roses bloom. Rain itself is a means of purification.

Many victims of sexual abuse and rape, especially women, stop praying and may even act out sexually. They abuse their bodies, blame God in silence and sink under the weight of their own anger and guilt of being broken, used. These women view hijab as a reminder of what they can never have — a feel ing of purity. How could I reconcile my faith with what had happened to me in the past?

Professionals who work with Muslim sexual abuse victims say that after such an attack, survivors find it very difficult to process their relationship with God. This is more the case with women and children than it is with male victims. Some women give up on religion all together, said Noha Alshugari, an Orange County, Calif.-based licensed marriage and family therapist and co-author of “Positive Parenting in the Muslim Home” (2017).

I eventually broke down, because my mind could not bear the dichotomy of my inner and outer selves. How could I pro tect my children, give my daughter words of comfort when I had none for myself? How could I convince them of a God who, I believed, had forsaken me? So, I dissociated from my environment.

A survivor will often feel rage toward the perpetrator or the Creator, according to Sakeena Abdul Raheem, a San Francisco Bay Area associate professional clinical coun selor. The victim will socially isolate herself and develop PTSD, depression and anxiety.

breakdowns before I learned to trust God again, to speak with Him. One of the steps was coming to terms with my body. When I began to heal, I began to look after myself.

Coming back to prayer was harder. The realization that I wasn’t angry at God but felt worthless before Him came to me gradually. My faith wavered in the meantime, just like a child taking its first steps and constantly falling and getting back up again.

Victims need to find a way to fully embrace the reality that bad things happen to good people, that life is a struggle. Being raped is horrific, but one must learn both how to trust God again and to let go. To do this, survivors have to be reintroduced to God. I felt empathy with women from war-torn countries where rape is used as a weapon, an act against humanity.

Engaging in spirituality can be beneficial. Those who have been violated have to regain their autonomy. They must take back their power and, over time, begin to rely on the Creator, said Abdul Raheem.

I AM A SURVIVOR. I AM STILL ALIVE.

Therapy helps reframe how to engage with our belief in God. My therapist, a devout Christian man, taught me how to find selfworth and love in myself by overcoming my anger. It was the feeling of worthlessness that separated me from God, this anger that had kept me from leading a normal life. There

I grew to care for myself, to love myself. I even forgave my rapist. My love for God grew deeper. I find myself thinking about Him every moment of the day and being grateful for my existence. I feel more con nected with all living creation, and try to practice Islam as much as I can when I feel well enough to do so. But there are days when I don’t. I have my family, and for that I am grateful.

I have come to realize just how much I love God through this process, even though I questioned whether He loved me. In Farid ud-Din Attar’s “Conference of Birds,” I learned that we may be united with God through our struggles to reach Him. ih

Stephenie Bushra Khan originally from Winchendon, Mass., is a professional artist poet and writer mostly published in Islamic magazines and newspapers.

PROFESSIONALS WHO WORK WITH MUSLIM SEXUAL ABUSE VICTIMS SAY THAT AFTER SUCH AN ATTACK, SURVIVORS FIND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO PROCESS THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. THIS IS MORE THE CASE WITH WOMEN AND CHILDREN THAN IT IS WITH MALE VICTIMS.

The Ill-Fated Modernization that Soured the Hajj of 2022

A call to reflect on Saudi Arabia’s pilgrimage policy

BY RASHEED RABBI

The Covid-19 closures had pre vented millions of Muslims from pur suing the hajj. Many aspiring pilgrims had already booked and sent their money to their travel agents to increase their chances in the country-based hajj quota and waited throughout the pandemic.

In April 2022, hajj was resumed for those living outside the kingdom, which gave hope to those who had started preparing for their lifetime journey with the utmost sincerity. But despite all their efforts, the Saudi hajj ministry abruptly announced that pilgrims from North America, Australia and Europe could only book for the 2022 hajj through a single government-authorized online portal

called Motawif. This initiated a lottery-based pilgrimage, as opposed to the existing firstcome-first-serve framework.

Motawif, a product of Saudi Vision 2030, aims to increase religious tourism. According to Arabian Business (June 14), Abdulfattah Mashat (vice minister for hajj and umrah) said, “In our role as sector regu lator, the new portal comes within the frame work of the Ministry’s strategy to develop the digital experience for the pilgrims. These efforts aim to facilitate the procedures and provide transparency and competitive prices for pilgrims.”

The portal did simplify the applica tion process, expedite registration and

issue visas electronically; however, the wisdom of the Ministry’s decision has been called into question for several very good reasons.

TECHNICAL SHORTFALLS

The top technical defects that defied Saudi Vision 2030’s goal of providing a scalable digital experience for the pilgrims are:

❯ System Failure. The website crashed within the first 10 minutes due to the high volume of registrations to assess and under stand the new process. The Motawif team should have guesstimated the huge number of initial interest forms submitted prior to actual registration for the lottery to avoid

this failure. Besides, many features never performed as expected even after complet ing registration.

❯ Payment Failures. The 2022 hajj visa lottery winners encountered their first difficulty when trying to make payments. The most prominent failure was the por tal’s untrusted and unknown payment plat form. Banks simply refused to release large amounts of money to its system. Many saw their payments authorized and dispatched from bank accounts; however, their Motawif profiles weren’t updated for days.

❯ Price Hikes. The original motivation behind promoting Motawif for all Western countries was the promise of cheaper rates. However, the total price drastically increased after completing the booking, although lower prices per package were initially published.

❯ L ack of Trust. The selected countries were used as test cases, and the repeating system errors engendered distrust among them. While booking through travel agents holds many conveniences, not to mention extra security and a designated point of con tact to hold them accountable, Motawif’s

❯ Causing Stress and Confusion. The new system was introduced without proper planning and less than one month before the hajj season began. The “random” application process, done with less than two weeks to go, prevented Muslims living in the West from preparing spiritually, left many in the dark about their status and caused an immense amount of stress. Many people in the West cannot just pack up and leave for two to four weeks.

❯ Inconsiderate to Collective Necessity. Hajj’s dominant communal aspect is not found in other rituals, which primarily stress individual piety. Unfortunately, this collective ritual has increasingly fallen to the mercy of Saudi Arabia’s unilateral decision making and management.

❯ Inflated Transaction Fees. Pilgrims had to make payments using credit cards, and payment merchants charged huge fees for every transaction. Many have com plained that the new system takes extor tionate transaction fees.

❯ Incomplete Booking. After many hacks and staying on the phone for hours with Motawif’s customer service represen tatives, applicants were finally able to make payment but couldn’t complete the booking of their desired package. Booking hotels and airlines as per individual schedules was a constant fight.

❯ Faults with Flight Booking. Motawif was only integrated with Saudi Airlines and thus couldn’t complete bookings for all pil grims. Many pilgrim families discovered at the airport that neither their bookings were available, nor did all their family members have tickets. They had to wait in the airport for up to 48 hours, spending all that time haggling on the phone with Motawif’s sup port staffs.

❯ Inefficient Hotel Check-in Strategy. Upon arriving at their hotels in Makka, pilgrims experienced enormous trouble in obtaining their rooms in accordance with Islam’s gender separation policy. Many were even asked to share their rooms with non-mahrams.

lack of any such amenities resulted in noth ing but stress and pain.

❯ Trouble with Refunds. Many appli cants couldn’t complete a booking even after making full payment. Currently, they have hired law firms to resolve issues with receiving refunds.

ETHICAL ISSUES

Although the portal and its software are fraught with technical shortcomings, the core issues are largely ethical — Riyadh is legislating hajj policies for all Muslims. Among them are the following:

❯ Being Inconsiderate of Hajj’s True Reality. Hajj is no longer confined to a few weeks, but has become a yearlong cycle of planning, financing, teaching, outfitting, transporting, lodging, doctoring, cele brating, mourning, blaming and correct ing. However, Motawif’s launch and the hajj ministry’s approved steps completely disregarded that reality. The system was announced on June 6, exactly one month prior to hajj, but wasn’t available until July 8. But at that time, potential pilgrims could only submit their questions. Registration for the lottery was opened late, on June 10. The results were supposed to be out by June 15, but people only began them on June 17 or later.

❯ Not Accepting Responsibility. The Motawif portal’s massive failure flooded the media, and yet the hajj ministry called it a success, identifying its errors as occa sional and random. The ministry’s refusal to acknowledge and accept that discriminatory hajj policies are religiously self-contradictory and a politically self-defeating ideology is nothing but transparent hypocrisy, a manip ulation of sacred symbols of universality dreamed up for partisan advantage.

❯ Politicizing and Objectifying Hajj. Despite the great failure and increasing issues with hajj, Muslim governments and politicians seldom envision the result of their own hajj policies at home and abroad. Thus, this core ritual has become overtly politi cized and covertly objectified in the name of modernization.

Far-reaching political ramifications are not surprising in connection with the hajj, particularly when it comes to government sponsorship and regulations. But this year’s policies superseded all past records! Pilgrims to Makka are “Guests of God,” not of Saudi Arabia or any other nation-state. They must be free to visit the holy places and to imagine their spiritual experiences individualisti cally. The principle of open access, combined with religious interpretation to preserve this pillar’s due sacrosanctity, are needed to preserve its autonomy, no matter how politicians try to manipulate it. ih

Rasheed Rabbi, an IT professional who earned an MA in religious studies (2016) from Hartford Seminary and is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry from Boston University, is also founder of e-Dawah (www. edawah.net) and secretary of the Association of Muslim Scientists, Engineers & Technology Professionals. He serves as a khateeb and Friday prayer leader at the ADAMS Center and is a certified Muslim chaplain at iNova Fairfax, iNovaLoudoun and Virginia’s Alexandria and Loudoun Adult Detention Centers.

FAR-REACHING POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS ARE NOT SURPRISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE HAJJ, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT COMES TO GOVERNMENT SPONSORSHIP AND REGULATIONS. BUT THIS YEAR’S POLICIES SUPERSEDED ALL PAST RECORDS! PILGRIMS TO MAKKA ARE “GUESTS OF GOD,” NOT OF SAUDI ARABIA OR ANY OTHER NATION-STATE.

We Are All in This Together

Linda Sarsour — activist, public speaker and author

BY AMANI SALAHUDEEN

Brooklyn-born Linda Sarsour is a Muslima Palestinian American social justice activ ist who, in 2017, co-chaired the Women’s March on Washington and March2Justice. She is well known in diverse communities for her social justice work.

The former executive director of the Arab American Association of New York, Sarsour co-founded MPOWER Change, the first Muslim online organiz ing platform, as well as Until Freedom, a national racial justice organization that helps Black and Brown communities nationwide.

According to the synopsis of “We’re All in This Together,” Sarsour states, “On January 17, 2017, Linda Sarsour stood in the National Mall to deliver a speech that would go down in history. A crowd of over 470,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C., to advocate for legislation, policy, and the protection of women’s rights — with Linda, leading the charge, unapologetic and unafraid. From the Brooklyn bodega that her father owned to the streets of the nation’s capital, Sarsour’s story as a daughter of Palestinian immigrants is a moving portrayal of what it means to find your voice in your youth and use it for the good of others as an adult. Her uplifting journey of growing up in a working-class family Brooklyn and becoming one of the most influential leaders of the Women’s Movement shows that anyone and everyone is capable of changing the world, and that it’s up to a determined few to be a voice for the many.”

Her new book, a modified version of her “We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love & Resistance,” is directed toward young readers.

A public speaker who often speaks at Islamic conferences, Sarsour studied journalism at Brooklyn College and Kingsborough Community College. She actively posts about social injustice on her social media accounts as @lsarsour. Sarsour discusses an upcoming book-related project and gives her advice to young Muslims. “We’re in This Together” asks readers to think about what their purpose in this universe is. It has a strong emphasis on courage, community and how even one person can make a big difference.

In this exclusive interview, she talks about writing for a younger audience and tangible acts Muslims can do to become good activists.

Amani: Hi, Linda! Can you please tell us a bit about your upcoming book “We’re in This Together”?

Linda: “We’re In This Together” is my young reader adaptation of my memoir

“We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love & Resistance.” It’s an intentional opportunity to reach young people in an inspiring and engaging way in the hope of making them realize their power and impact. “We’re In this Together” shares stories from my earlier childhood that will resonate deeply with many readers. These stories helped shape who I am today.

Amani: What is one thing you wish everyone would do as a small act of activism?

Linda: We live in a very cruel world plagued by injustice. It seems the task is too great for any one of us to alleviate the pain and suffering. And we would be right [to think so]. I believe that it would be a great start if we were kinder to one another, gave a small donation to an organization doing work we cared about and showed up for a rally or protest in our communities.

Amani: What is your writing process like?

Linda: Recalling stories from my childhood felt nostalgic, but also emotional and sometimes traumatic. I wanted to give young people a rounded story, even if that meant sharing pain and loss. The process was fulfilling and intentional. I hope it will move young people to action and to be unapologetic about who they are.

Amani: Would you consider writing for other age groups in the future?

Linda: Yes, I have a picture book [in mind] soon for an even younger audience. My passion is to write for young readers, because I believe they deserve to learn about and discuss important issues that impact them and their families. I also believe they deserve content that may be difficult but helps them contextualize their own lives and connect their triumphs and struggles to others who may not look like them or come from where they come from.

Amani: Do you have any upcoming projects/book-related activities that you’re able to tease?

Linda: A picture book about a Muslim girl activist!

Amani: What’s your best piece of advice for other young (especially Muslim) activists?

Linda: Be unapologetic about who you are. Never dim your light for anyone. Focus on those who love you, encourage you and motivate you. Everything else is just a distraction from your own greatness.

Amani: How much time (months/years) did you spend writing We’re in This Together?

Linda: It took about two years in between the racial justice uprisings of 2020, then the continued fight for voting rights and so much more. I’m a full-time organizer, so working on a book takes me longer.

Amani: What or who inspired you to write?

Linda: I was inspired to write because I felt voices like mine weren’t represented in mainstream books. As a Palestinian, Muslima and American activist, I wanted to inject a different set of identities that are often marginalized and vilified in our society and provide my own perspectives in the hope that it would resonate.

They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl’s Fight for Freedom Ahed Tamimi, Dena Takruri 2022. Pp. 288. HB. $27.00. Kindle $13.99 Random House, New York, N.Y.

The small West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, in which the world-renowned Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi was born and raised, became a center of the resistance to Israeli occupation when an illegal, Jewish-only settlement blocked off its community spring. Tamimi came of age participating in nonviolent demonstrations against this event and the occupation at large. Her global renown reached an apex in December 2017, when, aged 16, she was filmed slapping an Israeli soldier who refused to leave her front yard. The video went viral, and Tamimi was arrested.

This story, which transcends activism or imprisonment, is a teenager’s account of what it’s like to grow up in an occupation that has riveted the world and shaped global politics. One of Ahed’s earliest memories is vis iting her father in prison, poking her toddler fingers through the fence to touch his hand. She would spend her 17th birthday behind bars. Living through this greatest test and heightened attacks on her village, Tamimi felt her resolve deepen, in tension with her attempts to live the normal life of a daughter, sibling, friend and student.

This book shines a light on the humanity not just in Occupied Palestine, but also in the unsung lives of people struggling for freedom around the world.

China and the Uyghurs Morris Rossabi 2022. Pp. 182 HB. $58.75. PB. $29.00. Kindle $20.99

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, Md.

Amani: How do you balance work and personal life?

Linda: After over 20 years in the movement, I still have a hard time with this. I work nonstop through the nights and weekends, and it’s something I’m trying to remedy because I know it’s not healthy. ih

P rof. Rossabi, who first published a break through book on this topic in 1975, offers an even-handed history of Xinjiang and its Uyghur inhabitants. He traces this ethnic group’s development from imperial China to the present, as well as its fraught relationship with the Chinese state.

His focus — especially on the Communist Party of China’s progres sive and repressive policies toward the Uyghurs since 1949 — will interest those debating “what’s next” in regional power plays and ethnic group ten sions following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

No Escape: The True Story of China’s Genocide of the Uyghurs

Nury Turkel 2022. Pp. 352. HB. $22.99. Kindle $14.99

Hanover Square Press, Toronto

I n this powerful autobiography/biography, Turkel (cofounder and board chair, the Uyghur Human Rights Project; a commissioner, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom) rips open China’s repression of his people.

In recent years, China has locked up as many as 3 million Uyghurs in “reeducation camps,” which some identify as concentration camps.

Born in 1970 in a reeducation camp, this future human rights attorney was lucky enough to survive and reach the U.S., where he became the first Uyghur to receive an American law degree.

Now working as a lawyer, activist and spokesperson for his people, he advocates that liberal democracies formulate strong policy responses to address the crimes being committed against his people.

The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam

Peter Oborne 2022. Pp. 528. HB. $24.66 PB. $20.00. Kindle $16.99

Simon & Schuster, UK

The Cold War appears to have been replaced by a new conflict — Islam vs. the West. After 9/11 and the launch of the “war on terror,” this narrative seemed prophetic. In his new analysis, Oborne contends that the concept of such an existential clash is a dangerous and destructive fantasy.

Based on rigorous historical research and forensic contemporary jour nalism that frequently leads him into war-torn states and bloody conflict

Amani Salahudeen (BA, The College of New Jersey, ’20) is pursuing a master’s degree in education from Western Governor’s University

zones, Oborne explains the myths, fabrications and downright lies that have contributed to this pernicious situation. He shows how various falsehoods run deep, reaching back as far as Islam’s birth, and been repurposed for the modern day.

Many senior government officials across the West have suggested that Islam is trying to overturn our liberal values — even that certain Muslims are conspiring to take over the state. Among them is Douglas Murray, who claims in his new book that we face a “War on the West.” But in reality, these fears merely echo past debates as we continue to repeat the pattern of seem ingly willful ignorance.

With murderous attacks on Muslims taking place from Bosnia in 1995 to China today, Oborne dismantles the underlying falsehoods and opens the way to a clearer and more truthful mutual understanding that will benefit us all in the long run.

The Suspect: Counterterrorism, Islam, and the Security State Rizwaan Sabir

2022. Pp. 256. HB. $99.00. PB. $24.95.

Kindle $11.49

Pluto Press, London, U.K.

W hat impact has two decades’ worth of policing and counterterrorism had on the state of mind of Britain’s Muslims? “The Suspect,” drawing on the author’s own lived experiences, takes the reader on a journey through British counterterrorism practices and the policing of Muslims.

Sabir describes what led to his arrest for suspected terrorism, his time in detention and the surveillance he was subjected to upon release, including stop and frisk on the roadside, detentions at the border and monitoring by police and government departments while researching this book.

Writing publicly for the first time about the traumatizing mental health effects of these experiences, he argues that these harmful outcomes are not the result of errors in government planning, but the consequences of using a counterinsurgency warfare approach to surveillance. If we are to break this injustice, we need to resist counterterrorism policy and practice.

Islamic Divorce in the Twenty-First Century: A Global Perspective

Erin E. Stiles, Ayang Utriza Yakin (eds.) 2022. Pp. 232. HB. $120.00. PB. $39.95.

Kindle $37.95

Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, N.J.

This compilation offers a wide range of Muslim experiences in marital disputes and seeking divorces. For Muslims, being able to divorce in accordance with Islamic law is of paramount importance. However, their experiences in this regard differ tremendously.

The contributors, who discuss divorce from West Africa to Southeast Asia, explore aspect of the everyday realities that these couples face. This cross-cultural and comparative look indicates that their divorces are impacted by global religious discourses on Islamic authority, authenticity and gender; global patterns of and approaches to secularity; and global economic inequalities and attendant patterns of urbanization and migration.

Studying divorce as a mode of Islamic law in practice shows that the Islamic legal tradition is flexible, malleable and context dependent.

Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia

Natalie Koch

2023. Pp. 208. HB. $ 26.95. Kindle $7.99

Verso, Brooklyn, N.Y.

The American Southwest’s iconic deserts could not have been colonized and settled without the help of desert experts from the Middle East. For example, in 1856 a cara van of 33 camels arrived in Indianola, Texas, led by a Syrian cameleer the Americans called “Hi Jolly.” The U.S. government hoped that this “camel corps” would help the army secure this new swath of land it had just wrested from Mexico. Although the camel corps’ dream — and sadly, the camels — died, the idea of drawing on this specialized expertise, knowledge and practices did not.

In this evocative narrative history, Koch demonstrates the exchange of colonial technologies between the Arabian Peninsula and U.S. over the past two centuries — from date palm farming and desert agriculture to the utopian sci-fi dreams of Biosphere 2 and Frank Herbert’s “Dune” — bound the two regions together, solidifying the colonization of the American West

and, eventually, the reach of American power into the Middle East. Koch teaches us to see deserts anew — not as mythic sites of romance or empty wastelands but as an “arid empire,” a crucial political space in which impe rial dreams coalesce.

Education Transformation in Muslim Societies: A Discourse of Hope Ilham Nasser (ed.) 2022. Pp. 232. HB. $22.00. Kindle $19.79 Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Ind.

Hope is a complex concept — one academics use to accept the unknown while expressing optimism. However, it can also be an action-oriented framework with measurable outcomes.

In this compilation, an international group of Muslim scholars offer a wealth of perspectives for incorporating hope in the education of students from kindergarten through university to stimulate change, dialogue and transformation in their communities. For instance, the progress made in Muslim societies with regard to early education and girls’ enrollment isn’t well documented. By examining effective educational initiatives and analyz ing how they work, educators, policymakers and government officials can create a catalyst for positive educational reform and transformation.

Adopting strength-based educational discourse, the contributors relate how critical the whole-person approach is for enriching the brain and the spirit, as well as instilling hope back into the teaching and learning spaces of many Muslim societies and communities.

“Education Transformation in Muslim Societies” is co-published with the International Institute of Islamic Thought.

Metalwork from the Arab World and the Mediterranean Doris Behrens-Abouseif 2022. 340 pp./350 illus. color/b&w. PB.

Thames & Hudson, New York, N.Y.

This latest volume in the al-Sabah Collection series presents metalwork made in Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Yemen from the early Islamic period through the end of the Ottoman era in the 19th century. The pieces include exquisite platters, serving vessels, candlesticks and pen boxes produced for royal courts, as well as many beautifully decorated bronze domestic items such as bowls, lunch boxes, door knockers, buckets and lamps.

Rooted in earlier artistic traditions from the Mediterranean, Iraq, Iran and the Indian subcontinent, these metalwork traditions reflect the Arab world’s complex history following Islam’s advent. The collection starts in the Late Antique period, which informed the early Islamic royal styles of the Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid dynasties, and goes on to trace the emer gence of Mosul as a center for metalwork in the 12th and 13th centuries; the influential courtly Mamluk style during the Bahri period (1250–1380s); the Circassian era (1380s–1517); the growth of the European export market (15th century); distinctive vernacular styles in Yemen (14th–16th centuries); and the many revivals and fusions of international styles over six centuries of Ottoman rule (1517–1900s).

Finally, an enigmatic group of zoomorphic fittings that defy easy dating is celebrated for the craftsmanship and charm of its animal figures.

Ahmed Goes to Friday Prayer: Ahmed se va a la oración del viernes Wendy Díaz, (Illus. Muhammad Guadalupe and Mariam Suhaila Guadalupe) 2022. Pp. 48. PB. $14.99 Hablamos Islam, Baltimore, Md. I n “Ahmed Goes to Friday Prayer,” Díaz uses her puppet Ahmed to present a unique step-by-step guide to the Friday congregational prayer from a child’s perspective. Ahmed El Titeriti is the star of the YouTube children’s program Hablamos Islam con Ahmed (We Speak Islam with Ahmed) on the Hablamos Islam channel.

In her 14th book, Díaz continues to bring Latino and Muslim representa tion to children’s literature by sprinkling Islamic vocabulary throughout with definitions and bonus quiz pages at the end for parents and educators to use as learning tools.

This bilingual English-Spanish book contains colorful photo illustrations that are sure to delight any young reader. ih