Islamic Horizons September/October 2019

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019/1441 | $4.00 | WWW.ISNA.NET

IHSAN ENSHRINES THE ISLAMIC QUEST FOR BEAUTY AND EXCELLENCE | TOWARD PEACEFUL FAMILIES

ISLAMIC HORIZONS | VOL. 48 NO. 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 | VISIT ISNA ONLINE AT: WWW.ISNA.NET

COVER STORY 24

SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY: AMSET: The First Fifty Years of a Muslim American Journey

ISNA CONVENTION

32 Doomed from the Start

8 Ihsan Enshrines the Islamic Quest for Beauty and Excellence

SERVICE TO HUMANITY 28 Great Expectations

FAMILY LIFE 30 Toward Peaceful Families

FEATURE

36 A Heritage Preserved

34 Excuses to Create Otherness

ISLAM IN AMERICA 38 Preserving Muslim American History

EDUCATION 40 Islamic Schools Are a Community Obligation

MUSLIMS ABROAD

47 hy Does No W One Listen to the Kashmiris?

DEPARTMENTS 6 12 14 56 62

Editorial ISNA Matters Community Matters Food for the Spirit New Releases

42 Those who Seek Independent Paths Are Never Welcome 45 The Man Who Represented Egypt 49 The Crisis of Credibility 52 Bosnia Has an Islamic Legacy to Share 54 Toward Revival of the Ottoman Language

MEDICAL ETHICS 58 Islam, Conscience and Medicine Perspectives on Organ Donation and 60 Transplantation

DESIGN & LAYOUT BY: Gamal Abdelaziz, A-Ztype COPYEDITOR: Jay Willoughby. The views expressed in Islamic Horizons are not necessarily the views of its editors nor of the Islamic Society of North America.

Islamic Horizons does not accept unsolicitated articles or submissions. All references to the Quran made are from The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Amana, Brentwood, MD.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 5

EDITORIAL

Called by Faith to Serve Others

A

cross North America, many Muslim communities have organized celebrations for their family members returning from hajj, a blessing to renew one’s faith and commitment to the divine guidance.

For believers, this guidance is encased in the Quran and explained by the living Quran, namely, Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), who stressed the need for rendering social good — ihsan.

This theme is reflected in the 56th ISNA Convention: “What’s your super power for social good?”

ISNA and its flagship publication, Islamic Horizons magazine, continue to share reports about Muslims and Muslim organizations striving to serve others, irrespective of their faith or lack thereof.

For instance, 59:9 not only emphasizes striving for justice, but also recommends going beyond that to work for the good of others, even at the expense of one’s interests. In 4:135, we are reminded that people should try to rise above themselves and not push others aside to attain their own desires. In other words — serve others selflessly.

A pivotal ingredient of ihsan is justice, which means, according to 5:8 and other verses, standing up firmly for God as witnesses to fair dealing and remaining firm in this regard even when it involves being hated: “Be just: that is next to piety and fear God, for God is well-acquainted with all that you do.”

God emphasizes establishing and attaining peace, telling the believers time and again that “theirs shall be an abode of peace with their Sustainer, and He shall be near unto them as a result of what they have been doing” (6:127) and ” [Know that] God invites [humanity] unto the abode of peace, and guides those whom He wills [to be guided] onto a straight way” (10:25).

In this issue, Islamic Horizons documents an enlightening initiative launched during an autumn 50 years ago, the Association of Muslim Scientists and

Engineers, which, due to the advancements in learning, has now become the Association of Muslim Scientists, Engineers and Technology Professionals.

Over the years, it has brought together Muslims from many societies who share common professional interests and thereby create the camaraderie of minds that approach science and technology though a lens of faith in the Almighty.

While much is being said, reported and written about the menacing clouds of Islamophobia in many countries, Berkeley’s Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project has published an epoch-making study about Islamophobia in India. Unfortunately, Islamophobia there is nothing new, and yet this is the first serious study since an overtly Islamophobic party, the BJP, came to power by proudly brandishing and implementing its hatred of Muslims who had lived there long before the modern nation-state was established.

India, so admired by market-conscious economies, perhaps stands out as a unique country where a Muslim can be lynched in broad daylight in public on the mere suspicion of having eaten or carried beef.

Of course, corporate profits are far more sacred than the lives of others.

In closing, we commend those Muslim Americans who tutor students, set up businesses that employ refugees and other unfortunates, prepare and serve food to the homeless, provide free medical services to the poor, work with the ever-growing numbers of prisoners and refugees, organize youth activities — in short, all of those who thought “Someone needs to help them, so why not me?”

Surrounded by corporate and political malfeasance, hatred and indifference, poor students being denied hot lunches and threatened with removal from their families, immigrant families being forcibly split up and all of the other ongoing ugliness, Islamic Horizons is proud to continually recognize all practitioners of ihsan. May God reward all of you! ih

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PUBLISHER The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) PRESIDENT Sayyid Muhammad Syeed EDITOR Omer Bin Abdullah EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Iqbal Unus, Chair: M. Ahmadullah Siddiqi, Milia Islam-Majeed ISLAMIC HORIZONS is a bimonthly publication of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) P.O. Box 38 • Plainfield, IN 46168‑0038 Copyright @2019 All rights reserved Reproduction, in whole or in part, of this material in mechanical or electronic form without written permission is strictly prohibited.

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ISNA CONVENTION

Ihsan Enshrines the Islamic Quest for Beauty and Excellence Justice and good conduct cannot be separated from each other

8 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

BY MOHAMMAD OMAR FAROOQ

U

nderstanding and appreciating Islam in modern times is not an easy task. Non-Muslims can hardly be blamed when Muslims themselves contribute so much misunderstanding and distortion. Among the many contributing factors, one stands out: Legalism, which has engulfed the faith and its practical manifestation and thereby robbed Islam of both the balance and the beauty that it represents.

Appreciating this beauty and the quest for excellence is what ihsan (beneficence and goodness) is all about. But to place this discussion in its proper context, let’s deal with another fundamental, related aspect: justice (‘adl) or equity (qist), which can be regarded as a benchmark value and parameter for Muslims (what is demanded), while ihsan is the ideal, which is cherished.

Unfortunately, Muslim societies are in a rather miserable shape. With all of the concerted, systematic and sophisticated propaganda against Islam and Muslims raising the level of Islamophobia, one can’t but wonder why people still convert or even why Muslims remain Muslim. The answer is not complicated for those who seek to understand the faith conscientiously and with an open mind.

Today, Islam is clouded and mystified by layers of detailed accretions that neither represent nor reflect its essence. Much of what is observed is based on a sort of skeleton of Islam, and legalism, literalism and dogmatism have even that turned upside down. Thus, if people misunderstand Islam — an easyto-understand reality — it’s because we fail to live and uphold our faith even at the benchmark level, let alone at the exalted level of its inherent beauty or excellence.

Those who can rise above their initial prejudice and sincerely explore Islam often are pleasantly surprised to discover that

it is free from the burden of the many internal accretions and negative external attributions ascribed to it. The beauty of Islam reveals itself to them in its glory of simplicity and excellence.

Justice or equity, one of Islam’s central values, provides the foundation of a strong, functional, dynamic, stable and progressive society. Without justice, one’s fundamental human dignity is undermined, and systematic injustice jeopardizes social harmony and stability. Thus, at both the transactional and behavioral levels as well as at the systemic level, a society needs to ensure that the people’s rights and dignity are upheld.

A good society ensures that their basic needs are met and that their life, property and honor are sacrosanct. It facilitates earning fair wages for their labor and a deserved share of the prosperity “pie.” It fosters access to healthcare, provides good and effective education that makes them good human beings and enables them to earn their living through honest work or entrepreneurship. Such a society guarantees an unbiased and

CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES LACK AUTHENTICITY. THERE IS A JUDICIARY BUT NO JUSTICE, A PARLIAMENT BUT NO DEMOCRACY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BUT UNFULFILLED BASIC NEEDS OF MANY PEOPLE, PROSPERITY BUT NO SHARED PROSPERITY, GOVERNMENT BUT NO GOOD GOVERNANCE, AND SLOGANS OF HUMAN RIGHTS BUT NO PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 9

ISNA CONVENTION

fair judicial system along with the benefits of good governance by honest, capable and caring leaders.

These are all related to the benchmark parameter of justice. Islam commands justice, but sets a relatively and fundamentally higher standard of it, one that makes a society aspire to beauty and excellence: “O believers, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for God, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, God is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort or decline, then indeed God is ever, with what you do, Acquainted” (4:135).

Many past and present social problems are due to the failure to base society on justice. Thus, workers have to fight for fair benefits, consumers for fair prices and protection from harm, citizens for their freedom and right of participation, minorities to secure their dignity and security. People also have to fight against tyranny, as do nations to preserve their independence and identity.

In all such matters, Islam wants its adherents to be firmly on the side of justice, proactively guided by taqwa (God-consciousness).

Wouldn’t a society that takes these aspects seriously and sincerely become a moral one that attracts others to it? That’s exactly what happened in Makka when the downtrodden and forgotten people, regardless of their backgrounds and race, wealth and location, were attracted to Islam and migrated to Yathrib and its jurisdictions. Today the main struggle and goal for Muslims is to achieve that same benchmark.

But if Muslims care about justice, God also expects them to reach the height of ihsan, reflecting thereby Islam’s inherent beauty. Ihsan

10 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

is derived from the root h-s-n, and its derivative words include husn (beauty, excellence), hasan (good, excellent) and hasana (benefaction, merits).

Contemporary societies lack authenticity. There is a judiciary but no justice, a parliament but no democracy, economic development but unfulfilled basic needs of many people, prosperity but no shared prosperity, government but no good governance, and slogans of human rights but no protection of human rights. More or less, all of humanity is facing similar contradictions.

Shouldn’t Muslims focus on this benchmark level of justice?

Unfortunately, those who see these as somehow separate may end up achieving neither. Indeed, that’s why the Quran proclaims: “Indeed, God orders justice (‘adl) and good conduct (ihsan) and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you [so] that perhaps you will be reminded” (16:9).

Ihsan is relevant to holding ourselves to a higher standard.

Achieving a benchmark is a goal for everyone. Pursuing ihsan sets us on the path of and quest for excellence and beauty. Not only can we achieve this benchmark by being conscious of and cherishing ihsan in everything we do, but doing so will also enable us to reach new heights. At the personal level, regardless of what we do — study or work, pray or play, research or seek education, follow or lead — it is this spirit of excellence that ihsan instills.

Consider the following situation. Suppose there are two loaves of bread for two comparable individuals. When each one has a loaf, that’s justice. What if there are three loaves and still only two people? Well, what happens to the third loaf? Who gets it? After each individual receives one loaf, so that it is fair, ihsan is that we offer the third one to the other.

That’s the beautiful conduct toward which Islam calls us.

The Quran states: “A divorce may be [revoked] twice, whereupon the marriage must either be resumed in fairness or dissolved in a goodly manner (ihsan)” (2:229). Divorce occurs only rarely with mutual amicability. But the Quran wants to inculcate the spirit of rising above pettiness or just the benchmark level (justice). It calls us to pursue a higher standard.

One specific aspect of ihsan is stated clearly, and multiple times, in the Quran: treating one’s parents with ihsan (4:36, 6:151, 16:90, 17:23, 46:15). We should

ponder why so much emphasis is placed on this. In my view, we actually learn and develop an appreciation for ihsan by thinking about our parents, who generally take care of their children with unconditional affection and prefer them over themselves. Learning and internalizing the value of ihsan in its parental context can help us rise above the benchmark and enjoy the beauty of Islam.

Let’s conclude with a story. A marketplace is generally defined by competition. That’s the domain of justice. As a businessman, one’s effort to attract buyers in a conscientious and ethical manner is a

reflection of fairness. Now consider the story of a Muslim merchant. A customer saw that a seller has what he wants to buy and so entered the shop. When he asked to buy it, the seller politely asked him to buy it from a neighboring store run by a Jew. Both intrigued and annoyed, he did so and bought the item at the same price.

Puzzled at the first merchant’s behavior, on his way back he entered the first shop and asked for an explanation. The first merchant said that he was already satisfied with his sales for the day, but had noticed that his neighbor hadn’t been so lucky, Therefore, he had tried to help him out.

This is ihsan, doing good things out of concern for the well-being of others, a practice that brings out the best in us, helps us move closer to God and thus cherish each human being’s inherent beauty and excellence. Doesn’t that help us understand and appreciate the principle and the value enshrined in: “Could the reward of ihsan be anything other than ihsan?” (55:60).

For all of us who hope for ihsan from God on the Day of Judgment, let’s appreciate, embrace and practice it in our own life so that our words and deeds reflect Islam’s beauty and excellence. ih Mohammad Omar Farooq is an associate professor in the Department of Economics and Finance, University of Bahrain (faroqm59@yahoo.com).

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ISNA MATTERS ISNA PRESIDENT MEETS WITH RUSSIAN MUFTI

Mufti Ravil Gaynutdin presents a book to ISNA president Sayyid M. Syeed

ISNA president Sayyid M. Syeed led a delegation of Muslim Americans to meet Mufti Ravil Gaynutdin, chairman of the Russian Muftis’ Council and of the Religious Board of Muslims of the European Part of Russia, in Washington, D.C., on June 19.

Tammy B. Paltchikov (public diplomacy desk officer for Russia, State Department Office of Public Diplomacy’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs) coordinated the meeting. The U.S. Department of State Cultural Exchange had organized the event.

The delegation included Imam Mohamed Magid (director, ADAMS Center), Abdul R. Piracha (a former president of the Association of Pakistani Physicians) and Ashraf Sufi (a former president of the Islamic Medical Association of North America).

Syeed introduced ISNA and apprised the mufti of past cooperation and exchanges, such as the participation of young Muslim

American huffaz in the 2017 world Quranic recitation competition held in Russia, as well as his own participation in the 2016 Moscow cathedral mosque’s inauguration.

This $170 million compound can accommodate 10,000 worshipers inside and a similar number outside.

During their talk, Syeed broached the possibility of hosting international conferences of Muslim American professional organizations. ISNA, he mentioned, had done so in both Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul, and there seems to be a strong possibility of doing so in Russia as well. The mufti replied that his office is already convening meetings of Muslim professionals, scientists and doctors.

Syeed also introduced Imam Magid, who later traveled to Russia as part of an interfaith delegation with Rabbi Saperstein (director emeritus, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism).

12 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Syeed informed the mufti that he had visited the USSR, as allowed under perestroika and glasnost, to meet with Muslim leaders and visit various Muslim centers. “It was painful to see the lack of religious freedom and the prohibition on selling, buying and owning the Quran. I was shocked to see many mosques converted into theaters and communist party offices. When I returned, I established ASMR (Americans for Soviet Muslim Rights),” he said.

This organization reported on the lack of religious freedom and suppression of religious identities on the individual and community levels. “We published reports and newsletters and met American leaders, congresspeople, senators and others to educate them about the existence of a sizable Muslim population in USSR,” reminisced Syeed.

ASMR folded when communism crashed and the USSR collapsed. Since then, Syeed stated, “we have maintained our involvement at different levels. We have hosted imams, published books in the Russian and Central Asian languages. We provided support with our limited resources and with full disclosures of our interfaith allies and the U.S. government.”

Speaking with Islamic Horizons, Syeed said that Muslim Russians need all the help and support from they can get from Muslim Americans to rebuild their religious life and institutions. “We believe that ISNA is the only organization that has prospered and positively interacted with a democratic pluralist governance. We have so much to share with our brothers and sisters who are now being awakened to the possibility of a democratic system.” ih

ISNA PRESIDENT ADDRESSES GLOBAL NEXUS IFTAR

Global Nexus Interfaith Conversation and Ramadan Iftar. Dr. Syeed, second right.

ISNA president Sayyid M. Syeed spoke at Global Nexus Program’s third annual Interfaith Conversation and Ramadan Iftar Dinner on May 22. Entitled “Building a Community Beyond ‘Us vs. Them’: Embracing our Ethical Principles in Promoting Unity and Sense of Belonging in Divided Times,” it was held at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus of Montgomery Community College, Md. This event enabled people from various backgrounds and faith traditions to talk together in small groups. Among the speakers were Imam Hassan A. Amin (host, Islamic Faith Focus radio program, and imam; The Johns Hopkins University; and volunteer chaplain at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore City Police, U.S. Park Police, and Mercy Medical Center); Prof. Enas Elhanafi (associate director, Community Engagement; director, Global Nexus Program; and adjunct professor, Montgomery College); Rabbi James Hyman, PhD (president and CEO of My Community, Our Country); James L. Stowe (director, Montgomery County Maryland Office of Human Rights); Bishop Paul Walker, Sr. (founder and senior pastor, Healing and Deliverance Ministry); and Dr. Brad Stewart (vice president and provost, Montgomery College, Takoma Park/Silver Spring).

The State and the Montgomery County governments presented a Governor’s Citation and a Joint Proclamation by the County Executive and Council to the Global Nexus Program.

As this year’s theme was inspired by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, Global Nexus sent both her and New Zealand ambassador Rosemary Banks in Washington, D.C., a letter of appreciation. ih SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 13

COMMUNITY MATTERS

The Champ Receives More Honors

Mayor Fischer joins Lonnie Ali to unveil the Muhammad Ali Airport Logo.

Phoenix, Ariz., which this year proclaimed June 3 as “Muhammad Ali Day,” now has a Muhammad Ali Way. The three-time heavyweight champion, who spent the final decade of his life in Paradise Valley, died on June 3, 2016, in Scottsdale (Ariz.), aged 74. His widow Lonnie Ali was among the dignitaries who attended the unveiling ceremony. The street

is part of the Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center campus, home of the Barrow Neurological Institute’s Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, which the Champ founded in 1997. Since Ali’s passing, the center, which treats over 1,200 patients a year, has acquired the reputation of being one of the best in the world.

On Jan. 16, 2019, the Louisville Regional

Airport Authority voted to rename the airport the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in honor of its native son. On June 7, Mayor Greg Fischer joined Lonnie Ali at the airport to unveil its new logo – a silhouette of Ali with arms raised against a butterfly – and designs. The logo pays homage to his famous “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” slogan.

The City of Philadelphia and the 400 Years Coalition (https://www.400yearscoalition. com) posthumously honored the Champ on June 22 with a ceremony held at Malcolm X Park to rename 52nd Street as Muhammad Ali Way as part of the Juneteenth Celebration.

“I just think he was more than a sports icon,” said Executive Director Faruq Abdul Ghaffar, who noted that the coalition is planning programs in the Philadelphia area to recognize the arrival and influence of Africans in what came to be called America since 1619.

“He represented Philadelphia. He lived here. He was a part of the culture. He represented that well. He had the camp up at Deer Lake [Penn.]. So he was in Philadelphia a number of times. He would come down and be on 52nd Street. He used to ride down and talk to the people.” ih

Catholic Muslim Program Gifted Funds The Catholic Theological Union (CTU) announced on June 14 that it has received a three-year, $652,000 commitment from the Warraich family to its Catholic-Muslim Studies Program (CMSP). The gift seeks to advance CTU’s signature interreligious dialogue efforts by expanding programs in Christian-Muslim understanding, mutual esteem and cooperation for justice.

Scott C. Alexander, Ph.D. (professor, Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, CTU; chair of the American Academy of Religion’s Theological Education Committee), founded CMSP in 2000 and has led it ever since.

“We know CTU can be a model of greater understanding, mutual esteem, and collaboration between Muslims and Catholics, and be the role model for faithbased people,” said a spokesperson from the family. “As the national conversation around Islam grows increasingly fraught, coarse, and driven by fear and misinformation, the good work being

done in the Catholic-Muslim Studies Program at CTU is even more important than ever.”

Among the gift’s key initiatives will be the appointment of an additional Muslim faculty member with expertise in Islamic and intercultural studies, as well as new full-tuition scholarships for Muslim students seeking either a master’s degree or a doctorate in interreligious dialogue or related fields.

Another key initiative is the “Beloved Community Internship Program,” which is designed to enable students to integrate their theological studies with work for social transformation. Its interns will dedicate themselves to realizing Dr. King’s dream as they hone their skills in faith-based community organizing while working in partner institutions in Chicago’s Marquette Park neighborhood.

CTU was founded in 1968 in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council and at the height of this country’s civil rights struggle. ih

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Wichita State University became home to Kansas’ first Muslim sorority, Mu Delta Alpha Sorority Inc. (www.mudeltaalpha.org), which started in 2014 at the University of Dallas.

Since 2016, Wichita State has been home to an interest group for a Muslim sorority.

Founded in 2017, Muslimahs 4 Change (M4C; https://www.facebook.com/m4c. wsu) is a recognized student organization that believes in empowering women without comprising their diverse identities. Its members have worked to become a fully established sorority chapter, called Mu Delta Alpha Sorority Inc. Coining the term “Warrior Women,” M4C has planned successful events, among them World Hijab Day, a self-defense class

Project Rozana Launches Greater Washington Chapter Dr. Maqsood and Nadira Chaudhry hosted the inaugural meeting of the Greater Washington Chapter of Project Rozana (https://projectrozana.org) on June 13. This event was cosponsored by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding; Jews, Muslims and Allies Acting together of Washington DC; and the Greater Washington MuslimJewish Forum. Its purpose is to support and amplify the project’s work in Palestine and Israel.

Dr. Chaudhry, a trustee and president of the McLean Islamic Center, is a board member of Project Rozana USA. Project Rozana, which funds transportation of desperately ill Palestinians to hospitals in Israel for lifesaving care through the NGO Road to Recovery (https:// www.facebook.com/roadtorecovery), works

to improve the state of health care in the West Bank and Gaza by providing advanced training to Palestinian medical professionals.

It also funds other health-care necessities needed by Palestinians.

The chapter, which will serve as the prototype for future U.S. chapters, will also cosponsor community events in the Washington area to express its commitment to the Abrahamic religions’ moral imperative to help the most needy. Walter Ruby, a veteran MuslimJewish relations activist, is coordinator of this latest chapter.

Kenneth Bob, chair of Project Rozana USA, remarked that Project Rozana “does not invest in buildings, but in human capital … for “this is about building community, not just health care. This is about uplifting hope instead of surrendering to despair.” ih

for women and a collaboration with Student Activities Council to bring spoken word artist Amal Kassir to campus. Most recently, M4C partnered with the MSA to host a candlelight vigil to honor the victims massacred at New Zealand’s Christchurch Mosque.

This organization will join Wichita State’s thriving fraternity and sorority community of 22 organizations and 950+ students.

The community currently averages a 3.156 GPA and, in 2018, raised over $115,000 for philanthropic causes. Members have also completed over 30,000 hours of community service during 2018 and take great pride in being agents in campus traditions.

It calls itself a “Muslim-interest fraternity,” as opposed to a “Muslim fraternity,” so that it can accept all male students and help them become better men within an Islamic atmosphere.

Greek life is a nearly 200-year-old American institution. AΛM president Bilal Ayoub, who respects fraternities for creating deep networks and bonds of brotherhood, sees it as parallel to his Islamic values.

AΛM at UTD president Adeel Ghayas­ uddin says the fraternity is looking for people who will make it better and, in the process, who will better themselves through their participation in it.

AΛM’s events are primarily focused on community service, such as its “Hoops for a Cause” to raise money for refugees in Texas.

They also help at the Masjid Al-Islamhosted annual Day of Dignity event, when Muslim organizations collaborate to feed the homeless. Other events involve wilderness retreats.

Co-founders Ali Mahmoud, now a medical student, and Araf Hossain started the first chapter in 2013 at UTD. In the past five years, AΛM has opened chapters at UTD, the University of California at San Diego, Cornell University, San Diego State, the University of Toledo, the University of Wisconsin and Texas Tech.

The Dallas chapter has tripled in size

Alpha Lamda Mu (AΛM), a fraternity that shares the three initials that open several Quranic chapters, has championed abstaining from drugs and alcohol since its creation about six years ago. It opened a University of Texas at Dallas chapter, reported Amina Khan of D Magazine, on June 19.

Lubabah Abdullah assumed the post of executive director of CAIR’s Houston chapter on June 20.

In a statement, she said: “With the rise of Islamophobia in Texas and across the nation, our vision is to continue to educate, empower and build stronger ties with community and organizations in the greater Houston area in order to make our city and state the home it needs to be for all people of all backgrounds.”

Before joining CAIR-Houston, she had worked as an attorney dealing with Islamic estate planning, family-based immigration and family law St. Louis, Mo. She also worked with Karamah: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights as a counselor for women on the interplay between Islamic and civil law, particularly as they relate to family law.

In her capacity as the women’s fund director and eventually executive director of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana, she developed and oversaw four legal programs, including a modest-means legal clinic, a refugee legal assistance program, a protection order project and immigration services for victims of domestic violence. ih since last year alone. There are currently 32 active members locally, and more than 300 in the other chapters.

The Riverhead (N.Y.) Islamic Center received preliminary site plan approval on June 3 for its proposed mosque.

The plans involve renovating an existing vacant house on 1.5 acres, diagonally across from Riverhead High School, for use as the imam’s home and then constructing a separate new building for the mosque itself.

The two-story mosque will contain a 3,357-square-foot first floor and a 3,200-square-foot second floor. The existing house will receive an additional 751 square feet on the first floor and an additional 333 square feet on the second floor.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 15

COMMUNITY MATTERS

Los Angeles Declares July Muslim Heritage Month The Los Angeles City Council has adopted a resolution recognizing the Muslim American community’s contributions and activism and declared July 2019 “Muslim Heritage Month.”

The resolution noted that celebrating Muslim heritage will “promote and encourage awareness of significant contributions made by the City’s Muslim population in culture, social services, education, politics, business, technology, and the arts.”

An estimated 500,000 Muslims reside in the Greater Los Angeles area. The City Council began recognizing them in 2014 after being urged to do so by residents, led

by Najee Ali, CEO of L.A.-based civil rights activist group Project Islamic H.O.P.E. Those honored include Debra Hassan (the Center for Advanced Learning Public

A federal New York jury awarded $4.7 million to Osama Saleh, 27, a Yemeni American who was punched and bullied by a co-worker who had repeatedly called him “Bin Laden” and a “terrorist.”

Saleh worked as a stock clerk at the Pretty Girl women’s clothing store in Brooklyn, where James Robinson, an African American security guard, was known for his rants about how he hated Arabs because they were “dirty” and that Saleh should go back to Yemen.

Robinson also pleaded guilty to assault for the basement-level attack that fractured Saleh’s cheekbone.

Saleh’s award covers emotional distress, assault, negligence in the hiring of Robinson and punitive damages. Saleh claims he still suffers hearing problems and difficulty chewing and eating due to the knockout blow.

Charter School), Donald Bakeer (Project Islamic H.O.P.E.) and Jarin Islam (Giving Help) for their significant contributions to the area’s Muslim community through charitable contributions, social activism and helping its Muslims.

The Greater Los Angeles Area CAIR (CAIR-LA) office cosponsored a VIP reception and participated in the resolution’s adoption before the city council, which was attended by Fauzia Rizvi (the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California), Hussam Ayoush (CAIR-LA), Salam Al-Marayati (MPAC) and Omar Ricci (the Islamic Center of Southern California).

CAIR-LA, the Islamic Center of Southern California and the Ilm Foundation co-sponsored Heritage Month. Closing ceremonies concluded with Muslim Youth Day at Los Angeles City Hall on July 30. ih The Islamic Arts Society’s (www.islamicartssociety.org) sixth annual Islamic Arts Festival will showcase over 40 Houston and national artists who will be presenting live interactive sessions in calligraphy, ebru, painting and children’s art activities, and related events. The event will be held on Nov. 9-10 at Masjid Al Salaam, located in Spring, Tex. An estimated 200,000 Muslims live in the Greater Houston area. This event seeks to promote a positive image of them to the general public. Some of the art will be displayed inside the prayer area, thereby enabling non-Muslims to visit a working mosque.

The Museum of the Palestinian People (MPP; https://mpp-dc.org), Washington, D.C.’s first Palestinian museum, opened its doors on June 22 with displays of artwork and historical and cultural documentation of Palestine via contributions from the worldwide diaspora.

The museum, whose motto is “Many Stories, One Heart,” features two sections: a

16 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

The Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa is hosting Oklahoma’s most extensive exhibition on Islamic art, titled “Wondrous Worlds: Art & Islam through Time & Place” (https://philbrook.org/exhibitions/wondrousworlds-art-islam-through-timeplace) on June 23-Oct. 6, the Tulsa World reported on June 16.

Organized by the Newark (N.J.) Museum, the exhibit’s five themes are architecture, hospitality, clothing, the art of writing and cross-cultural exchange.

According to the Pew Research Center, Muslims forms less than 0.9 percent of the state’s population. ih

temporary and a permanent exhibition. The first section currently features the work of five artists with the theme of “Reimagining a Future.” The second section, curated by Nada Odeh, depicts its history and culture through

ACHIEVERS

The Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital opened a new prayer room on June 11, reported Chevall Pryce of the Chron on June 14. Khawaja Azimuddin, a colon and rectal surgeon at the hospital, devoted six months to completing its ornate hand-painted tilework. He and fellow doctor Muhammad Hanif helped design and construct the room.

CEO Keith Barber said that the hospital was glad to host a space that would help patients and staff practice their faith.

Sohail Syed, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, said the prayer room is important for all of the marginalized groups portrayed so negatively in the media. ih

four segments: “A Remarkable People,” “Nakba and the Diaspora,” “Occupation” and “A Resilient People.”

The country’s first Palestinian museum

opened its doors a little more than a year ago in Woodbridge, Conn. The seeds for MPP, a former travelling exhibit, were planted as early as 2015, museum founder and director Bshara Nassar told Al Jazeera.

The Islamic Center of Richmond’s Masjid Yusuf in Henrico County, the region’s newest mosque, opened in May about a decade after county officials granted permission for its construction. The U.S. Religion Census estimated that fewer than 3,000 Muslims were living in the Richmond area in 2000. Its most recent estimate, which is nearly a decade old, says the Muslim population is about 12 times larger.

The Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, which sponsors this decennial census, estimated that more than 35,000 Muslims were living in the Richmond metro area as of 2010.

Another local congregation, the West End Islamic Center, Glen Allen, Va., has started building another mosque that is expected to open within the next two years.

Priscilla Martinez was unanimously approved in a bi-partisan vote as an at-large board member of Loudoun County’s Library Board of Trustees. She has been a leading volunteer for the past 25+ years in Scouts, education, interfaith, the environment and ADAMS, as well as in the civic sphere in Loudoun, Fairfax, Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, Loudoun County (Va.) Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall nominated her for this volunteer role.

Martinez, already a board member of several interfaith, community affairs and scouting organizations, will now assume the additional task of getting the community more engaged with the Loudoun County Public Library system.

She remains an active participant at the ADAMS Center Homeschoolers Educating and Reaching out Through Service, Sterling, VA, which she founded in 2005.

Saad Usmani, MD, FACP (Department of Hematologic Oncology and Blood Disorders, Levine Cancer Institute/Carolinas HealthCare System) was lead investigator and study author for daratumumab (Dar-

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 17

COMMUNITY MATTERS zalex, Janssen) in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (Rd). This study focused on treating patients who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. On June 27, the Specialty Pharmacy Times reported that the FDA has approved it through its Real-Time Oncology Review pilot program.

The approval of this combination therapy is the sixth FDA-approved indication for daratumumab in multiple myeloma and second for newly diagnosed patients.

“Multiple myeloma can become more difficult to treat after relapse, so it is important that patients receive an efficacious upfront therapy with a goal of extending their first remission period,” Usmani said in a statement.

“Today’s approval of Darzalex underscores the significant clinical benefit of this CD38 monoclonal antibody and our efforts to advance treatment paradigms to change the course of the disease,” said Craig Tendler, MD (vice president, clinical development and global medical affairs in oncology, Janssen Research and Development).

Omer Reshid

Rida Alvi

High school seniors Omer Reshid (BCPS [Baltimore County Public Schools]) and Rida Alvi (Anne Arundel County Public Schools Board of Education) have become the first Muslims to be elected as student members of their boards of education. Their swearing-in ceremonies were held separately on July 2, which coincided with the anniversary of signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. That act prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex and national origin.

In his statement to CAIR, Reshid stated: “Coming to BCPS only two short years ago, I have seen firsthand what this [school] system has done for me, and I want to give back. I want to help improve our system and

advocate for what is best for our students. I hope to do this by advocating for equalizing educational opportunities and focusing on the well-being and mental health of the student body.”

Alvi shared with Arundel High News that her biggest goal is to “make the position of SMOB [editor’s note: Student Member of the Board] grow even more. . . [I want] more students [to] understand what SMOB does, but also include people from backgrounds that we don’t normally include.”

High school senior Shahed Saleh, 18, of Ontario, Canada, won a $100,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship to study mechatronic engineering at the University of Waterloo, the Windsor Star reported on June 5.

“I think I had a moment of calm after reading the email. It’s not about the money.

It’s more of an opportunity to put myself out there and impact other students,” she said. “It’s basically robotics engineering.

It’s controlling machines with computers.

I think robots are amazing.”

Saleh, who carries a 97 percent average in her Grade 12 courses, is the first Greater Essex County District School Board student to earn this scholarship.

Mechatronics, a multidisciplinary branch of engineering that focuses on the engineering of both electrical and mechanical systems, also combines robotics, electronics, computer, telecom­mu­­nications, systems, control and product engineering.

Schulich Scholarships annually award CAD $100,000 to 25 Canadian students to study engineering at one of 20 partner schools.

Saleh knew at a young age that she wanted to pursue engineering, but only found her focus upon joining the robotics

18 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

team in Grade 10. “I’m excited to be part of the change in society once robots are implemented everywhere,” she said.

In pursuit of her dream, Shahed became the captain of the school’s FIRST Robotics team, a mentor for FIRST Lego League elementary school teams and a cofounder of STEM Day and CodeReach for elementary students.

Talking about his student who seeks to make a big impact in the world, Massey guidance counselor Matt Cornies told the newspaper that he “has no doubt she’s going to make a substantial impact on others. It’s going to be exponential.”

Dr. Iqbal Akhtar, a recipient of a 2019-20 Fulbright fellowship, is an associate professor at Florida International University’s departments of Religious Studies and Politics & International Relations in the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. He will use this fellowship to develop the capacity-building of academics at Lahore’s University of Management and Technology, in addition to working on an important case history of pluralism in Pakistan’s development, namely, the Khoja community.

Akhtar, who obtained his doctorate from the University of Edinburgh’s New College School of Divinity, explores this community’s origin in Subcontinent through extant oral traditions known as kahani in Sindhi, Gujarati, Urdu and Hindi.

The U.S. government-funded Fulbright Program, run in partnership with over 160 countries, offers international educational and cultural exchange programs for students, scholars, artists, teachers and professionals to study, teach or pursue important research and professional projects.

Maraia Irshad (center) is flanked by Roamy Valera, CAPP, chair of the International Parking & Mobility.

Maria Irshad, CAPP, MPA (assistant director, Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department, City of Houston/ParkHouston), was one of the two Americans to be recognized with the 2019 Chairman’s Award at the International Conference on Parking and Mobility. This event, held in Anaheim, Calif., was attended by delegates from several European and South American countries.

The award is bestowed by the current IPMI chair to honor members who have made significant contributions to the work of the chair and the association during the year.

“The IPMI community is full of volunteers who give so generously of their time, but Maria is someone I want to recognize in particular,” said IPMI Chair Roamy Valera, CAPP, CEO, North America PayByPhone.

Valera noted her contributions as a member of the Accredited Parking Organization’s (APO) board of directors, co-chair of the IPMI Professional Recognition Committee and as a past IPMI Parking Solutions judge. She spearheaded APO for ParkHouston in 2015 and the organization earned APO with Distinction in 2016. Irshad is also incoming president of the Texas Parking & Transportation Association, IPMI’s allied regional association.

At ParkHouston, Irshad manages about 9,500 paid parking spaces and 19 off-street surface lots, the enforcement of all parking codes and the administration of various permits. In her role as assistant director, she leads a 75-member team and provides parking policy recommendations to the mayor’s office.

Irshad also volunteers with the Houston Shifa Services Foundation, a nonprofit founded by local physicians that provides a community-oriented alternative for those who cannot afford medical treatment. ih

Srg. Zaigham Abbas was promoted lieutenant in the New York Police De­part­ ment. His promotion ceremony was held in Manhattan on June 28, where Police Commissioner James P. O’Neil decorated him with his lieutenant badge.

“Wearing a hijab, a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women, is a part of some of the things we do,” she wrote.

“Sometimes I feel like I want to take it off, so kids won’t say anything to me anymore.”

According to trainer Karin Savino, “It was hurtful. Our school seemingly is a wonderful place and it’s sad that she had that experience.”

U.S.-born Asma shared her experience as part of her school’s Breaking Barriers program, the two-month curriculum developed by Major League Baseball, Scholastic and Jackie Robinson’s daughter

Sharon. It culminates with a nationwide essay contest.

In April, Asma’s essay was selected as the best one out of over 10,000 entries. Two weeks later, Sharon came to watch Asma read her essay to the school.

“Now people are trying to include me more and they don’t exactly say names to me and they kind of invite me to play games with them. So it’s gotten a lot better,” Asma said.

Her grand prize includes an all-expense paid trip to the All-Star Game. Monday night, before the Home Run Derby, she was also honored by thousands in Cleveland. ih

Along with its top players, Major League Baseball is recognizing hijab-wearing Asma Kaukab, a 11- year-old New York fifth grader, at the All-Star Game. This Shaw Avenue Elementary School (Valley Stream, N.Y.) student wrote an essay describing the pain of being teased because of her faith.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 19

COMMUNITY MATTERS Officer Serein Tamimi, who broke a historic barrier by becoming the City of Paterson’ (N.J.) first hijab-wearing Palestinian-American police officer on June 13, received the graduating class’ Role Model Award due to the unanimous vote of the Bergen County Police Academy instructors.

“This [Bergen County Police Academy] officer displayed excellent characteristics of leadership,” said academy instructor and Officer Daniel Solares, who introduced her for the award. “She, from Day One until today, always had a positive mental attitude, always led by example, always volunteering for extra duties.”

Tamimi served both as a platoon leader and an emergency medical technician in the class of 91 men and women.

Tamimi, 22, who came to the U.S. when she was less than a year old, ran track in high school, majoring in justice studies at Montclair State University, and excelled at the academy. ih

Muslim Community Leader Pitches for Cubs

Habeeb Quardi Receives the National Distinguished Principal Award

Rami Nashashibi, executive director of Chicago’s Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN; https://www. imancentral.org), threw the ceremonial first pitch at the Cubs game on July 15 at Wrigley Field.

In February Joe Ricketts, family patriarch of the club’s owners, was discovered to have been sending racist and anti-Muslim emails. During the ensuing controversy, the Cubs announced a partnership with several Muslim groups to fight Islamophobia and bigotry. Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts called his father’s emails “unacceptable,” stressed that Joe Ricketts has no direct role or economic interest in the team and that he had never heard his father say anything racist.

Nashashibi, a MacArthur Foundation genius grant fellow, said that the Cubs organization has taken the issue seriously by meeting directly with Muslim groups and individuals, committing itself to public service announcements and dedicating resources to anti-bullying campaigns. Spokesman Julian Green said that “thoughtful conversations” are underway with Muslims and workshops and training to combat racism are being planned.

Nashashibi founded IMAN in 1997 to provide services and outreach as well as address injustice in Chicago’s marginalized neighborhoods. IMAN runs a health center and provides job training and transitional housing for former inmates and high-risk youth. ih

The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) has recognized Habeeb Quadri as one of the nation’s top principals. He is the first Islamic school principal to receive this honor, which will be presented to him during an Oct. 11 ceremony to be held in Washington, D.C. Every year, only five individuals out of the nation’s 30,000+ private school principals receive this distinction. Quadri, principal of MCC Academy, was nominated by the Council of Islamic Schools in North America (CISNA; https://www.cisnausa.org), the only national Islamic school accrediting agency. He was recognized as an exceptional school leader and CISNA’s finalist and nominee for National Distinguished Principal award.

Because student success is linked to the principal’s leadership, NAESP recognizes accomplished elementary and middle-level private- and public-school principals as part of its annual NDP program (est. 1984).

Quadri’s 15 years of dedication and commitment to MCC Academy led to this recognition. In addition to teaching and administering, he is a public speaker, author and active participant and mentor in numerous local and national organizations. He states: “My aim for each student at MCC Academy is two-fold: to make certain each is achieving both academically and socially. A student can only be successful if we are focusing efforts in both of these areas. I make certain that academically we are keeping curriculum standards current and challenging. Socially, we have a culture at MCCA that develops good values in our students with programming that supports our aim.”

As a school leader, he understands that his leadership must extend beyond the school’s walls to truly impact student success. His colleagues and community leaders described him as “a reflective practitioner, problem solver and effective communicator … who has an understanding of the intersection between family, community, schools, and faith, and how those connections can promote positive outcomes for students and their families.”

“CISNA is honored and proud that Habeeb Quadri has been recognized at the national level and demonstrates that Islamic schools and Islamic school leaders are contenders among the best of the best. Congratulations to Mr. Quadri and his school community,” said CISNA President Leila H. Shatara. (See article p. 40) ih

20 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

COMMUNITY MATTERS

NAIT Program Helps Organizations Receive Stock Donations How stock donations benefit Muslim donors and recipient organizations

BY SADIA QURESHI

D

onating stocks/shares or other securities brings on the day you donate them and gain future tax benefits as well. more value to the recipients, while providing dual tax ben- Thus, you can give 20 percent more.

If you itemize deductions, you can claim a charitable deduction efits for the donors. However, Islamic nonprofits usually decline them due to logistical equal to the stock’s fair market value difficulties and the lack of resources, on the day you donate and thereby avoid paying the capital gains taxes a brokerage account or relevant knowledge. on the increased value if you had The North American Islamic just sold it and then donated the Trust, Inc. (NAIT, est.1973) has proceeds. launched its fee-free Stock Donation For example, if you donate $5,000 worth of stocks/shares Liaison Program (SDLP) to help NAIT member and non-member on which you had earned $1,000 Islamic nonprofit organizations appreciation, you wouldn’t have to report it as income and would also nationwide receive such gifts.

Gifting stocks/shares is one of the be entitled to a tax credit/deduction most tax-smart donation strategies, for the donation’s total value. and yet few Muslim Americans are aware of the various non-cash RECEIVING STOCKS THROUGH donation vehicles available.

NAIT’S SDLP Fidelity Charitable’s 2016 study ① An Islamic organization or (“The Giving Gap: Donor Awareness mosque invites stock donations GIFTING STOCKS/SHARES IS by encouraging donors to give and Use of Strategic Giving Methods”) reported that 80 percent appreciated stocks while earning ONE OF THE MOST TAX-SMART of donors own appreciated assets, tax benefits.

DONATION STRATEGIES, AND such as stocks or mutual funds, but ② Interested donors contact the YET FEW MUSLIM AMERICANS that only 21 percent of them have beneficiary organization, which tells contributed such assets to a charity. them how to transfer stocks safely ARE AWARE OF THE VARIOUS Even fewer donors understand and and smoothly through NAIT’s SDLP NON-CASH DONATION VEHICLES use these strategies. For example, 59 along with a Letter of Instructions. percent of them give appreciated ③ Donors then instruct their AVAILABLE. assets, such as securities, but only brokerage firm to transfer the 39 really understand the vehicle and stocks/shares to the SDLP on behalf only 19 percent use it for charitable purposes. of their desired organization. Make sure that the donor does NOT Muslims need to learn about such options so they can open up sell the stocks before transferring them. more ways of giving. ④ NAIT’s SDLP receives the shares and sends a copy of the Donating appreciated stock has a twofold benefit: Recipient confirmation to the recipient nonprofit for recordkeeping. The nonprofits may hold the shares and enjoy profit/growth of a single contribution is recorded at the stocks’ fair market value on the day donation until they cash out, and each gift allows the donor to the transfer occurs. ⑤ The Islamic non-profit receives NAIT’s confirmation of the minimize tax costs and maximize tax deductions.

Clearly, such donations are a form of investment. Once the gift stock transfer and can access the funds on the next business day. reaches the nonprofit’s brokerage account — in this case NAIT’s ⑥ Upon receiving this confirmation, the nonprofit sends the SDLP -- it may increase in value until the organization sells it. A donor a transfer receipt. cash donation, on the other hand, never increases in value.

For further information or questions, contact NAIT at Donors also enjoy certain benefits. For example, if you donate (630) 789-0473. ih stocks that have increased in value since you bought them a year ago, you can take a tax deduction for the stock’s fair market value Sadia Qureshi is communications consultant with NAIT. 22 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

COVER STORY

Connecting the Science of Evolutionary Biology and Islam; Annual Convention 2015.

SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY: AMSET: The First Fifty Years of a Muslim American Journey A newly revitalized AMSET welcomes your input

BY IQBAL UNUS AND ABU SAYED MAHFUZ A professor who had been involved in its organization, proclaimed, “I have attended and organized many professional conferences, but now having participated in an AMSE conference, I feel as if I have come home.”

With complex issues calling for scientific, engineering and technology solutions rooted in ethical foundations, AMSET has its role cut out for it.

As it embarks upon its journey for the next 50 years, its potential can and must fulfill its promise.

“It’s time to reenergize our membership and rejuvenate AMSET,” says current AMSET president Sohel Anwar. “I invite you to participate in this venture. There is a world of good that our fellow Muslim scientists and engineers can do for fellow citizens and society in North America and abroad. We cannot afford to fall short.”

T

he year was 1969. The Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada (MSA) had been founded six years earlier by a group of foreign students, most of whom were science and engineering majors. That surprised no one, because science, engineering and medicine were the prized careers among high-performing students in their native lands. The thought that humanities, social sciences, law and journalism were also needed to help build the Muslim presence in North America and contribute to the community at large was still several decades away.

At the same time, MSA’s leadership realized the potential of its growing professional class and therefore shifted its focus from merely establishing MSA chapters to helping young Muslim professionals contribute to their respective professions from within the Islamic worldview. And so the need to organize them into professional societies was recognized.

From this realization rose informal gatherings of MSA students and professionals during MSA conferences and other events.

The formation of the Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers (AMSE; now the

24 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Association of Muslim Scientists, Engineers and Technology Professionals, AMSET), the Islamic Medical Association (IMA; now the Islamic Medical Association of North America, IMANA) and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS; now the North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies, NAAIMS) occurred between 1969 and 1972.

Mohammed Moin Siddiqui, a statistics professor at Colorado State University, took charge as AMSE’s first president. This association was composed of professionals, paraprofessionals and near-professionals in science engineering and technology-related fields who were motivated by their common faith to disseminate their skills and abilities for the common good. Siddiqui was succeeded

by Ahmad El-Abiad (Purdue University).

ANNUAL CONFERENCES Annual conferences and the Muslim Scientists journal (est. 1970) enabled AMSE members to get together in person and in print. Originally an MSA affiliate, in 1981 it became a constituent organization of ISNA. One of the earliest distinguished conference speakers was I. H. Usmani (chairman, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission), who spoke at an event in Houston. Plant

Sustainability and Islamic Perspective, Annual Convention 2015.

A NEW PHASE

pathologist Islam Siddiqui, later chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative under President Obama, also presented.

Beginning in the late 1980s, AMSE began to co-locate its conferences jointly with AMSS. The 1989 conference, entitled “Developments in Science and Technology Transferable to the Third World,” was held at SUNY College at Brockport. Mukhlesur Rahman (Eastman Kodak Co.) served as conference chair, with Syed Imtiaz Ahmad (Eastern Michigan University) as AMSE president. Imtiaz Ahmad was reelected the following year, along with Mohammad Zohdy (Oakland University, Mich.) and Salah Feteih (Florida State University) as vice president and secretary, respectively.

The following year the Annual AMSE Conference on “Technological Issues and Development in the 1990s” was held in Detroit. In 1991, Mohammad Zohdy took over as president when Imtiaz Ahmad resigned in order to serve as ISNA’s president. AMSE’s executive council elected member-at-large Iqbal Unus to fill the newly vacant post.

The 1993 annual conference, held in San Jose, Calif., featured major session topics on microelectronics, communication, networking and computer engineering.

Mukhles Rahman (Santa Clara University), Sayed Nassar (Lawrence Tech University, Mich.), Salah Feteih (Florida State University), Program Chairman Ali Selim (South Dakota State University) and Mohamed Zohdi (Oakland University) all served as chairs. Faisal Haq and Ali Emam (Santa Clara University), Amr Mohsen (Aptex Corp.), Irfan Saadat (National Semiconductor Corp.), (the late) Mahboob Khan (Advanced Micro Devices Inc.) and H. Al-Khatib and Fouad Al-Khatib (Santa Clara University) presented papers.

In 1980 AMSE became a member of the Council of Presidents of MSA and the three professional associations in preparation for MSA’s transition to ISNA. The council later founded the Foundation for International Development (FID) with AMSE as the lead organization. In 1994, FID/AMSE cosponsored a conference on ethics and values in science and engineering at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Its proceedings were published as a special issue of International Journal of Science & Technology (IJST), a successor publication to The Muslim Scientist journal. Imtiaz Ahmad (Eastern Michigan University) served as the editor-in-chief, ElSayed Orady (University of MichiganDearborn) as associate editor-in-chief and Iqbal Unus as executive editor.

and Iqbal Unus from the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), M. Yaqub Mirza and M.A. K Lodhi (Texas Tech University) were the leading participants.

Jamal Naqvi, formerly of Ontario Power, edited the conference papers’ proceedings at a later date.

In Indonesia, Minister of Science and Technology B. J. Habibe, who later became the country’s vice president and then president, led the formation of the Islamic International Forum for Science, Technology and Human Resources (IIFTIHAR). AMSE participated as a founding member in the August 1997 meeting of its executive council meeting and made recommendations.

Professor Ali Mazrui (d. 2014) was the guest speaker on “The Muslim Perspective on Science and Technology: An American Context” at a 1998 dinner event in

OVER THE YEARS, AMSE’S CONFERENCES HAVE ATTRACTED HIGH-ACHIEVING ACADEMICS AND PROFESSIONALS DESPITE MAINTAINING A LOW ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE. MUSLIM SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS HAVE WELCOMED AND APPRECIATED THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THEIR EXPERTISE WITH THEIR PEERS AND INSPIRE YOUNG MUSLIMS TO LEARN AND BE GUIDED BY THEIR SUCCESSES. An early outstanding conference, jointly organized with the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) and held at Purdue University during the early 1980s, resulted in two publications. Among the several presenters was the well-known author and futurist Ziauddin Sardar. Another jointly held annual conference was held at the State University of New York Binghamton, with Amr Mohsen as AMSE president.

In 1995, under Mohammad Zohdy’s presidentship, the annual conference committee decided that AMSE should open up more channels in order to develop itself as a “cyber-association.”

That year’s annual conference was held during October at Chicago’s East West University. In December, AMSE and IIUM organized the Second General Conference on “Islamization of Attitude and Practice in Science and Technology.” Its preparatory meeting was held in Binghamton, where (the late) Jamal Barzinji, Hisham Altalib,

Washington, D.C. Philip R. Lee, U.S. assistant secretary for science policy, also spoke.

On July 17, 2000, IIFTIHAR and AMSE organized a seminar on “Science and Technology in the Arab World.” Abdullah Al Najjar presented a paper on the way forward.

In mid-October, the annual conference focused on “Engineering, Science and Technology for the New Millennium” at Georgetown University. AMSE president Elsayed Orady, Iqbal Unus (IIFTIHAR), Yaqub Mirza (Sterling Management Group) and Imtiaz Ahmed (Eastern Michigan University) presented papers. In 2004, Khurshid Qureshi (Zeewaves, Inc.), Iqbal Unus and M. Jalaluddin (Ansar Financial Group) served as AMSE president, secretary and treasurer, respectively.

Although most AMSE conferences were held in the Midwest, two groups of active members organized conferences on the West Coast. For example, “Information Technology and the World of Islam” was

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 25

COVER STORY the theme of the 1999 ISNA-sponsored conference organized and operated by AMSE in Santa Clara. Participants discussed the Internet’s growing role and potential in the Muslim world. Abid Malik (Unibyte, Inc.) served as conference chair, while Salman Azhar (Duke University) served as the program chair. Prominent Islamic scholars Hamza Yousuf and Muzammil Siddique, (the late) Dilnawaz Siddiqui (Clarion University), Parvez Manzoor (Sweden) and Abdul Wahab El Meseri (Egypt) spoke.

CO-LOCATING WITH ISNA CONVENTIONS Since 1999, all AMSE conferences have been co-located with ISNA’s annual convention.

While all of its sessions are published in ISNA program booklet, the association manages them as a conference. The 1999 ISNA co-located AMSE conference on “Science, Technology and Entrepreneurship” was moderated by AMSE president Elsayed Orady (University of Michigan, Dearborn).

Among the speakers were S. Jamal Naqvi, Salah Feteih, Tariq Shamim (University of Michigan-Dearborn), Iqbal Unus and Syed Imtiaz Ahmad (Eastern Michigan University; chair, AMSE Board of Advisors).

Over the years, AMSE’s conferences have attracted high-achieving academics and professionals despite maintaining a low organizational profile. Muslim scientists and engineers have welcomed and appreciated the opportunity to share their expertise with their peers and inspire young Muslims to learn and be guided by their successes.

This sentiment was reflected during the evaluation session at the end of one such conference, when a professor who had been involved in its organization, proclaimed, “I have attended and organized many professional conferences, but now having participated in an AMSE conference, I feel as if I have come home.”

More recently, AMSE’s 2008 annual conference in Columbus, Ohio, focused on topics such as “Knowledge Infrastructure Development Through ICT in Developing Countries,” “Nanotechnology-based Infra­ structure Development” and “Improving Science and Technology Education in Developing Countries.” M. S. Alam (University of South Alabama), S. Jeelani (Tuskegee University), S. Imtiaz Ahmad (Eastern Michigan University), K. A. Qureshi (Technology Infrastructure Group, Inc.), Zarjon Baha (Purdue University) and

Professor Samir Iqbal of the University of Texas at Rio Grand Valley speaks at the 2018 AMSET session on “Nanaotechnology.”

Muslim Viewpoints on Biology and Evolution Past and Present, Annual Convention Sept. 2015.

Afzal Hossain (Nanova Corp.) were some of the speakers.

The next year’s annual conference, held in Washington, D.C., featured several panel sessions, including “Improving Science and Technology Education in Developing Countries,” “Telecom Infrastructure Development in Developing Countries” and “Renewable/alternative Energy for Developing Countries.” A prominent speaker was Saifur Rahman (Virginia Tech Research Center).

During the last decade, entrepreneurial and ethical issues began to draw the increasing attention of conference planners as enterprising Muslim scientists and engineers continued to establish independent businesses or research projects. In response, AMSE organized its first-ever Muslim Entrepreneurs Showcase in collaboration with Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals (CAMP) during its 2010 conference in Chicago. The event featured the successful Muslim technology entrepreneurs Omar Ahmad, Monis Rahman and Shaherose Charania, who discussed the keys to their successes and offered tips for other Muslim professionals.

Gul Afshan spoke on “Emerging Technologies and Ethical Issues,” G. Ali Manssori talked about “Nanotechnology and Nanobiotechnology and Related Ethical

26 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Issues,” Shahid Siddiqui spoke on “Genes and Environment: Micromanaging Human Development and Disease” and Ibrahim AbdulMatin explored “Green Deen: What Islam Teaches about Protecting Planet Earth.”

The 2012 conference, held in the same city, included several panel sessions and attracted speakers who focused on a global perspective of renewable and sustainable energy development along with enhancing STEM and higher educational opportunities in developing countries. Among the speakers were Osman Shinaishin (National Science Foundation), S. Jeelani (Tuskegee University), Iqbal Unus (IIIT), M. Ataul Karim (Old Dominion University), Kala Meah (York College of Pennsylvania), Sadrul Ula (University of California-Riverside), Khurram Khan Afridi (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Samir El-Ghazaly (University of Arkansas).

GROWING INTO AMSET Until the turn of the 21st century, most AMSE members came from universities or research institutions; a smaller number were researchers and managers in industry.

With the growth of the Information Age and increasing employment opportunities in the computer industry, AMSE attracted many members from IT and related fields. In recognition of this, the association reorganized itself as the Association of Muslim Scientists, Engineers and Technology Professionals (AMSET) and in 2013 was incorporated in Indiana with new articles and bylaws. Saiyid Masroor Shah (Evansville Cancer Center) took over as interim president, followed by Affan Badar (Indiana State University) and Sohel Anwar (Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis), its current president (2018-19).

At the 2013 annual conference, among the significant topics examined were

Purdue professor Ashraful Alam talks on “Synthesis of Biology and Electronics” at the 2017 AMSET session at the 53rd ISNA Annual Convention.

those related to sustainability and the Islamic perspective. Nina Firman (Green Faith) presented “Our Common Future: Sustainable Development in the Islamic Perspective” and Huda Alkaff (Wisconsin Islamic Environmental Group) spoke on “Connecting Faith and Sustainability: Water Stewardship and Climate Justice.”

On the “Muslim Viewpoints on Biology and Evolution, Past and Present” panel, pediatrician and writer T. O. Shanavas addressed “Evolution as Discussed by preDarwin Muslim Scientists and Philosophers” and Salman Hameed (Hampshire College) talked about “Currently Held Views of Creation among Muslims and Their Reasoning against Evolution.”

Under “Connecting the Science of Evolutionary Biology and the Teachings of Islam,” Ehab Abouheif (McGill University) presented on “The Modern Theory of the Origin of Species and a Review of Factual Evidence for Evolution” and Fatimah Jackson (Howard University) talked about “Macro-evolution and Micro-evolution: The Evolution of Modern Humans.”

“Trends in Technology and Social Change,” the theme of AMSET’s 2014 conference in Dearborn, saw Yaqub Mirza and Miles Davis (Shenandoah University) addressing “An Islamic Model of Technology-based

Entrepreneurship: What Does it Look Like?” which was the following year’s conference theme as well. Houssaine Waled (KUKA Robotics) and physician Mona Elsayed Orady (Michigan) addressed “Robotics/Artificial Intelligence: What Does the Future Look Like?” and Mohammed N. Islam and Zahed Huq (Michigan) explored “The Information Superhighway.”

Munir Ahmad (chair, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission) was a guest speaker. AMSET published a conference newsletter based on the papers presented.

When the new leadership took the reins of the re-organized AMSET, where “T” represents technology professionals, attention turned to new technological approaches. In 2015 in Chicago, the conference took up Islamic perspectives as its theme and dealt with topics such as “Sustainability and an Islamic Perspective,” “Muslim Viewpoints on Biology and Evolution: Past and Present” and “Connecting the Science of Evolutionary Biology and the Teachings of Islam.” As career advice by accomplished Muslim professionals in AMSET-relevant fields to young professionals was considered an unmet need, the following year featured career and business development.

AMSET conferences have dealt with many subjects. In 2016 Tanvir Arfi (Solera Holdings) addressed “Uncommon Leadership: Charting a Successful Career Path” while entrepreneur Ghalib Begg explored “Get up and Grab the Opportunities the Modern Economy is Offering and be Leaders through Modern Entrepreneurship.”

Under an overall discussion of “Biological Machines and Bio-Sensors: An Islamic Perspective” in 2017, Taher Saif (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) talked

about “Engineered Living Machines,” while Muhammad Alam (Purdue University) explored “How a Synthesis of Biology and Electronics May Transform the World As We Know It .” Rasheed Rabbi (iTek Corp.) spoke on “Connecting Muslims on the Cyberspace,” while Mohammad Quasem (Howard University) focused on “Cybersecurity and the Muslim Contribution to Science.”

At the 2018 conference in Houston, speakers focused on “New Frontiers in Cancer Diagnostics and Biosensors,” “Cybersecurity: Impact on American Muslims” and “Global Climate Change: The Islamic Declaration and Its Role.”

With 50 years under its belt, AMSET is now poised for a more visible presence among Muslim academics, professionals and the community. Although its resources are very limited, its potential is not. The new leadership has to redefine AMSET’s role as it reshapes its relationship with Muslims at large.

With complex issues calling for scientific, engineering and technology solutions rooted in ethical foundations, AMSET has its role cut out for it. As it embarks upon its journey for the next 50 years, its potential can and must fulfill its promise.

“It’s time to reenergize our membership and rejuvenate AMSET,” says current AMSET president Sohel Anwar. “I invite you to participate in this venture. There is a world of good that our fellow Muslim scientists and engineers can do for fellow citizens and society in North America and abroad. We cannot afford to fall short.” ih Iqbal Unus is a former president of AMSE, and Abu Sayed Mahfuz is a former secretary of AMSET.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 27

SERVICE TO HUMANITY

Great Expectations

but also enable youth to spend their time productively — thereby protecting them from those who don’t have their wellbeing in mind.

For example, MY Family Pantry feeds more than 100 needy families each week in partnership with the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.

“Right now, MY Family Pantry gets 20 to 25 volunteers,” Abid reports. “At least 80 percent of them come every week.”

These dedicated volunteers sort and package donations from the food bank and distribute them every Saturday.

They do the prep work at the nonprofit’s multifunctional thrift store, MY Deah’s Store, in Columbus. This store also has another function: to serve as an office and training space for local youth. The money earned helps fundraise for its other initiatives, so the organization doesn’t need to completely rely on donations.

“One thing I decided very early was to take Goodwill as our model. [MY Deah’s Store] will work as our main hub,” Abid says. “But hopefully, it will also raise some money and support our organization.”

The store’s name honors Deah Barakat, one of the three young Muslims shot execution-style in his own home in Zerqa Abid visits the US Senate North Carolina during 2015. Before Abid as various types of trauma. moved to Ohio, she had lived in Raleigh and When preparing for the launch, Abid become close friends with the family. They knew she had to focus on these issues. She had worked together to establish an Islamic and her team developed multiple initiatives: school, and she had known Deah since he a food pantry, a thrift store, a soup kitchen, was a toddler. toy drives, recreational soccer and afterIn the months leading up to February school programs like Reading Warriors, Boy 2015, Abid was totally focused on MY Scouts and others — all of which fall under Project USA. With everything set to launch the umbrella of MY Project USA. on Feb. 15, on Feb. 10 the heartbreaking These ongoing programs not only news about the Chapel Hill murders made provide basic needs like food and clothing, national headlines.

Zerqa Abid’s MY Project USA empowers future Muslim American leaders

BY HABEEBA HUSAIN

A

ny mother will tell you that her most important job is to protect and empower her children. For Zerqa Abid, founder of MY Project USA (https://www.myprojectusa.org), this “job” encompasses not only her three daughters, but also extends far beyond the walls of her Columbus, Ohio, home.

“I’m a mother, and it makes me so emotional any time I see one of my youth becoming somebody,” says Abid.

Over the past five-plus years, Abid has allowed her maternal instincts to permeate her community. She has invested her efforts in establishing her nonprofit MY Project USA, which combats drugs, alcohol, bullying, trafficking, gang violence and similar problems that threaten many of the area’s youth.

“If you want to prevent human trafficking or drugs or crime in an innercity neighborhood, you have to address the root causes first,” she states — security, hunger, unemployment and the lack of youth programs, to name a few.

“All of that matters,” especially for refugees, immigrants and other at-risk populations that find it hard to enter mainstream society due to cultural and language barriers as well

Six of youth leaders met with Columbus City Council President Shannon Granville Hardin (4th from right).

28 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Volunteers for the Eid Pantry on June 1 where 285 families went home each with a cart full of food in time for Eid.

To prevent something like this from ever happening again, Abid is doing on-the-ground developmental work. She takes the youth under her wing, protects and empowers them so they can grow into true recognition-worthy leaders that our community so desperately needs.

“How many of these youth are getting this work done better than I could do it? That’s the best part,” Abid says. “We are producing a core bunch of youth from different ethnicities, from different financial backgrounds, to become leaders and advocates for their own community.”

WHILE HER PLATE SEEMS QUITE FULL, SHE Her organization also devotes some STILL MANAGES TO MAKE ROOM FOR MORE. of its resources to families by offering parenting workshops, free counseling IN THE WORKS RIGHT NOW ARE ESTABLISHING services and a help hotline.

YOUTH PROGRAMS IN NEIGHBORING DAYTON, A While her plate seems quite full, she still manages to make room for more.

SHELTER AND AN OUTREACH PROGRAM TO HELP In the works right now are establishing TRAFFICKING VICTIMS. youth programs in neighboring Dayton, a shelter and an outreach program to help trafficking victims. If these new initiatives replicate their precursors, then it’s safe to “What I love is … producing honest, efficient, capable assume they too will see success.

“Masha’ Allah the community has completely changed. Of Muslim and non-Muslim youth leaders,” Abid stresses. “Our store is under Deah’s name. It reminds me of Deah, Yusor, and course there are issues … but it is a safer neighborhood. The Razan, and it makes me very emotional.” crime rate has gone way down,” she notes. “The authorities, Abid feels very strongly about the need for proper the city council, and the police department admit that the leadership in the Muslim community. In 2009, news broke credit goes to — alhamdulillah — MY Project USA’s presence of Bridges TV cofounder Muzzammil Hassan violently in the neighborhood.” murdering his wife, Aasiya Zubair, inside the television For those who want to follow her lead and spark change in studio. Hassan had previously been married to Abid’s cousin. their own neighborhoods, Abid has some key advice: Listen Aware of his extremely abusive behavior, she tried to warn and respect the youth. “Give a lot of space to the youth, trust those organizations that would invite and recognize him as them … respect them as your equal. You have to crush your an honorable Muslim American leader of who he really was. own ego as an adult … When you give them space, they will do so much more than you ever expected.” ih “I was told that he’s doing a good thing,” Abid says.

After the horrible news broke, Abid’s blog post about how Islamic organizations failed to check Hassan’s background Habeeba Husain, a freelance journalist based in New York/New Jersey, contributes to SLAM Magazine, blogs for Why-Islam and is social media manager for WuduGear. and honored him when he deserved no platform at all. It soon Her work has also appeared in Narrative.ly and MuslimGirl.com, aiming other online and print publications. went viral.

She immediately flew there to attend the funeral for “Our Three Winners”: Deah, his wife Yusor, and her younger sister Razan.

Months later at the annual ISNA Convention, she met with Deah’s father, Nami Barakat. As per his request, the thrift store was set up in Deah’s name, and within its doors Muslim youth are following in the murdered trio’s footsteps of serving their community and being upstanding citizens.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 29

FAMILY LIFE

Toward Peaceful Families Muslim community leaders are poised to address domestic violence

BY KHALID IQBAL

I

t was the wrong decision from the very beginning, a complete mismatch.

She was only 18; he was more than twice her age. She was full of life and laughter; he was serious and wouldn’t even smile. A professor at the local university, he had students that were older than his wife.

It started early in their marriage — during their honeymoon, in fact. He lost it and hit her for something so minor that it was forgotten by the next day. She cried all night while he slept. In the morning, she tried to hide the bruises on her face with makeup and the hijab. Like an obedient Eastern wife, she had breakfast ready for him even before he woke up. He pretended that nothing happened and tried making up by forcing her to hug and kiss him.

The violence continued and escalated from that point onward. She remembers one night running to the neighbor’s house for protection. They helped her get to her parents’ home — they sent her right back to him, after lecturing her about what society will say and that people will gossip.

Worried about her younger sisters and their marriage prospects, her parents told her “the girls in our culture should obey and respect their husbands no matter what.”

After being totally humiliated, she felt utterly alone, hurt and disappointed because there

was no one she could turn to for help, not even her own family.

After that, her life became miserable.

Her husband continued to beat her and verbally taunt her by saying that her family had abandoned her and wasn’t on her side.

The beating became more frequent.

He gradually isolated her from her family and friends. Before her marriage she had been very social and active in many aspects of life. Now he forbade her to participate in any community activity or even to log on to social media. She could use her phone only with his permission and could only to call people of whom he approved. Soon she felt like a prisoner in her own home, isolated and miserable, unable to attend any social gatherings that included her family or friends.

She suffered in silence for 18 years, believing that such was her destiny. He even abused her during her pregnancy.

Her children witnessed their mother being punished and beaten for no reason.

But this all changed one day when he started to punish her by hitting their 16-yearold daughter. This daughter stood up to her father and went to her grandparents, promising to never return. The children made their mother realize that she needed to stand for her right and that of the children to be treated with love and respect.

30 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

The sad part of this story is that both sets of parents and families, as well as many other family and community members, knew what was going on and did nothing about it. The imam and several community elders were watching from a distance but undertook no preventive action. In fact, the imam and some of the elders she approached actually questioned her, saying that he was such a respectable and nice person that she must be doing something to make him so angry … that things would improve only if she stopped provoking him.

Constantly depressed and in a state of extreme low self-esteem, she started blaming herself and feeling that the world was against her. Many times she thought of committing suicide, but refrained from doing so because she believed it was against Islam. She was living only for her children’s future.

She felt liberated after her teenage children forced her to move away from the situation. No longer feeling like walking on eggshells, she now she has a job that she likes and pays for her and children’s expenses.

She still is not sure if he will be willing to divorce her or if she will have to initiate the divorce (khula) and be liberated from his torture forever, especially since the imam has been on his side.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS A SERIOUS COMMUNITY ISSUE Domestic violence is just as prevalent in Muslim communities as in all other communities. The difference appears to be culture, which often plays a major role in how it is perceived and handled. So many victims suffer silently for years, even for life, because it is a taboo topic. Community leaders and imams, usually the first line of defense in domestic violence, often emphasize and push for patience, tolerance and reconciliation — and end up sending the victim back home.

At a conference held in Michigan in October 2018, with another session on premarital counseling in February 2019 and then a session with a local judge held in June 2019 on domestic violence, participants heard from the victims, mental health providers and experts. As a result, they learned and realized that they needed more expert advice from lawyers, local police officers and even judges. Many imams have also begun enforcing effective prevention measures.

Almost a year later, the Imams Council issued some actions and recommendations:

◆ All-inclusive effort: The it was beneficial and helped them pervasiveness of domestic navigate their marital issues.

A good course not only deals violence requires that religious leaders from all faiths and sects with understanding the Quran be included. and Sunnah, but also provides ◆ Proclamation: Shia and guidance on resolving disputes Sunni imams have written and and encourages open and valusigned a proclamation that able conversations with each outlines specific preventative other, the in-laws and other family members. It also highmeasures (reproduced here). ◆ Don’t prejudge victims: lights the couple’s key compatListen to the merits of each ibility points and possible red victim’s case and then provide flags that need attention. actual support.

During or after the course, we make recommendations ◆ Knowledge from experts: Listen to the relevant experts, based on the information prosuch as domestic violence coun­ vided by the couples and during the sessions. Couples that show selors, lawyers, police officers possible incompatibility or have and judges. ◆ Educate the community other issues are advised to reconthrough khutbas, conferences sider or at least postpone their and workshops. Regular khutbas marriage until the issues can be and programs will help its resolved in a mutually agreemembers to recognize, discuss able way. I am sure the outcome and the common symptoms and would have been different for the signs. above-mentioned couple if they had attended a good premarital ◆ Work with other faith course. groups. Build a resource list of mental health providers, Domestic violence needs to organizations that assist with be addressed by all community IN FACT, THE IMAM AND domestic violence and anger members. Parents must ensure SOME OF THE ELDERS SHE prevention, women’s shelters and that their children marry a person legal aid for victims. Maintain a who has no history of or tendency APPROACHED ACTUALLY strong relationship with local law toward anger or domestic vioQUESTIONED HER, SAYING enforcement and the relevant lence. Imams, community elders and leaders should not limit their police departments.

THAT HE WAS SUCH A activities to either listening to or ◆ Educate the perpetrators through spiritual guidance helping the victims, but rather RESPECTABLE AND NICE and referring them to anger realize that it is time for them to PERSON THAT SHE MUST BE management courses. Such actively pressure all perpetrators activities follow the hadith of to end their aggressive behavior.

DOING SOMETHING TO MAKE our Prophet Muhammad (salla workshops and khutbas HIM SO ANGRY … THAT THINGS Regular Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), who told on the topic will also help.

Muslims to help both the victim Many mosque officials now WOULD IMPROVE ONLY IF SHE require that the prospective and perpetrator by educating and STOPPED PROVOKING HIM. groom and bride attend a prepressuring him/her to stop all such violence. marital course before agreeing to marry them. I hope that all other ◆ Encourage support for institutions that help victims: mosques will follow suit and make Many such institutions suffer from a lack should form close working relationships such a course mandatory. ih of volunteer and financial support from the with child protection agencies.

Khalid Iqbal, a former ISNA vice-president (1990-2000), is a local community. community activist whose passion is family development. He ◆ Support and counseling for children: PREMARITAL COURSES has authored “Anger and Domestic Violence Prevention Guide Imams and counselors should seek training The evidence proves that good premari- for Muslims,” conducts an anger management course based so that they can create special support tal courses have caused couples to discuss on the Quran and Sunna, and has developed an eight-hour course for Muslim couples. In addition to being programs and counseling geared toward such domestic violence and similar issues before premarital the founder and director of the nonprofit Rahmaa Institute couples’ children who may be suffering from their marriage. Almost all of the couples that (www.rahmaa.org), he has also been involved with local and depression and suicidal thoughts. Muslims have gone through our own course say that national nonprofit and service organizations.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 31

Doomed from the Start Do converts push themselves into marriage too soon?

BY AMIRAH J. GLOVER

I

felt like a runaway being forced to return home, since that’s exactly what I did. I ran away, packing only the essentials, including my three children. I had no intention of coming back, and yet here I was on a chilly April afternoon stealing glances at my sun-kissed husband while our kids jump and cling to him like magnets. Being five months pregnant, I stand on the fractured sidewalk in front of our building while he and my sister unload the luggage from her car.

I’ve been ordered not to touch anything heavy, so I distract myself by making sure that my nearly 2-year old son doesn’t wander into the street, even though he knows well enough not to do so. At the same time, I’m seething from taking in his darkened skin tone, which at the moment looks out of place. The betrayal is so flagrant that I wonder “How is this even real?”

After piecing together my husband’s

year-long secret life, I had decided to leave for good. He’d been gone for several days by the time I discovered he was on a cruise with his mistress instead of at a spiritual retreat upstate. Before I know it, I’m on a Greyhound bus to Boston, flanked by a toddler and two preschoolers. I’m picked up by my younger sister and spend the next two weeks at her home in the quiet suburbs of New Hampshire.

It’s a welcome respite from the city, and yet I couldn’t be more miserable. The air is heavy with smells signaling the birth of Spring while the death of my marriage looms. I soon realize that I shouldn’t have been surprised. In discovering my husband’s infidelity, I knew I had only myself to blame.

I wasn’t prepared.

I met my husband shortly after moving to New York City in late 2009. He had converted five years earlier after meeting his first

32 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

wife; however, the marriage hadn’t lasted.

Eight months into our courtship, I took my shahada to formally enter into Islam.

My decision had much to do with having little connection with the Christianity I had grown up with and wanting to get married to the man I loved.

At the year mark, we made it official.

Community members from our mosque told me that we should have an agreed-upon contract, including a mahr (dowry). I had no idea what a dowry was, nor had I ever bothered to ask. I left it up to my husband to do the explaining, which amounted to what I wanted him to buy me. Instead of putting our agreed-upon marital guidelines on paper, we briefly discussed one another’s expectations, which were few. Such an unconsidered start would prove to be disastrous.

I had no idea what it meant to be a wife, having been raised in a single-parent household where I learned about marriage through television. Even as a child I knew that there was an element of fantasy to the couples I saw on sitcoms and in movies. As far as I was concerned, two-parent households and healthy relationships were rare.

As a convert, my perception of marriage shifted dramatically and I began to

FAMILY LIFE understand the importance of family and traditional roles. For this reason, my expectations were high. However, soon after our first child was born I began to see that neither of us were truly prepared or had anticipated what was in store.

I had grossly underestimated the importance of choosing a spouse. My decision to get married was primarily based on how I felt, not on what qualities would prove to be valuable down the road. I hadn’t taken into account that he was going to be a role model for our children. I slowly realized that what hadn’t bothered me before now posed a threat to their spiritual and emotional well-being, and was finding it difficult to cultivate an Islamic family environment.

converts for marriage — those who no one finds suitable to marry are seen as suitable for new converts, which is incredibly unjust.”

Taking the time to truly understand the faith is essential, since it determines how spouses will conduct themselves. But when we lack education, it can easily lead us into trouble.

Majeeda Abdur-Rahman, secretary at Masjid At-Taqwa in the heart of [predominantly African-American] BedStuy [Bedford–Stuyvesant], Brooklyn, remarks that out of the several cases of marriage issues she deals with every month, at least three are rooted in infidelity. “You have these brothers who are entertaining other women under the guise of polygyny,” she says. “The men have this disconnect and it becomes a free-for-all, the justification being [that] we can have more TAKING THE TIME TO TRULY UNDERSTAND THE than one wife. But this requires discipline and proper knowledge, which many in our FAITH IS ESSENTIAL, SINCE IT DETERMINES community lack.”

She explains how brothers (and sisters) HOW SPOUSES WILL CONDUCT THEMSELVES. bring cultural baggage into these new BUT WHEN WE LACK EDUCATION, IT CAN relationships where adultery as well as emotional and physical abuse are common EASILY LEAD US INTO TROUBLE. — problems that could have been tempered by a preemptive course in the basics of Islam and marriage. According to her, a strong wali I often contemplated divorce. Still, I was determined to (male guardian) system, which, at the moment, she sees as maintain our marriage, as divorce is a last and final resort. I nearly nonexistent, can alleviate this. “The wali system is out saw our problems as something that could be easily rectified the window. When a couple is ready to get married, they don’t if we just made more of an effort. I needed to become a better want to impede the process,” she remarks. “Also, good, balanced wife, to focus on the positive and do my best to accept his walis who are prompt and efficient and not driven by ego are shortcomings for the sake of God and for my children. I would hard to come by.”

Traditionally, a wali, usually the prospective bride’s father, NOT become a single mother.

The problem was, it was a one-sided struggle. I listened to brother or uncle, would vet possible suitors while keeping her lectures, read books and even took a marriage course online. best interests in mind. However, in most convert communities, My husband thought that it was enough to be affectionate, kind, this often long-but-necessary process is overlooked and lacking generous and thoughtful, to name some of his better qualities. in significant areas.

However, he tended to operate from a place of fear, anger and It’s easy to see, then, how converts can be at a great disadloathing, which mostly had to do with a rough upbringing. vantage when seeking a spouse. From the beginning there is an We had very different communication styles, and I would absence of community, and cultivating a network takes time. often find myself on the receiving end of some harsh insults It can be tempting to become quickly involved with someone whenever conflicts arose. He knew this was a problem, would when you’re lonely and in need of common bonds. But as we apologize and promise to do better. But things didn’t change. can see, marriage is not something to be taken lightly.

Even more apparent is that no one is immune to dysfuncIt was frustrating at best, psychologically corrosive at worst.

This both created distance and ate away at the love I had once tional relationships. I’d be lying if I said I have no regrets. I wish had for him.

I’d done things differently, had had guidance and a stronger Many female converts find themselves in a similar pre- understanding of Islam. I wish I’d taken my time. But despite dicament. It’s an unfortunate but common occurrence — a this, I find comfort in the fact that God, who is Wise and woman becomes involved with a Muslim man, converts and Merciful, doesn’t make mistakes.

I am blessed with three wonderful children for whom my decides to get married, not fully understanding what she’s getting into and uneducated about rights, expectations and love is infinite. And as I near the end of my fourth pregnancy and a nine-year marriage, I reflect and try to find lessons to be even her future husband.

Nuriddeen Knight, author, speaker on contemporary issues learned, changes to be made. When faced with challenges, we affecting the Muslim community and Yaqeen Institute (https:// need to consider the hadith reported by Abu Hurayra: “When yaqeeninstitute.org) fellow, agrees that marriage is pushed on Allah desires good for someone, He tries them with hardships” converts too soon. “One of our beloved teachers told us that (“Sahih al-Bukhari,” hadith no. 5321). ih converts should wait around two years before getting married Amirah J. Glover, a New York City-based freelance writer and mother, has contributed so they can learn more about themselves and the religion,” to numerous print and online publications covering everything from fashion to food she states. “Also, often the worst of Muslims are pushed on to and to spirituality.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 33

FEATURE

Excuses to Create Otherness How local governments use zoning and land use regulations to discriminate against religious assembly

BY FRANKLIN ZEMEL AND ARIEL DERAY

them unwittingly fail to protect their clients.

To note, the First Amendment says: “One is not to have the exercise of his liberty of expression in appropriate places abridged on the plea that it may be exercised in some other place.”

PRIOR RESTRAINT

T

he Islamic Society of Basking Ridge (ISBR) purchased property located in the Township of Bernards, N.J., for a mosque. Because the town’s zoning code did not permit “churches” as a matter of right, the mosque sought a permit for religious assembly.

After dozens of hearings and intense neighborhood opposition, the application was denied on the grounds that the town’s parking requirements should be applied differently for mosques than for “churches.”

Its zoning code required a 3:1 ratio for seats in the assembly area and the number of parking spots. The mosque’s maximum seating capacity is 150, and thus it only had to provide 50 parking spaces.

However, the town denied the application on the grounds that 107 parking spaces were required because the 3:1 ratio was acceptable for “churches,” but not for mosques. Even though the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ultimately rejected the town’s argument, the ISBR suffered years of unnecessary delay.

While the many obvious cases of local government discrimination against

religious assembly are easily documented, the unreported subtle discrimination is even more invidious. This is because many places of worship are unaware of such unlawful discrimination.

The planners need to be aware of all the warning signs that impact zoning decisions when it comes to religious land use.

THE “SPECIAL EXCEPTION” OR “CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT” Local governments ubiquitously regulate property use via zoning and land use regulations. The uses of property are permitted as a matter of right, prohibited or permitted with the local government’s approval on a case-by-case basis. This last category is the most susceptible to unlawful discrimination and abuse.

When it comes to religious assembly, which is a First Amendment-protected activity, local governments repeatedly fail to recognize or refuse to accept that their traditional decision-making processes are plainly unconstitutional. And, because most land use lawyers are not trained to apply the First Amendment to such decisions, many of

34 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

As an example, most people don’t realize that whenever people are required to ask local government for permission to exercise their First Amendment-protected rights, these permission-seeking regulations are presumed to be both unconstitutional and unlawful.

Historically, local governments repeatedly denied permits to civil rights groups that wanted to organize a march or other groups that wanted to protest the Vietnam War. The U.S. Supreme Court declared these permission-based schemes to be a “prior restraint” against First Amendment-protected activity and therefore unconstitutional. In fact, it proclaimed that whenever a person is required to ask the local government’s permission to exercise his or her First Amendment rights, those

WHEN IT COMES TO RELIGIOUS ASSEMBLY, WHICH IS A FIRST AMENDMENT-PROTECTED ACTIVITY, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS REPEATEDLY FAIL TO RECOGNIZE OR REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT THEIR TRADITIONAL DECISIONMAKING PROCESSES ARE PLAINLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL. regulations must be clear and objective without any level of discretion or subjectivity whatsoever: “A law subjecting the exercise of First Amendment freedoms to the prior restraint of a license without narrow, objective, and definite standards to guide the licensing authority, is unconstitutional.”

Accordingly, when a religious assembly seeks the local government’s “permission” to exercise its First Amendment-protected rights, the regulations must be clear, precise, objective and without discretion. Be sure to look for telltale signs of a prior restraint.

Some examples of regulations that are likely unlawful are: ◆ That the use is “compatible” with the existing natural environment and other properties within the vicinity. ◆ That there will be “adequate” provision for safe traffic movement, both vehicular and pedestrian, both internal to the use and in the area that will serve the use. ◆ That there are “adequate” setbacks, buffering and general amenities to control any adverse effects of noise, light, dust and other potential nuisances.

◆ That the land area is “sufficient, appropriate and adequate” for the use as proposed.

Words like “compatible,” “adequate” or “sufficient” are examples of criteria that violate the First Amendment because they are subjective and can used to discriminate based upon neighborhood opposition. To be sure, neighborhood opposition cannot play any role in the process because the decision to permit a First Amendment-protected right cannot be based on the neighbors’ opinions.

UNREASONABLE LIMITATIONS ON RELIGIOUS ASSEMBLY WITHIN A JURISDICTION Of course, prior restraints only apply in a permission-based regulatory scheme. But what about local governments that effectively bar new religious assemblies from entering their jurisdiction? Clearly, we would not expect to see a zoning regulation that clearly states: “No places of religious assembly allowed in our town.” Instead, far more subtle measures — the usual protection of the tax base, parking constraints, or traffic (either they generate too much or not enough) — can attain the same result. Therefore, know the warning signs and what to look for.

“ON RAMPS” A much-overlooked aspect of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act (RLUIPA) is the prohibition of placing “unreasonable limitations” on religious assembly within a jurisdiction. Local government obviously understand the needs of new religious assemblies, two of the most pressing of which are either renting space in a shopping center district or purchasing a home in a residential neighborhood and then converting it.

The first case to establish such a violation was Chabad of Nova, Inc. v. Cooper City in South Florida (575 F. Supp. 2d 1280). Cooper City’s regulations banned religious assembly

in all business districts while simultaneously mandating a minimum of 300 feet of road frontage from religious assemblies, irrespective of size, impact or any other factor. As a home’s average frontage was 50 feet, the city was in effect mandating that a new religious assembly must purchase the equivalent of 6 consecutive homes.

The Federal Court struck this regulation down, finding that: “While it is true that religious assemblies cannot complain when they are subject to the same marketplace for property as are all land users, religious assemblies are not participating in the same marketplace when they are required to aggregate anywhere from 2-7 times the number of properties as the average land user and required to obtain more frontage than any other non-residential uses in the same district.”

Even then, when the Court examined the ban on religious assembly in the business district, it concluded that because the city permitted movie theatres and all manner of non-religious assembly uses in the business district, the restriction was also unlawful.

So, also look for any distinctions being made between religious assembly and non-religious assembly use. These regulations are exceptionally invidious, because land use and zoning regulations are not allowed to regulate the content of the message within the assembly itself.

Most professional and lay leaders of a religious assembly know when discrimination is in the air. Now they also know when it is time to fight back. ih Franklin Zemel is a partner with Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP in Fort Lauderdale focusing on appellate law, business law, civil rights litigation, securities, antitrust, complex commercial litigation and labor and employment law.

Ariel Deray is an attorney with Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP in Fort Lauderdale assisting businesses ranging from closely held companies and family owned operations to large corporations with complex commercial litigation.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 35

ISLAM IN AMERICA

Graduation time at Miraj Islamic School.

A HERITAGE PRESERVED Muslim Albanian Americans laying a solid foundation for the community’s younger generations

BY MISBAHUDDIN MIRZA

T

he delicate, elegant and intricate sky-high minaret attempting to reach the clouds wows you as you approach the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center (AICC; www.aiccny.com/ home) near the northeastern shore of Staten Island, in New York City’s quietest borough.

The cellar and first floor of this spacious building serve as the full-time Miraj Islamic School. The main floor houses a massive, tranquil and graceful mosque with a mezzanine floor for women. Established in early 1991, the AICC is a religious and cultural organization that also offers a library, a lecture hall and janaza rituals.

As architecturaldigest.com so eloquently put it, no architectural element adds drama quite like a double-height ceiling, for such high ceilings open up an array of architectural design possibilities and thereby create the perfect setting for high-impact decor. In addition to its ceiling, this beautiful mosque’s stylish marble minbar, grand mihrab (niche), neat carpeting rows and a second Ottomanstyle tall wooden minbar used for the Friday khutba has created an amazingly peaceful and relaxing atmosphere.

The mosque has five imams, including a hafiz al-Quran. Islamic Horizons interviewed two of them, Imam Ferid Bedrolli

and Imam Dr. Tahir Kukaj, both of whom are Kosovars (i.e., natives of Kosovo).

Kosovars consider themselves Albanians, even though it, along with several regions now occupied by Greece, Montenegro and Serbia, was part of the Ottoman vilayat (province) of Albania during the five centuries of Ottoman rule. During that glorious period, Muslim Albanians were an integral part of the empire, serving in such capacities as outstanding military commanders, viziers and elite Janissary troops. A significant number of Ottoman-era Muslim Albanians migrated and settled permanently in Turkey during this period.

In response to our question of “Why, instead of staying united with the Islamic caliphate, did the Albanian Muslims choose to break away from the Ottoman Empire following the tumultuous times of World War I?” Imam Kukaj stated that this was a complex discussion, one taken at a time when the various Balkan nations and Greece, supported by the big powers, were attempting to slice off massive chunks of Albania for themselves. This had reached such an extent that foreigners managed to occupy most of Albania’s land.

Talking about the communist ruler Enver Hoxha’s brutal and highly repressive 41-year

36 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

reign, Imam Bedrolli recalled some of his anti-Islam atrocities. For example, parents had to conceal their Ramadan fasting from their children, whom the school authorities encouraged to tattle on their fasting parents, and minarets were destroyed.

The imam said that despite such ruthless and cruel measures, the country’s Muslims continued to practice secretly and teach it to their children. He said that today, the majority of Albanians despise Hoxha.

Since the 1990s switch to the democratic system, Imam Bedrolli stated that Islam has steadily and rapidly crept back into the people’s lives via the construction of massive mosques and madrasas. He also pointed out that YouTube has video clips of hundreds of thousands of Muslims performing the congregational Eid prayers in the capital city of Tirana’s Skenderbej Square.

Explaining the background of regional issues, both imams said that the Albanians, the ancient “Illyrians,” were the area’s original inhabitants. They explained that the Christian superpowers of that time brought in the Slavs to serve as mercenaries. Before the Balkan wars of the 1990s, they reminisced, Kosovo had one boys’ madrasah and 505 mosques — the Serbs destroyed half of them. Since the war’s end, the Kosovars have

Imam Abdurrahim Vardar.

not only rebuilt the destroyed mosques, but have also built an additional 500 new ones and four additional madrasahs, two of which are for girls.

During 1960-2016, the Albanian birth rate dropped from 6.49 per woman (1960) to just 1.71 per woman. Imam Bedrolli said the end of communism and the return to Islam are hopeful signs that this trend will soon start to change. The data shows that his predictions are correct, because the steadily declining birth rate had actually dropped to 1.65 in 2008, but eight years later stood at 1.71.

The Muslim Albanian Americans agree with all other Muslim Americans that the most pressing issue is preparing the younger generations to practice and spread Islam’s message in this land. These imams, like all of this community’s members, have been pursuing these twin goals in the most important way — establishing full-time Islamic schools. AICC’s Miraj Islamic School, which offers a pre-K to 12th grade education, now has 255 students — 138 girls and 117 boys.

About 300,000 Muslim Albanians now live in the U.S. An estimated 120,000 are concentrated around several well-established Albanian mosques in New York state. Other significant population centers are located in Chicago, Detroit and Boston. New Jersey, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania and other states contain smaller groups.

Islamic Horizons was present at the Miraj School’s 2019 graduation ceremony.

In addition to providing all state-mandated curriculum of sciences, math and languages, this school teaches the Quran, Islamic studies and Arabic. During prayer times, the

ABOUT 300,000 MUSLIM ALBANIANS NOW LIVE IN THE U.S. AN ESTIMATED 120,000 ARE CONCENTRATED AROUND SEVERAL WELL-ESTABLISHED ALBANIAN MOSQUES IN NEW YORK STATE. OTHER SIGNIFICANT POPULATION CENTERS ARE LOCATED IN CHICAGO, DETROIT AND BOSTON. NEW JERSEY, CONNECTICUT, WISCONSIN, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PENNSYLVANIA AND OTHER STATES CONTAIN SMALLER GROUPS. children pray together in the mosque. Seeing the efforts put into raising these beautiful Muslim children was indeed heartwarming.

On Friday, the Albanian American Muslims observe the Quranic command of setting aside their business affairs and flocking to this beautiful mosque. The muezzin’s melodious adhan fills your heart with peace. Imam Kukaj gave an inspiring

khutba in Albanian, followed by a brief English translation. Imam Abdurrahim Vardar led the prayer with an enchanting Quranic recitation.

Staten Island’s Albanian American Muslim community is clearly setting the gold standard for Muslim Americans. ih Misbahuddin Mirza, M.S., P.E., is a licensed professional engineer registered in New York and New Jersey. He served as the regional quality control engineer for the New York State Department of Transportation’s New York City Region, authored the iBook “Illustrated Muslim Travel Guide to Jerusalem” and has written for major U.S. and Indian publications.

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 37

ISLAM IN AMERICA

Preserving Muslim American History Our Duty, Our Honor

BY IMAM MICHAEL “MIKAL” SAAHIR AND EDWARD E. CURTIS IV

Warith Deen Muhammad.

Muhammad Ali, André Carson, and Julia Carson, Oct. 31, 1996.

H

istory, it is often said, is written by the winners. What is less often noted but perhaps even more true is that writing history requires original sources — the raw material out of which a historian crafts a narrative.

The search for reliable sources has always been a part of Islam. During the first century after Prophet Muhammad’s (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) death, for example, Muslims scrambled to collect akhbar (reports) about him and the Companions.

Scholars such as Ibn Ishaq, author of the most popular sira (Prophetic biography) ever written, gathered eyewitness testimonies, determined their reliability and shared them.

Collecting and interpreting historical sources is, so to speak, in our genes.

Today, an increasing number of people are working to preserve the sources necessary for studying Muslim American history and life. Joining pioneers such as Amir Muhammad, founder of America’s Islamic Heritage Museum (www.aihmuseum.org), and Sally Howell, who has helped to build the University of Michigan’s archives, both professional and community historians are making diaries, newspapers, photographs, material objects, poetry, meeting minutes and other valuable primary sources available.

Zaheer Ali of the Brooklyn Historical

The Committee to Remove All Images of the Divine (CRAID) walk.

Society is directing the “Muslims in Brooklyn,” “a multi-year, public arts and history project to amplify stories of Brooklyn’s diverse Muslim communities.”

Abbas Barzegar of CAIR, along with the Ali Vural Ak Center at George Mason University, has launched the “After Malcolm: Islam and the Black Freedom Struggle” (http://sites.gsu.edu/am) digital project to document Muslim American history after 1965.

Kayla Wheeler of Grand Valley State University and Zaid Adhami of Williams

38 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

College are working to preserve Muslim history in the Boston area. Harold Morales of Morgan State University and Katie Merriman of UNC Chapel Hill are trying to do so for Baltimore and Harlem, respectively.

Indianapolis is grateful to join this national trend.

Partnering with the IUPUI Center for Digital Scholarship, the Nur-Allah Islamic Community (http://nurallah.org) recently published the Indianapolis Imam Warith Deen Muhammad Community Digital Archive. It contains 1,344 unique items, some dozens of pages long.

Telling both a national and a local story, the archive documents the life of a congregation aligned in the 1950s with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam that, after his death in 1975, transitioned to al-Islam, as taught in the Quran and the Sunna, under the leadership of his son Imam W. Deen Mohammed.

Embarking on the project over a year ago, our first priority was to ensure that community members would decide what would go into the archive. After all, the whole point of the project was for the community to inform others of its own Muslim American journey, to share its struggles and celebrate its successes. IUPUI’s digital librarians agreed with this approach right from the beginning.

Muhammad Ali campaigning for Julia Carson , who won her 1996 run for the U.S. Congress.

After initial meetings at the library, the community hosted a forum at the mosque with the library staff. Members wanted to know who would be in charge of labeling the items — that is, who would provide the metadata. In all cases, it was explained, the donor would be in charge. Thus, those who donated hundreds of items ended up spending a significant amount of time working in the library with IUPUI staff.

The community also wanted to know how long it would take the library to digitize their valuable items. We therefore established a process to ensure their quick scanning and return.

A committee of several community members was formed and met frequently to take stock of our progress and to gather and deliver items for digitization. There were long discussions about naming the archive and the challenge of sharing sensitive information. Sometimes we went item by item, trying to determine the ethical implications of our actions. It helped that the IUPUI library and one of our members, Judge David Shaheed, brought a lot of experience and wisdom to the table.

Among the many activities documented in the archive is the community’s commitment to interfaith cooperation. For instance, the archive reveals its long engagement with the Roman Catholic group Focolare. This story is often one of mutualities – both the Muslims and their neighbors reach out to each other.

Contrary to some stereotypes of Indiana as part of an intolerant fly-over country, the archive showcases the many moments when fellow Hoosiers publicly acknowledged Muslims’ contributions to the state and the world. It documents, for example,

CRAID walk in downtown Indianapolis against racism in religion, December 1982.

Indiana Gov. Frank O’Bannon’s making Imam Mohammed an “Honorary Hoosier” in February 2008, as well as the late Rep. Julia Carson’s welcoming the local community’s support and Muhammad Ali’s visit as she first campaigned for Congress.

BEFORE AUNTIE’S SCRAPBOOKS OR A MOSQUE’S RECORDS DECAY BEYOND RECOGNITION OR ARE SIMPLY THROWN OUT WITH THE TRASH, BEFORE THE PRECIOUS MEMORIES OF GENERATIONS ARE LOST TO OLD AGE OR DEATH, ALL OF US MUST GATHER THE SOURCES OF OUR SHARED PAST.

The community’s public engagement includes fighting for and with other African American Hoosiers. For example, various newsletters from the early 1980s contain information about the struggle for greater economic opportunity and the community’s

fight for justice on behalf of a Muslim brother brutalized by the police.

Perhaps most importantly, because the archive reflects the community’s priorities, it features hundreds of photographs of men, women and children learning together, celebrating one another’s accomplishments and helping one another mourn the loss of family members. One of the best attended events throughout the years has been the annual parents’ appreciation banquet. The many smiles on people’s faces that come through in those pictures express the joy they find in one another.

Sharing that image with the rest of the country and Muslims everywhere has never been more important.

Before auntie’s scrapbooks or a mosque’s records decay beyond recognition or are simply thrown out with the trash, before the precious memories of generations are lost to old age or death, all of us must gather the sources of our shared past. Too many records are still sitting in storage. Too many thoughts are left unexpressed.

Community-based archiving needs to expand to more congregations, organizations and individuals. The digital revolution has made it so easy to document and interpret the Muslim American past. It’s our duty and our honor to do so. ih Michael “Mikal” Saahir, is resident imam at the Nur-Allah Islamic Center of Indianapolis and the author of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad: The Man Behind the Men. Since 1992, he has penned a recurring column for the Indianapolis Recorder titled Al-Islam in America, and he is a regular contributor to Muslim Journal, a national Islamic publication. He served as a firefighter with the Indianapolis Fire Department (1979-2017).

Edward E. Curtis IV is Millennium Chair of the Liberal Arts & Professor of Religious Studies, Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 39

EDUCATION

Islamic Schools Are a Community Obligation Only widespread financial support can sustain high-quality Islamic schools

BY SUFIA AZMAT

E

xactly 30 years ago, an ISNAhosted educational symposium gathered Muslim American and Canadian educators, community members and representatives from across the continent. The ensuing discussions resulted in an appointed seven-member ad hoc committee tasked with devising a mechanism for cooperation and communication among full-time Islamic schools. During November 1991, these individuals convened the first-ever full-time Islamic schools general assembly meeting in Detroit. Approximately 45 schools were represented, a constitution was ratified and the Council of Islamic Schools in North America (CISNA; www.cisnausa.org) was formed as a 501 (c)3 (tax-deductible) organization.

Today, CISNA supports Islamic schools and Islamic education in four areas: advocacy,

accreditation, professional development and outreach. The council’s primary goals are to provide a high-quality academic education and instill our faith’s rich resources and teachings into our children so they will benefit everyone.

ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH One example of CISNA’s advocacy and outreach occurred in New Jersey earlier this year — Its executive director worked with Teach NJ to form a coalition of Jewish, Islamic and Catholic schools that managed to double the nonpublic school security funding’s allocation. Teach NJ co-founder and executive committee chair Sam Moed presented recognition awards at a dinner that included Gov. Phil Murphy (D), 15 state legislators and town and county public officials to celebrate this achievement. CISNA executive director

40 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Sufia Azmat, Archdiocese of Newark leader Mary McElroy (representing the Catholic Conference) and Dr. James Smock, head of school of Timothy Christian School in Piscataway (representing the Association of Christian Schools International) were recognized for their hard work.

“I’m honored to be with all the leaders of different faith communities and elected officials, brought together tonight by Teach NJ,” Gov. Murphy proclaimed. “I applaud Teach NJ for working in coalition with schools of different faiths, to benefit all of our state’s children.”

CISNA is working to replicate these coalition efforts in other states.

The council’s outreach and advocacy efforts are supported by its affiliation with numerous state and national organizations, among them being a member of the Council of American Private Education (CAPE; http://

capenet.org) and recognized by the New York State Department of Education (the nation’s largest) as an accrediting agency. In addition to being invited to attend the National Private School Leadership meetings organized by the U.S. Dept. of Education’s Office of NonPublic Education, CISNA also advises the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Assessment of Educational Progress — the “Nation’s Report Card.”

This past year, CISNA’s executive director Sufia Azmat attended a Capitol Hill briefing conducted by the Learning Policy Institute and spoke on the role faith-based organizations can play in community partnership schools.

She also attended meetings in the Senate with the chiefs of staff of the Senate and House leaders, as well as with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. She took this opportunity to explain these schools’ vital role in educating young Muslims.

Most recently, Azmat was invited to attend a small group discussion with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Her inclusion in these platforms gives Islamic schools a stronger voice in legislation, disseminates information about Islamic education to policymakers and helps acquire resources for Islamic schools and Muslim children.

Globally, CISNA was represented at the International Congress on Islamic Education (Istanbul) and was part of a panel at the Parliament of the World’s Religions (Toronto) that discussed interfaith literacy in education.

ACCREDITATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CISNA accreditation allows the council to review and evaluate all aspects of a school’s program through an Islamic lens based on rigorous standards, as well as to measure its progress. Becoming accredited involves four steps: Verify (adherence to mission and vision), Focus (best practices in terms of governance and leadership), Guide (a thorough self-assessment and development of a school improvement plan) and Assure (integration of high academic standards with Islamic teachings).

So far, 38 of CISNA’s 79 members have been accredited. As of 2017, CISNA-accredited schools scored a higher average IEQ (Index of Education Quality) than the average IEQ

CURRENT DATA

Voice for Islamic Schools of schools accredited by AdvancED, a leading global accrediting agency.

As part of its ongoing improvement efforts, in June 2019 the council surveyed Islamic schools throughout North America.

The feedback indicated that schools place a high value on CISNA’s ongoing advocacy and accreditation services and that they would like to expand its professional development services for teachers and leadership development.

Stakeholder feedback played a key role in the council’s board retreat, held at ISNA headquarters on June 28-30, 2019, to both review its vision and mission statements and

EVERY YEAR WE PAY TAXES TO RUN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THIS SORT OF MECHANISM IS ALSO NEEDED TO FULFILL THE COMMUNITY OBLIGATION TO FOUND, SUSTAIN AND ADVANCE ISLAMIC SCHOOLS. create a strategic plan to strengthen CISNA. ISNA board member Dr. Shariq Siddiqui conducted a sustainability workshop to assist board members at their respective schools as well as for CISNA as an organization.

Current board members include Ziad Abdulla (principal, The Huda Academy), Omar Chatila (principal, Al-Furqan Academy), Iram Jilani (head of school, Brighter Horizons Academy), Uzma Khan (principal, Good Tree Academy), Sue Labadi (president, Genius School, Inc.), Leila Shatara (head of school, Noor-Ul-Iman School), William White (principal, Islamic School of Louisville) and Safaa Zarzour (vice president, ISNA).

Sheikh Abdalla Idris, a former ISNA president, serves as senior advisor.

Various sources claim that there are between 300 and 400 Islamic schools in the U.S. Research conducted by Azmat and research assistant Hiba Khan has revealed a lower number due to school closures (e.g., lack of funds or natural disasters). CISNA’s list consists of 216 schools that have contact information, including physical and email addresses.

The oldest ones are a Clara Mohammed school in Florida (est. 1967) and a school set up by immigrants in New York (est. 1983).

The lowest enrollment is 33 (a school in Texas) and the largest one is 829 (a school in Wisconsin). Based on this research, only approximately 150 schools include high school grades.

Azmat and Khan’s research reveals the locations of the greatest concentration of Islamic schools: Texas (36), California (35) and New York (28). Based on this research, about 45,000 students are enrolled in U.S. Islamic schools.

THE NEED FOR SUPPORT Every year we pay taxes to run public schools. This sort of mechanism is also needed to fulfill the community obligation to found, sustain and advance Islamic schools.

Obviously, the students’ parents or the local mosque cannot pay for everything.

Qualified teachers and administrators, as well as teacher training and leadershipcapacity programs, remain necessary.

Accreditation visit reports reveal a great need for Islamic studies, Quranic studies, and Arabic curricula that are relevant to our youth. Training for board members, workshops for parents … the list goes on.

Muslims need to put aside their differences and harness the power of a faith-based education to benefit their communities and humanity.

CISNA’s CAPE membership provided the opportunity to nominate an Islamic school principal for the first time in NAESP’s history. Habeeb Quadri, principal of MCC Academy, selected as one of five private school principals, is the first Islamic school principal to receive this honor. ih CISNA accepts donations through PayPal, Chase QuickPay and Zelle via cisnaoffice@isna.net.

You may also mail your check to us at 35 County Road 518, Princeton, N.J. 08540.

Sufia Azmat is executive director of CISNA and a student in the Masters of Islamic Education & Leadership program at Bayan Islamic Graduate School.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 41

MUSLIMS ABROAD

Those Who Seek Independent Paths Are Never Welcome Will Imran Khan succeed in building the promised ‘New Pakistan’?

BY KAZI ZULKADER SIDDIQUI Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurating the poverty alleviation program in Islamabad on July 5.

42 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

PHOTO (C) PRESS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN

A

ug. 18, 2018 was a day of general jubilation in Pakistan. Imran Khan, the darling of all those Pakistanis who hope that the country will one day return to Quaid-eAzam Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s founding vision, was sworn in as the new prime minister. His party, the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-i Insaf [Pakistan Movement for Justice]) was elected to eliminate corruption and bring real development.

Ever since 1988, Islamabad’s powerful grandmasters had been submitting false reports about the country’s economic conditions.

But now, under the leadership of the dynamic Imran Khan, the proponents of “Naya (New) Pakistan” have chosen to swallow the bitter pill and put Pakistan back on its feet by taking steps to fulfill their election promises and remove the yoke of loans even if doing so initially hurts the masses.

Khan, an internationally acclaimed sports icon turned social benefactor who entered politics 22 years ago on the promise of an honest government under the PTI, is now in power. Addressing the National Assembly on June 30, he reminded the country that his government has inherited the largest current accounts deficit in

Pakistan’s history — $19.5 billion — and an immense foreign loan of nearly $100 billion. According to data collected by his government, in addition to the tens of billions of dollars stolen by previous rulers, even resident Pakistanis have stashed around $10 billion overseas.

Unlike the previous rulers, Khan owns no overseas assets, and thus remains unencumbered by self-interest and of course, free from trotting to the commands of other countries.

Even worse, the corrupt PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) and PML (N) (the Nawaz Sharif faction of Pakistan Muslim League) governments had borrowed heavily from international and domestic markets but never invested these funds into ventures that could pay for themselves. And so Pakistan’s exposure increased exponentially.

Billions of dollars disappeared from the public exchequer, and the country had been milked dry and was on the brink of disaster.

Enter Khan, who immediately began pushing his agenda, part of which is to pursue and bring the previous corrupt rulers to justice and recover the funds they stole. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was convicted on Dec. 24, 2018, is serving a 7-year sentence and was fined $25 million for corruption-related charges. There are further cases against him and his family.

The Supreme Court ousted him from power during 2017 based on revelations that emerged from the Panama Papers scandal.

When asked about luxurious London properties that his family had acquired in London, he was unable to explain how they had been purchased and were being maintained.

Former president Asif Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto and current National Assembly member, is under arrest, accused, along with his sister and many senior PPP members, of money-laundering through a company that received suspicious transactions worth an

estimated Rs. 35 billion. This was accomplished by identifying, at the time of this writing, 29 fake bank accounts. This is in addition to the billions of dollars’ worth of properties and assets he has accumulated over the past 30 years, held in his name or those his domestic and overseas-based frontmen.

On June 11, Khan announced the formation of a high-powered inquiry commission to investigate corruption over the past decade. It will also examine major infrastructure or public sector development works conducted between 2008-18, which increased the public debt from Rs.6,690 billion to Rs.30,846 billion.

Another serious issue is that the previous governments never focused on improving tax collection. Right now, Pakistan has South Asia’s lowest tax-to-GDP rate: 11.2 percent. The new government’s attempts to rectify this situation has come under immense pressure from Khan’s electorate, who expect him to recover the stolen money to pay off the debts instead of asking them to sacrifice by paying more taxes.

FALLING CURRENCY While the PPP and PML-N were ruling Pakistan, except for the Musharraf interlude (2001-08), the rupee steadily fell from Rs. 18 to a dollar (1988) to Rs. 124 (August 2018). Interestingly, under Musharraf the exchange rate remained almost stagnant: around Rs. 60 to a dollar. Every successive government devalued the currency to reflect the decline in trade and economy during the previous period.

USD-PKR exchange rates

Probably the greatest factor here was the increasing import-export imbalance under the PPP and PML-N governments, combined with a lack of adequate investment in the productive sectors. These governments, which were diverting so much public money to the powerful, sought to conceal the ever-growing deficit by relying more on IMF bailouts, increased foreign loans and bonds (sukuk). The share of interest payments to GDP thus rose exponentially.

Mistakenly viewing a strong rupee as synonymous with a strong economy, Sharif and his finance minister Ishaq Dar — now hiding in plain sight in London — tried to prop up its value with the dollar.

Thus Pakistan was on a managed float system, which was repeatedly abused to keep the rupee-dollar parity down — a policy that steadily made its exports less competitive and imports more attractive.

In 2016, the IMF pointed out that Pakistan’s overvalued currency — perhaps by as much as 20 percent — was hurting its exporters.

To hide the PML-N government’s poor performance and correct this anomaly, the PML-N and PPP-chosen caretaker government

appointed to oversee the June-July 2018 elections massively devalued the rupee from Rs.102 to Rs. 124 against one dollar.

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND CONTROLS This dire financial situation has obliged Khan, who had promised not to approach the IMF, to seek a $6 billion tranche. It arrived in May 2019 with tough and challenging conditions that are affecting a population already burdened by the resulting inflation. At present, the country’s annual interest payments are more than $2 billion and the debt is 80.76 percent of GDP (https://commodity. com/debt-clock/pakistan).

The U.S. has always been the IMF’s largest shareholder and most influential member. Its influence has been central to the institution’s growth and evolution of its policies, programs and practices (Catherine Gwin, “U.S. relations with the World Bank, 1945-1992”, in Kapur, Devesh, Lewis, John P., & Webb, Richard, “The World Bank: Its First Half Century,” Volume 2, 1997, p. 195). The U.S. mobilizes other member countries in support of its views to such an extent that it’s positions and the IMF board’s decisions are virtually indistinguishable.

Although the U.S. lacks veto power, it has the board’s largest voting share: 16.52 percent. The increasingly close U.S.-India relationship and the strong Indian lobby in Congress has paid some dividends.

For example, on Apr. 5 Reps. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), George Holding (R-NC) and Ami Bera (D-Calif.) wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, asking them to oppose a bailout for Pakistan.

Interestingly, Islamabad’s 22nd loan request raised alarms in Washington, D.C., which clearly indicates the reliance of the previous Pakistani governments on U.S. policy. Husain Haqqani, a former adviser to Benazir and ex-ambassador to the U.S., agreed that Benazir’s Washington network had helped her become prime minister (Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, Dec. 30, 2007). In her “No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington,” (2012), former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice related how she had toiled for many sleepless nights to bring Musharraf and Benazir together in 2007, which absolved Benazir of all corruption charges. Khan does not “enjoy” such credentials.

The rupee plunge is making Pakistan’s debt more expensive.

Islamabad will have to repay over $9 billion just to service its foreign loans, in the shape of principle and interest payments, during the 2019-20 fiscal year on loans taken by previous governments.

The Khan-led government has inherited another sword of Damocles. An inter-governmental body known as FATF (the Financial Action Task Force) was established in 1989 to set standards, monitor and promote the effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures designed to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the international financial system’s integrity. Its recommendations are recognized as an international standard, and it promotes the adoption and implementation of appropriate measures globally.

Pakistan has remained on FATF’s grey list for allegedly failing to implement strict laws to counter money laundering and terrorism financing. After a diplomatic push in June, it acquired enough support from Turkey, China and Malaysia to avoid being placed on the FATF blacklist, a development being pushed by India and backed by the U.S.. In a letter addressed to FATF President Marshall Billingslea in March, Islamabad asked FATF to remove India as co-chair of the SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 43

MUSLIMS ABROAD President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Imran Khan participate in a bilateral meeting July 22 in the Oval Office of the White House.

OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY SHEALAH CRAIGHEAD

WILL SINCERITY TRIUMPH?

PAKISTAN’S EX-RULERS HAVE ENABLED CURRENCY PREDATORS AND SPECULATORS TO HOLD SWAY OVER THE COUNTRY. WHEN THE PTI TOOK OFFICE, THE DOLLAR-RUPEE PARITY WAS 1:124. IT HAS SINCE DECLINED TO 1:138 (DECEMBER 2018), 1:150 (MAY 2019) AND WAS HOVERING AROUND 1:160 IN JULY. Asia Pacific Group to ensure a fair, unbiased and objective process. The challenge remains ongoing.

The forum has also asked Pakistan to implement several policies to avoid the risk of further scrutiny and a possible harsh judgment in November.

CURRENCY PREDATORS Pakistan’s ex-rulers have enabled currency predators and speculators to hold sway over the country. When the PTI took office, the dollar-rupee parity was 1:124. It has since declined to 1:138 (December 2018), 1:150 (May 2019) and was hovering around 1:160 in July 2019. Was it a coincidence that Pakistan’s currency suffered a massive hit as the dollar rose to an all-time high of Rs.139 a day after PTI celebrated its 100day achievements? After all, the PTI has promised to put the country on the track to real development. That day, a State Bank of Pakistan official noted the market’s panic with a dollar-buying spree.

This reminds us of international speculators like George Soros, who bet against the Bank of England in 1992 when it couldn’t defend itself from an attack in currency markets. Britain lost about £3.3 billion, and Soros pocketed $1 billion through short selling.

His 1997 foray on the Thai baht devastated Thailand despite its foreign trade and rapid economic growth.

Borrowing the target country’s currency through offshore markets, speculators sell when investors are holding their money to suppress the exchange rate. As the currency devalues, they repurchase it at a lower price and pocket the difference between the exchange rate and the interest required for borrowing. The ensuing capital flight ignites an international chain reaction, effectively bankrupting the country even before its currency collapses. The Thai crisis spread to most of Southeast Asia and Japan — undermining currencies, devaluing stock markets and other assets, as well as causing a precipitous rise in private debt.

44 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Khan, shackled by the resilient bureaucracy, laws and judiciary, is being targeted for failure by the powerful beneficiaries of the current corrupt and inefficient system while simultaneously being told by the people to show them no mercy and, meanwhile, to solve the ongoing high inflation and jobless rates.

While trying to return Pakistan to its founder’s vision, Khan has stumbled more than once. Ordinary people have begun to wonder whether he can deliver on his campaign promises and if he has the team and resources necessary to rescue the country and end their misery. Khan believes that he can and thus promises to keep on fighting.

His diehard supporters know he has the sincerity, will and capacity to succeed.

Khan visited Washington, D.C., July 21-23, at President Trump's invitation to reset U.S.-Pakistan relations. The prognosis looks bright as both countries seek to promote peace in the region. ih Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui, a long-time Islamic worker in North America, is an entrepreneur, analyst, educator, academic, author and social worker.

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MUSLIMS WORLDWIDE LOST A GREAT LEADER WITH THE PASSING AWAY OF DR. MOHAMED MORSI, THE FIRST POPULARLY AND DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED LEADER OF EGYPT IN ITS LONG-RECORDED HISTORY OF MORE THAN 7,000 YEARS.

The Man Who Represented Egypt A person who tried to make a difference

BY IHAB SAAD

M

orsi (1951-2019) was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who led its parliamentary opposition as an independent member of Parliament during Hosni Mubarak’s regime (1981-2011). He was elected in one of the country’s rare free elections with 51.7 percent of the vote, thereby becoming Egypt’s first-ever civilian democratically elected president, following the revolution of Jan. 25, 2011, that deposed the then-reigning dictator.

Morsi, who lived in the U.S. for several years, obtained a doctorate in materials science at the University of Southern California and then joined the California State University, Northridge, as an assistant professor of engineering from 1982 until his return to Egypt in 1985. Once back home, he became head of the materials engineering department of Zagazig University, where he remained a professor until 2010.

He was offered positions to stay in the U.S., but chose to return to his motherland to teach and continue his path of peaceful resistance to tyranny.

After years of struggle in Parliament, during which he was on the receiving end of the dictatorship’s harsh treatment, he and his like-minded colleagues insisted on setting the course of peaceful reform started by Hassan al-Banna, who founded the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928.

Upon winning the 2012 presidential elections, Morsi visited several neighboring states, starting with Saudi Arabia, to both assuage the fears of fragile regimes and open a new page in bilateral relations based on trust, cooperation, transparency and respect. He publicly voiced his support for the Palestinian people’s legitimate resistance against its occupiers and support for the Syrian people seeking to free themselves from the brutal and sectarian Assad regime.

In addition, he also explored the

HIS CHALLENGES

HE WAS OFFERED POSITIONS TO STAY IN THE U.S., BUT CHOSE TO RETURN TO HIS MOTHERLAND TO TEACH AND CONTINUE HIS PATH OF PEACEFUL RESISTANCE TO TYRANNY. possibility of rejuvenating the Egyptian economy through forging trade agreements with regional powers such as Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan with the goal of creating a panIslamic market to counterbalance the greed of those usurpers devouring the fortunes of these countries’ hard-working people.

Internally, Morsi faced a dilemma of either controlling the media or allowing the free flow of information. That meant a hard choice between silencing the voices of his opponents, who controlled most of the country’s media outlets, or allowing all opinions to be broadcast freely. Corrupt capitalists and remnants of the deep state that supported the old regime, along with the military junta, funded these media outlets.

Morsi sided with the freedom of expression, even if that meant persistent brainwashing and an unstoppable flood of falsehood perpetrated and disseminated by these media outlets. He chose not to silence any dissenting voice in the hope that the Egyptian people would be able to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Alas, in a country where illiteracy is rampant and with a media that will work for the highest paying customer regardless of any ethics or professionalism, that choice exacerbated the deep state’s decision to reverse the people’s will.

This deep state was represented by the security establishment, a corrupt judiciary, exploiting capitalists, and other counter-revolutionary powers that prospered under the shade of tyranny and would be unable to survive in a climate of honesty and transparency. The counter-revolution started from day one, spreading rumors and sowing division among the Egyptian intelligentsia, fueled by foreign money from some regional reactionary regimes that viewed what had happened in Egypt as an existential threat to their hereditary thrones and monopoly over their peoples’ fortunes.

In his “Into the Hands of the Soldiers” (Viking, 2018), David Kirkpatrick, then chief correspondent of the New York Times in Egypt, provides a step-by-step narrative of

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 45

A General Impression

I

am an Arab who was visiting Egypt on the day that Mohamed Morsi died. This is what I saw and heard.

No one cares. No one is talking about it. Two Uber drivers are happy that he’s gone, for now the country is in safe hands. The military will fix things.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s year in power was so deplorable! Things are so much better now. He was murdered. It’s better for him to have died instead of being further humiliated.

No official funeral ceremony and prayers were held. His corpse was not allowed into any mosque.

The hospital washed the body and then just buried it. The family had a very hard time obtaining the autopsy report. Only the immediate family members were allowed to pray at the gravesite — all except one of his still-jailed sons. No foreign dignitaries were present, only a nearby tank to warn the people to toe the official line.

The television stations only ran a line at the bottom of the screen. No “Breaking News” announcements interrupted the regularly scheduled programs. He was just “Muhammad Morsi al-Ayyat,” a man without a title, the last name pronounced in what seemed to be a deliberate attempt to degrade and humiliate him.

Al Jazeera and the Brotherhood channels located outside Egypt mentioned his death. Al Jazeera reported that many people in Turkey and Qatar offered the janaazah prayer. Both countries had supposedly gotten pictures of protests in certain city sections. The state-controlled accessible Arabic-language channels and newspapers ignored it.

There is a great deal of tension in the air. A lot of people were rounded up and imprisoned, most likely to pre-empt demonstrations. Many homes and Brotherhood affiliates have been raided.

After talking about Morsi’s death for a while, conversations would shift to how the Egyptian team is doing in the current sporting event, who they are playing and what are their chances for winning.

All of this information, and a great deal more, was available on Twitter. But there was no way to verify any of it. Also, on that day the Internet was very slow.

“People have reached a stage where they really don’t care … that ‘it is what it is.’ They see themselves as stuck with a regime that is even worse than Mubarak’s,” noting especially how both jailed presidents had been treated.

“Perhaps if the Brotherhood hadn’t aligned itself with the army, which cost them a lot of popular support…”

But we’ll never know, will we? And so Egypt’s first-ever democratically elected president died in official silence — as if he had never existed. ih 46 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

A well trained press, the death of former president Mohamed Morsi made front page news only in one Egyptian newspaper.

the unholy alliance among the military and other counter-revolutionary and anti-democratic forces. He provides a behind-the-scenes description of the plots and secret deals by Morsi’s opponents to incite the rebellion that returned the military junta to power in 2013. The catalyst to foment civil disobedience was based on the pretext that Morsi and his government were trying to “Ikhwanize” the state by appointing Brotherhood supporters to various sensitive positions.

In July 2013, one year after assuming the presidency, Morsi was deposed in a military-supported coup, arrested and, in November 2013, tried on the charge of incitement to murder. At a preliminary hearing, he questioned the court’s validity, “What is happening now is a military coup. I am furious that the Egyptian judiciary should serve as

cover for this criminal military coup.”

In April 2015 he was sentenced to 20 years, accused of supporting the December 2012 clashes between opposition protesters and Brotherhood supporters outside the presidential palace in Cairo. He was cleared of inciting the Brotherhood to kill two protesters and a journalist — a charge that could have carried the death penalty.

One month later, he was sentenced to death after being convicted of colluding with Hamas and Hezbollah militants to organize a mass prison break during the uprising against Mubarak. This sentence was upheld in June, after consultations with Egypt’s grand mufti. In November 2016, the court of cassation ordered a retrial of that charge and others related to foreign organizations.

MUSLIMS ABROAD For six years, Morsi was held incom­ municado in a secret place and not allowed to meet with his family or his lawyers and defense team. Despite suffering from diabetes (untreated) and prohibited from facing his accusers, he steadfastly refused to bow to injustice or accept any compromise that would undermine the legitimacy of his election.

The tyranny sought to silence him by levelling false accusations against his family members, including two of his sons who were regularly arrested, harassed and finally sentenced to extended prison sentences despite the lack of clear charges. And yet Morsi remained firm, repeating, “I will pay for my legitimacy with my blood.”

After six years of solitary confinement and deteriorating health, he succumbed to his illness, exacerbated by the harsh treatment and intentional deprivation of medical care by his jailers. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also accused Cairo of failing to provide adequate medical care, which led to his death.

His wife Najla Ali Mahmoud wrote his obituary: “Dr. Mohammad Morsi, the legitimate president of the Arab Republic of Egypt, died as a martyr by Allah’s permission. In his cell he died victorious, standing dignified and rejecting oppression. He died helping his nation, despite the many people working against him. He died proclaiming the truth while advancing, not while retreating, having unsheathed the sword of truth for six successive years without boredom, fatigue, capitulation or surrender.

“So Allah took him to Himself, removing him from an era of weakness, betrayal and hypocrisy. Allah raised him so that he can join those of similar circumstance: Prophets Yahya and Isa, the Companions of the Ditch, and Habeeb al-Najjar of Surat Yaseen. Allah elevated him to the greatest companionship and to His highest paradise after he had fulfilled his mission and dispensed his duty.

“Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah, some have completed their vow (to the extreme), and some (still) wait. But they have never changed (their determination) in the least” (33:23). ih Ihab M. H. Saad, Ph.D., P. Eng., PMP, a professor of civil engineering and construction management at at Northern Kentucky University, has been an active member of several Muslim communities in the U.S. over the past three decades.

He has a special interest in the Prophetic example for change and in Quranic tafseer (http://islamicsource.org).

A gang from the Indian Occupation Force batters a young Kashmiri.

Why Does No One Listen to the Kashmiris?

Can India and Pakistan resolve the Kashmiri issue without third-party intervention?

BY GHULAM NABI FAI

I

ndia and Pakistan have held more than 150 rounds of official talks to discuss their conflicts and differences.

Each round has culminated in the same decision: to meet and talk again. Thus the India-Pakistan peace process has always remained an illusion, one barren of results, for neither side has defined the talks’ parameters. As these events were never assigned a specific date for accomplishment, were never given specific benchmarks that would define and characterize progress or what was the common goal, the overall objectives and how they could be achieved were never a priority.

The world knows that both nuclear-armed countries continue to engage in border clashes and cross-border raids that threaten their — and indeed the region's — safety and stability. Innocent people continue to die. Within the past three decades, Indian occupation forces have killed more than 100,000 Kashmiris. The gruesome status quo is both legally and morally unacceptable, as well as militarily and economically frightening.

While this violence occurs because India refuses to foster peaceful relations with Kashmir and to acknowledge its

interests, the press, which it unashamedly eggs on, has focused on the India-Pakistan relationship and the latter’s alleged responsibility for stirring up trouble in Indianoccupied Kashmir with “false propaganda.”

It is as though there is nothing to discuss.

The Indian-held part of entire Kashmiri nation rose up in resistance, but no one could talk about anything but Pakistan and the militancy across the border. Kashmir has never been a focal item of the talks, just one of the eight points agreed to by both nations’ “Comprehensive Dialogue Process.”

Curiously, the most pertinent party, the Kashmiri leadership, has never been included in these talks. Why not? Are they not their people’s principal representatives, the true stakeholders who may claim the greatest interest in what happens to Kashmir? Doesn’t it matter what they think? Are they mere spectators or the real actors in the theater?

Why are the youth gathering on streets to throw rocks at the Indian authorities instead of engaging in sports competitions at a local recreational field? Why are graduate and professional degree holders, as well as doctors, lawyers and engineers, joining the resistance and sacrificing their lives

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 47

MUSLIMS ABROAD and careers? Why are the young people’s mothers picking up rocks and joining them?

Do their desires matter? What has Pakistan got to do with such things?

India cannot sweep all this under the galicha (carpet), for the truth is so painfully obvious. Isn’t it time for the world powers to ask the Kashmiris what they really want? Perhaps that would oblige the two countries to actually deal with what is at the heart of their differences — the Kashmiris’ aspirations.

Kashmir, the world only territory to share borders with three nuclear powers, remains

only lead both countries to disaster, but will also destroy any possibility of bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan.

As any resolution of the Kashmir conflict will directly impact Afghanistan’s stability, many experts have started to realize that the key to peace in Afghanistan lies in Kashmir.

Graham Usher wrote in The London Review of Books: “And it would suggest that — far more than on strategic reviews — peace in Afghanistan rests on peace between India and Pakistan. The road out of Kabul goes through Kashmir” (Apr. 9, 2009).

THE ONLY WAY TO SOLVE THIS INTRACTABLE PROBLEM IS TO AGREE TO A THIRD-PARTY INTERVENTION. THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR THE FORMULATION AND SUBSEQUENT IMPLEMENTATION OF A REAL AND TANGIBLE STRATEGY THAT ENJOYS THE FIRM SUPPORT OF THE P5 — RUSSIA, CHINA, FRANCE, THE U.K. AND, IN PARTICULAR, THE U.S. the nuclear flashpoint as the ongoing tensions have caused India’s BJP-led government to suspend the “peace talks” between New Delhi and Islamabad. The potential of nuclear war has always been there. And because the talks have been suspended, that potential has now become very real.

In his “Rising Tensions in Kashmir: A Growing Nuclear Danger on the Subcontinent” (Foreign Affairs, Jan. 16, 2017), the Stimson Center’s Michael Krepon wrote: “As Pakistan’s sense of isolation grows and as the conventional military balance shifts even further in India’s favor, Islamabad is relying increasingly on Chinese military help and on nuclear weapons for deterrence. Its nuclear arsenal is growing faster than India’s, with a capacity to produce 15 or more warheads a year, adding more nuclear weapons every year than North Korea has accumulated to date. While India is moving to close this gap, Pakistan is planning to compete even harder with longer-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles to be delivered in the air, on the ground and at sea, as well as with tactical nuclear weapons. Since testing nuclear devices in [respectively 1974 and] 1998, India and Pakistan have together flight-tested on average one new type of missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon every year.”

The uncertainty over Kashmir will not

The world powers need to make both countries understand that their 71-year failure to resolve the Kashmir dispute has led to a growing international nuclear crisis.

World peace is at stake. The only way to solve this intractable problem is to agree to a thirdparty intervention. The world is waiting for the formulation and subsequent implementation of a real and tangible strategy that enjoys the firm support of the P5 — Russia, China, France, the U.K. and, in particular, the U.S. As Krepon notes, “Washington’s ties with New Delhi continue to improve, thanks to the attractiveness of the Indian market and a desire to help India counter China’s military buildup” and economic influence in the region. On the other hand, “Pakistan’s sense of unease has grown with Donald Trump’s habit of painting Islamic terrorism in broadbrush strokes.”

But President Trump has shown his willingness to mediate between the parties to resolve that “very, very hot, tinderbox.”

Now is the time to get started. Trump can use Washington’s influence in both capitals to make a deal that suits all sides and brings the Kashmir leadership into the picture.

All parties need to understand that ultimately the Kashmir issue will only be resolved via negotiations among India, Pakistan and the Kashmiri leadership. As

48 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

further delay will cause more death and destruction in the region, why wait?

Any dialogue process demands compromises. All of the involved parties, including the Kashmiri leadership, must show some flexibility in order to reach a final settlement. The contours of compromises should be discussed at the table, and not beyond it.

It’s time for this ongoing war of words to stop. Indian home minister Amit Shah’s reckless statement, uttered on Apr. 18, 2019, that “Kashmir is an integral part of India and cannot be separated,” will not pave the way for a better understanding. Such rhetoric needs to end on all sides.

Prime ministers Imran Khan and Narendra Modi must show their statesmanship for the sake of regional as well as international peace and stability. The ingredients of a solution are there, and now all that’s needed are healthy doses of statesmanship and magnanimity from the U.S. and other world powers.

President Trump, responding to a question when he met with Imran Khan in the White House on July 22, said that Modi had asked him to mediate the Kashmir dispute.

Khan added that he was more than willing to accept Trump's offer. ih Ghulam Nabi Fai, secretary general, World Kashmir Awareness Forum, can be reached at 202-607-6435 or gnfai2003@yahoo.com.

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The Crisis of Credibility Post-Truth India and Islamophobia

BY FARHAN MUJAHID CHAK

I

ndia’s rapid economic growth, vital technological sector and massive government-led privatization with substantial foreign direct investment has led to the deceptive image of nationwide prosperity. This is specifically the case with the political projection of wealth and power, alongside deliberate bloating, to serve partisan objectives. In fact, several reputable economists are challenging the country’s purported economic success by focusing on the deepening poverty, rural-to-urban migration and collapse of existing family and cultural norms.

Courageous Indian intellectuals such as Pankaj Mishra, Arundhati Roy and Gautam Navlakha have called for transparency to rein-in the false bravado and confront the lurking socioeconomic crises.

In his Puncturing the Myth of India (Bloomberg Opinion, June 6) Mihir Sharma laments this “crisis in credibility.” Another related phenomenon, one intricately woven into these processes of fake-news, hyperbole, mythification and economic illusion, is Islamophobia. As history shows, during times of economic downturn fascist leaders tend to shift toward a rising tide of religious

ultra-nationalism to locate and then otherize marginalized populations to gain/expand their power and rationalize poverty.

Paula Thompson and Rhonda Itaoui, under the auspices of Hatem Bazian (Director, Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project, Center for Race and Gender, Uni­ versity of California, Berkeley), provide a trailblazing collection of evidence that highlights Islamophobia’s rise in India and convincingly describes how the targets of “religious ultra-nationalism in India have been Muslim, Christian, Sikh and ‘lower castes’ ….”

Bazian remarks that the “lack of documentation both complicates and hinders the ability of those advocating against and countering Islamophobia” makes this report especially noteworthy.

In the past decade, Hindu fundamentalism has led to massive human rights violations especially against Muslims in India and [Indian-occupied] Kashmir. This is eerily familiar to the European and North American extreme right-wing groups’ use of the rising tide of Islamophobia to gain legitimacy.

The Berkeley report links this pheno­ menon’s emergence to a pervasive aggressive/ virulent Hindutva social imaginary, championed by the ruling national Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), that demonizes and vindicates these anti-Muslim sociopolitical crusades. Together with media manipulation and the gau rakshak (cow vigilantes), India’s Islamophobia industry operates with impunity.

By highlighting this, the Berkeley report contextualizes and documents various cases of spatialized Islamophobia and exposes the impacts of politically stoked mass violence on Muslim residential patterns, internal displacement and subsequent patterns of ghettoization and segregation. Such negative spatial outcomes are situated as a byproduct of the experiences of Islamophobia, which are sustained through discriminatory policies that further restrict the social and spatial mobility of India’s Muslims.

THE HINDUTVA SOCIAL IMAGINARY Looking closely, all of these discriminatory practices/policies are directly attributed to this growing imaginary that otherizes the Muslim minority. For instance, “Mughal” or “Mughlai” have become derogatory terms. As the report highlights, this fascist narrative “casts Muslims as ‘outsiders’ and ‘invaders’ of India rather than as belonging to it, although their presence is simultaneous SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 49

MUSLIMS ABROAD to or predates the formation of the state.”

Hindutva ideology also works to purge all non-Hindus, especially Muslims, to create a pure Hindu-only India.

Hindu nationalists argue that Mughalera Muslims conquered India, enslaved its people and forced a significant part of them to convert. Thus, the forced conversion campaigns of the ultra-nationalists ghar vapasi and other groups to return Muslims (and others) to their natural state (Hindu), as well as the destruction of “historically Hindu” Muslim religious sites are justified. This was the context surrounding Ayodhya and the now-destroyed Babri Masjid.

outbreaks of large-scale politically stoked violence against religious minorities, particularly Muslims, that remain unresolved years later. This report provides striking evidence of a geographic pattern of where such violence occurs — primarily Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Telangana and Assam. Collectively they accounted for 1,972 such cases, including murder, rape and arson, during 2015-17.

Of course, the situation in Kashmir is altogether different but a nevertheless related matter in terms of the rising fascism and Islamophobia.

HINDU NATIONALISTS ARGUE THAT MUGHALERA MUSLIMS CONQUERED INDIA, ENSLAVED ITS PEOPLE AND FORCED A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THEM TO CONVERT. THUS, THE FORCED CONVERSION CAMPAIGNS OF THE ULTRANATIONALISTS GHAR VAPASI AND OTHER GROUPS TO RETURN MUSLIMS (AND OTHERS) TO THEIR NATURAL STATE (HINDU), AS WELL AS THE DESTRUCTION OF “HISTORICALLY HINDU” MUSLIM RELIGIOUS SITES ARE JUSTIFIED. This false imaginary also justifies the ongoing brutality and subjugation of the Kashmiris’ UN-mandated right to self-determination as, again, caricaturing self-determination with the pathology of “Muslims doing it again.”

However, none of Hindutva’s “greater India” imaginary is historically accurate.

“India,” a British distortion of the Arabic word “Hind,” and “Indians” only became Hindus after the Muslim arrived. “Bharat” existed geographically in present-day central and South India, but it was the Mughals who loosely united dozens of disparate/culturally unique peoples into a confederacy of sorts.

The academy needs to robustly confront this false history of a greater India allegedly spoiled by Muslims.

In addition, this false imagery spatializes Islamophobia through “communal violence,” attacks and contestations over the right for Muslim neighborhoods and places of worship to exist in the national space.

Historically, India has suffered various

THE BHARTIYA JANATA PARTY Another key finding of this study is recognizing the national BJP’s role in exacerbating communal tensions and heightening minority-based violence.

Leading BJP members have been implicated in “communal violence” and hate-speech.

Actually, the BJP has the largest number of lawmakers in the country with declared cases of hate speech against them.

The nomination for election tickets to those charged with hate speech has been associated with driving the conditions that lead to Islamophobia and politically stoked violence. For instance, BJP Legislator Subramanian Swamy says: “Muslims should take an oath declaring that their ancestors were Hindu if they want to prove their citizenship.” BJP MLA Surendra Singh says: “There are a very few Muslims who are patriotic. Once India becomes a Hindu rashtra, Muslims who assimilate into our culture will stay in India. Those who will not are free to take asylum in any other country.”

50 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

BJP Union Minister Giriraj Singh says: “The growing population of the country, especially Muslims, is a threat to the social fabric, social harmony, and development of the country.” And, most menacingly, BJP leader Yogi Adityanath, has spoken of raping the corpses of Muslim women.

Collectively, these terrifying and gro­ tesque statements only further demo­nize the already marginalized Muslim community.

MEDIA RECKLESSNESS The Berkeley report notes the virtual nonexistence of a responsible, neutral oversight body vis-à-vis the dozens of “war-crazy” 24-hour news channels and powerful corporate media powerhouses. It highlights that these media houses are deliberately set to “mobilize the electorate on communal lines” by promoting the hate speech of Hindu extremists while targeting certain opposition leaders.

The exposé also revealed “the arrangement [that] included running the campaign on all platforms — print, electronic, radio or digital including, e-news portals, websites and social media such as Facebook and Twitter.”

Moreover, some politicians actually own or patronize several media houses, especially regional ones, and it is “natural for them to become their master’s voice.” The Berkeley report even details how RSS and Hindutva ideology have become embedded within their “newsrooms and boardrooms.”

Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, 12 reporters have been killed. Four reporters were murdered in 2017, and four journalists in 2018. This reveals the increasing level of violence directed against journalists who do not toe the official BJP narrative. According to several official Indian sources Parashuram Waghmare, who brutally murdered female reporter Gauri Lankesh in 2017, was affiliated with members of a fanatical Hindutva organization. His crime was planned a year in advance.

The Berkeley report corroborates the allegation that, according to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Waghmare was part of a right-wing organization. Moreover, the reputable India Today reports that he was ordered to execute her “for the sake of saving Hindu dharam.”

THE GAU RAKSHAK MURDERS The report also reveals an annual increase in beef-related attacks under Modi. Specifically,

the passage of obstructive beef legislation is directly linked with the escalating assaults on Muslims, as well as an atmosphere of fear and unpredictability, because they embolden extra-judicial violence and even death. Such attacks are often premeditated and led by fundamentalist Hindu groups intent upon killing those it considers cow abusers. Human Rights Watch has drawn a link between this increasing and predominantly anti-Muslim cow legislation and Islamophobia.

Government officials and police are often implicated in such attacks, and the atmosphere of impunity lends a sense of permissibility. Attackers, even those who murder, are not charged; sometimes they have been honored and rewarded by BJP politicians, as in the case of the murdered Pehlu Khan. In addition, gau rakshaks seize Muslims’ cows and give them to gaushalas (cow shelters) that have been found to pass them on to Hindus — a way of “redistributing” Muslims’ wealth among Hindus in some cases. More than half of beef-related attacks were reportedly spread by rumor.

This situation is totally absurd, given that India is one of the world’s largest exporters of beef. Under Modi, its exports have actually increased. So much for the BJP and other Hindutva proponents’ loud, lofty veneration of the cow!

The watershed report, which meticulously documents rising levels of fanaticism and intolerance, concludes by offering several policy proposals/suggestions.

First: Those who oppose what is going on must (1) pressure embassies to focus on religious freedom and related human rights wherever they are threatened by politically stoked violence, urge New Delhi to ratify the UN Convention Against Torture and legislate punishment for government agencies that use torture and (2) demand that state and central police implement effective measures to prohibit and punish those deemed responsible for religious violence and protect the intended victims and witnesses.

Second: The international community needs to be (1) made more aware of, educated about and urged to discuss human rights violations against minorities

in India, particularly Islamophobia and (2) encouraged to research, document and convene public discussions about Islamophobia in India.

Third: Encourage New Delhi to (1) take prompt and effective legal action against the guilty parties and those facing allegations of complicity; (2) adopt strong measures against the proliferating and self-proclaimed “cow protection units,” the ghar vapasi activists, and similar groups; (3) compensate and rehabilitate the affected Muslim victims and their neighborhoods and places of worship and (4) provide legal freedom in terms of religion, conversion and marriage.

Fourth: Create a neutral team to monitor social media platforms, collect data and document reports related to Islamophobia and other forms of hate, abuse and violence.

These steps, if taken collectively and in a spirit of openness, transparency and honesty, will effectively begin to address the underlying causes/motivations of Islamophobia in India. ih Farhan Mujahid Chak, PhD, is an associate professor of international affairs at Qatar University, and president, Veritas & Virtus Leadership Consultancy.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 51

MUSLIMS ABROAD

Ihya Ulum Manuscript – Gazi Husrev-Beg Library

Masjid in Mostar

PHOTO (C) SHAKEEL SYED

PHOTO (C) SHAKEEL SYED

PHOTO (C) SHAKEEL SYED

“WE ARE NOT ENOUGH OF A MUSLIM FOR THE EAST, AND TOO MUCH OF A MUSLIM FOR THE WEST,” SAID MY TOUR GUIDE, INTRODUCING HIMSELF AT THE START OF MY 10-DAY TOUR OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA.

Mostar Bridge

Bosnia Has an Islamic Legacy to Share The wounds of the Serb-inflicted genocide are healing, and Bosnia is an alluring spot to visit with its lush green mountains, rivers and halal food everywhere.

BY SHAKEEL SYED

U

nlike other MUSLIMS having migrated to western Europe in search of better economic opportunities or fleeing persecution, Bosnia's Muslims have been indigenous to Bosnia Hercegovina for over 500 years. They are also survivors.

They survived the Russian-Ottoman war (1877-78), the Balkan wars (1912-13), both world wars and the recent war for independence (1992-95), not to mention Nazi and Fascist occupations, socialist revolution, communism and Serbian genocide (commemorated since July 11, 1995).

In communist Yugoslavia, Bosnian Muslims were victimized both as “believers,” along with other faith groups, and as followers of “an alien religion.” They were killed and expelled from their land. While western Europe opened doors for Asian and African Muslim migrant laborers, the Balkans continued to expel local Muslims under the slogan of “Go back to Asia.”

Bosnian Muslims haven’t forgotten the brutal war of the 1990s and the genocide perpetrated by Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats. Reminders of what the survivors’ parents and grandparents endured are nearly everywhere.

The fighting was nationwide, but the capital Sarajevo endured the longest (1,425 days)

and most terrifying Serbian siege. In fact, Sarajevo has informally named its city’s main boulevard — Zmaja od Bosne Street and Meša Selimović Boulevard — Sniper Alley.

Talking to Bosnians was inspiring. Their resilience from the sheer terror has made them emotionally and spiritually stronger.

Our guide quipped, “Where logic ends, Bosnia begins,” to answer my question, “How do you cope with the trauma from the genocide.”

Having been to Jerusalem, I tend to agree with Bosnians that Sarajevo is the “Jerusalem of Europe,” for the Old City’s mosques, churches and synagogues are within walking distance of each other.

Sarajevo’s historic areas are a joy to explore on foot. The narrow and cobblestone Ottoman-era streets and alleys are a mustsee. The city center includes the stunning Gazi Husrev-Beg mosque and madrassa.

Meho Manjgo, curator of its library, generously gave us a tour and took great pride in showing us a replica of the original manuscript of Imam Ghazali’s “Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din” (Revival of the Islamic Sciences).

A great many historical books from the more than 100,000 books now housed in the library were saved from the Serb army’s targeted bombing of libraries. A plaque at the entrance of the City Hall cites the carnage of more than 2 million books.

52 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

It is a magical experience to stroll through the Old City, which infuses the fragrances of Bosnian coffee (Bosanska Kafa) and cevapcici (a grilled dish of minced meat, onions and bread) while listening to the melodic and multiple calls to prayer from the central and neighboring mosques.

After praying jum‘a at the Gazi HusrevBeg Mosque, we had the privilege of meeting with the former reis al-ulema Dr. Mustafa Ceric, who overviewed Islam and Muslims in Bosnia for us. He stressed, “We belong to this land just as much as to our religion, and Bosnia is a living Andalusia” and then added, “Tell your community that we shall be waiting for them to visit us.”

I found incredibly charming people in Mostar, an historic city center that is home to Ottoman-era architecture and towering minarets similar to Sarajevo — and yet unique in its own right. Mostar’s most popular attraction is its world-famous 16th century Ottoman-era Stari Most Bridge, popularly known as “Mostar Bridge,” which remains a historical and architectural marvel that literally connects the Muslim and Christian worlds. Deliberately destroyed by the Serbian army in 1993, an exact replica was rebuilt in 2004 and designated a UNESCO heritage site.

I thought I had mentally prepared myself to visit Srebrenica, ground zero of

PHOTO (C) SHAKEEL SYED

PHOTO (C) SHAKEEL SYED

Masjid in Blagaj

the Serb-inflicted genocide, but upon arrival I found myself completely unprepared.

It took us about three hours to reach the hallowed ground of Srebrenica, which is located about 100 miles east of Sarajevo. Our guide was Dr. Hikmet Karcic, a researcher at the Institute for Islamic Tradition of Bosniaks (https://www.iitb.ba/en/about-us), who is exposing all aspects of the genocide that Serbia continues to deny.

Mausoleum of Alija Izetbegovic

Upon entering the cemetery I read Surah Fatiha for the martyred — a first for me as I never have had the painful experience of visiting any cemetery with 8,372 shuhada.

According to Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), what happened in Srebrenica was genocide, as opposed to mass murder or a massacre. UN Security Council resolution 798 (December 1992)

HAVING BEEN TO JERUSALEM, I TEND TO AGREE WITH BOSNIANS THAT SARAJEVO IS THE “JERUSALEM OF EUROPE,” FOR THE OLD CITY’S MOSQUES, CHURCHES AND SYNAGOGUES ARE WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF EACH OTHER. It is it not uncommon to find “Do Not Forget Srebrenica” posters and murals across Bosnia. This is one way for Bosnians to remind the world “Lest we forget!”

Let me briefly contextualize this horror.

After Yugoslavia collapsed (1992), Bosnia held an independence referendum. The Serbian military unleashed a violent threeyear war on its unarmed civilians, which ended with the Dayton Peace Agreement of November 1995, signed by the presidents of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia.

Critics argue that the agreement ended the war’s brutal violence, but only after the Serb military and militia had tortured and murdered more than 100,000 Bosnian civilians and raped thousands of Bosnian women. Srebrenica was the epicenter of this deliberate carnage, and the UN-deployed Dutch forces just stood aside and let the Serbs do as they pleased.

At the time of this writing, the Bosnians have documented and buried 8,372 corpses or body parts in its cemetery. The search continues, for the Serbian army deliberately buried and reburied their victims’ corpses.

referred to the Serbians’ “massive, organized and systematic detention and rape of women, in particular Muslim women, in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” Similar resolutions followed.

The Yugoslav Commission’s investigative report listed systematic sexual assault of Bosnian women by Serbian men and collected evidence of approximately 1,100 reported cases of extreme sexual violence and rape, most of which had occurred between April and November 1992. The commission further concluded that the vast majority of the victims were Bosnian Muslims and that the vast majority of the perpetrators were Bosnian Serbs.

At the cemetery, I paid attention to the names and ages on the gravestones. Ferhat — born in 1980 and killed at the tender age of 12. Many others were aged 20, 25 and 30.

As a father of young adult children, I was unable to express my sorrow!

I could only stand in absolute awe when I met two survivors. Hassan, a 40+ yearold man whose entire family had perished, who is now a tour guide at the Srebrenica

Memorial. Fadhila, a 60+ plus year-old woman who lost her husband and a son — but not her daughter — told us that she “mourned for some time” and then dedicated herself to raising her daughter, who is now a University of Sarajevo professor.

She then returned to Srebrenica and is now a leading activist teaching visitors about the genocide.

They are the mythical Superman and Superwoman of Hollywood made real— true sources of inspiration.

Space limitations cause me to conclude with two highlights: visiting the Islamic University of Sarajevo (http://fin.unsa.ba) and meeting with Prof. Ahmet Alubasic, its associate dean. In response to my question about the life of Muslims and how Islam is organized in the country, he informed us that a cadre of 1,400 full-time imams, organized under the Supreme Islamic Council of Bosnia-Herzegovina, serve the more than 1,700 mosques. The mosques have near total independence and are governed by the local Muslim community.

After asking us to convey his invitation to Muslim Americans to visit, he shared that their new summer school was specially designed for foreign undergraduate Muslim students. I strongly recommend that such students grasp this opportunity to learn about the survivors’ trials and tribulations, as well as their resilience and courage.

My visit ended at a high note — meeting Sabina Izetbegovic, daughter of Bosnia’s first president Alija Izetbegovic (d. 2003) — who graciously hosted us along with Prof.

Admir Mulaosmanovic, the first director of the Alija Izetbegovic Foundation (to be announced soon). We were delighted to learn that the foundation will inform future generations of the late president’s life and keep his legacy alive.

She also shared stories of how, despite his extraordinary commitment to the nation, he was a fully involved and engaged father. She said that under communism, when Islam could not be openly observed, he practiced and celebrated it by having them skip school so they could honor both eids at home.

I departed Bosnia after paying my respects to a man who had lived proudly and died as a Muslim defending Islam for future generations in a land that some might believe is “not enough of a Muslim for the East, but too much of a Muslim for the West.” ih Shakeel Syed is a long time human rights activist and co-founder of www.musafir.us.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 53

MUSLIMS ABROAD

Toward Revival of the Ottoman Language A long overdue reinstitution

BY MISBAHUDDIN MIRZA

A

friend fondly recalls his (now late) father’s conversation with a Turkish doctoral student. In tears, she had told him, that she felt unfulfilled in her research because she couldn’t read the original material, which was only available in the Ottoman language.

Thus President Erdoğan’s 2014 announcement to make the Ottoman language (Osmanlıca) compulsory for high school students will have far-reaching benefits for Turks like this researcher and also for all Muslims. After all, its reintroduction is critically important for those who want to learn from the Ottomans themselves about their history and culture and how they spent a millennium bringing Islam’s message to India, East Asia, parts of Europe and elsewhere.

The treaty of Lausanne was always despised by most Turks, as well as by the world’s Muslims. President Erdogan had been demanding revisions to this unfair treaty. At the upcoming 100-year anniversary of this highly unpopular Treaty, its amendment and the introduction of the Ottoman language is sorely needed to help reunite the Muslim world.

“Most of the Ottoman Empire archives are written in this language, however, and historians are generally in favor of the idea, though skeptical about how to implement it, especially at high school level,” wrote Cagri Ozdemir (“Turkey’s compulsory Ottoman course causes controversy,” Dec. 31, 2014; www.alaraby.co.uk).

In 1928, Mustafa Kamal Ataturk (father of Turks) abolished Osmanlıca as part of his effort to redirect Turkey toward Europe. He replaced the Perso-Arabic alphabet with a Romanized one. The newly created Turkish Language Society (Turk Dil Kurummu [TDK]) sought to replace thousands of Arabic and Persian words with words found in various Turkic languages. Where none could be found, it invented new ones or created

Old Turkic inscription using the old Turkic alphabet. 8th century CE, Kyzyl, Russia.

Courtesy: Wikipedia.

imaginary etymologies tracing borrowed words to their supposed Turkic origins.

The intent of all such efforts was to disconnect the Turkic peoples from their history and culture within one generation.

And, it worked! Geoffrey Lewis, author of “The Turkish language reform: A catastrophic success” (Oxford University Press, 1999) describes it as the most thorough-going piece of linguistic engineering in history.

54 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Yusuf Kaplan of the daily Yeni Şafak explained that such language reforms were designed to kill a living language and sever Turkey’s ties with the Arab-Islamic world.

The new Republic’s ruling elite hoped that doing so would curb Islam’s influence on Turkish society.

Turkish is a member of the Oghuz group of languages, a subgroup of the Turkic language family. This family was originally grouped in the now discredited Altaic language family. The distinguishing features of Turkish are vowel harmony and agglutination. In addition, the Turkic family of languages also lacks grammatical gender. The earliest known Turkish alphabet is referred to as Turkic runes or runiform because of its superficial similarity with Germanic runic alphabets.

TDK is sometimes criticized for coining words which sound contrived and artificial.

The public rejected many words, such as bölem to replace fırka (political party).

Interestingly, Ataturk’s 1927 Ottoman-style speech to Parliament was so alien to later listeners that it had to be translated into modern Turkish in 1963, 1986 and again in 1995.

To fully understand this issue, we have to look at it in its historical context. After the Muslim Arabs conquered the Sassanid empire, the Persians converted to Islam and spent about 700 years producing good ulema. But this changed in 1502, when Shah Ismail I (d. 1524) conquered Persia and forcibly converted the population of Iran and Azerbaijan to Shiism.

Back again to the seventh century. Right after the conquest and Islamization of Persia, several Arabic words were incorporated into the indigenous Farsi language. The nomadic Oghuz Turks began converting to Islam in the ninth century. Armed with a beautiful new religion, these fearless fighters eventually burst onto the world stage with a resolve to spread the word about their newfound faith throughout the known world.

After the Seljuk Turks overran Persia, they became Persianized Turks — adopting heavily from Persia’s language and culture.

The Seljuks and Anatolian beyliks used Old Anatolian Turkish, which was almost identical to Old Ottoman Turkish (used until the 16th century).

Out of the ashes of the Seljuk Empire rose the Osmanli (Ottoman) Empire. From the 16th century until the Tanzimat reforms (1839), Middle Ottoman Turkish (widely

THE OTTOMAN LANGUAGE, OF WHICH ARABIC AND PERSIAN WORDS COMPRISED ALMOST 88 PERCENT, WAS THE ONLY LANGUAGE TO APPROACH ENGLISH IN THE SIZE OF ITS VOCABULARY regarded as “Classical” Turkish) was the language of poetry and administration. From the mid-1800s to the 20th century, New Ottoman Turkish, which was influenced

by European literature, was in vogue.

The Ottoman language, of which Arabic and Persian words comprised almost 88 percent, was the only language to approach English in the size of its vocabulary (G. L. Lewis, “Turkish Grammar,” Oxford University Press, 1967, 2000). On the other hand, according to the 2005 edition of “Güncel Türkçe Sözlük,” the official dictionary of the Turkish language, modern Turkish contains 104,481 words, of which about 86 percent are Turkish and 14 percent are from Persian, French, Italian, English and Greek.

In 1192, the Persianized Turkic armies reached India. Many centuries earlier, after Alexander the Great had defeated King Porus’ army (326 bce), the land’s Rajput kingdoms united to face him; however, Alexander’s soldiers mutinied and refused to fight the fierce Indian warriors. However, the Muslim Turks were able to attain their goal in India (and today’s Bangladesh), bringing with them

their Persianized-Turkish language that eventually gave birth to Urdu.

For instance, the tens of millions of Urduspeaking viewers had hoped to hear quite a few Turkish words common to Urdu while viewing the wildly popular and historically based TV serial “Diriliş: Ertuğrul.” But, except for the religious terminology, they cannot easily discern most modern Turkish words. This should not have been the case, given how Urdu came into existence. But it is encouraging that this show’s characters do use some Ottoman words found in Urdu, such as the repeated lakin (laikin, in Urdu — an apparent Arab-language cognate that means “however”).

María Isabel Maldonado García and Mustafa Yapici’s research paper “Common Vocabulary in Urdu and Turkish Language: A Case of Historical Onomasiology” (Pakistan Vision, Vol. 15 (1) 193-122, 2014) analyzes 150 apparent cognates in Turkish and Urdu to confirm their origin as well as lexical similarity through their distance. Their aim was to determine if these 150 words were cognates or loan words that both languages had borrowed from other languages. The results show that of the 150 sets of analyzed

terms, 106 were etymologically present in Arabic, 37 sets in Persian, 3 sets in Turkish, 1 set in Arabic that had arrived via Persian and 4 sets that had differing etymologies.

Erdogan’s 2014 announcement was met with resistance from the opposition.

So, the National Educational Council decided that Ottoman language classes be compulsory for the 1.1 million students at Imam-Hatip religious vocational high schools and be an elective for other high schools. This is significant progress, as before 2014, the Ottoman language was just confined to religious institutions and academic institutions. The University of Pennsylvania, which offers a course on Ottoman Turkish, uses Korkut Bugday’s “The Routledge Introduction to Literary Ottoman” (Routledge, 2009).

This is a good opportunity to begin to reconnect with the Ottoman Empire’s glorious history and culture. ih Misbahuddin Mirza, M.S., P.E., is a licensed professional engineer registered in New York and New Jersey. He served as the regional quality control engineer for the New York State Department of Transportation’s New York City Region, authored the iBook “Illustrated Muslim Travel Guide to Jerusalem” and has written for major U.S. and Indian publications.

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 55

FOOD FOR THE SPIRIT

Turn Your Face in Prayer Toward al-Masjid al-Haram Determining the correct qibla is a vital aspect of every observant Muslim’s daily life

BY SYED IMTIAZ AHMAD

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etermining the direction of the qibla, the direction toward which Muslims turn in their prayers, is not just for mosques but also comes up when someone moves or acquires a new residence, or a venue is rented for an Islamic event, and indeed when a new mosque is being designed.

The Ka‘bah, the first place of congregational worship built by Prophets Abraham and his son Ismail (‘alayhuma as salam), was originally a square roofless structure. A roof was added later to protect the congregation from the elements.

Despite being affected by both natural and man-made disasters and rebuilt several times, it has always retained its distinctive structure. Now contained within a vast building known as the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram), the prayers are performed facing this cubic structure, which is covered with a cloth of black brocade (kiswah), instead of within it.

Sometimes it may be said that the prayer direction is Makkah itself. But to be precise, one does not pray toward the actual city, but toward the Ka‘bah.

While building this structure, Prophet Abraham prayed, “Our

Lord, make us Muslims and our progeny a Muslim people bowing to your will” (2:128).

The meaning of “Muslim” here is “bowing to God’s will,” one who follows and seeks His guidance. In that sense, all prophets of God and their followers are considered Muslims,

56 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

even though Islam was formally declared by Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).

At that time, Muslims prayed toward the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem. But in Madinah, he was told to turn away from that city and to face the Sacred Mosque (2:144). After Makkah surrendered to the Prophet, he cleared away all of the idols that were inside and surrounding the Ka‘bah and declared it to be the community’s new and permanent prayer direction. The Quran states “… turn your face [in prayer] toward al-Masjid al-Haram and indeed, it is the truth from your Lord.” (2:149).

DETERMINING THE QIBLA

Finding the qibla for those living near Ka‘bah is easy. Just draw an imaginary line for the shortest distance from your location to the Ka‘bah, and the direction this line takes will point to the qibla. For those further away, take a large globe, place one pin at your location and the other at Makkah, and tie the two pins with a string that hugs the globe’s curved surface — and voila, you have the qibla.

Of course, we can say that this

is only an approximation, because Earth is a sphere. However, as Earth naturally appears flat when the distances between two locations are short, one can determine the shortest distance from any point to the Ka‘bah by drawing an imaginary line between the two points.

Over the centuries, astronomers, geographers and mathematicians have devoted a lot of time to determining its precise direction. Solutions were developed based on spherical trigonometry and geographical knowledge using astrolabes and the relevant

spherical surface, the qibla direction for North America is northeast, with small differences from city to city. Compasses use magnetic north, which is based on our planet’s internal magnetic field, for determining this direction.

Calculation methods, which view Earth as a sphere, imagine a line running from south to north at the sphere’s middle, which it calls “true north.” The difference between them is known as its “declination,” the amount of which is insignificant for North America.

The website https://hamariweb.com/

EVERY NOW AND THEN SOMEONE MAY TRY TO RESTART THE CONTROVERSY OVER THIS CONTINENT’S QIBLA DIRECTION — NORTHEAST VS. SOUTHEAST — THAT FIRST AROSE IN 1993. DR. KAMAL ABDALI, DIRECTOR OF NUMERIC, SYMBOLIC AND GEOMETRIC COMPUTATION PROGRAM AT THE AMERICAN NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, HAS RESOLVED IT (HTTPS://GEOMETE.COM/ ABDALI/PAPERS/QIBLA.PDF). latitude and longitude information. Today, the direction is relatively easy to determine through mobile phone software (apps), the Internet or specially marked compasses.

The commonly accepted method, the “orthodromic distance,” involves measuring the shortest distance between two points on Earth’s spherical surface. However, the correctness of this procedure is opposed by a minority of people who still claim that our planet is flat or prefer to visualize a line through its interior to determine the prayer direction.

Having the longitude and latitude information for point A, as well as the available calculation methods and relevant computer software (e.g., https://hamariweb. com/islam/qibla-direction.aspx), we can determine the correct direction at point A. In addition, specially designed compasses that show this direction at any location are readily available. Digital compasses do this more precisely.

Scholars of Islam have considered compasses valid tools. Using our planet’s

islam/qibla-direction.aspx enables one to locate the qibla from any location. Qiblafinder software is widely available and can be easily and freely downloaded to one’s mobile phone. For North America, the relevant line is shown the northeastern quadrant.

DIFFERENT MODELS There may be some questions about the earth, azimuth, spherical or ellipsoidal models used to calculate this direction and how precise they are. The azimuth model, which has been used in navigation systems and other applications, makes angular measurements in a spherical coordinate system. As it is less practical for determining the qibla direction, spherical or ellipsoidal models are better choices.

To be precise, Earth is not a perfect sphere because is somewhat flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator. Moreover, it isn’t even a perfect oblate spheroid, for it does have some deformities. However, these are small and have no significant bearing in calculating the qibla direction based

on a spherical Earth. Mathematically, the spherical model is easy to use and produces results that are almost as precise as those of the other models.

As long as we adhere to the common view of following Earth’s spherical surface, the differences in the results produced by these various models are insignificant.

Facetious views of Earth’s shape aside, one source of misunderstanding does require some explaining, namely, the widely available world maps developed by Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. These maps, which project Earth’s surface on a flat surface, became standard for navigation. If one places a pin at New York and another one at Makkah, the line’s direction is southeast, contrary to the directions produced by the spherical approach.

The correct projection of its spherical surface, a “gnomonic projection,” is used in seismic work because seismic waves tend to travel along great circles, namely, the lines of longitude around Earth’s surface.

A gnomonic map projection displays all of these great circles as straight lines, which causes any straight-line segment to show the geodesic shortest route between the segment’s two endpoints. Muslims who aren’t well versed in geography, spherical geometry and mathematical calculation may use the Mercator map to determine the qibla direction — a serious mistake indeed.

Every now and then someone may try to restart the controversy over this continent’s qibla direction — northeast vs. southeast — that first arose in 1993. Dr. Kamal Abdali, director of Numeric, Symbolic and Geometric Computation Program at the American National Science Foundation, has resolved it (https://geomete.com/abdali/ papers/qibla.pdf).

Determining the accurate qibla is particularly critical for Islamic centers and mosques, for Muslims must face the Sacred Mosque while praying, regardless of their location (2:144). If they cannot — maybe they are aboard an airplane — the best possible estimate is allowed. Ultimately, it is a matter of the individual’s intention and spirit (2:177). ih Dr. Syed Imtiaz Ahmad, emeritus professor at Eastern Michigan University, has served as ISNA vice president and president, ISNA Canada vice president and president, president of Computer Science Association of Canada, president of Association of Pakistani Scientists and Engineers of North America, president of Pakistan Canada Association, as well as president of Windsor Islamic Association, and chair of ISNA Canada School Board.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 57

MEDICAL ETHICS

Islam, Conscience and Medicine A recent development in the health-care field raises new issues

BY ABDULHAKIM AGHIL

T

he intersection of Islam and medicine is ripe for conversation and research. For example, classical Islamic literature focused on the Muslim clinicians’ adab (character) and the medical field’s guiding maxim: “One neither causes nor reciprocates harm.” This maxim is based on how the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) interacted with other people, never overstepped the boundaries established by God and gave each person his or her fair due.

Refreshing our knowledge about the deen and reaffirming our emulation of the prophetic character is especially important in our present circumstances. As a medical student, I see an ever-increasing number of Muslims entering the health-care field and moving up the ranks in hospitals and clinics nationwide. However, what I do not see is an accompanying increase in the number of serious and informed discussions on topics like Islamic bioethics and what it means to be a Muslim in the health-care world.

Anecdotally, it appears that most of these Muslims keep their heads low and go along with the prevailing procedures and/ or policies. This is astonishing, as so much in health care relates directly to the abovecited prophetic maxim. Given that physicians, nurses and health-care workers make

decisions about their patients’ lives/futures all the time, how their personal religious and moral convictions fit into this puzzle is an essential matter that need to be addressed.

This was brought to a head by a May 2019 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services directive that protects healthcare workers’ moral agency and religious liberties. However, if practitioners make patient-care decisions based on religious convictions, how do we reconcile this with the fact that they may be harming the patient and thereby infringing upon the abovementioned maxim.

But before delving into all of this, we should dispel the notion that medicine and health care are morally neutral professions in which our personal moral convictions play no part. Previously, the only relevant Islamic discussions on this matter have been along the lines of “just go along and follow the standards set up by the profession.” Perhaps our conscience is subservient to our duty to our patients, and thus our personal moral convictions take a back seat while in the hospital/clinic. However, if we truly believe that Islam is our way of life, then we must realize that each of our actions and decisions are either rewarded or not, that every action and decision has moral valence, for “Say,

58 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

‘Surely my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are all for Allah, Lord of all the worlds’” (6:162).

If we realize that every interaction with others is an opportunity to build our akhirah (eternal afterlife), then we will fully understand the seriousness of our position.

Only at that point will we recognize Islam as our way of life and seek to emulate the prophetic character in this regard as best we can. Our goal should be that our conscience, ability to discern right from wrong and our inner force to do good is shaped by divine laws and nurtured by emulating the Prophet.

Most of the time, our conscience adheres to the expected professional norms of patient-care and health-care customs.

Treating patients with respect and mercy, not causing harm and so on are important pillars of our obligation as health-care workers.

However, following our conscience can be extremely tough at times, especially when our moral convictions differ from what the professional standards expect from a healthcare worker.

This is where the DHHS’s new directive becomes imperative, for it establishes that physicians and health-care workers have moral agency and can use their professional, medical and ethical judgment without being coerced into violating their religious and moral convictions. The rule protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of their exercise of conscience. While the DHHS singles out and focuses on conscientious objections to such hot button topics like abortion, sterilization and assisted suicide, this directive should be observed as having a much larger impact.

Muslim health-care workers and Muslims in general can derive two major points from this new DHHS directive. First, Muslim health-care workers in the U.S. can now implement their moral and religious convictions while working. Perhaps in the past they feared being fired or passed over for promotion, and thereby jeopardizing their careers, if they brought religion into the workplace. Hopefully, this directive will lessen the anxiety of choosing between professional obligations and religious convictions.

While it doesn’t remove all obstacles to implementing one’s religious convictions, moral agency is powerful. I hope that we, as a community, will step up and take advantage of this opportunity. This is less about what your conscience and moral convictions entail, and more about the fact that you

Executive Director Position Available now have moral agency to act upon those moral and ethical convictions.

Second, and perhaps more pertinent, is that now would be a good time for introspection, to reexamine how our moral and ethical convictions affect our day-to-day decisions and actions, and to begin talking about how we interact with the surrounding society while holding steadfast to our moral and ethical convictions.

Muslim Americans have done a good job of bridging that gap by improving our respective practices through implementing the Prophet’s virtuous character. However, we need to realize that the entire health-care profession can be improved if we present ideas found in the Quran and Sunna to our colleagues and peers.

This isn’t a call for proselytization. Nor is a call to interject a hadith and a Quranic verse

THIS ISN’T A CALL FOR PROSELYTIZATION. NOR IS A CALL TO INTERJECT A HADITH AND A QURANIC VERSE INTO EVERY MEETING, FOR DOING SO DOESN’T MAKE OUR ACTIONS “ISLAMIC.” WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS OFFER THE NEW AND ORIGINAL IDEAS FOUND IN ISLAM’S CORE SOURCES AS WELL AS ENGAGE IN THOSE ACTIONS THAT EMULATE THE PROPHETIC CHARACTER. As the directive is directed mainly toward Christian physicians, most of the language and examples of conscience and moral convictions are centered around them. Islamic scholars, clinicians, nurses and various professionals should now meet and reflect upon what it means to have a conscience in one’s workplace, for it is one’s conscience that so often spurs religious convictions. In addition, we should start analyzing what it means to truly embody the prophetic character in our workplace and which of our actions there are — and are not — permissible within the context of Islamic law.

Most importantly, we should examine how Islam, following the divine law and emulating the Prophet allow us to both better ourselves in this life and the next, as well as how it can improve our workplaces and professions as a whole. And then, after all of the talking has finished, comes the time to initiate concrete action(s).

In our capacity as Muslim health-care workers, we should be the first ones at the table to help chart the future of health care and health-care policy. We should convene programs on Islamic bioethics and health care for considered deliberation as to where we stand as part of our religious and civic duty. If not, all of our discussions, thinking and talking will just be more empty words.

Right now, there is a gap between our secular professional life in the hospital/ clinic and our personal religious lives.

into every meeting, for doing so doesn’t make our actions “Islamic.” What we need to do is offer the new and original ideas found in Islam’s core sources as well as engage in those actions that emulate the prophetic character.

Ultimately, we must realize that these deliberations over Islam, Islamic bioethics and, in this example, conscience need to be global in nature. If we truly believe that Islam is the best way of life and that it leads to the best outcomes in this life and the hereafter, then we should be looking for ways to implement it among humanity at large. If we can recognize the aforementioned, then we can recognize that such discussions are meaningful on two fronts: We work to positively build our own akhirah through adhering to the divine law and to benefit others in this world by improving our respective professions.

In Surat al-Baqarah, God promises a heavenly reward to those who ask Him for good in this world and in the Hereafter. May He make us part of those people, as well as part of those who He uses to bring good to this world while simultaneously earning good in the Hereafter. ih Abdulhakim Aghil, a second-year medical student at the University of Kentucky’s College of Medicine, attended the University of Chicago’s Initiative on Islam and Medicine Medical Student internship program. A youth leader in his hometown of Lexington, Ky., he enjoys reading and learning about Islam, medicine and anthropology.

This article was produced as part of this internship program, which is underwritten by Drs. Skina and Hossam Fadel.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 59

The Noor Islamic Cultural Center, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) based in Central Ohio is searching for an Executive Director who is motivated and enthusiastic about working for a nonprofit.

The Executive Director will be responsible for the overall operations and programs of NICC, overseeing its administration, programs, and strategic plan. The candidate must demonstrate strong leadership ability, interpersonal skills, project management skills, and an ability to multitask.

Specifically, the Executive Director will: ■ Facilitate a strategic planning process and oversee the development and execution of the strategic plan; ■ Monitor programs, event budgets, donations, and expenditures; ■ Create best practices to manage staff that includes employees, contractors and volunteers;.

■ Directly supervise and evaluate the work of NICC employees; ■ Support and empower the entire NICC team, including the Executive Committee, staff, program managers, and other volunteers, and foster a positive work environment and culture; ■ Manage the Executive Committee and create a teambased environment that promotes clarity, cooperation, collaboration, alignment, and focus to meet NICC’s Mission andVision; ■ Work with relevant committee(s) to develop effective and efficient guidelines, processes, and procedures for the Board of Director’s review and approval; ■ Work with the Board of Directors and the Finance Committee to ensure the fiscal integrity and financial health of NICC; ■ Actively participate in NICC’s fundraising needs; ■ Manage and oversee the distribution of all NICC communication and marketing materials (including but not limited to newsletters, special event notices, press releases, and annual report); ■ Negotiate (with cooperation and consultation with the Board of Directors and relevant Executive Committees) contracts and agreements with suppliers, distributors, and other third-party entities for final approval by the Board of Directors; ■ Be responsible for Public Relations; ■ Maintain NICC’s status as a leading Muslim center in Ohio and the Midwest through maintaining an open and welcoming environment, and cultivating relationships with both Muslim and non-Muslim organizations; ■ Manage all human resources related functions including recruitment initiatives, development of HR policies, records management, employee relations, performance management, and training and development; ■ Work with the appropriate departments to ensure that the NICC property and facilities remain in safe and excellent condition.

JOB REQUIREMENTS ■ Education: Minimum BS or BA required. Graduate degree in management preferred.

■ Full understanding of and respect for the practices, traditions, theology, and structure of Sunni Islam as practiced in the United States.

■ Experience working with and in nonprofit settings required.

■ US citizenship/permanent residence status.

■ Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and fluency in English.

■ Strong interpersonal skills and ability to manage staff and volunteers.

■ Strong public relations skills.

■ Computer proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word and Excel.

This position reports directly to the Board of Directors. We offer a competitive compensation package with health insurance benefits. Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to edjob@noorohio.org.

MEDICAL ETHICS

Perspectives on Organ Donation and Transplantation Practical steps to moving forward in light of the latest legal opinion

BY ZAYD AHMED AND AASIM I. PADELA

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2,000 children under 18 and almost 70,000 ethnic minorities. Due to organ shortages, the number of transplantations actually performed is far less (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, 2019).

The oft-quoted “Whoever saves one life, it is as if he has saved all of humanity” (5:32) signifies the emphasis on saving lives, which may be realized through living or deceased organ donations. But how can this and other divine statements be applied toward relevant modern ethical issues in medicine? The best approach is to turn to those qualified to derive moral values from the Quran and Sunnh and who possess the practical skills necessary for applying usul al-fiqh methodologies to contemporary issues, namely, qualified muftis.

Thus we must first examine their rulings, as they can use their solid knowledge of the shari’a, as well as of Islam’s textual or theoretical sources and established principles, and of the individual’s circumstances to clarify a ruling and offer guidance. After

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he issue of organ donation and transplantation raises many ethical and religious concerns for Muslims, whether it’s signing up for a deceased donor registry or transplanting a kidney to one in need. Such things are relatively new, especially since this necessary medical technology didn’t exist during the Prophet’s (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) time.

Thus, given the absence of a direct related statement in the earliest fiqh books, we must consult the usul al-fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence) and/or the maqasid al-shari‘a (the shari’a’s objectives). To discover an Islamically permissible path forward one can turn to the qawa’id al-fiqhiyya (legal maxims) and consider the existing fatwas.

Before delving into such matters, however, we must understand organ donation’s significance and relevance in today’s medical landscape. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over 113,000 people are currently waitlisted for transplants, including almost

Overview of the U.S. Donation System 60 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

completing their deliberations, they can issue a fatwa, more specifically defined as a nonbinding opinion on which to base one’s action, based upon two essential aspects: 1) It is created upon the shari’a’s principles and juridical sources and 2) considers the context in which the question was asked (Padela, 2007. Islamic Medical Ethics: A Primer. Bioethics 21:169-78).

The challenge here is that the biomedical science and societal contexts framing the question may be unfamiliar to or beyond a single mufti’s expertise. Thus, contemporary fatwa committees commonly convene a meeting of Islamic scholars, along with medical and social scientists, to offer a collective fatwa or position statement.

Over the past several decades, many fatwa committees abroad have discussed organ donation and transplantation. But no leading American fiqh council ever addressed this issue until a few months ago. In December 2018, the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA; http://fiqhcouncil.org) issued its own fatwa: “On Organ Donation and Transplantation.” Written in consultation with medical practitioners, this ruling agrees with those scholars and councils that deem these medical procedures Islamically permissible in principle. If performed with good intentions, they can be regarded as charitable acts.

However, FCNA subjected its general allowance to several conditions: 1) One cannot sell or receive any other material gifts or benefits in exchange for his/her organs, because the human body is an amana (trust) from God as opposed to individual property. The Quran prohibits Muslims from harming or killing themselves, and the Prophet reported that one cannot sell that which he/she doesn’t own (“Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi,” book 14, hadith no.

1232).

2) Organ donation is forbidden if the relevant procedure(s) will inflict considerable harm upon the donor or recipient, based on multiple statements from the Quran and Sunna that prohibit all such inflictions or call for their removal. If necessary, the patients, physicians, families and jurists should conduct a risk/benefit analysis and determine the threshold of harm that can and should be tolerated. Following the principle of “no harm,” a living person cannot donate a vital organ -- one that would become a proximate cause of his/her death.

3) The donor needs to be informed and

give prior consent. Explicit authorization is required in cases of living donation. In cases of deceased donation, documentation of the potential donor’s wishes must be considered alongside consultation with his/her family’s understanding of those wishes.

4) There is no agreed-upon Islamic scholarly consensus of the validity of brain death. Is death a legal state or one that meets neurological criteria, a state of dying but not having yet met the standards of certain death?

Based on the principle of ihtiyat (caution), the council excludes all neurological criteria from

FCNA opposes donations after “brain death” but before “cardiac” death. This view has significant implications for Muslims because of the great push to increase post“brain death” donations and because the biomedical community terms “deceased donation” as a post-“brain death” donation.

Moreover, waiting for cardiopulmonary collapse renders certain types of organs unsuitable for donation. FCNA recognized this, but was uncomfortable with equating a “brain dead” state with the Islamic understanding of death.

THOSE WHO REMAIN HESITANT ABOUT DONATING ORGANS CAN STILL DONATE BLOOD OR JOIN A BONE MARROW REGISTRY. their definition of death and thus prohibits all such donations. The cardiac definition of death, after confirmation of cardiopulmonary cessation, is to be used as the basis for deceased donation.

5) Based on other juridical views and the shari’a’s higher objective of protecting one's lineage, one cannot donate reproductive organs (e.g., the ova, sperm, and uterus).

6) If a high risk of disability or mortality is determined to exist, then organ donation is forbidden. In general, the living donation of a non-vital second (e.g., kidney) or partial (e.g., partial liver) organ is allowed and can be considered unless it creates major harm.

Post-death donations of bones, corneas or tissues are allowed. Potential donors are urged to contact professionals to understand their options and risks.

Upon closer consideration, one may wonder how this fatwa applies to them.

Individual circumstances may require a living donation to a loved one, a reality of which this ruling approves. A living person may even choose to donate an organ to an unknown person by contacting local transplantation centers at hospitals and undergoing the requisite testing and counseling.

Deceased donations remain far more controversial. “Deceased donation” can refer to two people donating organs in two different states: after the neurological criteria for death are met (commonly but erroneously termed “brain death”) and after one’s cardiopulmonary criteria are met (one’s heart and breathing stop).

Those who remain hesitant about donating organs can still donate blood or join a bone marrow registry. Many minority patients dealing with diseases like leukemia (i.e., a cancer of blood-forming tissues) face the harsh reality that ethnic background influences the likelihood of a bone-marrow donation’s match. Furthermore, donations of skin and other tissues can be harvested after cardiac death to help those who need skin grafts. Although FCNA’s ruling does not specifically mention such donations, other juridical councils seem to permit them because they raise fewer Islamic concerns.

We urge all people to talk with family members, medical practitioners and Islamic jurists about such issues while they are still able to do so. Technological advancements are making face, hand and uterus transplantations a reality, and Muslims need to think about such donations in addition to the more traditional ones mentioned above.

In the absence of pre-death discussions and decisions, loved ones find it hard to make an educated decision on behalf of the dying or already dead person while taking into consideration their own interests.

Additionally, the process of becoming an organ donor differs from state to state, and some states don’t allow a family to overturn a registered donor’s directive.

As a fatwa is nonbinding, individuals can seek other opinions and determine their own moral stances. Indeed, FCNA’s ruling is just the latest of many modern and different perspectives. For example, in 1966 the late Grand Mufti of Pakistan

Muhammad Shafi’i wrote that both living and deceased donations violated human sanctity and thus were prohibited. The Islamic Fiqh Academy of India ruled in 1989 that it was forbidden unless certain conditions were met, one of them being “dire need.” Conversely, Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta’ al-Misriyya stated in 1979 that both living and deceased donations were generally permitted following certain conditions due to the principle of public interest (Padela AI, Duivenbode R. The ethics of organ donation, donation after circulatory determination of death, and xenotransplantation from an Islamic perspective. Xenotransplantation.

2018 May; 25(3):1-12). ih Zayd Ahmed, a medical student at University of Illinois College of Medicine, completed his bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in biological sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2019.

Aasim I. Padela, director of the Initiative on Islam and Medicine and associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, is an expert in Muslim health disparities research and Islamic bioethics.

This article was produced as part of the University of Chicago’s Initiative on Islam and Medicine Medical Student internship program, which is underwritten

by Drs. Skina and Hossam Fadel.

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 61

NEW RELEASES Islam and Good Governance: A Political Philosophy of Ihsan M. A. Muqtedar Khan 2019. Pp. 278. HB. $84.99 Palgrave Macmillan, New York, N.Y. roviding references from the Quran and Sunnah, Khan offers an alternate view of Islamic politics that emphasizes love over law, compassion over judgment, forgiveness over revenge and gentleness over harshness — an entirely different vision and practice of Islam in politics, one premised on the concept of ihsan (to do beautiful things).

Khan, who bridges the realms of Islamic spirituality and politics, argues that politics must subject itself to morality. He further contends that Muslims need to move away from thinking about the form of Islamic government and strive to create a self-critical society that defends national virtue and generates those institutions and practices that provide good governance.

This volume would interest the scholars of Sufism and political science.

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Sacred Liberty: America’s Long, Bloody, and Ongoing Struggle for Religious Freedom Steven Waldman 2019. Pp. 416. HB. $28.99, Kindle $14.99 HarperOne, San Francisco, Calif. aldman’s often-uncomfortable account of the history of religious freedom in the U.S. draws us into this epic struggle with a vivid and engaging narrative.

The author shows how early ideas about religious liberty were tested and refined amidst the brutal persecution of Catholics, Baptists, Mormons, Quakers, African slaves, Native Americans, Muslims, Jews and Jehovah’s Witnesses. He argues while the country’s leaders drove religious freedom forward, the biggest heroes were the regular Americans — people like Mary Dyer, Marie Barnett and W.D. Mohammed — who risked their lives or reputations by demanding to practice their faiths freely.

He provides a roadmap for how this great achievement can be preserved in the face of modern threats to religious freedom.

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The Qur’an’s Reformation of Judaism and Christianity: Return to the Origins Holger M. Zellentin (Ed.) 2019. Pp. 368. HB. $140.00.

Routledge, London and New York welve emerging and established scholars explore how the Quran updates, transforms and challenges the religious practice, beliefs and narratives developed with Late Antique Jews and Christians in dialogue with the Bible. It also establishes the Quran’s unique perspective, alongside its continuity with Judaism and Christianity.

Chapters focus on individual suras and intra-Quranic parallels, the Quran’s relationship to pre-Islamic Arabian culture, its intertextuality and literary intricacy, as well as its legal and moral framework. It illustrates a move away from the problematic paradigm of cultural influence and instead emphasizes the Quran’s attempt to reform the religious landscape of its time.

In addition, this collection offers new insight into the Quran as a whole and into recent methodological developments, thereby providing a compelling snapshot of the burgeoning field of Quranic studies. It should be of interest to everyone interested in religion, Islam and Middle Eastern studies.

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Useful Enemies: Islam and the Ottoman Empire in Western Political Thought, 1450-1750 Noel Malcolm 2019. Pp. 512. HB. $34.95, Kindle $23.99 Oxford University Press, New York, N.Y. alcolm argues that from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 until the 18th century, many Western European writers have viewed the Ottoman Empire with an almost obsessive interest. They reacted to it with fear and distrust, feelings reinforced by Western Christendom’s deep hostility toward Islam.

Malcolm discusses how these thinkers interpreted the empire as a political phenomenon — and therefore Islam as a political religion. He also shows how radical writers, who criticized Christianity and all religions, assimilated a negative portrayal of Islam as a religion devised for political purposes.

Examining the works of both famous and lesser-known thinkers, Malcolm both illuminates the long-term development of Western ideas about the Ottomans and Islam as well as shows how they became intertwined with internal Western debates about power, religion, society and war. These Eastern

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62 ISLAMIC HORIZONS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

enemies, he states, were not just there to be denounced but to be made use of in arguments — an approach that contributed significantly to the development of Western political thought.

Behind the Veil: A Critical Analysis of European Veiling Laws Neville Cox 2019. Pp. 288. HB $135.00, eBook $31.00 from Google Play, ebooks.com Elgar Studies in Human Rights, Cheltenham, UK ox considers the arguments used since 2010 to justify anti-veiling laws and analyzes whether they can be seen as justified interferences with women’s rights to dress as they desire.

He observes that while many of these laws prohibit all face veiling to seem neutral, their real target is Muslim women. The author both analyzes these justifications in the context of why women wear veils and refers to emerging debates surrounding the relative value of liberalism and human rights, multiculturalism and the need to protect “traditional values.”

Cox concludes that these laws are best viewed as symbolic strikes at a recognizable symbol of an ideological opponent, theorizing that their principal purpose is to enable particular countries to reaffirm traditional values in a context of increased domestic opposition to multiculturalism.

This engaging work will be valuable reading for students and scholars of human rights law, Islamic law and those interested specifically in the laws and regulations surrounding this global practice.

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Decolonial Psychoanalysis: Towards Critical Islamophobia Studies Robert Beshara 2019. Pp. 162. HB. $140.00, PB. $46.95, eBook $23.48 Routledge, London and New York rawing on postcolonial and decolonial approaches to Islamophobia, Beshara enhances understandings of Critical Border Thinking and Lacanian Discourse Analysis, alongside other theoretico-methodological approaches.

Viewing decolonial psychoanalysis as one theoretical resource for the field of critical Islamophobia studies, the author applies Lacanian Discourse Analysis to extracts taken from interviews conducted with Muslim Americans in order to theorize their ethico-political subjectivity and considers a politics of resistance, adversarial aesthetics and ethics of liberation.

Essential to any attempt to come to terms with the legacy of racism in psychology, this sole critical psychological study on Islamophobia in the U.S. should interest those seeking a critical approach to Islamophobia.

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Halal and Zabihah Food: A Simple Guide Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui 2019. Pp. 143. PB. $8.99 KZS Books, Ashburn, Va. ith growing Muslim minorities in the West and Muslim tourists worldwide, the issue of what constitutes halal food remains important. Most Muslims have questions, as they are unfamiliar with the Quranic and hadith injunctions.

By citing and then analyzing the relevant requirements, Siddiqui seeks to help readers comply with the divine commands. He also analyzes the opinions of the different schools of legal thought and explains why all zabihah is halal, but not all halal is zabihah.

Among the key issues discussed are: Is non-zabihah meat permissible, what food of the Ahl al-Kitab is halal, what is the Quranic position on halal and zabihah, must one mention God’s name at the time of slaughter and what food is permissible according to the Bible? Islamic laws about hunting, eating non-domesticated creatures and what creatures and food are haram are also mentioned, as is when consuming haram food is permissible.

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My Grandma and Me Mina Javaherbin (Lindsey Yankey, Illus.)

2019. Pp. HB. $16.99 Candlewick, Somerville, Mass. n her autobiographical book designed for preschoolers to third graders, Mina relates her world and her grandmother. Her book is a love letter, a fact that is evident on every page, as well as a personal invitation into the coziest home to witness how Mina and her grandma adore each other. She sensitizes young readers to the beauty of a friendship that spans faiths and cultures. ih

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