Member, axis of good 
Friday, July 03, 2009 | 11 Rajab 1430  
HOME
COMMENT
opinion
BRIEFINGS
analysis
NEWSMAKERS
interviews
REVIEWS
media
VISIONS
photo + video
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
altmuslim this week - june 29, 2009 - This week, reeling over the death of Michael Jackson (or is it Mikaeel?), a brutal (and brutally unfair?) new film about the stoning of women in Iran, and our good friend Farah Pandith - the most effective behind-the-scenes American Muslim you've never met - is promoted to a new office by Secretary Clinton.
ASIDES
editor's blog
US outreach to Muslims in good hands - Several of us at altmuslim have had the opportunity to work with Farah Pandith, who has just been appointed by Secretary Clinton to be a special representative to Muslim communities worldwide. (June 27, 2009)

Her name is Neda - Many have died tragic - and silent - deaths in the post-election violence in Iran. But one woman, Neda Agha Soltan, became a symbol with her death caught on video. Here, Neda's fiancee, Caspian Makan, comments on her story in comments transcribed exclusively for altmuslim.com. (June 25, 2009)

CONTRIBUTORS
PODCASTS
altmuslim review 032 - Muslim writers everywhere! We speak about the new wave of Western Muslim literature and interview two authors with recently released books. Our own Irfan Yusuf talks about his memoir, Once Were Radicals and Reza Aslan tells us more about his second book, How to Win a Cosmic War (June 11, 2009)

altmuslim review 031 - Oh, Bama! What does the election of Barack Obama mean for American Muslims, who were both courted and shunned during a long campaign? We speak with American Muslim Democratic activists who were gathered in Washington for the historic inauguration. (March 5, 2009)

ELSEWHERE
State-sponsored Sufism, Ali Eteraz, Foreign Policy, June 10, 2009.

Pushing the Envelope Without Breaking It, Shahed Amanullah, The Mosque in Morgantown, June 2, 2009.

Obama in Egypt: Let the unsaid be said, Zahed Amanullah, Patheos.com, May 28, 2009.

Zahed will be a panelist at Divan 2.0, a debate on the future of the Muslim internet sponsored by the Radical Middle Way at the London School of Economics in London, England, May 22, 2009.

Once Were Radicals (published by Allen and Unwin), the first book by Associate Editor Irfan Yusuf, is released in Australia, May 4, 2009.

Shahed and Wajahat will be speaking at the 3rd Annual Leadership Summit presented by the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals in Princeton, NJ, May 2, 2009.

Shahed will be leading a workshop on Media Strategies & Techniques at the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow conference in New York, NY, April 24-25, 2009.

Bringing it all back home, Wajahat Ali, The Guardian, Comment is Free, April 9, 2009.

Zahed will be conducting a two day workshop on Blogging and New Media for Italian students at the United States Embassy, Rome, Italy, April 8-9, 2009.

Crusading for Modern Islamic Art, Shahed Amanullah, Beliefnet, March 26, 2009.

Wajahat will be speaking at the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow conference in Doha, Qatar (January 16-19, 2009)

Finding the middle ground, Hesham Hassaballa, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 8, 2009.

Shahed will be speaking about Muslims in the political process at the 8th annual Texas Dawah Convention in Houston, Texas (December 27, 2008)

Skyscraping ambition for Mecca, Ali Eteraz, The Guardian (UK), Comment is Free (December 18, 2008)

Zahed will be leading a technology workshop for European Muslim professionals at the Salzburg Global Seminar, Salzburg, Austria (November 16-20, 2008)

Zahed will be a keynote speaker at the inaugural meeting of the Network of European Muslim Technology Entrepreneurs, in Madrid, Spain (November 14, 2008)

Shahed will be a featured panelist at Red Faith/Blue Faith: Religion in the 2008 Election and Beyond at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC (November 7, 2008)

Let the Global Islamic Conspiracy Begin, Ali Eteraz, Jewcy, (November 5, 2008)

Zahed will be a guest on Press TV's Islam & Life, hosted by Tariq Ramadan, speaking on French and American Muslim experiences (November 3, 2008)

Zahed will be a guest on Irish broadcaster RTE's Spectrum radio show, speaking about Barack Obama and the Muslim factor in the US presidential election (November 1, 2008)

IN THE NEWS
Islamic Society reaches out to other faiths - "ISNA is very interested in extending their connections with Protestant groups," said Rafia Zakaria, an Indiana lawyer and associate editor at altmuslim.com, a Web site that looks at Muslim issues. "Having a figure as high profile as him gives them legitimacy to extend those kinds of alliances with church groups that have a significant amount of power in the United States." (June 21, 2009)

American Muslims, Jews rate Obama’s speech - "He was really pressing for people to say in public what they say in private. Everybody knows what the solutions to a lot of these problems are and I think there is vast agreement on what they are going to be. But nobody really talks about it and puts the cards on the table," said Shahed Amanullah, editor of the Web site altmuslim.com. (June 5, 2009)

A place to explore Muslim American life - "The biggest challenge facing us is more internal - asking the deeper question. Okay, now that we know that we are Muslim Americans or American Muslims, whatever you want to call us, what does that mean?" (May 23, 2009)

The great potential for online Muslim media - "A recent study in the US implies a correlation between non-Muslims who fear Islam and those who don't know any Muslims. The more Muslims get to know their non-Muslim neighbours, the more ability they will have to influence them." (April 29, 2009)

Obama’s entreaty to Islam surprises Muslims - "Here's where the American public is going, and here's where Obama is going and trying to head it off," said Shahed Amanullah, editor and publisher of altmuslim.com. The Bush administration asked Amanullah for help in shaping dialogue with the American Muslim community. "He's heading it off on a global level," Amanullah said. "He's starting at a core of the problem. The core of the problem is the crisis overseas." (April 8, 2009)

CONTENT PARTNERS
Islamica Magazine

Common Ground News Service

Beliefnet

European Media Islamic Network

Q-News

Illume Media

The American Muslim
Hesham Hassaballa
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Hesham Hassaballa
Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician currently practicing in the greater Chicago area. He has written extensively on a freelance basis, being published in the Chicago Tribune as well as other newspapers around the country and around the world. He has been a Beliefnet columnist since 2001, and he is also a columnist for the Religion News Service. In addition, Dr. Hassaballa is associate editor of Illume Magazine.

Dr. Hassaballa is author of the essay "Why I Love the Ten Commandments," published in the book Taking Back Islam (Rodale), winner of the prestigious Wilbur Award for 2003 Best Religion Book of the Year by the Religion Communicators Council. He is also co-author of the book The Beliefnet Guide to Islam, published by Doubleday. In addition to writing, Dr. Hassaballa helped found the Chicago chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and has served on its executive board. More of Hesham's writings can be found on his blog, God, Faith, and a Pen.
Islamic Relief: A 4-Star Charity

ARTICLES BY HESHAM HASSABALLA

Extremism
Does Islam need a reformation?
Given the often terrible news about Islam, it is only natural to wonder whether Islam itself is the problem. Yet, as tempting as it is to apply the Christian experience as analogy, it is a flawed premise from the very beginning. (48 comments)

Darfur
Rallying to the wrong cause
It took an indictment by the International Criminal Court to rally the Muslim world to the cause of Darfur. But Muslim countries are rallying to support Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir, rather than to support the victims of the Darfur tragedy. (30 comments)

Guantanamo detainees
Do not put them to death
As satisfying as it would be, as soothing to the inner rage that burns in all Americans from the slaughter of 9/11, we should not put the alleged 9/11 terrorists to death if they are convicted in a court of law. (16 comments)

Christmas
Christ in the Qur’an
Jesus wanted to free them from the shackles of the legalism that choked off their spirituality. Christ returns in the Qur'an with the very same message, although Christ does not speak one word. (4 comments)

Hajj 2008/1429
Standing alone among millions
The Hajj was the most powerful experience I have ever had, and its sights, sounds, and smells are as fresh today as they were nearly six years ago when I performed the once-in-a-lifetime trek to Mecca. (16 comments)

Answering atheism
Religion, good and evil
It is quite easy to look at all this pain and suffering committed in the name of religion and conclude that religion itself is the problem. Yet, this criticism misses the point. Religion is not the problem: It is the so-called "religious" who are. (12 comments)

Terrorism
The dilemma of the “die-hards”
If the military option is not defeating Al Qa'ida, what are we to do against the small number of "die hard" militants who will never be convinced that their version of "jihad" is satanic in nature? (23 comments)

Smoking
A time to kick the habit
Ramadan is all about changing our behavioral patterns to make ourselves better. Thus, we should take the opportunity of the fast of Ramadan to break the habit of smoking. (4 comments)

Free speech
Something better
There will always be those who attack and smear Islam with lies, falsehoods, half-truths, and generalizations. All we have to do is respond with facts, not bombs, Molotov cocktails, burned embassies, burned flags, death fatwas, or even lawsuits. (26 comments)

Free will
Alarm over Allam?
If Magdi Allam decides to leave Islam, that is his business, and he will answer to God for his decision. No one should brace for an angry response, because an angry response is completely unnecessary. (13 comments)

Reverend Jeremiah Wright
Could a Muslim ever say that?
Unlike the comments of Barack Obama's former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, any anti-American statement by an American Muslim leader would immediately be considered tantamount to sedition. (50 comments)

Valentine's Day
A true love story
I can find no love story more powerful, more spiritually uplifting, more awe inspiring as that of the Prophet Muhammad and Khadijah. It is a shining example of what an ideal marriage is. (0 comments)

US Elections
Barack’s opportunity
When the whispers of Barack Obama's Muslim heritage first surfaced, Obama remained almost completely silent. When the whispers emerge once more, this opportunity should not be lost again. (31 comments)

Waterboarding
Drowning for justice
Why on earth is there any doubt that waterboarding - basically a form of drowning - is a form of torture? What will it take to convince us all, Senators and Attorneys General included, to reject it? (1 comments)

Movie "Rendition"
Nothing ordinary about “Rendition”
A new movie about the controversial practice of "extraordinary rendition" may be more educational than entertaining, but that doesn't make it any less important (5 comments)

Defining sharia
Faithful questions about Islamic law
The purpose of the Sharia is to promote justice and the common good. In a minority of instances, however, the Sharia has been an instrument of injustice and intolerance. (35 comments)

Suicide Terrorism
The betrayal of suicide bombers
Getting to heaven is tough work, and it requires a lifetime of struggle against human weakness and temptation (along with God's grace), not the press of a button on a suicide belt. (25 comments)

Modern Islam
The phenomenon of “designer religion”
Islam does not need to be "updated," although the thinking and practices of a great many Muslims do. Islam is not a "designer religion." (109 comments)

Extremism among US Muslims
Going after the devil
Although the findings of the recent Pew poll are generally positive, dismissing some of the more concerning ones would be terribly irresponsible. (2 comments)

VT victim Waleed Shaalan
Let me tell you about my brother
He may not be my "blood" brother, but Waleed Shaalan, who died saving a stranger at Virginia Tech, was my brother in faith, a faith that teaches about the sanctity of life. (37 comments)

Stem-cell research
Stem cell support in Islam (and not the Oval Office)
Unlike the decisions made on the religious convictions of US President George Bush, support for stem cell research does not contradict Islam. It doesn't contradict common sense, either. (7 comments)

Islamic law in the West
Leave the Qur’an out of this, please
It is bad enough that there are Muslims who use the Qur'an to justify domestic violence; now we have a German judge who - wittingly or not - has done the same thing. (25 comments)

Salt Lake City Murders
Poof! He’s a terrorist!
Unless the facts bear otherwise, Mr. Talovic is just another criminal who has committed a terrible act of violence in our country. The fact that he is Muslim is absolutely irrelevant. (2 comments)

Sectarian Violence in Iraq
Return of the Arabs
The vicious violence in Iraq is no longer about Sunni vs. Shi'i. It is the return of the Arabs - by which I mean a return to the ignorance of pre-Islamic Arabia. (20 comments)

Reflections
Our real enemy
Let us resolve, in this year 2007, to stop throwing stones at each other and start throwing stones at Satan: our real enemy. (13 comments)

Hajj reflections
Of birth and re-birth
I arrived in Mecca and beheld His House for the first time, not being able to hold back my tears. I was immediately humbled by the Awesome Power of God, by His Almighty Majesty. (0 comments)

Interfaith Understanding
So that you may know one another
The Qur'an anticipates the fact that there will be a plurality of religious communities on the earth, and that this diversity is part of God's divine plan. (1 comments)

Muslims Today
For those who are conscious of God
The difficulties found in the Muslim community today remind me of the hadith that foretells when keeping one's faith would be like holding hot coals. (3 comments)

Torture and Interrogation
Why we should not torture
It is possible that useful information may be gleaned by using torture. Yet, much more often, the information gathered through torture is not useful at all. (0 comments)

Concepts of God
God is the king
Part of our rights as citizens of this blessed country is the pledge to defend and follow the Law of the land. It is not right that we pledge to uphold the law and then betray that pledge. (4 comments)

Reflections
God has 99 names
Islamic tradition counts 99 names or attributes for God. I want to reflect on them and try to understand what they mean for me. (2 comments)

Terminology
If not “Islamic fascists,“ then what?
We can complain about the use of the term "Islamic fascist", or we can come up with our own term that is more accurate and push for its use. (4 comments)

Middle East Conflicts
Another vision of the “new Middle East”
While visions of a "new Middle East" focus on political change in Arab countries, that political change won't come unless a fair solution to land conflicts is made possible. (0 comments)

Middle East Mediation
Time for a new “honest broker”
When studying the actions of the United States throughout this entire Middle East crisis, can one honestly say that they are those of an "honest broker"? Absolutely not. (12 comments)

Sectarian Violence in Iraq
Not in my name
According to many people, we should move beyond the past. Fine, let us then talk about the present goings on in Iraq - starting with allegations of raping Iraqi civilians. (8 comments)

Muslims in the West
Integration is a two-way street
Not only must Muslims be willing to extend their hands to their non-Muslim neighbors, but those non-Muslim neighbors must also be willing to extend their hands in return. (9 comments)

Scholars and Believers
What are the requirements to reflect over the Qur’an?
We're told to read the Qur'an and ponder its meaning, but we're criticized for talking about it - that is, if we aren't considered qualified to do so. (11 comments)

Language and Interpretation
A new understanding of “kufr”
Muslims use the word "kufr" and "kafir", but do they really understand their meanings? Could there be more nuanced understandings that remain uncovered? (16 comments)

Interfaith Relations
Are we really supposed to hate non-Muslims? (Part 2)
How should Muslims interact with people of other faiths? What do Islam and Muslim scholars have to say about the matter? (5 comments)

Interfaith Relations
Are we really supposed to hate non-Muslims? (Part 1)
How should Muslims interact with people of other faiths? What do Islam and Muslim scholars have to say about the matter? (4 comments)

Apostasy in Islam
Are the scholars the same as God himself?
The ink of the scholars may be more valuable than the blood of martyrs, as the Prophet Muhammad once said - but it is not the Word of God. (2 comments)

Apostasy in Islam
Let God be the judge
The Qur'an is very clear on this: There's no compulsion in religion. So why is an Afghan Christian convert being persecuted? (1 comments)

Terminology
In search of the kuffar (“infidels”)
Many Muslims may understand that a kafir is anyone who is not Muslim, a so-called "infidel." It is not that simple. (16 comments)

Wafa Sultan
A lost opportunity
As I listened to Dr. Wafa Sultan speak about the crimes committed by Muslims throughout the centuries, I thought to myself, "Here we go again." (224 comments)

Domestic wiretapping
President Bush and the rule of law
If we compromise on our values simply because our enemy is brutal and inhuman, then everything that has been done on behalf of America will have been for nothing. (0 comments)

Domestic violence
The shame of “honor killings” in the Muslim world
From where did this come? Where in the Qur'an does it sanction the murder of a woman on the mere accusation of adultery? What sort of barbarity is this? (82 comments)

African-American Muslims
Why my daughter should have MLK day off
If it weren't for brave Americans like Dr. Martin Luther King, immigrant Muslims would not have been able to establish themselves and build mosques and Islamic schools. (7 comments)

Inspiration
Finding wisdom in a Christina Aguilera song
The Prophet taught us that "Wisdom is the 'lost animal' of the believer. Wherever it may be, the believer belongs to it." This means that we must find wisdom wherever it may reside. (21 comments)

Religion and Society
Do we really trust in God?
A nation that trusts in God knows that God will always lend His Helping Hands so long as it does what is right. (3 comments)

Extremism
Why did you say that?
"Why did you say some of those things? Why do you want to make Muslims look bad? They already are saying those things about us. So, why do you have to say it?" (2 comments)

Apostasy
Are we really supposed to murder apostates?
What kind of faith - which claims to be the truth - is so threatened by the rebellion of some of its adherents that it mandates they be murdered? (4 comments)

Integration in France
Should imams in France learn French?
Every single imam in France should about learn about the French language, culture, and civic life. I believe it is their religious obligation. (2 comments)

Inspiration
Isn’t this also a desecration of the Qur’an?
What exactly is the Qur'an, anyway? Is it simply a book of paper and ink? Is it a charm with which Muslims adorn their chests and their walls at home? (2 comments)

Freedom of religion
If it’s wrong, it’s wrong
What if a bunch of FBI agents had raided a Muslim's apartment and destroyed a makeshift mosque there? Muslims around the world would have been up in arms, and rightly so. (1 comments)

Responding to Rand
Fighting manipulation with conspiracy?
The Muslim world does not need the RAND Corporation to "divide and conquer" the Muslims. Muslims have done quite an amazing job of that by themselves. (8 comments)

Spirituality
Letter to my beloved
We need your gentle hands, your heartwarming smile, your profound wisdom, your stalwart strength, and your kind demeanor. (7 comments)

Community
Do I have “ummah-itis”?
If my shedding of tears over Muslims being killed in Darfur or deep concern about homeless survivors of the Tsunami is "Ummah-itis", then I don't want to be cured. (0 comments)

Rebuilding Iraq
What if Iraq goes Islamic?
I can almost sense the nervous trepidation in Washington, because I am almost certain that this was not the outcome they had hoped for. (1 comments)


American Muslims for Palestine HalfDate.com