http://www.altmuslim.com Global perspectives on Muslim life, politics, and culture en-us editor@altmuslim.com Copyright 2009 altmuslim.com 2009-07-03T09:00:47-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/al_jazeeras_new_american_challenge/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/al_jazeeras_new_american_challenge/#When:08:00:47Z On 1 July 2009, media relations between the Arab world and the United States took a fascinating turn. For the first time, the Doha-based TV station Al Jazeera brought its English-language news service to a large cable television audience in America, beginning in Washington, DC and then moving to other US cities. As the company’s director general, Wadah Khanfar, recently explained, the station is now expected to reach 2.3 million American viewers through MHZ Networks, a DC area cable TV provider, and has the potential to effect significant change in US-Arab relations. Though Al Jazeera launched English-language programming in November 2006, it was not picked up by major US cable providers because of the widespread view that its coverage went against American objectives. This new decision marks a cultural shift. 2009-07-03T08:00:47-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/muslims_in_europe_the_scottish_example/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/muslims_in_europe_the_scottish_example/#When:10:00:57Z With the increasing influence of nationalist parties in Europe (such as Britain's BNP and the Dutch PVV party) and their subsequent demonizing of Muslim communities, you might find it surprising that a Muslim would run for British Parliament as a candidate for a self-described nationalist party. But the Scottish National Party (SNP) is no ordinary nationalist party and its candidate for British Parliament from Glasgow, Osama Saeed, is no ordinary Muslim. Though under 30, he is already an experienced activist, an award-winning blogger, and chief executive of the Scottish-Islamic Foundation. Saeed became attracted to the SNP when it opposed British involvement in the Iraq war in 2003 and soon found himself under the wing of Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond. Though he was a failed SNP candidate in 2005, the turmoil of Britain's expenses scandal and recent successes of SNP candidacies in European Parliament elections in early June both mean that Saeed has a very good chance of winning his seat at the next general election, to be held before June 2010. Here, Saeed speaks with us about his impending candidacy, Scotland's model of multiculturalism, and why Muslims in Scotland should continue to find comfort in a nationalist political party. Zahed Amanullah 2009-07-01T10:00:57-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/beyond_the_burqa/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/beyond_the_burqa/#When:09:45:20Z Much has been said about the burqa in different parts of the world in the past week. On June 22, 2009, French President Nicholas Sarkozy expressed his support for dozens of French legislators expressing their support for a complete ban on the burqa saying:” the burqa is not a religious sign; it’s a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement” and that “it would not be welcome in the French Republic.”. Mere days before Sarkozy’s pronouncement, in a courtroom across the Atlantic, the Michigan Supreme Court decided in favor of amending a court rule that would allow judges to dictate courtroom attire and legally require women wearing the niqab to remove the covering while testifying in court. At the same time, viewers across the world watched Iranian women in various forms of veiling from handkerchief styled hijabs to fully encompassing black chadors erupt in protests on the streets of Tehran. Rafia Zakaria 2009-06-29T09:45:20-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/the_way_he_made_us_feel/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/the_way_he_made_us_feel/#When:11:00:57Z When I performed the hajj for the first time in 1985, I found myself at Saudi Arabian customs – a young American from Los Angeles who had never left his country, much less experienced another culture first-hand. As the passport control official looked over my documents, ascertaining my nationality, his eyes widened. He leaned over the counter and asked me only one question before letting me on my way. “Do you know Michael Jackson?” It’s hard to overestimate the impact Jackson, who died yesterday of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles at the age of 50, had on the world in general, much less the Muslim world. But rarely has there been such a pervasive export of American culture than that contained in a skinny, androgynous figure who floated across the stage and made everybody simply want to get up and dance. Who else on earth could get tens of thousands from around the world to replicate 25-year old dance moves and synchronize them over the Internet, year after year? Or Filipino prisoners, for that matter? Zahed Amanullah 2009-06-26T11:00:57-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/state-sponsored_sufism/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/state-sponsored_sufism/#When:10:00:40Z Once certain ideas go mainstream, it often takes a pretty big flop to disprove them. The United States was supposed to be hailed as the liberator of Iraq, just as it was going to be easy to turn Afghanistan into a democracy. Well now, according to commentators from the BBC to the Economist to the Boston Globe, Sufism, being defined as Islam's moderate or mystical side, is apparently just the thing we need to deal with violent Muslim extremists. Sufis are the best allies to the West, these authors say; support them, and countries as diverse as Pakistan and Somalia could turn around. The Sufi theory has a lot of variations, but at its core, it's pretty simple: Violent Muslim extremism, rather than having material and political bases, is caused by certain belligerent readings of Islam usually associated with Salafism, a movement that attempts to resurrect the Islam of the prophet Mohammed's time, and Wahhabism, a similarly conservative branch. If Muslims can be indoctrinated with another, softer, interpretation of Islam, then the militants, insurgents, and guerrilla fighters will melt away. Ali Eteraz 2009-06-24T10:00:40-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/leave_iran_alone/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/leave_iran_alone/#When:17:00:41Z So despite the cacophony of mock-solidarity echoing from all echelons of the US neo-conservative establishment, when it comes to doing what’s best for the Iranian people and indeed for the world, the US must do nothing at all. “We’re all neo-cons now”, announced a recent article published by the Wall Street Journal on June 18, 2009. The article reiterated what has become the Republican Party’s refrain following the tumult of the Iranian presidential elections: President Obama needs to take a stronger stance in support of the protestors demonstrating against President Ahmadinejad. “Obama’s timidity on Iran leaves him increasingly isolated,” the piece announced, insinuating that even the president’s own staff, like Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden, were dissatisfied with his lack of overt support for Mir Hossein Moussavi’s supporters, risking arrest to take to Tehran’s streets. Rafia Zakaria 2009-06-22T17:00:41-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/there_are_so_many_things_that_surprised_me/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/there_are_so_many_things_that_surprised_me/#When:06:59:58Z A little over four years ago, San Francisco-based documentary filmmaker Jennifer Taylor approached me with an idea for a documentary film. "I'm in the research stages on a new documentary film about American Muslim hip-hop," she explained, "and how it relates to the shaping of American Muslim youth culture." I did my best to connect her to the right people and to be a sounding board for her ideas, and she soon disappeared into her filmmaking. After resurfacing some time later, Taylor emerged with many amazing stories, including one that would take over the heart of her documentary film, "New Muslim Cool", which will have its US premiere on June 23rd as the season-opener for the PBS POV film series. In this interview, Taylor gives some insight into the people at the heart of the film, talks about avoiding the typical traps found when telling stories about Muslims, and explains how labels become meaningless for a community that increasingly blurs the lines between ethnicities, beliefs, and cultures. Shahed Amanullah 2009-06-19T06:59:58-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/one_step_forward_two_steps_backward/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/one_step_forward_two_steps_backward/#When:07:00:40Z Developments in the Mideast are not very promising for President Obama’s hopes and plan to broker comprehensive peace in the Middle East and enhance United States national security. Recent events indicate that the region has taken one step forward and two steps backward. The Step Forward: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under severe pressure from the United States finally expressed reluctant support for a Palestinian State with limited sovereignty. His idea of a Palestinian state is an entity without the right to a defense or foreign policy. A state that will never have the means to defend itself from anyone, and will never have the right to make friends and allies that Israel does not like. Meaning it will never be independent of Israeli political domination. Direct occupation will give way to indirect domination. Even though Netanyahu’s offer is Machiavellian – it adds new conditions that will derail the peace process for sure -- it is a positive step forward because it introduces Americans and the American President to a new concept – Israel can be pressured to change its course without the sky falling on Washington DC. Muqtedar Khan 2009-06-18T07:00:40-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/pushing_the_envelope_without_breaking_it/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/pushing_the_envelope_without_breaking_it/#When:09:00:42Z As a believer in the greater inclusion of women in Muslim institutions in America, I have long been supportive of efforts to bring attention to gender inequity in mosque life. The reality of this aspect of our community became impossible to ignore when, in the course of my work in promoting transparency of Muslim institutions through use of the Internet, I found that a substantial number of comments at my mosque review site salatomatic were written by women detailing the indignities they had faced at neighborhood mosques. The stories — ranging from exclusion from board politics to separate (and unequal) prayer spaces — were a stinging indictment of the larger community’s ignorance of, or inability to rectify, a situation which I believe has no religious sanction within Islam. A widely publicized example of this can be seen in The Mosque in Morgantown, which details the efforts of journalist Asra Nomani to forcibly level the playing field at her local mosque. Shahed Amanullah 2009-06-17T09:00:42-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/are_fists_unclenching_in_iran/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/are_fists_unclenching_in_iran/#When:07:30:47Z Whether the recent election in Iran was rigged or not - and evidence is increasingly showing that it was - things are bound to escalate now that official news reports are acknowledging the deaths caused by the government’s response to protests by supporters of opposition candidate Mir Husain Mousavi against the current president and declared victor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Though many are calling this “the new revolution” it may be a bit early to make such a claim. Although the 1999 and 2003 protests fizzled out after a few days, today’s protests are unique in that the people are united around the reformist politicians against a specific action of the largely conservative government. They also appear to be much larger and made up of more than just university students. Though mainstream media has been tepid in their coverage of the events, a different filter exists in some of the live blog feeds from within Iran (you can follow two of the better live blog feeds here and here), all colored by disdain for the elections and sympathy for the protesters. 2009-06-16T07:30:47-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/repressive_islamic_rule_loses_its_lustre/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/repressive_islamic_rule_loses_its_lustre/#When:09:00:49Z It's not often the leader of the free world publicly acknowledges his country sabotaged the democracy of another country. Yet this is exactly what United States President Barack Obama did during his speech in Cairo, billed as an address to the Arab and wider Muslim world. And which country deserved this honourable mention? Why none other than Iran, referred to by Obama's predecessor George W. Bush as one of three nations making up the "Axis of Evil". "For many years, Iran has defined itself in part by its opposition to my country, and there is indeed a tumultuous history between us. In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against US troops and civilians." It's little wonder the self-styled Islamic Republic of Iran has defined itself by opposition to the United States. Irfan Yusuf 2009-06-15T09:00:49-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/cooking_up_conspiracies/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/cooking_up_conspiracies/#When:10:00:21Z How should the American Muslim community interact with law enforcement at airports, on the streets, and in their mosques who perceive anyone presumed to be Muslim as a potential threat to national security? The question is fraught with difficulty. The pervasive singling out of one religious group for heightened searches and surveillance is deeply troubling, necessarily calling for activism and opposition from the community. Yet some also cogently contend that the al Qaeda’s explicitly religious justifications mean there is an unsought, but now necessary, burden on Muslims, especially American Muslims, to rebut its toxic hatefulness. Wrestling with dual problems of discrimination and doctrinal perversion is challenging enough. But the position of American Muslim communities is complicated exponentially by two policing tactics more familiar from totalitarian states—the forced recruitment of informants to spy on Muslim communities and the deployment of paid agents provocateurs to encourage and incite crimes. 2009-06-12T10:00:21-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/cultural_diplomacy_in_brooklyn/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/cultural_diplomacy_in_brooklyn/#When:07:00:44Z The night of June 5 was amazing for many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that I got in a cab in midtown Manhattan at 7:40 pm on a Friday evening and miraculously made it to BAM, the Brooklyn Academy of Music by 8:05 pm in time for the opening night of the Muslim Voices Festival. On the way, my mind was on Obama’s Cairo speech and I began a conversation with the cab driver about it. He hadn’t heard the speech but, as a fellow Muslim, was duly impressed with the points I highlighted, such as Obama beginning with “Assalamu Alaykum” and the terms of respect he used – “peace be upon him” after mentioning the Prophet’s name and using “Holy” before mentioning the Quran. The driver said, “Obama, he’s not Muslim, but he is a good man. He’s honest, that’s good.” 2009-06-10T07:00:44-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/two_religiously_motivated_crimes/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/two_religiously_motivated_crimes/#When:08:00:33Z Two men, one Christian and the other Muslim, commit murder just one day apart in the United States. Both appear to have been motivated by their religious beliefs. The Christian murderer is Scott Roeder and his victim is Dr. George Tiller, a physician from Wichita, KS who performed late term abortions. The Muslim murderer is Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad and his victims are Pvt. William Long and Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula who were new U.S. Army recruiters. These two murder cases expose the media’s and our legal system’s bias against Muslims. Both crimes seem to fit the definition of terrorism motivated by religious extremism. The media and the legal system, however, are treating these alleged murderers and their crimes very differently. Junaid Afeef 2009-06-08T08:00:33-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/the_value_of_words/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/the_value_of_words/#When:14:00:47Z In his own words, President Obama came to Cairo to announce “a new beginning” the end of a long grim chapter of acrimony between the United States and the Muslim world. If words are the primary tool of turning the page on history, then the President’s speech hit all the right notes. It recognized the contributions of Islam and Muslims to the world and to the United States, It recognized the problems engendered from forcing democracy down the throats of unwilling publics in Iraq. It reiterated his Administration’s commitment to end torture in Guantanamo, to come to the aid of refugees in Pakistan and most importantly for his Arab audience; find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For all the ensuing media chatter on the necessity of following his beautiful words with beautiful deeds, President Obama deserves credit for his overtures. While there is legitimacy to the cries of skeptics who have emphasized repeatedly the necessity of following beautiful words with equally resplendent policy changes; a moment must be reserved to recognize the value of the words themselves. Rafia Zakaria 2009-06-04T14:00:47-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/the_elected_women_of_kuwait/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/the_elected_women_of_kuwait/#When:07:00:08Z It was hailed as a major breakthrough, one that will send waves and have reverberations all throughout the region. Four women were recently elected to the Kuwaiti parliament in a historic election conducted on May 16. The winners were Rola Dashti, Salwa Al-Jassar, Aseel Al-Awadi, and Massouma Al-Mubarak. All are US-educated; all have doctorate degrees in either political science, economics, and education. Dr. Al-Jassar said, "Mark this day! We entered the Parliament by winning elections and not through a quota system." Zikra Al-Rasheedi, who ran but narrowly lost her bid, was elated despite her loss: "I am happy and I thank God that we have changed the equation and broken tradition." Women in Kuwait were given the right to vote and run for office in 2005, but this is the first time they have ever been elected to the Parliament. For one of the new female MPs, Dr. Massouma Al-Mubarak, this was her second "first," as she was also the first female cabinet minister in Kuwait as well. Hesham Hassaballa 2009-06-03T07:00:08-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/could_there_ever_be_a_muslim_supreme_court_justice/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/could_there_ever_be_a_muslim_supreme_court_justice/#When:07:00:53Z By now we all know that if Sonia Sotomayor is confirmed by the Senate, she will be the first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. It is not unreasonable to wonder when the first practicing Muslim would be nominated to the highest court in the land. Sadly, even though Muslim slaves help build this country from the time of its founding and millions of Muslim live here today, such an event will not occur for the foreseeable future or even possibly in our lifetime. There are multiple obstacles to a Muslim being appointed to the Supreme Court, much less the lower level courts of the United States. First, although there are an increasing number of seasoned Muslim attorneys around the country and a dozen or so law professors there are no District or Appellate level judges in the United States. In modern history, Supreme Court nominees have been sitting judges. Groups such as the American Bar Association even vet nominees based on their judicial experience and make recommendations to the President. 2009-06-01T07:00:53-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/a_more_chilling_plot/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/a_more_chilling_plot/#When:05:30:24Z Four men were arrested on May 21 for allegedly plotting to blow up a synagogue and shoot anti-aircraft missiles at military planes. Muslims across the country, including the author, were shocked and dismayed at the news. "I write to you today with shock and dismay over reports that four Muslims planned to bomb synagogues in the New York City area. This criminal attitude is reprehensible and wretched," wrote Salam Al Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, to Jewish leaders. NY Rep Peter King, among others, pounced on the news, warning that the plot "demonstrates the real threat from homegrown terrorists." Still others pointed to this plot as further evidence of an extensive "Islamic terror" network secretly living amongst us waiting to pounce, casting fear, suspicion, and hatred upon the entire American Muslim community. Hesham Hassaballa 2009-05-29T05:30:24-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/send_thousands_more_tea_drinkers_to_afpak/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/send_thousands_more_tea_drinkers_to_afpak/#When:06:00:07Z US President Barack Obama's recently revealed counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan is likely to precede a more aggressive campaign in northwest Pakistan, as illustrated by the decision to send thousands of additional troops to the "AfPak" region by the end of the year. In a different area of US-South Asian engagement, American Greg Mortenson recently received Pakistan's highest civilian honour, the Sitara-e-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan), for his efforts in promoting peace in its rural regions. Mortenson's approach, however, doesn't involve counter-terrorism operations or robust troop numbers. His "weapon" for curbing extremism? Educating girls. His modus operandi: drinking lots of tea. I recently had the opportunity to travel to Pakistan to see him in action. 2009-05-27T06:00:07-06:00 http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/the_case_for_an_american_madrassah/ http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/the_case_for_an_american_madrassah/#When:07:00:05Z The dearth of American Islamic scholars in America is palpable. This is a real problem. Islam and the Muslim world have both become critically important in the national and international affairs of America. The lack of American Islamic scholars creates a barrier to properly understanding Islam and its relationship to modern American society. Once upon a time, perhaps as recently as 20 years ago, it was enough for medical doctors and engineers doubling as mosque presidents and imams to also be the official purveyors of Islamic knowledge at the grassroots level. There was much less of a need for “scholars” in the interfaith arena back then. Things have changed. I was recently at a benefit dinner for a medical charity and one of my wife’s colleagues asked me what I did for a living. “I’m the executive director of a Muslim non-profit” I answered. Junaid Afeef 2009-05-25T07:00:05-06:00