IN THIS ISSUE
The Executive Director of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana (MAI), Shariq Siddiqui, met with Mayor Bart Peterson regarding the issue of White Lodging's alleged discrimination against female Muslim employees. MAI had raised the issue with Mayor Peterson in a letter earlier this year requesting his assistance. White Lodging is a Merrilville based hotel management company that owns and manages hotels across the United States. EEOC has filed a lawsuit against White Lodging arising out of complaints of discrimination by female Muslim employees about the wearing of hijab while working. White Lodging was awarded the right to build the main Indianapolis convention center hotel. White Lodging is also requesting that it receive a subsidy of $48 million from the City of Indianapolis. MAI has requested that White Lodging not be given a subsidy or permission to build the hotel unless they agree to meet with members of the Muslim community, establish protocols that will prevent future discrimination, undergo diversity training and allow its Indianapolis hotel employees to organize.
Mayor Peterson's office raised MAI's concern with White Lodging and informed White Lodging of the important role Muslim Hoosiers plays in Indiana. White Lodging has informed Mayor Peterson that they are willing to meet with MAI representatives to discuss this matter further. "Mayor Peterson has always been a friend of the Muslim community and he proved it once again when he raised our concerns with White Lodging," stated Siddiqui, Executive Director of MAI, "Mayor Peterson was very understanding of our concerns and agrees that further dialogue can only make the situation better."
Muslim Alliance of Indiana will be arranging a meeting with White Lodging along with representatives of national Muslim organizations that have been involved with this issue. "Our major concern is to make sure that White Lodging prevent discrimination in the future and we believe that dialogue is important in developing tools in insuring that no employee of White Lodging feels discriminated in the future," state Dr Ibad Ansari, President of MAI.
"We are all God's creations and the only way to respond to God's call is to stand up and struggle for equal access to resources for all people of the world."
- Imam Yahya Hendi
My head was aching. I was crabby to my husband. A few days before Passover, I felt overwhelmed by shopping and cleaning and arranging to do before our guests would come Monday night.
Yet, I had said I would attend an event at the mosque, a visiting speaker. The mosque had specially invited members of Congregation Beth Shalom, my synagogue, to come.
A bit grudgingly, I drove over. Getting out of the car, I met Rabbi Mira Wasserman, pushing her twin baby sons in a stroller toward the mosque. Several of us lifted the stroller up the stairs.
Inside the mosque, Muslims and Jews greeted each other with warmth. The serene atmosphere and the friendliness began to transform my mood.
I settled down with one of the babies in my arms to listen to Imam Yahya Hendi, a Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University, speak on the similarities between Islam and Judaism.
He pointed out many, many customs and beliefs that the two religions share.
As Hendi spoke, I kept thinking, "How can two religions with so much in common have so much enmity?"
That's simplistic. I know.
A momentary fear enveloped me, a reaction to my own memories of endless bitter and unhappy news stories, when the imam mentioned he was a Palestinian and had grown up in Nablus. I realized that he must have some bitter and difficult memories of growing up there.
As I left that day, I resolved to learn more about the background of the man who spreads such a message of understanding and conciliation. (See his Web site at www.imamyahyahendi.com.)
A few nights later at our family's Passover dinner, I listened as our daughter Abby chanted the ancient song: "Mah nish tana, ha lila hazeh ..." ("Why is this night different from all other nights?")
I looked across our table at smiling faces - the Rahman family, Muslims originally from Bangladesh, had joined us for Passover. (We met because Faiz Rahman wrote a moving guest column published a few weeks ago: "Hands of a murderer are not blessed," H-T, March 18.)
Passover is a time to retell the story of how Moses led the Jewish people from slavery to freedom, and expand upon the memory of that time and the theme of freedom to think about how we are living our own lives.
But this year I remembered the imam and thought - sometimes maybe we have to let go of memories in order to start fresh, to start taking steps away from bitter memories and toward friendship and reconciliation.
Lynne Foster Shifriss is assistant to the editor at The Herald-Times. She can be reached at 331-4379 or lshifriss@heraldt.com
ACCORDING to Islamic tradition, all prophets and messengers are brothers. They have different mothers, but they have one father, the message of God (the religion).
It is true that a person is not a Muslim if he or she does not love and revere Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and all the prophets and messengers revealed or not revealed to him or her.
For that reason, you will not hear a practicing Muslim take the name of a prophet in vain. It is hurtful when you see the caricatures of a prophet like in Nordic Europe or a nude chocolate Jesus statue in New York, in the name of freedom of speech. It is not always easy; however, a practicing Muslim is guided to restrain anger if degradation of prophets is experienced.
On the other hand, it is always a pleasure to remind us of the lessons in the sayings of these divinely inspired human beings. And, it is the Islamic tradition.
Here is a small sample of the parallel sayings of Jesus and Muhammad. I have used the King James Version for the sayings of Jesus and the English translation of the Quran to the best of my ability to determine:
-"God knows your hearts." Luke 16:15
"God knows the secrets of your hearts." Quran 3:154
-"Why do you call me good? No one is good but the one who is God." Mark 10:18
"Say, I am only a man like you. It has been revealed to me that your God is one God. Let whoever hopes to meet his Lord, do good." Quran 18:110
-"The most important is the first commandment that is: Hear, O' Israel, the Lord our God is one. Love thy Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and mind and with all your strength." Mark 12:29-30
"Your God is one God. There is no god but he, the compassionate, the merciful." Quran 2:163
-"Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand." Matthew 13:13
"They have hearts with which they do not understand, and they have eyes with which they do not see and they have ears with which they do not hear." Quran 7:179
-"Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls to pigs." Matthew 7:6
"You truly cannot guide whom you love. But God guides whom he will. And he best knows those who receive guidance." Quran 28:56
-"The truth will set you free." John 8:32
"O' you who believe, guard your souls, follow the guidance. God will show you the truth." Quran 5:105
-"Stop judging by mere appearances." John 7:24
"Truly, the most worthy of honor in the sight of God is he who is most righteous." Quran 49:13
-"Do not judge, and you will not be judged." Luke 6:37
"Deal justly, and you will not be dealt unjustly." Quran 2:279
These sayings are very inspiring and moving, and I have just scratched the surface. A whole book can be written on this subject. In the future, God willing, I may write the parallel sayings of Moses and Muhammad and more of Jesus and Muhammad.
Riaz Hasan is a former director of outreach for the Tracy Islamic Center and is now active in Islamic Outreach in the greater Bay Area and San Joaquin County. For more information, call (209) 830-6286 or e-mail Islam.Outreach@yahoo.com.
Florida Times-Union, 4/9/07
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/040907/opl_9081820.shtml
According to a Gallup Poll, four out of 10 Americans have admitted prejudice toward Islam and Muslims.
Unfortunately, a recent letter writer suffers from the same malaise.
Fom the dawn of Islam, Muslims have adapted to live in harmony in large multicultural societies.
The third largest Muslim population in the world now lives in India, accounting for fewer than 20 percent of its population.
If Islam commanded conversion at the point of a sword, would Muslims still be a minority after eight centuries of uninterrupted rule?
Look no further than Spain to learn that, despite over six centuries of Muslim rule, it was the intolerant Christian Inquisition that gave Muslims and Jews three options, convert to Christianity, leave Spain or die.
Today, despite the mosque in Cordova being one of the most beautiful in the world, no Muslim prayers are allowed there.
A recent poll by the Council on American-Islamic Relations shows the American Muslim population to be both young and highly educated.
Sixty-two percent have obtained a bachelor's degree or higher, which is double the comparable national figure for registered voters.
The survey results also show that Muslims are already well integrated in American society.
Eighty-nine percent said they vote regularly; 86 percent said they celebrate the Fourth of July; and 64 percent said they fly the U.S. flag. . .
American Muslims, contrary to wanting to replace the U.S. Constitution, are at the forefront of striving to preserve, protect and defend the U.S. Constitution, so help us God.
M. Fawad Mansoori, board member, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Jacksonville
By: Khalil AlHajal / The Arab American News
2007-04-07
Offensive, inaccurate, demonizing depictions of Arabs in American media is one of the most frequently lamented, painful aspects of the Arab American experience. Most have only complained in helpless frustration.
But for the past 30 years, one green-eyed, soft-spoken, animated man from a polluted, working-class Pittsburgh-area steel town, has made it his life's work to expose and battle the constant perpetuation of debilitating stereotypes and imagery in television and film.
Jack Shaheen has published three books on the subject, and is now traveling the country and the world for screenings of the documentary film based on his book "Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People."
Born in Clairton, Pennsylvania to Lebanese immigrants, Shaheen was the first in the small Arab American community that he grew up in to go to college. He would eventually become a professor of media studies at Southern Illinois University, establishing himself as a formidable media critic publishing works on the social significance of public broadcasting and on nuclear war films.
But the academic support that he had earned would fade as soon as he turned his attention to unfair media portrayals of Arabs.
His first article on the topic remained unpublished for three years. One publication described it as "too well written," to be printed, claiming that other ethnic groups would then want to publish similar essays that surely would not be as good.
"It was because of their prejudices. It had nothing to do with the quality of the writing," said Shaheen bitterly.
Despite being stigmatized, his work being labeled "Arab propaganda," Shaheen chose to expand his research and write a book, "The TV Arab," which would also wait years for publication.
He received dozens of rejection letters despite the help of a book agent who would tell him that he'd "never in all his career experienced so much prejudice."
It was the Center for the Study of Popular Culture at Bowling Green State University which finally published the book, after years of waiting in frustration.
When he received the letter that read "Dear Mr. Shaheen, we have read your manuscript and would like to publish it," he thought he had read it wrong.
"I kept rereading it, looking for something I missed."
"When I look back, I don't know how I did it… what kept me going… being alone, with no help from anyone (other than his wife Bernice)."
Shaheen said that among his colleagues, he went from being known simply as 'the Pittsburgh Steeler' to being 'the Arab professor.'
"And colleagues would not speak up to defend me," Shaheen said, the pain still apparent in his voice. "A few did, but by and large… those who were on committees didn't."
"Why are you defending the Arabs," Shaheen said detractors would ask him, or "Why are you defending the Muslims?" (Shaheen is an Orthodox Christian.)
A sense of responsibility, compassion and a sensitivity to "hurtful images" are what he said motivate him in his fight.
"The greatest sin of all is silence," he said, loosely quoting Martin Luther King Jr.
Clairton, where Shaheen grew up, was segregated. African Americans lived separate from everyone else. But the schools were integrated, and he said that being around Blacks, having them as friends, had a great impact on his sense of equality and sensitivity to prejudice.
He also credits his mother and family for instilling in him values of tolerance and relentless determination.
"It was a product of family and environment… There was never an unkind word about anyone based on ethnicity."
He spoke emotionally, lowering his head and squinting his eyes introspectively, of the sacrifices that his mother made so that he could go to school. She "scrubbed floors in a school… stood out in the cold to take a bus. She made great sacrifices."
"Those things they impact you… It's a part of you… Her determination, her love, her sense of justice played a predominant role and are a part of everything that I do."
The writings of other minority groups on disparaging media portrayals of African Americans, Asian Americans and Native Americans would also play a great role in his own work. Though before him, he said, no one, as far as he knows, had ever written about all the Arabs seen on television and movie screens for decades, who were nothing but "brute murderers, sleazy rapists, religious fanatics, oil-rich dimwits and abusers of women… billionaires, bombers and belly dancers… bundles in black."
"Bundles in black" is how he describes all the anonymous, fully covered women standing in the backgrounds of so many Arab film settings.
"It seems to me that the more Arab women advance, the more Hollywood keeps them in the past."
In his research of about a thousand films from 1896 to the present that included Arab characters or references, Shaheen found that around 12 gave positive depictions, 52 were neutral, and some 900 were negative.
Among those with positive portrayals were more recent films like "Three Kings," for which Shaheen served as a consultant, "Paradise Now," and "Kingdom of Heaven."
Negative, harmful portrayals were endless, ranging from cartoons and silent films to modern blockbusters.
"(Arab) stereotypes are deeply ingrained in American cinema," Shaheen says in his book, "Reel Bad Arabs." "From 1896 until today, filmmakers have collectively indicted all Arabs as Public Enemy #1 - brutal, heartless, uncivilized religious fanatics and money-mad cultural "others" bent on terrorizing civilized Westerners… Much has happened since 1896... Throughout it all, Hollywood's caricature of the (Arab) has prowled the silver screen. He is there to this day - repulsive and unrepresentative as ever."
Sections of the book and the documentary are dedicated to countless films in the 1980s made by a particular production company, Golan-Globus Productions, which seemed to maliciously inject gratuitous anti-Arab jokes, references, and imagery, even when plots had nothing to do with Arabs or the Arab World.
Golan-Globus produced films like "The Delta Force" and "The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington" which top Shaheen's long list of offensive movies featuring offensive, stereotypical Arab villains.
The "Reel Bad Arabs" documentary puts together numerous movie clips with Arabs as hijackers and terrorists, often being killed by the dozen, and "often portrayed as not only dangerous, but incompetent."
Shaheen said that when talking to producers during trips to Las Angeles while researching over the years, about one third of those he spoke to "basically hated Arabs… told me that they were prejudiced… that we didn't matter, didn't count about anything."
Another third, he said, were apathetic, and the rest were "sensitive to the issue… sincerely and refreshingly interested."
Today, said Shaheen, since September 11, 2001, "it's as bad as I've ever seen it."
It irks him that current television shows like "Navy NCIS" and "The Unit" seem to follow a pattern of featuring gorgeous Israeli women who make love to American soldiers and hunt Arab terrorists.
"I didn't quite understand why they can't have a Palestinian agent fighting against terror."
He's optimistic, however, that the Arab American community, particularly young people, university and high school students who are "probably more aware of these issues than other people," can be more active in "shattering myths of pop culture," and stopping the "endless barrage of hate."
"Help each other," he said to an audience at the Arab American National Museum for a screening of "Reel Bad Arabs," - for which he received a long, standing ovation - "reach out to each other, be kind."
He said that in the past, those who have had the means in the community have not put forth significant coordinated efforts to put pressure on Hollywood.
"We react to issues instead of being proactive… We have not yet realized that we're all in the same barrel. Oranges can be from all over the world, but all in the same barrel."
American foreign policy sins are numerous, and some are even unforgivable, such as the invasion of Iraq - based on false accusations - which has resulted in much death and destruction. But to judge America by its neoconservative foreign policy would be like judging Islam by what some radical, violence-prone Muslims have done around the world; it would be grossly unfair.
There is more, much more to America than its imprudent foreign policy in the Muslim world.
America contributes to maintaining the global order and has created and sustained some of the most important institutions of the international system, such as the United Nations and the World Bank. In recent years, U.S. foreign policy has resulted in billions of dollars of tsunami relief in Southeast Asia, earthquake assistance in Pakistan and economic and development aid across Muslim lands. The United States is the biggest foreign aid donor to the Muslim world.
The United States has also intervened militarily on behalf of Muslims in Bosnia, Somalia, Kosovo and Kuwait.
On the domestic front, the United States is one of the best places to live on the planet. People from all over the Muslim world apply in the millions for visas to come to the U.S. - even after 9/11 - in search of a better future. Yet hardly any indigenous American Muslims are seeking to migrate to predominantly Muslim countries to improve their lives. The United States, not any of the 55 nations in the Organization of the Islamic Conference, is the No. 1 choice of Muslims for permanent relocation.
I have been living in the United States since 1992, when I arrived here from India. America took in a young man from a developing nation and, after eight years of schooling, graduated an active Muslim scholar who has testified at the U.S. Senate on foreign affairs, debated former President Bill Clinton in person and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin in writing, advised Prince Charles, shaken hands with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and had dinner with former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The other day I had lunch with the grand mufti of Egypt, Sheik Ali Gomaa, in a castle in the south of England.
Even when I was a poor graduate student, and now as an active scholar, I have been truly living my dream.
Because of the political and religious freedoms I enjoy in the United States, I am able to practice Islam at the highest level - that of fikr, or reflection. I publish extensively and lecture and communicate my ideas widely through the media.
Muslim scholars have always maintained that true happiness comes from the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge, and I found this to be the case in America.
My life as a public intellectual is enabled by America's intellectual environment, its great universities and, above all, its open public sphere in which I participate wholeheartedly, without fear or hesitation.
I am neither alone nor the most important beneficiary of American culture. America has in recent years produced and/or nurtured many extraordinarily insightful Muslim thinkers. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Fazlur Rahman, Ismail Faruqi, Khaled Abou el Fadl, Sherman Jackson, Asma Afsaruddin, Sohail Hashmi, Azizah al Hibri, Taha Jabir Al-Alwani, Sulayman S. Nyang, Louay M. Safi, Akbar S. Ahmad, Maher Hathout, Abdullah an-Na'im, Ingrid Matteson and Amina Wadud are but a few whose names come to mind readily.
America has also produced noteworthy Muslim spiritual leaders who enjoy widespread appeal beyond America's borders. The likes of Sheik Hamza Yusuf are creating a uniquely American tradition in Islamic spirituality. American Muslim initiatives such as the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences not only have inspired research in the Muslim world but also have become the gold standard in Muslim scholarship.
Today, one can talk about an American tradition in Islamic thinking. Like America itself, it may be short on history, but it is also rich and powerful, with global reach and profound impact.
America's foreign policy may have perpetrated injustices against Muslims, but its gift of scholars and scholarship to Islam and Muslims, which has allowed Islamic thinking to re-emerge and thrive, is priceless.
M. A. Muqtedar Khan, an assistant professor at the University of Delaware and a fellow with the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution, is the author of "American Muslims: Bridging Faith and Freedom." His e-mail is muqtedar@yahoo.com.
How many of us have actually questioned a Muslim about their beliefs?
Not many I would imagine. Yet, we all feel like we know something about how they live and what they believe. The fact is, a lot of the information we have about Muslims and Islam is simply hearsay which leaves us wide open for miscommunication and misunderstanding.
In order to correct some of these misconceptions, I interviewed the president of the Muslim Student Association and a friend of his. They very kindly explained to me many Islamic beliefs and explained misconceptions. The following are common misunderstandings along with the explanations I received.
Muslims don't believe in Jesus.
Muslims do believe Jesus existed, but they don't think he was the son of God or died for the world's sins like Christians do. To them, this contradicts the idea God is just. According to this line of thinking, it would be unjust for a man to suffer for another man's sins.
While Muslims do not believe Jesus was the Messiah, they do believe he was a prophet of God. In the time before Jesus was born, many people relied too much on their own understanding and not enough on God. Muslims believe Jesus was sent to correct this issue. The miracles and wonders he performed were to show people God's power defies logic. For doing this, Jesus is greatly respected in the Muslim religion.
Women are considered inferior in Islam.
Muslims believe men and women are different. As such, they have different rules and responsibilities. While their roles may be different, this does not mean one is better than the other.
The Koran stresses the importance of mothers. Muhammad said a person should obey Allah first and their mother next. The Koran also stresses men and women will have equal reward in heaven.
Islam is a violent religion.
Islam literally means "peace." As such, a person who follows Islam correctly is said to create peace.
Islam stresses charity. In fact, one of the Five Pillars of Islam (a set of guidelines for behavior similar to the 10 commandments) is a person should give charity to those who are in need. Does this sound like the teachings of a violent religion?
True, there are some Muslims who are terrorists, but there are also terrorists and murderers who are Christian. Why then do we attribute the actions of a small population of the Muslim community to all Muslims?
Ignorance is dangerous, and I hope this has helped to fight it. Remember, not all the things we hear are true. When we are given information on a subject like Islam we should consider the credibility of the source. Is this person a Muslim? Do they have any particular insight on this subject? No? Then maybe you should ask someone who does.
You might think of Nestle as the least likely company to venture into such a ticklish market as religious food. The Swiss multinational has, after all, attracted more than its share of protesters with other product lines (namely, infant formula and chocolate). But far from shying away from the halal market--food that passes muster with Islamic authorities--Nestlé has jumped in with both feet.
For centuries the men who decided whether food was halal were bearded and worked in mosques. But Othman Yusoff--not a mullah but a clean-shaven Nestlé executive--has forged a career as a halal expert. He's in charge of Nestlé Malaysia's halal lines, making sure they're free of alcohol, pork or any product from an animal not slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines. This covers everything right down to KitKat bars that are free of flavorings that have traces of alcohol.
Yusoff, 45, was a food engineer in Groupe Nestlé's R&D headquarters in Switzerland more than a decade ago when he was asked to help figure out how to keep some of his employer's supply lines halal. It proved to be a good career break. Nestlé has become the biggest food manufacturer in the halal sector, with more than $3 billion in annual sales in Islamic countries and with 75 of its 481 factories worldwide producing halal food. "Nestlé's set the pace on halal for multinationals," says Abdulhamid Evans of KasehDia, a Kuala Lumpur consulting company.
Nestlé is tapping into a vast market. With 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide and Islam the fastest-growing religion, halal food sales are now worth $580 billion annually, according to Malaysia's Halal Industry Development Corp. "Food companies are not going to be global unless they're halal," says Joe Regenstein, a professor of food science at Cornell University. And an increasingly affluent and savvy base of Muslim consumers means that the halal industry is growing in sophistication as well as size. Well beyond being just about meat, it now embraces products from lipstick to vaccines to savings accounts. In 1990 the Islamic Food & Nutrition Council of America had only 23 clients paying for its halal certification services. Last year it certified products for 2,000 companies worldwide. (MORE)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - With some 3,400 Indiana National Guard troops on call for possible deployment to Iraq, anti-war activists urged Sen. Richard Lugar on Friday to come out forcefully against President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq.
Four members of Hoosiers Against Escalation visited the Republican senator's Indianapolis office, bringing with them a pair of black boots to represent the state's war dead - a toll that's grown by five Hoosier soldiers in the past two weeks.
They also gave Lugar aides a report they said documents the 'unprecedented and dangerous strains' the Iraq troop buildup has placed on the country's National Guard units.
After the 40-minute meeting, Lane Ralph, Lugar's deputy state director, told the activists, including an Iraq war veteran, that he would make sure Lugar received their report.
Mishawaka resident Kathy Liggett said Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is a respected voice in the Senate and if he came out strongly against the troop buildup, as has Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., it would carry great weight.
'I think many other senators would follow suit if Senator Lugar stepped up on this,' she said.
Since Sen Lugar lets you e-mail directly, it is easy to e-mail him. He should say he believe the Iraq war should end by spring of 08 or sooner it would be done. Many of the lawmakers respect Sen Lugar in Foreign Affairs.
Please e-mail Sen Lugar. His address is: Senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov
The following is my letter to Sen. Lugar:
Senator Lugar:
We should know that a diplomatic surge is the way to settle the Iraq war. Congressman Pence said that there is "no military victory in Iraq" to be had.
Having troops occupying Iraq is counter productive. You are urged to call for a surge in diplomacy and vote to pull our troops out. We should have our troops out by spring of 08.
You are the one person that has the prestige to make a real difference and do a great deed for our country and future.
DCliff5959@sbcglobal.net
Holding an American flag and wearing a bright-white grin beneath her head scarf, Wardaw Chaudhary, a 16-year-old from Tulsa, Okla., radiated confidence and optimism, the perfect cover girl to grace the first issue of Muslim Girl magazine.
Launched in January with the tagline "Enlighten Celebrate Inspire," the bimonthly magazine targets what Editor-in-Chief Ausma Khan says are 400,000 Muslim teenage girls in North America who, like other teenagers, want a magazine that reflects their lifestyles and aspirations.
"We want to tell the stories of Muslim girls who have grown up in America," said Khan, 37. "We want to give them a voice and a forum where they can see themselves and connect to other Muslim girls but also demonstrate how much they're part of the fabric of American life."
Muslim Girl, with circulation approaching 50,000, is the latest of several new magazines catering to Muslim Americans. Although they reach for distinct demographics -- teenagers, professionals, mothers and even secular Muslims -- they share a common motivation: to define themselves at a time when many feel Muslims have surrendered that responsibility to a Western media that often gets them wrong.
The magazines follow a few longer-established publications, such as Islamic Horizons, published by the Islamic Society of North America, and are more than an expression of Muslim American assertiveness. They reflect the community's diversity and a growing Muslim market that is catching the eye of advertisers and distributors.
Today's Muslim Girl readers might be tomorrow's subscribers to Azizah, which premiered in late 2000 as "The Voice for Muslim Women." Azizah, which means "dear" or "strong" in Arabic, blends profiles -- America's first Muslim female judge and a university "campus queen" -- with health, travel, recipes and spirituality. But the quarterly glossy, with U.S. circulation of about 40,000, also handles tougher subjects, from custody battles and AIDS in the Muslim community to inheritance laws and how to spot men who marry for green cards.
Both Muslim Girl and Azizah were launched in part to correct stereotypes of Muslim women as oppressed and uneducated, fueled largely by news from overseas.
"Islam and Muslims are reported on in this country through the lens of Middle Eastern politics. So we see the Muslim woman as the Arab woman," said Tayyibah Taylor, 54, Azizah's publisher and editor.
A reader put it this way: "The emergence of these Muslim publications presents us with the opportunity to declare who we are and what we believe unapologetically, to force others to acknowledge our increasing presence in the West, and allows us to dispel the erroneous Muslim stereotypes too often presented and accepted in Western media," Gena Chung, a 32-year-old Muslim convert and mother of three in Laurel, Md., wrote in an e-mail.
One of the new magazines, Islamica, serves up think pieces on current affairs along with articles on art, culture, science and business, as well as fiction and poetry. It, too, was born of a desire to challenge conventional views about Islam. After briefly appearing as an academic journal in the early 1990s, Islamica was revived in 2003 as a quarterly. It has a circulation of 14,000, including more than 6,000 subscribers in North America.
"By extending the scope of what people understand about the religion, it may be easier for them to contextualize events and understand where Islam is coming from and how it's evolving, as opposed to through political events that tend to distort the religion," said senior editor Firas Ahmad, who likened his magazine to The Atlantic Monthly.
"What we're trying to do is provide alternatives to what we think the mainstream media might be missing."
The magazines have something in common with many others in print: financial pressures.
"Like any magazine, we've been on the brink of collapse several times in the last few years," said Ahmad. But Islamica's chances of surviving, he added, improved with the recent arrival of a publisher and a switch to a nonprofit model.
Muslim Girl hopes to make money from advertising. The Fox network and Oxford University Press have bought ads, and Khan believes more big advertisers are on the way.
"One of the great untold stories here is that the American Muslim market is where the Hispanic market was five years ago, on the verge of major breakout, and there's enormous potential to market to this audience," said Khan, who left a teaching position at Northwestern University to run Muslim Girl.
While many Muslims have welcomed the magazines, there has been criticism. Some Muslims have complained that Azizah features only women who wear the hijab, or head scarf, as cover girls.
Taylor's response: "We wanted the magazine to be instantly recognizable, kind of iconic as a Muslim women's magazine. And even though many Muslim women do not wear hijabs in public, when they stand to pray, they all do."
"If I have an African-American woman or a Pakistani woman on there without [a] hijab, it might be any Pakistani magazine or any African-American magazine. But with a woman who's covered, people know instantly."
Established over five years ago Masjid Al Mumineen has strived to fulfill the Shariah and the Sunnah by providing a House of Allah on the Eastside of inner city Indianapolis. For Years, Masjid Al Fajr and Nur Allah Islamic Center have taken up the responsibility; and time had come for another full service Masjid for Muslims to worship. A group of Brothers took on the duties of renting an office suite on 38th and College Avenue. This facility was utilized for two years before our present facility was purchased on contract. 4088 Millersville Road became our new address when we entered into a non-interest contract to purchase this 7,000 square foot building at a price of $171,000.00. Our main goal was to establish a House of Allah that establishes five daily salats and offered Islamic studies as well as Jummah services. We also wanted a worship place for all Muslims regardless of their national origin or race, and was not affiliated with a sect or movement but adhered simply to the Quran and Sunnah of Muhammad (SAW).
After three years of service, we are happy to say that we are still on course with our goals. The Masjid is open from Fajr to Isha daily, Jummah prayers are offered and well attended and we offer beginning Muslim classes, Arabic, and Seerah.
Our main problems are financial. Our contract has been extended for three more years. $80.000.00 has been paid on it with a balance of approximately $90,000.00. Over $60,000.00 has been spent to convert this building to function as a Masjid. The monies that have been paid have come from the collection box at the Masjid, pledges, several fund raising dinners, and donations by concerned Muslims in our community. The irregularity of our revenue has caused us to go out and solicit funds in order to meet reoccurring expenses and this places a real burden on the Shurah. Since the establishment of Masjid Al Mumineen and the call to raise money to purchase the building, there have been seven new Masjids established in Indianapolis. There has been a great amount of money raised and many of these Masjids have had substantial support. It seems that the Masjids in the inner city are forgotten.
Masjid Al Mumineen is the door to Islam for many of the American Muslim converts. It is the place where many non-Muslims come to find out about Islam.
Masjid Al Mumineen is the social service agency for many Muslims in need. Many Muslims come and many are sent by other Masjids seeking temporary services such as housing, food, and clothing. We have given temporary housing to some 30-40 Muslims. We share the little money we have with those that have an immediate need. Yet, we hear Muslims tell their colleagues how affluent the Muslim population is. Why does this affluence not find its way to Masjid Al- Mumineen?
We are not complaining for we know that Allah is the sustainer. We would also like to thank the many Muslims that have donated to our cause, May Allah bless you. Our goal is to remind the community that Masjid Al Mumineen is still on its mission and can still use your help! Remember, we are not renting a building but purchasing one, with the intentions that this House of Allah will serve many future generations of Muslims. There are great blessings in helping build a House of Allah. Our membership is made up of hard working modest income people, many new Muslims, and many Muslims entering our community for the first time. Besides a need to finish purchasing our building, we need money to provide services for the indigent and to continue to improve our House of Allah.
Our Major thrust beginning this summer is to offer dawah to the adjacent community. We plan to do this by inviting our neighbors to programs at the Masjid. Though we are Muslims from all over the world, we recognize the need to have an agenda for America.
We cannot isolate ourselves, but must reach out to offer the good message of Allah to Americans. This can best be accomplished by setting a good example and helping those that need help.
Join our efforts by visiting us at 4088 Millersville Road, our door is always open.
Send your donations to: Masjid Al Mumineen, P.O.BOX 88311, Indianapolis, IN 46208.
Questions and concerns may be directed to Amin Alghani at 317- 508-4432.
Approved and submitted by the Shurah of Masjid Al Mumineen
- Abdus Salaam
- Achebe Turner
- Jibraa'eel Shaheed
- Mbacke Kai
- Adam Yacouba
- Amin Alghani-Amir
- Umar Alkhattab-Trustee
- Yahya Abdul Kareem- Trustee
Waleed Shaalan, 32 years old, first stepped onto the Virginia Tech campus in August 2006. An international student originally from Zagazig, Egypt, with no family members in the United States, Waleed quickly became an essential member of the Blacksburg Muslim community. Among those mourning his death are his two roommates (Fahad Pasha and Irfan Waseem) to whom Waleed was their loving older brother, cook, academic and spiritual mentor. Waleed was known for his broad smile and wave that he gave everyone.
Waleed left behind Amira, his wife for 3 years, and Khaled his one-year old son. For more information about Br. Waleed or the Virginia Tech MSA please visit www.msavt.org.
Br. Waleed Shaalan passed away during the Virginia Tech tragedy on April 16, 2007. MSA National will be collecting donations to support Br. Waleed Shaalan's family.
Our goal is to raise $25,000 over the next four weeks. We are confident that with the grace of God and your help we will be able to achieve this goal.
To make a donation, please fill out the form below. Payment information will be on the following page. If you are having trouble donating please e-mail treasurer@msanational.org and include the amount you'd like to donate.
If you'd like to donate by check, please mail your donation to:
MSA of the US and Canada
P.O. Box 1096
Falls Church, VA 22041
Checks should be made payable to "MSA of the US and Canada". Please write "Br. Waleed Memorial fund" in the memo.
Volunteers in Medicine of Monroe County will open on April 23, 2007, at 333 East Miller Drive in Bloomington. The clinic will provide quality healthcare at no charge to individuals in Monroe and Owen Counties who are without health insurance and cannot afford healthcare services (as determined by income and asset eligibility requirements). With the strong support of community leaders, medical and non-medical volunteers, Bloomington Hospital and other non-profit organizations, Volunteers in Medicine of Monroe County is a community-driven, local solution to enhance the quality of life of and efficiency in delivering medical care to the thousands of uninsured individuals in our area. In its first year of operation, Volunteers in Medicine Monroe County expects to schedule approximately 14,000 patient visits.
Nearly 300 medical professionals are committed to delivering quality medical care through this new free medical clinic. In an atmosphere of compassion and dignity, volunteers, along with a core paid staff, will provide care for both acute and chronic illnesses as well as dental care, psychological counseling and patient education for conditions like obesity and diabetes. Prescription medications will be made available on site for a nominal handling fee. Pediatric care will be available offsite at the offices of Southern Indiana Pediatrics. Volunteers include medical staff as well as other individuals committed to helping in the myriad tasks needed for operating the clinic daily.
Volunteers in Medicine of Monroe County welcomes the opportunity to work with all non-profit agencies and community groups in delivering healthcare to our community's uninsured. The clinic anticipates hosting an open house at the Volunteer in Medicine facilities this spring for all interested organizations. If you have general questions, please visit our website at www.vimmonroecounty.org. Information on the clinic's services, eligibility requirements and contact information are available on the site. If your organization is interested in receiving informational literature or if your members are interested in volunteering, visit the website and click on the "Contact Us" button. We look forward to working with your organization in this community venture to improve the lives of residents of Monroe and Owen Counties.
Volunteers in Medicine of Monroe County
Providing medical care for the uninsured in a dignified, caring environment
333 E.Miller Drive - P.O. Box 2568
Bloomington, IN 47402
812.353.3533
www.vimmonroecounty.org
MUSLIM ALLIANCE OF INDIANA is dedicated to empower Muslims through social engagement and developing awareness of public issues among Muslims and connecting 280,000 Muslim Hoosiers with the leadership.
To learn more about past activities and accomplishments, please visit at www.muslimalliancein.com
To be involved with MAI mission, please contact muslimalliancein@yahoo.com
To strengthen and disseminate the vision, please forward this message to others in Indiana or send email list to muslimalliancein@yahoo.com
This is intended for Muslim Hoosiers and friends promoting peace and harmony, mutual respect and making Indiana strong. If you want to be off this list, please advise.
Thank you.
