Archive for January, 2008
Muslims, Too Often Voiceless in America, Possess the Solution
Comments(5)By Rawan Hamade, Engage Minnesota
Two years ago, I sat nervously in one of my professor’s offices. He asked a very simple question that changed my thinking completely: “Are you Muslim?”
I had expected the scarf on my head to identify me as Muslim, even though there are many other religions around the world that use the same clothing. In the days and months that followed, I came to realize that even if it was obvious that I was a Muslim, the way I looked would not serve to bring my identity forth unless it was accompanied by a voice. My scarf could not speak for me.
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Film Challenges Convention on Muslims, Africans, Slave-Era America
Comments(5)By Marcia Lynx Qualey, Engage Minnesota
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WATCH IT
TV program:
Prince Among Slaves
Airs:
7 p.m. Tues., Feb 5 on TPT Ch. 17
11 p.m. Sun., Feb. 10, TPT Ch. 2
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Officially, the first mosque in the U.S. was erected in 1929. This building was constructed by Syrian and Lebanese immigrants in Ross, North Dakota, and has since been demolished. But those Midwestern immigrants were hardly the first observant Muslims in the Americas. Others had worshiped on U.S. soil hundreds of years before.
It is difficult to say how many African Muslims were brought to North America as slaves. Scholars have placed the number in the thousands or tens of thousands. There is little possibility of an accurate count at this time, but historians such as Michael Gomez argue that, whatever their number, the influence of Muslim slaves on the larger African-American community was considerable.
Prince Among Slaves, set to air locally on Twin Cities Public Television on Monday, Feb. 4, tells the story of one of these influential Muslim slaves, Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori. The film is based on the widely praised biography of the same name by Dr. Terry Alford.
Election Reflects ICM’s Commitment to Minnesota Muslim Community
Comments(3)By Corey Habbas, Engage Minnesota
At the Islamic Center of Minnesota in a northern suburb of Minneapolis, Sundays are one of the busiest days. Community members fill the hallways and classrooms of the busy weekend school. The center, or ICM, is one of several Muslim organizations in Minnesota that serve multiple aspects of their members’ lives.
In addition to providing Islamic education to children of all ages, the ICM also has extended services for adults learning Arabic, Islamic Studies and Qur’an. On Sundays, the ICM opens a library and bookstore, and the ICM Women’s Society runs a popular lunch kitchen that is used to raise funds for other charitable projects. The Al-Shifa clinic provides free health care to families without access to affordable medical care. Every third Sunday of the month, the ICM opens its food shelf providing free food to families in need, and an interfaith dialogue takes place on the same day.
On Sunday, December 16, one more event took place to pack the already full community center: Community members turned out to cast their votes for the ICM officers.
Communications Director Dr. Shah Khan, a scientist from New Brighton, said, “This is the first and biggest Muslim organization in Minnesota where board and council members are elected by the members.”
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Polite Disagreement and the Age of Polarizing Media (Part I)
By Elias Karmi, Engage Minnesota
Tuning in to radio talk shows and TV political discussions is climbing up my list of stress-causing activities. Here is why: It is one thing to disagree with the other side of the spectrum, but it is quite another to devote an entire show, or sometimes a station, for non-stop vilification, mockery, and public charging against the opposing party.
In a quest for higher ratings, the media are playfully harping the strings of cultural differences within the United States. You have Air America Radio, for example, which never fails at scaring people about a looming conservative agenda that seeks to deprive everyone of their civil liberties — obviously pushing the correct buttons for people with liberal tendencies. On the other side, you also have Bill O’Reilly, already declaring war and naming himself a “culture warrior.” If there is ever a conclusion to this “war” of his, I wonder who could be the loser except America itself.
The other day I was attending a lecture at Dar al Farooq mosque in Dinkytown. The imam (preacher) was discussing how to deal with people of different creeds and ideologies. The conclusion was that we should stand up for what we believe and educate people about it, but it is neither required nor acceptable to condemn another sect by labeling them “disbelievers” or “evil” so long as they carry the same basic tenets. I thought: “This is a principle that America needs to be reminded of.” The right/left dialogue has been reduced to baseless accusations and speculations of ill intention.
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Islam or Culture – Which is to Blame?
Differentiating Religion from Culture
By Tamim Saidi, Engage Minnesota
As an American Muslim, when I see the issues and events about Islam that get treated as “news” in the mainstream media, it bothers me that so many are portrayed as “problems with Islam,” the religion, when they are in reality problems of culture, traditions, politics, superstitions, and tribal or ethnic codes of conduct of some Muslim-majority region. I think most Americans would agree with me that it would be unfair to judge a religion (whether Islam, Christianity, or any other religion) by the practices it does not condone.
The religion of Islam does not condone – and it actually condemns – practices such as dishonorable “honor killings,” racism or tribalism, oppression of women, banning women from obtaining an education, and many other un-Islamic practices that make its way to the sensationalized news. If a Muslim, or a Muslim-majority region, practices these despicable acts, it is not because of Islam, but despite Islam.
On numerous occasions some authors and “pundits” have wrongly attacked the religion of Islam for the cultural practices of Muslims in certain places in the world. Polls have shown that about 70 percent of the American public acknowledges being unfamiliar with Islam. Thus it is not a surprise that most Americans cannot distinguish Islamic religious practices from cultural practices by Muslim-majority countries.
There are certain areas of overlap: A people’s religion influences their culture, and culture influences how they practice their religion. But in Islam there is a clear distinction between the two.
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New partnership with Twin Cities Daily Planet
Engage Minnesota is now a content partner with the Twin Cities Daily Planet, a pioneering web portal that brings together a wide array of Minnesota’s community and neighborhood news publications. The Daily Planet invited us to contribute columns from our web site to theirs in exchange for them linking back to us. We felt it was a natural match, since the Daily Planet shares our mission of highlighting Minnesota’s diversity — that’s why we have linked to them ever since we launched this site.
We are delighted for the chance to share Minnesotan Muslim voices with a broader audience, and we’re grateful for the greater exposure that the Daily Planet is providing us.
Engage Minnesota also has been invited to join the Blogburst network that provides content to the web sites of USA Today, Reuters news service, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, and others.
