Meet Salman Kirmani
By Salman Kirmani, Green Card Voices
“Even if people did not know where I was from, they respected who I was; they respected I was different. Their respect was a very endearing thing for me and defined that this is the community I want to live in. This is the community I want my kids to grow up in.”
As a medical student. Dr. Kirmani was loyal to his community in Pakistan. And although his training led him to Minnesota, he believed he would return to assist and comfort the elders in his community back home.
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Let your fear of God be embedded with love
This is an excerpt from a forthcoming book, currently titled Reflections of Faith: Lessons from the Prophets.By Fedwa Wazwaz, Engage Minnesota
O God! I ask You for Your Love, the love of those who love You, and deeds which will cause me to attain Your Love.
–Prophet Muhammad, upon peace and blessings.
How Do We Fear God?
When some people think of “fearing God,” they imagine God as a fearsome torturer. This “God” is a towering, vindictive being who is just waiting for them to make a mistake.
In fact, it’s the reverse. The God who we fear is patient and loving. This God gives us opportunity after opportunity to repent, feel remorse, change our habits, and grow. Punishment comes into the picture only when it becomes evident to God, and to everyone around, that an individual is not receptive to growth.
Indeed, God gives us many opportunities to see our actions through other eyes. Pharaoh was surrounded not just by the slaves who he dehumanized and oppressed, but he also had people of light and goodness in his own home. These were people who he respected: namely Asiya, his wife, and her adopted son Moses.
Pharaoh also had a pious, wise advisor, and there were others in his kingdom who tried to steer him toward a better way, to the intertwined love and fear of God. But none of these good people were able to have an impact on Pharaoh. His arrogance and narcissism were simply too deep-seated.
So, yes, God is loving, merciful, compassionate, and patient. Yet this cannot be all. Because there also comes a time for justice.
We shouldn’t fear God because we believe that God is vindictive. God doesn’t care only about a select elite—God is compassionate and cares about everyone. So, instead, we fear God because God is majestic. This majesty should bring about not our quavering, but our humility. It should help us to authentically know our own limitations.
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Unity, an Unfortunate Deficit of Minnesota Muslims
By Omar Alansari-Kreger, Engage Minnesota
Great efforts have been made and initiatives launched, but how successful have such undertakings been in marshaling a greater Muslim identity across the Twin Cities?
We all have day jobs. It is a fact of life. In order to survive, one must work to sustain a living. We sacrifice a great deal for our day jobs. A great proportion of our true identity is misplaced only to be frozen on the sidelines. As a professional that specializes in caring for the elderly and developmentally challenged, there is one crucial fact of life I take home each day: the best things in life are free. Sundays are special to people that grew up under the Judeo-Christian tradition. They share a great reverence for their communities. In their company, I have noticed a unique willingness to share the burden of the communal blunt when faced with hardships.
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Loyalty & cooperation are two-way streets
By Fedwa Wazwaz, Engage Minnesota
Most of your sins are because of your tongues.
–Prophet Muhammad, upon peace and blessings.
There are frequent calls—from law-enforcement officials, from radio personalities, and from ordinary people—for Muslims in the United States to be “loyal.” It’s not new. The loyalty of many other groups has been questioned: Japanese, Catholics. But what does it mean to be a loyal citizen of the United States, and how can loyalty be fostered?
Loyalty doesn’t mean that you agree to every action taken by your country’s government. As a US citizen, I have some criticism of US foreign policy. But loyalty does mean that I will address this in the public square. I will raise my questions not to attack America, but in a way that will benefit the country. When you’re speaking up as a loyal citizen, you’re speaking openly—you’re not plotting and planning in the shadows.
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Meet Ruhel Islam
By Tea Rozman-Clark, Green Card Voices
The best way to respond to extreme vetting, a term presidential candidate Donald Trump refers to in the debates is to amplify the voices of Muslim immigrants in their own words.
Upon the request of his sister, who was moving to the U.S. with her American-businessman husband, and due to the hostile political climate of his home country, Mr. Islam left Bangladesh for the U.S. in 1996.
The fourth of seven children, he moved from his rural, childhood village of Sylhet to a larger urban area in pursuit of a college degree in commerce and accounting. Upon the completion of his degree and while still in Bangladesh, he started a farm – growing it from just two chickens to over two thousand.
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A Science Library for North Minneapolis
By Omar Alansari-Kreger, Engage Minnesota
An eager intellect is a prospect of hope. It scoffs at the predetermined odds and looks to a world of what could be.
Behind every great community, there is an intellectual center. Youths entertain grand imaginations that tempt the known boundaries. An adult reality is bland. It is defined by the monotony of routine. Gradually, we misplace our hopes and curiosities for complacency and acceptance. An ominous gatekeeper rules over each boundary with little to no empathy. A person is labeled as expendable and is rapidly dispensed with. Will our resolve be sincere to our youths? What happens when youths are cut down and put in their “respective places” in society? Will hopeful dreams and ambitions be rendered illusory once such an ominous reality comes to pass? The need for a science library may seem abundantly extraneous to many. If we budgeted enough tax revenue for a billion dollar football stadium, why is a science library for less than a quarter of a million dollars unconscionable to us? It then becomes pertinent to ask ourselves an existential question: as a society, where are our priorities?
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Meet Nemeh Al-Sarraj
By Nemeh Al-Sarraj, Engage Minnesota
For six years, Nemeh Al-Sarraj struggled with university. “I was at North Hennepin,” in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she said. “And I kept changing my major every week. I picked almost every major possible.”
“My family was so annoyed.”
School was always a struggle for Al-Sarraj, who wasn’t properly diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) until she was nineteen. After that, she said, life began to grow a lot clearer, but she still had a lot to learn about herself and others. She also had to learn to come to grips with her diagnosis, and to “stop hiding the fact that I have a disability.”
There was a long struggle, and then “I took a year off. I transferred to Metro State and looked at all the degrees.”
It was at Metro State, Al-Sarraj said, when education finally clicked. “I took my first disability-awareness class. And loved it.”
Last fall, Al-Sarraj triumphed in her long struggle, graduating with a Bachelor’s of Human Science degree in Disability Studies. But even before she graduated, Al-Sarraj’s life had markedly changed. She had seen how much a diagnosis changed her life, and how she’d struggled before she’d gotten it. As a Palestinian-American, a Muslim, and a person with cognitive differences, she knew how much work there was to do in disability awareness. She wanted to contribute.
Al-Sarraj didn’t want to wait until she had her degree. Clearly, once she has a clear idea of what she wants, Al-Sarraj sets about getting it done. She has difficulties with communication, reading body language, and social situations. But, through this, her single-minded determination shines.
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In wake of attack, activists working to reduce tensions in St. Cloud brace for ‘a long winter’
By Ibrahim Hirsi, MinnPost
Each time a tragic or controversial incident strikes the Somali-American community in St. Cloud, Yusuf Haji is one of the first people to get to the scene.
Over the past several years, Haji has recounted numerous stories of high-profile events and boiling racial tensions through written and video postings for his Facebook audience of nearly 4,500 — making him one of the most visible activists in the city.
The latest episode came on the weekend after a knife attack turned a typical Saturday night at the Crossroads Center mall into chaos and confusion when a 20-year-old Somali-American, Dahir Adan, allegedly stabbed 10 people before he was fatally shot by Officer Jason Falconer of the Avon Police Department.
The incident began to unfold at the shopping mall at about 8 p.m. In less than an hour, Haji was on Facebook, posting images and videos of the center, speaking to witnesses about the incident that has shocked many in the Somali-American community.
Hours later, Haji appeared on a Facebook Live video with a woman named Natalie Ringsmuth to call for unity, and to discuss the possibility of retaliation against the Somali-American community, “It’s a very sad night for us here in St. Cloud,” Haji said in the video, which had “We’re praying for the victims … it’s going to be very shocking and a very sad night for all of us. It doesn’t look good for our community. It’s going to be really bad.”
The incident — which the FBI is investigating as a potential act of terrorism — delivered a major blow to Haji and Ringsmuth’s years-old effort to bring together the diverse residents of St. Cloud, a city that has seen a string of incidents hostile to its Somali-American community and other racial and religious minorities in recent years.
Ibrahim Hirsi reports on immigrant communities, social issues, marginalized groups and people who work on making a difference in the lives of others. A graduate from the University of Minnesota, he interned for Newsday and has written for multiple publications in Minnesota.
Ibrahim Hirsi can be reached at ihirsi@minnpost.com. Follow Ibrahim Hirsi on Twitter: @IHirsi.
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Meet Zaynab Abdi
By Tea Rozman-Clark, Green Card Voices
Since arriving in the United States, Zaynab Abdi has set goals for herself. She wants to have the best future possible.
Zaynab was born in Aden, Yemen. She grew up in a large household with her extended family. Her mother immigrated to the United States through the Green Card Lottery when Zaynab was very young. After sixteen years, her mother was eligible to sponsor her for a visa, and Zaynab made plans to immigrate.
Before she could move, a revolution erupted in Yemen, disrupting her plans. She moved to Egypt with her sister. After two years, Zaynab’s visa arrived but not her sister’s; she would have to find another way. As another revolution began in Egypt, Zaynab went to Minnesota. It was difficult for Zaynab to adjust to life in the United States. Not only was she introduced to American culture, but she had to learn about her mother’s Somali culture as well. However, Zaynab was glad to be reunited with her mother.
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What Happened When K’naan Came to Cedar?
By Ayaan Dahir, Engage Minnesota
What people fail to understand is that Somali youth have a right to discuss, question, organize, and protest.
As many of you know, on sunny Saturday afternoon, the West Bank Community Coalition held their annual block party. This year, musician K’naan Warsame would be in attendance. The event was set to take place in Cedar, a notable Somali community. K’naan was even scheduled to give a live performance.
His arrival in the Twin-Cities, which holds the largest amount of Somali diaspora worldwide, was met with concern. The Canadian rapper was promoting his new HBO drama series, which according to Rolling Stone, “will focus on Jihadi recruitment in the United States.” He is joined by the series executive producer Kathryn Bigelow.
Many are extremely concerned with the series potential portrayal of Somali folk, especially during the rise of hate crimes and surveillance. News of K’naan’s project comes on the eve of a historically unsuccessful initiative called Combating Violent Extremism(CVE). This program profiles Somali youth as “potential extremists” and uses institutions to surveil and monitor young kids. Nearly 50 Muslim organizations in the Twin-Cities issued the following statement in response: “It is our recommendation that the government stop investing in programs that will only stigmatize, divide, and marginalize our communities further.” The Somali community is largely against this program.
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Minnesota Muslims to Mark End of Hajj with Prayers, Celebrations
By Jaylani Hussein, CAIR Minnesota
On Monday, September 12, Minnesota Muslims will mark the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, or Hajj, with communal prayers and celebrations at locations around the state. The prayers and the holiday that follows are called Eid ul-Adha (EED-al-ODD-ha), or “festival of the sacrifice.”
Eid ul-Adha also commemorates the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael at God’s command. The holiday is celebrated with the prayers, small gifts for children, distribution of meat to the needy, and social gatherings. During this holiday, Muslims exchange the greeting “Eid Mubarak” or “blessed Eid.” Each year, some two million Muslims, including thousands of American Muslims, go on Hajj.
[NOTE: For actual pilgrims, the rites of Hajj continue for some time after the Eid prayers.]
WHEN: Monday, September 12th – The prayers are held in the morning. Many communities also hold day-long Eid festivals for families.
WHERE: The Eid prayers and festivals are held either in local mosques or in public facilities designed to accommodate large gatherings.
Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55404
(Host – Abubakr Islamic Center)
TIME: 8:30 am and 9:30 am (two sessions)
St Paul River Center- Host Dawah Institute
175 W Kellogg Blvd, St Paul, MN 55102
7:30am
Northwest Islamic Community Center, (two sessions)
1st Session: 3300 Plymouth Blvd, Plymouth, MN.
TIME: 7:20am
2nd Session: Hilde Performance Center, 3500 Plymouth Blvd, Plymouth, MN
TIME: 8:30am
Islamic Center of Minnesota
6155 Earle Brown Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55430
TIME: 7:00am and 9:00am (two sessions)
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Remember Salman Hamdani
By Talat Hamdani, StoryCorps
On the morning of September 11, 2001, emergency medical technician and Muslim-American Salman Hamdani died trying help his fellow New Yorkers at the World Trade Center. In the weeks that followed, while his family searched for their missing son, the police and press wrongfully linked Salman as being an accomplice in the attacks.
His mother, Talat Hamdani, came to StoryCorps to remember those first days after her son went missing. #NeverForget
Illustration by Matt Huynh
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Ban the burkini ban: How the same decision that claims to liberate women actually oppresses them
By Hanadi Chehabeddine, MinnPost
In 2004 I was in France reporting on the Cannes Advertising Festival on behalf of ArabAd Magazine, not only as an Arab, but also as a Muslim woman and a veiled one. For a whole week I was following up on the Arab delegation, arranging interviews with winners and even scoring with the festival’s highest rank and advertising celebrities. I was very proud of myself and thought I deserved a day off before traveling back to Lebanon.
Nice, as the closest town to Cannes, was my leisure destination and I enjoyed wandering aimlessly at its charming Sunday market. The craft kiosks lining up next to farmers’ colorful produce and eclectic bags fascinated me. I looked forward to having breakfast at one of the local cafés. As I was entering the establishment, a long skinny waitress blocked my way and said in a snooty French accent: “Where are you going?” I said naively, “I want to have breakfast.” She said, “The restaurant is booked.” I looked around and saw people coming in and out freely. Clearly the restaurant was not booked. The waitress turned to me and huffed, “People like you have no place in this restaurant.”
Back in my hotel room, I cried my eyes out. I vowed that night never to be quieted again.
The animosity toward Muslims in France dates to long before recent terrorists attacks. The ban on “conspicuous religious symbols,” including headscarves in 2004 and the full-face covering in 2011, was the start. Its latest iteration bans the burkini, a swimwear designed to cover most of the body worn primarily by Muslim women. The religious obligation for women to cover their bodies stems from the concept of modesty that Muslim women believe in — in simple terms, converging the attention on women’s thoughts rather than their bodies and bodily assets. Objecting to the ban on the burkini should be the quest of every woman.
Hanadi Chehabeddine is an award-winning public speaker and writer. She recently received the Eden Prairie Human Rights award 2016 for her efforts to dismantle misconceptions about Islam and build bridges of unity. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in International leadership at the University of St. Thomas. Before coming to the U.S., she was an award-winning creative and communication specialist working across different media.
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If you like this piece, share it on social media. We invite you to join us in this project on our social media sites. We welcome your voice to the Comment section below — or consider writing a commentary, podcast or photo story. (For more information, email engageminnesota@gmail.com.)
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Costs & Conflicts of Assimilation
By Omar Alansari-Kreger, Engage Minnesota
Be one of us or one of them.
Assimilation is a difficult thing to experience. Some choose to live insular lives which leaves very little room for external engagement. As a matter of principle, the ways of the old world are traditionally followed without question. The children of refugees find themselves in a very difficult position. There is this underlying belief suggesting that a way of life must be chosen. Either embrace the ways of the old world or become part of the new. That decision carries with it a weighty proposition. For a great deal of expatriated youths living across the United States, there is this feeling that a choice must be made between parents and their external surroundings. For example, parental refugees may choose to maintain minimal proficiency with the English language in addition to their newly acquired surroundings. Their children generally function as bridges which assist in overcoming barriers of language and culture. That eventually leads to a conflict of interest which materializes in a clash of ideas.
Youths experience a world that is fundamentally different from that of their elders. Such conflicts originate from cauldrons that brew oppositional antagonisms with old world traditions. An ongoing trend among refugees finds a need to keep assimilative forces at an arm’s length. The rationale behind that is supported by an analogy of fear.
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Meet Reza Alizadeh
By Tea Rozman-Clark, Green Card Voices
The Iranian Revolution brought about many social and political changes within the country. When Reza Alizadeh saw the revolutionaries’ many promises go unfulfilled, he saw no other option but to find refuge someplace else.
Prior to the revolution, Mr. Alizadeh enjoyed a happy and carefree life with his parents and siblings. At the age of thirteen, he witnessed the collapse of his government and, eventually, his society. He made plans to immigrate to the United States just as his brother had done years earlier.
Mr. Alizadeh’s journey out of Iran included enduring a rough bus ride, navigating security checkpoints, hiding in a swamp for several days, traversing down a rugged mountain path on horseback, and dodging heavy crossfire. To his relief, he arrived in Turkey unharmed and began the process of starting his new life. After a brief time in Italy, Reza was granted political asylum in the United States and rejoined his brother.
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Trump’s attack on Somalis illustrates the harm he could do
By Jamal Abdulahi, Star Tribune
And Minnesota’s GOP leaders have a moral duty to speak out.
Donald Trump, who plans to visit the Twin Cities on Friday, recently unleashed a hateful attack on Minnesota’s Somali community in a speech delivered to a large crowd in Portland, Maine. It was beyond the pale.
Trump’s attack inspired more attacks. A hateful message left on the Somali Museum of Minnesota’s voice mail is the latest example.
Unfortunately, state Republican Party leaders such as Chairman Keith Downey, House Speaker Kurt Daudt, and U.S. Reps Erik Paulsen and Tom Emmer not only remain silent but continue to support Trump for president.
The unabated support by the top state GOP brass is a moral scandal. To preach of outreach and a possible partnership with the community while tolerating Trump’s outrageous attack is tantamount to moral turpitude and could lead to catastrophe.
Partisan politics is far from pure. Party leaders often accommodate fringe elements in the spirit of building a big political tent. But Trump is not a fringe figure in a large political party. He is an unhinged and dangerous nominee who hijacked a major American political institution and uses the power and the prestige that came with it to attack vulnerable groups.
Continue reading at Star Tribune
Jamal Abdulahi of Rosemount, is a community organizer, blogger and essayist.
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If you like this piece, share it on social media. We invite you to join us in this project on our social media sites. We welcome your voice to the Comment section below — or consider writing a commentary, podcast or photo story. (For more information, email engageminnesota@gmail.com.)
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Does Our Opinion Matter?
By Omar Alansari-Kreger, Engage Minnesota
Renewing the Freedom of Speech against an Unforgiving Status Quo
We live in a nation that prides itself on the freedom of speech. Yet, we pay nothing but lip service to the first amendment. That fact of the matter is that if you are outside of the elite establishment, no one really cares about your opinion or what you have to say for the matter. The Plutocratic States of America is the giant elephant no one wants to recognize. Citizens are free to have opinions, but if they are unredeemable, what good are there? We might as well have no opinion whatsoever. Arguably, that can explain why apathy is the new cultural norm. Information surrounds us everywhere we look. In the “free world,” accessibility to information is no longer an issue. It has actually transformed into an open source of vanity. We hold naïve expectations about humanity which teases us with perfectionism.
There is this presumption that more information means more intelligence.
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Meet Majra Mucic
By Tea Rozman-Clark, Green Card Voices
Majra Mucić never thought her childhood was out of the ordinary. Later, she realized not every child grew up waiting in line for food rations and hiding from air raids.
Ms. Mucić was born in Zenica, Bosnia in 1988—four years prior to the start of the Bosnian War. After the war, her family decided to immigrate and escape the economic and political tensions that remained. After an arduous screening process in a refugee camp, her family was paired with a host family in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
Upon her arrival in 2001, Majra had a difficult time adjusting to the nuances of her new home. From the bus system to the grocery store, everything seemed so different. Life at school was just as tough; few children were willing to reach out to Majra. She eventually made friends over a mutual passion—sports.
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Trumped into silence
By Fedwa Wazwaz, Engage Minnesota
“Silence is the best way to answer a fool.”
After the Democratic National Convention (DNC, Donald Trump said the reason Ghazala Khan didn’t speak at the DNC is because she wasn’t allowed to. He played on stereotypes of Muslim women as oppressed and voiceless.
Some women will respond through a twitter campaign to demonstrate that we don’t need anyone’s permission to speak.
Today, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. (EDT), Monday, August 1, using the hashtag #CanYouHearUsNow, some Muslim women will share a bit about who they are and how they speak out.
I respect these women’s right to express their outrage in this manner. However, I disagree with this approach. Why? As a direct speaker, I have faced harsh criticism for my not speaking in a way that adheres to a stereotypical view of a Muslim woman by Muslims and non-Muslims, both men and women alike. Hence, boxing women to speak in one way to appease a bigot or a group of bigots plays right into their game. A show of false bravado is not necessary. Rather, what is needed is an educational lesson on silence.
As someone who is a direct speaker, I heard a woman, Ghazala Khan’s message on stage very loud and clear. A wise woman who stood dignified and respectfully – expressed her pain and suffering at Trump with her silence. She was not silenced by her husband, but, too stunned by Trump’s stupidity to even respond. She was genuine, open and authentic. She was being herself, not putting on an act of false bravado like Trump has been doing since the Presidential campaign.
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What Merits the Value of an Opinion?
By Omar Alansari-Kreger, Engage Minnesota
Philosophy began as an opinion. In a free society, we are taught that our ideas matter. A person is given every reason to have an opinion without actually understanding what it means to have one. History is taken from the irony of the human experience. We constantly find ourselves at a crossroads. What can bring good brings bad. It is in our nature to justify our shortcomings through pitfalls of circumstance. A question of intentionality prosecutes the reason for action. As humans, it is in our nature to pursue avenues of recognition. A life deprived of meaning is an alibi to depression.
Wherever we look, there is information. It is not possible to avoid it anymore. For that reason, ignorance is increasingly becoming a matter of choice. Time again, we choose ignorance over intelligence without asking ourselves why. A margin of human error implies that perfection is illusory. We foolishly look for philosophies of perfection. The slightest form of error is enough to destroy hope in a better tomorrow. It can therefore be argued that ideas are as fragile as they are frugal. We sparingly attribute faith to an idea in anticipation of inevitable disappointment. That is indicative of man’s selfish inner narrative.
