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While the world's political attention has been focused on Iraq for the past few weeks, a quiet revolution of sorts has been happening in Somalia, the east African state without a functioning government since the 30 year reign of Mohammad Siad Barre ended in 1991. Since then, a handful of warlords have presided over anarchy and lawlessness, famously drawing in the US for its disastrous "Black Hawk Down" battle with Mohammad Farah Aideed in 1993. Poverty, piracy, and a strangely efficient telecoms industry ensued. This week, the Islamic Courts Union, a network of Somalian sharia courts with a growing military, captured Jowhar, a Mogadishu suburb that represented the last stand for the warlords. The ICU had succeeded in part by transcending clan loyalties through religion. With it came the lions share of the country's military hardware and effective control of Somalia by a single organisation for the first time in 15 years. The warlords themselves had seen the ICU coming over the past few years, forming The Alliance for Peace and Counter-Terrorism, a group tailor made for seeking (and receiving) covert CIA monetary assistance (if you can't beat 'em, buy 'em). This was no minor annoyance to the UN recognised fledgling Somali government (which includes Aideed's US-educated son), watching helplessly from the town of Baidoa, 90 miles from Mogadishu. Now, the US has called for a public international meeting to discuss the matter, fearing the ICU could turn Sufi-oriented Somalia into another Afghanistan. Claims have been made that Saudi-style public executions have been held and areas under ICU control harbour suspects from the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and the Mombassa hotel bombing in 2002. But other analysts point out that the ICU is no Taliban. "Somalis in general show little interest in jihadi Islamism; most are deeply opposed," says a report by the International Crisis Group. "The most remarkable feature is that Islamist militancy has not become more firmly rooted in what should, by most conventional assessments, be fertile ground." Others liken the public mood to the election of Hamas in Palestine (for anti-Fatah corruption reasons) by a population that would likely approve a referendum for a two-state solution. Whatever the eventual outcome, the ascendance of the ICU is an embarrassment to the US, which still seems to prefer perpetuating a sense that Somalis prefer exporting jihadi violence to restoring order after over a decade of anarchy perpetuated by the CIA backed warlords. "It's a turning point for Somalia," said a businessman in Marka, south of Mogadishu. "We just don't know yet which way our country will turn." (More here)
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Two terrorism-related raids - one in Canada and another in Britain - have Muslim communities on edge, oscillating between the need to condemn acts of terror in the name of Islam (a bit more forcefully, this time, please) and fending off pressure amid signs of a mounting backlash. The Canadian arrests resulted from a lengthy monitoring of the suspects and came with accusations - all denied - of acquiring three times the ammonium nitrate used in the Oklahoma City bombing and attempting to capture Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and behead him Zarqawi-style if Canadian troops weren't pulled out of Afghanistan. Muslim communities in Canada have generally cooperated with the RCMP, keeping in mind the comparatively nice treatment (Maher Arar notwithstanding) of minority Muslim populations. "Like all other Canadians," said Muslim Council of Montreal President Salam Elmenyawi, "the Muslim community is certainly concerned about issues of security." The same can't be said of Britain, where a nearly simultaneous (but not related) raid didn't go so well. One suspect was shot during an operation that was seeking a chemical device, which has yet to be found. "I understand that they have intelligence and have to act on it," said neighbor Farhana Pandor, "but it is the way the police have gone about it that makes me angry." Combined with the aftermath of the London bombings (and a greater proportion of hard-line Muslims than in the US or Canada), the raid has brought about calls to end Muslim cooperation with the police, which is mainly handled through the UK's major Muslim organizations. Profiles of the accused follow similar patterns to groups in the US (the Virginia "Paintball" group) and the UK (the London bombers): socially and culturally alienated Muslim youth - some of whom are only teenagers - mixed in with older participants who may be more well-adjusted but who adhere to more extreme forms of Islam. Caught between native and immigrant cultures, feeling increasingly frustrated at Western military involvement in Muslim lands, and driven by a black-and-white view regarding Islam's relationship with the West, these tight-knit groups come to a conclusion that violence - whether here or abroad - is the only way out. Whether or not the accused are actually guilty of these alleged crimes is for the courts to decide. Investigations need to be thorough and transparent, and Muslim communities should offer their full cooperation. Similar efforts, however, must also happen within the Muslim community to decide how to respond to pockets of extremism that may, given certain circumstances, metastasize into something worse than words. "This is a wake-up call, especially for Muslim leaders," said Sheikh Husain Patel, an imam at the Islamic Foundation of Toronto. "They were young kids, and they were taken down this road by someone."
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A Muslim elected to Congress? Many Muslim Americans have tried in vain to attain this elusive office, their efforts stymied for various reasons including weak campaign skills, lack of political experience, and continuing suspicion of Muslim American loyalties. But one Muslim politician has done it the hard (i.e. right) way - by working his way up the political ladder and building a wide constituency of supporters in his district - not just those in the Muslim community. With his endorsement last week by the Minnesota DFL (affiliated with the Democratic Party), two-term state legislator Keith Ellison is well positioned to succeed retiring Congressman Martin Sabo in Minnesota's heavily Democratic Fifth District and make history as America's first Muslim member of Congress. Running on a progressive platform that some liken to the late Senator Paul Wellstone, Ellison doesn't emphasize his Muslim faith, but he doesn't shy away from it either. "It's good for people to see a reasonable, moderate face of Islam," said Ellison, who has worked with the local Muslim community to promote civic participation. But despite the advantages of party endorsement and a favorable electoral demographic (the Fifth District is one of the most liberal districts in the US), Ellison still faces some obstacles in his road to Washington, DC. A few Democratic candidates who lost out on the DFL endorsement will run against Ellison in September's primary, and his Muslim faith coupled with his past participation in the Million Man March (along with, uh, a million other people) is already drawing attacks on right-wing websites. Ellison, however, remains unfazed while he hits the campaign trail. "I just started studying [Islam] and found it interesting," said Ellison of his conversion many years ago. "I lead my life in a way to not make religion a big deal."
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For years, Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been a lightning rod for critics of Islam (who, like murdered filmmaker Theo van Gogh, supported her) and many Dutch immigrant Muslims (some of whom - wrongly - threatened her life). Her comments about the Prophet Muhammad (she called him "a pedophile") and Holland's relaxed immigration laws towards Muslims (abused, she says) found many right wing supporters, eventually helping her win a seat in Holland's parliament. One of them, Immigration and Interior minister Rita Verdonk (the one who proposed a ban on burkas), accelerated a review of Hirsi Ali's own immigration status after televised revelations that she had herself lied during her naturalisation process, (saying she was fleeing war torn Somalia instead of middle class Kenya) and falsifying her name (it's Ayaan Hirsi Magan). The result? Verdonk declared her citizenship invalid and Hirsi Ali resigned her MP seat on May 16. "I have done more harm than good," said Hirsi Ali to a Dutch newspaper. "My message has come across to the public wrong." Adding insult to injury, Hirsi Ali must leave her police-protected home by September, prompted by a court decision in favour of her neighbours who felt unsafe living next to her. After that, it is expected that Hirsi Ali will move to the US (only months after receiving Readers Digest's European of the Year award) and work for the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC (though the growing negative publicity could doom that too). As a precursor, she visited the US to promote her latest book, a compilation of essays entitled "The Caged Virgin" (excerpt: "I have taken an enormous risk by answering the call for self-reflection and by joining in the public debate that has been taking place in the West since 9/11. And what do the cultural experts say? 'You should have said it in a different way'"). If she makes it to the US as a resident, Hirsi Ali will find little resonance to her comments about European immigrant Muslims, finding a domestic Muslim population that is relatively integrated, affluent, and politically savvy (though if she's still interested in immigration, the Minutemen could use a hand). Still, many issues she has raised in the past, like female genital mutilation (of which she is a victim) and the abuse of women in Muslim immigrant communities, have filled a vacuum left by Muslims unwilling to engage in constructive self-critcism on their own. Without that, many more critics are ready to take Hirsi Ali's place.
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The Irony Of Being Hassan Al-Turabi - Sudan's Hassan al-Turabi once advocated for the execution of another Islamic scholar for being too liberal. Now he finds himself in the same situation. (May 3, 2006)
Return Of The Janjaweed, This Time In Chad - Remember Darfur? A few people - including some Muslims - do, and efforts are being redoubled to stem the bloodshed as it spills over into neighboring Chad. (Apr 20, 2006)
Muslim Voices On The Sidelines In Immigration Debate - Despite all the immigration-related problems that have afflicted the US Muslim community, little has been contributed to the current debate on immigration policy. (Apr 17, 2006)
Guess Who's Coming To TV? A Muslim-Themed Sitcom - Will a new Muslim-themed TV sitcom - the first of its kind in America - result in viewers laughing at Muslims or laughing with them? (Apr 5, 2006)
Begum Case Defeat Highlights A Game of Power - Now that a Muslim high school student has lost her case to wear a jilbab instead of the Muslim uniform derived from consensus, many are asking what was really behind it. (Mar 24, 2006)
Kurtlar Vadisi: The Other Side Of Free Speech - After decades of Muslim and Arab stereotyping in film, a Turkish blockbuster turns the tables and portrays Americans and Jews in a negative light. Will calls for free speech diminish? (Mar 11, 2006)
So Who's Hung Up On The 'Muslim Madonna'? - If Norwegian-born Muslim singer Deeyah wants to be the next 'Muslim Madonna,' will mixing Muslim commentary with scantily-clad videos gain her credibility or just cheap publicity? (Mar 2, 2006)
Irrational Fear, Your Ship Has Come In - Perhaps if you didn't understand global trade, the economy of Dubai, or the help the UAE gives the US military, your fear of Dubai Ports World would make sense. But it still wouldn't be right. (Feb 24, 2006)
A Harsher Light Shines on Guantanamo Bay - New pressure on the United States from the UN and others to close its Guantanamo Bay prison may highlight its legal and moral anomalies, but success remains uncertain (Feb 19, 2006)
Abu Hamza al-Masri Begins His "Slow Martyrdom" - With the US running out of domestic fish to fry, Abu Hamza's "slow martyrdom" following his UK conviction on incitement charges may soon quicken. (Feb 9, 2006)
The Dirty Dozen (And The Damage Done) - With worldwide protests, the divide between Western understandings of Muslim sensitivities and Western notions of free speech has been illuminated. But at what cost? (Feb 4, 2006)
Won't Somebody Please Think Of The Palestinians? - A Hamas victory in Palestine may not lead to what Israelis fear nor what Hamas idealogues want, but instead a revisiting of the harsh compromises that both sides will have to accept. (Jan 28, 2006)
British Muslims Mourn Scholar & Leader Dr. Zaki Badawi - "I am naturally a rebel," explained scholar Dr. Sir Zaki Badawi, who passed away yesterday at the age of 84. "Irreverence is part of my Islamic culture." (Jan 25, 2006)
A Conversion in Death for Malaysian Everest Hero? - A contested conversion after the death of a Malaysian mountaineering hero sparks a controversy over legal access by non-Muslims to sharia court decisions in Muslim majority countries. (Jan 4, 2006)
Santa Doesn't Watch Muslims, But The FBI Does - Coal is put in the stockings of Muslims this Christmas with the revelation that thousands of their homes and businesses were warrantlessly monitored for radioactive material. (Dec 24, 2005)
Muslim Sorority Seeks Best Of Both Worlds - It's hard to think of of two groups farther apart on the social spectrum than Muslims and members of the Greek system. A new Muslim sorority seeks to change that. (Dec 19, 2005)
Al-Arian Acquitted, But Court Of Public Opinion Still Out - A "controversial" Muslim leader is acquitted, but not before a drawn-out trial that burdened his family and brought embarassing statements into the light. (Dec 13, 2005)
Searching for Islam in a Belgian Female Bomber - Muriel Degauque may be Europe's first woman suicide bomber, but pinning her motivation on Islam alone won't stop other "firsts" from making tomorrow's headlines. (Dec 6, 2005)
In California, Muslim-Owned Liquor Stores Become A Target - On one side, Muslim immigrants say they're just trying to make a living. On the other, an African-American neighborhood struggles to rid itself of an abundance of liquor stores. (Dec 1, 2005)
The Strange Spiritual Journey of Michelle Leslie - When Australian model Michelle Leslie stated she was a Muslim in an Indonesian drugs trial, she gained her freedom - at the expense of her reputation and for an uncertain future. (Nov 28, 2005)
Undoing A Character Assassination - The US found no evidence to link 25 American Muslim organizations to terrorism, but many of the groups have been irreversibly harmed in the process. (Nov 21, 2005)
A Lion Of The Desert: Remembering Moustapha Akkad - For 50 years, Moustapha Akkad - who was murdered last week in a suicide bombing in Amman, Jordan - was the most prominent Muslim in Hollywood. (Nov 14, 2005)
- More news articles here |
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By Farhan Memon, June 9, 2006
al-Zarqawi was truly on a genocidal crusade against the very people he had come to free. "Al Qaeda organization in Iraq," he stated last year, "has declared war against Shi'ites in all of Iraq." In the face of such tyranny, the United States as the occupying power in Iraq was certainly justified in hunting him down. However, having found al-Zarqawi's hideout by tracking his "spiritual adviser," was the US military justified in dropping two 500 pound bombs to kill him? If the military knew al-Zarqawi's location and could surveil him from the air, why not try to capture him alive? (More here)
By Hesham Hassaballa, June 7, 2006
I am firm believer in the importance of Muslim communities in the West, especially in Europe, to fully integrate into the societies around them - without losing their identity as Muslims. I firmly believe that being fully American - or fully French, or fully Italian - and being fully Muslim are not mutually exclusive. I firmly believe that it does no one - neither the Muslim community nor their non-Muslim neighbors - any good if the Muslim community is isolated and alienated from the greater society in which it lives and works. (More here)
By Muqtedar Khan, June 1, 2006
Berlin May 23, 2006. We entered the mosque through a large iron gate closely watched by a score of Turkish men. Unlike most architecturally interesting buildings in Berlin, which are open and easily accessible, this mosque which is both majestic and grand, is surrounded by a high wall and is accessible only through iron gates. I was in Berlin for a conference organized by the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, and one of their scholars and a Berlin Parliamentarian kindly volunteered to show me around Berlin. As we approached the grand mosque, the Berlin Parliamentarian remarked, "Notice the Turkish flag on the mosque? Do you see a German flag anywhere?" (More here)
Indonesia's City of Soul Mourns
By Irfan Yusuf, May 30, 2006
Irfan Yusuf explores the history of the Jogja region of Indonesia, which is reeling from a major earthquake that has taken over 5,000 lives.
Understanding Muslim Language
By Svend White, May 29, 2006
Svend White outlines five simple rules to decipher just how the media selects quotes from Muslims and interprets their intentions.
Dead Woman Walking
By Shelina Merani, May 24, 2006
Many Muslim majority countries are implementing repressive policies and injustices - from corporal punishments to death penalties - in the name of Islam.
What Are The Requirements To Reflect Over the Qur'an?
By Hesham Hassaballa, May 24, 2006
We're told to read the Qur'an and ponder its meaning, but we're criticized for talking about it - that is, if we aren't considered qualified to do so.
A New Understanding Of "Kufr"
By Hesham Hassaballa, May 14, 2006
Muslims use the word "kufr" and "kafir", but do they really understand their meanings? Could there be more nuanced understandings that remain uncovered?
A "New" Look At Engagement?
By Motazz Soliman, May 3, 2006
As the 'new hyphenated Americans,' it would serve the Muslim population to study the struggles of other minorities who have pursued justice.
Are We Really Supposed To Hate Non-Muslims? (Part II)
By Hesham Hassaballa, May 1, 2006
How should Muslims interact with people of other faiths? What do Islam and Muslim scholars have to say about the matter?
Are We Really Supposed To Hate Non-Muslims? (Part I)
By Hesham Hassaballa, April 21, 2006
How should Muslims interact with people of other faiths? What do Islam and Muslim scholars have to say about the matter?
What Muslims Can Learn From Easter
By Irfan Yusuf, April 14, 2006
Easter is about Christ, a great man who saw the inherent worth of all human beings - even tax collectors and sex workers and lepers, those whom the rest of society wrote off.
Literalistic Wahhabistic Sufism
By Shabana Mir, April 13, 2006
The masses are drawn, as flies to honey, to a romanticized notion of legitimate "tradition" that is divorced from the specificity of reality, from compassion, from inclusiveness.
Making Men(ds) With Method
By Ali Eteraz, April 12, 2006
Would it be that the age of the reprehensible and anachronistic was the one that had waned, and the age of the righteous was at hand?
Are The Scholars The Same As God Himself?
By Hesham Hassaballa, April 7, 2006
The ink of the scholars may be more valuable than the blood of martyrs, as the Prophet Muhammad once said - but it is not the Word of God.
Why Is The US Promoting Nuclear Proliferation?
By Zeeshan Hafeez, April 3, 2006
The US agreement to support India's nuclear activities will fuel an inevitable nuclear arms race that will further destabilize the volatile region of South Asia.
Apostasy And Religious Freedom
By Louay M. Safi, March 31, 2006
A Christian or a Jew who converts to Islam is a Muslim and must be respected as such. By the same token, a Muslim who converts to Christianity is a Christian, and must be respected as such.
Converts From Islam: Let God Be The Judge
By Hesham Hassaballa, March 31, 2006
The Qur'an is very clear on this: There's no compulsion in religion. So why is an Afghan Christian convert being persecuted?
Intellectual Apostasy: The Real Issue
By Ibrahim Abusharif, March 29, 2006
The intransigence of the Afghani "judge" of this controversy is out of step with the very legal tradition he believes he's upholding.
Two Theories Of Ijtihad
By Muqtedar Khan, March 28, 2006
Muslim societies today have to distinguish between Islam and culture, retain their Islamic essence and reform dysfunctional cultural habits that hinder development.
An Unearthly Sufi Novel: Irving Karchmar's "Master of the Jinn"
By Ali Eteraz, March 28, 2006
Irving Karchmar's debut Sufi novel, "Master of the Jinn", heralds the arrival of a fresh literary voice to Islam and America. It also signals the revival of Sufism.
The Forgotten Story Of Iman Muhanna Mohammad
By Kelly Izdihar Crosby and Saraji Umm Zaid, March 27, 2006
While we argue about hijab or whether or not women should lead prayers, there are Muslim women all throughout the world that are being victimized by poverty, war, and disease.
Whatever Happened To "No Compulsion In Religion"?
By Irfan Yusuf, March 26, 2006
If Muslim minorities do not stand up for the rights of non-Muslims in Muslim-majority states, their occasional claims to being oppressed minorities themselves will not be taken seriously.
In Search Of The Kuffar ("Infidels")
By Hesham Hassaballa, March 20, 2006
Many Muslims may understand that a kafir is anyone who is not Muslim, a so-called "infidel." It is not that simple.
Dr. Wafa Sultan: A Lost Opportunity
By Hesham Hassaballa, March 13, 2006
As I listened to Dr. Wafa Sultan speak about the crimes committed by Muslims throughout the centuries, I thought to myself, "Here we go again."
The Media And Islam: Reimagining Imagery
By Maliha Masood, March 6, 2006
Maybe all that we are, all that we can ever be, are just ordinary folks trying to live our lives. Now that would be a relief.
"Everyday Is Ashura, Every Land Is Karbala"
By Mohamed H. Sabur, February 27, 2006
Whereas violence against Shiites manifests itself in the form of targeted killings in Pakistan and in Iraq, violence against Shiites in the U.S. manifests itself in the form of hate speech.
Why Is Halliburton Building Internment Camps?
By Sheila Musaji, February 26, 2006
Nobody is talking much about it, but moves have been made to develop a network of detention centers in the US.
President Bush And The Rule Of Law
By Hesham Hassaballa, February 26, 2006
If we compromise on our values simply because our enemy is brutal and inhuman, then everything that has been done on behalf of America will have been for nothing.
Reflections Of An American Muslim Soldier
By Nasir Cray, February 21, 2006
It's time to let Zarkawi and his associates know that peace-loving Muslim communities will not tolerate the loss of their families to their stupidity and dreams of ill-gotten glory.
Guantanamo Bay: Injustice Continued, Justice Denied
By Irfan Yusuf, February 19, 2006
The longer the detainees remain behind bars without charge, the less credible the case against them will seem to the outside world and to an independent impartial judiciary.
Your Islamophobic Fist Must Stop At My Muslim Nose
By Khalil Bendib, February 17, 2006
Let us remember to never cross the line into hateful bigotry in the name of an abstract absolute. The freedom to swing your Islamophobic fist must stop at my Muslim nose.
A Letter To Southwest Airlines
By Omar Ahmad, February 16, 2006
A frequent Southwest Airlines flyer questions their "match list" for Muslim-sounding names (including his) only to find out there's no federal policy to use one.
Cartoongate: Déjà vu All Over Again?
By Ibrahim Abusharif, February 16, 2006
Just as Medieval Europe created fear-fantasies about Jews, "Christ-killers" who apparently ate children, so too did they produce a miasma of animus directed toward the Prophet Muhammad
The Sufi Electronica of Niyaz: Music to Smash Idols
By Ali Eteraz, February 12, 2006
In the Sufi-inspired music of Niyaz, the serenity of Islamic mysticism exists even if the words were to disappear and only the voice were to remain.
Clash Of The Uncivilized
By Imam Zaid Shakir, February 9, 2006
Why are we calling for a "Day of Outrage" when our Prophet has instructed us repeatedly not to become angry? Why not a "Day of Familiarization" with the Prophet?
Emotional Torture, Untamed Violence and Intellectual Terrorism
By Dr. Aslam Abdullah, February 6, 2006
We showed our weakness in controlling our emotions when Salman Rushdie insulted our Prophet. We have repeated the same mistake.
Through The Looking Glass: The Danish Cartoons
By Sheila Musaji, February 4, 2006
Does one have the right to make fun of religion? Where is the line between freedom of speech and censorship? And what are appropriate responses?
- More opinion and commentary here | |
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Cartoon debate rages in online forums - "Safiyyah Ally, a Muslim writer, published an article on Altmuslim.com on Wednesday last week, saying: 'I'm quite troubled over the cartoon controversy in Denmark, not because of the cartoons themselves, which I agree are offensive, but rather because of the absurd overreaction of Muslims worldwide.'" (Feb 8, 2006)
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