Articles

What truth, if any, is contained in Islamophobic depictions of today's American Muslim? What message about ourselves is being transmitted? Dawud Walid turns his gaze to this barrage of media images and sees a message that sells our community short.

The day of Ashura is unfortunately not given its full due because we choose to observe it through the polarizing lens of our own personal ideology. Some observe Ashura as if the death of Imam Husain never happened on this day, while others observe Ashura as if only the death of Imam Husain happened on this day. Others are apathetic about observing it at all. In all of these circumstances, this blessed day is being shortchanged, and we are the only ones who lose out. With Thanksgiving season approaching, a reflection on gratitude may lead us to a more comprehensive and unifying perspective on Ashura.

Though our Beauty of Muhammad Web Series (peace be upon him and his family) will start in a few weeks, I wanted to share this amazing story with you. May Allah inspire us all to keep our hearts and tongues in a constant state of prayers upon the Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).

Prophetic tradition is to implement moderate exercise to attain optimal health, ultimately enabling and helping us draw nearer to God on these sacred journeys.

I left home at an early age. I remember the others kids around me; they cried the first night. I didn’t. Though calm on the outside, I felt a gaping hole inside me that eventually went away as I adjusted to my new reality. Nearly 30 years later, I felt that way again for the just the second time.

On my way home, while walking on the usual cobbled path, I stepped down on a grassy plot. I saw a tiny fragment of a leaf lying on my way. I was about to step on it, when it cried, “Stop! Don’t do that.”

Three Americans were awarded France’s highest honour, the Légion d’Honneur medal, for thwarting what appeared to be an attack on a train. Given the current Islamophobic climate in France, it may come as a surprise that France awarded the Grand Cross of the Légion d’Honneur to one of the most prominent Muslim figures in recent history, and a man who resisted French colonization using military force: Emir Abdelqadir El Djezairi, an Algerian Muslim scholar.

While the Muslim world overwhelmingly rejects the actions of ISIS, the group claims their actions as valid interpretations of the sacred law. If such interpretations are drawn from traditional legal manuals, are the rebuttals to the claims of ISIS just apologetics from critics derided as “sell-outs”? Or does ISIS and their ilk simply represent a mirror image of the soulless faith that dominates today, “souled out” actors that erect an ego-driven faith of grotesque gratifications?

There is a metaphysical effect to observing the Sacred Law that is undermined by its abandonment. Prayer is not a set of stretching exercises, the Hijab is not about men, and fasting is not about losing weight.

Is relying on donations sustainable? Was it, in fact, ever? After hearing that charity just isn’t enough repeated by more than a few, we wondered how can something so elemental to our faith, namely zakah, and more broadly, sadaqah, and as important in our social and religious history as awqaf, be so emphasized and successful and yet be insufficient?

Racial, cultural, and social divides have been a disturbing reality in Muslim communities throughout the United States, despite the unique diversity of the American Muslim community. At the forefront of this divide are the two largest demographics of American Muslims today: indigenous African-Americans and immigrants. Since the immigration from Muslim lands began in the early 20th century, the complex, and often tense, history between the two sub-communities continues to be a barrier for second1 and third generation American Muslims trying to move the community forward in the 21st century. Though most may agree on the unity of the community as an ideal, putting it into practice requires an open, and sometimes uncomfortable, discussion.

Every believer has a personal journey in maintaining their spiritual health in a world that is filled with distractions. But, the victorious are those who shun the puppets in the cave—as described in Plato’s Republic—and make God the King of their heart.