Youth Empowerment- Defining American Muslim Identity

As the calender year draws to an end I was reflecting back on what exactly it was that I did the past twelve months. Sadly, when I look back I feel like I haven't accomplished anything. Then I look at the case files of hundreds of clients who have called me to discuss their incidents. I look at the meetings I have gone too on my calender regarding all sorts of things from the mundane to the uber important. I look at the event materials I have from all the projects that delivered something of substance at its close, that gives me a sense of accomplishment. But I still feel a void of not having done enough.

All of that changes when I hear the voices of students I have gotten to know, mentor, supervise and interact with and all of what I do becomes relevant. Here's what I am talking about:

The One You Love

Thanks Adelito for sharing this:

The Celebration of Life

Again another Eid al-Adha. I love this Eid so much. Its great this year because the majority of my extended family in the US is here in California! I love being able to spend time with my younger cousins and getting to know them. I plan on taking the siblings to watch "New Moon" since it is Ameechi's turn to pick a movie we get to sit through the tween-fest. Then tomorrow i hope to go to the circus thats in town with cousins. While its going to be fun and exciting, there is a reminder for myself in this Eid al-Adha.

The sacrifice that comes at its end is by far the most relevant for me. I think death is something that modern society shrinks away from. We do things to focus so much on "life" and the "living", which is important, but I observe that we do it to the deteriment to ourselves because we make "death" is made into something "pretty"- flowers, traditions and customs and all other outward practices meant for the people still living. Nothing wrong with that, I guess, I just feel selfish for sitting there doing these things to console myself.

I feel that way becuase life is not just this short snippet of time here in this reality, but rather part of the larger existence. Creation is ongoing as God tells us in the Quran, even in death, which is followed by judgement and life after-death we continue to "exist".

What I am trying to say is that this Eid celebration is a reminder for myself of how fragile life is, and that I need to make greater effort to live a "prophetic life". When Muslims go to follow the steps of Abraham by sacrificing an animal, that ritual is a direct reminder of life, death and the afterlife. Muslims take the life of an animal. What could be more meaningful reminder too how fleeting life is then watching that sacrificial animal die. Then to take that blessed meat for distribution to the poor, family and friends and for one's family, to consume it, considering that in modern life we all just go and purchase "meat" at the store or at resturants to consume without ever thinking about where and how it came there, allows things to be contexualized.

Unfortunately this year I won't be going out for this practice, instead I just donated money to have a sacrifice done in my name for some one in need in Africa. Though I am not seeing that "live and in living color" this year, I have had numerous oppurtunities this past year to reflect on "life and death". I had to attend funerals, memorials and visit the graveyard to pray for those buried there. Even my friend Motti had a near death experience in Islamabad, Pakistan where he was working for the UN food distribution center that was targeted by suicide bombers that signified how people live without security or safety, yet they live in defiance of it.

Like the past years, death continues to lurk in my peripheral vision. I might just be overly sensitive to dying and maybe thats why the impression is so marked in my thoughts. I might even go as far as saying that I fear death, so its a bit overwhelming to deal with it so frequently. That is the challenge, so I must challenge myself to face it and deal with it- thats the part about living a more "prophetic life".

There is No Way Through

Mind wrapping.

Muslim Americans Must Obey U.S. Laws; Nidal Hasan Disobeyed Islamic Doctrine

The Islamophobic blogosphere has gone buck-wild. Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller, and the rest of the goof troop are pretty ecstatic that Major Nidal Hasan, a Muslim American, killed thirteen U.S. soldiers at Fort Hood. Nothing makes a neo-conservative happier than an attack on American soil; as the family of the victims mourn the dead, the anti-Muslim ideologues gleefully co-opt the situation to market their hate-filled beliefs.

The Islamophobes claim that Major Hasan was simply “being a devout Muslim” when he opened fire on his fellow soldiers. According to them, this is a part of Jihad, an obligation in Islam. As such, the enemy is not just extremists, radicals, or terrorists; but rather, it is Islam itself. It is not then a gross perversion of a religion by zealots that result in such horrific attacks, but rather the exact opposite: it is a faithful understanding of the Islamic religion which results in terrorism. That’s what they claim at least.

There is, according to these anti-Muslim bigots, a conspiracy by Muslim Americans to overtake the country from within. The tactics to do so can be non-violent (”Stealth Jihad”) or overtly violent (such as 9/11 or the Fort Hood Massacre), but the goal is the same: to overthrow the U.S. government, rip the Constitution to shreds, and enact Sharia (Islamic law) in the West. It is for this reason, you–the average American Joe–need to fear your Muslim neighbor.

The Covenant of Security

But experts of the Islamic legal tradition say differently. The Islamic religion commands believers to obey the laws of the land they live in, even if it be one ruled by nonbelievers. Muslim jurists consider citizenship (or visa) to be a covenant (aqd) held between the citizen (or visa holder) and the state, one which guarantees safe passage/security (amaan) in exchange for certain obligations (such as obeying the laws of the land); covenants are considered sacredly binding in Islam. The Quran commands:

And fulfill every covenant. Verily, you will be held accountable with regard to the covenants. (Quran, 17:34)

The Quran condemns those who break covenants as not being true believers:

It is not the case that every time they make a covenant, some party among them throws it aside. Nay! The truth is most of them believe not. (Quran, 2:100)

The Islamic prophet Muhammad described the religious hypocrite as follows:

When he enters into a covenant, he proves treacherous. (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Citizenship (and visa) is called in Islamic legal parlance as a “covenant of security” (aqd al-aman). For over a thousand years, Muslim scholars have rigorously affirmed the binding nature of the covenant of security. This covenant of security can be of two types: (1) a contractual agreement or (2) a customary understanding.

Naturalized citizens in the United States enter into a contractual agreement with the government when they declare the oath of allegiance, as follows:

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same…”

A Muslim is obliged to keep to his word, and thus this oath is religiously binding upon him.

Natural born citizens, on the other hand, do not utter any such oath, so they fall under the second category under Islamic law. The covenant of security is considered for them a customary understanding, in the sense that even though they did not physically say an oath or sign a document of loyalty, it is understood that there exists between the citizen and the government a covenant of security; this, i.e. customary understanding, is considered by Islamic law to be just as binding as the contractual agreement. There is no difference between the two.

Read more here.