Archive for February, 2007
Progressive Muslims
Sunday, February 18th, 2007Blogger: Ihsan
Article: Progressive Muslims
Originaly Posted On: 2007-02-18 11:24:00
It seems the debate over ‘progressive’ Islam/Muslims has resurfaced, with Ali Eteraz declaring “progressive Islam” dead over on Alt.Muslim, adding a post/comment about “label whores” on the Eteraz blog as a coda to his critics. Personally, I prefer not to use the term ‘progressive’, partly due its unfortunate associations with silly Muslim Wake Up and its indifference to anti-imperial (or indeed any) critiques of its ‘progressive’ views.
MWU’s misrepresentation of British Muslim issues such as the Shabina Begum affair in terms of its own agenda is an error British ‘progressive’ groups like MECO appear to be repeating - precisely because, I suspect, they have imported MWU’s dogmatic sensibilities. Trying to represent the niqab, for example, as a ‘Wahhabi’ issue (or British Deobandis as closet Wahhabis) completely undermines MECO’s claim to be ‘erudite’. Consequently, the term ‘progressive’ appears to have assumed a pejorative connotation on this side of the pond, indicative of an insular liberalism out of touch with British Muslim concerns.
The danger with this, which is also inherent in the Eteraz decree, is that everything associated with the word ‘progressive’ gets dismissed out of hand. Personally, I still view Omid Safi’s collection of ‘progressive Muslim’ essays (pictured above) as an excellent introduction to contemporary Muslim issues such as gender and a must read. Indeed, what matters to me most is not scholarship’s heterodoxy or popularity, but its veracity.
The fact is, influential Muslims around the globe still employ the label ‘progressive’ with integrity. Laury Silvers’ withering response to the Eteraz declaration packs a punch by doing no more than reminding people that neither he nor those among his esteemed colleagues who continue to use the term are dead. At the heart of this debate, though, is the authority of competing comtemporary Muslim discourses over what constitutes a ‘true’ Muslim. The antedote to this, in my opinion, is to support ordinary Muslims who wish to approach sacred and authoritative Muslim texts for themselves and make their own decisions about how to live as part of the ummah.
Michigan Muslims Counter Claims of Sectarian Conflict
Friday, February 16th, 2007Blogger: Hakim Abdullah
Article: Michigan Muslims Counter Claims of Sectarian Conflict
Originaly Posted On: 2007-02-16 20:59:04
I was born in Michigan and it is true, there is a very large presence of Muslims living in Michigan, it is very beautiful to see such a clear shift from the ethnic norm emerge nearly out of nowhere. To be immersed into a cultural collage of non-domestic origins is truly beautiful, in my opinion. While looking up some things concerning my birthplace Michigan, I found an NPR article suggesting that there has been an influx of “vandalism” in the Muslim majority city of Dearborn, MI:
“In Dearborn, Mich., the nation’s largest Arab-American community, Shia and Sunnis have long lived together mostly peacefully. But it appears that some of Iraq’s sectarian violence is being mirrored in the Detroit area, particularly in recent months. As the Muslim communities have grown and prospered, more mosques have been built and some of the divides between these sects have been brought into sharper focus.” (C. Corley, NPR)
However, I noticed that in the radio editorial, NPR journalist Robert Siegal, appears to suggest that Iraqi-Americans and Iraqi immigrants are crossing Middle-Eastern cultural conflicts into Muslim communities here in the U.S.. But if you listen closely to an immigrant brother named Karim Al-Mayhi he expresses that,
“We don’t have trouble like that, the trouble like that… is over there in the Middle East.”
Likewise, Imam Eide Alawan clearly states that the vandalism and graffiti being spray painted does not appear to be Muslim at all, reading (according to Alawan):
“…Muslims go home…”
Alawan suggests, that it was a non-Muslim doing it because of the frustrations over Iraq. I am writing on this story because it may be indicative of the kind of slanted arguments against Muslims we may see in the future. These arguments if implied in the media could attempt to further feature Muslims as a civic threat, despite the civil reality of our communities. This article is simply a heads-up to my fellow Muslims and a “wagging finger” to media hounds and pundits contemplating an expansion on Siegal’s take of the issue.
Anatomy of a forgotten pogrom: Safed, 1834
Thursday, February 15th, 2007Blogger: Point of no return
Article: Anatomy of a forgotten pogrom: Safed, 1834
Originaly Posted On: 2007-02-15 17:07:30
Dvar Dea
recalls the forgotten 1834 pogrom against the Jews of Safed, sparked by a war between the Turks and the Egyptians. In many ways it was typical of the pogroms that erupted from time to time against the Jews living in the Muslim world in the 18th and 19th century (via
Zionation-Zionism)
.
“While it is true that there were times and places in the Muslim world where Jews were treated well, the 18th and 19th centuries were not such a time. And one of the places where such good treatment was especially rare was Palestine (another such place that made it to the news recently was Yemen).
“When faced with Zionist resilience this brutality morphed but never ceased. From old-fashioned pogroms in the 1920’s it turned into gang violence in the 30’s. In 1947 it was part of a massive ethnic cleansing attempt to wipe out the entire Jewish population, but with devastating results to the Palestinian population, and that in spite of the armed support of neighboring Arab states.
“In the 50’s and 60’s there were the fidayeen raids against Israeli citizens and property, and in the 70’s and 80’s it was the terrorism of planting bombs in public places, attacking Israelis and Jews abroad, and taking civilians as hostages. The 90’s added a new twist, the suicide bombing, now so strongly associated with this conflict. But all these had the same dominant feature that has not changed since the 19th century, and even from earlier times: the deliberate attacks on unarmed civilians.
“The forgotten pogrom in Tzfat was a regular pogrom, a dreadful yet familiar experience to Jews in both the Islamic world and in Christian Europe. Like all pogroms it was an act of senseless brutality, where the victims were totally helpless. It had no political agenda or motive behind it. There was no ‘Zionist entity’ whose existence served as an excuse to murder civilians; it was motivated by pure greed. The Palestinian Arabs of the Eastern Galilee took advantage of a regional crisis, the war between Egypt and Turkey, to attack their Jewish neighbors and strip them of everything they had, clothes, property, houses, and the like. In the process people were beaten in the streets, many times to death, synagogues destroyed and holy books desecrated.
“An entire community of 2000 souls (English traveler Alexander William Kinglake says 4000) was forced into hiding for 33 days, in caves, ruins, inhospitable mountaintops, and cellars. In that mayhem there were good Arabs who saved lives, like the people of the village of Ein Zeitim and a few individuals, Muslims and Christians from Tzfat itself, but there were also the double-crossers who promised to help for a large sum of money, only to hand the Jews over to the rioting mob outside the hideout. For 33 days the lives of the Jews of Tzfat had practically no value, and any of them who showed his or her face in public was at risk of been beaten to death, sometimes by neighbors or business associates.
“Like all cases of mass racial violence, it had inciters and a government unwilling to do anything about them. In this case, according to Kinglake, there was an inciter, a self-proclaimed prophet by the name of Muhammed Damoor who ‘prophesied’ the plunder he agitated for.
“Like all other pogroms it demonstrated the helplessness of the Jewish condition prior to the formation of the state of Israel.”
Anatomy of a forgotten pogrom: Safed, 1834
Thursday, February 15th, 2007Blogger: Point of no return
Article: Anatomy of a forgotten pogrom: Safed, 1834
Originaly Posted On: 2007-02-15 17:07:30
Dvar Dea
recalls the forgotten 1834 pogrom against the Jews of Safed, sparked by a war between the Turks and the Egyptians. In many ways it was typical of the pogroms that erupted from time to time against the Jews living in the Muslim world in the 18th and 19th century (via
Zionation-Zionism)
.
“While it is true that there were times and places in the Muslim world where Jews were treated well, the 18th and 19th centuries were not such a time. And one of the places where such good treatment was especially rare was Palestine (another such place that made it to the news recently was Yemen).
“When faced with Zionist resilience this brutality morphed but never ceased. From old-fashioned pogroms in the 1920’s it turned into gang violence in the 30’s. In 1947 it was part of a massive ethnic cleansing attempt to wipe out the entire Jewish population, but with devastating results to the Palestinian population, and that in spite of the armed support of neighboring Arab states.
“In the 50’s and 60’s there were the fidayeen raids against Israeli citizens and property, and in the 70’s and 80’s it was the terrorism of planting bombs in public places, attacking Israelis and Jews abroad, and taking civilians as hostages. The 90’s added a new twist, the suicide bombing, now so strongly associated with this conflict. But all these had the same dominant feature that has not changed since the 19th century, and even from earlier times: the deliberate attacks on unarmed civilians.
“The forgotten pogrom in Tzfat was a regular pogrom, a dreadful yet familiar experience to Jews in both the Islamic world and in Christian Europe. Like all pogroms it was an act of senseless brutality, where the victims were totally helpless. It had no political agenda or motive behind it. There was no ‘Zionist entity’ whose existence served as an excuse to murder civilians; it was motivated by pure greed. The Palestinian Arabs of the Eastern Galilee took advantage of a regional crisis, the war between Egypt and Turkey, to attack their Jewish neighbors and strip them of everything they had, clothes, property, houses, and the like. In the process people were beaten in the streets, many times to death, synagogues destroyed and holy books desecrated.
“An entire community of 2000 souls (English traveler Alexander William Kinglake says 4000) was forced into hiding for 33 days, in caves, ruins, inhospitable mountaintops, and cellars. In that mayhem there were good Arabs who saved lives, like the people of the village of Ein Zeitim and a few individuals, Muslims and Christians from Tzfat itself, but there were also the double-crossers who promised to help for a large sum of money, only to hand the Jews over to the rioting mob outside the hideout. For 33 days the lives of the Jews of Tzfat had practically no value, and any of them who showed his or her face in public was at risk of been beaten to death, sometimes by neighbors or business associates.
“Like all cases of mass racial violence, it had inciters and a government unwilling to do anything about them. In this case, according to Kinglake, there was an inciter, a self-proclaimed prophet by the name of Muhammed Damoor who ‘prophesied’ the plunder he agitated for.
“Like all other pogroms it demonstrated the helplessness of the Jewish condition prior to the formation of the state of Israel.”
Read post in full
The Morrocan Muslim-Jewish Ties
Tuesday, February 13th, 2007Blogger: Chaldean Thoughts
Article: The Morrocan Muslim-Jewish Ties
Originaly Posted On: 2007-02-13 19:08:00
It’s rare to read pleasant news about the Arab-Jewish relations. But, there’s always an exception. Serge Berdugo wrote in the Christian Science Monitor:
CASABLANCA, MOROCCO – As the flames of anti-Semitism continue to be fanned across much of the Islamic world, there is a risk that today’s youth will grow up believing that Arabs and Jews were simply not meant to coexist, let alone thrive
Down with down withs
Sunday, February 11th, 2007Blogger: View from Iran
Article: Down with down withs
Originaly Posted On: 2007-02-11 12:30:00
From Keivan…
Down with America
We got up at 4 in the morning; it was a dark and cold winter day. My older brother, who was most of the time sick of having me around, agreed to go together to Qom. It was one of the coldest winter mornings that I had ever felt. The winter of 1979 was one I would never forget.
The night before we had convinced our mother and older brother that we would be okay and that they should not worry. We were going to witness the arrival of Ayatollah Khomeini in Qom, right after he got back from France.
My lovely dying father, who was in bed with lung cancer at the time, tried everything to stop us from going. In a very powerless voice tried to convince us not to go. He was telling us non-stop that this revolution would bring the country backwards and that we should never trust the Mullahs. He was definitely not a Shah lover, but he had this bad feeling about everything was happening. We did not listen. We left for Qom.
It was not far from my hometown to Qom. We got there around 6 in the morning. We knew that Khomeini would arrive much later. On the ugly streets of Qom, my brother and I yelled — not for first time — thousand of times ”Allah-o akbar, Khomeini rahbar, marg bar Amrika.” (God is Great, Khomeini is the leader, down with America)
I will never forget that day. I did see Khomeini, and I was really happy to take this big action to witness an historical day in Iran.
I was happy about the revolution. Now I am like millions of my fellow countrymen who, like me, as young men and women went to the streets to cheer on the revolution and to shout down with America, and who now feel betrayed and devastated. Will the young people yelling the same thing today learn from me? Will they be like me? Regretful? Homeless?
My father was right about all of this. We were young and we were stupid. Maybe we were right about the revolution, but we were wrong about its direction. We did not know what we were talking about, just as my father said. Things took a turn for the worst. Me being only almost 16, I was really excited for the first time. Like people today on the streets of Iran, I did said many times Down with America. And I am really sorry about that. Not because America has been such nice friend for Iran, not because I say down with America and I don’t mean the American people, but because it is just so wrong to call for the death of a nation, and I don’t care which nation it is. This is especially true if you want to improve your image or you are internationally isolated.
I totally agree with Esther about this horrible flag burring sh*t.
Iranians should feel very sad and ashamed. I cannot imagine waking up in an apartment in New York city or any other city and looking out of the window and hearing people singing Down with Iran. It would be really painful. I know that I could not take it, and I know for a fact that it would make me sick. Hearing Down with America here is making me sick and that is not just to support Esther because she is living here with me, but because she is right. I am really sick and tired to hear how Iranians always blame others for every misfortune.
Even so I blame the British. 
Egypt’s Chief Justice Sponsors Injustice Again
Saturday, February 10th, 2007Blogger: Baha’i Faith in Egypt
Article: Egypt’s Chief Justice Sponsors Injustice Again
Originaly Posted On: 2007-02-10 14:39:00
Today in Egypt’s Al-Ahrar newspaper, an article was published describing a ruling by Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court of the State’s Council [Magless el-Dawlah] headed by Chief Justice El-Saied Nofal. The article is entitled “Firing any employee who believes in Baha’i-yah and considering him apostate from Islam” and begins by stating the following:
“the court headed by Justice El-Saied Nofal has produced an historical judicial principle by ruling unanimously the necessity of firing any employee from his work who happens to belong to the Baha’i thought and to consider him an apostate and a heretic. The court affirmed in its ruling the firing of a female employee of the Ministry of Education who belongs to the Baha’i Faith…that the Baha’i belief is a heresy which violates all recognized divine religions and that it does not agree with any religion; that it (Baha’i) came to being in order to destroy Islam and that any person who believes in it is a “heretic;” if he was a Muslim and adopted it then he is an apostate who deserves punishment, the least of which–if he was an employee–is his immediate dismissal from his work, because this destructive religion which permits the forbidden and forbids the permitted and denies the presence of God and makes of Him a human being and permits the forbidden adultery and promotes impudence of women [etc, etc….]”
The article continues with the usual misrepresentations that have been released by the same court in its other rulings and statements, including that it [Baha’i] is a Zionist conspiracy intended to annihilate Islam. In saying so, it used these words: “universal Zionism is seeking to penetrate Islam and destroying it from within using its own sons.” It repeated many other misrepresentations that have been widely spread by Egypt’s extremists, including its Supreme Administrative Court.
Sadly, the only conclusions one can come up with after reading this article and the court’s statements it contains is that Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court has not ruled justly according to the standards entrusted to it by the people of Egypt. None of its statements have any foundation in truth and may promote ignorance and induce public strife.
Those who seek the truth are encouraged to simply go to any of the official Baha’i sites linked in the sidebar of this blog (English & Arabic) to see for themselves what the Baha’i Faith is all about….
P.S. In this publication, Al-Ahrar newspaper referred to a case that was ruled on in 1987 without stating so in its article, thus deceiving its readers by making it appear as if this case just happened. One would question the motives behind such an inflammatory article and the tactics used by a newspaper known for its low circulation. The seriousness of the statements made in this article appear to have the intention of fomenting hatred and suspicion, thus deserving a response.
The Jewish school where half the pupils are Muslim
Saturday, February 10th, 2007King David, in Birmingham, is a state primary where the children learn Hebrew, recite Jewish prayers, eat kosher food and wave Israeli flags. So how come the majority of pupils are followers of Islam? Jonathan Margolis investigates.
And, what a great conclusion -
“We never have any racial or inter-faith problems at all. Not ever. In 20 years here, it’s simply never happened in any significant way. We teach that if you don’t like someone, you avoid them. Don’t play with them. Go to the other side of the playground. I believe that if more people followed the lead of King David School, we’d have a much more peaceful world.”
Read full article here. [Thanks to BO18 for the link.]
a different kind of birthday celebration
Friday, February 9th, 2007Blogger: jerusalem wanderings
Article: a different kind of birthday celebration
Originaly Posted On: 2007-02-09 21:51:00
Eliyahu celebrates his birthday every year in Jerusalem. This year, this Jerusalem Peacemaker invited not only his Orthodox Jewish friends from the Jerusalem area, some coming from the settlement of Bat Ayin, but also his Palestinian friends from Ramallah were there, having received a special permit to come into Jerusalem to celebrate with him. As well, Palestinian musicians from Sawahare, outside of Jerusalem were also granted permits for this evening. There was a Jordanian couple there, who were studying at the Hebrew University - he is researching the Jewish community of the Jewish quarter in the Old City and claims he is the first Jordanian doing any research on Jews in Israel.
The special guest that evening was a Moslem visitor from Iraq, who was here because his young child needed urgent medical treatment and he received a special visa for this. He is very grateful that his kid was healed here and hopefully he will bring that thankfulness over to his country and tell his people we in Israel aren’t all ogres (we are sure they hear that over there). People were curious, and asked him all sorts of questions like “did he meet any Iraqi Jews while he was here?” “Did his view of Israel change now” “What did he think of Israel beforehand”.
The organization that brought his child here is called “Shevet Achim” translated as “tribe of brothers”. Once the child is found to be operable, the organization obtains visas for the child and one parent.
Representatives of the organization were recently in Jordan meeting about 30 families whose children desperately needed medical attention of the kind that could only be found in Israel, with their advanced medical techniques and, well, Jewish doctors. You can’t find Jewish doctors in Saudi Arabia so one’s gotta go where one’s gotta go!
There was woman from Bustan Leshalom an environmental justice group, based in the Negev, working mostly with Bedouin communities. The group seeks to restore an environmental balance together as well as fight injustices such as home demolitions which are rampant in the Negev as many Bedouin live in unrecognized villages and are forced to move into townships. Often their homes get razed if they don’t move.
Palestinian representatives of Combatants for Peace were there. Eliyahu remarked how it is easier for Suleiman to be a head of a Palestinian peace movement as he was in an Israeli jail for 10 years and therefore, he wouldn’t be considered a collaborator, as some are considered by their own if they join up with Israelis for some activity or another…
And of course there was food. You can’t have Jews and Arabs together without food. Pasta salads, fruit, popcorn, cakes, baklava, pizza - it was a potluck and a potpourri of all sorts of things you can shove in your mouth. The music was great - Jewish musician Rebbe Soul provided the Jewish side of tunes and Mohammad and Mochi performed wonderful oud music.
I wondered out loud if there was a way we could not only gather together for Eliyahu’s birthday - but wouldn’t it be nice if we all lived in the same apartment building together. Where’s Arkady Gaydamak when you need him to buy up apartment buildings and put Jews and Arabs in them together to make beautiful music together. We saw tonight it can be done.
