Category Archives: Islam in America

American Muslims Call for Swift Action Against Domestic Violence

Ethics, Gender and Sexuality, Islam in America

American Muslims Call for Swift Action Against Domestic Violence

Murder of Buffalo resident Aasiya Zubair spurs American Muslims to forcefully address domestic abuse and violence against women; call on imams to address DV in Friday sermons

SAN FRANCISCO – A coalition of Muslim organizations, journalists, community leaders, imams, and other concerned citizens are calling for immediate action by American Muslim leaders and religious figures to address domestic abuse and violence in America, including that found in the American Muslim community, on Friday, February 20, 2009.

In response to the collective concern of the American Muslim community, imams and religious leaders across America have been asked to speak out against domestic violence to their congregations. They are asked to remind congregants of the Prophet Muhammad’s abhorrence of harshness, abuse and violence, and emphasize solutions that strengthen families and ensure all members are treated with fairness and respect, free of fear of abuse or violence.

Members of the coalition are contacting imams and religious leaders in major Islamic centers and mosques. They are encouraging sermons addressing domestic violence and are offering resources available through the Peaceful Families Project, a Muslim-run domestic violence prevention organization founded in 2000, to help educate the American Muslim community. This education addresses the extent to which domestic violence exists and strategies to stop it.

Several prominent imams have heeded the call to action by concerned American Muslims including Shaykh Hamza Yusuf of the Zaytuna Institute in Berkeley, Ca. and Imam Tahir Anwar of the South Bay Islamic Association in San Jose, Ca. These imams have committed their Friday sermons to addressing domestic violence and preaching that in the Islamic tradition and by the example of the Prophet Muhammad, family harmony can never be achieved by force and that emotional and physical abuse is never acceptable. Continue reading American Muslims Call for Swift Action Against Domestic Violence →

Saving ISIM

Ethics, Immigration Issues, Islam and Christianity, Islam in America, Islam in Europe, Islamic Rituals, Islamophobia, Journalism and Media, Teaching Resources, Terrorism Issue

If you are in any way involved in the academic study of Islam, the acronym ISIM is no stranger. This International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World, based in The Netherlands, has served as a welcome resource for information on Islam, especially in contemporary contexts. The free journal (ISIM Review), available online and in print, has been one of the most diverse, interesting, informative and accessible forums on Islam. The institute itself has sponsored conferences, workshops and fellows. Yet, if you click on to the main website today, here is what you see:

ISIM to be closed as per 1 January 2009

The International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM) will be closed as per 1 January 2009, due to the lack of adequate funding. ISIM was set up ten years ago by the universities of Leiden, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Nijmegen, and the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The objective of the institute has been to carry out innovative research into the social, political, cultural and intellectual trends and movements in present-day Muslim communities and societies worldwide. Continue reading Saving ISIM →

Rebooting America

Election 2008, Islam in America


President-elect Barack Obama gestured during a news conference in Chicago, Thursday. He plans to deliver a major speech in an Islamic capital, perhaps within the first 100 days of his presidency. (Charles Dharapak/AP)

Obama plans major speech in Muslim world to ‘reboot’ America’s image abroad

How Obama addresses sensitive issues of democracy and human rights could help set the tone for efforts to distinguish himself from President Bush’s administration.

by Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor, December 11, 2008

Washington

During the campaign, President-elect Obama put the goal of repairing America’s image abroad – and in particular in the Muslim world – at the top of his foreign-policy agenda. Mr. Obama began defining how he intends to do that this week by discussing his plans to deliver a major speech in an Islamic capital, perhaps within the first 100 days of his presidency.

Obama’s plan, still in the formative stages, immediately set off speculation over where the new American president would choose to deliver his message and what he would say. Continue reading Rebooting America →

Obama and Islam

Election 2008, Islam in America, Islamophobia

American Muslims overwhelmingly voted Democratic
Lorraine Ali, NEWSWEEK, November 7, 2008

For the past few months, not a day went by without the words “Muslim” and “Obama” being mentioned in the same sentence. From the divisive shouts and jeers at McCain rallies to the Op-Ed pages of The New York Times to an interview with Colin Powell on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Muslims—or at least the mention of them—have been more prevalent this campaign year than “Joe the Plumber.”

But beyond the use of the term Muslim as a pejorative, and accusations by the far right that Obama was himself a secret follower of the Quran, what did real Muslim-Americans think of the Chicago senator? And how did they vote? The American Muslim Task Force on Civil Rights and Elections released a poll today of over 600 Muslims from more than 10 states, including Florida and Pennsylvania, and it revealed that 89 percent of respondents voted for Obama, while only 2 percent voted for McCain. It also indicated that 95 percent of Muslims polled cast a ballot in this year’s presidential election—the highest turnout in a U.S. election ever—and 14 percent of those were first-time voters. The Gallup Center for Muslim studies estimates that U.S. Muslims favored Obama in greater numbers than did Hispanics (67 percent of whom voted for Obama) and nearly matched that of African-Americans, 93 percent of whom voted for Obama. More than two thirds who were polled said the economy was the most important issue affecting their decision on Nov. 4th, while 16 percent said the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan informed their vote—numbers that put Muslims roughly on a par with the general population. Continue reading Obama and Islam →

Muslim Americans for Obama

CyberOrient, Election 2008, Islam in America

[The website Muslim-Americans for Obama was created by Zeba Khan and welcomes members who share their goal of electing Senator Obama President. Here is their mission statement]

Although there is only a short period of time until the election on November 4th, there is much work to be done for supporters of Barack Obama’s candidacy. Muslim-Americans for Obama (MAFO 2008) was formed to offer a vehicle for Muslim-Americans to mobilize quickly and effectively so that our community turns out in great numbers for Barack Obama on Election Day. Given the role that “being a Muslim” has played so far in this campaign (most frequently as a slur or ‘allegation’ that Obama is himself a ‘secret’ Muslim), we also wanted to create a space that rises above such sophomoric and hateful rhetoric, in order to assert the following core beliefs:

• That we support Barack Obama because, among other reasons, he rejects the politics of fear, challenging our nation to embrace its collective identity, where each American has a stake in the success and well-being of every American.

• That we have a duty both as Muslims and Americans to organize and vote.

• That our role and responsibility as concerned American citizens in this or any election should not be to silence our voice, out of fear of being ‘spoilers’ or of being identified as a Muslim: this succumbs to anti-Muslim fear-mongering that will only fester in continued ignorance.

• That we have the same rights to petition and assemble endowed by the Constitution as do the Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Agnostic, or Atheistic communities, or any community for that matter.

• That, until the Muslim-American community is effectively organized in the United States, it will continue to be vulnerable to slurs and misperceptions and our many contributions and service to this country we love will go unnoticed.

While we are taught like every American to respect and embrace freedom of speech, we will not tolerate hate speech on MAFO 2008. Our goal is as serious as it is urgent: to register our voice and support for Barack Obama in this historic election. We do not have the luxury of time to engage those who stoke the politics of fear to divide our country and marginalize hard-working Americans who happen to be Muslim.

Sour note for American Muslims in election campaign

Election 2008, Islam in America, Islamophobia, Journalism and Media

Sour note for American Muslims in election campaign

By Michael Conlon, Religion Writer, Reuters, October 21, 2008

CHICAGO (Reuters) – These are uneasy times for America’s Muslims, caught in a backwash from a presidential election campaign where the false notion that Barack Obama is Muslim has been seized on by some who link Islam with terrorism.

The Democratic White House candidate, who would be the first black U.S. president and whose middle name is Hussein, is a Christian. Son of a Kenyan father and white American mother, he spent part of his childhood in largely Muslim Indonesia.

The idea Obama is Muslim has circulated on the Internet for months, presented by some as a fact to reinforce the position that Obama is not a suitable candidate for the White House.

Not since the election of John Kennedy as the first Catholic U.S. president in 1960 has the faith of a White House hopeful generated so much distortion, said about 100 “concerned scholars” and others who have signed an October 7 proclamation aimed at countering Islamophobia they say is on the rise. Continue reading Sour note for American Muslims in election campaign →

New Website on Islamophobia in the 2008 Election

Election 2008, Ethics, Islam and Christianity, Islam in America, Islam: Introduction, Islamophobia, Journalism and Media, Teaching Resources


[The following statement has been issued by a number of scholars of Islam and Muslim societies to set the record straight on the unfortunate Islamophobia in the current U.S. election. For the statement webpage and a list of the scholar supporting the statement, as well as further resources on the false claim that Senator Obama is a stealth Muslim and distribution of the Islamophobic film “Obsession”, click here.]

Statement of Concerned Scholars about Islamophobia in the 2008 U. S. Election Campaign

Not since the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960 has the religious faith of a U.S. presidential candidate generated so much distortion as the false claims generated by extremist critics that Senator Barack Obama, the candidate of the Democratic Party, is a stealth Muslim. This is part of an Islamophobic hate campaign that fuels prejudice against Americans who practice their Islamic faith and Muslims worldwide. As scholars of Islam and Muslim societies and concerned citizens for a fair and honest electoral process, we wish to set the record straight.

1. Senator Obama has spoken eloquently and widely of his Christian faith and shared his personal beliefs in public forums during the campaign on religious values in American life, including a Compassion Forum on April 13 and a Saddleback Forum on August 16.

2. Senator Obama carries the same exact name as his father, Barack Hussein Obama, who was considered to be an agnostic and not a practicing Muslim by the time he met Senator Obama’s mother. Senator Obama’s mother did not convert to Islam, nor was he raised as a practicing Muslim while growing up in Indonesia and Hawaii.

3. The claim that Obama would be considered an “apostate” by Muslims is false. The vast majority of Muslims accept the Qur’anic message there there is no compulsion in Islam (Qur’an, 2:256). Since Senator Obama was not raised as a Muslim, he cannot be held accountable for the religious status of his father.

4. The politically motivated attack on Senator Obama as a radical Muslim is part of an Islamophobic prejudice in this campaign against American Muslims as anti-American and unfit to hold public office. During the primary season several candidates fueled resentment of all Muslims in politicizing the terrorist attack of 9/11. Recently the anti-Muslim propaganda film Obsession has been sent as an unsolicited DVD to voters in several states. It does not matter if a political candidate is Muslim or Jewish or Catholic or Mormon or Baptist. The President of the United States serves all its citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs. As a state senator and United States senator, as well as in his two books, Senator Obama expresses his belief in the separation of church and state, while accepting the need for greater dialogue between members of all faiths.

5. Regardless of your final choice for the voting booth on November 4, the decision should be based on the crucial issues facing the nation and the individual character of each candidate rather than spurious hate speech that demonizes the faith of some eight million citizens of the United States and more than a billion adherents worldwide.

The OIC does not speak for Muslims

Books You Should Read, Islam in America, Islam in Europe, Islamic Law, Pakistan, Terrorism Issue

The OIC does not speak for Muslims

by Tarek Fatah, Muslim Canadian Congress, UN Geneva

I speak to you as a Muslim who was born in Pakistan and lived there for 30 years and moved to Saudi Arabia where I worked for 10 years. Since 1987 I have called Canada my home. As an author, journalist and Muslim activist, I have seen the role and agenda of both the soft and hardcore jihadis unfold before my eyes and across the Muslim world.

I approach the issue of freedom of speech and freedom of expression embodied in the 1948 UN Declaration of Universal Human Rights as defending a treasured right that few of my co-religionists can dream off, let alone cherish or possess. We are over a billion strong, but almost all of us live under varying forms and degrees of dictatorship and oppression. Barring a few exceptions such as Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia, and very recently Pakistan, Muslims live under the tyranny of rulers like those of Iran and Saudi Arabia who have used the religion of Islam as a tool to secure absolute power, and to trample all over the human rights of their citizens.

Barely a day goes by without news of gross violations of human rights of Muslims living in so-called Islamic countries. Whether it is honour killings of sisters and mothers or the harassment of gays and calls for their death; whether it is imprisonment of political opponents or attacks on minorities, we Muslims who live in the West are constantly reminded of the rights we enjoy under secular parliamentary democracies as individual human beings. Continue reading The OIC does not speak for Muslims →