TMO 5/13/15

Volume 17, Issue 20 The Muslim Observer — May 15 - 21, 2015 — Rajab 27 - Shaban 3, 1436 

Muslims dream of 

revitalizing depressed 

Detroit community 

Awkward Muslim 

brings breath of 

fresh air to da’wah 

By Mahvish Irfan 

Humor can dramatically 

change the perception of “radical 

Islam” from a violent man 

beheading innocent people to 

a cool, bearded Muslim dude 

Single childless 

and unmarried 

Page 2 

Peace-building 

for Muslims 

Page 3 

Prsrt std 

U. S. Postage 

PAID 

Royal Oak, MI 

48068 

Permit#792 

skateboarding flawlessly in a 

thobe and kufi. 

In fact, combining humor 

with social media is one of the 

most effective but underrated 

forms of spreading the message 

of Islam and combating 

By Laura Fawaz 

TMO Contributing Writer 

Dearborn Heights, MI– 

Within the past 12 months 

the Dearborn Heights Police 

Department (DHPD) has faced 

two public discrimination lawsuits, 

has been accused of using 

Islamophobia. No one seems 

to understand that better than 

Awkward Muslim, a popular 

online persona that does just 

that. 

Awkward Muslim’s unique, 

(Continued on page 23) 

Dearborn Heights 

residents are fed up 

with local police 

excessive force with a disabled 

man and faced several dozen 

complaints on their lack of 

properly handling situations. 

Many residents of Dearborn 

Heights are constantly complaining 

that their police department 

does not do enough 


By Aatif Ali Bokhari 

TMO Managing Editor 

A Detroit Revival Engaging 

American Muslims (DREAM) 

held its annual dinner and celebration 

Saturday May 9 at the 

Cadillac Book Westin in downtown 

Detroit. Dubbed by one 

attendee as “the Muslim Habitat 

for Humanity,” DREAM has rehabilitated 

three houses since 

the group’s inception in 2012. 

Inspired by Chicago’s Inner- 

City Muslim Action Network 

(IMAN), and founded by two 

allied organizations, Detroitbased 

Neighborly Needs and 

the suburban-based Indus 

Community Action Network, 

DREAM is seeking to revive the 

neighborhood of the Muslim 

Center of Detroit. “Shrinking job 

opportunities and the housing 

crisis of the 2000s caused many 

neighbors to seek refuge elsewhere. 

And as a result, house 

by house, the neighborhood 

became a victim of blight,” said 

Shaykh Momodou Ceesay, resident 

imam of the center. 

The keynote speaker for the 

event was Dr. Zareen Grewal, 

associate professor of American 

studies, religious studies, ethnicity, 

race and migration and 

Middle East studies at Yale 

University. The MC for the event 

was IMAN’s executive director 

Dr. Rami Nashashibi. “We’ve 

demonstrated that Islam can be 

relevant and that if we’ve done it 

before we can do it again,” said 

Nashashibi. 

Grewal noted that in the 

70s students had to read The 

Autobiography of Malcolm X, 

but that now the book is not required 

reading. She said that in 

spite of the book’s importance 

even African American students 

were not reading it. “Things 

are worse now than they were 

in the 70s,” she said. “The 

wealth gap is worse between 

blacks and whites today than it 

was then [and] the number of 

blacks and Latinos in prison has 

skyrocketed.” 

Grewal pointed out that 

while people in the suburbs of 

Detroit are watering their grass 

in the city people are going 

without water. “It’s insane, this 

is a first-world country. 

“Detroit more than any other 

city has been hit by white 

flight and capital flight,” she 

explained, noting that people 

from the suburbs are often 

ashamed to say that they are 

from Detroit. “No other city is 

like that,” she said. 

“The tragic University of 

North Carolina shooting of 

three young Muslims is not 

Muslims’ Trayvon Martin moment,” 

said Grewal. “Trayvon 


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A publication of Muslim Media Network, Inc. • Tel: 248-426-7777 • Fax: 248-476-8926 • info@muslimobserver.com • www.muslimobserver.com

2 — The Muslim Observer — May 15 - 21, 2015 — Rajab 27 - Shaban 3, 1436 

opinion / international 

Single childless Muslim women 

By Fatima Adamou 

AltMuslimah 

I am 37, 

single and 

childless. 

The latter 

two of these 

three descriptive 

are taboo within the 

Muslim community. Whether 

you live in America, Pakistan 

or Egypt, if you are not attached 

to a husband and with 

a brood of children in tow, you 

are an outsider. Extended family 

and friends assume you are 

too picky, too career-oriented, 

too liberal or too plain. Simply 

put, you are at fault. I belong 

to this hidden category, the 

one we do not mention. 

In my experience, neither 

“difficult” Muslim women nor 

a shortage of available Muslim 

men are to blame. A variety 

of circumstances, many unexpected 

and beyond one’s 

control, are the reason why 

we—single, childless women– 

exist. Some of us are widows 

or divorcees, while others 

are converts not yet part of a 

Muslim community where they 

can meet a potential husband. 

Others still are the only breadwinners 

in their family and feel 

they cannot ride off into the 

sunset leaving behind those 

who depend on them. 

And then there are those of us 

waiting for a match that both appeals 

to us and meets our family’s 

requirements, and often our elders 

bring a long list of demands 

to the table—some rational and 

others not so much. A light complexion, 

a medical degree and 

a certain ethnicity or cultural 

background are just some of the 

typical requirements. 

Whatever the reason for a 

woman remaining unmarried 

and childless, here we are. 

We exist, but only on the periphery 

because both religious 

leaders and the larger community 

do not know how to deal 

with us. When our needs and 

our roles go unrecognized, it 

is only natural for depression 

to follow. We have been led to 

believe that the ultimate purpose 

of a woman is to build a 

home and family. Many of us, 

for a host of reasons, are unable 

to fulfil this role and while 

we hold out hope that we will 

one day experience married 

life and motherhood, we also 

acknowledge that the older we 

grow, the greater the chance 

that we will remain single. 

We have grieved the loss of an 

identity tethered to becoming 

a wife and mother, rebuilt our 

sense of self-worth anew and 

moved forward. Many of us 

have undergone this painful 

metamorphosis alone, without 

the support ones. 

It seems that although I 

have embraced the possibility 

that a marriage and children 

may not be in the cards for me, 

my family and friends remain 

convinced that either I should 

be married or desperately 

trying to get married. They 

delight in citing the Prophet 

Muhammad’s (pbuh) words 

that “marriage is half the religion.” 

So how, they ask, can I 

be content with an incomplete 

life? 

But I do not see my life as 

a fraction of that of a married 

mother. My fate is not some 

sort of divine punishment. 

After years of anxiety and 

confusion, I have embraced 

that this is the path that God, 

in His wisdom, has chosen for 

me. By refusing to acknowledge 

and accept single women 

in our community, Muslims 

are not only dismissing this 

demographic’ s lives and experiences 

as valid, but are also 

squashing important discussions 

about this group. For example, 

is it reasonable to expect 

single Muslim women to 

spend their adult lives in their 

parents’ house? And how can 

the community support elderly 

single Muslim women who 

do not have family to watch 

out for them? 

I believe the first step to 

bringing single childless 

Muslim women from the margins 

of community into its 

centre is to share stories of 

great early and contemporary 

Muslim women who lived full 

and beautiful lives. We need to 

tell our daughters that Aisha, 

the Prophet’s wife who led 

an army into battle, taught 

students who would go on to 

become among the most formidable 

Muslim scholars of 

their time and contributed 

more hadith than any other 

female, also happened to be 

childless. We need to celebrate 

Farah Pandith, a single 

Muslim woman who President 

Obama selected as the first 

Photo Credit: Giuseppemilo/Flickr 

Special Representative to 

Muslim Communities for 

the U.S. State Department. 

Highlighting these example is 

the start we need to change 

the Muslim community’s dismissive 

and pitying attitudes 

towards single and unmarried 

women into welcoming and 

accepting attitudes. 

Editor’s note: Fatima 

Adamou, is a French Muslim living 

in London . She is currently 

a student at the Muslim College 

London and a contributing writer 

for a French Muslim News 

website, “Saphirnews”. Her 

views are her own. 

US Muslims demand 

protection after threats 

OnIslam & Newspapers 

CAIRO – A leading American 

Muslim advocacy group has 

urged law enforcement authorities 

to step up protection 

of mosques and Islamic schools 

which received a series of attacks 

and threats after Texas’ 

Garland shooting earlier this 

week. 

“All Americans, regardless 

of faith, have the right to feel 

safe and secure in school and 

at their places of worship,” 

Zainab Chaudry, Outreach 

Manager of the Maryland chapter 

of the Council on American- 

Islamic Relations (CAIR), said 

in a statement obtained by 

OnIslam.net. 

“These threats are deeply 

disturbing and we strongly 

urge authorities to take prompt 

measures to ensure the security 

of the students who attend this 

Islamic school.” 

CAIR calls for an FBI hate 

crime investigation followed 

reports of an attack on a 

Muslim worshiper outside a 

Texas mosque. 

A worshipper at the Islamic 

Association of North Texas in 

Richardson, Texas, was beaten 

as he left a prayer service 

Monday night. 

The victim suffered some 

scrapes and cuts above his eye, 

police said. He refused a ride to 

the hospital and was treated at 

the scene and released. 

“It was all very quick,” police 

spokesman Sgt. Kevin Perlich 

told Dallas News. 

“We don’t know if this an 

anti-Muslim thing or a robbery 

attempt or what it was.” 

The attacks followed 

Sunday’s controversial anti- 

Muslim cartoon drawing of the 

Muslim Prophet Muhammad 

contest in Garland, Texas, 

which resulted in the shooting 

deaths of two gunmen killed by 

police officers. 

The “Jihad Watch 

Muhammad Art Exhibit and 

Cartoon Contest” was organized 

by right-wing, anti- 

Muslim advocate Pam Geller, 

co-founder of the Freedom 

Defense and Stop Islamization 

of America initiatives, who has 

been denounced by numerous 

rights organizations, including 

both the Anti-Defamation 

League and the Southern 

Poverty Law Center for her 

anti-Muslim rhetoric and hate 

campaigns. 

In a bid to further offend 

Muslims, she even offered a 

$10,000 prize to the contest 

winner drawing the most despicable 

cartoon of Prophet 

Muhammad. 

Geert Wilders, a polarizing 

Dutch politician, and anti-Islam 

campaigner, was among the 

speakers at the Sunday’s event. 

Hooper said the Maryland 

and Texas incidents are part 

of a recent spate of hate incidents 

nationwide targeting 

Muslims or those perceived to 

be Muslim.

The Muslim Observer — May 15 - 21, 2015 — Rajab 27 - Shaban 3, 1436 — 3 

opinion 

12 points summarizing the Islamic 

values related to peace building 

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By H.E. Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah 

Ummah Wide 

Harmony and cohesion in a society are directly 

proportional to its adherence to share 

moral values. A society that does not adopt 

common values and turns away from a higher 

moral path becomes self-centered, and, as a result, 

experiences deterioration both internally 

and in relationship to others. It may also adopt 

a negative value system based on an absence of individual 

limitations until society itself becomes absolutist, and people 

see themselves as absolute, so no restrictions apply to their 

behavior not those set by scripture, not by consensus, not by 

general principles and axioms, and not even for the sake of 

the common good. Such a society can wage unlimited war, 

which is the very definition of fundamentalism, regardless 

of the belief system that drives the aggression. The values of 

reason, justice, and moderation promote love and nourish 

humanity. It is our duty to revive the values of reconciliation 

and forgiveness and to commit ourselves to peace instead of 

conflict. 

While some try to justify conflict in Islamic terms, these 

values are not Islamic. They are Western Hegelian values, for 

it was Hegel who believed that “Destruction is the basis for 

construction” and that society is based only on the struggle 

between slave and master. Destruction, which is an expression 

of ignorance and intolerance, has never been an Islamic 

value. Our tradition teaches us that trust and love are the basis 

for coexistence. 

The Prophet (s) did not demolish the Ka’aba. He left 

it untouched so that he could rebuild it on the base laid by 

Abraham, Allah’s peace and blessings upon him, all while 

winning the favor of Quraysh. When the ‘Abbasid caliph 

wanted to demolish it and rebuild it on the location of Maqam 

Ibrahim(Abraham’s station), Imam Malik, may Allah have 

mercy on his soul, forbade him from doing so and said, “Do 

not let this House (of Allah) be a toy for princes.” In addition, 

neither the Prophet, Allah’s peace and blessings upon him, 

not any of his successors ever demolished any churches, synagogues, 

or fire temples, as Ibn al-Qayyim discusses. 

When the pious caliph, ‘Umar ibn Abd al-‘Aziz, assumed 

the caliphate, the understanding of the Shari’ah was already 

in decline, yet he wrote to his governors, “Do not demolish 

any church, synagogue, or fire temple.” Demolition and destruction 

are not Islamic values; they are values that grew out 

of ignorance and intolerance. 

The following Hadith can be applied to a solidary society: 

“The example of the person abiding by Allah’s order and 

restrictions in comparison to those who violate them is like 

the example fo those persons who drew lots for their seats in 

a boat. Some of them got seats in the upper part, and the others 

in the lower. When the latter needed water, they had to go 

up to bring water (and that troubled the others), so they said, 

‘Let us make a hole in our share of the ship (and get water) 

saving us from troubling those who are above us.’ So, if the 

people in the upper part left the others to do what they had 

suggested, all the people of the ship would be destroyed, but if 

they prevented them, both parties would be safe.” 

Learning about differences leads to an open mind, as Al- 

Maqqari advised: “Learn about differences in order to open 

your mind, for he who learns about the differences between 

scholars and of their knowledge and opinions will surely have 

an open mind.” 

We must navigate our differences without arrogance or 

abusive language, with an open mind and the intention of 

discovering truth rather than winning an argument. We can 

learn from the example set by Imam al-Shafi‘i, as described by 

Yunus al-Sadafi: “I have never seen anyone more reasonable 

than al-Shafi‘i. I debated with him once on a matter, and then 

we parted ways. He met me again, took my hand, and said, 

‘Abu Musa, is it not right that we remain brothers even if we 

disagree?” 

Imam al-Shafi‘i also said, “I have never debated people 

without praying to Allah to grant that the truth manifest in 

their hearts and on their tongues so that they may follow me if 

I am right and that I may follow them if they are right.” 

Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on his soul, said, 

“No man more learned than Ishaq has crossed the bridge, and 

if we disagree, it is because people disagree.” 

Distinguishing among the categories of prohibitions and 

obligations means understanding that there are degrees of 

prohibition: what is prohibited may be haram (prohibited) 

or makruh (disliked). The same applies to obligations, as we 

Photo credit: Clipart.com 

explained earlier. 

In summation, our Islamic values are as follows: 

1. Cooperation and solidarity: “You shall cooperate in 

matters of righteousness and piety; do not cooperate in matters 

that are sinful and evil” (Qur’an) 

2. Maintaining good relations: “And keep straight the 

relations between yourselves.” 

3. Brotherhood and mutual understanding: “O people, 

We created you from the same male and female, and rendered 

you distinct peoples and tribes, that you may know one another. 

The best among you in the sight of Allah is the most 

righteous. Allah is Omniscient, Cognizant.” (Qur’an) These 

are the bases of relationships, and not the Hegelian argument 

that is based on constant struggle in what he described as the 

“master and slave” theory. 

4. Wisdom: “And whoever attains wisdom has attained 

a great bounty. Only those who possess intelligence will take 

heed.” (Qur’an) 

5. Righteousness: “Never shall We cause the reward of 

the righteous to perish.” (Qur’an) 

6. Justice: “Allah calls for justice, charity, and giving to 

relatives. And He forbids evil, vice, and transgression. He enlightens 

you, that you may take heed.” 

7. Mercy: “We have not sent you except as mercy from 

Us towards the whole world.” (Qur’an) 

8. Patience: “Those who patiently persevere will truly 

receive a reard without measure.” (Qur’an) 

9. Tolerance: Being open-minded, assuming the best of 

others, and distinguishing between the various categories of 

prohibitions and obligations. 

10. Love: Love means loving Allah the Almighty, who is 

the source fo all blessings; loving His Prophet, Allah’s peace 

and blessings upon him, upon who He bestowed the blessings 

of mercy and generosity; and loving people and wishing the 

best for them, including those in tribulation. Ahadith states, 

“None of you is a true believer until he loves for his brother 

what he loves for himself,” and according to another narration, 

“… until he loves for people what he loves for himself.” 

11. Dialogue: Muslims established the etiquette of debate 

because without a culture of dialogue, individuals become 

selfish and narrow-minded, and society becomes fractured. A 

hadith also mentions this: “But if you see overwhelming stinginess, 

desires being followed, this world being preferred (to 

the Hereafter), every person with an opinion feeling proud 

of it, and you realized that you have no power to deal with it, 

then you have to mind your own business and leave the common 

folk to their own devices.” 

12. Moderation: This includes individual behavior, scientific 

moderation, and moderation between literal and whimsical 

interpretations of scripture. Moderation is a form of relativity 

and is integral to all ife in the universe, as described by 

al-Shatibi. 

Editor’s note: Excerpted from the “Framework Speech for the 

Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies,” Abu Dhabi, 

9–10 March, 2014 — In Pursuit of Peace: 2014 Forum for 

Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies. The author’s views are his 

own. 

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The Muslim Observer — May 15 - 21, 2015 — Rajab 27 - Shaban 3, 1436 — 5


sports / opinion 

Sports and 

Consequences 

Ibrahim Abdul-Matin 

What does it mean 

to be ‘a winner’? 

“Winning isn’t everything, 

it’s the only thing” So said 

Vince Lombardi, the legendary 

football coach of the Green Bay 

Packers. He also said, “winning 

is not everything, wanting to 

win is.” 

Well, which is it? 

As a young football player 

growing up in small-town 

America that statement was 

part of the tapestry of my life. 

Winning defined how you were 

perceived. The pursuit of winning 

shaped and molded your 

body and honed your mind. 

The question that I have 

been asking lately is how do we 

define ‘winning’? 

Does the definition of winning 

change with the person? 

I think so. Take for example 

the curious cases of three athletes 

who have all made sports 

news this week; baseball great 

Alex Rodriguez, footballer Tom 

Brady, and the young Rasheed 

Sulaimon. For each of them the 

idea of ‘winning’ is personal 

and the definition changes with 

their own personal narrative. 

The other day I was driving 

and listening to sports radio 

and the man on the radio was 

going back and forth with a 

caller. 

“Alex Rodriguez has the 

numbers” the sportscaster said, 

“and we are only having this 

conversation since he has surpassed 

Willie Mays on the alltime 

home-run list, but he is 

not even in the same league as 

Willie Mays – Mays was an alltime 

great – maybe top three 

who ever played the game” 

For those of you who do 

not know, Alex Rodriguez, or 

A-Rod as he is known, is a baseball 

player for the NY Yankees. 

He recently came off of a yearlong 

suspension for using, and 

lying about using, performance 

enhancing drugs. His name is 

routinely mentioned alongside 

other famous cheats like Lance 

Armstrong, the cyclist, and Pete 

Rose, another baseball player 

who currently holds the record 

for number of hits but whom 

was banned from baseball for 

betting on games. A-Rod has 

quietly returned to baseball 

and despite his age has performed 

quite well. 

As much as our culture loves 

winners we also crave stories 

about people who have won, 

lost and then bounced back. 

A-Rod was the winner who lost 

everything. Now, he is humbled 

and performing at a high 

level. When he blasted his 661 

homerun to tie Willie Mays on 

the all-time list he took in the 

moment quietly with his own 

tears. For A-Rod being humble 

Tom Brady. Photo credit: Lucy Nicholson / Reuters. 

is his definition of winning. 

How about for Tom Brady? 

He is the consummate winner 

with four Superbowl wings. For 

the so-called “Deflategate scandal, 

where the Patriots, allegedly 

with Brady’s knowledge, 

deflated balls (which gives you 

an advantage when temperatures 

are low). The NFL punished 

Brady and the Patriots 

this week. They are suspending 

Brady for the first four games of 

next season and leveling a $1m 

fine on the Patriots along with 

taking some coveted draft picks 

from them. 

Brady is a winner. He 

has proven it time and time 

again that he can perform at 

his best when it matters the 

most. Right now, what matters 

most is that he come 

clean. We all know that he 

is still one of the best to ever 

play the game. Now that he 

is a champion again winning 

could be defined as, accepting 

his punishment, and then going 

out and winning another 

Superbowl next year. 

Finally, there is the case of 

Rasheed Sulaimon. Winning 

for him is simply an opportunity 

to compete. Last year he was 

dismissed from the team amid 

suspicion and rumor. One can 

only imagine how he felt while 

his teammates at Duke were 

cutting down the nets after 

an incredible NCAA national 

championship. Duke basketball 

won the ultimate prize – 

without him. In that time he 

stayed on as a student at Duke 

and this summer will graduate, 

after just three years, with 

a degree in sociology. 

On Monday the University 

of Maryland released this statement, 

“Rasheed Sulaimon will 

join the University of Maryland 

men’s basketball team this 

fall. Sulaimon will have one 

year of eligibility with the 

Terrapins and is expected to 

play immediately.” 

Whether it is Tom Brady, 

A-Rod, or Rasheed Sulaimon, 

winning is a personal thing. 

The real question here is what 

does winning mean to you? 

Editor’s Note: Ibrahim Abdul- 

Matin has worked in the civic, 

public, and private sectors and 

on several issues including sustainability, 

technology, community 

engagement, sports, and 

new media. He is the author of 

Green Deen: What Islam Teaches 

About Protecting the Planet and 

contributor to All-American: 45 

American Men On Being Muslim. 

From 2009 to 2011 Ibrahim was 

the regular Sports Contributor 

for WNYC’s nationally syndicated 

show The Takeaway. Follow 

him on twitter @IbrahimSalih. 

The views expressed here are his 

own. 

Should all Muslims be singled 

out for the actions of a few? 

By Usaid Siddiqui 

Religion News Service 

What followed after two 

gunmen were killed trying to 

carry out an attack on an anti- 

Muslim “Draw Muhammad 

Contest” was predictable. 

Pamela Geller, the organizer 

of the event,called for war, 

American Muslims condemned 

the attack, and the mainstream 

media rehashed the very old 

and exhausting debate about 

whether Islam has a violence 

problem. 

This routine unfortunately 

reeks of collective responsibility, 

an antithesis to sound moral 

ethics in all societies, including 

Western ones. While the concept 

holds no legal recourse, it 

should nonetheless be considered 

morally outrageous for 

one community to condemn 

the actions of those over which 

it has no influence. 

Collective responsibility 

Since the events of 9/11, this 

trend of moderate Muslims’ 

routinely having to condemn 

terror attacks by individual 

Muslims and Muslim groups 

continues unabated. Calls for 

reform in Islam and the burden 

placed on “moderate” Muslims 

to take back their religion from 

radicals have been repeatedly 

demanded. Such a suggestion 

not only singles out Muslims 

but betrays the largely agreed 

principle among philosophers 

and international law scholars 

that no one group should be 

held accountable for the actions 

of a few. 

Renowned political science 

Professor James W. Garner 

wrote in 1917 that “the theory 

of collective responsibility, 

even when applied in its mildest 

form, necessarily involves 

the punishment of innocent 

persons, and for this reason it 

ought never to be resorted to 

when other more just measures 

would accomplish the same 

end.” For some, the concept 

ought to completely disappear. 

Philosophy professor Jan 

Narveson at the University of 

Waterloo thinks collective responsibility 

is a slippery slope 

that treats others unfairly. 

While perpetrators of violence 

should face the consequences, 

he said: 

“… individuals in that group 

who do nothing of the sort, and 

perhaps exert themselves to 

prevent other members from so 

acting, or try to shield the oppressed 

from their actions, simply 

are not guilty, and may not 

properly be thought to be so.” 

To follow Narveson’s logic, 

Muslim organizations have 

tirelessly condemned terrorist 

acts committed by individual 

Muslims in the post-9/11 era. 

Nevertheless, the mainstream 

media have not budged in their 

dubious claims that Muslims 

need to “do more.” 

Media portrayal of Muslims 

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a fervent 

Islam critic and a media darling 

on all things Muslim, insists 

that Islam needs reform to stop 

the violence emanating from its 

populace. She urges Muslims 

to overhaul their teachings 

and align with other religions 

that have supposedly already 

reformed. 

Hirsi Ali once called Islam a 

“nihilistic cult of death.” While 

she seems to have toned down 

her language, she has yet to 

apologize for her past inflammatory 

comments. In giving 

voice to her simplistic views, 

the mainstream media have 

played a significant part in creating 

a false narrative of Islam 

and Muslims. 

In the aftermath of the 

Garland, Texas, attack, conservative 

talk show host Sean 

Hannity brought on Anjem 

Choudary, a British Muslim 

who believes in global implementation 

of Shariah, to debate 

with Geller. The former has 

little credibility in the Muslim 

community in England or 

abroad and was once described 

by journalist Mehdi Hasan as a 

“blowhard.” 

Earlier this year, Don Lemon 

of CNN asked a prominent and 

well-respected Muslim lawyer 

and commentator, Arsalan 

Iftikhar, if he supported the 

Islamic State group. This was 

after Iftikhar had expressed 

disgust with Charlie Hebdo attackers 

in Paris and condemned 

the killings as a “crime against 

humanity.” 

As with Iftikhar, there remains 

no shortage of condemnatory 

statements from 

Muslim individuals and organizations 

making it clear 

that they do not subscribe to 

Islamic State militants. In the 

ever-expanding information 

age, finding out what Muslims 

think or what Islam says about 

violence should hardly be an 

issue. 

In light of this reality, for 

Muslims to continue apologizing 

and even worse be 

expected to, is meaningless. 

Disclaimers such as “Islam is 

a religion of peace” to prove 

one’s commitment to nonviolence 

are silly. Rather, the 

debate should be around why 

the Hirsi Alis and Gellers continue 

to be given airtime to ostracize 

an already suffocated 

minority. 

Meanwhile, Muslims 

should denounce any attack 

against civilians but as citizens 

of a diverse integrated populace, 

not a suspicious other. 

Editor’s note: Usaid Siddiqui 

is a freelance writer living in 

Canada. He has written on current 

affairs for publications 

including Al-Jazeera America, 

PolicyMic and Mondoweiss. His 

views are his own.

national 


Shefali Tsabary engages with 

hundreds of parents in Troy 

By Adil James, 

TMO contributing reporter 

Dr. Shefali Tsabary may be 

the hottest current phenomenon 

in child psychology. She 

has been celebrated by Oprah 

Winfrey who said of her: “What 

I believe every parent wants is 

a deeper connection with their 

children. Now meet the woman 

that can help you get it and 

keep it.” She gave a TED speech 

entitled “Conscious Parenting,” 

and is an award winning author 

of several books. She is a 

sponsored speaker at the Dalai 

Lama Center for Peace Studies’ 

“Heart-Mind Speaker Series.” 

Tsabary spoke in Troy on 

Friday May 8th, teaching a 

group of approximately 500 

parents in a Michigan State 

University auditorium. She 

taught her philosophy of parenting 

through a process of 

self-improvement. 

Her work is significant because 

she teaches a paradigm 

shifting view of parenting, a 

theme which could be stated as 

follows: that the focus of parenting 

should be and must be an 

inner journey toward improvement, 

rather than the production 

of a child “product.” While 

it may be impossible to raise 

children completely devoid of 

the hangups that haunted their 

parents and grandparents, parents 

can however raise children 

who have a sense of well-being 

and who are true to themselves 

through a process of parents 

using their children as mirrors 

to see their own personal flaws 

and improve on them. 

The importance of raising 

children without hangups is a 

vital issue to Tsabary, who emphasizes 

that outwardly successful 

adults regularly come 

to her psychology practice to 

heal gaping emotional wounds 

from their childhood—wounds 

that could only truly have been 

healed by their own parents. 

Therefore perhaps to minimize 

injury to tomorrow’s adults 

Tsabary focuses on teaching 

parents to be conscious of their 

own flaws, hangups, and emotional 

baggage before reflexively 

passing those along to their 

helpless children. 

Being a parent, Tsabary said 

Friday, is taking the opportunity 

of having children to pay 

attention to the kids, and go 

through an evolution via the 

children. She said that no person 

is really ready to change 

based on the advice of another 

person—the only force powerful 

enough to induce a person 

to change is the desire to accommodate 

his own children. 

“Children are the mirror. 

You can see how you need to 

grow. Your pain is his pain, 

your rigidity is his rebellion.” 

In the disconnect between parent 

and child, she said, love is 

not enough to bridge the gap— 

what is missing is “parental 

consciousness.” Children try 

desperately to fill the void between 

their parent’s expectations 

and who they are, and 

thus give in to tragedy, and 

“throw away their authentic 

selves.” 

Tsabary made use of a beautiful 

metaphor, that of Plato’s 

parable in which people live in 

a cave and, unable because of 

their fear to venture out into 

the broader world, cease even 

to believe that an outside world 

exists. Tsabary repeatedly advised 

her listeners to courageously 

move toward change 

in order to escape the confines 

in which they live. “The koolaid 

we drink is fear,” she said. 

Another important point 

that Tsabary emphasized is 

that children are, as she said, 

“psychic sponges” who take in 

the irrational fears of their parents. 

They perceive with clarity 

the hypocrisy of their parents; 

she described hearing repeatedly 

from children she counsels 

their disgust at their parents’ 

hypocrisy. 

“They hate our incongruences,” 

she said. 

“Cultural myths hold us in 

Plato’s cave,” she said, before 

doing a verbal experiment 

with her audience to accentuate 

their adherence to what 

she called myths. Through the 

brief test session she showed 

the audience’s basic paradigm, 

that the goal of a parent 

is to guide, teach, mold each 

child. 

Tsabary’s argument, however, 

is that “the myth is that 

parenting is about the child.” 

To accomplish the kind of parenting 

logically required by 

this paradigm, in which the 

parent must produce a happy, 

successful, educated, uber 

child—this paradigm requires 

an uber-parent, and also reduces 

the child to a product. 

All of the perfected attributes 

demanded of the child, according 

to her view, are actually 

reflections of our own insecurities 

as adults. 

“The more void we feel 

within as parents, the more 

perfect we want the kid to 

be.” This kind of parenting is, 

she said, “a race to nowhere” 

which promotes a hyper-organized 

and regimented childhood 

which is not conducive to 

the child’s well-being. 

“Life at its core,” she argued, 

“is pain, and the deep 

acceptance of pain, which 

leads to joy.” This fact requires 

self-awareness in the child and 

the adult. 

Being more authentic is 

more important than showing 

love, she said. 

Dr. Tsabary’s speech was 

advertised in local mosque e- 

newsletters, pointing to the increasing 

focus on child-rearing 

and family well-being in the 

Muslim community. This focus 

has also been highlighted 

by recent ISPU studies on divorce 

and child-rearing. 

Dr. Shefali Tsabary speaks to an audience of parents in Troy. Photo credit: Adil james 

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community / national 

US Muslims 

counter hate 

with virtues 

By Carissa D. Lamkahouan 

US OnIslam.net 

Correspondent 

DALLAS – Building bridges 

between people, promoting 

understanding with those of 

other faiths, and living the 

virtues of a good neighbor 

are just some of the Islamic 

fundamentals Imam Daniel 

Adbullah Hernandez emphasizes 

when encouraging his 

Southeastern Texas congregation 

to look beyond the masjid 

walls and to connect with 

those who they otherwise 

might avoid. 

To show his fellow Muslims 

the way, he leads by example 

and emphasizes mercy. 

“We have beautiful statements 

of the Prophet (pbuh) 

about mercy. He said, ‘The 

merciful will be shown mercy 

by the most merciful (Allah),’” 

Hernandez, a revert since 

1999 who now serves at the 

‘We had city leaders 

and different clergy 

come to plant trees. 

Now that we know 

each other we have 

a responsibility to 

continue watering our 

plants, so to speak.’ 

Pearland Islamic Center in 

Pearland, north Texas, told 

OnIslam.net. 

The imam added if Muslims 

are going to move past the 

challenges they face from 

some in Western society, then 

it is they who must take the 

initiative to improve their 

situation. 

Most importantly, he said 

they need not look any further 

than their own religion. 

“Understanding the Islamic 

concept of interfaith and 

knowing each other and building 

on our commonalities is 

important,” said Hernandez. 

“Understanding that we are 

one humanity and have a responsibility 

on this earth and 

even outside of the masjid is 

also important. And it’s not 

just a responsibility to build 

buildings or to pave roads 

but to spread the divine attributes, 

which includes mercy 

and to understand that mercy 

is for all.” 

To live what he preaches, 

Hernandez regularly reaches 

out not only to his fellow faith 

leaders in Texas but to civic 

leaders, as well. 

In fact, he most recently 

engaged the non-Islamic community 

to join with his congregants 

in planting an interfaith 

garden during Earth Day 

events earlier this year. 

“One goal (of mine) is to 

introduce the general community 

to our community and 

develop a relationship which 

ends up giving us other opportunities 

for collaborative 

programs to take place such as 

the garden,” the imam said. 

“We had (city leaders) and 

different clergy come to plant 

trees. Now that we know each 

other we have a responsibility 

to continue watering our 

plants, so to speak.” 

Harmony 

Planting gardens events 

have turned into interfaith 

event offering the wider community 

a chance to engage 

with their Muslim neighbors. 

“I think, symbolically, it’s 

a gesture that indicates to 

the rest of the world that we 

need to change how we treat 

each other and how we view 

each other,” Pearland Mayor 

Tom Reid, who attended the 

planting of the garden, told 

OnIslam.net. 

Ried said interfaith events 

like the ones sponsored by the 

Pearland Islamic Center are 

critically important to establishing 

and keeping harmony 

in a town like Pearland, which 

is home to people of all colors 

and creeds. 

“(Our city) has been identified 

as one of the most diverse 

in the state; we have 62 different 

languages spoken in our 

school system,” Reid said. 

“We have to come together 

Community newsbriefs 

By Mohammad Ayub Khan 

TMO Contributing Writer 

Dr.Ansari 

re-elected 

chairman 

of Dept. of 

Medicine 

CLINTON,IA--The Mercy 

Medical center in Clinton, 

Iowa, unanimously elected 

Dr. Anis Ansari as chairman 

of its medicine department 

for the third time. He is the 

the only Nephrologist living 

and working in Clinton. 

Dr. Ansari has been very 

active in the community. He 

has written more than 35 

medical articles for the community 

education with last 

three being on Ebola virus, 

Flu epidemic and Depression. 

In 2013, he was named as 

one of the leading physicians 

and nephrologist by the 

International Associations of 

Healthcare professionals. 

General Syed Ali Zaman 

Syed Ali Zamin 

scholarship 

instituted at LSU 

BATON ROUGE,LA-- 

Louisiana State University 

Libraries announced last 

week the establishment of 

the General Syed Ali Zamin 

Memorial Scholarship. The 

$500 scholarship, which will 

be awarded twice a year, was 

established by means of a gift 

from the Zamin family. On 

April 24, the LSU Libraries 

staff celebrated with the 

Zamin family to officially 

present the awards to its first 

recipient. 

The Zamin family wishes 

to recognize a student worker 

as individuals and get to know 

each other because, when you 

do that, you find out that people 

are basically good.” 

As for how the mayor views 

the Muslim community and the 

Islamic faith, he is pragmatic 

about it. 

“We all worship the same 

god we just call him differently,” 

Reid said. 

He said he’s proud of how 

his town, with its rich cultural 

diversity and vibrant faith community, 

has not only learned to 

live together in peace but even 

to enjoy each other’s company 

and welcome each new member 

as an important member of 

employed in the Circulation 

Services unit who demonstrates 

the same professional 

work ethic and love of LSU 

Libraries as did their father. 

Zamin was a career officer 

of the Pakistan army 

beginning in World War II. 

He fought many battles with 

courage and success, rising 

to the rank of lieutenant 

general. After retirement, he 

was appointed as a Pakistani 

ambassador to four countries. 

Upon his retirement, 

he moved to Baton Rouge, 

where began yet another career 

at Middleton Library, 

where he worked for fourteen 

years. During that time, 

he was appreciated for his 

wisdom by library staff and 

student workers alike. 

New mosque 

proposed in 

Folsom 

FOLSOM,CA--Folsom city 

in Sacramento County will 

see a new mosque by 2016 

if all the approvals are obtained. 

The city’s planning 

commission is considering 

a 31,668-square-foot Masjid 

Bilal Community Center. 

Riaz Siddique, president of 

the Islamic Society of Folsom, 

told the Sacramento Business 

Journal that the community 

center will include a mosque, 

events center, kindergartenthrough-8th-grade 

school 

and daycare center. 

The society has many of 

those services now, he said, 

but spread over several locations 

and not always in ideal 

situations. Parking is an issue 

at some, as is the architecture 

itself. 

“We need to have a facility 

that meets all the requirements,” 

he said. “And also one 

that exhibits Islamic architecture 

from the ground up.” 

Ahmed Ali wins 

top award at 

gold tourney 

PALO ALTO,CA--Ahmed 

Ali, a freshman high school 

student in Palo Alto, has 

won the League Champion 

award for the best individual 

society. 

“When people move to 

Pearland, even from outside of 

the United States, they end up 

liking and trusting their neighbors, 

their children play together 

and they attend community 

events together,” Reid said. 

“We really are a model for 

the rest of the world to look at 

and to start following, to encourage 

people to reach out to 

each other and get along with 

each other.” 

In addition to holding symbolic 

events to promote mercy 

and generosity of spirit between 

people, Imam Hernandez said 

a bit of shared fun goes a long 

golf score at the Santa Clara 

Valley Athletic League. He 

shot five strokes under par 

for a score of 66 at the SCVAL 

tournament, also won the 

top individual award for his 

performance in the regular 

league season. 

“Ahmed is an outstanding 

player.His hybrids and long 

irons are straight and accurate 

and he has an outstanding 

short game, [both] chipping 

and putting, ” said coach 

Doyle Knight in an interview 

to the Paly Voice. 

Dilruba 

Ahmed named 

Dempsey Writer 

in Residence 

Dilruba Ahmed has been 

named the Deborah Dempsey 

Residence at the Springside 

Chestnut Hill Academy. 

Established in 2000, the 

residency was created to 

honor Deborah Dempsey, 

former chair of the English 

Department at Springside 

School, upon her retirement 

from teaching. Since the inception 

of this program, hundreds 

of students, as well as 

English Department faculty, 

have benefited enormously 

from the access to working 

writers who generously share 

their expertise and enthusiasm 

for writing. 

Ms. Ahmed’s first collection 

of poems, Dhaka Dust, 

won the 2010 Bakeless 

Poetry Prize from the prestigious 

Breadloaf Writer’s 

Conference. A review of the 

collection in The New York 

Times Book Review said of 

Ahmed: “She understands 

that she’s dust ... dust whipped 

across continents to land in, of 

all places, Ohio; dark-skinned 

dust to be spurned, shunned 

or boot-heeled; immigrant 

Muslim dust that is feared but 

also fears.” 

She earned BPhil and MAT 

degrees from the University 

of Pittsburgh and an MFA 

from Warren Wilson College. 

She has taught in Chatham 

University’s Low-Residency 

MFA program. Ms. Ahmed will 

visit SCH Academy on April 

15th and 16th. 

way, as well. 

To that end, a spring carnival 

was held in conjunction with the 

planting of the interfaith garden. 

He said the event presented 

an ideal and natural opportunity 

for da`wah. 

“When you’re playing your 

guard is down, and we made 

it clear that we had no hidden 

agenda for inviting (people of 

other faiths) to our event, and 

they were impressed,” he said. 

“We are doing this because 

it’s an obligation upon us to 

do it. We only fear that we will 

stand in front of God one day, 

so we need no reward and no 

thanks.”

opinion / international 


Closing 

Arguments 

Sajid Khan 

My mother, my 

champion 

By Sajid Khan 

Baltimore recently erupted 

after the tragic death of Freddie 

Gray at the hands of Baltimore 

police. As unrest grew, rallies 

and protests turned into rioting 

and violence. Across the 

country in San Jose, a public 

defender colleague and I discussed 

what role we might play, 

what we would contribute if 

similar circumstances arose in 

California. Perhaps, I thought, 

I would partake in non-violent 

rallies or help galvanize the 

Muslim community to join the 

cause. Maybe I would write 

editorials and commentary to 

lend my support to the stand 

against injustice and police misconduct. 

I would attempt to 

speak truth to power. 

In those moments of introspection 

about my role in social 

change, I saw and heard my 

mother, Malika Khan, the model 

of activism in my life. She 

was born in India in 1948 to a 

father who she never met and 

an illiterate, widowed mother. 

My mom lived in poverty: no 

father, a cramped residence, 

barely enough light to read at 

night, a daily struggle to eat 

and go to school. In an era when 

women in India were not often 

educated beyond elementary 

school, my mom, with the support 

and sacrifice of my grandmother, 

went on graduate from 

college in India, the first college 

graduate, male or female, in her 

family. She came to the United 

States in 1969 after marrying 

my father Mahboob Khan. She 

continued to pursue education, 

graduating with a second degree 

from Cal St. Fullerton in 

Southern California and went 

on to become a licensed clinical 

lab scientist. Despite such 

achievement and success after 

tremendous adversity, my 

mother didn’t rest on her laurels; 

instead, she has maintained 

a passion for protecting 

the oppressed, standing against 

inequality and working for 

justice. 

As I reflected, I was taken 

back to a 1995 family trip to 

Palestine where my mother 

lectured young Israeli soldiers 

at various military checkpoints 

about their complicity with 

an inhumane occupation. I 

was transported to May 2000, 

the end of my freshman year 

at UC Berkeley, when then 

United States Secretary of State 

Madeleine Albright spoke at 

our campus commencement 

ceremonies. Albright had previously 

said on 60 Minutes that 

the deaths of half a million Iraqi 

children were a worthy price of 

U.S. led economic sanctions on 

Iraq. Students and local community 

members planned a rally 

on Sproul Plaza, the campus 

hub, followed by a protest by 

those with tickets at the speech 

itself. My mom, no ticket in 

hand for the speech, drove an 

hour, on her own, from San 

Jose to Berkeley to join the 

Sproul rally to add her voice to 

the chorus of dissent, even if 

Albright wouldn’t hear it. 

I had visions of stepping 

out of my house on numerous 

mornings to find stamped letters 

clipped to the mailbox for 

pickup. My mom’s unique handwriting 

traced the envelopes, 

addressed to the likes of Bill 

Clinton, George Bush and our 

local congressional representative 

Zoe Lofgren. She had spent 

hours at her bedroom desk authoring 

passionate, heartfelt 

handwritten letters on computer 

paper to these elected officials, 

utilizing her pen and roll 

of stamps to detail her concerns 

on issues like Bosnia, Palestine 

and the Patriot Act. 

I saw picket signs that littered 

our garage, slogans like 

“No Justice, No Peace” written 

with black markers upon them, 

crafted and created by my 

mother out of poster boards and 

wooden stakes for various protests 

and rallies she had walked 

in. I saw her with those signs 

marching the streets of San Jose 

or San Francisco, proudly donning 

her hijab, losing her voice 

with passionate pleas for justice 

and change. I saw my mom’s 

hand raised at various town hall 

and community meetings; her 

ready to speak her mind rather 

than remain silent. I heard my 

mother’s voice in her bedroom, 

using her tried and true home 

phone line and trusty phone 

book to call her friends and 

family in the days and weeks 

preceding an election encouraging 

them to vote for a particular 

candidate or issue. I heard 

my mom downstairs on several 

November Tuesdays at 6 am 

making her breakfast before a 

long day serving as a poll worker 

at our local voting station. 

I grew up in South Asian and 

Muslim communities where 

women were often identified 

solely as mothers and wives, 

defined by their culinary and 

maternal skills rather than by 

their intelligence and passions. 

Amidst these boundaries and 

narrowed expectations, my 

mother Malika broke free and 

stands apart. She fulfilled her 

role as wife to my late father, 

supporting and complementing 

his efforts to build institutions 

and grow professionally. She 

masterfully served her duties 

as mother to my siblings and 

I. She made sure we were fed, 

washed our clothes, and picked 

us up from school. She attended 

parent teacher conferences, 

Photo credit: Photodune 

helped with our homework and 

helped send us all to college. 

Through it all, though, she battled, 

struggled, worked to perpetuate 

justice and curtail oppression. 

She continues to so to 

this day at the young age of 66. 

She speaks truth to power. Her 

voice at those protests against 

injustice is my voice as I battle 

in the courtroom for my clients. 

Her writing those letters for social 

change is my writing these 

columns and words. My ammi 

Malika, the voice for justice that 

lays beneath mine. 

Editor’s Note: Sajid A. Khan 

is a Public Defender in San Jose, 

CA. He has a BA in Political 

Science from UC Berkeley and 

a law degree from UC Hastings. 

When not advocating for justice, 

Sajid enjoys playing basketball, 

football and baseball, and is a 

huge fan of Cal football and A’s 

baseball. He lives in San Jose, Ca 

with his wife and son. Reach him 

via email at sajid.ahmed.khan@ 

gmail.com or Twitter @thesajidakhan.The 

views expressed here 

are his own. 

Obama meets Saudi princes after King sent regrets 

By Jeff Mason 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) 

- President Barack Obama on 

Wednesday went out of his way 

to praise two of Saudi Arabia’s 

top leaders before meeting privately 

with them at the White 

House and played down the 

absence of King Salman, who 

pulled out of the visit last week. 

“The United States and Saudi 

Arabia have an extraordinary 

friendship and relationship 

that dates back to (President) 

Franklin Roosevelt,” Obama 

said at the start of the meeting 

with Saudi Arabia’s Crown 

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef 

and Deputy Crown Prince 

Mohammed bin Salman in the 

Oval Office. 

“We are continuing to build 

that relationship during a very 

challenging time,” he said. 

Obama said they would discuss 

how to build on a ceasefire 

in Yemen and work toward “an 

inclusive, legitimate government” 

in Saudi Arabia’s impoverished 

neighbor, where Iransupported 

Houthi rebels have 

been under attack by a Saudiled 

coalition. 

King Salman decided 

abruptly to skip the White 

House meeting and a summit of 

the Gulf Cooperation Council 

at the president’s Camp David 

retreat in Maryland outside 

Washington on Thursday. 

The White House has sought 

to counter perceptions that his 

absence was a snub that would 

undermine efforts to reassure 

the region Washington remains 

committed to its security 

against Iran. 

U.S. officials have said the 

right leaders were attending the 

summit, which they portrayed 

as a working meeting rather 

than a symbolic get-together. 

The Gulf Cooperation 

Council includes Saudi Arabia, 

Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the 

United Arab Emirates (UAE) 

and Oman. 

The absence of many top 

Arab leaders, in addition to 

King Salman, is viewed as a 

reflection of frustration with 

Obama’s pursuit of a nuclear 

deal with Iran and a perceived 

U.S. failure to support opposition 

fighters in Syria. 

The president called Saudi 

Arabia a critical partner in 

the fight against Islamic State 

militants. 

Obama highlighted his interactions 

with his two guests. “On 

a personal level, my work and 

the U.S. government’s work 

with these two individuals ... 

President Obama meets Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef 

(C) and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) of 

Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters. 

on counterterrorism issues 

has been absolutely critical to 

maintaining stability in the 

region but also protecting the 

American people,” Obama said. 

Obama does not have private 

meetings on his public schedule 

with the leaders from the other 

countries, although a dinner is 

planned on Wednesday for the 

full group at the White House. 

Crown Prince bin Nayef said 

his country attached great importance 

to the “strategic and 

historic relationship” with the 

United States.


opinion 

Bacteria. Photo credit: Photodune 

Living 

Well 

Fasiha Hasham 

Amebiasis 

The hot humid weather in 

summer is the main factor for 

food poisoning, diarrhea and 

dysentery. Food becomes easily 

contaminated, as the temperature 

is in favor for the bacteria 

and other microorganisms to 

grow. Due to rains and poor 

sewerage system, sometimes 

the drinking water also gets 

contaminated, which results in 

epidemic cases of diarrhea and 

dysentery. 

Amebiasis or amebic dysentery 

is an infection of the large 

intestine and in severe cases 

involves the liver too. It mostly 

affects travelers visiting other 

countries which are overly populated 

with poor sanitation. 

It is commonly seen in people 

who live in hot humid climate. 

The most common symptoms 

seen in Amebiasis are: 

• intermitted diarrhea 

with foul smelling stools. In 

early stages there may be constipation 

followed by diarrhea 

• mucus and blood in 

the stools 

• abdominal bloating 

and gas 

• abdominal cramps 

• fever 

• fatigue and muscles 

aches 

• in severe cases tenderness 

over the upper right side of 

the abdomen 

• jaundice 

Entameoba histolytica is the 

microscopic parasite responsible 

for Amebiasis. The parasite 

can occur in two forms, one is 

the infection causing form in 

which the Entameoba is mobile 

and lives in the colon and 

feeds on the bacteria and colon 

tissue, this is known as its trophozite 

form and is washed out 

of the colon in the liquid stools 

and soon dies. 

The other for is the passive 

one in which the parasite can 

go from one host to the other 

and in this form the Entameoba 

forms a cyst around itself and 

is passed in the stool. This cyst 

can exist outside the body and 

can spread the infection to other 

hosts by flies, cockroaches or 

with direct contact with hands 

or food contaminated by feces. 

The common human sources 

of this infection are the people 

who handle food without properly 

washing their hands, faulty 

plumbing or poor sanitation 

also contribute to the spread 

of Amebiasis. It can also be 

contracted by eating raw vegetables 

or fruits that have been 

fertilized with human feces or 

washed in polluted water. 

When diagnosing this condition 

the doctor may take history 

about any recent travel and 

other possible sources of infections. 

He will carefully examine 

the abdomen, paying extra attention 

to the liver. Blood and 

stool samples are send to the 

lab for analysis. 

Diagnosis depends on the 

study of blood and stool samples. 

Other diagnostic studies include 

x-ray and direst examination 

of the lower colon known as 

the colonoscopy; it is done with 

a flexible tube with a special 

magnifying device. Tissue samples 

can also be collected during 

this procedure for laboratory examination. 

X- Ray with barium 

enema can also be done; this 

white chalky substance makes 

the colon visible o the x-ray. 

Treatment consists of taking 

medications that kill the parasite. 

Metronidazole (Flagyl or 

Protostat) is the antibiotic of 

choice. Normal activities are 

usually resumed when fever 

and diarrhea are controlled. 

Patient should be given a soft 

diet even after the symptoms 

are gone that is for a month 

or two to ensure complete 

healing. 

Amebiasis or 

amebic dysentery 

is an infection of 

the large intestine 

and in severe cases 

involves the liver 

too. It mostly affects 

travelers visiting 

other countries which 

are overly populated 

with poor sanitation. 

It is commonly seen 

in people who live in 

hot humid climates. 

Most cases of Amebiasis are 

cured in three weeks or less. 

Complications are not common 

if treatment is begun early. 

Some of the complications that 

can occur are peritonitis, hepatitis 

and liver, lung and brain 

abscess and these complications 

can only be treated in the 

hospital. 

Some precautions that 

should be taken to avoid this 

condition are 

• hands should be properly 

washed after going to the 

toilet and as well as before 

eating. 

• when travelling to 

other countries with poor 

sanitation use bottled water 

and boil water for drinking for 

at least for 5 minutes at high 

temperature. 

• if water is contaminated 

do not use it for any other 

purpose including bathing. 

Editor’s Note: Dr. Fasiha 

Hasham obtained her medical 

degree from Sindh Medical 

College and completed a residency 

at Jinnah Post Graduate 

Medical Centre in Pakistan before 

moving to the United States. 

Her specialties include Internal 

Medicine and Gynecology and 

Obstetrics. She is married 

with four children and lives in 

Farmington Hills, Michigan. 

The views expressed here are her 

own. 

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By Yara Bayoumy 

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian 

newspapers are publishing 

what would have been unthinkable 

when then-army chief 

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi removed 

the Muslim Brotherhood from 

power in 2013: suggestions 

that he is fallible. 

It is a sign that a man who 

enjoys cult-like support may be 

starting to lose some popularity 

as elected president. 

Sisi has boosted his regional 

status by helping Saudi Arabia 

wage war against Iranian-allied 

Houthi rebels in Yemen and 

spearheading an initiative to 

create a joint Arab force to fight 

Islamic State. 

In Egypt, where street protests 

have removed two presidents 

since the 2011 Arab 

Spring uprisings, he is still popular. 

But signs of discontent are 

slowly emerging. 

Egyptians await delivery on 

many promises, ranging from 

a better school system to improved 

health care in the Arab 

world’s most populous country, 

where many are mired in 

poverty. 

The pro-government Al- 

Watan newspaper has run exposes 

on the obstacles in the 

way of Sisi’s reform plan. 

It has highlighted that the 

military and political elite still 

dominate Egypt, a strategic 

U.S. ally. 

Al Watan has identified factors 

undermining Sisi, including 

corruption and nepotism. It 

has criticized what it said were 

violations committed by police 

forces. 

Sisi overthrew the Islamist 

Mohamed Mursi, Egypt’s first 

freely-elected president, after 

mass protests against his 

Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, 

and then mounted a tough 

crackdown. 

Security forces killed hundreds 

of Brotherhood supporters, 

jailed thousands of 

others and then went after 

liberal activists. Egypt says 

the Brotherhood is a terrorist 

group that poses a threat to its 

national security. 

The Interior Ministry denies 

allegations of widespread human 

rights abuses. 

An economic newspaper, 

Al Bursa, ran a story with the 

headline: “Why is the government 

moving at the speed of 

a turtle?” and said the prime 

minister had to do more to produce 

results. 

Another newspaper, al- 

Masriyoon, ran an opinion 

piece with the headline: “Egypt 

in need of early presidential 

elections.” 

The author, Gamal Sultan, 

wrote that Sisi’s tenure had 

“moved Egypt further away 

from stability and put the entire 

nation on the brink of danger”. 

Sisi, former head of military 

intelligence, has announced 

mega-projects such as a second 

Suez Canal and a new capital, 

recalling some of the grand 

national programs of one of 

his predecessors, strongman 

Gamal Abdel Nasser. 

He has also embarked on 

a politically-sensitive reform 

program, including subsidy 

cuts, seen as far more successful 

than past efforts to loosen 

the state’s domination of the 

economy. 

Frustrations 

Sisi has won the backing 

of foreign investors and the 

International Monetary Fund. 

A high-profile investment conference 

in March secured new 

pledges of billions of dollars 

from Cairo’s Gulf Arab allies. 

But some Egyptians say they 

have yet to feel tangible improvements 

to their standard of 

living. 

“What reforms? The only 

thing I can see that he has done 

is to make fuel more expensive,” 

said Sarah Mahmoud, 35, 

a Cairo pharmacist. 

Some have suggested the 

criticisms of Sisi in the media 

have been planted to create a 

false impression of freedom of 

the press, in a country that human 

rights groups say is crushing 

real dissent. 

“It is impossible that all the 

media figures who once defended 

him and his government, 

night and day, would 

suddenly turn against him,” 

said an Egyptian man who declined 

to be named in al-Minya 

province. 

It was not immediately possible 

to reach the presidency 

for comment. 

Ibrahim Eissa, a prominent 

commentator and editor, said 

Sisi had to realize he was under 

scrutiny. 

“An elected president is always 

being monitored and is 

accountable under the eye of 

the people and public opinion,” 

he said on a talk show. 

For some, such as 37-yearold 

lawyer Osama Hassan, Sisi 

can still do no wrong. 

“I reject the attack on 

President Sisi in this manner in 

the media. The country will not 

stand on its own two feet in a 

night and a day, especially since 

he took over the country when 

it was suffering from collapse.” 

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The Muslim Observer — May 15 - 21, 2015 — Rajab 27 - Shaban 3, 1436 — 13 

national 

Sister Helen Prejean. Photo credit: Judy Fidkowski / Reuters 

Sister Helen 

Prejean: Tsarnaev 

‘genuinely sorry for 

what he did’ 

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald / 

USA Today 

BOSTON — Sister Helen 

Prejean, the Catholic nun 

and anti-death penalty activist 

whose story came to fame 

with the 1995 film” Dead Man 

Walking,” took the stand on 

Monday (May 11) in the penalty 

phase of convicted Boston 

Marathon bomber Dzhokhar 

Tsarnaev’s trial. She said he is 

“genuinely sorry for what he 

did,” and told her how he felt 

about the suffering he caused 

to the bombing’s victims. 

“He said it emphatically,” 

Prejean said. “He said no one 

deserves to suffer like they did.” 

She added, “I had every reason 

to think he was taking it in 

and he was genuinely sorry for 

what he did.” 

Prejean said she had met 

with Tsarnaev five times since 

early March and that he “kind 

of lowered his eyes” when he 

spoke about the victims. His 

“face registered” what he was 

saying. She interpreted his remorseful 

sentiment “as absolutely 

sincere,” she said. 

Prejean said she talked 

with Tsarnaev about both 

their faiths: his Islam and her 

Catholicism. 

“I talked about how in the 

Catholic Church we have become 

more and more opposed 

to the death penalty,” she said, 

quickly drawing an objection 

from the prosecution. 

Defense attorney Miriam 

Conrad, questioning Prejean, 

interjected, “Stop you right 

there.” 

Conrad asked Prejean what 

she heard in Tsarnaev’s voice 

she he spoke about the victims’ 

suffering. 

“It had pain in it,” she said. 

Prejean, who has been a nun 

since 1957, said she started 

meeting with Tsarnaev in early 

March, at the invitation of his 

defense team. She had met with 

him as recently as a few days 

ago, she said. 

Conrad asked her about her 

impressions of Tsarnaev when 

she first met him. 

“I walked in the room, I looked 

at his face and said, ‘Oh my 

God, he’s so young!’ ” she said. 

Throughout its case, the defense 

team emphasized Tsarnaev’s 

youth and impressionability. 

In the gallery, bombing victims 

shook their heads and 

looked around incredulously 

when Prejean said Tsarnaev was 

remorseful. 

On cross-examination, 

Assistant U.S. Attorney William 

Weinreb listed Prejean’s credentials 

as an activist. She confirmed 

that she opposes the 

death penalty, makes speeches 

against it and campaigns to have 

the practice abolished. 

After Prejean left the stand, 

the defense rested its case. 

Her brief testimony, taking 

place just before 10 a.m. 

on Monday, ended a series of 

negotiations by the two sides 

over whether she would be allowed 

to appear before the 

jury. Prejean is regarded as an 

expert on remorse, which can 

be a mitigating factor for a jury 

to consider in death penalty 

cases. 

Tsarnaev’s defense team is 

trying to convince the jury that 

he should be sentenced to life 

in prison with no chance of parole, 

instead of execution. 

The jury convicted Tsarnaev, 

21, on April 8 of all 30 counts 

related to the attack that killed 

three people and injured more 

than 260.


opinion 

The Last 

Moghul 

Haroon Moghul 

How Douglas 

Murray argues 

By Haroon Moghul 

If I had no shame, I’d advertise 

myself as an expert 

on Christianity. In fact, if you 

think about it, I know more 

about Christianity than most of 

Islam’s fiercest critics—including 

former, or unclearly Muslim 

public spokespersons for the 

latest round of intellectual 

Orientalism—do about Islam. 

Not only do I have Christian 

friends, but I’ve read the Old 

Testament, the New Testament, 

and the Book of Mormon. I grew 

up in a predominantly Christian 

town, and live in a predominantly 

Christian country. Compared 

to most of our talking heads, I’m 

a veritable once-in-a-century 

phenomenon. 

I’ve traveled to numerous 

churches, spoken across 

the country to many largely 

Christian audiences, and have 

visited other mostly Christian 

countries, like Spain and 

England, Australia and Canada. 

Oh, and Mexico. I speak the 

language of the world’s largest 

Christian country—fluently. In 

fact, I’ve even taught writing 

courses in college honors programs—in 

English. I’ve written a 

book in English. I must know everything 

about everything. But 

I’m not a white man, so I can’t 

get away with it. 

I also have self-respect, so I 

don’t want to. I don’t even claim 

expertise on traditions outside 

my own. Even within my 

own. Just yesterday, I received 

the latest copy of the Hartford 

Seminary’s The Muslim World, 

which was guest edited by a 

friend, the Reverend Douglas 

Leonard. (Some of my best 

friends are Christian!) It’s dedicated 

to Ibadi Islam, the dominant 

Muslim tradition of Oman. 

I was ashamed to say that I 

knew, and still know, very little, 

about one of traditional Islam’s 

three branches, being by birth 

and choice a Sunni Muslim. 

But I am happy to learn more. 

And yet, every time it turns 

to Islam, there’s a Bill Maher or 

Sam Harris, who really know 

how much about anything 

Muslim, pronouncing about 

Islam. Sometimes they even 

have Muslim interlocutors, who 

interpret Islam for them. They 

appear to have no more than ten 

or twelve of these, who they pass 

between themselves when most 

necessary. At no point does anyone 

ask: On what basis can you 

claim to speak on nearly 2 billion 

people? If you really were so 

concerned to study Islam, would 

you not make any effort to study 

something about Islam—considering 

how many resources 

you have available—while you 

pronounce so inelegantly upon 

it? 

Writing in his collection 

of essays, Semites, Columbia 

Professor (where I’ve been and 

am a student) Gil Anidjar declared 

‘secularism’ the ‘means 

by which Christianity forgot 

and forgave itself.’ Anidjar has a 

tendency to see well around the 

corner, to what is coming next; 

his description captures how 

Harrises and Dawkinses believe 

they have transcended religion, 

and therefore transcended bigotry, 

because the only bigotry 

they can imagine is religious. 

(They have poor imaginations.) 

They believe that because a 

European discovered the world 

goes around the sun, that therefore 

the world should go around 

Europe, and any intellectual accomplishment 

made by a white 

man is ipso facto the natural and 

inevitable direction of history. 

To give themselves some cover, 

they take aim from behind 

the Ayaan Hirsi Alis and Asra 

Nomanis of the world, whose 

argument rests on nothing more 

than personal experience. While 

no doubt relevant, and even 

important, no one experience 

outweighs another—there is no 

reason to believe that Ayaan’s 

experience with Islam should 

be normative as opposed to say 

Muhammad Ali’s, except that, 

well… I don’t know. They don’t 

talk about Muhammad Ali. 

They’d be embarrassed to. They 

only pick on narratives that 

do not have any power behind 

them. They also use arguments 

that, despite their claims to ‘science’ 

and ‘reason,’ would horrify 

them if simply returned. 

If a Palestinian were to judge 

all Jews by his experience 

with Israel, would that be fair? 

According to the New Atheists, 

who are basically post-Christian 

bigots, who shed the theological 

trappings of white supremacy, 

but not the supremacy itself, 

no that would not be fair, 

but only because they believe 

post-religiosity is non-partisan, 

which it is in fact not. They’re 

not particularly deep, or even 

conscious, in their work. At an 

event in Brooklyn’s BAM on 

May 7th, Douglas Murray said 

Islamophobia would go away 

if only Islam reformed itself, 

which is like saying anti-Semitism 

will go away when Israel 

changes, or if only black culture 

changed itself, then police officers 

wouldn’t be shooting black 

men in the back. 

The New Atheist and former 

Muslim alliance is composed 

of remarkably narrow-minded 

people, who seem to think that 

because they’ve rejected Islam, 

they’ve rejected extremism. 

Living near Christians is not the same as knowing about Christianity. Photo credit: Photodune 

Indeed it turns out the world is 

divided into two types of people: 

Those who see nuance, and who 

are capable of self-reflexivity, 

and those who are not, or basically 

people who can read fiction 

or watch movies, and those 

for whom non-fiction documentaries 

tax feeble empathic 

muscles. Ideologues versus humanists. 

I am not only willing to 

accept that there are dangerous 

interpretations of Islam, that 

some Muslims, believing themselves 

to be inspired by Islam, 

cause great harm, but believe 

that religion can be a force for 

harm in the world. 

But I have yet to hear a New 

Atheist show any self-reflexivity 

on atheism. Or the West. They 

condemn Islam, or at least reigning 

interpretations of Islam, for 

being insufficiently democratic, 

and yet they seem to shun any 

form of meaningfully democratic 

criticism. That the first 

instance of collectivized atheism 

in the world produced far more 

deaths than Islam has in centuries, 

if not in its entire existence, 

never gives these people pause. 

I’ve never heard Sam Harris admit, 

in a serious way, that the 

West has caused harm to the 

Muslim world, and that violent 

responses to violence are not 

particularly mind-boggling— 

unless you’re easily boggled. 

They claim that only Muslims 

attack people who insult their 

religion! 

But when Western foreign 

policy preemptively usurps democracy, 

and backs dictatorships, 

in response to no insult at 

all, but only the possibility that 

countries might choose directions 

better for their own populations 

and not their distant 

patrons, then are you making a 

point, or just missing the point? 

Editor’s Note: Haroon Moghul 

is the author of “The Order 

of Light” and “My First Police 

State.” His memoir, “How to be 

Muslim”, is due in 2016. He’s a 

doctoral candidate at Columbia 

University, formerly a Fellow at 

the New America Foundation and 

the Center on National Security at 

Fordham Law School, and a member 

of the Multicultural Audience 

Development Initiative at New 

York’s Metropolitan Museum of 

Art. Connect with Haroon on 

twitter @hsmoghul. The views expressed 

here are his own.

The Muslim Observer — May 15 - 21, 2015 — Rajab 27 - Shaban 3, 1436 — 15 

international 

Vatican blasts Muhammad 

cartoons as pouring 

‘gasoline on the fire’ 

Rosie Scammell 


Nuns in Bethlehem before Pope Francis celebrated Mass May 

25, 2014. Photo credit: Debbie Hill / Catholic News Service. 

New Palestinian 

saints highlight 

region’s Christians 

By Rosie Scammell 


VATICAN CITY – Pope 

Francis will bestow sainthood 

on two Palestinian nuns on 

Sunday (May 17), a move that’s 

being seen as giving hope to the 

conflict-wracked Middle East 

and shining the spotlight on 

the plight of Christians in the 

region. 

Sisters Maria Baouardy and 

Mary Alphonsine Danil Ghattas 

are due to be canonized by the 

pontiff along with two other 

19th-century nuns, Sister 

Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve, 

from France, and Italian Sister 

Maria Cristina dell’Immacolata. 

The coming canonizations 

have been described by the 

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, 

Fouad Twal, as a “sign of hope” 

for the region. 

“The canonization of these 

two Palestinian saints is a spiritual 

highpoint for the inhabitants 

of the Holy Land,” he told 

Vatican Insider. 

“The fact that Mariam 

(Maria) and Marie (Mary) 

Alphonsine, the first modern 

Palestinian saints, are both 

Arabs is a sign of hope for 

Palestine, for the entire Holy 

Land and the Middle East: holiness 

is always possible, even in 

a war-torn region. May a generation 

of saints follow them!” 

Twal will travel to the 

Vatican for the canonizations 

and has invited Palestinian 

President Mahmoud Abbas to 

the ceremony. 

Palestinians have waited 

more than 30 years for the 

sainthood of Baouardy, following 

her beatification by St. 

John Paul II in 1983. 

Born into the Melchite 

Greek Catholic Church in 1846, 

in a village near Nazareth, 

Baouardy went on to join 

the Carmel of Pau in France. 

Despite being illiterate, she was 

sent to India where she founded 

other convents, before moving 

to Bethlehem where she 

died in 1878. 

Announcing the canonization 

in February, the Vatican 

said Baouardy “experienced 

many sufferings together with 

extraordinary mystic phenomena” 

from an early age. 

Ghattas, who was beatified 

by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009, 

lived a distinctly less international 

life. Born in Jerusalem 

in 1843, she entered the 

Congregation of the Sisters of 

St. Joseph of the Apparition 

at the age of 15. She went on 

to found the Congregation of 

Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary 

of Jerusalem and “worked tirelessly 

to help young people and 

Christian mothers,” the Vatican 

said. 

The canonization of the two 

nuns will inevitably draw attention 

to Palestine and the Middle 

East, a region that Francis has 

repeatedly highlighted in recent 

months. 

In his Easter address, the 

pope said: “We pray for peace 

for all the peoples of the Holy 

Land. May the culture of encounter 

grow between Israelis 

and Palestinians and the peace 

process be resumed, in order 

to end years of suffering and 

division.” 

He additionally called for 

an end to “the roar of arms” in 

Syria and Iraq, while also pushing 

for a stop to “barbarous acts 

of violence” in Libya and peace 

in Yemen. 

Twal had no doubt that the 

approaching sainthoods would 

have a positive impact on the 

entire region. 

“I am sure that it will rekindle 

the hope of our faithful 

in the Middle East and encourage 

them to remain firm in the 

faith and keep their eyes fixed 

on heaven,” he said, “especially 

in these difficult times that 

Christians are experiencing 

there.” 

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The 

Vatican’s semiofficial newspaper 

blasted a series of cartoons 

of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad 

as “blasphemous” but also condemned 

the “mad and bloodthirsty” 

extremists who opened 

fire at a Texas exhibit of the 

cartoons. 

The front-page article in 

L’Osservatore Romano likened 

the exhibit in Garland, Texas, 

to pouring “gasoline on the 

fire” of religious sensitivities 

and was critical of its sponsors, 

the American Freedom 

Defense Initiative, and professional 

provocateur Pamela 

Geller. 

Police on Sunday (May 3) 

shot and killed two gunmen 

who opened fire outside the 

exhibit that was designed to 

provoke Muslim sensitivities; 

the so-called Islamic State has 

since claimed responsibility for 

the attack that injured a security 

guard, and promised more 

to come. 

The newspaper said the 

Texas event “resembles only 

remotely the initiatives of 

‘Charlie Hebdo,’” referring to 

the French satirical weekly 

whose office was attacked by 

Islamist extremists in January. 

Twelve people were gunned 

down at the Paris premises by 

the Islamist militants, who targeted 

magazine staff for publishing 

similar cartoons. 

After the Charlie Hebdo 

attacks, Pope Francis condemned 

the idea of killing “in 

God’s name” but warned that 

“you cannot provoke, you cannot 

insult the faith of others. 

You cannot make fun of the 

faith of others.” 

While L’Osservatore Romano 

said the Texas exhibition could 

be compared to Charlie Hebdo 

“for its provocative intention, 

almost a desire to throw gasoline 

on the fire,” the Vatican 

newspaper reserved a stronger 

condemnation for those behind 

the attacks. 

Garland was “certainly not 

Paris,” while the anticipated 

“participation of some ultraconservative 

European politicians” 

was also noted. The 

Vatican newspaper went on 

to urge respect, which it described 

as “the necessary attitude 

to approach the religious 

experience of another.” 

L’Osservatore Romano is 

largely autonomous from the 

Vatican but rarely publishes 

anything that does not have 

the tacit approval of Vatican 

officials. 

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international 

The Shanghai skyline. Photo credit: Photodune 

How Islamic finance could take off in China 

By Nafis Alam 

and Chew Ging Lee 

Islamic finance has been 

growing rapidly across the 

world in recent years. Today, 

the operation of Islamic banks 

and their associated financial 

institutions has created a 

trillion-dollar industry and is 

becoming a crucial mechanism 

for countries looking to increase 

their trade with Muslim 

nations in Asia and the Middle 

East especially. 

Its popularity largely stems 

from operating under the principles 

of risk sharing and interest-free 

transaction. In contrast 

to conventional finance, transactions 

under Islamic finance 

operate under strict, risk-averse 

conditions. 

Britain became the first non- 

Muslim country to issue an 

Islamic bond or sukuk in 2014. 

Hong Kong then raised US$1 

billion from its inaugural issuance 

of sukuk in 2014. And 

recently, Goldman Sachs became 

the first conventional US 

bank to issue a sukuk, raising 

US$500m with its debut sale 

of one. And the Bank of Tokyo- 

Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan’s largest 

lender, has also got in on the 

game. 

Despite this global spread, 

mainland China remains a major 

market that Islamic finance 

has not yet reached. But this 

could be set to change in the 

coming years – and one province 

in particular is leading the 

way. Ningxia, in the north-west 

of China, is an autonomous region 

where 35% of the population 

is Muslim and there has 

recently been talk of establishing 

an Islamic Financial Centre 

there in the next five to seven 

years. 

Developing 

the Chinese market 

The development of an 

Islamic capital market in 

Ningxia could be the start of a 

new financial relationship between 

China and the Islamic 

world. For this to flourish, however, 

Islamic finance must be 

open to and adopted by non- 

Muslims as well, so that it can 

gain a larger foothold in the 

country. 

Perceived by many in China 

as being for Muslims only, 

Islamic finance has struggled to 

take off. Ningxia’s initial focus 

should therefore be on developing 

a wholesale Islamic capital 

market, including Islamic 

bonds, equities and funds and 

making sure it is seen as a real 

alternative to the conventional 

market. 

Ningxia can learn from the 

best practice of its neighbours, 

where Islamic finance is the 

norm: Malaysia, Indonesia 

and Singapore. This includes 

establishing separate regulatory 

standards for Islamic finance 

and developing a well-functioning 

Islamic capital market. 

This way the region can immediately 

serve the international 

Islamic market. 

There is also a need to 

change local laws so that 

Islamic finance is on an equal 

footing with conventional finance. 

Local laws and tax regulations 

need to be modified to 

permit shariah-compliant investments. 

This needs the central 

and local government to set 

up an administrative mechanism 

to push things through to 

make it happen. 

Attracting outside 

interest 

Ningxia is also spearheading 

the development of a halal 

market in China, which 

will play an important role 

in boosting the country’s ties 

with the Muslim world. In 

September 2014, Ningxia 

Halal Food International Trade 

Certification Centre that established 

in January 2008 

became the first Halal certification 

body in China with government’s 

stamp of approval. 

This is an important signal 

that they are serious about 

shariah-compliance. 

China must be careful that it 

comes across as sincere in this 

endeavour, however. The effort 

could be undermined by cultural 

insensitivities such as allowing 

Muslim restaurants to serve 

alcohol alongside halal food. 

This is commonly found in big 

cities such as Shanghai, Beijing 

and Guangzhou. Muslims outside 

China may conclude that 

these restaurants are not Halal 

and may lose confidence in 

China’s commitment to it – and 

by implication, Shariah law 

more generally. 

In recent years, trade between 

China and the Middle 

East has considerably increased. 

For example, trade 

between the UAE and China 

has increased five-fold over the 

past ten years – a growth rate 

of 395%. This will only have a 

positive influence in developing 

Islamic finance in China. 

The launch of the Shanghai 

Free Trade Zone in 2013 has 

generated a great deal of interest 

in the growth possibilities 

of financial services in general. 

Many of the big Islamic banks 

have stated their interest in 

opening branches in China and 

Bank Muamalat Malaysia has 

already teamed up with China’s 

Bank of Shizuishan to establish 

its first Islamic bank in Ningxia. 

Banks from the Gulf are 

taking a greater interest in 

China too. Qatar International 

Islamic Bank and its compatriot 

QNB Capital recently signed an 

agreement with China-based 

Southwest Securities to develop 

Shariah-compliant finance 

products in the country. 

These banks are no doubt 

attracted to the huge number 

of infrastructure projects that 

China has planned. With 9% 

of GDP per year spent on infrastructure 

projects and an expression 

of interest in Islamic 

finance for projects from hospitals 

to metro stations, according 

to London-based Dome 

Advisory, there is a huge market 

to tap. 

The growth potential of 

Islamic finance in China is huge 

given the country’s 1.3 billion 

population. If we take on an optimistic 

approach, that Islamic 

finance is for everyone and is 

just an alternative to conventional 

finance, there is a tremendous 

pool to tap, given the 

huge banking and capital market 

opportunities in China. But 

even if you take the worst-case 

scenario and narrow the target 

to just the Muslim population, 

the prospects are still bright. 

At 2% of the Chinese population, 

there are still about 23m 

Muslims in China. 

Editor’s Note: This article 

originally appeared on 

TheConversation.com and is reprinted 

here with permission. All 

views expressed here are solely 

those of the author.


international 

A Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam) rebel fighter walks through a hole in the wall of a position which 

they said they took from forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad at the Tal-Kurdi frontline 

in the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, May 10. Amer Almohibany / Reuters 

International newsbriefs 

Fresh quakes in 

Nepal 

SANGACHOWK, Nepal 

(Reuters) - A 7.3 magnitude 

earthquake killed at least 37 

people and spread panic in 

Nepal on Tuesday, bringing 

down buildings already weakened 

by a devastating tremor 

less than three weeks ago 

and unleashing landslides in 

Himalayan valleys near Mount 

Everest. 

UN: Asia’s 

drifting boatpeople 

loom 

toward crisis 

LHOKSUKON, Indonesia/ 

LANGKAWI, Malaysia 

(Reuters) - Several thousand 

migrants, many of them hungry 

and sick, are adrift in 

boats in Southeast Asian seas 

and governments of the region 

must rescue them quickly to 

avert a “massive humanitarian 

crisis”, the United Nations said 

on Tuesday. 

Many Russian 

soldiers killed 

in east Ukraine 

MOSCOW (Reuters) - At 

least 220 Russian soldiers 

have been killed in east 

Ukraine, opposition activists 

said on Tuesday in a report offering 

what they called “ample 

evidence” to rebut President 

Vladimir Putin’s denial his 

troops are fighting there. 

Saudi-led air 

strikes hit 

Yemen capital 

Saudi-led air strikes pounded 

the Yemeni capital Sanaa 

on Tuesday, hours before a 

five-day truce was set to begin 

between the alliance of Gulf 

Arab nations and the Iranallied 

Houthi militia which 

controls much of the country. 

Kerry meets 

Putin on 

Ukraine, Syria 

SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - 

U.S. Secretary of State John 

Kerry met President Vladimir 

Putin on Tuesday to probe 

Russia’s willingness to curb its 

involvement in Ukraine and its 

backing of Syria’s president. 

Greece taps IMF 

reserves to pay 

IMF debt 

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece 

emptied an IMF holding account 

to repay 750 million 

euros ($840 million) due to 

the fund, a Greek central bank 

official said, avoiding default 

but underscoring the dire 

state of the country’s finances. 

Iran stresses 

June deadline 

in nuclear talks 

VIENNA (Reuters) - 

Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator 

said on Tuesday he hoped 

diplomacy resuming this week 

will yield results before a selfimposed 

deadline for a final 

deal to curtail Iran’s atomic 

program expires at the end of 

June. 

NATO focuses 

on ISIS and 

Libya 

ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) 

- Preoccupied for more than 

a year by the Ukraine crisis, 

NATO foreign ministers meeting 

in Turkey this week will 

focus on instability on the alliance’s 

southern flank, ranging 

from Islamic State in Iraq and 

Syria to turmoil in Libya. 

UK may hold EU 

vote before 2018 

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime 

Minister David Cameron will 

hold an early referendum on 

membership of the European 

Union if he can first reach a 

deal that satisfies his demands 

for major changes in Britain’s 

relationship with the bloc, his 

spokesman said on Tuesday. 

Violent protests 

in Burundi’s 

capital 

BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - 

Police fired guns and teargas 

towards protesters throwing 

stones in a suburb of Burundi’s 

capital on Tuesday during a 

demonstration against the 

president’s bid for a third 

term, Reuters witnesses said. 

Muslim Community 

Picnic with Mayor 

Johnny Crist 

by Aisha Yaqoob 

ATLANTA – The Atlanta 

Muslim community hosted a 

one of a kind event this past 

Saturday. On May 9th, leaders 

from two masajid, Masjid Omar 

bin Abdul Aziz in Norcross, GA 

and Madina Institute, USA 

in Duluth, GA came together 

to host a picnic for community 

members in the greater 

Gwinnett County area. 

Attended by over 100 people 

from all over the metro area, 

this picnic served the purpose 

of bridging the gap between 

these two communities. 

Although located less than 6 

miles apart, these two masajid 

have not previously collaborated 

on an event of this scale. 

Among the attendees were 

families and young professionals 

-- a group that often attends 

the Madina Institute. 

In an effort to further establish 

a relationship with the 

Muslim community, Mayor 

Johnny Crist of Lilburn was 

invited to speak at the picnic. 

Having previously spoken to 

the local Islamic school, Al- 

Falah Academy, Mayor Crist 

has made strides to connect 

with leaders in the Gwinnett 

Muslim community including 

one of the event organizers, 

Asma Elhuni. 

His talk echoed the need to 

further develop relationships 

and become active citizens of 

communities. He spoke of the 

need to move past a consumer 

type relationship, and towards 

a relationship of activism that 

engages and takes pride in the 

community. Mayor Crist encouraged 

attendees to become 

“lovers of cities” and work towards 

relationships that further 

respect and friendship. 

After his talk, the mayor 

stayed at the picnic to talk oneon-one 

with different members 

of the Muslim community. He 

noted that it felt like home; 

like any other picnic that he 

would attend with friends and 

family. In his conversations, 

he emphasized the commonalities 

he sees in the Muslim 

community and outside. Mayor 

Crist’s talk and presence was 

well-received by the Muslim 

community, some of whom had 

previously expressed feeling 

alienated from their non-Muslim 

counterparts. 

“You might live next to 

someone who doesn’t look 

like you, doesn’t act like you, 

doesn’t have the same values 

as you and I just wanted to 

lift this whole idea that we’re 

all in this together” the mayor 

exclaimed. Organizers of this 

event hope that Muslims continue 

to engage local elected officials 

and become part of their 

communities. 

Aisha Yaqoob is a graduate 

student at The University of 

Georgia pursuing her Masters of 

Public Administration & Policy. 

She is an active member of the 

Atlanta Muslim community 

through various local and national 

organizations.


national 

Aasif Mandvi stars in “Halal in the Family,” a Youtube series. 

‘Halal in the Family’ bashes Muslim stereotypes with laughs 

By Kimberly Winston 


The opening shot of its star 

chugging a 2-liter of “pork 

juice” might be the first clue 

that “Halal in the Family” isn’t 

exactly the featherweight sitcom 

it appears to be. 

Instead, this Web-only 

miniseries is a concerted effort 

by advocacy groups, nonprofits 

and one big Comedy 

Central comedian to do for 

Muslim-Americans what “The 

Cosby Show” did for African- 

Americans in the 1980s: combat 

negative stereotypes and 

show other Americans that 

they are “just like us.” 

“We wanted to talk about 

issues that affect Muslim- 

Americans and we wanted to 

use a context that people can 

access, so we came up with a 

parody of a sitcom,” said Aasif 

Mandvi, the show’s co-creator, 

star and writer who’s best 

known as the “Senior Muslim 

Correspondent” on Comedy 

Central’s “The Daily Show with 

Jon Stewart.” 

“We are trying to point out 

the absurd lengths this family 

will go to to seem all-American,” 

he said. 

So far, there are four “miniepisodes,” 

each about six 

minutes long and centered 

on a single issue that confronts 

Muslim-Americans: 

government surveillance, 

suspicion of terrorism, bullying 

and not being “American 

enough.” 

“People who watch Fox News 

all the time think all Muslims 

are ISIS,” Mandvi said. “That 

is not their fault, they just consume 

Fox News and if you do 

that, that is what you are going 

to come away with. Then there 

are a lot of people who don’t 

even think about it, but this 

gets them to watch and laugh 

and maybe think about something 

they’ve never thought 

about. That’s what we hope — 

that it can be mind-opening.” 

Mandvi, who describes himself 

as a cultural Muslim, was 

born in India and grew up in 

England and Florida. He said 

he hasn’t directly experienced 

the prejudice highlighted in the 

show but knows other people 

who have. 

“It happens to people who 

have less power — the cabdriver, 

the store clerk, the people 

who are on some level powerless,” 

he said. “I am very fortunate 

in that I have a platform 

on ‘The Daily Show’ and a certain 

level of celebrity, but there 

are people who don’t have a 

platform and can’t speak to this 

and are powerless.” 

Polls of Americans’ attitudes 

toward Muslims bear this out. A 

July 2014 Pew Research Center 

pollfound Americans ranked 

Muslims at only 40 “degrees” 

— the lowest slot — on a thermometer 

of their “warm” feelings 

toward a religious group. 

Even atheists got a warmer 

temperature, at 41 degrees. 

“Halal in the Family” makes 

use of polls like that in an online 

section that allows viewers 

to explore the issues raised in 

the series. 

The “Halal in the Family” 

name is a tip-of-the-hat to 

Norman Lear’s “All in the 

Family,” the1970s sitcom that 

skewered racial prejudices 

through the lens of Archie 

Bunker, a Queens cabdriver 

played with great nuance by 

Carroll O’Connor. Mandvi’s 

character — also named Aasif 

— is as big a bigot as Bunker 

ever was; when someone mentions 

Barack Obama, Aasif 

sneers, “That Muslim?” 

But the look of the show and 

its cast is pure Cosby. “Halal” is 

centered on the Muslims-nextdoor 

“Qu’osbys,” and Mandvi, 

as the blowhard patriarch, 

wears a hideous imitation of 

the ugly sweaters Bill Cosby 

wore as Dr. Cliff Huxtable. 

And it’s funny — not in the 

after-school-special way of 

many well-intentioned teaching 

tools, but in a late-nightcomedy-club 

way. 

Mandvi is not the first 

Muslim-American to fight 

back with his funny bone. 

Farid Senzai, a professor of 

political science at Santa Clara 

University, tracks Muslim- 

American comedy and cites 

the “Axis of Evil Comedy Tour” 

with Maz Jobrani, Aron Kader 

and Ahmed Ahmed and Dean 

Obeidallah’s “The Muslims Are 

Coming,” among others. 

The best-known example is 

perhaps “Little Mosque on the 

Prairie,” a Canadian television 

sitcom featuring contemporary 

Muslims integrating into 

Canadian society. High jinks 

ensue. 

Mucahit Bilici, author of 

“Finding Mecca in America,” 

said comedy shows like these 

are a second-generation phenomenon 

— a byproduct of assimilation 

— and a particularly 

effective “normalization” tool. 

“You can talk about rights 

and liberties, but they don’t 

have a face,” he said. “Comedy 

has a face. And if you laugh 

with another person you cannot 

see them as your enemy.” 

“Halal” started as a sketch 

on “The Daily Show” several 

years ago. Mandvi and his fellow 

writers tossed around 

ideas, including a half-hour 

network sitcom or a film. But 

Mandvi’s main goal for “Halal” 

was always to bash stereotypes 

— and make people laugh in 

the process — so a Web series 

seemed the best fit. 

The series got a boost earlier 

this year through an Indiegogo 

campaign that raised almost 

$40,000 for production costs 

— almost twice the original 

goal. It had input and support 

from a variety of nonprofit, 

Muslim advocacy and community 

groups, including the 

ACCESS/National Network for 

Arab American Communities, 

Auburn Seminary and South 

Asian Americans Leading 

Together. 

Mandvi turned to Moore 

and Associates, a communications 

firm that has promoted 

the comedy-advocacy projects 

of celebrities including 

Sarah Silverman and Samuel L. 

Jackson, to spread the word. 

Mik Moore, a strategist at 

Moore and Associates and an 

associate producer of “Halal,” 

said it was “a deliberate choice” 

to target as many Muslim- 

American stereotypes as possible 

in the show’s four short 

episodes. 

“I think having a baseline of 

a strong sense of affinity to a 

particular religious community 

by a comic is critical to allowing 

the comedy to work,” he 

said. “You can tell jokes about 

something you know intimately 

because you are a member of 

the community and you have 

insights into the hypocrisy of 

the community while maintaining 

a level of affection for it 

as well.”


opinion 

Raising 

Our Ummah 

Hina Khan-Mukhtar 

Six tips to guide 

children to the 

path of prayer 

I was driving a girlfriend to 

her house when my son Shaan 

called me from high school on 

my cell phone. I had him on 

speaker, so his anxious voice reverberated 

around the inside of 

the vehicle for us both to hear: 

“Mama, can you please be sure 

to pick me up exactly at three? 

I need to make it home in time 

to pray my Dhuhr (afternoon 

prayer) and I don’t want to risk 

missing it.” 

After I assured him more 

than once that I wouldn’t be 

late, I hung up and found my 

friend staring at me with a 

quizzical look on her face. 

“What?” I asked. 

“Explain that to me,” she 

said. 

“Explain what to you?” 

“How the heck do you get 

a teenage boy in public high 

school to actually care about 

not missing his prayer?” 

It is a question that I’ve been 

asked more than once, and 

there has never been a simple, 

easy answer to give. The quickest 

and most honest one is to 

frankly admit that all guidance 

is a blessing and a mercy from 

God and none of us are in any 

real control of what our children 

choose to take -- and not 

take -- from our teachings. 

But let’s face it -- we all know 

that’s not what parents want to 

hear (even if they know it’s the 

truth). Parents are looking for 

tips and advice, some kind of 

handbook to follow, a checklist 

of do’s and don’ts. The fact of 

the matter is that saying “Tell 

me what else to do besides pray 

about/for it” is a false premise 

to begin with -- every success 

is dependent first and foremost 

upon prayer for that very success. 

For the purposes of this 

article, however, I went ahead 

and asked my kids what they 

think has helped make prayer a 

priority for them in their lives, 

and I informally interviewed 

some friends to get their insights 

as well. Here’s what has 

worked for our families so far, 

and we hope that our experiences 

may help others in turn, 

insha’Allah (God willing). 

1) For God’s sake (literally), 

leave those kids alone for 

the first 7 years! 

There is a reason God has 

not made prayer incumbent 

upon children -- what baffles 

most adults is trying to figure 

out how they are supposed to 

take the spiritual souls that 

have been placed under their 

care and then successfully 

prepare them for the lifelong 

duty of praying five times a day 

once their physical bodies have 

attained puberty. The responsibility 

on parents is no joke, and 

some of them can crack under 

the pressure. 

In the early years, children 

should be allowed to join and 

leave the prayer at will, letting 

themselves get acclimated 

to the motions and the sensations 

of the ritual prayer at 

their own pace. Praying with 

the family should be an enjoyable 

experience -- one that 

kids can partake in (or not) as 

much as they desire. Their association 

with prayer should be 

one of sweetness. I know one 

father who has all of his children 

share their duas (supplications) 

aloud one by one after 

the prayer is over so that everyone 

can join together in asking 

Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) 

to grant their siblings’ wishes. 

Once the duas are over, the kids 

often dissolve into tickling and 

wrestling matches while the father 

finishes up his supererogatory 

prayers on his own. Kids 

can be taught the basic adab 

(etiquettes) of prayer from an 

early age -- i.e. being mindful 

of not walking in front of 

people while they are praying 

and resisting the urge to make 

loud, obnoxious noises while 

others are engaged in worship 

-- but these guidelines about 

the prayer are all related to respectful 

consideration towards 

our fellow Muslims; as far as 

these little Muslims themselves 

are concerned, no one should 

be demanding any personal obligations 

of them just yet! 

2) Make the initiation 

into prayer a celebration to 

remember! 

When each of my boys 

turned 7 years old, I bought 

them beautiful journals which 

I gave to my friends and family 

to fill with inspiring messages 

about prayer. A few of 

my more “crafty” friends went 

all out and used their art supplies 

to create elaborate 3-D 

cards complete with embossed 

ink and sequined beads. My 

parents and my in-laws each 

wrote messages to their grandsons, 

sharing their hopes and 

wishes for their futures with 

them. Older cousins wrote 

about how prayer helps them in 

good times and in bad; aunties 

and uncles gave advice on what 

helps them get through “prayer 

slumps” which -- if we are truly 

honest -- are bound to come in 

one’s life at some point or another. 

I remember my husband 

Zeeshan getting teary-eyed 

as he read his message aloud 

to our middle son Ameen. 

The general theme was one 

of encouragement and excitement. 

It’s been almost 10 years 

since I put together those gifts 

for my older two sons, and even 

now, I will sometimes catch 

them perusing their Prayer 

Books with smiles on their 

faces as they read the heartfelt 

messages to themselves. 

3) “If it was good enough for 

the Prophet (salallaahu alaihi 

wasallam), it’s good enough for 

me.” 

When I asked Shaan why 

he is committed to his prayers, 

he said, “It was the last thing 

the Prophet (salallaahu alaihi 

wasallam) told us to hold onto; 

he was talking about it right up 

until the point he passed away. 

How can we ignore that? How 

important must prayer be if he 

(peace be upon him) was reminding 

us about it even with 

his last breaths?” 

If children are taught the 

seerah (biography of the 

Prophet Muhammad) and 

Islamic history, they will learn 

that our pious predecessors 

performed their prayers even 

in the middle of a battlefield, 

even when they were ill and 

dying, even when they were 

being harassed and humiliated. 

They learn that missing 

a prayer just isn’t an option 

for anyone who has taqwa 

(God-consciousness). 

4) Teach them what they’re 

saying, what they’re doing, and 

why. 

Prayer should not be allowed 

to become a series of robotic 

yoga-like motions devoid of 

meaning or purpose. Zeeshan 

and I have been forthright with 

our kids and confessed to them 

that there will be times when 

prayer might feel like an inconvenient, 

rote duty that just 

needs to be discharged -- and 

they may find themselves feeling 

disillusioned and disheartened 

when those thoughts 

come to them -- but, nevertheless, 

the canonical prayer is 

never to be abandoned, no matter 

how ambivalent one might 

be feeling towards it in that 

moment. 

“We worship Allah with our 

minds, bodies, and souls,” I remind 

my children. “If our minds 

and souls aren’t ‘into’ prayer for 

some reason, we can at least 

force our bodies to obey Him. 

And then we pray that He will 

eventually lead our minds and 

souls to follow our bodies in joy 

and submission as well. Allah is 

the One Who is in charge of our 

hearts. He can turn us to Him at 

any time He wills. We just have 

to make sure that we’re not the 

ones who’re turning away first.” 

5) Set them up for success. 

We make sure to equip each 

of our cars with what I like to 

call “a prayer pack” -- a small 

knapsack that contains a clean 

prayer mat, a bottle of water for 

wudu (ablutions), a squeeze 

bottle for istinja (ritual washing 

of the private parts after using 

the toilet), a compass for ascertaining 

the Qibla (direction 

of the Ka’aba in Makkah for 

prayer), and a prayer garment 

that will cover any woman who 

is in need of one. Before smart 

phones arrived on the scene, I 

used to keep a print-out of the 

month’s prayer timings in the 

Photo credit: Photodune 

pack as well. This prayer pack 

ensured that I didn’t need to 

worry about whether I had 

the ability to fulfill my prayers 

properly and on time or not. 

6) Aspire to be what you 

want them to be. 

No one recognizes hypocrisy 

quicker than a child. The truth 

of the matter is that you can 

encourage and teach a child to 

pray all you want, but if you’re 

not going to pray, the chances 

are highly likely that he/she’s 

not going to pray either. And 

letting a child witness that you 

pray isn’t always enough either. 

What about how you pray? Are 

you rushed and distracted? 

Do you drag your feet when 

the prayer time comes in? Are 

you nonchalant if you miss 

a prayer? I know of an adult 

who remembers his own father 

weeping when he once missed 

a prayer, and that reaction 

made more of an impression 

on him about the importance of 

prayer than all the lectures in 

the world ever could. 

Editor’s Note: Hina Khan- 

Mukhtar is a mother of three 

boys and one of the founders of 

the homeschooling co-operative 

known as ILM Tree in Lafayette, 

California, which now serves 

over 30 homeschooling families 

in the East Bay. In addition to 

teaching Language Arts to elementary, 

middle school, and 

high school students, she has 

written articles on parenting 

and spiritual traditions for children 

and is involved in interfaith 

dialogue. The views expressed 

here are her own.


international 

Hezbollah, Syrian army make 

big gains in border battle 

By Tom Perry, Mariam 

Karouny and Laila Bassam 

BEIRUT (Reuters) - 

Lebanon’s Hezbollah and 

Syria’s army made big advances 

against insurgents in 

mountains north of Damascus 

on Wednesday, Hezbollah and 

Syrian state media said, shoring 

up President Bashar al-Assad’s 

grip on the border zone. 

The gains in the crucial 

Qalamoun region close to 

Lebanon against groups including 

the al Qaeda-linked Nusra 

Front follow significant defeats 

for Assad elsewhere, notably 

in Syria’s northwest near the 

Turkish border. 

Hezbollah, an Iranianbacked 

Shi’ite group with a 

powerful militia, has been a 

vital ally for Assad in the fouryear-long 

conflict that has 

become a focal point for the 

struggle between Tehran and 

Sunni Saudi Arabia, which has 

backed the insurgency. 

Hezbollah fighters and the 

army seized Talat Moussa, 

the highest peak in the area 

targeted in the offensive. 

Sources briefed on the situation 

said that move had effectively 

secured control of the entire 

area some 50 km (30 miles) 

from Damascus. 

“Now only the final stage of 

the operation left,” one of the 

sources said. 

Syrian state TV credited the 

advance to the army and “the 

Lebanese resistance”, an unusual 

public acknowledgement 

of Hezbollah’s role in the battle 

for an area used by the insurgents 

to ferry supplies between 

Syria and Lebanon. 

It also said that the army 

was pursuing the remnants of 

the insurgents in the town of 

Fleita. 

Hezbollah has unleashed 

heavy firepower in the offensive, 

including concentrated 

rocket bombardments. The 

Syrian Observatory for Human 

Rights, a British-based group 

that tracks the conflict, says 

this had forced many insurgents 

to withdraw. 

The offensive had been expected 

for some time but was 

awaiting the end of winter 

and aimed to crush one of the 

risks facing Assad, who has 

lost much of the north and east 

in the war estimated by the 

United Nations to have killed 

220,000 people. 

The Observatory put the 

death toll in the fighting 

at dozens on both sides. A 

source briefed on the situation 

said Hezbollah had lost four 

fighters. 

ISIS clashes 

Since March, forces backing 

Assad have relinquished wide 

areas of Idlib province in the 

northwest at the border with 

Turkey, another country that 

supports the insurgency. The 

president also lost the Nasib 

crossing with Jordan to rebels. 

Islamic State, the single 

most powerful insurgent 

group in Syria, has also been 

launching attacks on both government-held 

and rebel-controlled 

areas in central Syria, 

as it steps up efforts to expand 

beyond its strongholds. 

Its fighters killed about 

30 government troops in an 

attack on Syrian army-held 

areas in Homs province overnight, 

the Observatory reported. 

At least 20 Islamic State 

fighters were also killed in and 

around the town of al-Sukhna, 

some 300 km northeast of 

Damascus. 

Later, Islamic State said in 

a statement it had seized al- 

Sukhna in a move that gives it 

control over a strategic highway 

that links the province of 

Homs with north eastern Deir 

al-Zor province. 

Syrian troops repelled the 

attack in places and were still 

fighting in others, a military 

source said. 

An army statement said 

scores of “terrorists” were 

killed in raids in the eastern 

Homs countryside area without 

confirming the fall of the 

town. 

General Martin Dempsey, 

the top U.S. military officer, 

said last week he believed 

Assad’s “momentum has been 

slowed” and that, if he were 

in Assad’s position, he “would 

find the opportunity to look to 

the negotiating table”. 

But expectations are low 

for a new effort towards peace 

diplomacy launched by the 

U.N. Syria envoy, Staffan de 

Mistura. 

Assad has received massive 

support from Russia and Iran. 

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of 

Iran’s national security and 

foreign policy committee, 

met Assad on Wednesday and 

said Iran would maintain that 

support, Syrian state media 

reported. 

“(Iran) will not spare any effort 

to help the Syrians and to 

strengthen their steadfastness 

until the achievement of victory 

over the terrorists,” the state 

news agency SANA quoted him 

as saying in the meeting.

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start a mosque 

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Volume 17, Issue xx Month xx - xx, 143x n Month xx - xx, 201x $2.00 

8 Muslims on Forbes 

30 under 30 list 

Uzma Rawn 

Abe Othman 

Headline here for compelling 

story 

on an inside page 

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Headline here for 

compelling story 

on an inside page 

Page PB 

Shama Hyder 

Minhaj Chowdhury 

Ali Khan 

Ali Zaidi 

Karim Abouelnaga 

Fiza Farhan 

Eight Muslims made Forbes 

Magazine’s renowned 30 under 30 

lists. Leaders in their respective 

fields, none of them has reached 

30-years-old yet. 

Abe Othman is the co-founder 

of Building Robotics, a company 

that helps buildings be more 

energy efficient. 

Ali Khan is one of two 

managers on Select Software 

and Computer Services Portfolio, 

worth more than $2 billion. 

Ali Zaidi works on strategies to 

help the US government increase 

American energy security and cut 

carbon emissions. 

Fiza Farhan runs a 

microfinance organization, the 

Buksh Foundation, to bring solar 

lighting to rural Pakistan. 

Karim Abouelnaga is working 

on building a network to redefine 

the summer learning experience 

for low-income children 

nationwide. 

Minhaj Chowdhury is cofounder 

and ceo of Drinkwell, 

which delivers clean drinking 

water through water filtration 

technology. 

Shama Hyder is CEO of the 

award-winning Marketing Zen 

Group, averaging 400% growth 

annually since its start in 2009. 

Uzma Rawn has brokered 

a number of high-level sports 

sponsorship agreements at 

Premier Partnerships. 

By MARIAM SOBH 

(Religion News Service) — A 

downtown Los Angeles interfaith 

center that once served 

as a synagogue was the site of 

a historic worship service last 

week, as dozens of women 

gathered for Friday Muslim 

prayers in what is 

being dubbed the 

first women’s-only 

mosque in the 

United States. 

M. Hasna 

Maznavi, founder 

and president 

of the Women’s 

Mosque of America, 

and co-president 

Sana Muttalib, 

said they 

are following the 

example of women 

pioneers at 

the forefront of Islamic education 

and spiritual practice. 

“Women lack access to 

things men have, professional 

or religious,” said Muttalib, a 

lawyer. “I think this is our contribution 

to help resolve that 

issue.” 

Maznavi, a filmmaker, said 

women-only spaces have been 

part of Islamic history for generations 

and still exist in China, 

Yemen and Syria. In the United 

States, nearly all mosques separate 

the sexes. Women pray in 

the rear of the prayer hall or 

in a separate room from male 

congregants. 

About 100 women attended 

the jumah or Friday prayer on 

Jan. 30 in a rented space at 

the Pico Union 

Project, just a few 

minutes from the 

Staples Center. 

Edina Lekovic, 

director of policy 

and programming 

at the Muslim 

Public Affairs 

Council, gave the 

sermon. 

Several women 

tweeted after 

the event, conveying 

their enthusiasm. 

But some questioned 

the propriety of women leading 

prayers that have traditionally 

been performed by men. 

Muslema Purmul, a chaplain 

for Muslim students at 

UCLA, wrote a post on her 

Facebook page that there isn’t 

such a thing as a womanled 

Friday prayer. 

“A women’s jumah is legally 

invalid according to all the 


Social media sensation sends $1 million to Africa 

By Carissa D. Lamkahouan in only a few months. 

A graduate student in science 

and social media at the 

In today’s world, no one can 

deny the power and ever-expanding 

reach of social media, fornia in Los Angeles, Diane 

University of Southern Cali- 

least of all Karim Diane, who’s is also an aspiring singer and 

online “singing in the shower” songwriter. Looking to gain exposure 

for his talents, he creat- 

bits not only gained him a 

large virtual following on Instagram 

and YouTube, it also profile in 2013 and began uped 

his “Team Karim” Instagram 

provided the means for him to loading short videos of himself 

raise enough funds to send $1 singing covers of popular songs 

million worth of medical supplies 

to the West African nation 

— from his shower. 

“I wanted a way to differentiate 

myself (from other sing- 

of Ivory Coast. 

ers), and this was a fun way to 

“It’s super cool,” Diane said 

do it,” said Diane, 24. 

of the recent campaign, which 

managed to secure the money (Continued on page 14) 

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international 

Canadian Muslim honored As Pan Am torchbearer 

By Muneeb Nasir 

OnIslam Correspondent 

TORONTO – Jeewan 

Chanicka is excited and proud 

to be chosen as a Pan Am Torch 

Relay Torchbearer for the upcoming 

Pan Am Games set to 

take place in Toronto and surrounding 

areas this summer 

after being selected out of 100 

volunteers and community 

leaders chosen by President’s 

Choice. 

“I was surprised,” 

Chanicka, who is the principal 

at Aldergrove Public School 

in the City of Markham, told 

OnIslam.net. 

“It came about as a nomination 

from some staff members 

in the school.” 

“Although they informed 

me about it, I didn’t think 

much of it at the time as I 

didn’t think anything would 

happen,” he added. 

“Of course that has translated 

into excitement, nervousness 

and a sense of responsibility 

as it comes as part of 

me representing my community 

– over 400 families, 600+ 

kids - I am both humbled and 

honored.” 

The Pan American Games 

are the world’s third largest 

international multi-sport 

Games, only surpassed in size 

and scope by the Olympic 

Summer Games and the Asian 

Games. 

More than 7,000 athletes 

from across the Americas and 

Caribbean will participate in 

the Games that will run from 

July 10 to 26 to be followed by 

the Parapan Am Games from 

August 7 to 15. 

Chanicka was chosen to be 

one of more than 100 breakfast 

program volunteers from 

across Canada representing 

President’s Choice in the relay 

for his commitment to promoting 

a healthy lifestyle in 

the school and for his community 

service and leadership. 

“President’s Choice selected 

me, in part, due to my commitment 

to promoting healthy living 

and lifestyle at school and 

my volunteerism and community 

work,” said Chanicka. 

“At our school, I inherited 

an established healthy snack 

program, which has since expanded 

to include a breakfast 

Iraq defense 

ministry says 

Islamic State’s 

second-incommand 

killed 

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq’s 

Defence Ministry said on 

Wednesday the deputy commander 

of Islamic State insurgents 

had been killed in a coalition 

air strike on a mosque 

where he was meeting with 

other militants in the north of 

the country. 

More than 60 countries led 

by the United States launched 

a campaign last summer to 

“degrade and destroy” Islamic 

State, an ultra-radical Sunni 

Islamist group that had seized 

large areas of Iraq and Syria. 

The coalition has been conducting 

air strikes against 

Islamic State in both Iraq and 

neighboring Syria. 

“Based on accurate intelligence, 

an air strike by the coalition 

forces targeted the second 

in command of IS, Abu Alaa 

al-Afari,” the ministry said in a 

statement on its website. 

Abu Alaa al-Afari, whose 

real name is Abdul Rahman 

Mustafa Mohammed, is an ethnic 

Turkmen from the town of 

Tel Afar in northwestern Iraq, 

and is thought to be second in 

command of Islamic State under 

self-proclaimed caliph Abu 

Bakr al-Baghdadi. 

In Washington, the Pentagon 

said it was aware of the reports 

but could not confirm them. 

Baghdadi was recently reported 

to have been incapacitated 

by an air strike in the 

same region of Iraq, and Afari 

was tipped to assume leadership 

of the organization. The 

Pentagon has denied those reports, 

saying Baghdadi remains 

capable of directing operations 

and was not wounded in any 

raid. 

On its website, the Iraqi defense 

ministry posted footage 

of the air strike on the “Martrys 

Mosque” in the village of al- 

Iyadhiya near Tel Afar, where 

Afari was a teacher and wellknown 

preacher, according to 

a local official who requested 

anonymity. 

There was no way to independently 

confirm the defense 

ministry statement. The Iraqi 

government has previously announced 

the death of Islamic 

State militants only for them to 

resurface alive. 

Baghdad-based security analyst 

Hisham al-Hashimi, who 

closely tracks Islamic State, 

said Afari’s death was not yet 

proven, but confirmed the air 

strike had killed Akram al- 

Qurbash, also known as Mulla 

Meisar, who recently took 

charge of Islamic State security 

in the northern province of 

Nineveh. 

program.” 

“We recently acquired a hydroponics 

tower to grow herbs 

and vegetables and we recently 

set up garden beds to begin 

gardening some vegetables,” 

he explained. 

“We want students to understand 

how what they eat 

impacts them and how important 

it is to grow their own 

food as well.” 

Honor 

Aldergrove Public School 

is part of the York Region 

District School Board which is 

the third largest school district 

in Ontario, with over 122,000 

students in 174 elementary 

schools and 32 secondary 

schools. 

Having their Principal being 

selected as a torchbearer 

has raised the profile of the 

Markham school. 

“At Aldergrove Public 

School, we are working towards 

the kind of Canada and 

world that we want, something 

that our Board supports 

us in doing,” Chanicka told 

OnIslam.net. 

“For me, being a torchbearer 

places a spotlight on the 

Detroit Muslims dream 

of revitalizing community 

(Continued from page 1) 

Martin was my Trayvon Martin 

moment. Mike Brown was my 

Mike Brown moment. 

“#Blacklivesmatter is not a 

black movement, it is a human 

rights movement,” she added. 

“We have misremembered 

Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream. 

The dream of a colorblind society 

was not all he cared about. 

White supremacy was a real 

problem [that he campaigned 

against also].” 

Jeewan Chanika 

great work of our school and 

our School Board.” 

“We couldn’t be more 

proud.” 

The first Pan American 

Games were held in Buenos 

Aires, Argentina, in 1951 

and the inaugural Parapan 

American Games were held in 

Mexico City in 1999. 

Both the Pan Am and 

US Muslims demand 

protection after threats 

OnIslam & Newspapers 

CAIRO – A leading 

American Muslim advocacy 

group has urged law enforcement 

authorities to step up 

protection of mosques and 

Islamic schools which received 

a series of attacks and threats 

after Texas’ Garland shooting 

earlier this week. 

“All Americans, regardless 

of faith, have the right to feel 

safe and secure in school and at 

their places of worship,” Zainab 

Chaudry, Outreach Manager 

of the Maryland chapter of the 

Council on American-Islamic 

Relations (CAIR), said in a statement 

obtained by OnIslam.net. 

“These threats are deeply 

disturbing and we strongly urge 

authorities to take prompt measures 

to ensure the security of 

the students who attend this 

Islamic school.” 

CAIR calls for an FBI hate 

crime investigation followed reports 

of an attack on a Muslim 

worshiper outside a Texas 

mosque. 

A worshipper at the Islamic 

Association of North Texas in 

Richardson, Texas, was beaten 

as he left a prayer service 

Monday night. 

The victim suffered some 

scrapes and cuts above his eye, 

police said. He refused a ride to 

the hospital and was treated at 

the scene and released. 

“It was all very quick,” police 

spokesman Sgt. Kevin Perlich 

told Dallas News. 

“We don’t know if this an 

anti-Muslim thing or a robbery 

attempt or what it was.” 

The attacks followed 

Sunday’s controversial anti- 

Muslim cartoon drawing of the 

Grewal added that Muslims 

talk often about the concept of 

an ummah and a colorblind society, 

but that the term sometimes 

is used to cover up racial problems 

in the Muslim community. 

“Racism justifies the exploitation 

of non-whites. … Stereotypes 

are the symptom not the cause,” 

said Grewal, noting that underlying 

power structures are directly 

responsible for inequality. 

In the 80s Grewal’s father 

got a job as a technician at Ford 

Parapan Am Games are held 

every four years for the athletes 

of the 41 member nations, 

in the year preceding 

the Olympic and Paralympic 

Summer Games. 

The Pan Am Games have 

been hosted in a dozen countries 

throughout the Americas 

and Canada has hosted them 

twice, in 1967 and 1999. 

Muslim Prophet Muhammad 

contest in Garland, Texas, which 

resulted in the shooting deaths 

of two gunmen killed by police 

officers. 

The “Jihad Watch 

Muhammad Art Exhibit and 

Cartoon Contest” was organized 

by right-wing, anti-Muslim zealot 

Pam Geller, who has been 

denounced by numerous rights 

organizations, including both 

the ADL and the SPLC for her 

anti-Muslim rhetoric and hate 

campaigns. 

In a bid to further offend 

Muslims, she even offered a 

$10,000 prize to the contest 

winner drawing the most despicable 

cartoon of Prophet 

Muhammad. 

Geert Wilders, a polarizing 

Dutch politician, and anti-Islam 

campaigner, was among the 

speakers at the Sunday’s event. 

and had a chance to leave their 

diverse neighborhood for an 

overwhelmingly white area, not 

because her family was racist in 

any way, but because they had a 

chance to purchase a home with 

a value that would continue to 

rise. She spoke of how she didn’t 

feel she belonged there and that 

her experience later led her to 

choose to live in a very ethnically 

mixed community in New 

Haven, Connecticut, where her 

child would not feel ostracized.

Dearborn police 

(Continued from page 1) would not tell their first initials. (Continued from page 1) 

when it comes to taking action Officers Esposito and Hutchins lighthearted stance on normally 

stern or depressing topics 

other than giving excessive traffic 

tickets. These last two weeks license plate and found that has attracted quite a following. 

did say that they checked the 

proved to be no different. The this car belonged to an address The organization has a growing 

21,722 likes on Facebook, 

Muslim Observer interviewed one street away and should not 

two separate families involved have been there. When Officers 62,500 followers on Twitter, 

in these incidents. Both families 

asked that their real names asked about the possibility that From beginning to end, 

Esposito and Hutchins were and 31,200 fans on Instagram. 

not be published as they are the driver of this car may have Awkward Muslim’s various social 

media pages are filled with 

afraid of being targeted by the been hurt and had to leave his 

DHPD as other families claimed car behind, if they did a wellfare 

check? They only contin- 

culturally based humor. “Please 

funny, appropriate and often 

to have been after going public 

with negative reports. 

ued to say, “This car should not take of your shoes before you 

The first was from a family 

that lives in a well-known Then they were asked if they Muslim’s Facebook page reads. 

have been parked here.” enter my timeline!” Awkward 

neighborhood in Dearborn at least confirmed if the parking But, despite its notable popularity, 

details about the found- 

Heights close to a street called break was up or not since it was 

John Daly. This street is so a stick shift car, they responded er remain a huge mystery. 

well known because the DHPD with no they did not look. Ali “I have the honour of carrying 

the same name as our 

hides in side streets that face it was able to pick his car up the 

in order to stop people for traffic 

violations. This family live $300 fine. He was also given an I do get the occasional non- 

next morning after paying a beloved Prophet (p)… though 

on one of these side streets, and impeding traffic ticket which he muslim asking me if I’m named 

have police officers hiding daily has plans to fight in court later after the boxer,” Muhammad, 

behind their family vehicles this month. 

Founder of Awkward Muslim, 

in order catch speeders. The Another instance with tells the Muslim Observer. 

problem here, according to the the DHPD occurred earlier “I’m just a regular Muslim 

family, is that within the past this year, and was reported brother. …. A few special people 

probably know who I am. I 

18 months alone these same on by The Muslim Observer. 

family cars have been broken Dearborn resident Malak actually enjoy the anonymity. 

into on five different occasions. Kazan was forced to remove her “I think the anonymity helps 

The father of this family was so hijab after a traffic stop turned because ‘awkwardmuslim’ 

fed up that he called the DHPD into a booking by the Dearborn wasn’t really meant to be solely 

about me, it was something 

asking why they use their home Heights Police Department. 

during the day to give out tickets, 

but can’t stay after dark in said “We want the Federal awkward moments that every 

Her attorney Amir Makled where we could share socially 

order to catch the people breaking 

into their cars. He was not policy was unconstitutional, ... Keeping anonymous [also] 

Court to make a ruling that the other Muslim could relate to. 

given a response. 

that Dearborn Heights Police helps me to remain humble.” 

Then last weekend, Department failed to recognize Muhammad says he started 

Dearborn Heights resident Malak’s First Amendment right, Awkward Muslim as an “experiment” 

back in December 2012. 

“Ali” was visiting a friend who and we’re hoping that the policy 

be changed.” 

Inspired by similar Muslim ac- 

lives just one street away in a 

cul-de-sac. His car was parked Last July, Kazan was stopped counts such as @BonsaiSky, @ 

in front of one of the houses in for a traffic violation by the Mozlamic and @RazTweets, he 

the circle, facing outward onto DHPD. Her license was suspended 

for outstanding tickets, In a short span of time, his 

created his own. 

another street. Ali was at this 

friend’s house for a bit when so she was arrested. When she account boomed which “was 

someone came in and said that was brought into the booking not something that was expected” 

he shares. “I never really fo- 

there was a random foreign car area she says that she was demanded 

to remove her hijab cused on numbers.” 

in the middle of the street. Ali, 

who drives a Chevy, thought it for the photograph. Kazan says Currently, Muhammad is 

was one of the neighbors who 

have been known to throw loud 

parties often. After close to two 

hours, they heard a tow-truck 

and went outside to make sure 

everything was ok. That’s when 

Ali saw his Chevy starting to be 

hooked up to a tow-truck with 

a Dearborn Heights Police car 

standing guard. As Ali walked 

to his car, the two police officers 

jumped out of theirs to 

stop him. Ali asked how his car 

got there and the two police 

officers scolded Ali for parking 

his car there. They argued 

back and forth with the officers 

telling Ali “you shouldn’t 

have parked your car like this,” 

and Ali telling the officers “why 

would I park my car like this, I 

have common sense.” 

Then Ali asked if he can 

check the stick-shift car to see if 

the parking break was up, they 

told him no and to get away 

from his car. The tow-truck 

driver loading the Chevy at this 

point when Ali asked if he can 

at least get his wallet out of the 

car for safety reasons and to 

pay the tow-truck. The officers 

told tell him no and according 

to witnesses, continued to 

do so in a demeaning manner. 

The Muslim Observer spoke 

to these two officers who gave 

us their last names, though 

that she explained to the male 

officers that she could not take 

her scarf off in front of men 

for religious reasons. After explaining 

that this would violate 

her religious beliefs, the officer 

said there were no exceptions. 

According to Kazan, she continuously 

protested this, and was 

repeatedly told to comply. Then 

she requested to speak to a supervisor 

who told her as well 

“you have no other choice, you 

have to take it off,” she said. 

“Then she said ‘if you’re going 

to force me to take this off 

I want a female [officer].’ They 

denied her request. So at that 

point she felt compelled, based 

on the situation she was in, and 

the detention center she was at, 

she felt she had no choice but 

to remove her hijab,” explained 

Makled. 

“Our number one concern 

is security of our officers and 

the prisoners,” said Dearborn 

Heights Police Chief Lee Gavin. 

Makled argues that Kazan was 

not a prisoner, as she was released 

after paying a fine, and 

therefore does not fall under 

this category. 

Another lawsuit that the 

DHPD faced was from an Arab 

American family who filed suit 

against them last December for 

alleged racial discrimination. 

The lawsuit was announced at 

the office of the Arab American 

Civil Rights League (ACRL) and 

says Dearborn Heights police 

officers failed to investigate an 

assault against two of the family’s 

children because of their 

religion and ethnicity. 

According to the legal complaint 

Souad Khaled, 8, and 

her sister, Fakhrieh Khaled, 14, 

were assaulted by their nextdoor 

neighbor who demanded 

that they clean his lawn. The 

complaint states that the girls 

were cleaning their own front 

yard when the neighbor came 

out and asked that they pick 

up the garbage on his lawn. 

When the girls said they were 

not responsible for the trash, 

the neighbor grabbed them by 

their arms, pulled them to his 

property and threw them on 

the ground. “While grabbing 

[the girls], the plaintiff’s neighbor 

yelled the following phrase: 

‘You f—ing Arab scarfies,’ indicating 

that the action by the 

neighbor was racially and religiously 

motivated,” the lawsuit 

reads. 

Shortly after the incident, 

the girls’ uncle called the police. 

But when officers arrived at the 

scene they only knocked on the 

neighbor’s door and left when 


continuations 

Awkward Muslim 

the only person running the 

show at Awkward Muslim 

but states, “I do have a handy 

sidekick (who is a student of 

Islamic Theology) that I sometimes 

consult before I post, just 

in case I say something wrong.” 

He spends a couple of hours 

a week developing and sharing 

content on Awkward Muslim. 

“Most of the time its something 

I think of spontaneously, and 

mentally write it in my head,” 

he says. 

When he suffers from an 

occasional “writers-block” he 

takes a few days off. 

While humor plays a critical 

role at Awkward Muslim, 

so does knowledge. Alongside 

funny pictures and videos, 

like one of a boy who screams 

“Jesus Christ! I screwed up!” after 

messing up his Quran recitation, 

are hadiths and Quran 

verses. 

Some posts will even include 

“a small message” about Islam. 

Muhammad says, “people do 

tend to remember something 

they smiled about, so if there is 

some knowledge with it [funny 

posts], then maybe they’ll remember 

that too.” 

The larger picture, however, 

is the dynamic relationship between 

social media and humor 

in effectively spreading dawah. 

The challenge is remaining respectful 

and not getting carried 

away with jokes. 

Muhammad explains, “I 

think humor is effective [in 

dawah], but only if it’s controlled 

and mannerisms are 

kept. Everyone likes to smile 

and feel good, and humor helps 

us do this. By using jokes we 

have a unique ability to reach 

out to many who share our 

sense humor. 

Social media is great for 

dawah purposes, nearly every 

he did not answer. According to 

a briefing on the dispatch, police 

closed the incident about 

23 minutes after arriving at the 

Khaleds’ residence. The police 

dubbed the incident “neighbor 

trouble,” not assault. 

ACRL Chairman Nabih 

Ayad, who is representing 

the family, said the neighbor 

should have been charged with 

five counts— two charges of 

assault and battery against a 

minor, two charges of ethnic 

intimidation and a charge of 

trespassing. Ayad said the children 

were consistent and honest 

in telling the police what 

happened. Ghassan Khaled, 

the father of the girls, said the 

police harassed his family after 

the incident. He said in the following 

days, police cars were 

excessively driving in front of 

his house; and in one incident, 

they shined bright lights into 

the home at night. 

Sonia Khaled, the children’s 

stepmother, said she witnessed 

officers chatting with 

the neighbor several times after 

the incident, making racial 

slurs against Arabs in one conversation. 

The family provided 

reporters with a video taken by 

their daughter that shows a car 

and a faint voice, apparently 

person who has access to the 

internet uses one form of social 

media or the other, and we 

are able to reach people from 

across the globe within seconds 

… and its become a huge tool 

to spread knowledge of Islam to 

others, especially when we’re 

living in a world where Islam is 

demonized and scrutinized by 

the media.” 

On April 8, 2015, Awkward 

Muslim launched a new online 

shop selling apparel for “brothers” 

and “sisters” designed by 

Muhammad. Items include 

T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies, 

which are coming soon. 

“I’m always trying to do 

something creative, so I guess 

I’ll be adding more things on 

there. I’ve added a free resources 

section on the site 

too, so I’ll be uploading things 

on there that could help and 

be of use to other Muslims, 

insha-Allah.” 

There’s also a special, secretive 

project that Muhammad 

has lined up that “was the 

initial idea behind why I started 

this account.” However, 

“due to desi-timing it has delayed 

the process more than I 

thought it would” he explains. 

“The project is about trying 

to help improve Islamic 

education for youngsters,” 

Muhammad says, but “that’s 

all I will say for now! ... I’m trying 

to keep hush-hush about it, 

because normally these things 

don’t always go to plan.” 

To learn more about the 

mysterious project and get a 

good laugh, follow Awkward 

Muslim on facebook.com/ 

AwkwardMuslim, Twitter and 

Instagram @AwkwardMuslim. 

Also visit www.AwkwardMuslim. 

com. 

coming from a vehicle, saying, 

“They’re no different— 

Palestinian, Lebanese, Arab, 

Muslim. They hit their children 

and their women.” 

Sonia said that the video is 

of a casual exchange between 

the neighbor and a police officer. 


could not verify the authenticity 

of the video. “It’s unfortunate; 

it’s unconstitutional; it’s 

illegal; it’s unprincipled and 

unethical that the Dearborn 

Heights police continue to treat 

Arab Americans as second-class 

citizens,” Ayad said, and added 

that the ACRL has received several 

complaints alleging bias 

against Arab Americans by the 

Dearborn Heights police. 

The civil rights attorney 

highlighted that Dearborn 

Heights recently hired its first 

Arab American police officer. 

He said 60 percent of the city’s 

population is Arab American. 

“A lot of Arab American individuals 

can’t even drive outside 

their neighborhoods without 

getting two or three tickets 

slapped on them, whether 

they’re picking up your kids 

from school or driving to the 

grocery store. The community 

has had enough,” said Ayad.


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TMO 5/13/15

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