Brooklyn Bedouin

Green Your Deen in 30 Days!

Download UPDATED Green Your Deen in 30 Days

With Ramadan in full effect, with the floods in Pakistan, and with the controversy around the proposed Muslim Cultural Center at Ground Zero, I thought it necessary to remind people that the Earth is a Mosque. Every place on this planet is sacred. Everything is a gift from Allah, not to be abused, but to be protected.  We are stewards of the Earth.  

Therefore, I am encouraging you to "Green Your Deen in 30 Days." The attached guide provides some very simple steps that you, your family, your friends, your neighbors, and your masjid can all do - steps for the individual and steps for the collective - to reduce waste, save water, conserve energy, and provide food to as many as possible.

Download UPDATED Green Your Deen in 30 Days: The Ramadan Kit is a checklist of things you already have in your home that you can use and reuse each night during iftar.  There's no reason our mosques should have to buy tremendous amounts of paper products and plastic cutlery - its just as easy and more cost effective for each of us to bring our own plates, cups, and forks, and take them home for washing - unless of course, your mosque has a large kitchen with easy access to a sink.

Please send the attached "Green Your Deen in 30 Days" guide to as many people as possible.  Post it on facebook.  Tweet about it.  Let people know that this Holy month of Ramadan is an opportunity to reduce, reuse, recycle, right alongside our attempts to recite, reflect, and revere.  

I cannot help but think this "natural" disaster in Pakistan is actually man-made - like the poorly constructed buildings in Haiti that collapsed the foundations of the country during the earthquake and the poorly maintained levy’s in New Orleans that allowed water to rush into struggling and vulnerable areas. Could we be the root causes of the human toll of natural calamities such as the catastrophic flooding in South Asia?  Learn more about my thoughts on Pakistan on my blog, Brooklyn Bedouin.

The controversy around Park51 is testament to how humans have taken the sacred out of everything.

The construction of a mere building - with space for worship of our Creator - has become political and is now being used to divide people, deny people, and destroy spirits.  I say, let's focus on how Park51 is doing it's part to protect the planet.  Read about it in my piece for The Daily Beast.

Many of you have asked about my book, "Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet." God Willing, the book will be in all places where books are sold starting October, 2010.  Until then, you can pre-order on Amazon.com.  

Remember, the Earth is a mosque. If we can pray anywhere, everywhere is sacred.  Protect the planet from piles of plastic and dried up water supplies.  Simple steps can make sweeping changes.

The way we treat the planet is a reflection of the way we treat ourselves.

With duas for a greener, greater planet.

ibrahim

 

Taxi Driver Brutally Attacked in Anti-Muslim Hate Crime - PRESS CONFERENCE

THURSDAY, AUGUST 26TH, 2010 1:00PM City Hall Steps Ahmed H. Sharif, 43, a yellow taxi cab driver slashed across the neck, face and shoulders by a passenger during an anti-Muslim hate crime will stand with fellow New York Taxi Workers Alliance members, and community, immigrant and Muslim organizations to call for an end to the bigotry and anti-Islamic rhetoric in the debate around the Park 51 Islamic Cultural Center, referred to as the Ground Zero Mosque.  "I feel very sad.  I have been here more than 25 years.  I have been driving a taxi more than 15 years.  All my four kids were born here.  I never feel this hopeless and insecure before," said Mr. Sharif.  "Right now, the public sentiment is very serious (because of the Ground Zero Mosque debate.)  All drivers should be more careful." On Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 Mr. Sharif picked up the perpetrator at 24th Street and Second Avenue, his first fare for the shift, and headed toward Times Square.  The man, 21, started out friendly, asking Mr. Sharif about where he was from, how long he had been in America, if he was Muslim and if he was observing fast during Ramadan.  He then first became silent for a few minutes and then suddenly started cursing and screaming.  There, at about 6:15pm at Third Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets, he yelled, "Assalamu Alaikum.  Consider this a checkpoint," and then slashed Mr. Sharif across the neck.  As Mr. Sharif went to knock the knife out, the perpetrator, continuing to scream loudly, cut the taxi driver in the face (from nose to upper lip), arm and hand. "While a minority of has-been politicians spew ignorance and fear, it's the working person on the street who has to face the consequences," said NYTWA Executive Director Bhairavi Desai. "This kind of bigotry only breeds more violence and makes taxi drivers all the more vulnerable on the streets where there are no bully pulpits or podiums to hide behind."  The US Department of Labor reports taxi drivers to be thirty times more likely to be killed on the job than other workers. The 13,000-member NYTWA called on the District Attorney to be vigilant in its prosecution of the attempted murder and hate crime and urged the Governor to sign the Taxi Driver Protection Act, passed by the state legislature on June 26th, 2010, increasing penalties on crimes against taxi drivers and requiring a sign in all taxis, "WARNING:  Assaulting a Taxi Driver is Punishable by Up to Twenty-Five Years in Prison."  "Maybe if the warning sign was there, this kind of stranger who comes to us with hatred would have to think twice," said Anwar Hossain.  "At least we could feel safer and not alone.  No matter what political issue is going on, at least we could be treated as equal Americans and feel protected." #

Fox News Interview with Ibrahim Abdul-Matin

Fox took it down but i got it back...  so here it is!

Conversations with a Pakistani Christian...

He started the conversation talking about a Muslim “Uncle” who was rather secular and then went back home to Pakistan and came back talking about Allah this and Allah that. – seemingly hyper religious. 

My Pakistani friend expressed concern about something in particular. He told me that because he is Pakistani and Christian (and in Brooklyn his community is small, and the majority of Pakistanis are Muslim that he grew up around Muslims) saying As-salaamu-alaikum (Peace and Blessings be Upon You) was like saying whassup, how ya doing – hello; normal and easy to do.

So when this particular uncle came back with his new found so-called religiosity and with some of his other newly religious uncles (older brothers) they informed him that they would no longer accept hearing the traditional blessing in the form of a greeting from him simply because he was not Muslim. WWPMD?

I mention this conversation because it led to another series of conversations that illuminated something quite troubling in regards to racism, halal, and the importance of knowing where your food comes from as well as illuminating that so-called religiosity from the outside says nothing about a persons inner state. 

In the Christian tradition there is a principle of the charity and sharing of the message or sharing the good news, not everyone has to do that per say, but it is considered part of your good works. Some people make it their mission or their calling and others simply are a good example and live their lives with such good character that they call people to their faith by their example.

Islam has a similar ethic. Dawah, which means to call, to appeal, or missionary activity, or a good wish, among other meanings. For some that means specifically and actively calling people to Islam but to others the application of this principle is the same as it is with Christians  - it is how your example resonates in such a way that calls people to your particular path. You example of good character can speak much louder than your words. 

If you are telling people that they cannot give you greetings of peace and blessings because they are not Muslim then you are not setting a good example. In fact you are setting a very very BAD example. 

That same cab driver was so hurt by this “uncle” (who was the father of his friend) because their families had broken bread many times and their kids play with one another as well. The uncle closed a door and destroyed a bridge between two families based on some absurd interpretation of his own bigotry.

Speaking of bigotry. The same Christian brother, lets call him Vic, lives in an area where he has the option of going to halal delis that are near one another. He goes to one all the time where the brother that works there has as his workers some Mexican gentlemen who do the behind the counter cutting of the meat. One day he decides to go to the other deli where the brother behind the counter tells him that he sees him going into the other deli all the time and has been wondering when he would stop byt HIS halal deli and proceeds to tell Vic that his deli is MORE halal because he cuts the meat himself… that because Vic’s usual place has Mexicans cutting the meat it is LESS halal. WHAT??!! WWPMD?

And speaking of Halal… Vic also related a story of back in the day when the meatpacking district was still the meatpacking district and when some of his Pakistani friends would be told to go out and get halal meat. Instead of going to known halal meat dealer they would simply go to the meatpacking district and come back with meat killed any old way and tell people it was halal.

Leave it to a Pakistani who can “pass” as Muslim to call out the Muslims. A moral of the story is watch where you get your meat. If you are trying to keep Halal then you better know where the meat was killed and who killed it etc.. Do not take it for granted that Halal and zabiha mean those things but don't always operate with suspicion when you eat at a Muslim persons' home. If they tell you the meat is halal that is between them and Allah. 

This leads me to the future: Green Deen Food is Clean Food for the Future.

In a little land called Green Zabiha where you know that your little chickens roam freely and eat off the land, that they are vegetarian fed and happy chickens. In Green Deen, InshAllah, I will tell you more about the alternative to racists and questionable zabiha… the everyday people making Green Zabiha happen now!

WWPMD? What Would Prophet Muhammad Do? - peace and blessings be upon him. 

bb

NEW MUSLIM COOL DVD's to Support the Movement!

The NEW MUSLIM COOL home viewing and community licensed DVDs are now available at very low cost at http://www.NewMuslimCool.com/buy

They have 40 full minutes of extra features plus the full film, and can be shipped anywhere the post office delivers.

The DVDs will make great Eid gifts and community outreach tools this Ramadan and we humbly ask for your support to keep us working.

We are planning a far-reaching screening and workshop tour in communities, schools, and jails around the country and world, but we can't do that without you.

Your DVD purchases will help us keep our production and outreach office open and our work moving forward, and a portion of each sale is going to the Light of Age Mosque community in PIttsburgh to help with urgent repairs to the building in time for Ramadan.

Please consider supporting us, and PLEASE don't watch unauthorized downloads or streaming of the film, or share it in any electronic form.

We spent five long years making this project and have LOTS more work to do to create meaningful social change around the world, and we can ONLY do it with your support.

Thank you,

Jennifer, Kauthar, Hana, Zaheer, Suad, and the rest of the NMC team

Something to reflect on from the Qur-an

This passage is from Surah At-Talaq:  "And unto everyone who is conscious of Allah, He (always) grants a way out (of unhappiness and despair), and provides for them in a manner beyond all expectations:  and for everyone who places his trust in Allah.  He (alone) is enough.

Verily, Allah always attains to His Purpose:  and indeed, unto everything has Allah appointed its (term and) measure."

 

Include Muslim Holidays in NYC School Calendar

Keep the Pressure On, Urge Mayor to Include Muslim Holidays in NYC School Calendar

 

(NEW YORK, NY, 7/30/09) – CAIR-NY today urged the New York Muslim community and other people of conscience to contact Mayor Michael Bloomberg and ask him to incorporate two Muslim holidays in the New York City public school calendar.

 

ACTION REQUESTED: (As always be firm but POLITE.)

Send a message to the mayor asking him to uphold our city’s values of diversity and inclusion by amending education law to recognize the holiest Muslim holidays of Eid Ul-Adha and Eid Ul-Fitr.

 

1.      Send letters to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, City Hall, New York, NY 10007 or email tombloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov. Be sure to copy fali@cair.com.Below is a sample letter:

 

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

 

I am writing to urge you to incorporate the Muslim holidays of Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha as observed school holidays in the NYC public school district.

 

This issue significantly affects over 800,000 Muslim New Yorkers including children who make up one in eight New York City public school students.  Students are faced with a difficult decision of missing school or observing their religious holidays with their families and communities.

 

The June 30^th City Council vote by 50 members in support of Resolution 1281, calling on the Department of Education to recognize the holidays, indicates broad-based support throughout the city.

 

Mr. Mayor, like you, we too value education and do not want children missing school. However, giving days off for Eid does not mean fewer days of instruction. Since Muslim holidays rotate throughout the year, Eid would often fall on a weekend, another school holiday, or summer recess. Adding them will have a minimal impact on the actual school calendar while sending an important message that Muslims are a valued part of this city.

 

Please adopt the recommendation of Resolution 1281 and help ensure that Muslim students no longer have to make an unfair choice between religious observance and educational opportunities.

 

Sincerely,

Name:

Address:

 

2.      Call Mayor Bloomberg by dialing 311 and tell the operator: “I want to leave a comment for the Mayor about EDUCATION.” The operator will ask for your name, phone number, address, and e-mail and at the end, will give you a confirmation number. Below is a sample script:

 

“I urge Mayor Bloomberg to add the 2 most important Muslim holidays as official school holidays in NYC public school system.”

 

SOUL - it ain't just music!

Being a Muslim is a difficult thing in this country, this society, and in this particular age.

I was struck with this concept by my own personal life’s current issues around the reality of my socialization as a non-believer in Islam by virtue of everything else around me.

As a male there come certain privileges and responsibilities as well as a considerable amount of hipocrasy in terms of how the religion I have chosen has been practiced. Double standards, that are heavily intellectual and out of scope and touch with the real heart of the matter:

The soul.

We think about a lot of things us 20 and soon to be 30’somethings… we think about buying property, how our careers are progressing, about our manner of etiquette in particular situations, about skills we need to acquire in order to more ourselves to the next level… yet rarely do we investigate and question where our inner being comes from.

Our spiritual crisis of being is quelled under drinks and socializing, in the guise of work and corralled by our sense of duty and responsibility to family and culture. Our Soul is forgotten. In our highly structured intellectual existence there is nothing that makes sense unless it can be quantified, explained, deciphered, and made sense out of with pure evidence laid out in front of us for all to see.

I was struck, in part by a little clip I read regarding the Hijab:

Why fear the hijab?

"The fact that anyone might insist on publicly honoring customs or beliefs different from those held by the majority makes the latter uncomfortable, fearful, and so divides communities. Heterogeneity must be suppressed in an 'open' society. Everyone ought to dress, speak, believe and behave similarly." (Can you spell "fascism"?) The irony, of course, is that targeting people who are different — in France, in Britain or Fremont — may cause those individuals, because of their fear, to withdraw into their own communities, thus engendering the divided society the official decried. It may also make radical groups even more militant. Muslim women feel unsafe, said Moina Shaiq, vice chair of Fremont's Human Relations Commission. "I wear a hijab, and now I'm scared, especially after this incident." Oh, what a loss if Muslim girls, for example, either flee from public schools to private ones where they feel safe, or if they stay but remove their hijabs in order to blend in. Frankly, I know a lot of my former students, especially those who came to school dressed as scandalously as they dared, would benefit sharing a classroom or lunch table with pious, modest, courageous Muslim girls wearing hijabs.

It’s this last line that had me thinking. We acknowledge all manner of role models in our society, particularly folks who are concerned about their soul and their place with the Creator, and the meaning of all THIS. Christians harp about it on mainstream media about the damning influence of secular values that threaten the integrity of their own… and as a Muslim rose in this country I am a living example of that dichotomy.

I guess I am ranting a bit because I am bored with the over-intellectual reasoning for NOT being more connected to what grounds you. Forget about your own particular path… each spiritual path has the ability to ground you in who you are and what your purpose is. The reality is that everything else that we put our faith and trust into – literally everything! Is irrelevant and will not provide that same kind of grounding and firmness of knowing.

Science, love, money, all these visceral things are momentary, illusionary, and designed to distract us from what is most important. To me, what is most important is my soul, and the knowing that comes from getting my soul connected BACK from whence it came.

You can call that Nirvana, or just Divine Unification… but it is the single most important goal in my life… not money, not lust (however driven we are all by it), not fame (however intoxicating it seemingly is) …no, I think I am writing this little thing here today to ask all in my cohort, my little post-boomer-post-X generation that it is time for us to WAKE UP FOR REAL:

HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR soul TODAY?

Muslim then Christian but still not all there in Seattle

smart people read the The Intellectual Insurgent

why? because if you do you will see that the man who attacked five people in Seattle last week was actually born a muslim and had recently been baptized a christian... no blame on the other religion game here... just further illustration that people who have issues, have issues, and many people do and react in dangerous ways to those issues...

May The Merciful Lord have Mercy on that disturbed man.

bb

Get Past Hate Rhetoric

Ventura County Star: Opinion.

Would it be right for anyone to judge Christianity based on the murderous acts of Slobodon Milosevic who killed thousands of Muslims in Christ's name? Would anyone judge Judaism based on the daily murderous acts of settlers taking away land from Christian and Muslim Palestinians? Would anyone judge the West and Christianity based on imperialism, slavery, colonialism or the Crusades? The answer to these questions are, of course, no.

Isn't it arrogant and condescending to label 1.5 billion people on this Earth backward? Intelligent and rational Americans would be hard-pressed to believe Islam is the only religion that has wacko followers.

The world's Muslims and Islam's leading scholars have and continue to condemn terrorism committed in Islam's name. Why do certain people continue to malign an entire religion based on the acts of extremists? Is it acceptable today to demonize and dehumanize Muslims based on a combination of ignorance, lies and distortions. It is just too easy to strip people's humanity away, rather than educate oneself about the truth.

The truth is that the world's 1.5 billion Muslims live in peace and follow the teachings of the Quran and Prophet to live a righteous life. Hate and murder is a human phenomenon committed by people of all backgrounds. We need to get past hateful rhetoric that divides people along religious lines and really listen to moderate and reasoned voices that espouse harmony, not a culture clash, for the sake of the future of our children and our world.

%u2014 Sabiha Khan,Anaheim

(The writer is the communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Southern California. %u2014 Editor)