By Ahmad Khawaja As the world begins to recover from last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris, Muslims around the globe have been on the receiving end of misplaced outrage, including right here at home. Mosques have been burnt down, people have been violently assaulted and one UK woman was even pushed into an oncoming train. These brazen responses serve as a stark reminder of what ignorance is capable of. A few years ago I had the pleasure of reading a book... Read more
By Saud Inam Yes, we are all frustrated. We feel sorrow. We feel pain. We’ve been here before time after time. A violent act occurs in the name of Islam, and we’re expected to condemn or apologize and the same cycle of Islamophobia occurs again. We get angry, we get frustrated and have a storm of emotions when these events happen. I’m not here to tell you to not feel any emotions. In fact it’s a good thing that we’re... Read more
By Farouk Peru In the protracted media campaign to depict Islam as the enemy of human civilization, there is nothing sadder to me than the misrepresentation of the Quran. The Quran is often portrayed as a book that inspires hatred and encourages Muslims to act violently. This agenda can only be fulfilled, however, by adopting certain superficial assumptions about the text. The latest critique I read came in the form of a post titled “Is There Compulsion in Islam?” by... Read more
By Altmuslim Staff News reports are coming in fast and furious that the U.S. military is “reasonably sure” a drone strike in Syria has killed the ISIS executioner known as “Jihadi John.” U.S. and British officials are seeking more information to confirm this. Army Col. and U.S. military spokesperson Steven Warren told reporters that a drone attack on Thursday hit its intended target, killing several people. However, he said that it isn’t confirmed yet whether Mohammed Emwazi, known as “Jihadi... Read more
By Saif Inam The LA Times published an article last week looking at a growing rift among African-American civil rights advocates. On one end were the veterans from the Civil Rights movement — those who had been influenced by Martin Luther King, Jr. — and on the other were recent activists from the Black Lives Matters movement. Their approaches are markedly different. According to the article, the older group was more willing to engage the powers that be by joining government agencies... Read more
By Layla Abdullah-Poulos People across the country continue to express their shock at the brutal treatment of a high school student by a resource officer in Columbia, SC. Unfortunately, incidents like this are the standard of interactions between blacks and law enforcement. Unfortunately, youth does not secure one from harm. A study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology notes that non-black adults consistently estimate black children as older, less innocent and subject them to harsher treatment normally reserved... Read more
By Saud Inam Recently, there’s been a heated discussion around the need for female speakers and scholars on panel discussions at Muslim conferences, seminars and events. If you haven’t already, check out #NoAllMalePanels on Twitter – there was a great “tweetstorm” around this hashtag last night. Many of our conferences, seminars and events do have male-dominated panel discussions, which isn’t always problematic, but it begs the question – were there not qualified women speakers? I hardly think that is the case. This... Read more
On Monday, multiple videos of a disturbing assault during math class at Spring Valley High School were released online. The level of violence shown in the video has led to widespread condemnation, calls for firing of the officer involved, and concern for the student, a small young Black teenage girl, who was assaulted in a classroom by a white male officer and bodybuilder dubbed by some students “The Incredible Hulk” for his large size. Release of the video also led... Read more
By Sabina Khan-Ibarra On the heels of the #NextTimeRememberHer twitter event, Muslim women are calling for their Muslim male allies to stand with them against All Men Panels. They are asking Muslim men to sign the pledge to eliminate all male panels and anthologies. The issue is not a new one. For years, women have not been asked to be part of important panels. In some cases, panels pertaining to women issues, such as menstruation, marriage, etc have even excluded women... Read more
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Remember the Refugees at the First Thanksgiving
By Nihad Awad This Thursday, friends and family will gather to commemorate the resettlement of the first wave of refugees to what would become the United States. While we as a nation are now more cognizant of the terrible toll this resettlement took on the native inhabitants of the land, we also recognize that the resulting ethnic and religious diversity of America is unique in all the world. In the midst of eating turkey and stuffing around the dinner table,... Read more