Editor’s Note: This article is part of Altmuslim’s Hajj 2015 series, featuring articles and reflections upon Hajj, the holy days of Dhul Hijjah and Eid ul Adha. By May Alhassen and Fatima Ashraf More than two million Muslims gather in Mecca, Saudi Arabia each year to perform Hajj. Hajj is a sacred journey and series of religious rituals that honor Oneness, pay homage to the lives of prophetic figures like Abraham and Hagar and symbolize a unified Ummah, or community... Read more
The first nine days of Dhul Hijjah (the ninth month in the Muslim calendar) are nearly upon us, a most blessed time leading up to the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Millions are converging in Makkah and its surrounding areas for the pilgrimage. You probably know someone departing for the holy pilgrimage, and may have received messages asking for forgiveness or invitations to send in prayers to be uttered in Makkah, Muzdalifah, Mina, Arafat and Madinah. For other Muslims worldwide, the first nine days... Read more
Reflections on culpability, forgiveness, mercy and legal redress in light of the sexual abuse case pending against Imam Mohammed Abdullah Saleem, founder of the Institute of Islamic Education in Elgin, IL. Click here and here for more coverage of this case on Patheos. By Ustadha Zaynab Ansari In March 2015, Imam Mohammad Abdullah Saleem, founder of the Institute of Islamic Education (IIE) in Elgin, IL, was indicted on charges of criminal sexual abuse stemming from a series of encounters between... Read more
By Fatimah Popal 1) Don’t call your daughters a princess. They’ll believe you only to realize years later it was all a lie. I am not living in a palace full of chefs, an au pair or two, gardeners, chauffeurs, butlers and maids, or personal dressers. Instead, I am the commoner providing these services to the two. For free. 2) I can name my tears a river. Maybe a sea. The babies cry a river. Mom tears amount to a... Read more
By Junaid M. Afeef & Alejandro J. Beutel The Charlie Hebdo murders in Paris in January 2015 seemed to renew the Obama Administration’s push for implementing countering violent extremism (CVE) as an alternative paradigm to the excesses of the War on Terror. However, many civil liberties groups, including several within the American Muslim community, have raised important criticisms and concerns about CVE that must be addressed to the satisfaction of the public. There are lessons to be learned from the... Read more
By Sohayle Sizar One day, there was an honorable and dignified woman who received two marriage proposals. One proposal was from Imam Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (may God’s blessings and peace be upon him). He was described to be the “master of the youth of paradise” by the Prophet and was known to be humble and pious. The other proposal was from Yazid ibn Muwaiya, a tyrant according to respected historians. A messenger carried the... Read more
By Mohiuddin Ahmed “When do you want to go to Bait-ul-Ilm to pray,” my wife Nausheen asked. “Bait ul Ilm?” “Heena’s mosque,” she reminded me. Her friend had given her an open invitation to visit the masjid at some point, and given the spate of recent attacks on Shi’a masjids in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, this seemed like the right time to take her up on this offer. Although our families had always emphasized to us our unity in Islam, rather... Read more
This is Day 30 of Altmuslim’s #30Days30Writers series for Ramadan 2015. By Naazish YarKhan This has been one of my most fulfilling Ramadans. We’ve honored its many nuances together, as a family, and even as an extended family. But I’ve also flitted after distractions. Chances for ibadah (worship) that I let slip, unfulfilled promises to myself. So here I find myself, on July 17th, finally celebrating Eid after a late last night hoping to snag still one more day of... Read more
This is Day 29 of Altmuslim’s #30Days30Writers series for Ramadan 2015. By Precious Rasheeda Muhammad “There is no soul but has a protector over it.” —The Holy Quran, Surat At-Tariq, 86:4 We were in our navy blue Dodge Caravan, the one my husband Carl travelled from Virginia to New Jersey to buy from a government auction, the one that reads “Secaucus Board of Education” when pollen season hits, because, hard as we try, we just can’t seem to remove the... Read more
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If We Need a Religious Leader, Let Him/Her Be Like Pope Francis
By Farouk Peru I grew in a culture of reverence: Reverence for one’s elders, teachers, leaders and also religious leaders. It was ingrained in me fairly early in my life, as Islam was passed down to me through a chain of pious and knowledgeable people known as the ‘ulama’ (people of knowledge). The ulama are to be respected and revered and never questioned, let alone rejected. Doing so is tantamount to rejecting the Prophet himself which threatens the authenticity of... Read more