Pakistani Harvard student Samad Khurram makes waves by refusing academic award from US Ambassador.
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koonj
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aziz
Some years ago, I proposed a draft of a declaration of principles for American muslims. I’d like to reprint them here and invite your comments. Of course, these should be generalized to all muslims residing in the West.
1. America, as the sole nation on earth where religious freedom is guaranteed to all, is the greatest Islamic country on the face of the Earth.
2. It is the duty of an American muslim to be a law-abiding citizen, to work hard and with integrity, and to be an asset to their community both inside and outside the masjid.
3. Shari’a is a divine code to live by, and trancends Man’s Law. Trying to mandate the practice of Shari’a by using Law is against Islam, as per Qur’an ayat 2:256: There is no compulsion in religion.
4. The American muslim will not allow non-muslims to define the faith. Our core concepts such as hijab and jihad shoudl be routinely embraced and deliberately used in dialouge with non-muslims. We do not accept the value judgement of any non-muslim upon our religious practices.
5. The American muslim is bound to excercize Al Aql al Insaan (the Reason of Man) in interpreting Islam. The American muslim is free to be a conservative or liberal, and owes no allegiance to any political party or leader.
If perhaps we can tweak these to our collective satisfaction, we might consider publishing them in some fashion.
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aziz
via NPR: Blending Cultures in the Melting Pot
This is how our son will be raised — with American folk songs, Muslim prayers and Indian salutations. He is all smiles and burps at this stage, absorbing it all effortlessly. But I remember a time when I thought those three traditions could only ever be at war, and the battleground was within me.
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willow
Is this America? I swear, some days I just want to pack it up and go back to Africa…
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muse
A sobering look at the neglect of immigration detainees in the US. Paging Emma Lazarus.
Yusif Osman was a U.S. legal resident from Ghana and had been living in Los Angeles for five years. After a companion carrying false ID landed him in immigration detention, Osman was facing deportation on smuggling charges, an allegation he denied. While at an immigration detention center outside San Diego, he died suddenly. His story highlights the poor care some immigrants have received in the scores of immigration facilities across the United States
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aziz
America’s population will reach 1 billion in 100 years?
Suppose muslims reach 5% by then. That would be 50 million.
