Aziz Poonawalla: September 2008 Archives

I must hasten to point out that not everyone is celebrating Eid today - many muslims are abiding by the sightings which indicate Eid is tomorrow. One of my favorite bloggers, Mr. Moo, offers his take on the opacity of Eid's timing - subtle, but brilliant. But his true genius is in the lolcats. My favorite:



Still, regardless of which day we observe Eid, the final days of Ramadan are still a time in which all muslims are in a joyous mood (even the ones still fasting :) That exuberance is infectious - for example, here's a wonderful Eid Hymn, courtesy of Nell Minow (aka Movie Mom):



Let's also note that Rosh Hashanah began yesterday at sundown, so Shanah Tovah!  I refer to this sort of thing as an Abrahamic Convergence...

Today is the first day that muslims worldwide will begin to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. Having just emerged from Ramadan, we are spiritually cleansed, disciplined, and refreshed. And eager to reacquaint ourselves with the concept of "lunch" !

It's a mark of the increasing contribution of muslim Americans to society and culture that Eid is commemorated not just by muslims ourselves, but also by our communities and government. One great example that I like to mention every year is the Eid stamp, issued in honor of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha by the US Postal Service. I wrote quite a bit about its history last year, which is really quite inspiring - the stamp was actually introduced on September 1st 2001, and given the events ten days later, was nearly canceled due to Islamophobic outcry. The stamp survived, in part because of the support of President Bush and then-House speaker Dennis Hastert, it must be noted. The White House website describes the artistic process that went into its creation:

The Eid stamp, designed by Zakariya of Arlington, Va., features the Arabic phrase "Eid mubarak" in gold calligraphy on a blue background. English text on the stamps reads "EID GREETINGS."

Employing traditional methods and instruments to create this design, Zakariya chose a script known in Arabic as "thuluth" and in Turkish as "sulus." He describes it as "the choice script for a complex composition due to its open proportions and sense of balance." He used homemade black ink, and his pens were crafted from seasoned reeds from the Near East and Japanese bamboo from Hawaii. The paper was specially prepared with a coating of starch and three coats of alum and egg-white varnish, then burnished with an agate stone and aged for more than a year.

Unfortunately the stamp was discontinued in 2002, despite the xenophobic campaign (which probably boosted sales rather than hurt them). Until last year, that is, when it was reintroduced, and the stamp is available again this year directly from the USPS Store online. Unfortunately, the stamp is only available as a $.41 denomination, so you will need $0.01 stamps as well for first-class mail. If enough people purchase the stamp every year, however, then the Postal Service may see fit to reissue the stamp in a "Forever" version. I urge everyone to buy a sheet of the Eid stamps from either the online store or your local post office branch to show our support and keep this wonderful artistic masterpiece alive.

The other great example of Eid celebration in my mind is a relatively new tradition - the lighting of the Empire State Building in green. Last year was the first year that the ESB decked out for Eid, and there are some beautiful photos online. Of course, this drove the usual suspects insane with anger, which was a bonus! :) This year, the ESB will again be lighted in "the green glow of dhimmitude" as per the following schedule:

On this occasion, for the second year, the Empire State Building will shine its world-famous tower lights in green on Tuesday, September 30 and Wednesday, October 1, 2008 for its annual celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr. The lighting for Eid is an annual event in the same tradition of the Empire State Building's yearly lightings for Christmas and Hanukah.

We deeply appreciate this recognition of the American Muslim community by one of the United States' most cherished landmarks. In celebrating together with the Muslims of New York City and the United States, the Empire State Building once again shows itself to be a powerful symbol in America's most culturally vibrant city.

(above sent via email from the American Society for Muslim Advancement aka ASMA). If anyone can find pictures from tonight or tomorrow night's lighting, please do leave a comment and I will post them here.

It is important that we muslim Americans not forget that despite the undercurrent of anger and hate that we sometimes have to traverse, as a rule we are a recognized and valuable part of our society. The examples above matter more than the actions of the diseased few. We belong here, and our Eid is everyone's Eid, muslim or non-muslim alike.

Earlier, I mentioned the Obsession DVD that was inserted in millions of newspapers around the country. That DVD paints a rigid and extreme vision of Islam, with intent to mislead rather than inform. Now, the predictable result of that hate-mongering propaganda is beginning to manifest; on Friday, a mosque in Dayton, OH was tear-gassed, with women and children inside:

Baboucarr Njie was preparing for his prayer session Friday night, Sept. 26, when he heard children in the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton coughing. Soon, Njie himself was overcome with fits of coughing and, like the rest of those in the building, headed for the doors.

"I would stay outside for a minute, then go back in, there were a lot of kids," Njie said. "My throat is still itchy, I need to get some milk."

Njie was one of several affected when a suspected chemical irritant was sprayed into the mosque at 26 Josie St., bringing Dayton police, fire and hazardous material personnel to the building at 9:48 p.m.

Someone "sprayed an irritant into the mosque," Dayton fire District Chief Vince Wiley said, noting that fire investigators believe it was a hand-held spray can.

According to fire dispatch communications, a child reported seeing two men with a white can spraying something into a window. That child was brought to the supervising firefighter at the scene.

This is the only mainstream media report on the incident so far. A diarist at DailyKos shares an email from one of the congregants, and that account is far more chilling. Some excerpts:

"She told me that the gas was sprayed into the room where the babies and children were being kept while their mothers prayed together their Ramadan prayers. Panicked mothers ran for their babies, crying for their children so they could flee from the gas that was burning their eyes and throats and lungs. She grabbed her youngest in her arms and grabbed the hand of her other daughter, moving with the others to exit the building and the irritating substance there.

"The paramedic said the young one was in shock, and gave her oxygen to help her breathe. The child couldn't stop sobbing.

"This didn't happen in some far away place -- but right here in Dayton, and to my friends. Many of the Iraqi refugees were praying together at the Mosque Friday evening. People that I know and love.

[...]

"The children come into the room, and tell me they want to leave America and return to Syria, where they had fled to from Iraq. They say they like me, ... , and other American friends -- but they are too afraid and want to leave. Should a 6 and 7 year old even have to contemplate the safety of their living situation?

"Did the anti-Muslim video circulating in the area have something to do with this incident, or is that just a bizarre coincidence? Who attacks women and children?

Anyone who tries to disclaim any link between this despicable attack and the release of 20 million copies of the Obsession DVD is either a fool or a liar. That DVD was intended to bring about precisely this kind of demonization. What is most shocking about the Obsession DVD is that it is most likely funded by the very people you would think would know all too well the wages of this kind of directed hate, scapegoating, and fear-mongering.

Incidentally, it doesn't stop here. There's a new Islamophobic film due to be released in early October, in time for Eid al Fitr: The Third Jihad. This is a "tsunami of Islamophobia" that is clearly aimed at influencing the election in November.

Related: coverage of Obsession at Talk Islam. Also, in addition to the report by Richard Silverstein I linked above, see this report by NPR on the Clarion Fund, the secretive organization behind the DVD, and this essay by Sheila Musaji that goes in-depth about the Clarion Fund's secretive backers.

UPDATE: New details have emerged in the case, including a lack of direct evidence of the irritant, and a can of pepper spray found nearby. More details in this follow-up post. 

Ramadan is a rare opportunity for the believer, in which all acts of piety are multiplied a thousand-fold. As Ramadan draws to a close, our consciences weigh more heavily with the thought of all the opportunities wasted in which we could have done just a little more devotion and engaged in just a little more prayer. Tonight, by the Fatimid calendar, is the last night of Ramadan and tomorrow is my final fast, with Eid al-Fitr on Tuesday. Others will observe Eid on Wednesday or even Thursday, but regardless of your reckoning, there's very little time left indeed. Tonight I will engage in late night prayers, from nisful layl to shafa witr, and try to redeem what little barakat remains for the taking. 

I received these astonishing photos as an email forward, so I am unaware of their origin, but they certainly look legitimate. These are allegedly a glimpse of the heavy security around the Kaaba when the doors are opened by the...

There were really only two audiences for this debate - the people who know they are voting for McCain or Obama, and the people who haven't decided yet. The former are essentially totally unmovable in their opinion, however much they...

This powerpoint of unknown authorship has been making the rounds of Wall Street brokers, so Barry Ritholz embedded it online in Google Docs for all to share (click it to begin slide show): One thing worth noting, and emphasized in...

Allah is He Who ... has subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law)! Each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. -- (Qur'an 13:2 - Yusufali)I am reminded of this ayat by yesterday's Astronomy Photo of the...

The movie Obsession is a polemic for the modern age, the digital equivalent of a Jack Chick tract, only directed at muslims rather than Catholics. The movie is somewhat ironically named, because if anything it reflects the obsession that the...

[Yusufali 97:1] We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power:[Yusufali 97:2] And what will explain to thee what the night of power is?[Yusufali 97:3] The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.[Yusufali 97:4] Therein come...

Steven Waldman makes an interesting point, quoting a hadith of the Prophet SAW, "Do not buy fish in the sea, for it is gharar ."and suggests that this could be applied to financial transactions like sub-prime mortgages. That's a great...

There are sometimes treasures to be found at Flickr. Look at this set of vintage photos from Ceylon from before the turn of the (previous) century. Modern Sri Lankans are casual, friendly, outgoing, and quick to smile, but these photos...

A can of worms, indeed: ISLAMIC law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases. The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from...

If you think about it, the question of time and date is central to the daily religious routine of a muslim. We need to know when to pray five times a day, we need to know what time to start...

One of the oldest voices in the Islamsphere, Umm Zaid, has penned a courageous screed excoriating her fellow muslims to take a stand and do something (paraphrasing Todd Beamer, hero of Flight 93) about extremism and terrorism. I will not...

The lighter side of Ramadan in the Arab world - soap operas: Ramadan translates into big bucks for Arab satellite channels. Millions of dollars are spent on special programming, much of it comparable to Western soap operas, to entertain the...

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the Gulf Coast region - especially my family there and all the friends I accumulated over the 9 years I spent living there before moving to Wisconsin in June 2007. It...

My Beliefnet colleague Rod Dreher watched the Sarah Palin interview with Charlie Gibson and came away a bit less than impressed. He described her performance as "scripted and overprepared" which doesn't bode well for assuring the independent vote that McCain...

It's a shame that for many muslims, the anniversary of 9/11 is an occasion to retreat into a defensive posture, rather than stand proudly alongside our fellow Americans with head unbowed to the threat that faces us all. One of...

Yesterday, iconic muslim-American leader Warith Deen Mohammed passed away. I want to reflect a bit on the significance of this man's achievement and note what a landmark his life's work was on the landscape of American Islam. But to understand...

Further to the issue of the french trial delay in Ramadan that I mentioned earlier, comes some commentary on the matter by FaithWorld that is worth reading. After pointing out that similar "accomodations" are made for defendants of other faiths...

The leader of the Nation of Islam, credited with leading it towards mainstream Islamic practice, has passed away.From his bio page at The Atlanta Jamaat: Imam W. Deen Mohammed was born October 30, 1933, to the builder and leader of...

Although I think he's mistaken in his assessment of the Tower Hamlets Council controversy, I fully agree and appreciate the insight into how a Burkean should approach Ramadan:As mentioned previously on Burke's Corner, I am disturbed by both the secularists...

A batch of polls over the weekend  show that McCain gained serious ground after the RNC convention and Palin's speech/martyrdom:USAToday / Gallup 9/5-7/08McCain 54, Obama 44) (8/23: Obama 48, McCain 45)Zogby Interactive 9/5-6/08 McCain 50, Obama 46 (8/30: McCain 47,...

I linked this earlier, but it's worth highlighting again - this article at Islam Online about the French hijab ban is a fantastic retrospective and absolutely required reading on the topic. ...

Ramadan is like a magic word. You need only to utter it and suddenly people become insane:The trial of seven men for armed robbery was due to start on 16 September in Rennes. But last week the court agreed to...

In the 2000 election, John McCain was a very different politician. He was truly a maverick, unafraid to confront the radical elements within his own party, and he paid the price. He lambasted the social conservatives' hold over the GOP...

As a follow-up to my earlier disagreement with Rabbi Hirschfield, it's worth looking at what other muslim bloggers in the Islamsphere have to say about the New York Times article about the Hezbollah death shrine in southern Lebanon:Angry Arab As'ad:...

When John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate, I googled her and found her to be a very interesting mold of Republican, who took on her own party in Alaska and fought against the entrenched corruption in...

Alt Muslim has an exclusive interview with author Sherry Jones, of Jewel of Medina fame. It is interesting to note that unlike the Danish cartoonists, it seems that Jones' motivation in writing her book was to approach Islam from a...

Fasting is the iconic act of piety in Ramadan, but for me the dominant association is actually the Qur'an. The fast is more of a background, passive act of faith. But reading the Qur'an, immersing yourself in its rhythm and...

Wired Magazine has a short feature on The Musalman, the last hand-written newspaper in the world: The Musalman is possibly the last handwritten newspaper in the world. Four professional calligraphers spend three hours on each page every single day to...

Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, one of my Beliefnet neighbors, issues a call to muslims and especially Shi'a muslims to denounce the shrine to Hezbollah leader Imag Mugniyah in southern Lebanon:The children crowd forward around the glass case, eager for a glimpse...

I linked this yesterday but it's so awesome I just have to mention it again - hilarious Ramadan e-cards:There's more, but that one's my favorite. (via TalkIslam)...

Ramadan mubarak to everyone! (and I do mean, everyone)A roundup of Ramadan reactions from around the Islamsphere (aka the Brass Crescent):Mr. Moo observes that preparing for Ramadan usually involves DATCWDWTDWWAFSWDRAS (no, I'm not spoiling that one for you. Go look...