Wednesday, December 21, 2011

New Ron Paul Ad: Staying on the Right Path

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aB4QUmg1dI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The Dark Knight Rises Official Movie Trailer Christian Bale, Batman Movie (2012) HD

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GokKUqLcvD8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Is the GOP Establishment Scared of Ron Paul?

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo1nB5-hA5k&feature=youtube_gdata_player

'Massacre' in Syrian opposition stronghold

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwslerYRjVc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Noam Chomsky - "Is Islam the Enemy?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw4mjTDx77w&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Asad: Modernity, Secularity & Islam -3/3

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z-ZLp41Vk8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Asad: Modernity, Secularity & Islam -2/3

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BxyFJiW1mE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Asad: Modernity, Secularity & Islam -1/3

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_o68-CpAWs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Rinaldo Walcott on the unfinished business of modernity

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8sX-BwoAB0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The Poor Cousins of Modernity - Rinaldo Walcott

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kcNmFgHiH8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

What is Modernity

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMxUO-6hfDU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

"The Torpedoes Are Now in the Water for Ron Paul"

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnfs5qn2Go4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Congressional Members Call for an Investigation of NYPD/CIA Efforts to spy on Muslim Communities in New York

http://capac.chu.house.gov/news/press-releases/2011/12/congressional-members-call-for-an-investigation-of-nypdcia-efforts-to-spy-on-muslim-communities-in-n.shtml

via Faiza

Abu's Bakery

http://www.abusbakery.com/

Interfaith Clergy To Present 200,000 Signatures At Lowe’s Headquarters Today Demanding An Apology For Pulling Ads

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/12/20/392855/interfaith-clergy-to-present-200000-signatures-at-lowes-headquarters-today-demanding-an-apology-for-pulling-ads/

Jury convicts Sudbury man of terror plot

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1389918&pos=breaking

via Andrew

Union Theological Seminary

http://www.utsnyc.edu/

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

James Cone's new book: The Cross and the Lynching Tree

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570759375/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ebanew-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1570759375

Publication Date: September 1, 2011
They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. Acts 10:39
The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk. Both the cross and the lynching tree represent the worst in human beings and at the same time a thirst for life that refuses to let the worst determine our final meaning. While the lynching tree symbolized white power and black death, the cross symbolizes divine power and black life God overcoming the power of sin and death. For African Americans, the image of Jesus, hung on a tree to die, powerfully grounded their faith that God was with them, even in the suffering of the lynching era.
In a work that spans social history, theology, and cultural studies, Cone explores the message of the spirituals and the power of the blues; the passion and of Emmet Till and the engaged vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.; he invokes the spirits of Billie Holliday and Langston Hughes, Fannie Lou Hamer and Ida B. Well, and the witness of black artists, writers, preachers, and fighters for justice. And he remembers the victims, especially the 5,000 who perished during the lynching period. Through their witness he contemplates the greatest challenge of any Christian theology to explain how life can be made meaningful in the face of death and injustice.
It is featured as one of Huffington Post's Top 11 Religious Books of the Year!

Mass. man convicted of conspiring to help al-Qaida


Andrew March, a Yale University professor who testified for the defense as an expert witness, said the verdict sends the message to Muslim Americans that they do not have free speech.
"I do what he did almost every single day at Yale University. I teach Islamic law, I study Islamic law. I translate things about al-Qaida. I teach people to debate," March said. "Because I'm not a Muslim and because of what my name is, I have no problem doing it. But if my name were Tarek Mehanna, I would have everything being tapped, and that should worry every single one of us."
via Professor Fadel

NYT: Mass March by Cairo Women in Protest Over Abuse by Soldiers

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/world/middleeast/violence-enters-5th-day-as-egyptian-general-blames-protesters.html

Muslim comedians fighting prejudice, armed with punchlines

http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/15/9476388-muslim-comedians-fighting-prejudice-armed-with-punchlines

via Naqeeb

Salvation Controversy: Islam, the Afterlife, and the Fate of Others


via Sidi Faraz Khan
A thought-provoking conversation on Islamic theology with Dr. Mohammad Khalil Hasan, author and professor of Islamic Studies at Michigan State University. The topic of discussion is The Salvation Controversy: Islam, the Afterlife, and the Fate of Others.
This has not only been a hotly debated topic throughout Islamic history, but it has taken on a new and fresh interest in an increasingly multi-faith in which the "other" are now our friends and neighbors. This public lecture is part of our Islam in Conversation Series.

The Hobbit Official Trailer #1 - Lord of the Rings Movie (2012) HD



Slightly out of place on this 'blog' maybe, but I'm a big LOTR fan!

http://youtu.be/JTSoD4BBCJc

Zaytuna College 2011, Student and Faculty Reflections

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLvXGBVoVgs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Ron Paul: I'm the ANTI-Racist

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMQmInReYlI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Church group steps in to save Muslim food pantries

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news%2Flocal%2Fnew_york&id=8473849

Program for this year's RIS Knowledge Retreat mA

http://www.revivingtheislamicspirit.com/convention/landing_page/kr/program.html

Secrecy defines Obama’s drone war - The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/secrecy-defines-obamas-drone-war/2011/10/28/gIQAPKNR5O_print.html

Via Human Rights Watch

Gingrich's popularity fading in US polls - Americas - Al Jazeera English

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2011/12/201112201503632526.html?utm_content=automateplus&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=SocialFlow&utm_term=tweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount

Monday, December 19, 2011

The Contradictions of Obama's Outreach to American Muslims - The Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/sahar-aziz/obama-american-muslim-outreach_b_1152359.html

Via Ayman

Aisha Khan: $10k reward for missing college student after 'drunk man assaulted her' | Mail Online

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2076136/Aisha-Khan--10k-reward-missing-college-student-drunk-man-assaulted-her.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

What is the truth about Islam and Muslims in America? (Everything you always wanted to know – but were afraid to ask)

The Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum, Unity Productions Foundation, Wesley Theological Seminary, the Institute for Faith and Politics and the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding invite you to a timely and provocative discussion:
What is the truth about Islam and Muslims in America?
(Everything you always wanted to know – but were afraid to ask)
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
7:30 p.m.
Annenberg Theater
Newseum
555 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C.
In recent months, anti-mosque protests, anti-Sharia legislation and related controversies have left many Americans confused about Islam and Muslims in America. Join a panel of experts for a civil dialogue that separates fact from fiction in the current debates about Islam in the U.S. Bring your questions — and learn about resources for addressing these important issues in your own community.
WELCOME
Alex Kronemer, Unity Productions Foundation
PANEL
Haroon Mogul, Columbia University, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding
Rabbi Marc Schneier, Foundation for Ethnic Understanding
Melissa Rogers, Center for Religion and Public Affairs, Wake Forest University
Asma Uddin, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding
MODERATOR
Charles C. Haynes, Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum
Admission is free, but registration is required. To RSVP or for information,
contact Ashlie Hampton at ahampton@freedomforum.org or 202/292-6288.
http://www.freedomforum.org/e-vite/muslimsinamerica/e-vite.html

via Khuram Zaman

Civil Rights Commissioner: Lowe’s Pulling Ads From ‘All-American Muslim’ Is ‘At Best Cowardly’

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/civil_rights_commissioner_says_lowes_pulling_ads_from_all-american_muslim_is_at_best_cowardly.php

via Faiza

Chris Hedges on Christopher Hitchens (6 minutes audio)

http://www.cbc.ca/day6/2011/12/16/chris-hedges-on-christopher-hitchens/

via http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/hedges_on_hitchens_201112161/

The New Yorker: The Attack on "All-American Muslim" (Dec. 14, 2011)

This same notion was presented another way when Anderson Cooper invited two couples from “All-American Muslim” on his show—Nawal and Nader and Shadia and Jeff—and also, in his studio audience, a woman named Melanie who had been petitioning to get the show cancelled. Cooper asked her if she thought it were possible to be “a good Muslim and a good American.” She answered, “I really don’t.”
Cooper: So you’re saying that the millions of Muslims who are living here are not good Americans—you’re saying that the people on this stage are not good Americans.
Melanie: What I’m saying is that you’re either one or the other.
Cooper: You’re saying that you’re one or the other.
Melanie: I’m not saying that they can’t be Americans. But then I’m also—what I’m saying is that they’re not true Muslims. So, I mean, I would ask the question to them: Are you living by the Koran, are you living by the prophet Mohammed, are you doing what you’re commanded to do?

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2011/12/the-attack-on-all-american-muslim.html#ixzz1h02t1ULk

Just Two Degrees of Separation: On Newt Gingrich & Arms Deal

http://www.aaiusa.org/blog/entry/just-two-degrees-of-separation/

via Wajahat

Saudi Prince Invests $300 Million in Twitter - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/12/19/business/AP-ML-Saudi-Alwaleed-Twitter.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto

Tikkun Award - Sheikh Hamza Yusuf - March 2011

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0IMzz7p6Mk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Riz Khan - Hamza Yusuf - 13 Jun 07

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve0Sgm0PFyk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

RIS US 2010 Quran Recitation by Qari Amar Bellaha



http://youtu.be/1wzreiPfal4

Sylvia Chan-Malik: "Common Cause": On the Black-Immigrant Debate and Constructing the Muslim American

http://ucsc.academia.edu/SylviaChanMalik/Papers/639681/_Common_Cause_On_the_Black-Immigrant_Debate_and_Constructing_the_Muslim_American

via Dustin :)

Ron Paul on CBS Face The Nation 11/20/11



http://youtu.be/QRvoWSdr-Ds

Hollywood Reporter: 'All-American Muslim': When Handshakes Cross the Line (Exclusive Video)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tlc-all-american-muslim-preview-274751

Sylvia Chan-Malik

http://ucsc.academia.edu/SylviaChanMalik

Also see: http://americanstudies.ucsc.edu/news-events/profiles/malik.html

Critical Muslim Studies: Decolonial Struggles, Theology of Liberation and Islamic Revival A Summer School in Granada, Spain June 4 - June 16, 2012

with Sherman Jackson, Hatem Bazian, Hamid Algar, Ramon Grosfoguel, Tariq Ramadan and many others!

http://www.dialogoglobal.com/granada/people.php

EDWARD E. CURTIS IV CV

http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/religious_studies/uploads/docs/CV-Edward-2011.pdf

Edward E. Curtis IV is Millennium Chair of the Liberal Arts and professor of religious
studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). He is author or
editor of six books on Muslim American and African American history, including
Muslims in America: A Short History, which was named one of the top 100 books of
2009 by Publishers Weekly. A former NEH Fellow at the National Humanities Center, he
has been awarded Carnegie, Fulbright, and Mellon fellowships. Most recently, Professor
Curtis has completed work as general editor of the two-volume Encyclopedia of MuslimAmerican History. He is currently at work on a monograph about Islam in the global
African diaspora.

Islamic Bioethics and Shari'ah Law: The Role of Traditional Scholarship in Modern Times The 11th Annual CIR Conference at Yale

http://www.yale.edu/cir/

Sunday, December 18, 2011

USA Today: TLC show brings Muslims in America out in the open

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-12-18/muslims-america-series/52057894/1

The Arab Americans: A History by Gregory Orfalea


From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Thrust into the national spotlight on 9/11, Arab-Americans have since been vilified and defended by fellow citizens still trying to make sense of the catastrophe—yet the community itself remains one of America's least understood. Indeed, as Orfalea (Grape Leaves: A Century of Arab-American Poetry) explains, the U.S. Census Bureau doesn't even recognize the community's roughly three million members as an ethnic group. This volume, a substantial update of Orfalea's 1988 Before the Flames, traces the century-long arc of Arab immigration, illuminating assimilation and ethnic politics with a loving yet candid eye as the narrative shifts between observations historical, personal and statistical. It comes as something of a surprise to learn, for instance, that only 23% of the community is Muslim. Beautifully written, the book is a much-needed entry in an all but empty field, and is blessedly free of both jargon and jingoism. By grounding the narrative with accounts of his own trips to Lebanon and Syria, Orfalea provides additional depth. If his volume has a flaw, it is its occasional indulgence in long strings of personal interviews; clearly, Orfalea wanted to honor as many as he could. Unavoidably, history morphs into current events as post-9/11 reality comes to frame the community. Since that date, says one Syrian-born interviewee, "we don't feel we're in America anymore." In a nation of immigrants, such observations strike very close to the bone. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Gregory Orfalea is the author of Messengers of the Lost Battalion: The Heroic 551st and the Turning of the Tide at the Battle of the Bulge. He is also director of the Center for Writing at Pitzer College, where he teaches creative nonfiction and the short story.
Paperback: 512 pages
Publisher: Olive Branch Pr (December 30, 2005)

‎Zaytuna College General Catalog pdf

http://www.zaytunacollege.org/downloads/forms/Web_Catalog_2011.pdf

Race and Arab Americans Before and After 9/11: From Invisible Citizens to Visible Subjects (Arab American Writing)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0815631774/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ebanew-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0815631774

Zaytuna College

http://www.zaytunacollege.org/

All-American Muslim: A Senseless Act of Violence



http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/all-american-muslim

Cast members from "All-American Muslim" on the Lowe's controversy, and t...



http://youtu.be/HmBq-IEw6Hg

NYTimes: Kayak Defends Cutting Ties to ‘All-American Muslim’

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/kayak-defends-cutting-ties-to-all-american-muslim/

All-American Muslim: Kayak Executive Robert Birge Issues World’s Worst “Apology” Ever

http://www.loonwatch.com/2011/12/all-american-muslim-kayak-executive-robert-birge-issues-worlds-worst-apology-ever/

"All-American Muslim" Controversy Prompts Brooklyn Lowe's Protest

http://www.ny1.com/content/152745/-all-american-muslim--controversy-prompts-brooklyn-lowe-s-protest/ via Faiza

Bio of Dr. Yamina Mermer (Dr. Ali Mermer's wife ma sha Allah)

http://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/muslimwomen/bio/yamina_mermer/

Protest after Lowes Pulls Ads from "All American Muslim" Demonstrators gather in Allen Park

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/latest_video/lowes-protest-draws-crowd-in-allen-park-20111217-rsrm

Boycotting reality: All American Muslim under attack

A new reality TV show aiming to counter negative stereotypes of Muslim Americans in the US has sparked major debate after at least two companies pulled their advertisements from the series following pressure from a conservative evangelical group for a boycott.
All American Muslim focuses on the everyday lives of five American Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan, a city with the largest Arab population in the US. The show's creators, cable TV network TLC, say the show aims to foster better relations with a community that many feel is misrepresented by mainstream US media. But voices from the right say it is a ploy to carry out a stealth holy war.
In this week's feature, Listening Post's Marcela Pizarro looks at what an American Muslim reality TV show has revealed about US media in a post-9/11 era.
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/listeningpost/2011/12/201112177561131120.html via Wajahat

Tariq Ramadan: Alliance of Civilizations?

http://www.tariqramadan.com/Alliance-of-Civilizations,11817.html

Eboo Patel: Becoming all-American Muslims

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/becoming-all-american-muslims/2011/12/14/gIQAYZV8tO_blog.html

Sheila Musaji: An appeal to the American Arab and Muslim Communities

http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/an-appeal/0018908 via islamicate

The True Threat Brewing Inside American-Muslim Communities: Women

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/red-room/all-american-muslim-women_b_1146357.html via islamicate

Marc Manley: The Heart – A Khutbah at the University of Pennsylvania

http://marcmanley.tumblr.com/post/14343461840/the-heart-a-khutbah-at-the-university-of-pennsylvania

Christian, Muslim leaders protest in solidarity at Lowe's in Allen Park

http://www.detnews.com/article/20111217/METRO/112170373/Christian-Muslim-leaders-protest-solidarity-Lowe-s-Allen-Park?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Haroon Moghul on Christopher Hitchens

http://avari.typepad.com/avari/2011/12/what-should-a-muslim-make-of-christopher-hitchens.html

Al Ghazali: 900 Years Later and Still Relevant

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/farah-jassat/al-ghazali-900-years-later_b_1154429.html

Also see these quotes from Ghazali's Deliverance from Error:


http://ebaadenews.blogspot.com/2009/04/deliverance-from-error-by-imam-al.html

http://ebaadenews.blogspot.com/2009/05/imam-al-ghazali-on-sincerity-and.html

http://ebaadenews.blogspot.com/2009/04/do-not-know-truth-by-men-but-rather.html

The Lowe's Controversy and the Success of Religious Pluralists

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-tutt/lowes-and-the-success-of-interfaith-dialogue_b_1156377.html

via Maheen

Islamic Networks Group (ING)

http://ing.org/

Mos Def / Yasiin Bey - Salaams (Exclusive Performance)



via Aaron Sellars via Naqeeb Memon

http://youtu.be/0mW8UyD-dNU

'All American Muslim' Celebrates All American Values

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jack-bemporad/all-american-muslim-celeb_b_1155494.html

Lowe's and America's dark age of Islamophobia

Recently, TLC began running an innocuous reality show called All-American Muslim. It documents the lives of five Muslim families in a Detroit suburb that boasts the highest concentration of Arabs and Muslims in America. The 99 percent of Americans who don't share their faith are invited to explore the possibility that these very misunderstood Americans don't have horns or drink the blood of infant Christians and Jews.
It didn't take long for a conservative group calling itself the Florida Family Association to complain that the TLC series is "propaganda that riskily [sic] hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values."
Of course, there's nothing on the show to indicate a subversive religious agenda, other than its blatant attempt to portray Muslims as humans.
Lowe's Home Improvement couldn't be bothered with such nuances. It pulled its ads from the show and issued the wimpiest justification of corporate cowardice ever: "Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lightning rod for many of those views."
Ted Lieu, a state senator in California, called Lowe's capitulation to intolerance "un-American" and is considering calling for a boycott of the retailer. Lowe's isn't worried about a boycott from America's Muslims, who number fewer than two million, but a sympathy boycott by fair-minded Americans of all faiths and political persuasions would be a nightmare for the company.
http://articles.philly.com/2011-12-16/news/30524943_1_islamophobia-liberties-and-traditional-values-muslim-brethren

Boycott Lowe's! Protests Spread Nationwide (DETAILS)

http://globalgrind.com/news/boycott-lowes-join-movement-details

SuhaibWebb.com - The Coalition to End Islamophobia

http://www.suhaibwebb.com/islam-studies/the-campaign-to-end-islamophobia/

Rami Nashashibi: Executive Director of IMAN (Inner-City Muslim Action Network)

Rami has served as the Executive Director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) since its incorporation as a nonprofit in January 1997. He has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Chicago and has been an adjunct professor at various colleges and universities across the Chicagoland area, where he has taught a range of Sociology, Anthropology, and other Social Science courses. He has worked with several leading scholars in the area of globalization, African American studies and urban sociology and has contributed chapters to edited volumes by Manning Marabel and Saskia Sassen.
Rami has lectured across the United States and Europe on a range of topics related to American Muslim identity, community activism and social justice issues and is a recipient of several prestigious community service and organizing honors including the Norman R. Bobins Fellowship presented at the most recent Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards. Rami and his work with IMAN have been featured in many national and international media outlets including the BBC, PBS and a front page story in the Chicago Tribune. In 2007 Islamica Magazine profiled Rami as being among the “10 Young Muslim Visionaries Shaping Islam in America” and most recently Chicago Public Radio has selected Rami Nashashibi as one of the city’s Top Ten Chicago Global Visionaries. Rami was named one of the “500 Most Influential Muslims in the World” by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in concert with Georgetown’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He was also invited by the governor of Illinois to serve on the Commission for the Elimination of Poverty.
Rami lives with his wife and two daughters on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
http://www.imancentral.org/about/staff/

Allah Allah Ya Hu Qaseedah sung by Usama Canon in front ofHabib Umar

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOf0l9GqsCo&feature=youtube_gdata_player