Wednesday, March 24, 2010

thought of the day

From Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki:
.. I for one was born in the U.S., I lived in the U.S. for 21 years. America was my home. I was a preacher of Islam involved in non-violent Islamic activism. However, with the American invasion of Iraq and continued U.S. aggression against Muslims I could not reconcile between living in the U.S. and being a Muslim.

And I eventually came to the conclusion that Jihad against America is binding upon myself just as it is binding on every other able Muslim. Nidal Hasan was not recruited by Al-Qaeda. Nidal Hasan was recruited by American crimes and this is what America refuses to admit. America refuses to admit that its foreign policies are the reason behind the man like Nidal Hasan -- born and raised in the U.S. turning his guns against American soldiers. And the more crimes America commits the more mujahedeen will be recruited to fight against it. The operation of our brother Umar Farouk was in retaliation to American cruise missiles and cluster bombs that killed the women and children in Yemen.

... But imperial hubris is leading America to its fate -- a war of attrition, a continuous hemorrhage that will end with the fall and splintering of the United States of America.
[longer excerpt]

Lest anyone think I support all the above, let me start off by saying that I do not believe that terrorism is justified in any form. But, that said, I think that Al-Awlaki has put his finger on a critical issue: What is the relation between one's loyalty to the ummah and one's loyalty to the secular nation? Is the US currently engaged in a targeted struggle against Al-Qaedah or a broader post-Huntington civilizational conflict against the Muslim world and Islamic revival? And what is the consequence if the latter is true? It is definitely hard to be a Muslim in America these days. And a big part of the challenge lies in finding appropriate ways as Americans to make sure that our country acts morally in the community of nations.

And this challenge isn't just a Muslim issue either. It is fairly clear that the Bush doctrine and the conflict in Iraq is inconsistent with the Catholic teaching on Just War. So you don't need the Quran in order to argue that the U.S. is sometimes an unjust aggressor, you can just go back to Augustine.

more later...

post 9/11 interview with anwar al-awlaki
all terrorists are muslims... except the 94% that aren't

"they plan and allah plans..."
willie lynch: the next chapter

Friday, March 19, 2010

journey to the end of islam

Journey to the End of Islam
I just finished Michael Muhammad Knight's Journey to the End of Islam. It was an interesting read. Like his earlier book, Blue-eyed Devil, it was a travelogue, this time on a global scale, and culminating in his journey to Mecca and Medina for ummrah and hajj.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

"my pride is racist people say, but no one minds st. patrick's day"



I've blogged on this song before but the link has since died. The song is "Split Personality" by the alternative hip-hop group Basehead. The jam is topical because of the St. Patrick's Day line but when I listen to the lyrics as a whole they definitely have a pre-Obama feel. I don't mean we are in a "post-racial era", that's a myth... but if a brother can be president then dealing with double-consciousness is more a balance beam than a tightrope.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

check both! / ¡chequea las dos!

CAMPAIGN TO INCREASE THE AFRO-LATIN@ COUNT ON THE 2010 CENSUS

(New York, NY) In an effort to achieve an accurate count of Afro-Latinos in the United States Census, the nonprofit afrolatin@ forum has produced a series of public service announcements that call on Latinos of African descent to identify as both Hispanic and Black on the 2010 form. By proclaiming “Check Both!/¡Chequea las dos!” the bilingual spots highlight the importance for Latin@s of African descent to self-identify as such on the Census.

The count has far-reaching implications, determining how $400 billion in federal funds are distributed to local governments each year. Over 10 years, a community could lose a projected $1.2 million of federal funding for housing, health and education programs for every 100 persons that are not counted, according to the NAACP. Studies have established that despite a higher educational level, Black Latin@s are more likely to live below the poverty level than other Latin@s and have the highest unemployment rate.

Afro-Latin@s and Census 2010
Yo Soy
Y Tu Abuela
Facts