Turtle Island is a Native American term for North America and Turtle Island Muslims is a website dedicated to the thoughts and experiences and Native American Muslims. Two pieces which I would recommend are Goodness Outside of Muslim Cultures? by Umm Zaid and Burying 'Digging for the Red Roots'. Both really challenge Muslims to deepen our understanding of Native cultures and their relationship to the Muslim community. In order for Muslim dawa-workers to avoid the mistakes of Christian missionaries, it is essential to think about the issues raised here.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
moors gate - bab el magharbeh
Moors Gate is a remarkably well-done Moorish Science website. "New Age-y" at times, but nevertheless with interesting articles.
Grenada's past:
moors, snakes and st. patrick
Grenada's past:
moors, snakes and st. patrick
two latino ex-muslims
I would disagree with several of the comments made by GustavoMustafa (an Iranian-Afghan/Mexican ex-Muslim) over at ProgressiveIslam.org in his very brief post Latino Islam Esquina: Recognizing the Feminine in Divinity but I think he has some interesting things to say about cultural difference.
From Islam to Unitarian Universalism by Hafidha Acuay made me a little sad. Acuay was raised as an Afro-Latina Muslim but eventually made her way to U-U. I hope that Muslims are able to read her story as a cautionary tale about some of the failings and inconsistencies of the Muslim community and what some of the consequences are.
related Grenada links:
living islam out loud
return to guadalupe
different trajectories: quraysh ali lansana
From Islam to Unitarian Universalism by Hafidha Acuay made me a little sad. Acuay was raised as an Afro-Latina Muslim but eventually made her way to U-U. I hope that Muslims are able to read her story as a cautionary tale about some of the failings and inconsistencies of the Muslim community and what some of the consequences are.
related Grenada links:
living islam out loud
return to guadalupe
different trajectories: quraysh ali lansana
Thursday, June 28, 2007
another u.s. is necessary
So if you are going to be anywhere near Atlanta, Georgia between June 27 and July 1 the place to be is the U.S. Social Forum. This thing is going to be big. Just check out the list of workshops. I wish I was going.
See also: another world is still possible
See also: another world is still possible
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
architecture is not justice
They have monuments to liberty
And freedom of opinion, which is well and good.
But I explained to them that
Architecture is not justice.
An excerpt from Sami al Hajj's poem, Humiliated In The Shackles
publish or perish: guantanamo
I just found out about this story by reading the post Why Close Reading Matters I: Guantanamo Bay Poetry over at the Constructivist's blog. Basically, in spite of considerable hurdles and difficulties, a certain amount of poetry written by Guantanamo prisoners has been able to escape (even if the poets have not) and has been collected in a volume to be published in August by the University of Iowa Press. The story is also covered over at Common Dreams in: Inmates’ Words: The Poems of Guantanamo What is probably the most provocative and disturbing aspect of this story is the fact that some of the Guantanamo poems aren't being published due to U.S. national security concerns!
See also:
cagedprisoners.com (on Guantanamo)
nommo (politics and Muslim poets)
a rising voice: afro-latin americans
The Miami Herald recently published a five-part series on the situation of Afro-Latinos in various countries (including Nicaragua, Honduras, and Colombia as well as the more typical Brazil, Dominican Republic and Cuba). The series is really good. I was half-tempted to just cut- and- paste the entire thing into here. The pieces paint a much more complex picture than I would have expected in this type of story. In the past, many such articles would stop short at pointing out Africanisms in the local culture and repeating myths of racial democracy. More recently I've seen (and linked to) stories which acknowledge something of the racism in Latin America in a general and abstract way. But the series A Rising Voice: Afro-Latin Americans manages to cover a lot of ground with a surprising amount of richness and depth. I definitely recommend.
Monday, June 25, 2007
"i am both a muslim and christian"
A recent story in the Seattle Times deals with the Rev. Ann Holmes Redding who has been an Episcopal priest for over 20 years and Muslim for the past 15 months... simultaneously. The piece, "I am both Muslim and Christian" reminds me of the pastor of the Presbyterian church near my house who, in a conversation we had a few years ago, not only questioned the divinity of Christ, but blamed the dogma of Christ's divinity for distracting Christians from striving for social justice here on Earth. During the same conversation he also explained how he didn't believe in the inerrancy of the Bible and he expressed a great deal of heartfelt sympathy for a local Muslim activist who was deported in the wake of 9/11.
To be honest, as someone who came to Islam from an evangelical Christian background, I continue to be surprised by the extent to which many self-identified Christians seem to reject what I was raised to think of as basic and fundamental doctrines of Christianity. So I'm more shocked by the fact that Redding would call herself Christian than the fact that she calls herself Muslim. For a long time I've realized that the most liberal ends of the Christian spectrum are tolerant enough to include someone who embraces the shahada. But the amazing thing is how the parameters of Christian orthodoxy seem to have gotten so fuzzy.
But questions of orthodoxy aside, I should say that I respect Rev. Redding's intentions and in the current political climate I definitely appreciate that someone like her is making serious efforts towards peacemaking between Christians and Muslims.
past posts:
robert karimi
islam and christianity blending in africa
To be honest, as someone who came to Islam from an evangelical Christian background, I continue to be surprised by the extent to which many self-identified Christians seem to reject what I was raised to think of as basic and fundamental doctrines of Christianity. So I'm more shocked by the fact that Redding would call herself Christian than the fact that she calls herself Muslim. For a long time I've realized that the most liberal ends of the Christian spectrum are tolerant enough to include someone who embraces the shahada. But the amazing thing is how the parameters of Christian orthodoxy seem to have gotten so fuzzy.
But questions of orthodoxy aside, I should say that I respect Rev. Redding's intentions and in the current political climate I definitely appreciate that someone like her is making serious efforts towards peacemaking between Christians and Muslims.
past posts:
robert karimi
islam and christianity blending in africa
Thursday, June 21, 2007
submachine games
I think I will take a momentary break from being serious and will mention some games I've found online. The Submachine series is a collection of trippy, eerie, poetic, odd, surreal, mysterious, intriguing, puzzle-solving point-and-click adventures. You literally only need to use your mouse to interface with the game. I started with Submachine 1 which is relatively short and gives you a flavor of what the logic of the games is like. Submachine 2, 3 and 4 are much "bigger" games with more rooms to search through and more complex puzzles. (Although 3 stands out as having very little narrative. Basically you can move freely through a mostly monotonous "dungeon" and solve a sequence of logical/mathematical puzzles) Submachine 0 is the smallest of the bunch. I would say FLF is more "impressionistic" and less logical. It is bigger than 0 or 1, but not as difficult as 2-4. I would recommend playing the games more or less in the order given, both because of the increasing difficulty and also in order to appreciate the unfolding story.
Submachine 0: Ancient Adventure
Submachine 1
Submachine 2: The Lighthouse
Submachine 3: The Loop
Submachine 4: The Lab
Submachine FLF (Future Loop Foundation)
More "Grenada-esque" games:
darfur is dying
el emigrante
where is the beef?
bunny vs. world
Submachine 0: Ancient Adventure
Submachine 1
Submachine 2: The Lighthouse
Submachine 3: The Loop
Submachine 4: The Lab
Submachine FLF (Future Loop Foundation)
More "Grenada-esque" games:
darfur is dying
el emigrante
where is the beef?
bunny vs. world
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
paris is america
An interesting nugget from IOZ by way of The Left End of the Dial 2.0:
Paris Hilton is America. Stupid, heedless, rich but not as rich as she beleieves, unhealthier than she likes to admit, casually destructive, immune to remorse, desirous of consequences for those who cross her but unable to contemplate that she should have to face any herself, acquisative, profligate, manipulative, needy, juvenile, boorish, proud, self-righteous, self-pitying, self-absorbed, and self-destructive. Her brief respite from the first real punishment of her life is the pause at the peak of the wave before the ship's keel falls sickeningly toward the trough. She's not a movie, she's a mirror.
dhoruba bin wahad: four points
In an earlier post, I already excerpted from Dhoruba Bin Wahad's "Fatwa on Pan-Arab racism" but I also wanted to highlight and invite comments on Dhoruba Bin Wahad's call for specific actions from the Black/Muslim communities:
Africans are of diverse faiths, varying degrees of spirituality. But for all Muslims there are requirements of faith that exhort them to resist tumult and oppression. To enjoin the good and forbid the wrong is a social and political obligation. Muslims are urged to defend the weak against the tyrant, and oppressors – not participate in rape and oppression. And for fulfilling these obligations we will be attacked, murdered, imprisoned, hunted, and martyred. Muslims have a command from Allah, the Most High, to lead in the struggle for righteousness – not wallow in the wake of unrighteous calamity.
Africans are of diverse faiths, varying degrees of spirituality. But for all Muslims there are requirements of faith that exhort them to resist tumult and oppression. To enjoin the good and forbid the wrong is a social and political obligation. Muslims are urged to defend the weak against the tyrant, and oppressors – not participate in rape and oppression. And for fulfilling these obligations we will be attacked, murdered, imprisoned, hunted, and martyred. Muslims have a command from Allah, the Most High, to lead in the struggle for righteousness – not wallow in the wake of unrighteous calamity.
* I am asking for Imam’s and Muslim activists of African ancestry to deliver Fatwas on the issues mention herein. To mobilize the Muslim community to act in opposition to Pan-Arab racism towards Black people.
* I am urging Imam’s in the Diaspora of African ancestry to organize a Majlis to guide the conduct of Pan-African Affairs on behalf of the Ummah, and to deliver a Fatwa on Darfur and Pan-Arab racism in general.
* I am urging activists of African ancestry, both Muslim and non-Muslim to support a campaign to pressure the AU to act forthrightly with the Darfur genocide and to resist U.S. backed (UN) initiatives to deploy UN troops in Somalia in support of an unpopular transitional government.
* I am Asking Muslims in the African Diaspora to establish foundation and convene a forum on the African continent to lay out a strategic vision of the role of Islam in Pan-African unification of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Monday, June 18, 2007
my bonnie lies over the ocean
So it turns out that "the one who got away" will be back in the US for a bit. Actually, her job is not terribly far away from where I might be for the forseeable future (at least the same side of the country). I wonder if we'll have a chance to catch up.
how to recover from the addiction to white supremacy
The original "12 steps" were developed by the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous as a method to address alcoholism, but in time the steps were adapted to deal with other forms of addiction or substance abuse. Some authors have even suggested that the 12-step program can be generalized and followed, even by "non-addicts", as a path to greater wholeness, peace and a more spiritual life. (There are definitely some similarities which could be drawn between some of the 12-steps and certain elements of the sufi path).
More recently, Marvin X, a Muslim activist and writer who has been featured frequently on Planet Grenada (and is also on my blog roll) has adapted the 12 step approach to deal with a different sort of problem in: How To Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy: A Pan African 12 Step Model which, without ignoring or dismissing the economic and political aspects of white supremacy, starts to address some of the deeply embedded psychological factors as well. The link goes to a long excerpt on Marvin X's blog, so if you want the detailed explanation of all the steps I guess you are going to have to buy his book. But the section he chose to share is definitely thought-provoking.
For some previous Grenada posts on the psychological impact of racism on its victims check out:
go back to mexico?
recalling frantz fanon
post traumatic slave syndrome
And for some more Marvin X check out:
more marvin x
More recently, Marvin X, a Muslim activist and writer who has been featured frequently on Planet Grenada (and is also on my blog roll) has adapted the 12 step approach to deal with a different sort of problem in: How To Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy: A Pan African 12 Step Model which, without ignoring or dismissing the economic and political aspects of white supremacy, starts to address some of the deeply embedded psychological factors as well. The link goes to a long excerpt on Marvin X's blog, so if you want the detailed explanation of all the steps I guess you are going to have to buy his book. But the section he chose to share is definitely thought-provoking.
For some previous Grenada posts on the psychological impact of racism on its victims check out:
go back to mexico?
recalling frantz fanon
post traumatic slave syndrome
And for some more Marvin X check out:
more marvin x
Sunday, June 17, 2007
the santerians
Well, it's about time they had a Latino superhero team. But I don't get why they don't call themselves the Santeros or even the Orishas. The Santerians sounds more like bad spanglish.
The Santerians: The Art of Joe Quesada
Marvel Introduces Latino Superhero Team
Grenada's comic past:
the 99
in brightest day, in blackest night
"'x-men' is not a cleverly named documentary about the nation of islam..."
race and dc comics
black comic books
The Santerians: The Art of Joe Quesada
Marvel Introduces Latino Superhero Team
Grenada's comic past:
the 99
in brightest day, in blackest night
"'x-men' is not a cleverly named documentary about the nation of islam..."
race and dc comics
black comic books
a fatwa on pan-arab racism
A Fatwa on Pan-Arab Racism
by Muslim and former Black Panther, Dhoruba Bin-Wahad
In the Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful
As-Salaamu-alaikum,
Peace and Greetings to All.
I bear witness that there is no Illah but Allah, I bear witness that Muahammad ibn Abdullah is the Prophet of Allah.
We Muslims of African ancestry face difficult decisions. We stare the grim consequences of our multifaceted heritage in the face of; consequences of the long nightmare of enslavement by Europeans; preceded by an epoch of mercantile slavery and war at the hands of Arabs. Embedded in the fiber of our folk memory are dim recollections, like historical cultural DNA, of the successive waves of conquests - ancient and not so ancient that swept through North Africa - Hittites of antiquity, the Romans, Greeks, Arabs, and ultimately Northern Germanic clans of Western European origin, each left their legacy and impact upon Africa and our ancestors, and hence upon us.
We are today the sum total of what we were yesterday. That sum represents both failure and success, triumph and defeat, the sacred and the profane. Sometimes it seems as though we “can't win of losing.” Ask yourself, what became of our Moorish glory and hegemony over a third of Europe? Of what significance today are the trade routes and commerce of Songhay, or Dahomey, and the Niger Delta states to the political and moral bankruptcy of today's African nation-states? What have we truly learned? In what relevancy lie the appreciation of “Maroon” culture by declaring it a “national heritage” while depreciating the revolutionary impulse for freedom the burned in the hearts of Africans who became Maroons? Enslaved by a system of dehumanizing trade and commerce against their will, they revolted, organized resistance, and built a self-containing culture to keep their independence. Of what relevance are they today? Yes even our victories are subject to the vicissitudes of Time...“By the token of time [humans] are at lost”. Indeed we often are, but it is our consciousness, our intellect, our God given quality of “insight” or the human gift of abstract thought, that qualify us as Earth's vice-regent and therefore capable of learning from the past, overcoming the present, and plan our own salvation. As Muslims we are never done telling ourselves that we were molded in the best of images, We, Muslims are Guardians, not destroyers of life. Part of Creation – not above it. Nonetheless, we, like all living things are created beings. And as such we were created in different communities, of different colors, not as a basis for hatred, animosity, or war, but to appreciate the infinite variety of human possibility – to love each possibility in its own right.
But the age in which we now find ourselves will forever be shaped and judged by our actions and responses to the legacy history has imposed upon us all. There are events unfolding within western civilization and cultures of the East that are of the utmost importance to our physical survival, and the reemergence of a genuinely liberating Islam and progressive Ummah. These events have not only a history, they also are major struggles in which our freedom and salvation are at stake. These events represent for the benefactors of racism, exploitation, injustice, avarice, and elitism serious challenges as well. And we need be mindful of the monopoly on violence the benefactors of injustice, racism, and exploitation have, and their proven disposition to use legal and extralegal violence to hold on to power and privileges.
click here to read entire "fatwa"
click here for more from/about Dhoruba Bin Wahad
As-Salaamu-alaikum,
Peace and Greetings to All.
I bear witness that there is no Illah but Allah, I bear witness that Muahammad ibn Abdullah is the Prophet of Allah.
We Muslims of African ancestry face difficult decisions. We stare the grim consequences of our multifaceted heritage in the face of; consequences of the long nightmare of enslavement by Europeans; preceded by an epoch of mercantile slavery and war at the hands of Arabs. Embedded in the fiber of our folk memory are dim recollections, like historical cultural DNA, of the successive waves of conquests - ancient and not so ancient that swept through North Africa - Hittites of antiquity, the Romans, Greeks, Arabs, and ultimately Northern Germanic clans of Western European origin, each left their legacy and impact upon Africa and our ancestors, and hence upon us.
We are today the sum total of what we were yesterday. That sum represents both failure and success, triumph and defeat, the sacred and the profane. Sometimes it seems as though we “can't win of losing.” Ask yourself, what became of our Moorish glory and hegemony over a third of Europe? Of what significance today are the trade routes and commerce of Songhay, or Dahomey, and the Niger Delta states to the political and moral bankruptcy of today's African nation-states? What have we truly learned? In what relevancy lie the appreciation of “Maroon” culture by declaring it a “national heritage” while depreciating the revolutionary impulse for freedom the burned in the hearts of Africans who became Maroons? Enslaved by a system of dehumanizing trade and commerce against their will, they revolted, organized resistance, and built a self-containing culture to keep their independence. Of what relevance are they today? Yes even our victories are subject to the vicissitudes of Time...“By the token of time [humans] are at lost”. Indeed we often are, but it is our consciousness, our intellect, our God given quality of “insight” or the human gift of abstract thought, that qualify us as Earth's vice-regent and therefore capable of learning from the past, overcoming the present, and plan our own salvation. As Muslims we are never done telling ourselves that we were molded in the best of images, We, Muslims are Guardians, not destroyers of life. Part of Creation – not above it. Nonetheless, we, like all living things are created beings. And as such we were created in different communities, of different colors, not as a basis for hatred, animosity, or war, but to appreciate the infinite variety of human possibility – to love each possibility in its own right.
But the age in which we now find ourselves will forever be shaped and judged by our actions and responses to the legacy history has imposed upon us all. There are events unfolding within western civilization and cultures of the East that are of the utmost importance to our physical survival, and the reemergence of a genuinely liberating Islam and progressive Ummah. These events have not only a history, they also are major struggles in which our freedom and salvation are at stake. These events represent for the benefactors of racism, exploitation, injustice, avarice, and elitism serious challenges as well. And we need be mindful of the monopoly on violence the benefactors of injustice, racism, and exploitation have, and their proven disposition to use legal and extralegal violence to hold on to power and privileges.
click here to read entire "fatwa"
click here for more from/about Dhoruba Bin Wahad
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
to be a minority within a minority
I just found the post To be a minority within a minority: dark-skinned Latinos and Muslim Hispanics over at The Latin Americanist blog. The post basically links to two other news articles without much comment, one on Black Latinos, another on Hispanic Muslims.
In terms of intentions, I think the folks at Latin Americanist were just trying to inform readers about non-stereotypical segments of the Latino population. And I've certainly posted links to similar articles before on Planet Grenada.
At the same time, especially after having given myself a chance to think about these issues through this very blog, I would have to say I find this whole "minority within a minority" concept really disempowering. (It reminds me of how Piri Thomas is always saying that no one should be called a minority because "minority" means "less than".) Instead of allowing myself to be marginalized several times over, belonging to multiple communities should be a source of strength. Between Blacks, Latinos and Muslims that adds up to about three billion people I should feel some concrete solidarity and identification with based on language, creed or ancestry. And all those connections should help contribute to "an emerging global anti-hegemonic culture" instead of setting up barriers where people feel unique and isolated. Just a thought.
See also:
a recent interview with suheir hammad
latinas choosing islam over catholicism
do platanos go wit' collard greens?
In terms of intentions, I think the folks at Latin Americanist were just trying to inform readers about non-stereotypical segments of the Latino population. And I've certainly posted links to similar articles before on Planet Grenada.
At the same time, especially after having given myself a chance to think about these issues through this very blog, I would have to say I find this whole "minority within a minority" concept really disempowering. (It reminds me of how Piri Thomas is always saying that no one should be called a minority because "minority" means "less than".) Instead of allowing myself to be marginalized several times over, belonging to multiple communities should be a source of strength. Between Blacks, Latinos and Muslims that adds up to about three billion people I should feel some concrete solidarity and identification with based on language, creed or ancestry. And all those connections should help contribute to "an emerging global anti-hegemonic culture" instead of setting up barriers where people feel unique and isolated. Just a thought.
See also:
a recent interview with suheir hammad
latinas choosing islam over catholicism
do platanos go wit' collard greens?
Sunday, June 10, 2007
because allah ta'ala made me both...
I really like this poem:
Also, say hello to A Puerto Rican girl's journey to Islam. (which is where I found this poem). Definitely "Grenada-esque".
Because Allah ta'ala made me both...
Hejab on my head
With a machete dangling from my neck
I'm not a terrorist
Just a bonafide Boricua with coquis on my mind
I love the flares of salsa skirts
With claves and congas singing to my heart's content
While I prostrate on the sands of Rincon
Awaiting the whales to make their presence
Borinquen is my paradise
Allah is my creator
Yes—I can inhabit both spaces
And when bachata comes on the radio
I move three steps lift
Three steps lift
And when the azhan is called
"Allahu Akbar" and "Bismillah" run out of my mouth
Give me some piraguas with a side of dates
A little of sunlight with a dash of breeze
As the scarves surrounding me beckon to worship
I can dance merengue in the privacy of my room
As mis hermanas talk about who is cuter in the group
Because—we are Boricuas loving our land
We are boricuas dancing our traditional beats
We are boricuas wearing our big fluffy skirts
We are boricuas eating our arroz con habichuelas
We don't have to occupy one of your little boxes
Entrenching our identities into something you can label
We don't have to deny our abuelitas and our salsa beats
So I can't eat pernil anymore.
It's okay—pork has never been my thing any ways
But I can still enjoy las playas as I wet my feet on
Caribbean oceans
Because I am more
More than your dichotomies
More than your ideologies
I am not just a Boricua
Or someone who worships Allah
So if you need a label to satisfy your curiosity
I'll give you one now
With Qur'an in hand
Y bandera in the other
I am beyond your words
Because I am a MusliRican
Also, say hello to A Puerto Rican girl's journey to Islam. (which is where I found this poem). Definitely "Grenada-esque".
poeta guerrera
I just found this myspace page for Melinda Gonzalez, a Muslim Nuyorican spoken word artist who goes by Poeta Guerrera (Warrior Poet Woman). She put recordings of several of her pieces on her page and they are worth checking out.
You also might want to look at Poet1Warrior's page on YouTube where Melinda has shares more of her thoughts on Islam. I'm not trying to set her up as some kind of scholar (in one clip she says she's only been Muslim for two months.) But I'm just glad to see more Latino Muslims confidently express themselves... and her excitement for the deen is a bit contagious.
You also might want to look at Poet1Warrior's page on YouTube where Melinda has shares more of her thoughts on Islam. I'm not trying to set her up as some kind of scholar (in one clip she says she's only been Muslim for two months.) But I'm just glad to see more Latino Muslims confidently express themselves... and her excitement for the deen is a bit contagious.
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