the empire strikes back

As we approach one of the most important elections (symbolically and otherwise) in US history. it is heartening to see signs of a growing consensus around Barack Obama (see Republican and conservative support for Barack Obama in 2008 and also Republicans and Conservatives Endorsing Barack) which has the potential to unify the country and redraw the political map. On the other hand it is a source of concern that the McCain campaign in its death-throes (inshaAllah) along with other elements of the far right are getting more vicious as election day approaches. (Feds disrupt skinhead plot to assassinate Obama)

i voted today

Oh my God, the line was soooo long. The process took about 3 hours from beginning to end. I kept thinking back to tv images of the first post-apartheid Election Day in South Africa when Mandela was on the ballot. I spent most of the time outside, waiting to be let into the Lemon City Library (Miami). Then I got a numbered ticket and was eventually let in. Once inside (which was still 70+ deep), I had to wait for my number to be called before being let into a seperate room where all the voting booths were. Fortunately for future early voters, the governor is extending the poll hours for the rest of the week.

20 questions with upski

In These Times: 20 Questions with Billy Wimsatt Wow, I went to school with this kid. Cool guy.

I like the way he describes his politics:

I’m for the underdogs and the polar bears. I’m for matriarchy and Barack Obama. I’m for green jobs, not jails. I want to turn the Titanic around before we hit the iceberg.

I believe we need deep transformation at all levels of society, individual and systemic. I hate the game, not the players. I love the suburbanites, not the suburbs. I believe that evil is real but good is real too! I believe in God and evolution and I believe it is our moral obligation to protect God’s creation. I believe that all life is sacred and that right now humans are out of balance. I believe that a society that worships material wealth cannot be reconciled with the Ten Commandments. I believe humans are trying to play God, and that genetic engineering, robotics and nano-technology are radically altering the fabric of human life into a scary science fiction novel.

I believe we need to change the game, re-invent the game, get together, hold hands, take a big deep breath, and come up with a new game where there are more winners and fewer losers. I want to see a happy ending in which humanity ultimately survives. I believe that whether the glass is half-full, one-quarter full or one-tenth full, we’ve gotta play the cards we are dealt. I believe in big baby steps.

racism and the mcain-palin campaign

For a while I've been meaning to do a post about how the McCain-Palin rallies have been starting to reveal an uglier, more bigoted side to the far-right's resistance to Obama. Of course, that was before Obama was lynched-in-effigy on a Christian College campus and before a McCain volunteer mutilated her own face and made up a story about how she was attacked by a big black Obama supporter. The McCain camp may try to distance itself from the behavior of its supporters but in reality, such extreme behavior is really just a natural reflection of the top of the ticket. It just seems like their real face is coming out now that their campaign seems to be in its death throws.

Capitol Hill Blue: McCain: racist, bigot & homophobe

Grenada's past;
mccain camp silences muslim organizer or "with friends like these..."
sarah palin on obama's winning the democratic nomination for president : "sambo beat the bitch!" (what ?!?!?!)
more on mccain's racially problematic politics
mccain, racism and religious bigotry
mccain - romney ?
mccain's spiritual advisor hates muslims and islam
should john mccain reject and denounce minister john hagee?
john mccain: "i hated the gooks. i will hate them as long as i live."

afro-latinos to declare columbus day as "the day of atonement"

Blacklatino.net: Day of Atonement: Afro-Latinos to declare Columbus Day as "The Day of Atonement" by Christopher Rodriguez

the n-word is flourishing among generation hip-hop latinos

The Village Voice: The N-Word Is Flourishing Among Generation Hip-Hop Latinos by Raquel Cepeda

president obama and afro-latinos

Blacklatino.net: Will President Barack Obama make a difference for Afro-Latinos? by Christopher Rodriguez

obama redraws map of religious voters

NPR: Obama Redraws Map Of Religious Voters by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

mccain camp silences muslim organizer or "with friends like these..."

CNN host Rick Sanchez said he was "mystified" by a last minute decision by the McCain campaign to pull a Muslim grassroots organizer from appearing on his show.

The aide, Daniel Zubairi, had been scheduled to appear on Sanchez's mid-day program after he was caught on video talking down an anti-Muslim protester outside a McCain rally in Woodbridge, Virginia. But, even after telling the network that an interview was "good to go," the McCain shop pulled Zubairi at the last minute, leaving Sanchez in limbo on live TV.

"Wouldn't you think they would have wanted him to come on?" the CNN host would later tell the Huffington Post.

CNN Host "Mystified" By McCain Camp Silencing Muslim Organizer

obama roasts mccain at the alfred e. smith dinner

submachine 5: the root

I've talked about the submachine games before. Here is Submachine 5: The Root by Mateusz Skutnik.

the collapse of the monetarist system

As I mentioned previously, the Murabitun take a pretty hardline stance against usury and the current system of paper money. So it shouldn't be surprising that their leader, Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi has written a series of pieces on The Collapse of the Monetarist Society.
Read Part 1
Read Part 2
Read Part 3

For another Muslim's perspective on the crisis you can check out Robert D. Crane's somewhat pessimistic (and surprisingly right wing) piece Are There Islamic Solutions for Economic Justice: Or Is the Insanity of Faux Money an Incurable Western Disease?

an exemplar of reconciliation

In the article An Exemplar of Reconciliation Salim Muwakkil shares his own thoughts on the passing of Imam W.D. Mohammed and the significance of his legacy. To provide a little bit of context, Muwakkil himself was a past member of the Nation of Islam (but his current religious beliefs are unclear).

Planet Grenada and Salim Muwakkil

register to vote!

www.maps.google.com/vote
Rock the Vote!
Declare Yourself!

Remember, in many locations the deadline to register is only days away.

btw, is Jamie Foxx wearing a kiffeyeh?

"if money is the root i want the whole damn tree" (the remix)

I'm no economist but I've been thinking about the current crisis in the US credit markets along with the Wall Street bailout and have wondered how the situation could be viewed through an Islamic lens.

For example, many of the practices and approaches which are currently deemed responsible for the crisis (e.g. predatory lending) are clearly prohibited in Islam (see Islamic Perspective on Meltdown in American Markets by Liaquat Ali Khan).

This suggests that Shariah-compliant financial institutions could be insulated from some of the effects of the crisis and in fact, this seems to be supported empirically to some degree (see Asia's Islamic finance sector weathering storm well)

It will be interesting to see if after the dust settles, we will see more growth in the Shariah-compliant sector of the economy (e.g. Islamic bonds could give London leg up in growing sphere of Shariah finance)

I also wonder if some of the more radical voices (like members of the Murabitun who hold that U.S. paper currency is based on usury and advocate bringing back the Islamic dinar) will also gain support in the wake of the crisis.

For some articles on their views see:
Building Sound Economic Foundations (part 1)
The Role of the Market in any Future African Economy
Zakat-The Fallen Pillar
The Islamic Money System

Finally, for a previous post on Islamic finance see:
"if money is the root i want the whole damn tree"

eid mubarak!

Is it just me or are more and more communities deciding to use "calculation" to determine the start and end of Ramadan? (See moonsighting.com for more articles)

sarah palin on obama's winning the democratic nomination for president : "sambo beat the bitch!" (what ?!?!?!)

From Chickenbones Journal: Palin Is "Racist, Sexist, Vindictive, And Mean" by Charley James

"So Sambo beat the bitch!"

This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama's win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

According to Lucille, the waitress serving her table at the time and who asked that her last name not be used, Gov. Palin was eating lunch with five or six people when the subject of the Democrat's primary battle came up. The governor, seemingly not caring that people at nearby tables would likely hear her, uttered the slur and then laughed loudly as her meal mates joined in appreciatively.

"It was kind of disgusting," Lucille, who is part Aboriginal, said in a phone interview after admitting that she is frightened of being discovered telling folks in the "lower 48" about life near the North Pole.

Then, almost with a sigh, she added, "But that's just Alaska."

Racial and ethnic slurs may be "just Alaska" and, clearly, they are common, everyday chatter for Palin.

Besides insulting Obama with a Step-N'-Fetch-It, "darkie musical" swipe, people who know her say she refers regularly to Alaska's Aboriginal people as "Arctic Arabs"—how efficient, lumping two apparently undesirable groups into one ugly description—as well as the more colourful "mukluks" along with the totally unimaginative "f**king Eskimo's," according to a number of Alaskans and Wasillians interviewed for this article.

Wow. I thought things were already pretty bad back in April when I did my post: mccain, racism and religious bigotry. But the right wing has been able to sink to new depths.

See also:
The Progressive Curmudgeon: Sarah’s Own Words: “I Don’t Do Black Guys.”
Z-Net: This is Your Nation on White Privilege by Tim Wise
Huffington Post: Gergen: McCain Using Code Words To Attack Obama As "Uppity"
La Times: Southern GOP Congressman Lynn Westmoreland literally calls Obama "uppity" but pleads ignorance to its racial connotations.

So why doesn't the multi-faceted, multi-actor McCain-Palin race/racism story get the same kind of sensationalistic coverage that the Rev. Wright story got?

imam w.d. mohammed and the third resurrection

From The Manrilla Blog, here is, Imâm W. D. Mohammed and The Third Resurrection, an article by Dr. Sherman Abd al-Hakim Jackson on the passing of Imam W.D. Mohammed. The piece discusses some of the distance and separation between Imam Mohammed's community and the rest of the Blackamerican Sunni community (along with the larger immigrant-dominated Sunni Muslim community in America)

reflection on the passing of the imam

Here is a collection of links on Imam W.D. Mohammed and his passing. The numbered links are borrowed shamelessly from Akram's Razor. But the first half-dozen or so are "extra".



The Best of Dr. Marvin X: Muslim Leader Imam Warithdin Muhammad Makes Transition
My Islamic Perspective: Remembering Imam W. D. Mohammed (UPDATED)
The American Muslim: Remembering Imam W. D. Muhammad by Abdul Malik Mujahid
Chicago Tribune: Thousands gather in Villa Park for funeral of Imam W. Deen Mohammed by Margaret Ramirez and Noreen Ahmed-Ullah
Detroit Free Press: Hamtramck-born Islamic imam who led thousands dies

Islamosphere:

1. Zahed Amanullah. "The Imam Cares" (alt.muslim)
2. Seeker's Digest: "Passing of Imam WD Mohammed - The Death of a Great Leader of Islam in the West"
3. 
   
4. Islamicate: "Warith Dean Mohammed is Dead"
5. SaqibSaab at Muslim Matters: "Thoughts After Attending The Janazah of Imam W. D. Mohammed"
6. Rickshaw Diaries: "RIP: Imam W. Deen Muhammad"
7. Koonj: "Imam Warith Deen Muhammad: a leader among leaders"
8. Just Another Angry Black Muslim Woman? "Death of a Pioneer: Warith Deen Muhammad October 30, 1933-Sept.9, 2008"
9. SunniSister: Imam Warith Deen
10. ThirdResurrection: w.d. mohammed dies
11. Tariq Nelson: "W Deen Mohammed 1933-2008"
12. Akram's Razor: "Imam W.D. Mohammed has left us"
13. Azhar Usman: "An Apology: Heartfelt reflections on the passing of a legendary Blackamerican Muslim leader"
14. Dynamite Soul: "A word about Imam Warith Deen Mohammad"
15. Imam Zaid Shakir: "Imam Warith Deen Muhammad (1933-2008)"
16. Sisterdoc: "Peace and Blessings Imam W.D. Mohammed-R.I.P."

Rest of the Blogosphere:

1. Mata H at Blogher: "The death of Imam W. Deen Mohammed and 'A Summit on Religious Faith, Torture, and Our National Soul'"
   
2. David Waters: "W.D. Mohammed's Spiritual Maturity"
   
3. Marc Lamont Hill: "R.I.P. Warith Deen Muhammad"
4. John Esposito: "W.D. Mohammed: A Witness for True Islam"

MSM:

1. Michelle Gallardo. "Prayer services for Imam W. D. Mohammed" (a Chicago TV station)
2. Margaret Ramirez and Noreen Ahmed-Ullah. "Thousands gather in Villa Park for funeral of Imam W. Deen Mohammed" (Chicago Tribune)
3. Margaret Ramirez, Manya A. Brachear and Ron Grossman.
   
4. "Muslim America's rebellious son" (The Chicago Tribune)
5. Sophia Tarteen: "Former Nation of Islam leader W.D. Mohammed dies" (Associated Press)
6. Niraj Warikoo: "Muslim leader Warith Deen Mohammed dies" (FREEP)
7. Patricia Sullivan: "W.D. Mohammed; Changed Muslim Movement in U.S." (Washington Post)
8. Time Online: "Imam W. D. Mohammed: influential US Sunni Muslim leader"
9. Malise Ruthven: "Imam who succeeded his father as leader of the Nation of Islam" (The Guardian)

Misc.

1. A guest book dedicated to the memory of Imam W.D. Mohammed
2. An audio recording of the Muslim Journal's press conference
   
3. "This Far by Faith: Warith Deen Muhammad" , an episode of a PBS series on great religious leaders dedicated to WDM
4. Taylor Branch: "The Anointed Son: The story behind W.D. Mohammed's momentous break with his father and his alliance with Malcolm X." (Beliefnet)
5. A bio of WDM at an Atlanta mosque.

juan cole on sarah palin

Blogger and Middle East Affairs expert, Juan Cole has a couple of interesting sets of remarks on controversial Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate, Sarah Palin.

Palin on World Affairs: Just not Ready for Prime Time reflects on Palin's interview with Charlie Gibson.

Eyewitness: "No Way it was Rhetorical." addresses Sarah Palin's repeated inquiries into removing "objectionable" books from the public library (along with a few other aspects of her administration in Alaska.

And finally, in a piece which was recently published at Salon.com. Cole reviews Palin's positions on abortion, censorship, homosexuality and creationism and considers the question: What's the difference between Palin and Muslim fundamentalists? Lipstick?

For a while now I've been thinking of trying to put together a post on the range of Islamic views regarding abortion (which is actually more liberal than the standard Catholic/Evangelical position). Until then, I'll just share what Juan Cole wrote:

The GOP vice-presidential pick holds that abortion should be illegal, even in cases of rape, incest or severe birth defects, making an exception only if the life of the mother is in danger. She calls abortion an "atrocity" and pledges to reshape the judiciary to fight it. Ironically, Palin's views on the matter are to the right of those in the Muslim country of Tunisia, which allows abortion in the first trimester for a wide range of reasons. Classical Muslim jurisprudents differed among one another on the issue of abortion, but many permitted it before the "quickening" of the fetus, i.e. until the end of the fourth month.