our enemy is not terrorism

"Our enemy is not terrorism, because terrorism is but a tactic. Our enemy is not terror, because terror is a state of mind, and as Americans we refuse to live in fear. Nor do we describe our enemy as jihadists or Islamists, because jihad is a holy struggle, a legitimate tenet of Islam," -John Brennan

I heard this on NPR a few hours ago before going to work and I was so surprised I could not wait to come home and post a link. By law, each White House administration is supposed to issue statement regarding its National Security Strategy. The Obama administration is set to officially issue theirs tomorrow. But today, John Brenan gave a speech at the Center for International and Strategic Studies which is presumably a sneak preview.

Highlights: As suggested above, there is greater clarification that the enemy is Al-Qaedah rather than "Islamism" or Islam. There is also an increased focus on domestic terrorism.

Politics News: Transcript of Brenan's remarks
NPR: Obama's New Security Strategy To Stress Cooperation
AP: Obama's new security strategy breaks with Bush

and in a surprise move...

I don't know if I'm just a pessimist at heart or if I've just been watching too much FOX News lately (e.g. Pamela Gellar's bigoted tirade on Mike Huckabee's show) but I was pleasantly surprised to read on Huffington Post that a NYC Community Board gave its overwhelming support to building a mosque at Ground Zero.

rajae el mouhandiz and malcolm lateef shabazz

BonTon: Grandson of Malcolm X in Rajae El-Mouhandiz’s latest video

h/t to Lantern Torch

"even my conditioning has been conditioned"

CNN: Updated version of the famous 1947 Doll Study
CNN: Home influence on kids and race
CNN: Race in America
CNN: Doll Study Reactions

Scene from the 1989 independent film, "Chameleon Street" (I'm going to have to see if this is on Netflix or something)

ok how about now?

Mark Williams, Tea Party Leader, Says Muslims Worship "Monkey God"
Mark Williams Apologizes To HINDUS For Saying Muslims Worship 'Monkey God'

More Mark Williams on MSNBC

okay now can we say the tea party is racist?

"It's just a few bad apples."
"They don't speak for all of us"
At least that's what the Tea Party leadership would say when confronted with the clear presence of bigots and racists at their rallies. Ok. Fair enough. But what will they say now when Rand Paul, who recently won the Kentucky Republican primary under the Tea Party umbrella publically expresses his reservations with respect to the Civil Rights legislation of the 1960s? I think I understand Paul's point that he is "opposed to discrimination", but still, what good is that if deep down he also believes that private businesses are perfectly within their rights if they choose to racially discriminate? He's got some explaining to do. (He also made a terrible appearance on Rachel Maddow... even if he is going to take the radical libertarian stance on the Civil Rights acts, he could have gotten much better preparation on answering those questions.)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Rand Paul Underscores the Tea Party's Connection to Race
Rand Paul On 'Maddow' Defends Criticism Of Civil Rights Act, Says He Would Have Worked To Change Bill
Rand Paul On Civil Rights Controversy: I Shouldn't Have Talked To Rachel Maddow

mos def and k'naan on austin city limits

Austin City Limits: K'Naan/ Mos Def (Full episode)

I once wrote a poem about how Black musical forms would continually change and evolve so that by the time the next new thing came out, present-day cutting edge hip-hop would be considered ancient history; associated with elevator music and museum pieces. I even threw in a line about Yo! PBS Raps which apparently has started to come true.

Both Mos Def and K'Naan are Muslim.

america 2001 - long hairz collective

Just continuing my Michigan musings... here is one of the few clips I could find online with music by the Long Hairz Collective. I've blogged about them before (see "i've seen ethiopians knocking out rome" and also water warriors). I could be wrong but I think they've basically broken up but the members are still out there performing and putting positive messages out there in the atmosphere.



You can download their album Dread Locks & Pony Tales over at CD Baby

never mind...

TMZ: Miss USA Champion Pole Dancer

arab-american (muslim?) crowned miss usa

LAS VEGAS -- Lebanese immigrant Rima Fakih says it was a certain look from Donald Trump that tipped her off that she had won the 2010 Miss USA title. The 24-year-old Miss Michigan beat out 50 other women to take the title Sunday night, despite nearly stumbling in her evening gown.

She told reporters later that she believed she had won after glancing at pageant owner Trump as she awaited the results with the first runner-up, Miss Oklahoma USA Morgan Elizabeth Woolard.

"That's the same look that he gives them when he says, 'You're hired,'" on Trump's reality show "The Apprentice," she said.

Fakih took top honors at the pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip after strutting confidently in an orange and gold bikini, wearing a strapless white gown that resembled a wedding dress and saying health insurance should cover birth control pills.

Fakih, an Arab-American from Dearborn, Mich., told pageant organizers her family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths. She moved to the United States as a baby and was raised in New York, where she attended a Catholic school. Her family moved to Michigan in 2003.

Pageant officials said historical pageant records were not detailed enough to show whether Fakih was the first Arab American, Muslim or immigrant to win the Miss USA title. The pageant started in 1952 as a local bathing suit competition in Long Beach, Calif.

Huffington Post: Rima Fakih, Miss Michigan & Arab-American, Crowned 2010 Miss USA

you don't fight terrorists the same way you fight rumpelstiltskin

I saw this exchange on CSPAN and thought it was pretty bizare and frustrating. Admittedly, Holder should have been a bit more confident and smooth, but Lamar Smith (and other folks of a similar mindset) are downright ignorant and dangerous.

For me, the basic question is about how the US should respond to terrorism. Should there be a targeted and defined effort with a relatively clear endgame (e.g. dismantle Al-Qaedah and capture/kill OBL). Or should there be vaguely defined war without any clear limits (e.g. a War on Islamic Terrorism or "Radical Islam")

As a Muslim and an American I can totally get behind the first approach. But in the second case I'm not sure I would trust someone like Lamar Smith to be able to distinguish between "radicals" and the rest. I'm not going to pretend to be able to see into Smith's heart but I have to wonder if he simply hates Muslims and is using the word radical as a figleaf. In any case, if folks like him end up framing the terms of the US' anti-terrorism response, we will probably end up fighting the Crusades for 1000 years or so.



Huffington Post: Lamar Smith Wants Eric Holder To Say 'Radical Islam' Or He'll Cry

And if you have the time, here is the whole hearing:
House Judiciary Cmte. Hearing with Atty. Gen. Eric Holder on the Attempted Times Square Bombing

the definition of insanity...

Times Square bombing in retaliation for U.S. drone attacks, No connection to Islam
U.S. avenges Times Square bombing by killing more Pakistani civilians

loonwatch roundup

RAND report: Threat of homegrown jihadism exaggerated, Zero U.S. civilians killed since 9/11
Muslim Americans Must Obey U.S. Laws; Nidal Hasan Disobeyed Islamic Doctrine
Fathima Bary Needs to Read Her Bible; Final Word on Islam and Apostasy
Sarah Palin supports stoning and slavery?

the ex-muslim industry

For a couple of months now, I've been watching this controversy get hashed out in YouTube but apparently it has recently boiled over out of the blogosphere and into more mainstream news outlets.

The issue: Ergun Caner is the current Dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and in some respects is a "star" in Baptist circles. A large portion of his charisma is rooted in his biography; he converted to Christianity as a teenager after having been raised in the Muslim world, in a devout Sunni household. In some versions he has even claimed a "jihadi" background. And after 9/11, based on the "authenticity" of his experience he received a great deal of notice in Christian circles while speaking and writing on Islam.

The problem: On further examination, many of the details of his biography appear to be inconsistent, false or totally manufactured. The controversy extends to where he was born, when did he learn English, when did he convert to Christianity, the depth of his Islamic upbringing and even his name (Ergun Michal Caner before 9/11 but Ergun Mehmet Caner after.)
Other bloggers and reporters have already done an excellent job of tracking many of the lies and inconsistencies. I would just add that. based on clips I've seen, Caner makes some pretty big mistakes related to basic facts about Islam (like confusing the bismillah and the shahadah or saying Ramadan has 40 days) I simply don't believe he got an Islamic education of any depth.

Huffington Post: Liberty University To Probe Seminary President's Muslim Background
Alternet: Christian Right's Favorite Muslim Convert Exposed as Jihadi Fraud
Right Wing Watch: Is Religious Right’s Star Ex-Muslim a Serial Liar?

consequences of muslims targeting civilians

Consequences of Muslims Targeting Civilians by Imam Zaid is not a response to the attempted Times Square bombing as much as it is a historical reflection on the principle of civilian immunity in warfare. And even though I generally like what Imam Zaid Shakir writes and he made some important points here, I think in some respects the article almost inverts a common Western/Christian fallacy by comparing Western/Christian reality with Islamic ideals. One would probably need to write a whole book to do this topic justice, but the piece would have been enriched by a few more examples of the idealistic parts of the Christian Peace tradition (if only to locate it is a minority view) and some of the more pragmatic Islamic views on civilian casualties.

more on muslim hero

Democracy Now!: Muslim Vendor Gets No Credit in Helping to Foil Times Square Bomb Plot

saladin ahmed

Continuing my Detroit/Michigan state of mind I just thought to look up Saladin Ahmed, I didn't really know him but when I lived in Michigan I'd seen him perform his poetry at an event or two and we had some friends in common. Apparently since the last time I'd seen him he's gotten married, has two kids, and has been nominated for a Nebula Award. From his blog you can find links to his biography and bibliography. I honestly don't know if he identifies as Muslim per se but some of his fantasy stories deal with Muslim identity in interesting ways. Its worth checking out.

invincible / emergence

Thinking about Mooz-lum put me in a Detroit state of mind and made want to shout-out the Detroit MC, Invincible who was recently declared #5 on a list of top 13 female MCs (after Jean Grae, MC Lyte, Lauryn Hill and Queen Latifah). Never heard of Invincible? Maybe it is because instead of selling out she turned down a million dollar record deal and went the harder route of starting her own label, Emergence Media where she and her labelmates had creative control.



Thinking about Invincible also makes me reflect on the economic and political factors in the music biz (the music industrial complex?) which constrain what kind of messages are circulated and promoted in popular culture. In other words, there is definitely a pool of intelligent, creative, talented positive performers out there. Why aren't more of their voices heard? If there has to be only one white Detroit rapper to make it big, what kind of a person would pick a misogynist who raps about killing his baby mama and date raping underage girls (Eminem) over Invincible?!?!? What are music executives thinking when they choose to support one artist over another?

see: yo! pbs raps

times square vendor was a senegalese muslim

I first saw this fact mentioned over at the Goatmilk blog, but I think it bears repeating. (Especially since I just saw some random conservative talking head use the recent incident to defend profiling and bigotry). The vendor who brought the smoking truck in Times Square to the attention of police was a Muslim from Senegal.

The Examiner: Times Square terrorism attempt thwarted by Muslim vendor

mooz-lum, coming soon!

Pulled between his strict Muslim upbringing by his father and the normal social life he's never had, Tariq Mahdi enters college in a state of confusion. New relationships with Muslims and non-Muslims alike challenge his already shaken ideals, and the estrangement with his mother and sister troubles him. Slowly, he begins to find himself with the help of new friends, family and mentors, but when the attacks of 9/11 happen without warning, he is forced to face his past and make the biggest decisions of his life.

Should be an interesting film. The cast includes Danny Glover and Nia Long. And it is apparently an expanded version of a short film I've included on the blog before.

Myspace: MOOZ-lum
IMDB: MOOZ-lum
YouTube: Making "MOOZ-lum"
Examiner: 'Mooz-lum' a movie, not a person