war-weary jews establish homeland between syria, lebanon, jordan, egypt

The Onion
Tuesday, November 9, 1948

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"In Israel, Our People Will Finally Have Safety and Peace," Says Ben-Gurion
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Jordan Welcomes New Neighbors with Celbratory Gunfire, Rock Throwing

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Jerusalem, Israel--After more than 2,000 years of wandering and persecution, including six million deaths at the hand of Nazi Germany, the Jewish people finally established a homeland Monday, a place of safety and peace nestled between Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

"No longer will the Jewish race live in a constant state of fear and endagerment, its very existence threatened at every turn by hostile outsiders," said David Ben-Gurion, the new nation's first prime minister, addressing a jubiland crowd of Zionists at Jerusalem's Western Wall. "Here in Israel, we are safe, far away from those who seek to destroy us."

For two millennia, the Jewish people have wandered without a home, facing an endless series of hostile enemies. With the establishment of a soverign Jewish state in the Middle East, Israeli officials believe this 2,000-year ordeal has at last come to an end.

"Israel is the land of milk and honey," Ben-Gurion said. "Here there will be no pogroms, no midnight visits from Cossacks, no Nuremberg Laws. The only gunfire we shall hear is that which lingers in our minds from troubled times long past."

Ben-Gurion said he looks forward to years of harmony and cooperation with Israel's neighboring states. "Jordan seems extremely happy to have us as a new neighbor," he said. "Last night, from my window, I could hear great explosions coming from the Gaza Strip. How wonderful of the Palestinian peoples there to celebrate our arrival with fireworks."

In his official greeting to Israel yesterday, Egypt's King Farouk issued the following statement: "Egypt does not and will not ever recognize the so-called state of Israel's right to exist. Israel is a land built on Jewish lies and the spilled blood of countless Arabs. Until the territory called Israel is returned to is rightful Palestinian owners, Egypt will have no choice but to consider itself at war with the Jewish people."

As a token of its good will, Syria presented Israel with a burning Israeli flag, with an attached note that read, "May you be swiftly driven into the sea and drowned."

In the months leading up to Monday's formal declaration of Israeli statehood, hundreds of thousands of Hocaust survivors from around the world have flocked to Israel, where they will finally find a safe haven from anti-Semitism. "This is a dream come true," said Holocaust survivor Zadie Dubrovnik, 59, who left her native Lithuania for Israel last week. "In this place, we will build a refuge of peace, far away from those who hate us."

Ben-Gurion said that with no need to defend itself from enemies, Israel will be free to spend billions of dollars on domestic development that other nations would be forced to devote to a defense budget. Military expenditures are expected to account for just two percent of the country's overall budget, as Israel will be a place of peace, not war.


Also from the Onion:
Israel Bombs Anti-Semitism Out Of Lebanon
Israel Intercepts Massive Palestinian Rock Shipment
Israel, Palestine Now Fighting Over Cemetery Space
War-Torn Middle East Seeks Solace In Religion

see also: on a lighter note...

deen tight: islam & hip-hop

see also planet grenada and islam and hip-hop

excedrin for (racial) tension headaches

I was recently browsing the SNL website looking for a clip of the Homocil ad and ended up finding a different sort of prescription instead:

eid mubarak y'all

(sigh) I miss a student's schedule when it was much more feasible to take the day to celebrate. Go to prayers in the morning and hang out with folks later.

interview with immortal technique in morocco

harold camping

I currently have a long commute from work and unfortunately am faced with a small number of radio stations to choose from. (I'm a big NPR fan but during most of my evening drive home the local station switches to programming in Creole).

Occasionally I will listen to a radio call-in show run by an evangelist named Harold Camping... more out of curiosity than anything else. He is an odd bird. He teaches that the Church Age is over (and so all current churches are ruled by Satan). He's not a Jehovah's Witness but he teaches that Jesus is Michael. And most importantly, he teaches that the world will end on May 21, 2011. Initially I thought his ideas were harmlessly bizarre, but the other night I heard him advising a mother with a young child to not bother making college or career plans for their child's future because they won't have one. He's not just eccentric but irresponsible.

It just reminds me again to appreciate the fact that the Quranic descriptions of the end-times, however vivid, are not full of the sorts of tempting descriptions as the Revelation of St. John or the book of Daniel which would encourage folks to presumptuously predict the end of the world (see also the number of the beast). I'm not saying that Muslims never make eschatological missteps. But I would argue that the Bible encourages this sort of behavior more than the Quran does.

old interview with dhoruba bin wahad

I've been watching some old episodes of the Boondocks recently (especially the ones which show the BET staff is continually plotting against the black race). It made me think back to what BET used to be like and what kind of hard-hitting, thoughtful positive shows they used to have like Teen Summit or Our Voices with Bev Smith or Tavis Smiley's show.


Bev Smith on Our Voices interviewing Dhoruba bin Wahad.

We've mentioned Dhoruba bin Wahad (Muslim, former Black Panther and political prisoner, now political activist) before on Planet Grenada. This is making me want to see what else is out there.

r.i.p. odetta (1930-2008)

To be honest, I wasn't a serious follower of Odetta's musical career, but I do really enjoy her duet with Harry Belafonte performing the old folk song, There's a Hole in the Bucket.

 

 and while we are on the subject, I'm actually a big fan of Michael Franti/ Spearhead's loose homage entitled "Hole in the Bucket" which points to a different kind of vicious cycle. 

Michael Franti & Spearhead "Hole in the Bucket" from Katrina Schissel on Vimeo.

black iraqis in basra face discrimination

I just heard this on the radio as I was on my way to work and had to share...

Morning Edition, December 3, 2008 · The election of Barack Obama to the U.S. presidency was celebrated with special fervor by Iraqis of African descent in the southern port city of Basra.

Although they have lived in Iraq for more than 1,000 years, the black Basrawis say they are still discriminated against because of the color of their skin, and they see Obama as a role model. Long relegated to menial jobs or work as musicians and dancers, some of them have recently formed a group to advance their civil rights.

NPR: Full Story

Also, Third Resurrection has a number of posts about Black Arabs and racism in the Middle East. (Some of the same stories may also be found here: the black knight /Dec 5, 2008)

islam and same-sex marriage

For a while now I've been intending to write about the (partial) overlap between traditional Islamic opinions on abortion and the pro-choice position. Very briefly, according to some scholarly interpretations, the soul doesn't enter the fetus until 120 days after conception, consequently abortions carried out before that point are not considered to be equivalent to murder. I need to say that there is definitely some nuance and complexity to the issue (which is why I've been waiting to write it)... This is not that post.

It is a post about another area where it is possible that common cause might be made between traditional Muslims and modern Liberals.

From Alt.Muslim: Why the same-sex marriage debate still matters by Sabir Ibrahim. The argument roughly goes: Given that Islamic law enshrines the rights of non-Muslims to follow their own customs and practices when it comes to family life, and given that Muslims living in the West would theoretically want the right to enjoy our own distinctive practices (e.g. polygamy) then we all ought to support other minority groups as they attempt to assert their rights as well.

brass crescent awards 2008

An unsolicited "plug" from Marqas over at The Manrilla Blog:

Having just come off attending the 2nd Annual MANA Conference here in Philadelphia, it came as a pleasant surprise that the Manrilla Blog has been put in the running for Best Design in the 2008 Brass Crescent Awards, a joint project of altmuslim.com. The awards are meant to honor blogs that represent the best in Muslim blogging, with yours truly up for, “…[a] blog that has the most aesthetically pleasing site design, appealing to the eye, evoking Islamic themes, and/or facilitating debate and discussion.” My thanks to those who felt this blog worthy of nomination. Feel free to cast your vote here.

you can't please all the people all the time...

So Nader thinks Obama is an Uncle Tom and Al-Zawahiri thinks Obama is a House Negro (see obama, malcolm x, al-zawahiri and house negroes). Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin, of course think that Obama is a Black-Liberation-theology-believing, socialist Muslim (as if that were a bad thing).

If you want to see what some progressive African-American Muslims have to say about Obama you should definitely check out Imam Zaid Shakir's response to a well-meaning brother along with the blog entry/story African-American Muslim leaders denounce al Qaeda's slur toward Obama

michael jackson converts to islam

From UPI.com

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Pop star Michael Jackson has converted to Islam at a ceremony in Los Angeles attended by Yousef Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, sources say.

Jackson, whose once-amazing career has been eclipsed in recent years by reports of bizarre behavior, as well as legal and financial troubles, is said to have changed his name to Mikaeel and taken the shahada -- or made a declaration of belief -- as part of his conversion to Islam, Al-Arabiya said Friday.

The religious ceremony reportedly took place at the Hollywood Hills home of Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro, who composed music for Jackson's iconic "Thriller" album.

Jackson's lawyer said the singer has agreed to testify in person next week at a $7 million breach-of-contract lawsuit brought against him in London's High Court by the king of Bahrain's son, Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa.

The sheikh is suing Jackson for allegedly backing out of a business venture that was to produce an album, including songs the royal wrote for and planned to record with Jackson, as well as an autobiography and a stage play.

However, Jackson contends he never signed an official agreement and insists the payments he received from the sheik were "gifts," claiming the royal's case is based on "mistake, misrepresentation and undue influence."

see also:
michael jackson: off the wall
britney spears may convert to islam

kemi seba: france's "malcolm x"

From Mark Sedgewick's Traditionalists' blog: Guenon and "France's Malcolm X"

I wish I knew French so I could read the Saphir interview...

Guénon has found a new fan in France: Kémi Séba, a somewhat notorious African-nationalist activist, who recently converted to Islam and is being referred to by some as "France's Malcolm X." His following, however, seems considerably smaller than that of America's Malcolm X.

Séba read Guénon in a French jail in early 2008, while serving the most recent of a series of short sentences for inciting racial hatred. In an August 2008 interview with Saphir News, a French Muslim on-line newspaper, he referred to several of Guénon's works, and said that although Guénon was not the only reason for his conversion to Islam, it was Guénon who had shown him that Islam was more than the religion of the Arabs.

censored stories

Founded by Carl Jensen in 1976, Project Censored is a media research program working in cooperation with numerous independent media groups in the US. Project Censored’s principle objective is training of SSU students in media research and First Amendment issues and the advocacy for, and protection of, free press rights in the United States. Every year Project Censored comes out with a list of the 25 "most censored" news stories, stories of national significance which are neglected by the mainstream (corporate) media.s

Some of the highlights this year include stories on U.S. abuses in the Middle East...
#1. Over One Million Iraqi Deaths Caused by US Occupation
#9 Iraq and Afghanistan Vets Testify
# 24 Japan Questions 9/11 and the Global War on Terror

Some potential problems coming out of El Salvador...
# 4 ILEA: Is the US Restarting Dirty Wars in Latin America?

Shady things going on in the use of executive power within the U.S....
# 3 InfraGard: The FBI Deputizes Business
# 6 The Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act
# 8 Executive Orders Can Be Changed Secretly

And the challenges faced by modern workers and slaves...
# 15 Worldwide Slavery
# 16 Annual Survey on Trade Union Rights

many muslim women on the ballot this november

MIAMI (AP)

Jamilah Nasheed, an African-American convert to Islam and Missouri Democratic state representative, is one of just nine Muslim Americans in state legislatures nationwide, and the only woman, according to the alliance. She is almost certain to win re-election this year, and Muslim American women in California, Michigan and Minnesota are vying to join her.

Among them is Democrat Ferial Masry, who faces a tough race in her bid to represent a heavily Republican general assembly district near Los Angeles. The 59-year-old high school government and history teacher was born in Mecca but moved to Egypt when she was 10 so she could attend school, not an option for girls in Saudi Arabia at the time. She was a write-in candidate for the seat four years ago after the Democratic Party approached her.

She said no one expected the unknown "woman from Saudi Arabia with an accent" to do well, but she got almost 35 percent of the vote.

Farheen Hakeem, a 32-year-old activist and Green Party candidate for an open seat representing Minneapolis, first ran for mayor in 2005, then for a county commissioner seat. She lost both times.

"I was asked every question under the book," says Hakeem, who wears a head scarf and is of South Asian descent. People would grill her about Islam's treatment of women.

"If I'm so oppressed, how am I running for mayor? I'm still Muslim," she'd tell them. Now, she says, "People are like, 'Yeah, so what, she's Muslim.'"

Rashida Tlaib, an immigration lawyer from Michigan, never thought about running for office until after the terrorist attacks, when she said she saw the immigration system being used to target people of Middle Eastern descent and felt a responsibility to get involved.

After she worked on immigration reform, Tlaib was approached by the Michigan House floor leader, who wanted her to work for him, then later urged her to run for his seat. Tlaib was also recently tapped to be Barack Obama campaign's liaison to the Arab American and Muslim American communities.

Having won the primary in her heavily Democratic, majority Latino district, Tlaib will likely to join lawmakers in Lansing next session, and she looks forward to exposing them to Muslim holidays and traditions like fasting the month of Ramadan.

But Tlaib is quick to emphasize that she didn't run because she's Muslim American; it's just part of who she is. When she walked her district's neighborhoods, people were more interested in talking about crime and foreclosures than her unfamiliar name.

For entire article: On ballots this Nov: More Muslim American women

For a follow-up story on Rashida Tlaib (who won her race):
Michigan Legislature getting 1st female Muslim

obama inspires afro-brazilians

Al-Jazeera: Obama inspires Afro-Brazilians by Gabriel Elizondo in Salvador, Brazil

obama and hip-hop

NPR: Obama Hip-Hop: From Mixtapes To Mainstream
CNN: Barack Obama gets name-dropped in hip-hop
Washington Post: Rappers' Shout-Outs Make Obama Skip a Beat

XXL: Yes there is anti-Obama hip-hop

the small man...

The small man
Builds cages for everyone
He
Knows.
While the sage,
Who has to duck his head
When the moon is low,
Keeps dropping keys all night long
For the
Beautiful
Rowdy
Prisoners.

- Hafiz

it's a new day - will.i.am

Obviously the election of Barack Obama is an incredibly profound historical milestone for the United States and so in some sense it is a "New Day. At the same time, it still remains to be seen to what extent Obama will try to re-create the Clinton administration, rule as a centrist or chart a bolder leftward-leaning course. I'm cautiously optimistic but I'm not sure if we can really expect a "revolution" which will suddenly make everything better (especially given the appointment of Rahm Emmanuel as chief of staff). However, I do think that we will start to make some baby-steps in the right direction over time.

Secondly, all these political will.i.am tracks (involving dozens of other musicians and actors) are making me wonder if in the Obama era, hip-hop will go from being protest music to pro-establishment patriotic music? Just a thought.