Articles of Interest 6/11/07
Flip through Fordson High School yearbooks and you’ll see a marked change. In 1990, only seven seniors at the Dearborn school wore hijab in their class photos. That’s less than 5% of the female students in the senior class of a public school with a student body that’s at least 85% of Arab descent. In the class of 2006, 78 are wearing hijab — 40% of the women in the class
Grassroots roared and the immigration plan collapsed -
The undoing of the immigration bill in the Senate this week had many players, but none more effective than angry voters like Monique Thibodeaux, who joined a nationwide campaign to derail it.
Mrs. Thibodeaux, an office manager at a towing company here in suburban Detroit, became politically active as she never had before. Guided by conservative Internet organizations, she made calls and sent e-mail messages to senators across the country and pushed her friends to do the same
I can see no reason for Islam’s universalities [not to be conflated with uniformity] to not stay firmly intact while looking ahead. But how does one navigate this path, where there are so many pitfalls lurking in dark patches? One of the straps that I see that holds much of us to the chair is the strap of Tradition.
Filed under: Changing World
Thanks for the nod, Tariq.
You know - this would make an interesting topic - the iconography of hijab and how it and therefore, women, become “icons” of Islam and what that might mean. Like being a moon and crescent, at least in the dominant culture’s perception.
The number of hijabs you see is definitely a sign or “flag” of how many Muslims are there in a Muslim enclave because the men are basically blending in. The women have no such option.
As-salaamu ‘alaykum.
Niraj Warikoo really put some effort into that Freep report on hijaab in metro Detroit. Still, the article could have been more comprehensive. Nevertheless, tell a muslimah or two about it. Hijaab-wearing cheerleaders? Oh my…
Abdul Quddus…
Wallahi…I hate you for the Sake of Allah (awj) …
Abu Ameerah, I’m sure you do. Don’t you find that… ignoble?
Abdul-Quddus,
I am a white convert to Islam. I am married to an Arab lady and we have two boys. I am not an extremist, thank God I found the middle of the road. It is pretty clear you suffered Super Salafi Burnout, it is a pretty common occurance.
Anyway, I love you for the sake of Allah and hope you find your way back to us.
Abu Ameerah,
I would not get overly caught up in the man’s “apostasy”. It may have been, as Abu Sinan suggests, “Salafi burnout”, or perhaps there are other mitigating factors. Let your own conviction comfort you.
There’s an old Sufi maxim that sounds good just about now: “What benefit shall I derive from attending religious gatherings, while I remain steeped in sin and unable to leave it?” The archer must continue to shoot! If he does not hit his target today, he will hit it tomorrow.” Abdul-Quddus, I am not suggesting you were steeped in sin - just some words for thought.
Besides a simple “the God that failed” reading of this, I usually find it more revealing to look into the person’s past. Psychological. Family. To look there and see what are the possible mitigating factors that could cause one to loose faith. Perhaps to look even at his/her impetus for “embracing” the religion. This is not a phenomenon that happens to Muslims alone. After all, many “converts” to Islam are obviously apostatizing from something else as well as people of all backgrounds and faiths that “loose faith”. Perhaps Abdul-Quddus’ Islam failed to deliver unto him a sense of ownership. Let us not forget, after the death of the Prophet, all of Arabia was on the verge of apostasy. And as a matter of historical fact, it had more to do with Suhail ibn ‘Amr, a man who, initially opposing the Muslims, came to Islam’s defense and kept to a large extent Arabia from apostatizing due to his ingrained “ownership” of the religion. I think this is something that many of us “converts” here often do not have - a sense of ownership. Most of us have taken someone else’s history, someone else’s prerogative, and have tried to swallow someone else’s prescription. In contrary, we often find little [and are encouraged to not think so!] in our own historical, cultural milieus that can provide something meaningful to our Islam. Wa’llahi, this is disastrous! But the doctor diagnoses each patient individually and prescribes his or her exact medicine. In truth, perhaps because Abdul-Quddus’ apostasy touches so many in a negative way versus the hundreds if not more, apostate Blackamerican Muslims [I'm talking just about here in the Philly area alone] that have either left Islam from a practicing point of view, having mixed it with other mischief, such as Egyptology, Numerology, 5% rhetoric, and the list goes on. Perhaps because urban black apostasy takes on a different flavor, and that while that person may not be a Muslim any longer, we still recognize them as a “brother or a sister”. I work with a woman who used to practice. She has since left Islam [she openly talks with me about "when I used to be Muslim", such and such], having reverted back to a self-serving-style Catholicism. Other black Muslim women there, while taking some disdain at her, still embrace her as a black woman.
Abdul-Quddus. I have not read your blog, only skimmed over it. I will try and take the time to do so and then I may have some questions for you. Not as an angry Muslim but as a social scientist. I hope you will entertain my questions.
The Qur’ân says, “إن علينا للهدى Without a doubt, the responsibility of Guidance is on Us!” [92: 12].
And God knows best [p.s. Tariq! I got dibs on this one! Gonna have to make a post on this].
Very beautiful and wise words Marc!
It would be wonderful if we all took a moment to consider how we treat other people, including nonMuslims, and the effect it has on them. How many of us have turned hearts away from Islam due to our character? When I used to give dawah on black forums, I used to hear it all the time… we aren’t interested because all the Muslims I’ve dealt with are blah blah blah (often negative and horrific interactions).
How many of us have brought people into the deen because of our character? A few months ago one sister told me she’s wearing hijab because of me. I was taken aback, but she explained I was the only sister who didn’t frown at her or mistreat her because she didn’t have it on and she’ll never forget that. But that’s my nature – I can’t mistreat anyone. Also, I’ve seen more than enough women with a scarf on the head and tight clothes… men get turned on my bodies, not hair. Yes, some do have hair fetishes but thighs, legs, and “junk in the trunk,” will cause fire to burn within and man with eyes.
The Quran teaches us how to deal with people in a beautiful manner. It also advises us to love and hate IN MODERATION, as that person whom you hate today may become your close friend.
Allah is very forgiving and merciful… yes we may have Islam today, there is no guarantee we will die with La ilaha il Allah in our hearts. Yes, we can say it, but our lifestyle reflects if we sincerely mean it. Remember the hadith, a person can spend his entire life doing the deeds of the people of Paradise, then do a deed of a person from the fire and spend eternity in the fire and vice versa. I have met more people who claim to be atheists who have the characteristics of a true believer – beautiful manners, loving and giving spirits (helping those in need), treating all folks with respect, always smiling, no negative aura…
My point is we ought to check ourselves. Many of us are the reason why so many flee and hate Islam.
Abu Sinan, thank-you for the kind words. Abu Ameerah’s frustration and anger may be justified. When challenging religious views, even in a polite fashion, it is inevitable that the sentiments of some believer will be afflicted. So I understand Abu’s reaction as natural and, therefore, I will not quarrel with the brother.
Marc, as an adolescent, prior to my conversion to Islaam, I was an agnostic that had an atom of belief in God. The deity I knew about in my youth was the Biblical God. Unfortunately, we never read much of the Bible and so my source of knowledge was from my parents and television. I once asked my mother, “Where is God?” She replied, “In the light.” I looked behind her and asked, “Is he in the lightbulb?” She did not respond. So, prior to my late teenage years, I was mostly influenced by movies such as The Ten Commandments and Christian films of the supposed resurrection of ‘Eesaa. In my teenager years, I was a die-hard believer in UFOs and Ufology. However, all of this I eventually dismissed with a rational mind until I developed a clinical depression. This illness brought about the ability to believe again because the suffering expanded my consciousness and focused my attention sharply towards life’s immediate questions. “Why do I suffer? What happens when we die? What is the meaning of life? Is their really a God? If He exists, what is my relationship with Him?” Et cetera. When Islaam was brought to my attention, It seemingly provided many suitable answers to my questions. But in retrospect, so did Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other faith systems. An indepth criticism of Islaam in Tariq’s blog would be disrespectful so I won’t go into detail. But when one experiences difficulty sustaining a belief in the unseen and infallibility of the rasool and rightly-guided sahaaba, faith in the Qur’aan and religion is then on the brink of collapse. I simply could not believe, mostly because what I had embraced initially was in contrast to the unadulterated religion of Islaam I later discovered.
When I read compassionate comments from people like Marc and Abu Sinan, it rekindles my interest in Islaam and keeps me wandering in the Muslim blogosphere (a place I feel very much at home with). Abu Ameerah, my brother, please do not push people away. I did not revert for dubious reasons but because I stumbled upon beauty, ethics, traditions, and truths that I still acknowledge as inherent within al-Islaam.
Abdul-Quddus,
I believe you and I could have a very interesting conversation. Your reflections on your child concerning a lay Christian affiliation coupled with your interest in the occult smack of a familiarity.
I am curious - you seem to be a fairly intelligent bloke, so why place so much emphasis on others? Perhaps you never concretized exactly what it was you believed in? Perhaps this isn’t the best forum, or place, just curious. Thanks.
Salaams Abdul-Quddus, Marc, Abu Sinan, and Bint Will,
I have earlier commented on Abdul Quddus’s blog why I think people are so threatened by apostates and non-practicing Muslims. I have to admit, I have keep holding out faith that those who have turned away from the Deen return. I think Abdul-Quddus is bright and his perspective is thought provoking. Witnessing the ineffable, the Absolute is something that goes beyond reason and rational reflection. I have had experiences in my life that cannot be proven rationally or empirically, but they are ways the God revealed himself. Some of it is signs, some dreams, some experiences personal. When I was young, I was had aspirations of being a scientist. In order to reconcile my faith with scientific thinking, I had to take Kierkergaard’s leap to faith. Now my philosophical and analytical training has pointed out the shortcomings of Enlightenment thinking. The more that I come to understand the cognitive structures that we use to make sense of our experiences, the more that I see the limitations our limited sensory perception and our rational faculties which are deeply embedded in the worldviews that we inherit. Scientific thinking requires a leap of faith. It is through faith, whatever faith that we subscribe to, that we make sense of our world.
Just random thoughts on a hot Sunday afternoon.
Peace,
Aziza
“I would not get overly caught up in the man’s “apostasy”. ”
–Actually, I am not caught up in his “apostasy” … that is between him and his Creator (Azza wa’Jall). I just don’t care much for the tone that some take toward Islam — including Mr. Quddus.
–I also find the rather long-winded responses here to be funny. : )