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DESIGN & LAYOUT BY: Omar El-Haddad, DesignWorksCopyeditor: Jay Willoughby

The views expressed in Islamic Horizons are not necessarily the views of its editors nor of the Islamic Society of North America.

Islamic Horizons does not accept unsolicitated articles or submissions.

All references to the Qur'an made are from The Holy Qur'an: Text,Translation and Commentary, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Amana, Brentwood, MD.

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C O N T E N T SVOL.39 NO.3 MAY/JUNE 2010

visit isna online www.isna.net

DEPARTMENTSEditorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6ISNA Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8National News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Food for the Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Matrimonials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

FEATURE: Falling Barriers . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Why is alcohol consumption among Muslim Americans on the rise?Jihad Against Dependency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Drinking to be ‘Normal’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

ISLAMIC HOLY SITESAl-Aqsa Mosque: The Furthest Mosque Brought Near . . . . . 18

PROFILEHashim Amla: The Noble Aspirant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

ISLAM IN AMERICAMaligned and Abused . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Cradle of Scholars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Haiti Days of Haze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Mission to Haiti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

THE MUSLIM WORLD Bangladesh: Bludgeoned in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Bosnia: Awaiting Functionalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

TRIBUTESAminah Assilmi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

HAITIM I S S I O N T OPAGE 54

COVER STORY:Rest Commercial FreeCan Muslims be buried without going under the cost of burying?Buried Under the Cost of Dying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Rest Commercial Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

(TOP LEFT) PHOTOGRAPH BY MOIN Z. SIDDIQUI

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MAY/JUNE 20106 ISLAMIC HORIZONS

MPUBLISHERThe Islamic Society of North America(ISNA)

PRESIDENTDr. Ingrid Mattson

SECRETARY GENERALSafaa Zarzour______________________

EDITOROmer Bin Abdullah______________________

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Susan Douglass (Chair); Dr. Jimmy Jones;Dr. Sulayman Nyang; Dr. Ingrid Mattson.______________________

ISLAMIC HORIZONSis a bimonthly publication of the IslamicSociety of North America (ISNA) P.O. Box 38 • Plainfield IN 46168-0038 Copyright ©2010All rights reserved

Reproduction, in whole or in part, of this material in mechanical orelectronic form without writtenpermission is strictly prohibited.

Islamic Horizons magazine is available electronically on ProQuest’s Ethnic NewsWatch andLexisNexis, and is indexed by Readers’Guide to Periodical Literature.Please see your librarian for access. The name “Islamic Horizons” is protected through trademark registration ISSN 8756-2367 ______________________

POSTMASTERSend address changes to Islamic Horizons, P.O. Box 38 Plainfield, IN 46168-0038______________________

SUBSCRIPTIONSAnnual, domestic - $24 Canada - US$30 Overseas airmail - US$60 TO SUBSCRIBEContact Islamic Horizons at (317) 839-8157 / (317) 839-1811Fax (317) 839-1840e-mail: [email protected] ______________________

ADVERTISINGContact Islamic Horizons at (703) 742-8108 / Fax (703) 464-7326 [email protected], www.isna.net for rates ______________________

Canada Post International Publications Mail Product (Canadian Distribution)Sales Agreement No. 0666300______________________

CORRESPONDENCESend all correspondence and/or Lettersto the Editor at: Islamic HorizonsP.O. Box 38 • Plainfield, IN 46168-0038E-main: [email protected]

Burying OurLoved Ones

Many Muslims, in common withour fellow citizens, tend not to think

of death, despite its frequent men-tion in many khutbahs. Yes, it is

something that will eventually hap-pen (Qur’an 29:57)—but most likely

far in the future and to someone else.And so we continue to live in the illu-

sion of personal immunity to thismost basic law of all life. One result

of this delusion is that our communi-ty has traditionally not paid much

attention to burying its beloved ones.But this attitude is changing, for

community members—sometimeseven an entire community—are now

acquiring the necessary knowledgeand skills, as well as land and facili-

ties, to send their beloved ones onthe next stage of their journey

toward eternity with the benefits of aproper Muslim burial.

The $20 billion funeral industry isone of America’s “big” businesses,

with its own trade and lobbyingassociations. Every year, Americans

arrange over 2 million funerals at anaverage cost of $7,300 each, a price

that does not include the relevantcemetery costs. Moreover, depend-ing upon which services and prod-ucts are requested, many funerals

end up costing $10,000 or more. Infact, a funeral can often be consid-

ered one of a consumer’s mostexpensive purchases. Simple burialswere the standard practice in Amer-

ica until the Civil War. But this allchanged, according to “The New

York Times Practical Guide to Prac-tically Everything” (St. Martin’s

Press: 2006), with the developmentof modern embalming techniques

and the expanding railroad system.

Another reason for becominginvolved with this industry is that it

has recently been the recipient ofsome rather negative publicity. Forexample, a 16 March 2010 FederalTrade Commission report, compiledafter undercover inspections, foundthat fully one-third of all funeralhomes inspected in 2009 were violat-ing the consumer protection rulesdesigned to safeguard the rights ofgrieving families. And then there isthe sensitive matter of “encouraging”the surviving family members toshow their “respect” for the deceasedby purchasing unwanted, unneeded,and non-environmental-friendly ser-vices and options. Just consider thepractice of embalming, which usesmany toxic (viz., bleach, formalde-hyde, and, formerly, arsenic) sub-stances to mask the appearance ofdeath and postpone the corpse’sdecomposition until everyone canmake it to the funeral.

As not every Muslim community canafford to develop and maintain itsown cemetery, members need to enterthis profession, familiarize themselveswith existing cemetery regulationsand operations, and establish contactswith local funeral houses and ceme-tery operators to arrange for suitableburial space and respect. One area inwhich Muslims might be able to makea valuable contribution is the conceptof “reusable graves.” Muslims in Aus-tralia are now following this course,as that country is confronting theproblem of finding new land in whichto inter its deceased citizens. Ourcommunities will face the same prob-lem eventually, for the North Ameri-can custom is to hold graves in per-petuity. Perhaps some of us, besideslobbying civic bodies, should consid-er becoming involved with organiza-tions such as the Funeral ConsumersAlliance (www.funerals.org) toinform its members of our concernsand burial practices.

Muslims should realize that issuesrelated to death are just as importantas those related to life. Burial practicesinvolve more than just respect for thedeparted, for they impact not only ourbank accounts, but also our environ-ment—and therefore our health.

EDITORIAL

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‘Best of Class’Award for IH

“I slamic Horizons” was among the winnersof the 2010 DeRose-Hinkhouse Awardspresented by the Religion Communicators

Council (RCC), an interfaith association of reli-gion communicators. The awards were for the“Best of Class” category (Mar./Apr. 2009),“Award of Excellence” (Mar./Apr. 2009), and a“Certificate of Merit” (Nov./Dec. 2009). This isthe second such RCC award for “Islamic Hori-zons” under the editorship of Omer Bin Abdul-lah. The award was presented on 8 Apr. at theRCC’s decennial conference in Chicago.

The DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards aregiven annually to active RCC members whodemonstrate excellence in religious communica-tions and public relations. Started in 1967, theawards are named for the late Victor DeRose andthe late Paul M. Hinkhouse, leading lithographersin New York City and longtime RCC friends.Hinkhouse was also a charter member of the Reli-gious Publicity Council, forerunner of the RCC,and secretary of the Presbyterian Board of For-eign Missions. Both men shared a strong interestin, and concern for, excellence in communication.

The RCC, founded in 1929, comprises religioncommunicators who work in print and electroniccommunication, advertising, and public rela-tions. Its members promote excellence in com-municating religious faith and values in the pub-

lic arena and encouraging mutual under-standing among religious and faith groups.

Dr. Zafar Ishaq Ansari, a renowned schol-ar and director of the Islamic Research Insti-tute at the International Islamic University,Islamabad, remarked in his note to the edi-tor: “‘Islamic Horizons’” has been constantlymoving ahead, crossing one milestone afteranother. It is an elegant and engaging maga-zine, every page of which bespeaks of com-mendable editorial skills and good taste.”

Muslim IntegrationOn 22 Feb. in Berlin, Dr. Sayyid M.Syeed (national director, ISNAOffice of Interfaith and Commu-nity Alliances) addressed the“What Role Do Religion andCulture Play in Integration? ATransatlantic Comparison ofMuslim Integration in Germanyand the U.S.” conference. Heassured the attendees of hiscontinued support for a furthertransatlantic dialogue and co-operation between Americanand German Muslims.

At the conference WolfgangSchäuble, Germany’s federalminister of the interior, initiated adialogue in an attempt to createa central representative body forMuslims in Germany. The MuslimGerman speakers have under-taken a very critical assessmentof this proposal, because Islamdoes not have a hierarchicalchurch-like structure. Partici-pants agreed that the socialproblems of Europe’s Muslimsare not caused by their religion.One suggestion was that Eu-rope’s Muslims could learn a lotfrom Muslim Americans when itcomes to running their organiza-tions, especially in the field of in-stitutional development.

Dr. Sayyid met with represen-tatives of the American Em-bassy in Berlin and with JosefWinkler (member, German Par-liament; deputy chairman,Green Party), whose mother isfrom Kerala and father is fromGermany. Winkler said that he isfascinated by the integrationand institution building of Mus-lims in America.

In addition, he met with repre-sentatives of the Islamic Federa-tion of Berlin. He was accompa-nied by Mounir Azzaoui, aMuslim German researcher whorecently concluded his researchat Georgetown University onMuslim American organizationsand has been engaged in Ameri-can-German-Muslim dialogues.

This was the second of a se-ries of conference organized bythe American Institute for Con-temporary German Studies. Athird conference will be held on3 May in cooperation with theWoodrow Wilson Center for In-ternational Scholars.

Chicago Plans Convention Welcome

As Ramadan will start inAugust, the ISNA Con-vention will once again

be held over July Fourth week-end. During 2-5 July, Chica-go’s Rosemont ConventionCenter will be the site of manyinformative and inspiring lec-tures and workshops, not tomention the much-anticipatedISNA Bazaar, whose 550booths will offer a wide vari-ety of merchandise as well as ameeting place for friends andfamilies, says Basharat Saleem

(director, Conventions, Con-ferences, and Special Projects).

Chicago’s Muslims are striv-ing to set new standards inhospitality as the event returnsto their city after a two-yearabsence. Preparations are be-ing managed by the Conven-tion Steering Committee,which has more than fifteensubcommittees working oneverything from guest hospi-tality to media relations.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad (direc-tor, Programs Development

and Education Services) saidthat this year’s conventiontheme, “Nurturing Compas-sionate Communities: Con-necting Faith and Service,”was inspired by Qur’an 5:2:“Help one another towardkindness and piety; do nothelp one another in further-ing sin and hostility.”

ISNAMATTERS

WELCOME: Secretary General SafaaZarzour and ISNA staff meet frequentlyto fine-tune Convention preparations _________________________________

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MAY/JUNE 2010 9ISLAMIC HORIZONS

F ady Qaddoura, an ISNA2009-10 Fellow who workedwith the Senate Democratic

Caucus’ chief legal counsel, wasamong the fifteen interns recog-nized by the Indiana State Senatefor their outstanding efforts asSenate Democrat interns duringthe 2010 session of the 116th Indi-ana General Assembly.

Qaddoura, a native ofJerusalem and an IUPUI graduatestudent, is working on his Ph.D. inpublic policy and government. Healso received the 2010 Rick GudalMemorial Scholarship, whichhonors one Senate intern fromeach caucus for exceptional dedi-cation in assisting constituents.

The award honors former Senatestaffer Rick Gudal, who neverturned down a challenge or an op-portunity to improve the life of aconstituent or a co-worker.

As an intern, Qaddoura draft-ed resolutions and motions, re-searched legal matters and poli-cy-related issues, and filed andtracked amendments in the Sen-ate. He also assisted senators, leg-islative assistants, staff members,other interns and constituentswith their legal concerns and in-quiries. The annual internshipprogram is designed to providevaluable experiences for studentswho want to become integrally in-volved in the legislative process.

Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed was the keynote speaker at the fourth annual MiladConference, “Prospects and Challenges of Intrafaith,” hosted by BaitUl Ilm

Academy (Streamwood, IL) on 13 Mar. During histalk, he stressed mutual respect among Muslims,particularly when we speak about each other’srevered leaders, so that we can manage thechallenges of intrafaith and Islamic harmony.He shared some of his experiences in buildingbridges of understanding with Catholics, Baptists,and various Jewish groups. While relating theexperiences of various migrant communities, he saidthat Muslims will be accepted by society at large if

we get involved in society and show all Americans the true face of Islam.Dr. Liyakat N. Takim (associate professor, Department of Religious

Studies, University of Denver) said the West and particularly Christianshave considered Islam as a rival and competitor from the very beginning.Therefore, their research on it was directed not toward understanding it,but toward attacking the Prophet in order to discredit Islam. In thenineteenth and twentieth centuries, according to him, Muslims began tonotice some objectivity and fairness. Given this reality, Muslims have tocome forward and teach Islam at universities and get involved with themedia so that it is presented accurately.

Maulana Mukhtar Faezi (dean, BaitUl Ilm Academy), further conveyingthe intra-faith message, declared: “We shouldn’t look at our sects asdivisions, [but] rather look at them as our diversity. Our dream is to buildbridges among all civilizations and faiths, but let us begin at home.”

Building Intrafaith

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2010 Rick GudalMemorial Scholarship

Winner: FadyQaddoura, IUPUI

Indiana Senate Honors ISNA Fellow

> Candidate must have

degree in Islamic Studies

> Sound knowledge of

Islamic history

> Fluency in English and

Arabic

For additional details,

please email resume and

3 references to:

[email protected]

ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF ORANGE COUNTYGARDEN GROVE, CALIFORNIA

Invites resumes for the position of

YOUTH DIRECTOR/ASSISTANT RELIGIOUS DIRECTOR

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NATIONALNEWS

President Obama, announcing his ap-pointment of Rashad Hussain as hisspecial envoy to the Organization of

the Islamic Conference (OIC), said: “As anaccomplished lawyer and a close and trust-ed member of my White House staff,Rashad has played a key role in developingthe partnerships I called for in Cairo. Andas a hafiz of the Qur’an, he is a respectedmember of the American Muslim commu-nity, and I thank him for carrying forwardthis important work.”

While serving as Obama’s deputy associ-ate counsel, Hussain focused on national se-curity, new media, and science and technol-

ogy issues. He has also worked with the Na-tional Security staff in pursuing the “NewBeginning” Obama outlined in his June2009 address in Cairo. Hussain had previ-ously served as a trial attorney at the De-partment of Justice and as a legislative assis-tant on the House Judiciary Committee,where he concentrated on national security-related issues. Armed with his J.D. fromYale Law School, this former editor of the“Yale Law Journal” worked as a law clerk toDamon J. Keith on the U.S. Court of Ap-peals. He also has an M.A. in public admin-istration (Kennedy School of Government)and Arabic and Islamic Studies (Harvard).

New Face of Muslim Outreach

MLK Public Service Award Honoree

Hafizur Rehman, MDFAAP, is New York’sfirst Muslim to be

honored with the SuffolkCounty Dr. Martin LutherKing Jr. Public ServiceAward. The award was pre-sented at the 21st SuffolkCounty gala luncheon, heldin Long Island on 15 Jan.

Dr. Rehman, a communi-ty leader and frequent par-ticipant at interfaith, anti-bias, and ethical issuemeetings, is a senior pedia-trician at the Good Samari-tan Hospital Medical Centerand the Southside Hospital.He also wears many otherhats: a diplomat of theAmerican Board of Pedi-atrics, a fellow of the Amer-ican Academy of Pediatrics,

the immediate past presi-dent of the Islamic MedicalAssociation of North Amer-ica (IMANA) and a memberof its board of regents, a lifemember of both IMANA andthe Association of Pak-istani-origin Physicians inAmerica (APPNA), and im-mediate past president ofMasjid Darul Quran as well

as of the Council ofMosques of Nassau andSuffolk Counties.

In addition, he serves onthe Bay Shore InterfaithCouncil and was a memberof the Bay Shore Clergy As-sociation, a past member ofISNA’s Majlis al-Shura, and(currently) an honorarytrustee of the Suffolk Coun-ty Coalition against Domes-tic Violence. Dr. Rehman,who has been awarded andrecognized both at homeand abroad, also serves onthe Town of Islip’s Anti-bias Taskforce and as anambassador of peace forthe Universal Peace Feder-ation and the Interreligiousand International Federa-tion of World Peace.

First MuslimJudges

Prof. Hany Mawla, 36, becamethe first Muslim appointed toNew Jersey’s superior court on

Jan. 27 when he was sworn in to itsfamily division in Somerset County.An Arab American who specializes infamily law, this youngest appointeeto the state superior court alsoserved as chairman and commis-sioner of the New Jersey Arab-American Heritage Commission, es-tablished by former Gov. Jon S.Corzine in 2008 within the Depart-ment of State.

During his career, he has alsoserved as a commissioner to theNew Jersey Commission on CivilRights and is a member of the NewJersey Supreme Court StandingCommittee on Minority Concernsand the Seton Hall University Schoolof Law Dean’s Diversity Council. Aschairman of the Arab-AmericanHeritage Commission, Mawla helpedcreate links with other heritagecommissions such as the New Jer-sey Amistad Commission, which en-sures that the history and contribu-tions of African Americans areintegrated into public schools, andthe New Jersey Commission onHolocaust Education. MayorDomenick Stampone of Haledon, NJ,a law school classmate and closefriend, said Mawla’s new role is agreat moment for Arabs and Muslims.

Alabama’s newest federal judgeAbdul Karim Kallon, 41, is also thestate’s first Muslim judge. Sworn inon 29 Jan., Birmingham-basedKallon presides over the state’snorthern district, which includesJefferson and thirty other counties.

A panel of Alabama legal expertsassembled by Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) recommended Kallon to Presi-dent Obama for this lifetime post. Heis filling the seat left vacant by hismentor, the retiring U. W. Clemon,who in 1980 became the state’s firstAfrican-American judge. Kallon, rat-ed “well-qualified” by the ABA, isviewed as a future nominee for evenhigher federal courts.

The Sierra Leone-born Kallon andhis family moved to America in 1980.A graduate of Dartmouth College(1990) and the University of Penn-sylvania Law School (1993), he haspracticed law in Birmingham since1994, representing mostly employersin civil cases in federal court.

Rashad Husainserves as America’sreach out to theMuslim world

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T he North AmericanImams Federation (NAIF)held its seventh annual

conference during 6-8 Feb. inNew York to discuss “TeamWork: Together We Are Better.”More than 300 imams andMuslim leaders attended.

Dr. Salah Al-Sawi and Dr.Muwaffaq Al-Galaieni dis-cussed various fiqhi issues. At-torneys Omar T. Mohammediand Mujahid Idlibi offered aperspective on arbitration. Dr.Mohammad Qatanami andShaykh Dr. Bassam Obeid ana-lyzed New Jersey’s experienceswith arbitration. Dr AhmedShqeirat spoke on “Conflict inMasaajid: Reasons and Solu-tions.” Imam Abdul Malik Mu-jahid (chairman, Parliament ofWorld Religions; president,

SoundVision) talked about “TheListening Imams.”

Imam Abdul Latif al-Aminand Imam Muhammad Musapresented the experiences of theImams Council of New York andNew Jersey, and ShaykhMuhammad S. Adly spoke onthe Imams Council of SouthCarolina.

Dr. Sulayman Nyang, ImamSiraj Wahhaj, and Dr. JamalBadawi were the keynote speak-ers. Islamic Relief USA (Dr. AbedAyoub), Life USA (Ayman AbuRahma), ICNA, Peace, GuidanceFinance, and other organizationsalso made presentations.

The National Association of

Professional and Executive Women

(USA) has named author and

illustrator Linda “iLham” Barto as

its 2010 Woman of the Year in the

arts category. Only one woman

from each category is selected

from across the country. Barto was

chosen because of her many

accomplishments, which included

being a featured author at the

2009 Art Expo America (NY) and

having three books published in

2009. Her latest book is “The Bible and the Qur’an at the Edge of

Renaissance: A Judeo-Christian-Muslim Compass to a World of

Peace” (Mill City Press) which beckons readers to focus on the

consonant values of all religions of light to wonderfully and

vigorously affect the world for a global, spiritual renaissance.

Barto, a veteran of the US Air Force and North Carolina Air

National Guard, lives in North Carolina with her husband Tom

and is the mother of two children.

2010 Woman of the Year

Imams Meet

11ISLAMIC HORIZONS

WELFARE: Imams congregate to seekbetter working conditions________________________________________

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The India CultureCenter (ICC) Hous-ton has recognizedMohdudul Huq(senior planner, Plan-ning and Develop-ment Department,City of Houston) forproviding guidancethat helped with thedesignation processof Mahatma GandhiDistrict.

India’s consul gen-eral Sanjiv Arorapresented the award.

The district wasformally inauguratedon 16 Jan. Mayor An-nise Parker declaredthe day as “MahatmaGandhi District Day.”Rep. Al Green (D-TX)gifted the ICC anAmerican flag thathad flown on theCapitol in Washing-ton, DC. Other civicleaders at the ceremo-ny included StateReps. Scott Hochberg(D) and KristiThibaut (D); judgesRavi Sandill, JimRichards, and SteveKirkland; city councilmember JolandaJones; and MJ Khan.

Timur Yuskaev was named director ofHartford Seminary’s Islamic Chap-laincy Program and assistant professor

of contemporary Islam by President HeidiHadsell. He will also be associate editor ofthe “Muslim World” journal.

Yuskaev, a doctoral candidate at the Univer-sity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, hastaught at the University of Colorado at Boul-der, served as an adjunct faculty member at St.Francis College, New York City, worked as acoordinator of educational programs at the In-terfaith Center of New York (1999-2005), anddirected the Muslims in New York Civic LifeProject (funded by the Carnegie Corporationof New York). His areas of specialization in-clude Qur’anic studies, anthropology of theQur’an, Islamic homiletics, Muslim moderni-ties, Islam in North America, and Americanand African-American religious history.

Dr. Ingrid Mattson (president, ISNA; direc-tor of the Seminary’s Macdonald Center forthe Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Rela-tions), who chaired the search committee, re-marked that Yuskaev’s interfaith work demon-strates his commitment to this engagement.Among his publications are several entries forthe “Encyclopedia of Muslim-American His-tory” and a chapter, “Training Teachers inAmerican Religious Diversity” (published in“Building the Interfaith Youth Movement”).

Mohammad TariqurRahman is the new sec-retary general of the Is-lamic Circle of NorthAmerica (ICNA). Theappointment was an-nounced by ICNA presi-dent Dr. Zahid H.

Bukhari at the first meeting of the Majlis al-Shuraheld on 20-21 Feb. in Herndon, VA. Naeem M. Baigwill serve as vice president for public affairs, and Dr.Rashid Siddiqui will serve as vice president for re-source development.

The new Shura members for 2010-11 took theiroaths at the annual general assembly meeting held inNew York on 24 Jan. The members are: Dr. Khur-shid Khan (NY), Dr. Talat Sultan (NJ), Dr. Moham-mad Yousufuddin (NY), Naeem M. Baig (VA), Dr.Mahmood Aijazi (VA), Sheikh Abdool Rahman Khan(IL), Dr. Zahid Mohsin (IL), Salman Mujahid (IL),Fariha Shakeel (IL), Junaid Sheikh (CA), Syed WaqasAhmad (CA), Farah Siddiqui (CA), Maqsood Ahmad(LA), Haseeb Abdali (TX), Salma Malik (TX), Dr.Mohsin Ansari (MD), Dr. Mohammad Yunus (FL),and Hanif Ismail (TX).

NATIONALNEWSand thus placed on thenational Green Pages,”said company co-founder Yasir Syeed.

Green America (for-merly Co-op America;www.greenamericato-day.org) is one of theleading organizationsworking for a more sus-tainable and greenerAmerica. Establishedin 1982, this not-for-profit has been a leaderin improving our worldand making millions ofpeople more aware ofalternatives to “con-ventional” ways of do-ing things. GreenAmerica has played acritical role in champi-oning fair trade, sus-tainable agriculture,social justice, and alter-native energy initia-tives in America.

HoustonianExults overGandhi Hartford Chaplaincy

Names New Head

ICNA’s NewExecutive

Green LabelThe Northern Virginia-based Green Zabiha hasearned Green America’scoveted “CertifiedGreen Business” label.

“Green Zabiha is thefirst organization of anykind focused on organicgrass-fed meats to re-ceive this certificate.And the first halal com-pany to ever apply,much less get awarded;

CORRIGENDUMThe photo of ILM Academy(left) published in “IslamicHorizons” (March/Apr. 2010,p. 38) of students meetingwith Pennies for Educationand Health board members isfrom ILM Academy located inHouston, TX, not Seattle, WA.

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MAY/JUNE 2010ISLAMIC HORIZONS

NEWS BRIEFS^ The Third International Conference on Ad-vancement in Science and Technology (iCAST)2010 will discuss “The Science of Traditional Prac-tices in Health and Disease.” It will be held inKuantan, Malaysia, on 26-29 Nov. 2010(www.iiu.edu.my/icast/2010).

^ Dr. Abd A. Alghanem, who has served on theMichigan Board of Medicine for seven years, hasbeen elected its vice chair. The board oversees thelicenses of about 10,000 physicians in Michigan.Dr. Alghanem, a graduate of Syria’s DamascusUniversity, has been practicing plastic surgery inMichigan for over twenty years.

^ The Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation has donated$145,000 to American University’s Ibn KhaldunChair of Islamic Studies, currently held by Dr. Ak-bar Ahmed (left). The chair, part of the university’sSchool of International Service, works to enhancethe understanding of Islam among ordinary Ameri-cans and policymakers as well as promoting andengaging in interfaith dialogue through academicwork, public speaking, the arts, and the media. Theprogram has had a major impact on policymakers,think tanks, the media, students, and ordinary peo-ple all over the world, especially those in America.

In 2007, the foundation endowed the chair with$145,000 for an administrative and research assis-tant to support interfaith, government, and acade-mic projects.

^ The Burlington (VT) School Board has voted 8-1to add Eid al-Fitr to future school calendars to givestudents time off on Muslim holy days. Board mem-bers say the changes, which go into effect this fall,will not lengthen the school year.


Abdullah T. Antepli (Muslimchaplain, Duke University) gavethe Congress’ opening prayer on 3Mar. Antepli, who completed hisbasic imam training in his nativeTurkey and earned his Ph.D. fromHartford Seminary, was namedthe school’s first Muslim chaplainin July 2008. From 1996-2003, heworked on humanitarian projectsin Myanmar and Malaysia withthe Association of Social and Eco-nomic Solidarity with PacificCountries. During 2003-05, hewas Wesleyan University’s firstMuslim chaplain. He is also thefounder and executive boardmember of the Muslim ChaplainsAssociation and a member of theNational Association of Collegeand University Chaplains.

In Virginia, Imam Johari Abdul-Malik (director of outreach, Dar

Jewel-Osco, a food subsidiary chainbased in Melrose Park, IL, hasawarded its Hunger Relief Awardgrant to the Waukegan, IL-basedUMMA Center for its successful fooddistribution program. This competi-

tive grant recognizes excellence by organizations that help increase efficien-cy, access, and distribution of nutritious food to those with limited resources.

The Urban Muslim Minority Alliance (UMMA), a nonprofit organizationfounded in 2004, provides educational support, community resources, andoutreach programs for Waukegan’s underprivileged residents. UMMA,which earlier won the prestigious Google Grants award for excellence incharity, will use the Jewel-Osco grant to improve its food pantry services.Arshia Ali-Khan (fund and strategic development director) said thatmany needy people “rely on the UMMA Center’s food pantry program.”

Al-Hijrah) delivered the openingprayer for the General Assembly ofthe Virginia House of Delegates on11 Mar. The invitation was cospon-sored by Dels. Adam Ebbin (D) andKaye Kory (D). Kory has workedclosely with the mosque during hertenure on the Fairfax Countyschool board and with the mosque’ssponsorship of the “Students onSuspension (SOS)” program withthe Fairfax Partnership for Youth.

Under Imam Johari’s leadershipthe mosque is active in interfaith di-alogues; partners with the UPF20,000 Dialogues project, the annu-al Culmore Community Clean-upproject, and Habitat for HumanityNOVA; and plays a central role inVirginia’s Organized for Interfaith

NATIONALNEWS

Hunger Relief Star

Opening Prayers(left) Chaplain Antelpi with ISNA secretary generalSafaa Zarzour after delivering Congress’ openingprayer; Imam Johari opens the Virginia state generalassembly with an Islamic invocation__________________________________________

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Islamic Horizons welcomes letters about any article that hasappeared recently in the magazine. A letter must include thewriter’s mailing address, telephone number and e-mail. We mayedit letters for clarity, civility and accuracy, and they may beshortened for space requirements. We regret that we are unableto acknowledge letters.

Letters for publication should be e-mailed to [email protected].

Tips on Writing a Letter to the Editor:

• Write concisely and clearly.• Keep it to 150 words at most.• Letters are not rejected for publication because of their politicalcoloration. On the contrary, Letters to the Editor is a forum for avariety of voices. Some criticize, some seek to set the recordstraight, some want to add a different perspective or expertise toan issue. We welcome them all: the agreers, the dissenters, thecritics, the curmudgeons and even those who are happy with us.• Islamic Horizons and its parent, the Islamic Society of NorthAmerica (ISNA) reserve the right to include a response to any let-ter they deem.• We do not accept open letters, and we do not publish letterssent in a coordinated letter-writing campaign.

How to Submit a Letter to the Editor

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On 27 Feb., Madrasa Tul-Ilm (Schoolof Knowledge, MTI; www.isimti.org),the full-time Islamic school at MasjidAlFajr, Indianapolis, IN, won the “Acad-emic WorldQuest” 2010, a state cham-pionship held by the World AffairsCouncils of America in cooperation withthe Richard G. Lugar Franciscan Cen-ter for Global Studies. Principal TewfikChoukri remarked that this event wascontested by ten teams from across In-diana. MTI’s Team A and Team Bmade it to the final round of the StateChampionship University, where theydefeated the two-time state championsin the final round. MTI will representthe state in the competition’s nationalround in Washington, DC, on 24 Apr.

MTI students Kenaz Bakdash, Mo-hammad Aref, and Mohamad Saltagireceived Indiana University PurdueUniversity’s (IUPUI) Bepko scholar-ships, each one worth approximately$80,000; MTI senior Rawda Hamidreceived The Plater scholarship,

worth approximately $40,000. In the past three years alone, MTI

has drastically increased its studentbody, partnered with the IndianapolisInstitute of Qur’anic Memorization tograduate several huffaz, earned stateaccreditation, created a full-timetwelfth-grade year with electives andan Islamic calligraphy class, openedten AP (Advanced Placement) classesfor its high school students, and com-pletely updated its computer and sci-ence labs. In addition, it has received agreat deal of recognition as its studentshave won first prize at various fairsand competitions, scored exceptionallyhigh on SAT and ACT tests, and receivedmultiple full-tuition scholarships tocompetitive undergraduate and gradu-ate schools. Two students have alsoearned final standing in the NationalMerit and National AchievementScholarship programs.

Muslim Locator

State Champion

MuslimLocator, available at the iTunes Store, usesGPS technology and community support to helpMuslim travelers find places of worship, schools,and businesses throughout America. The applica-tion was developed by The Prosperity Fund, LLC(www.visualcv.com/theprosperityfund). Dr. MilesDavis (managing partner, The Prosperity Fund;director, Institute for Entrepreneurship at Shenan-doah University) said: “One of the unique aspects

of the MuslimLocator is the ability to continuously update our database withinput from the Muslim community. Currently, the MuslimLocator has over1500 mosques, Islamic centers and schools in its database. This number willincrease dramatically over time, as the Muslim community in the U.S. isvery dynamic—mosques expand, new schools open, and new enterprises arebeing launched on a daily basis. Users can submit names and locations ofmosques, schools and businesses to our administrator for verification.”

In keeping with the fund’s commitment to give back to the community,the firm will donate 10 percent of the application’s proceeds to supportingprograms designed to help and grow entrepreneurs.

ACHIVERS: ILM students continue theirwinning streak__________________________________________

TEACHINGPOSITIONSAVAILABLE

We offer our teachers competitivesalaries, health insurance, sick andpersonal leave, and a tuition discountfor children of faculty members.

Universal School is one of the largestPre K – 12th grade Islamic Schools inNorth America with nearly 700 students.The 70,000 square ft. modern buildinghouses 32 classrooms, regulations sizegymnasium, fitness center, state of theart science lab, one journalism lab, 2computer labs, a library, cafeteria with afull service kitchen, an inside regulationsize basketball court, playing field, andplayground.

Positions available:> I.T. Specialist > High School English > High School Social Studies > Middle School Language Arts > Middle School Social Studies > Elementary

Requirements:All applicants must be U.S. certified intheir respective fields, and/or haveexperience in the area of interest. Resumes also accepted for all teachingpositions.

Mail Resumes to:Universal SchoolChairman of Staff Selection Committee7350 W. 93rd St.Bridgeview, Illinois 60455

Fax Resumes to:(708)599-1588

Visit us online:Go to www.universalschool.orgfor more information.

Official Openings for 2010-2011 School Year

Universal School

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Kashmiri AmericansReaffirm Stand

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai (executive di-rector, The Kashmiri AmericanCouncil [KAC]) issued a 12-point

“Policy Statement” on 11 Feb. Meeting inWashington, DC, the board of directorsrestated several well-known facts: TheKahsmiri people, whose large territory isnot part of any existing sovereign state,were assured by the entire internationalcommunity that they would be allowed todecide their future by a free vote. Moralsuasion, not military force or violence, itsaid, should be used to resolve this ap-parently unending conflict.

The statement also noted the board’ssatisfaction with the Obama administra-tion’s statement that any resolution musttake into account the Kashmiris’ wishes.Permanent peace and stability, it stressed,will only emerge from peaceful negotia-tions among New Delhi, Islamabad, and theKashmiris’ legitimate leaders—along with adeeper American engagement with bothcountries. According to the board, adurable peace and the development of har-monious relations and friendly cooperationbetween India and Pakistan will serve thepeoples’ vital interests and enable them tobuild a better future. They disagreed, how-ever, that increased trade between Indiaand Pakistan will help end the indigenousKashmiri resistance, fueled as it is byshocking human rights violations and thedenial of self-determination.

KAC will continue to draw the world’sattention to the gross human rights atroci-ties committed by India’s 700,000-strongmilitary and paramilitary occupationforces. Its members condemned India’sdetention of Kashmiri leaders for theirsuccessful campaign during the unprece-dented peaceful processions and callsupon India to make the peace processmeaningful by immediately and complete-ly ending its military and paramilitary ac-tions; order the gradual withdrawal of itsmilitary presence; dismantle bunkers,watch towers, and barricades; releasepolitical prisoners; annul repressive laws;and restore the rights of peaceful associ-ation, assembly, and demonstration.

KAC figures reminded the attendeesthat the conflict is not about autonomy orconverting the “Ceasefire Line” into an in-ternational border, but about honoringthe Kashmiris’ political and human rightsin accord with international law, treaties,covenants, justice, and morality. Theyadded that Obama’s appointment of aspecial envoy on Kashmir will help theprocess of encouraging peace and stabili-ty in South Asia.

Dr. Elias Zerhouni and Dr. AhmedZewail were among the threeAmerican science and technology

envoys named on 3 Nov. 2009 by Secre-tary of State Hillary Clinton at the Fo-rum for the Future in Marrakech. Clin-ton said that these nominations wereintended “to help Muslim-majority com-munities develop the capacity to meeteconomic, social and ecological chal-lenges through science, technology, andinnovation.”

The envoys will travel to North Africa,the Middle East, and South and South-east Asia to “engage their counterparts,deepen partnerships in all areas of sci-ence and technology, and foster mean-ingful collaboration to meet the greatestchallenges facing the world today inhealth, energy, the environment, as wellas water and resource management.”

Dr. Zerhouni, head of the Algerian-American Foundation for Culture, Edu-cation, Science and Technology, was di-rector of the National Institutes ofHealth (NIH) from 2002-08. Currentlysenior advisor to the Johns Hopkins Uni-versity School of Medicine, where heheld distinguished faculty positions be-fore joining the administration, thisgraduate of the Algerian educational sys-tem received his medical degree at theUniversity of Algiers’ School of Medicineand completed his residency at the JohnsHopkins University School of Medicine,where he was instrumental in creating itsInstitute for Cell Engineering. He alsosits on the Board of Trustees of SaudiArabia’s King Abdullah University ofScience and Technology.

Dr. Ahmed Zewail, an Egyptian-American scientist, won the 1999 NobelPrize in Chemistry for his work on fem-toscience, which allows the observationof exceedingly rapid molecular transfor-

NATIONALNEWS

(from left) Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Dr. Ahmed Zewail, and Dr. Bruce Alberts______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Science Outreach

The news item published on p. 14

(Islamic Horizons, Jan./Feb. 2010)

sought to report the efforts of Rep.

Ellison to sensitize the public about

the rise and dangers of Islamophobia,

as well as fear and hate mongering.

IH/ISNA clarify that it was neither

intended nor should be construed

as a denunciation of specific

groups or individuals, including

either Dr. Jasser or the AIFD.

Clarification

mations. Most recently, he was appoint-ed to the Presidential Council of Advi-sors on Science and Technology as theLinus Pauling Chair Professor of Chem-istry and Professor of Physics at the Cali-fornia Institute of Technology.

He has already visited Turkey, Egypt,Lebanon, and Jordan; Dr. Zerhouni hasvisited France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,Kuwait, and North Africa.

According to a U.S. Department ofState press release, the U.S. Science En-voy Program is a core element of theObama administration’s commitment toglobal engagement in science and tech-nology. It was announced by PresidentObama on 4 Jun. 2009 in Cairo—as partof his “New Beginning” initiative, andfurther discussed by Clinton in Mar-rakech last fall.

The third envoy is Dr. Bruce Alberts,who served two six-year terms as presi-dent of the National Academy of Sci-ences (1993 to 2005). A noted biochemistand molecular biologist, he has earnedsixteen honorary degrees and is on theadvisory boards of more than thirty non-profit institutions. In March 2008 he be-came editor-in-chief of the journal “Sci-ence.” He is widely recognized for hiswork in the fields of biochemistry andmolecular biology.

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Crusade, a call by Pope Urban II in 1095to regain the land; the city finally fell in1099 to a short-lived Christian dominion.The legacy of these European occupantsremains in the Romanesque central baysof al-Aqsa’s main façade. The period end-ed abruptly eighty-eight years later withthe Ayyubid sultan Salahuddin’s historicchivalrous reconquest in 1187. Ratherthan vengeance, he graciously allowedsome 100,000 Frankish prisoners to ran-som themselves and depart for theirhomelands—they smuggled many trea-sures belonging to the Dome of the Rockand al-Masjid al-Aqsa to Europe.

Salahuddin gradually restored the city,built numerous public structures, andspecifically installed the handcraftedivory and wooden minbar (pulpit) thatserved as a jewel of al-Aqsa for nearly 800years. Originally designed in Aleppo andintended as a gift for the mosque, this la-bor of love took six years to complete and

awaited Jerusalem’s liberation. Contain-ing ornate Arabic calligraphy as well asgeometrical and floral designs inscribedin its woodwork, Salahuddin’s minbarremained in al-Aqsa as an honored memo-rial to the sultan—and to liberty—until1969; it was destroyed after Denis MichaelRohan, a fanatical Australian Christian,set fire to the mosque to clear the way forthe Second Coming. Although he failed todemolish al-Aqsa, Salahuddin’s ornamen-tal pulpit was scorched. In an intriguingreversal of fortune, in Jan. 2007 the Islam-ic endowment in charge of al-Aqsa an-nounced that the mosque’s current pulpitwould be replaced by an exact replica ofthe damaged pulpit, which is being execut-ed in a five-year labor-intensive project inJordan. At times it seems that the restora-tion of architecture could include rightingthe mistakes of the past.

One of Islam’s three most importantand venerated sites, al-Haram al-Sharif

THE LANDSCAPE OF THE HOLY CITY OFJerusalem, although an arid desert cli-mate usually supporting few life forms, inreality thrives with dynamism and activ-ity amid the structures and coexistence ofthree religious traditions. Just as everyliving entity is supported by a heart, forJerusalem this vital life source is surely al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary).Known in its entirety as al-Masjid al-Aqsa, the enclosure is considered invio-lable according to Islamic law. The houseof worship situated at its southernmosttip is formally named al-Aqsa (the Fur-thest Mosque).

From 638, the year ‘Umar ibn al-Khat-tab (radi Allahu ‘anh)—the SecondRightly Guided Caliph—peacefully en-tered Jerusalem, until 1099 this Islamicterritory embraced both Christian andJewish inhabitants and pilgrims. Afterfour centuries of Muslim rule, Jerusalemexperienced the onslaught of the First

THE FURTHEST MOSQU

I S L A M I C H O LY S I T E S

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Aqsa’s operation—Jerusalem’s fall in1099 and the contemporary political dis-quiet, cumulatively less than two centurieswithin a fourteen-century spectrum,which is certainly an analysis of historythat radiates hope and optimism. Estab-lished as the first qiblah (prayer direction)and later elevated as the site of theProphet’s ascension to meet his Lord, thesanctuary has always existed for Muslimsas an ideal, a symbol of faith, even beforeits architectural representation, even be-fore the present al-Masjid al-Aqsa, evenbefore pilgrimages to the site. Its manystructural and functional changes, causedas much by caliphal reversals and reli-gious pilgrimages as by the ravages of nat-ural disasters or intentional vandalism,

have not erased its central role in Islam’srevelation; rather, these have demonstrat-ed its remarkable adaptability.

Its Qur’anic designation as the “Fur-thest Mosque” is doubly profound, ex-plaining what is evidently the case today:Although we may not always be able tophysically reach what is distant (in ourage, due to political constraints or otherobstacles), we can cultivate the closenessof spiritual solidarity with al-Aqsa, boththe mosque and the site, by reflecting up-on its history, both pre- and post-archi-tecture. Through such contemplation,we can actually forge the strongest of at-tachments, linking what is essential andunchanging in the place—faith in its sa-credness—to all Abrahamic believers ofany time and locale. ______________________________Reem Elghonimi, a graduate student in the humanities in Dallas, is asteering committee member of Muslims for Peace, Justice, andProgress (MPJP: www.mpjp.org).

has served many functions in its expansivehistory. While the Masjid Qubbat al-Sakhrah (the Dome of the Rock) was con-structed to commemorate the Night Jour-ney (Qur’an 17:1), al-Aqsa developed as acenter of learning that attracted greatteachers from all over the Muslim world aspilgrims, many of whom decided to staythere to study and teach. The esteemedPersian scholar al-Ghazali journeyedthere, writing his masterpiece, “Revival ofthe Religious Sciences,” while in retreatabove the Golden Gate’s vaulted doubledoors. Originally a destination of pilgrim-age and worship, al-Aqsa graduallyevolved into a source of religious studyand intellectual influence while maintain-ing its essential status as a revered site.

The twentieth and twenty-first cen-turies were—and are—a time of signifi-cant turmoil and change in Jerusalem. Inits lengthy history only two relatively briefepisodes have ever interfered with al-

QUE BROUGHT NEAR

Known in its entirety as al-Masjid al-Aqsa, the enclosure is considered inviolable

according to Islamic law. BY REEM ELGHONIMI

(from far left) Interior of al-Aqsa mosqueshowing Salahuddin’s minbar; main entrance;the mosque is built over a large number ofsubterranean arches____________________________________________________

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Muslim funeral directors atRahma Funeral Home in Dallas, TX, are serving thecommunity’s special needs PH

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preplanning funerals has risen steadily forthe past three decades.

Considering the insurance issue, AmjadR. M. Syed, author of “Islamic FuneralGuide and Related Topics on the Last Riteson the Body” (ISNA Canada: forthcoming),who regularly volunteers at the ISNA-Cana-da headquarters in Mississauga, ON, saysthat most people think death happens to“someone else.” Having no idea about whatoccurs when a family member dies and theensuing financial burdens, they do not pre-pare themselves or for the family’s future. Herelates that some Toronto mosques have aprogram that allows members to pay a cer-tain amount each month to cover the price ofa grave. If the person dies before the full priceis paid, the mosque will give the lot away, justlike an insurance program.

Not surprisingly, death, like everythingelse in our lives, involves a great deal of pro-fessionalism and, therefore, cost. The simplic-ity of death seems to be lost when funeral andburial arrangements for non-Muslims canrange from $15,000 to $35,000 plus, and from$4,000 to $10,000 for Muslims and Jews.

Applying the Sunnah, however, rescuesMuslims from such a financial burden. BillMcDonough, director of the family-ownedLoudoun Funeral Chapels in Leesburg, VA,told Andrea Useem of the “Religion NewsService” ( 27 May 2007) that Muslims get low-er rates because they “do most of the thingson their own, so we really only provide trans-portation, the facility for washing and the le-gal licenses.” Judaism and Islam decree thatthe deceased be buried as soon as possible,which lowers funeral and burial costs for Or-thodox Jews and Muslims. For the former, thecorpse is to be buried in a simple wooden cas-ket with no metal fixtures. In Islam, delayingthe burial is reprehensible unless there is areligiously acceptable reason, says HarrisTobing, producer of the “Understanding theJanazah” DVD. As one hadith says: “Makeyour funerals speedy, for it is only good thatyou are advancing him/her towards, or evilthat you are taking off your necks” (ImamMalik, “Al-Muwatta”). As a result, suchmorgue-related expenses as embalming (notneeded) and “people attention” (e.g., nursesand administration) are quite low or even

EVERY MUSLIM KNOWS THAT “EVERY SOULwill taste death” (3:185), and it is rare to findanyone who has never known a loved one oran acquaintance who has gone on to the nextstage of being.

You would think death in itself would beenough of an emotional and psychologicaltrauma. But for many, the fresh cut piercingtheir soul is further aggravated by the oftenexorbitant burial costs. In fact, the AmericanAssociation of Retired Persons states that fu-nerals and burials are among a senior citi-zen’s most expensive purchases. While bothpractical and pessimistic people understandthat “nothing is free,” in America’s expensivemetropolitan areas perhaps many are notaware that this has become an $11 billion in-dustry. And out of this has come yet anotherindustry: burial or funeral insurance (“pre-need” insurance), designed specifically tocover all of the related expenses. Usually, thefuneral home is listed as the beneficiary (upto a certain amount) through a trust, and anyremaining balance goes to another namedbeneficiary. The National Funeral DirectorsAssociation claims that consumer interest in

BURIED UNDER THE

COST OF DYING

PLANNING FOR A DIGNIFIED AND

AFFORDABLE BURIAL.

BY NABEELAH NAEEM

C O V E R S T O R Y

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most important phase of our being, ourdeath, Amer Tobing stresses that it is practi-cally overlooked: “The Muslim communityincorrectly assumes it is taken care of. Wedon’t emphasize the importance of washingand burying our loved ones as we haveeverything else, except for a place to washand bury our loved ones,” he adds.

Saddened by this lack of organization,which he saw firsthand after his mother’sdemise in 2001, Chicago electrical engineerHaroon Firdausi decided to take action. Wit-nessing the funeral director’s lack of knowl-edge about Islamic burials and seeing the fu-neral rules being loosely applied (e.g., anyonewould touch the corpse regardless of his/herstate), he set about becoming a funeral direc-tor (aka mortician or undertaker) so that hecould be able to offer deceased Muslims theproper care and respect. A’isha reported thatthe Prophet used to say: “Breaking the boneof a Muslim when he/she is dead is like break-ing it when he/she is alive” (Related by Ah-mad, Abu Dawud, and Ibn Majah). Earning afuneral director license is not easy (seewww.bls.gov/oco/ocos011.htm). One mustearn a B.A. in mortuary science (with at leasta “C” average), be certified, become an ap-prentice to a practicing funeral director, andassist with 50 funeral services. After that, onemust obtain the board’s approval to beginhis/her field experience as an apprentice. Up-on finishing this year-long field experience,one must help a master funeral director with25 adult funerals and be interviewed by aboard member every 6 months; the supervis-ing funeral director must submit a reviewevery 3 months. Upon completing this field

experience, the aspirant must obtain a pass-ing score (at least 75) on the funeral director’sexam to obtain a license.

State licensing laws vary. According to theUS Bureau of Labor Statistics, funeral direc-tors held about 30,000 jobs in 2008; about 13percent were self-employed and nearly all ofthem worked in the death care services in-dustry. A funeral director’s median income isaround $49,000 per year; however, it canrange from $37,000 to $92,000 dependingupon the location and the services offered.

The numerous procedures and expensesinvolved in obtaining a funeral director li-cense are, sadly, not the only hurdles to over-come. The tight-knit relationship betweenpoliticians and the funeral industry makes itvery difficult to penetrate this field, since thisbusiness is always in demand. Unlike otherfuneral directors who are usually paid duringtheir field experience, Firdausi had to do it ona volunteer basis. Regardless of the hassle, hestates that “it is worth investing in our com-munity.” After much perseverance, he nowowns Chicago’s Muslim Funeral Services,Inc. (www.muslimfuneralservices.com).

An active Muslim, Firdausi holds work-shops and presentations on the janazah,teaches fiqh and hadith, educates local fu-neral homes about Muslim needs, and nego-tiates lower costs (if possible). He also advis-es other Muslim communities to find aknowledgeable person in the funeral sectorto negotiate their needs, requirements, andfuneral costs. Surprisingly, educating non-Muslim funeral home owners can help re-duce costs substantially. For example, Mus-lims can realize large savings by burying thecorpse as soon as possible, avoiding embalm-ment and a public viewing, and eschewingcaskets or other luxurious arrangements.

As easy as it sounds, Muslims must com-municate Islam’s simple rituals to the funer-al industry and public officials, for non-Mus-

nonexistent. Embalming is not legally re-quired, unless there will be a public viewingor the corpse is being transported overseas.

Muslims are not allowed to delay the burialuntil the largest possible number of relativeshas arrived to see the deceased, as is commonamong other communities. Once death hasbeen certified, the corpse should be preparedand removed as soon as possible for the prayerand burial services. Such practices minimizecontact with the corpse, as well as the ensuinggrief and hurt. Abu Hurayrah related that theProphet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:“Hasten the funeral rites” (“Sahih Al-Bukhari,” 2:225, no. 401; “Sahih Muslim,”2:448, no. 2059; “Sunan Abu Dawud,” 2:897-98, no. 3153; “Sunan Ibn Majah,” 2:383, no.1477; and “Mishkat al-Masabih,” 1:338). Thecorpse is to be buried in a simple whiteshroud, embalming is prohibited (except ifthe law obliges, or if the family insists ontransporting the body [although it is not rec-ommended by Islam]), and money is not to bewasted on extravagance. If local laws requirecaskets, simple boxes can be used. To learnabout the necessary rituals and how to per-form them, one can consult Sayyed Sabiq’s“Fiqh Us-Sunnah: Funerals and Diggers,”vol. 4: “Funeral Prayers (Salatul Janazah)”(American Trust Publications: 1991).

MUSLIM FUNERALDIRECTORS AND COSTS

Even $4,000 to $10,000 is a lot of money.Where does it actually go? Amer Tobing (di-rector, Life Rescue Training; presenter, “Un-derstanding the Janazah” workshop) em-phasizes that the Muslim community has alot of work to do. Unlike America’s first Mus-lim immigrants, today’s Muslims have theconvenience of mosques, halal restaurants,and meat markets. Recognizing their impor-tance, our communities continue to buildmore such facilities. But when it comes to the


LACK OF AWARENESS INCREASES COSTS FOR SOME MUSLIMS. FOR INSTANCE,

THEY ARE SOMETIMES MISLED

INTO COMPLYING WITH ONLY

“RECOMMENDED” ORDINANCES.

The AMAA Cemetery in Northern, Virginia, has a total of 85 acres of land and is open to Muslims across the nation; Transportion of body from Janazah prayer to ceme

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As funeral homes and cemeteries do nothave standardized rates, one must shoparound. Ideally, the mosques and communi-ty organizations should do this legwork be-cause a burial cannot wait for this process toend. Firdausi’s funeral home, Muslim Funer-al Services, transports the corpse from theplace of death to the local facility, washes andshrouds it, provides the casket [for trans-portation], transports the casketed body tothe place of the janazah prayer and thecemetery, and prepares the death certificate.Doing this business purely for God, Firdausisays that he only charges for the use of the fa-cilities. Another important fact to rememberis that since the funeral home is a separateentity from the cemetery, one needs to findout which tasks the local funeral homes andcemeteries cover because these are differentin every jurisdiction.

A crucial factor that increases costs forMuslims is the lack of awareness. For in-stance, Muslims are sometimes misled intocomplying with only “recommended” ordi-nances. Thinking that they are “required” bythe federal government, they spend money forcaskets, as was the case for embalmment sometwelve years back. Contrary to common be-lief, many states do not require caskets andvaults. In some states, cemetery officials con-vince Muslims that they have to use grave box-es and caskets, whereas it is only a personalchoice. Firdausi says that he has informedMuslim communities that only a grave box(usually made out of cement) is sufficient andthat they need to get involved and consult withlawyers. While federal law does not requirecaskets, some state or local ordinances might.

According to Syed, the best way to avoidunnecessary expenses is to form a represen-tative group of volunteers (including a doc-tor) and explain to local municipal officials,such as councilors and politicians, that Mus-lims do not need certain items and/or ser-vices. After obtaining their full support, re-quest city officials to make by-laws thatpermit simple, inexpensive burials. He sug-gests that the volunteers start by arrangingfor ghusl in the mosque, working outarrangements with a local funeral home, andeducating its staff about Muslim needs/re-quirements and Islamic customs.

It is expensive to die in Chicago: cemeteryand funeral cost are about $3,000 to $3,500;caskets can cost over $1,000; compared to theprevious cost of $3,500, the box, washing,and transportation charges can reach up toabout $1,100; the cemetery charges $1,100 to$1,400 to “open/close” (dig/fill in) the grave;and the grave lot itself costs about $400 to$1,000 (usually incurred by the mosque,which purchases the grave section). An indi-vidual who buys a lot can expect to pay up to$2,000; if he/she buys it from the mosque, itmay cost $500. Simple cement boxes andsteel vaults vary from $400 to $700. Thus theaverage total burial cost is $10,000 for non-Muslims and $3,000 for Muslims.

DYING CHEAPER

In order to lower all of these costs, Firdausirecommends establishing cemeteries outsidethe city, where land is cheaper. As Qur’an20:55 states: “From the (soil) did We createyou, and into it shall We return you, and fromit shall We bring you out once again.” Thepractice of burying the corpse in nature, with-out any sort of casket or box, is the most envi-ronmental friendly practice. America is be-hind other countries/cities as regards “green”burials. For example, in London vaults are notmandatory. Allowing burials in special cas-

lims are most likely unaware of them. Onemajor difference is that burying the de-ceased on the same day of his/her death isunheard of among Christians, for they waituntil loved ones arrive or for special facilities(e.g., burial in a particular cemetery withcertain ceremonies or honors) become avail-able, said Firdausi. Arlington NationalCemetery Superintendent John Metzler told“The Washington Post” (12 Feb. 2010) that[military] “[f]unerals are planned weeks,sometimes months, in advance, and familiesfly in from all over the country to attend.”

In order to reduce costs even further, Fir-dausi suggests that mosques have their ownwashing places, as they do in Ft. Worth (TX),Toronto, and elsewhere. For instance, theManassas Mosque (Manassas, VA) offers aspecial burial package that includes thegravesite, the gravesite’s opening and clos-ing, the vault, the ritual washing, and theshrouding. It also helps to contact a licensedfuneral house to receive the corpse from thehospital according to local government laws.

All one needs is a room for washing thecorpse, Firdausi adds. Upon receiving hisfuneral director license in 2005, he advisedthree mosques to build their own washingrooms. Mosques are a logical choice forthis facility, for they have enough space tocreate such a room, he says. With the helpof a licensed funeral director, almost any-one can create a place for washing thedead. In one city, a Muslim has developeda washing area in his store; elsewhere Mus-lims have rented rooms in chapels. FAITH,a Herndon, VA-based Muslim social ser-vice organization, sponsors a yearly train-ing course in washing and shrouding toincrease the pool of knowledgeable volun-teers. ISNA has even placed “A Guide forthe Muslim Funeral” file on its homepage (www.isna.net/Services/pages/A-Guide-for-the-Muslim-Funeral.aspx).

FUNERAL AND BURIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR NON-MUSLIMS CAN RANGE FROM

$15,000 TO $35,000 PLUS,

AND FROM $4,000 TO $10,000

FOR MUSLIMS AND JEWS.

er to cemetery provided by Aden Muslim Funeral services (Woodbridge, VA); Rahma Funeral Home (Dallas, TX) helps with all services from pick-up to burial

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Muslim Cemetery Trust because Muslimssupport the renewal of gravesite tenure—Is-lam does not forbid reusing gravesites. TheCrown [government] Cemeteries AdvisoryCommittee is expected to recommend thatthe New South Wales government legislatefor limited-tenure graves—burial sites re-newed every fifty years or so, by using a “lift-and-deepen’’ system, whereby one corpse ismoved lower to make way for another one.This would allow graves to be reused after afew decades, as is the case in Saudi Arabia.

Holding burial spots in perpetuity maynot be a problem for large states like Texas;however, it is becoming one for smaller statesand crowded cities. We are now paying theprice for not following our natural ways. Weshould implement steps like promoting“green” burials and the renewal of tenure.

Considering that Muslims shun embalming,their corpses turn into dust faster. Muslimcemeteries should therefore work to get thisrule changed, thereby reducing costs evenfurther for those families that opt for reuse.

Walking around some cemeteries, one seesMuslims erecting expensive mausoleums andtombstones that even carry picture albums.There are also $15,000 monuments like theone in suburban Maryland. Like many otherMuslim cemeteries, Stafford’s (VA) All Mus-lim Association of America Cemetery(AMAA; (http://amaacemetery.com) has putits foot down to control such unnecessary ex-travagance. One hadith relates that Abu Bakrsaid: “Wash my garment, add another twosheets of cloth, and shroud me in them,” towhich A’isha replied: “This garment you arewearing is old and worn out.” He rejoined:

kets, such as Michael Jackson’s golden casket,is damaging for the environment in the longrun and will create a large problem, especial-ly for states where land is running short. Hav-ing millions of caskets underground alsoharms the environment.

Our Creator knows what is best for us andour environment. A human corpse naturallyreleases nitrogen, which helps it disintegrateinto the ground quickly. If American Mus-lims do not “go green,” they will be in thesame situation as Australia. Jacqueline Ma-ley (“Sydney Morning Herald,” 6 Jan. 2010)reports that Sydney’s cemeteries will be fullby mid-century, as space is running out andfaiths are competing for shrinking burialspace. To deal with this sensitive issue, thegovernment gave some reclaimed land,which can support about 800 graves, to the


C O V E R S T O R Y

^ Consider specific needs,such as ensuring that the roomand its wide doors are easilyaccessible to hearses and thearea where the funeral servicewill be held; covering the floorwith non-slippery ceramic tilesand angling it so that the waterwill flow into a drain; covering theinside wall with regular ceramictiles; designing the viewing orcongregational area with theunderstanding that people willkeep their shoes on. In addition, aportable screen might be usefulfor women who desire privacy.

^ Provide a separate storagearea for boxes or caskets, enoughshelving for storing supplies, a

closet for the volunteers who helpwash (ghusl) the corpse, and awashroom that contains a bul-letin board, note pad, pen and atelephone extension.

• Install a cold (refrigerated)room, the facility’s most expen-sive item. It is better to have twoof them, one for each gender.Each of its sections should havetwo-wheeled portable stainlesssteel tables for moving thecorpses in and out. Such tablesshould have two platforms, for

occasionally two corpses mighthave to be carried at once. Allfurnishings should be of stain-less steel with no sharp edges.

^ Provide a good exhaust sys-tem for the facility, one withenough door and window ventsfor letting in fresh air.

^ Install bright lighting, makeuse of a movement sensor lightin the cold-storage room, andprovide enough electrical out-lets/sockets.

^ The wash table should havea perforated bed located above asuitable wash water collectingtrough. This trough must be ableto hold all the ghusl water fordisinfecting and draining and

should be connected to a drain.If possible, the wash tableshould have five or six stainlesssteel sliding and adjustable barsso that the corpse can be laidout for easy washing all around.Preferably the wash table shouldbe 7’x3.5’ and height adjustablein order to match the funeral

Amjad R. M. Syed, aregular volunteer atthe ISNA-Canadaheadquarters inMississauga, is al-

ways ready to advise communi-ties on how to establish theirown funeral preparation andburial facilities. To spread hisknowledge further afield, he ispublishing “Islamic FuneralGuide and Related Topics on theLast Rites on the Body” (ISNACanada: Forthcoming).

According to him, most NorthAmerican communities may be fi-nancially able to set up a funeralpreparation facility at their Islamiccenter/mosque. He recommendsthat those planning to do so:

^ Consult the local “YellowPages” for “Funeral EquipmentSuppliers” and then visit a localfuneral home to discuss the rele-vant procedures and costs.

^ Contact the local city,municipal, and state authoritiesto learn about the rules and reg-ulations governing such struc-tures. Much of this informationcan probably be found online.

^ Talk with an architect aboutdesigning a purpose-built struc-ture that incorporates localbuilding and health codes andhelps control costs.

company’s stretcher. It should bepositioned directly above themain drain with a large funnelwith mesh.

^ A ceiling-based retractableshower hose, located just abovethe wash table, should be longenough to reach all the washtable’s sides and have a showerhead that dispenses both

sprayed and smooth runningwater. Syed says one can opt foran adjustment that will allow thehose to dispense a concentratedsoap solution (kept in a separatebottle) to mix with the washwater. By turning on a key nearthe hose, one can receive a flowof soapy water for washing.

^ The wash room sink shouldhave a double wash basin and asufficiently high tap so one canwash his/her hands and place abucket underneath. There should

Most North American communities may be financially able to set up a

funeral preparation

facility at their Islamic

center/mosque.

Rest Commercial FreeHow to set up burial facilities that meet local laws and Islamicrequirements and help reduce costs. BY HILAL SHIMLAVI

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nameplates and headstones, which are iden-tical and at ground level; prohibit the reser-vation of lots and any type of enclosure (e.g.,fences or gravel around graves); and allowonly flowers to decorate the graves. Suchrules, however, cannot be enforced in non-Muslim cemeteries, where Muslims onlyown a section.

For the most part, AMAA seems to be anenvironment-friendly and simple cemetery.

Starting out with 7.5 acres, the associationnow owns 85 acres and is the country’slargest Muslim-only cemetery. This nonprof-it organization works voluntarily and pro-vides burial land with a minimal mainte-nance fee. Grave digging and funeral chargesare separate from this burial fee and do notgo to AMAA. Two types of graves are offered:vault (lahad) or a trench dug in the middle ofthe grave to suit the body size (shaqq). Mus-lim American communities try to provide thelatter type of grave by digging a trench at thetop center of the pit and then placing wood-en planks on top of it so that no dirt falls di-rectly on the corpse. Since grave liners areobligatory, some dirt is usually put inside the

“The living are more deserving of the newgarments than the dead. This shroud is onlyto absorb the secretions of the body” (SayyidSaabiq, “Fiqh-us-Sunnah,”4:35 [AmericanTrust Publications: 1985]). If this was AbuBakr’s understanding, then who are we tospend huge sums of money for monumentsfor our dead? Doing so also contradicts to theIslamic teachings. The deceased must pay forthe funeral, and thus only a minimal amountshould be spent so the inheritors can benefitfrom what the deceased has left behind, saysHarris Tobing.

AMAA and other Muslim cemeteries en-sure a simple burial by strongly enforcingcemetery rules. They provide and install all

able and allergy free);• Headrest for a female corpse.This can be made by cutting a 6”diameter PVC pipe, about onefoot long, cut half and length-wise; • A hemostat (also called ahaemostatic clamp, arterial for-ceps, or peang) is a vital surgicaltool often used to control bleeding; • Instructions chart or copies ofgeneral hygiene and cleanliness,as well as a pictorial chart forwashing and shrouding thecorpse, should be displayed onthe wall; • Itr (non-alcoholic scent);• Mop set (exclusively for thefuneral room);• Nail polish remover;• Paper towels and dispenser;• Pestle and mortar (to crushcamphor);• Safety glasses and masks (formouth and nose);• Clean sand for tayammum(wudu’ without water). Small

portions can be stored in plasticbags;• Two pairs of scissors;• Shroud cloth (regular andextra large width). Stock a fewsets (all sizes) for quick use.Keep some loose cloth sheet forany unforeseen use;• Soap (4 litre liquid soap bottle)for washing the corpse and liquidhand soap at the wash basin.Make sure that they are lard-freeby asking the soap company’schemist;• Stationery, note pads, pens,road maps to cemeteries, serviceassessment forms, detailed per-sonal information about thedeceased, next of kin, place ofburial, and lot number;• Tape measure;• Boxes of tissue paper; and• Towels and wash cloths: Buylarge-sized towels and cut theminto small pieces for wash clothsand towels for drying the corpse;and Tweezers. ^

• Chlorine water and other disinfectants; • Combs; • Cotton balls;• Cutting pliers (two nose pliersfor removing/cutting jewelry);• Dispensers located near the tapand wash basin for hand-washsoap and one for disinfectant;• A first aid kit;• Forms: Information about thedeceased (e.g., next of kin,record of burial place, and thegrave number); mosque serviceand volunteer assessment;names of family members andvolunteers who helped to washthe body (in case of any infec-tions); and directions to thecemetery. If there is more thanone cemetery, print the direc-tions on different colored paperto avoid any mistakes;• Large garbage bags and a suit-able stand; • Garbage container;• Different sized gloves (dispos-

also be large handles (not knobs)for adjusting hot and cold water,as well as liquid soap and papertowel dispensers placed next tothe tap.

^ The height-adjustable stain-less steel table with wheels,which is needed to enshroud thecorpse, should be as high as thewash table and the hospitalstretcher. It would be better topurchase two casket carryingtrolleys (“church truck”), whichare available in both simple andfancy frames.

^ Keep two casket covers foruse during the funeral prayer andtransportation to the cemetery.

List of Funeral Room Supplies:

• Adhesive tape (water resis-tant), 1” and 2” wide, to seal anybleeding;• Plastic buckets and jugs; • Camphor powder/cubes;• One folding chair for anyemergency;

NECESSITIES: Muslim funeralhomes such as RahmahFuneral Home in Dallas, TXoffer a washroom, a coolingroom, and a reception area

JUDAISM AND ISLAM DECREE THAT THE DECEASED BE BURIED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE,

WHICH LOWERS FUNERAL

AND BURIAL COSTS

FOR JEWS AND MUSLIMS.

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to their request and granted a temporarypermit allowing Butt to be the first resident ofthe cemetery he had helped found.

According to Syed, those desiring to set upcemeteries must research zoning laws andmunicipal regulations and reach out to localpoliticians and communities. Perhaps oneMuslim community could contract or buysections comprising 200-300 grave lots in alocal cemetery. Intending communitiesshould look for about 100-200 acres of agri-cultural-suitable land (e.g., not rocky and nottoo many grown up trees). Even then, rocksand boulders, shrubs and trees (includingtheir root systems) may have to be removedso that rows of graves can be dug close toeach other. Syed informs intending commu-nities that cemeteries are very expensive toestablish, operate, and maintain (e.g., landupkeep, heavy equipment, full-time staff,and an office) and that a small-scale effort isjust not worth it. He also cautions officials toget it in writing what will happen if/whencemetery ownership changes hands.

INDIVIDUAL CASES

In the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the MuslimCemetery in Denton and Ar-Rawdah Mus-lim Cemetery in the south of Fort Worth areowned and operated by the Muslim commu-nity. However, four other mainstream ceme-teries have dedicated Islamic gardens.

Qadeer Qazi, a Dallas resident and for-mer electrical engineer, became a funeral di-rector and founded Rahma Funeral Home(http://ifsnt.com), Texas’ first Muslim-owned,operated, and licensed funeral home. Oper-ating since Aug. 2004 and open to all faiths, it

seeks to make the entire experience easier forthe bereaved by helping with all services frompick-up to burial. Transportation, washing,shrouding, and burial cost anywhere from$2,800 to $4,800, depending upon the ceme-tery used. Texas has six Muslim cemeteries,two of which are Muslim-only.

According to Qazi, funeral and burialcosts are rising because the price of graveboxes and the gravediggers’ wages continueto rise. He recommends that communitiespurchase their own cemeteries and producetheir own boxes. Qazi has found that the costgoes up 5% to 10% yearly due to the price in-crease of grave boxes. He hopes that Islamicorganizations will help communities estab-lish their own funeral homes, which will al-low them serve their own members and ex-empt them from having to secure a licensefrom the Texas commission. As doing so willobviate the need for staff license renewalevery other year and continuous educationafter every two years, the cemetery couldcontinue to function via community dona-tions and membership fees.

The estimated cost for burials is $1,800,not including the cement box and the shroud($50). Land costs anywhere from $500 to$1,250. Muslim-only cemeteries are usuallycheaper, for digging costs from $350 to $550,whereas the death certificate costs only $25.

Some families shoulder unnecessarycosts, such as sending the deceased’s corpseback to his/her country of origin, despite thefact that the prophets were to be buriedwhere they died (Imam Malik, “Al-Muwat-ta’,” hadith no. 1627). Such transportationrequires embalming.

Some Muslims believe that Muslim-onlycemeteries are necessary because, amongother reasons, the corpse is buried uniquely(e.g., wrapped in simple sheets, laid on itsside, and facing the Ka‘bah). Unfortunately,living in a non-Islamic country entails fol-

grave liner. In addition, the corpse is laid onits side and the dirt is put underneath and be-hind the head for support. The first type ofgrave has a crevice in its side near the bottomfacing toward the Ka‘bah. After the corpsehas been placed in it, bricks or woodenplanks are placed behind it so that the soildoes not fall directly on the corpse.

The total cemetery cost is $1,900 for anadult and $650 for a child; no extra chargesare added for weekend burials, and there isno charge for the lot. Of this, $1,400 goes to-ward grave digging, the grave box, and head-stone; AMAA receives the remaining $500 formaintenance and upkeep. AMAA has paid offsome $500,000 of the land’s purchase priceand is seeking community help to pay off thefinal $50,000. Sikandar Javed, a volunteerand co-founder of AMAA Cemetery, says thatthe association is doing what it can to lowerthe cost, even though real estate taxes andmaintenance end up costing them $10,000 ayear. By hiring its own diggers, AMAA has re-duced the cost by about $350, giving thecommunity yet another cost savings. He fur-ther suggests that cemeteries purchase basicequipment and that community membershelp out in every way possible.

Muhammad Younis, a restaurant-ownerand a co-founder of AMAA, relates that thepeople who established the organization areseek to reduce costs even further by develop-ing their own funeral home. Some associa-tion members are working toward becominglicensed funeral directors. Younis recalls thatin 1988 there was a cemetery, adjoining hisconvenience store, where they had to bury afriend in its Muslim section. This led the fourfriends to start fundraising for a Muslim ex-clusive cemetery. In 1996, when the zoningpermit application was in its final stage, oneof the founding members, Akram Butt, died,leaving a request that he buried in this place.Thankfully, the county government acceded


IN ORDER TO LOWER ALL OF THESE COSTS, FIRDAUSI RECOMMENDS

ESTABLISHING CEMETERIES

OUTSIDE THE CITY,

WHERE LAND IS CHEAPER.

SIMPLE: Muslim burial services and cemeteries such as AMAA Cemetery in Stafford, VA, Rahma Funeral Home in Dallas, TX, and Al-Firdaus Memorial Gardens in Fred

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year-round by digging through layers of iceand frozen soil: “You start a fire to warm theground and dig. Warm and dig. Warm anddig. You’ll have eight to 10 men workingaround the clock for three days straight.”

Barbara Kate Repa, a legal and end-of-life expert, writes on Caring.com that the So-cial Security Administration may pay $255 tohelp cover final expenses if the deceased orfamily members meet eligibility require-ments. The local funeral or memorial soci-ety—a nonprofit group devoted to protectingconsumers’ rights and keeping down inflatedfuneral costs—may provide inexpensive op-tions and information on payment assis-tance. The Funeral Consumers Alliancemaintains a listing of local groups. If the de-ceased was a military veteran, some burialand memorial benefits may be availablethrough the Department of Veterans Affairs.Finally, most counties will pick up the costs ifa person does not have the money or meansto defray funeral expenses and relatives orfriends are unable—or unwilling—to pay.Community organizations can check withthe local county treasurer’s office for details.

Dr. Hafiz Abdul Gaffar Khan, owner ofthe Muslim-only Muslim Cemetery ofLawrenceville, GA (www.georgiaIslamicin-stitute.com), received much negative feed-back from neighbors when he applied for thecemetery special use permit in 2000. Havingalready established a school and mosque, thereaction amazed him. PBS, BBC, and othermedia outlets picked up on it. As the closestMuslim cemetery was sixty-five miles awayand difficult to reach, he spent the next fouryears trying to establish a 5-acre Muslim-on-

ly cemetery. He finally secured the court’sunanimous approval on 24 Apr. 2004. So far,150 people have been buried there. Of itsfour sections, one is completely full, one canbe reserved, and the other two are left forchildren and adults, respectively. The ceme-tery provides a burial lot, a wooden casket,and a shroud; the cemetery and communitymembers help the needy with the burialcosts. County requirements and landscapingcost $725 per month, while property liabilityinsurance, utilities, and maintenance costsamount to $1,300 per month.

Dr. Khan advises those who want to starttheir own Muslim-only cemeteries to taketheir area’s Muslim population into consider-ation, for many expenses are involved. Forexample, extra maintenance like repairingwater pipes can cost $35,000. The breakdownof the estimated $1,800 to $2,000 cost for buri-als includes $1,500 for the wooden casket,grave lot, shroud, and utilities, and $200 forthe funeral home. Even complying with somejurisdictions’ minimum standards placesburials out of reach for many Muslims. For in-stance, the survivors of a Muslim who isburied in Burlington can expect to pay $7,000.

According to Harris Tobing, a rural NewYork community that did not know how toperform a Muslim burial only washed andburied the corpse; there was no janazahprayer. “Muslims know the burial is impor-tant. They may not know how to do it, butthey know it must get done.” Growing up inAmerica, many Muslim Americans and alsosome imams do not know the correct proce-dures, muses Tobing. Only knowledge of thehadiths and Qur’an can dispel the “culturallaws” that people have introduced. It is im-perative to know the true Islamic viewpointin order to understand the janazah. The factthat each janazah is different and that mostattendees do not even know the basics ofthese rituals compelled Tobing, a filmmaker,

lowing certain by-laws, such as carrying thebody in a casket instead of a bier, accordingto Amer Tobing.

Muslim communities continue to workwith local authorities to seek suitable burialfacilities. Burlington, VT, for example, re-quires that caskets be encased in a concretevault, which conflicts with the Muslim prac-tice of putting a corpse in direct contact withsoil. In 2008, the Islamic Society of Vermontand the city hammered out an arrangementthat allows Muslims to drill holes in the vault.

Minneapolis’ Islamic Cemetery Associa-tion runs two cemeteries: one in Roseville(800 lots and mostly filled) and another inBurnsville (opened in 2005; 6,000-8,000lots). Mohamed Elakkad, who runs the Min-nesota Islamic Funeral Association foundedin 1994, told Sarah Boden of KFAI radio:“We always keep one lot open, then we’re al-ways ready to bury on the same day. It takesabout 24 hours (to thaw the ground in win-ter). We can always have one open or twoopen, and if we use one, we heat the nextright away.” Local authorities have waivedthe need for a burial box for Muslims. In-stead, the shrouded corpse is placed on a per-forated tray. Boden notes that the “green”nature of the Muslim tradition is “bringingconverts to Islamic burial customs by thoseconcerned about the environment.”

Syed agrees with keeping one or twograves open for burials during very cold win-ters. This can also be done by piling bundlesof straw on the ground so it does not becomehard to dig. Areas such as Alaska present“extreme situations.” Keith Blanchard, a fu-neral director in Fairbanks, AL, at what isthought to be the country’s northern-mostfuneral home, told “The Washington Post”(12 Feb. 2010): “We don’t cancel funerals, wejust prolong them—service in the winter,burial in the spring.” Some of the families heworks with, mostly native Alaskan, bury

THE FACT THAT MOST ATTENDEES DO NOT EVEN KNOW THE BASICS OF JANAZAH

RITUALS COMPELLED TOBING, A

FILMMAKER, TO PRODUCE

“UNDERSTANDING THE JANAZAH.”

ns in Frederick, MD help control costs by only allowing for legally required procedures

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wrong times or to expose the deceased’s‘awrah while washing the corpse. In NewYork, there is a janazah almost daily and on-ly one full-time volunteer to help with thewashing and shrouding of those who haveno family or have family members who justprefer to watch. So far he has received posi-tive feedback and has even drawn up a list ofvolunteers from the workshops who wouldlike to help out.

In Virginia, an elderly person whopassed away spent eight days in the morguebecause he had only non-Muslim family.The granddaughter in charge of giving hima Muslim burial needed people to wash him.As he was a veteran, he had a government-issued voucher that covered the funeralcosts, including transportation and wash-ing. The Islamic Center Masjid (ICM) tookcare of the other arrangements, includingpaper work and burial, which amounted to$1,750. Tobing located four people whoknew the procedure and coached anotherthree in the process. It was an amazing andrewarding opportunity.

Through the workshops and email lists,Tobing takes along the first three people whorespond as volunteers—even volunteers fromNew Jersey to help with washing the de-ceased in New York. In the future, he hopesto have four youths to go to a New Yorkmosque for a three-day training course inhow to wash the body. His practical presen-tation and workshop teaches people how toreceive the corpse in a body bag, with IVs, atoe tag, bandages, mouth tubes, and otheritems that may have to be removed andwashed. The workshop guides peoplethrough (1) preparing and washing the body,(2) shrouding the body, (3) performing thejanazah prayer, (4) and the actual burial.Some communities are striving to spread thetraining. Students at Mississauga’s ISNA Is-lamic High School are encouraged to observethe procedure of washing a corpse in themosque’s funeral room. Syed, when asked tolecture high school students about funerals,used a dummy corpse to demonstrate how toshroud a corpse.

We must respect our dead by praying forthem and doing good deeds on their behalf.Yahya said that he heard Malik say: “I havenot seen any person of knowledge disap-proving of praying over either a child bornof adultery or its mother” (Imam Malik,“Al-Muwatta’,” hadith no. 1626, trans. Us-tadha Aisha Bewley).

No matter what they did, they all deserveour respect. The key is to increase our knowl-edge. Death is a huge eye-opener, and com-ing to the aid of 911 callers has let Amer hearand see death on a daily basis. Touching thecold skin and realizing that we cannot evenclean ourselves at the time of our own deathreminds us, he says, of our weakness._______________________________Nabeelah Naeem is a freelance writer.

to produce “Understanding the Janazah.”With his filmmaker’s vision, knowledge ofhow to perform the relevant rituals, and ex-perience in producing educational videos,he uses this medium to inform Muslims thatlife truly begins with death. In this DVD, heseeks to answer the following questions: (1)Have we prepared ourselves for death? (2)Do we understand our rights and those ofothers during the janazah procedure? and(3) Are we prepared to answer the questionsof the grave?

This easy-to-follow DVD is designed tomove one from no knowledge of the subjectto becoming knowledgeable about itthrough the relevant sound hadiths by pre-senting a case study. A father dies, leavinghis wife and son behind. Given that all areconverts, they do not know much about theprocedure. Therefore, the imam walksthem through it according to the Sunnah.The DVD’s eight languages, PDF print-outof wills, helping Muslims apply the Shari‘ahto their own estate, step-by-step procedure,terminology, animation, a thirty-minutelecture on the moment of death, authentichadiths, and soothing Qur’anic recitationopens the heart through enlightenment andhas been authorized by five local imams(www.understandingjanazah.com). Sadly,many people do not know the du‘ah to bemade during the prayer; the PDF files givepeople easy access to them. Not only is theDVD a touching reminder, but it helps us (1)prepare ourselves for this unavoidableevent, either as the deceased or as a com-munity member; (2) know what to do andsay during each procedure: washing,shrouding, and carrying the corpse; theprayer, the ethics, and lowering the corpsewithout mixing traditional cultural ritualsthat could lead to innovation, sin, and God’spunishment; and (3) follow the command ofGod and our Prophet.

In order to increase knowledge aboutthese procedures, Amer Tobing, who “stars”as the imam in the DVD, now conducts “Un-derstanding the Janazah.” An active com-munity member, he is well known for his oc-casional khutbahs. As the director of liferescue training, a presenter of CPR classes,and a worker in the fire department, he in-structs workshop attendees in his ownunique manner: simple language, repeti-tion, true-life experiences, and hands-onvisuals to show how to wash the corpse. Healso uses mannequins, sheets, body bags,washcloths, and soap to make the experi-ence more practical and memorable. Dur-ing his interactive and audience-participantworkshops, he answers questions based onfiqhi evidence and points out any innova-tions, such as giving a talk at the gravesite,which many people consider essential.Amer Tobing—who does workshops—alsotells them that they must be careful not tomake dhikr or recite Qur’anic verses at the


C O V E R S T O R Y

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To support ISNA please visit: www.isna.net or contact us at [email protected]

ONE OF THE ACTIONS MOST LOVED BYALLAH (SWT) IS THE GOOD DEED DONE

BE THE SOURCE OF SUPPORT TO ISNA’S LONG TERM FINANCIAL

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REGISTR ATION FORM• Online Registration at www.isna.net will ensure accuracy

and instant confirmation for Hotel & Registration.• Early Registration Deadline is JUNE 1, 2010.

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MUST READWe are committed to providing a safe environment for all convention attendees. To ensure this, ISNA holds the right to ask the respon-sible person or group to leave the convention center. By registering for this convention I agree that if a member of my group causes any disturbance, I or that member will leave the convention center on the order of ISNA official(s). The judgment of term “disturbance” will be determined solely by ISNA officials. Your email will be included in ISNA Listserv for Newsletter.

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HOTEL INFORMATIONRates do not include state or local taxes.

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* Recommended Dates: Arrive 7/2/2010 Depart 7/5/2010

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HOTEL RESERVATION • Early Registration Deadline is JUNE 1, 2010.

How to Reserve Your RoomJuly 2 – 5, 2010

1. Hotel reservations must be made either online or on this form and sent along the registration form. Based on hotel availability, you would receive your confirmation within 3 weeks. Confirmation for online reservations will be received by e-mail immediately.

2. Rooms are assigned on a first-come first-serve and availability basis. If the hotel of your choice is full, you will be assigned to the next alternative.

3. Bed type is not guaranteed & subject to availability. There may be an extra charge for rollaway beds. (The hotel at check in will notify you.) Since there are a limited number of rooms with two double beds, and in consideration for those with families, please only request rooms with 2 beds if it is absolutely necessary.

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Contributions to this fund go to a special endowment of the Muslim Youth

of North America which will award scholarships to college freshmen who

have been actively involved in Islamic work, have significant academic

achievement and who demonstrate financial need.

LITERATURE & MATERIALS:

Distribution of unapproved literature or other materials or solicitation of

any kind during the convention is strictly prohibited.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE, CONFIRMATIONS,

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• Early registration deadline is June 1, 2010.

• Full Registration Fees Refund will be issued for cancellations before

June 1, 2010. Written cancellation request must be sent to conven-

[email protected] or faxed to (317) 839 1822. NO REFUNDS WILL BE

ISSUED AFTER JUNE 1, 2010.

• There will be no refund of membership fees.

Membership Information

Individual ................................................... $40

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Membership Benefits:

• Right to Vote during ISNA Elections

• Free Islamic Horizons Magazine

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Community Service Recognition Luncheon (CSRL)

The Community Service Recognition Luncheon is

a formal luncheon hosted by the ISNA Founders’

Committee (IFC) to recognize an outstanding

leader in the North American Muslim community.

Cost: $200 per person or

$2000 per table (max. 10 persons)

• Purchase tickets online at www.isna.net

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additional registrants.

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AS MORE MUSLIM AMERICANS ARE NOW A

PRODUCT OF A DUAL SOCIETY, ACCEPTANCE

OF SOCIETAL “NORMS” SUCH AS ALCOHOL

CONSUMPTION AMONG THEM IS ON THE RISE.

While on the popular social networking siteTwitter, I recently saw a message from a Muslimthat said: “Heading to the city to enjoy happy hourwith friends.”

From Twitter to Facebook and even to MySpace,whether you’re sharing pictures on Flickr orpersonal life stories on a Web log, these close-knitvirtual communities that have been built over thelast ten years are growing by the thousands eachday. And like most people, Muslim Americans areusing them for fundraising events, group meet-ups, simple life updates, and random musings.Although almost anyone can access these sites,

B Y S A B R I N A E N AYAT U L L A

FALLINGBARRIERS

I S L A M I N A M E R I C A

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current member of the Islamic Center atNew York University as well as a doctoralcandidate at Columbia University in MiddleEast and Asian Languages and Cultures.“People are so unaware of themselves. Wedon’t even understand why we react emo-tionally the way we do. If you live twentyyears of your life like that, you’re not going tosnap out of it in one or two years.”

Some Muslims, citing some researchers’claims of wine’s “benefits,” say they drink“moderately” in an attempt to “improve”their health. “Amira Khan,” whose high-pres-sure and travel-intensive job results in stress,states that her doctor suggested she considerdrinking a glass of wine to calm her nerves afew times a week. She did so—and even passedthe information onto her parents. “Khan” ar-gues: “We know what the Qur’an says, but wealso did our own research. If a doctor istelling me that this is going to help me, thanwhy shouldn’t I listen? There is so much re-search, new, and up-to-date research that de-scribes the benefits of controlled consump-tion of alcohol. Specifically wine. Children inEurope start drinking as young as 12 in somecountries. Earlier in others. And if you com-pare the health of the Europeans to theAmericans, they eat less, move more, andhave a significantly lower obesity rate. Theydon’t work as hard, and they don’t stress asmuch. We can’t be so consumed within our-selves and continue to think that our way isthe right way. We have to learn from otherpeople even if they’re not Muslims.”

The Qu’ran clearly prohibits alcohol, al-beit in in three phases: (1) the statement thatits evils far outweigh its benefits (2:219), (2)people are forbidden to pray while intoxicat-ed (4:42), and (3) its consumption is directlylinked to Satan (5:90-91). Prophet Muham-mad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) explainsthese rulings further. Anas ibn Malik relatedthat the Prophet invoked God’s curse on tenpeople connected with alcohol: the winepresser, the one who has it pressed, the onewho drinks it, the one who conveys it, the oneto whom it is conveyed, the one who serves it,the one who sells it, the one who benefits fromthe price paid for it, the one who buys it, and

the one for whom it is bought (al-Tirmidhi,hadith no. 2776). The hadith also covers thegiving and recieving of alcohol as a gift.

GreenFacts.org, which presents complexscientific consensus reports on health and theenvironment to non-specialists, states thatsome 2 billion people worldwide consume al-coholic drinks and that more than 76 millionpeople are currently affected by such alcohol-use disorders as alcohol dependence andabuse. The organization reports that alcoholcauses 1.8 million (3.2 percent) of all deathsworldwide per year. Unintentional injuriesaccount for about a third of those deaths, andalcohol is the third most common cause ofdeath in developed countries. In the limitednumber of developing countries where over-all mortality is low, alcohol is the leadingcause of illness and disease.

Research studies available on the Interneton alcohol’s health benefits or harms are,however, often conflicting. While the MayoClinic suggests that moderate consumptionmay reduce the risk of developing heart dis-ease and possibly reduce the risk of stroke anddiabetes, the Centers for Disease Controlstress that alcohol has caused chronic dam-age to liver cells, inflammation of the pan-creas, various cancers (e.g., liver, mouth,throat, larynx, and esophagus,) high bloodpressure, and psychological disorders. Prof.David Nutt (chairman, UK government’s Ad-visory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs;professor, Imperial College, London) in hispaper published by the Center for Crime andJustice Studies at King’s College (30 Oct.2009), asserted: “Alcohol ranks as the fifthmost harmful drug after heroin, cocaine,barbiturates and methadone. Tobacco wasranked ninth.” He argues for a new way ofclassifying the harm caused by both legal andillegal drugs (“The Guardian,” London, 29Oct. 2009). The American Medical Associa-tion (AMA) first passed a resolution support-ing abstinence from alcohol even before Na-tional Prohibition was imposed in 1920 andcontinues to support it to this day.

Dr. Mohammad Ali Hazratji, a neurolo-gist in western Massachusettes and anAmherst (MA) community leader, points out



many (sometimes underage) young people have not shied away from posting photosand videos of themselves and friends while drunk.

One would think that this behavior is exclusive to non-Muslims. But the dayswhen there was a clear, distinct seperation between “us” and “them” are long gone.Muslim Americans are now a product of a dual society, both by chance and bychoice. And as for photos depicting their drunkenness, night life, and “social”drinking, many young Muslims are not far behind accepting societal “norms” astheir own. The “moderation” mantra seems to be affecting some. A review of adver-tisements of alcoholic beverages shows that all of them include a disclaimer askingfor “responsible” drinking—of course there is no level of this “responsibility.”

Various Approaches

“Faiza,” 19, says she does not care that herpage displays pictures of her getting drunkwith her friends, for “[I have] privacy settingson Facebook so that only people I know cansee my photos. And the people who are myfriends on Facebook also know me in real life,so they’re not going to judge me because Idrank wine at my friend’s birthday dinnerand put a picture of it on Facebook.” “Faiza’s”Bengali parents immigrated to America near-ly thirty years ago. Both she and her brotherwere born here, yet she only started to drinkafter she left for college, only thirty minutesfrom home. Well aware of Islam’s prohibi-tion, she says: “It’s not like I’m a bad person.I believe in God, I go to the mosque, I obey myparents. I just like to have a good time. I’m notan alcoholic or anything, and I’m still prayingand fasting, I just don’t think it’s as big of adeal as people make it out to be.”

When reminded that she was underage,the college student chuckles and remarks:“Like I’m the only one. Do you know whatkind of tax dollars would be wasted if the au-thorities started knocking on every collegedorm in America to find the underagedrinkers? It’s just not realistic.”

Like many other young Muslims in theWest, “Faiza” has crashed head-on into anissue deeply rooted in American society: theconsumption of alcohol. Although Islam for-bids all intoxicants, the specs around alcoholdo not end at consumption, which makes fora fiery clash between what is “normal” andwhat is not—especially among MuslimAmericans. She says: “Muslims drinking isnot normal. But it’s not not-normal either. Imean, people drink, and sometimes I do itwith my other Muslim friends. Do I consid-er alcohol to be a ‘normal’ part of Americansociety? Yeah. I don’t know how things willbe [for me in terms of drinking] after collegebecause I know I won’t be partying when I’mold and married with kids. But for now I’mdoing me, and I have no regrets about thedecisions I’ve made so far.”

“Most people don’t understand whythey drink, lie, or binge eat,” says HaroonMoghul, a former president (2001-02) and

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But these struggles are not reserved for thevolunteer work she does in her free time. “Ny-la” sometimes feels forced to participate in of-fice happy hours, which are much harder toavoid. She enjoys going out, but “we go out tocelebrate stuff, like winning new business. Itlooks bad when people always invite you outand you don’t come, so I’ll go. I’m still learn-ing a lot and trying to figure out what I thinkis right and what I think is wrong, and I don’tlike talking about it. I tell my friends becauseit’s easier to talk to them about change. Wedon’t have those conversations [at work.] Idon’t hide it, I’m not embarrassed, I just don’ttell [my co-workers].”

“There is a sharp drop in faith betweencollege and the professional world,” Moghulremarks. “In college, there is a different kindof community, and after college, [many peo-ple] feel isolated and alienated. We as Mus-lims in America, we don’t do enough to pre-pare people for the real world.”

Amir, 29, who calls himself a MuslimAmerican of “Persian” descent, co-owns abar in a major metropolitan city. He is openabout his drinking, claiming it is part of his“heritage” and “that’s just how it is. If you goto places like Iran, you’ll see what the Mus-lims have done to destroy the people. Maybewe drink to prove that we’re not like the Mus-lims back home. Sure, I consider myself aMuslim. I pray and I fast, and I give money tothe poor, but I also drink beer. So what?”

“At some level, people just react to thecommunities that always judge them,” hemaintains. “The problem for a lot of Mus-lims is that it’s not easy to stand up as a Mus-lim, given the political environment we livein, with the media, and especially post-9/11.I don’t presume to understand where peopleare in their life circumstances, but it’s almostinevitable you’ll be around alcohol at somepoint. So the question is, do you need to bearound it?” Amir’s rhetorical “so what” isanswered in a hadith reported by al-Tabarani, and classified as sahih by al-Hafizin Bulugh al-Maram. Since Islam states that

whatever leads to something haram is alsoharam, it is haram for a Muslim to knowing-ly sell grapes to someone he/she knows willmake wine from them.

Even though the numerous textual proofssurrounding alcohol, including the prohibi-tion of giving or accepting it as a gift, are be-yond doubt, many young Muslims do notgive them much consideration. For this veryreason, according to Shaykh MuhammadNahavandi, a teacher of Qur’an in a Mary-land Islamic school, 99 percent of the solu-tion to eradicating this “so what” attitudecomes from the parents. “This is why wehave to educate the parents. We have toequip ourselves, pass the knowledge to ourchildren so they can be protected. What weteach them is like a vaccine for them so theydon’t have these issues when they get older.A lot of parents don’t realize it until theirkids reach a certain age, and then they comeand complain: ‘My son doesn’t respect me,my daughter doesn’t wear hijab.’ What doyou expect? You never taught them what’sright and wrong. We can’t tell our childrento do this and don’t do that. We have to buildinside of them the love and fear of God be-cause some day they’re going to grow up andbe away from you.”

“To know if you should go to an event thatwill benefit you in some way where there isalcohol, and expose yourself, or cut yourselfoff—that’s a huge challenge,” Moghul says,adding that one of the community’s biggestproblems is that not enough Muslims feel asense of belonging. This often leads them toother groups, where they fall for alcohol, andself-medication. He points that a lot of themdrink because there is no one to talk withabout this issue. He laments: “Nothing evergets talked about, especially in the SouthAsian culture. We make taboos out of every-thing.” And those taboos are what the Islam-ic Center’s 300 members are trying tochange through keeping their doors open toMuslims at all levels of religiosity.

“As Muslims, we too often underestimatethe importance of community,” Moghul says.“A person can perform an action that was amistake—a huge mistake or small mistake,but that person is still Muslim. People shouldbe able to approach their local imam and talkto them candidly without feeling like they’llbe rejected or exiled from that community.Ideally, [we feel like] my Islam is strongenough to handle any challenge. But in reali-ty, you don’t know that until you get yourchallenge. People would go up to the Prophetand say: ‘I just committed zina’ [adultery]and he didn’t say: ‘Oh my God, how couldyou do that?’ He would tell them how to re-pent or give them advice.”

Muslims who often feel alienated or judgedin their communities have not become a partof a virtual Islam though online forums andWeb spaces, where they can share their strug-

that most of the studies highlighting alcohol’sbenefits were done without taking all vari-ables into account: “It is well known in themedical field who is supplying the grantmoney for these types of studies. The neuro-logical effect [of alcohol] alone costs billionsof dollars each year to treat. We’re talkingabout peripheral neurophty, dimentia, can-cer; it is not cost saving in any way.” Accord-ing to him, there are other far more effectiveways of preventing diseases, among themhealthy eating and exercise, and “if there is aperson who does not have a prohibition of al-cohol in their religion, then alcohol in smallquantities might be of some benefit. Godmade all of this and said there are some ben-efits. So we can say, ‘yes we agree,’ but asMuslims we believe when God forbids some-thing it is for our own good, and He hasshown us much better ways to stay healthy.”

One hadith relates that a man once toldthe Prophet that he used wine as medicine, towhich the Prophet replied: “It is not medi-cine, but a disease” (Muslim, Ahmad, AbuDawud, and al-Tirmidhi). Abu Dawud alsoreported that the Prophet said: “God has sentdown the disease and the cure, and for everydisease there is a cure. So take medicine, butdo not use any forbidden thing as medicine.”

Globally, on average each person con-sumes the equivalent of about 1.6 gallons ofpure ethanol a year, or about 12 units a week.But on a far smaller, individual scale, MuslimAmericans say that it is nearly impossible toseperate yourself from an alcohol-centeredculture. “Nyla,” 24, a Muslim American ofSouth Asian descent, is an active member of anonprofit group in a major metropolitanarea. Her volunteer efforts have been an inte-gral part of organizing and promoting events,as well as booking venues, to raise money toeradicate illiteracy in Pakistan by buildingschools. She says: “We never organize eventswhere we are serving alcohol. But our orga-nization has gotten a bad rap because therehave been other chapters in other cities thathave openly served alcohol at these events. Idon’t agree with that.”

“Nyla,” who once turned down a dreamjob because she would have had to promotealcoholic drinks, recently came face-to-facewith a moral conflict while organizing anevent for her chapter. Only the day before theevent did she realize that things were not go-ing exactly as she had planned. “It was sup-posed to be a networking event at a restaurantthat basically turned into a happy hour,” shesaid. “I was involved in the planning, but Ididn’t want to work at a happy hour. It wasn’tsomething I wanted to promote. You havepeople who are Muslim, who come from fam-ilies where drinking is okay, and they’re notgoing to understand your stance,” she re-marked. “From a marketing aspect, it’s noteven that smart for us to promote alcohol. Wedidn’t even raise that much money.”

For many MuslimAmericans who go toschool in large cities,where one’s sociallife revolves aroundalcohol, avoiding itseems to be nearlyimpossible.

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is not perfect, but it is the situation I am in,where I justify the general good we do couldpossibly outweigh some contradictions…”

“Hasana,” 16, a Muslim American whoseparents are from Turkey, says she has neverdrunk and does not plan to. But her stancesometimes wavers: “I don’t think I will everdrink because of my religious beliefs. Butsometimes I do wonder, ‘what if I get weak?’ Iwonder, if I was ever in a situation where peo-ple were drinking, would I put God first, orwould I succumb to the environment aroundme? What if I make a mistake?”

“Shazia,” 24, said she drank on her twen-ty-first birthday with her Muslim friendsfrom college. “Up until that point, I had nev-er drunk alcohol. ... It wasn’t a conscious de-cision on my part, you know, not to drink, butI guess I always knew it was wrong. When Iturned 21, I was in college, and so many of myMuslim friends, who came from good fami-lies had been drinking since high school. I fig-

ured, ‘I’m turning 21, it’s a one-time thing, nobig deal.’” But it turned out to be a big deal,for her decision weighed heavily on her con-science: “I guess I kind of felt bad after thewhole thing. I never drank before, I got a lit-tle sick, and also I felt like I did somethingwrong. My heart just didn’t feeel right thenext day. I probably won’t ever do it again.”

For many Muslim Americans who go toschool in large cities, where one’s social liferevolves around alcohol, avoiding it seems tobe nearly impossible. But, counters Moghul,big-city life can sometimes make it easier notto participate in a social norm: “I think it cutsboth ways. Paradoxically, it can be easier toavoid. When you live in large cities, the cityis big enough, the student body is diverseenough, and New York City is interestingenough that you don’t have to go to the par-ties where people are drinking.” He mentions“Halal Train,” a networking/social organiza-tion for young NYU professionals, whose

gles anonymously and discuss countless Is-lamic topics. (http://icnyu.org/index.php?op-tion=com_content&task=view&id=79&Item-id=5). Mughal says that community leadershave to offer multiple points of entry: “We dokhutbas as basic as possible. For the few peo-ple who do show up, that’s their only dose ofIslam.” He tries to do this by turning his week-ly khutbas into downloadable podcasts. Pod-casts have become hugely popular with Mus-lims all over the world. A Muslim bloggerposted her struggle with her fundraising ca-reer, explaining that it is her job to give donorsa memorable experience and that meansthere has to be booze: “Adults in a formalgathering expect alcohol, and although theydrink responsibly and our events are alwaysproclaimed as tasteful—I feel guilty being apart of cycle that provides it. … Hopefully Al-lah (SWT) will forgive me, as it is part of myjob at a place that does good works and gen-uinely offers comfort and care to the needy. It



Fully aware that the first innocentsip can lead to alcoholism and a lifeof pain, shame, and guilt, ISNApartnered with the Rush Center ofthe Johnson Institute (rushcen-ter.org) to develop an Islamicallyoriented motivational programbased on Alcoholics Anonymous’(www.aa.org) Twelve Steps pro-gram. It reads:

1.We admitted we werepowerless over alcohol,

that our lives had become un-manageable.

^ Those who, having donesomething to be ashamed of orwronged their own souls,earnestly bring God to mind andask for forgiveness for theirsins—and who can forgive sinsexcept God?—and are never ob-stinate in persisting knowingly in(the wrong) they have done.(Qur’an 3:135)

This verse reminds us of God’sMercy and the wisdom of aban-doning our wrongful habits. TheForgiving and The Merciful willheal and guide us, if we ask for it.

^ Verily humanity is in loss,except those who have faith, do

good, and (join together) in themutual teaching of truth, pa-tience, and constancy. (103:2-3)

Over time, many people fall in-to bad habits. Nevertheless, Godpromises that we can regain ourhope, tranquility, bliss, and sta-bility even after years of disarray.

2.Came to believe that agreater power can re-

store us to sanity.^ God is He, other than Whom

there is no other deity. (59:23)God can return us to sanity.

The concepts of peace,guardianship, safety, and holi-ness embrace the relationshipwe will establish with the Cre-ator.

^ I listen to the prayer ofevery suppliant when he/shecalls on Me. (2:186)

What could be a better reas-surance for help than the Cre-ator’s very words?

^ For to God belong theforces of the heavens and Earth,and God is Exalted in Power, Fullof Wisdom. (48:7)

His power and wisdom canhandle our affairs.

3.Turn our lives over toGod, as we understood

Him.^ Hold fast to God. He is your

Protector, the best to protectand the best to help. (22:78)

By turning our life over toGod, we acknowledge Him as thetrue source of help and protec-tion.

^ My Mercy extends to allthings. That (Mercy) I shall or-dain for those who do right, prac-tice regular charity, and believein Our signs. (7:156)

Key to changing our lives isGod’s Mercy, for He will notabandon us.

^ The Prophet (salla Allahu‘alayhi wa sallam) said that Godstated: “I live in the thoughts ofMy servants as they think of Me,and I am with them when they re-member Me. If they walk to Me, Irush to them.” (“Sahih Muslim”)

^ O humanity, there has cometo you a direction from your Lordand a healing for the (diseases)in your hearts—and for thosewho believe, a guidance and aMercy. (10:57)

Here, two new elements of re-

covery are mentioned: healingthe heart (viz., the seat of peace,contentment, and happiness)and guidance. When the heart istranquil, the soul and the bodyradiate inner tranquility.

4.Made a searching andfearless moral invento-

ry of ourselves.^ God does not change a

people’s lot unless they changewhat is in their hearts. (13:11)

Engaging in this task helps usidentify people we might havewronged. Seeking reconciliationand forgiveness is mandatory tochanging ourselves.

^ God is with those who re-strain themselves and those whodo good. (16:128)

Addiction, understood as theloss of restraint, can be avoidedby seeking God’s companion-ship.

^ Do no corruption in theland after it has been set in or-der. (7:56)

Constant awareness of one’sactions prevents sins.

Jihad Against DependencyTroubled Muslims can now find support in an Islamically oriented

motivational program based on Alcoholics Anonymous’ Twelve Steps program.B Y M O H A M A D R A J A B A L LY

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many years of being a part of something big-ger. It’s just about effort and intention. Com-munities will rise and fall, and go throughgood periods and bad periods, and there’s noguarantee about the outcome. It’s a questionof constant intention, like having kids. If you

push them too hard, they’ll run away. You justhave to make your best effort. I don’t want togive the wrong impression, as the IslamicCenter has gotten bigger, and become a muchmore welcoming place; people are comingwho might not be welcomed into a regular

Muslim community. People come from alldifferent walks of life. Most people in Ameri-ca don’t go to masjids, most Muslims inAmerica are really alienated. Most don’tpractice the way they do in the Muslim world.Sure, there might be Muslims who are drink-ing that come to the [Islamic Center] but it’simportant that we’re not rejecting that per-son. There is a really important distinctionbetween rejecting a person and rejecting theact that they’re doing. They have to know thatthey can still be part of a community.”

“We have to make accommodations ac-cording to the reality. There are fundamen-tal differences across the Muslim world, andthey’re not going anywhere. We have tolearn to cooperate on things that are mutu-ally beneficial. If you’re going to work withAmerican institutions, you can’t say we’re aMuslim organization, and then only acceptone kind of Muslim.”

“At any point, we haven’t lowered our

members meet at a halal restaurant everymonth to mingle with other Muslims, have alittle fun, find new places, and bring businessto Muslim enterprises. About 50-60 Muslimscome out for the dinner each month.

He argues that communities need to be

open: “[By keeping] your community morewelcoming, you hope that at some point peo-ple will improve themselves. And that sort ofthing comes from socializing, and interactingwith other people. It doesn’t come throughdiscussions or arguments. It comes through

God-conscious so that you mayreceive mercy. (49:10)

Be sensitive enough to knowwhether doing so is appropriateor could cause the other partyeven more harm. Wait for theright time. The Qur’an advisesoverlooking their faults with gra-cious forgiveness (15:85), show-ing forgiveness, and enjoiningwhat is good (7:199).

10.Continued to take apersonal inventory

and admitted our sins.A person’s soul and level of

consciousness is three-fold: (1)al-nafs al-‘ammarah, the soul“inclined to evil” (12:53). Thismeans acting impulsively regard-less of society’s morals and ethi-cal code; (2) al-nafs al-lawwamah, where one questionsdue to the presence of guilt andregret (75:2), and (3) al-nafs al-mutma’innah, the “soul in com-plete rest and satisfaction”(89:27). Seek God’s pleasurewithout harming or disturbinganyone. Continue taking a con-stant inventory, for one can moveup or fall back down.

11.Used prayer andmeditation to im-

prove our conscious contactwith God as we understandHim, praying for knowledge ofHis Will for us and the powerto carry it out.

^ O believers, seek help in pa-tience and prayer. Truly God is

with the patient. (2:153)Help is guaranteed; however,

it may not come immediately, sopray and wait patiently.

^ Your Lord says: “Call onMe. I will answer your prayers.”(40:60)

It is up to us to connect withGod through regular prayer andmeditation. (Also see 14:39)

12.Carry this messageto alcoholics and

practice these principles inour affairs.

These who race for the gooddeeds are the foremost in them(23:61). Just as we enter a raceto win it, each person followingthis program should remain en-thusiastic. The Qur’an remindsus: “Let there arise out of you agroup of people inviting to allthat is good and forbidding allthat is bad. It is they who aresuccessful (3:104).

To do this, we must educateand inform people about addic-tion and its cure. Those bestqualified to do so are those whohave “walked the walk andtalked the talk.” Prophet Muham-mad is reported to have said that“the recompense of one who di-rects somebody to do gooddeeds will be equal to the rewardof the latter” (“Sahih Muslim”).Doing good deeds gives us asense of satisfaction that wemay have made a difference insomeone’s life; even more, weare rewarded for doing so.

the day so that people may re-pent for the faults committedfrom dusk to dawn.”

^ Say: “O my servants whohave transgressed against theirsouls. Despair not of God’s Mer-cy, for God forgives all sins.”(39:53)

8.List those we haveharmed and seek their

forgiveness.^ So fear (be conscious of)

God and keep straight the rela-tions between yourselves. (8:1)

Mutual forgiveness and sin-cerity may repair and normalizerelationships.

^ The Prophet said: “None ofyou (truly) believes until he/shewishes for his/her brother/sisterwhat he/she wishes forhimself/herself.” (“Sahih al-Bukhari” and “Sahih Muslim”)

People can be at peace withme only if I am at peace withthem. If I want them to apologizeto me, I should be willing to dothe same.

^ The believers are but a sin-gle brotherhood/sisterhood, somake peace and reconciliationbetween your two (contending)brothers/sisters. (49:10)

9.Seek their forgiveness,provided that doing so

does not injure them or oth-ers.

^ So make peace and recon-ciliation between your two (con-tending) brothers/sisters, and be

5.Admitted to God, our-selves, and others the

exact nature of our wrongs.^ Verily God will not deal un-

justly with humanity in aught; itis people who wrong their ownsouls. (10:44)

Admitting our sins preparesus to take ownership and re-sponsibility for our actions.Qur’an 35:32 tells us to admitour wrongdoings and try toamend them by doing good.

6.Were ready for God toremove our character

defects.^ Those who … observe the

limits set by God. (9:112)God loves to forgive.^ We send down (in stages)

in the Qur’an that which is ahealing and a mercy to believers.(17:82)

God uses spiritual healing toremove all character defects.(Also see 10:57)

7.Asked Him to removeour shortcomings.

^ Blot out our sins and grantus forgiveness. Have mercy onus. (2:286)

This verse defines the rela-tionship between the servantand the Lord. Abu Musa reportedthat the Prophet said: “God, theExalted and Glorious, stretchesout His hand during the night sothat people repent for the faultscommitted from dawn till dusk;He stretches out His hand during

Just as Muslims are ordered not to drink or serve alcohol, they are also ordered to avoid gatherings where it is being served.

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served. Ahmad reports that ‘Umar narratedthat he heard the Prophet say: “Whoever be-lieves in God and the Last Day must not sit ata table at which khamr (intoxicant) is con-sumed.” Al-Tirmidhi reports something sim-ilar. Shaykh Nahavandi remarks that al-

though Muslims should clearly avoid suchplaces, in America this is impossible: “Even ifyou have to go to 7-Eleven to get milk, thereis going to be alcohol there. And you can’t juststop everything. But we have to do our best toavoid it when we can.” He maintains thatproper Islamic schooling is necessary because“if I as a parent don’t pracitce my deen, howwill [my kids follow my example]?”

He stresses the need to develop taqwa(God-consciousness) and to realize that Godwill give people rizq (sustenance) from placesthey never expected. He counsels that eventhough someone is only indirectly involved in

providing alcohol, it is better to avoid it. If thisis the only job one has, then look for anotherone in the meanwhile.

Some wonder if young Muslims are be-coming desensitized to their peers’ activitiesand sometimes join in because there seems

to be no other option. The “moderation”mantra being purveyed by the alcohol and“sin” industries (e.g., gambling), with the helpof multimillion-dollar war chests, should be acause of concern to all, especially Muslims.Habit-forming activities know no limits. In theIslamic mileau, even the “moderate” drinkeris as much a problem as the problem drinker.

Alcohol and Life IssuesAlcohol use can lead to domestic abuse andother problems. “Deena,” 36, who left her al-coholic Muslim husband, remarks: “I didn’tknow he was an alcoholic when we met be-

standards,” Moghul says about the IslamicCenter, whose members are very inclusive asregards accepting all Muslims. “We have tobuild a confidence between us, and an open-ness. People screw up, invariably, they willscrew up, but they can’t feel like they can’t tellyou. If you can make tawba (repent) for basi-cally everything to Allah, why can’t you dothat in your own community, to your imam,and not feel like you’re being rejected or hu-miliated? In the end, people do become betterin their own ways, and at their own pace.”

Khamr (alcohol/wine) means “to cover,”because it covers your ability to think clear-ly. As Shaykh Nahavandi explains: “TheProphet said anything that makes you loseyour mind is forbidden. There were nodrugs at the time of the Prophet, but weknow now that it makes you lose your mindso it’s haram too.” Caliph ‘Umar declaredfrom the Prophet’s pulpit: “Khamr is thatwhich befogs the mind” (al-Bukhari andMuslim). The Prophet also said: “Of thatwhich intoxicates in a large amount, a smallamount is haram” and “If a bucketfull in-toxicates, a sip of it is haram” (Ahmad, AbuDawud, and al-Tirmidhi).

Just as Muslims are ordered not to drink al-cohol, they are, in the same spirit, ordered toavoid parties or gatherings where it is being



“We as Muslims in America, we don’t do enough to prepare people for the realworld.” —Haroon Mughal, the Islamic Center at New York University

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cause he hid it so well. In our [Pakistani] cul-ture, you would never drink out in the openbecause it’s such a cultural and religioustaboo. No one knew he had a problem untilafter we got married. ... He wasn’t a great guywhen he was sober. But the rage really cameout after a few drinks. For someone to tell methat domestic abuse has nothing to do with al-cohol, [he/she] obviously doesn’t have theirfacts straight. That person has never walkedin my shoes.”

When we tell “Tensa,” 28, about the latestresearch dubunking the “myth” of alcoholand domestic abuse, she becomes noticeablyangry and, explaining that she had finallyended her three-year engagement to a manwith a drinking problem, asserts: “Thesestudies are based on false reports. More thanhalf the women who are abused by their part-ner don’t even report the crime, so how canthe police department or these so-calledwomen’s advocacy groups claim to have theright information? I was in an abusive rela-tionship for nearly three years, and I nevertold a soul what was happening. My fiance al-so happened to be an alcoholic. If a researchercan’t see that correlation, then they’re missinga significant amount of their research, or a sig-nificant amount of their brain.”

Researchers say that Super Bowl Sundayhas become notorious for the highest rates ofdomestic violence of any given day, largely aresult drinking during the big game. It also“boasts” some of the highest drunk-drivingaccident and fatality rates. In Madison, WI,Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney re-minds motorists to act responsibly by desig-nating a sober driver if they plan on drinkingduring Super Bowl weekend, and his officeuses state grant funds for additional enforce-ment—mainly by trying to keep drunk dri-vers off the road. In 2009, alcohol was a fac-tor in the deaths of at least eleven out of thethirty-three county residents killed in trafficaccidents. In 2008, 34 percent of all Wiscon-sin traffic fatalities were alcohol related.During a two-year period in Janesville, WI,on Super Bowl weekend the Rock Countysheriff’s office arrested over 1,000 alcohol“impaired” drivers.

Many studies show that the rate of SuperBowl weekend domestic abuse is less than thestatistics for Memorial Day and Christmas.Another study shows that the percentage ofbatterers under the influence of alcohol whenthey assault their partners ranges from 48 to87 percent, with most research indicating a60 to 70 percent rate of alcohol abuse and a 13to 20 percent rate of drug abuse. But thosewho study the dynamics of domestic abusesay there is no real research to indicate thatalcoholism and drug abuse cause domestic vi-olence. Although research indicates men whodrink heavily have a higher rate of assaults re-sulting in injury, the majority of “high-level”male drinkers do not abuse their partners. Al-so, 76 percent of physically abusive incidents

43ISLAMIC HORIZONS

This March, the Islamic School of Rhode Island (ISRI) was flooded approximately5 ft due to rains and river overflowing. Alhamdullilah, ISRI students, staff, parents,and school pets are safe. The flood affected the entire fist floor housing the office,Pre-K, K, First Grade, gym, cafeteria, kitchen, staff room, janitor closet, boilerroom, bathrooms, and many supply closets. Water damage also occurred due toroof leakage on the second floor housing grades 3-8, bathrooms, office, andsupply closet. ISRI also lost its server in the flood.

PLEASE VISIT WWW.RICMA.ORG FOR INFORMATION

Send donations to: Islamic School of Rhode Island840 (rear) Providence St., West Warwick, RI 02893, (401) 821-8700

Help Rebuild Flood-hit Islamic School

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knows each other, you go to her parents andlet your intention be known. If the parents seehim as a fit person, then the next step is to talkto each other and get to know each other.”

Strategies for Lowering Alcohol Consumption

New research shows that alcohol consump-tion is on the rise, especially among women.Jürgen Rehm (University of Toronto) told“Time” magazine in June 2009 that the in-crease in global alcohol-related causes ofdeath, including accidents, violence, poison-ing, cancer, colorectal, and strokes was pri-marily the result of more women taking updrinking. The increase in the rate of alcohol-related deaths is particularly troubling forhim, because the researchers took into ac-count the cardiovascular benefits of moder-ate drinking. According to him, alcohol con-sumption, particularly among women, islinked to economic growth: “In countries likethe U.K. and Norway, you have women con-suming over 30 percent of [all the alcoholconsumed]. In India, on the other extreme,women consume less than 5 percent. Thehigher the wealth of a country, the higher thepercentage of women drinking alcohol.”

Increased wealth, however, is not the onlyfactor directly related to this phenomenon.Another startling fact, discovered by theAmerican Cancer Society, is that one in everyeight women will be diagnosed with breastcancer. Colleen Doyle (director of nutritionand physical activity, the American CancerSociety) says that even one drink a day can el-evate the risk of breast cancer.

Not surprisingly, drinking patterns, aswell as their health impacts and policy re-sponses, vary greatly from country to coun-try. For example, America tried to outlaw it.This process began when the GeneralCourt of Massachusetts outlawed the sale ofstrong liquor; in 1919, the EighteenthAmendment (Prohibition, or “The NobleExperiment”), banned the sale, manufac-ture, and transportation of alcohol for con-sumption. Congress passed it over Presi-dent Wilson’s veto. When bootleggingbecame rampant, because Washington didnot have the means or the desire to enforcestrict compliance, crime rates soared.Gangsters made millions of dollars on ille-gal alcohol sales, and corruption was rifeamong law enforcement agencies. Increas-ingly unpopular during the Great Depres-sion, especially in large cities, in 1933 Presi-dent Roosevelt signed into law theCullen-Harrison Act, which allowed themanufacture and sale of certain kinds of al-coholic beverages. In December 1933, theTwenty-First Amendment repealed theEighteenth Amendment (only South Caroli-na rejected it) once again making the sale,manufacture, transportation, and com-sumption of alcohol legal nationwide.

Europe has followed a policy of raisingprices to control consumption. As a result,France and Italy have seen rates plummetover the past twenty-five years. “Despite allstereotypes, Italy now has the lowest con-sumption of any European country,” Rehmsays. “And it’s largely because alcohol is rela-tively expensive.”

Intoxicants imperil clear thinking and,whatever the level, the Muslim communityneeds to take notice and do something aboutit. Perhaps it is time to seek outside re-sources. For instance, the Mayo Clinic re-ceived a $2.5 million grant from the Nation-al Institute on Alcohol Abuse to establish acenter for Individualized Treatment of Alco-hol Dependence, as a part of the AmericanRecovery and Reinvestment Act. Main-stream organizations related to alcohol is-sues may not be the answer, however, be-cause they are more concerned with controland correction than abstinence.

A good way for Muslims to start would beto ponder upon Shaykh Nahavandi’s words:“God says: ‘Today I have completed andperfected your deen, and I have completedand perfected My favors upon you.’ Thisdeen is a complete way of life. Everythingmakes sense, but some people want to do theopposite. Sometimes Islam tells us not to dothings that we might like, but at the end, thebenefit is for us. What’s the bottom line? Godsent all this stuff to bring the good to us andpush the harmful things away from us. Godwants everything to be good for us. He doesnot need us; we are in need of Him. Thisdeen, we take it and sometimes we might seethe hikmah (the wisdom), and sometimes wedon’t see it, but we take it and apply it any-way. This is how we will be happy in this lifeand the next life.”

Muslim Americans need to wake up tothe challenge posed by the powerful alcoholindustry, aided by the agriculture and theentertainment and media lobbies. A majorchallenge comes from politicians who needmore public money to keep their con-stituents satisfied, and of course, their ownjobs. In 2009, Illinois nearly doubled thesales tax on spirits to help address a project-ed $9.2 billion deficit. Often such prioritiesbulldoze community concerns. The Rev.John Dale, pastor of Glendale Road Churchof Christ in Murray, KY, where CallowayCounty officials rejected a petition to putpackaged alcohol sales on the November2009 ballot, said the issue was “the quality oflife,” adding: “I’m dealing with people whoare almost everyday problem drinkers—al-coholics. They are really struggling. Theydon’t want more and more availability of aproduct they can’t control.” Of course, thealcohol advocates offered the rose-coloredpicture that alcohol sales could help the citycollect more taxes and have more money cir-culating though town. Forty-seven statesand the District of Columbia charge excise

involve no alcohol use at all.According to the Women’s Rural Advoca-

cy Program, the available evidence does notsupport a cause-and-effect relationship be-tween the two problems. The relatively highincidence of alcohol abuse among male bat-terers must be viewed as the overlap of twoseparate social problems, it claims. Accord-ing to The Safety Zone, no evidence suggeststhat alcohol use or dependence is linked to theother forms of coercive behaviors that arepart of the pattern of domestic violence:“Economic control, sexual violence, and in-timidation, for example, are often part of abatterer’s ongoing pattern of abuse, with lit-tle or no identifiable connection to his use ofor dependence on alcohol.” They also go onto say that battering is a socially learned be-havior, not the result of substance abuse ormental illness: “Men who batter frequentlyuse alcohol abuse as an excuse for their vio-lence. They attempt to rid themselves of re-sponsibility for the problem by blaming it onthe effects of alcohol. … Alcohol does not andcannot make a man abuse a woman, but it isfrequently used as an excuse. Many mendrink and do not abuse anyone as a result. Onthe other hand many men abuse womenwhen they are sober. It can be easier for somemen and for some women to believe that theviolence would not have happened if drinkingwas not involved. It’s part of the denialprocess. Alcoholism and battering do sharesome similar characteristics—both may bepassed from generation to generation, bothinvolve denial or minimization of the prob-lem, both involve isolation of the family.”

Women who have been abused in an alco-hol-related incident vehemently disagreewith such statistics.

Tatiana Hernandez, a recent convert to Is-lam, raises another issue. According to her,her most challenging moments have beenwith family members and their lack of under-standing toward her stance: “We’re Hispan-ic, so drinking and dancing at family gather-ings is who we are. For me to come in now andsay ‘I worship God differently’ doesn’t makesense to any of them. Not to mention [that]I’m ready to get married and settle down.And as much as I love my culture, it’s so hardto find someone who will understand that thisbig group of loving drunks is going to be partof their family, too.”

Which brings us to the issue of finding theright partner, something often surrounded bystress and family pressure for young Muslims.Where exactly do you meet your potentialspouse? Some have tried Muslim matrimoni-al columns and organization; others say hap-py hour is the place to meet “moderate Mus-lims.” Shaykh Nahavandi asks: “Is that reallyhow you want to start your life? This is thewrong way to approach it. God says to helpeach other to do the righteous deeds, and donot help each other to do sin. For Muslims, ifsomeone wants to get married, if he or she



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or production taxes on alcoholic beverages.(New Hampshire, Vermont and Wyomingare the exceptions.) During 2009, at least 14state legislatures considered trying to boosttheir economies through new or increasedalcohol taxes, which can already top $20 agallon for hard spirits, taxes on top of thoseexcise taxes, according to the NationalCouncil of State Legislatures. For example,in 2009, Washington State projected $16million in new revenue from alcohol relatedtaxes. Ironically, despite the high costs of al-cohol related illnesses, some proponents ofrevising healthcare have sought to hike fed-eral alcohol taxes to help expand the system.“About 14 million Americans, almost 10 per-cent of adults, meet diagnostic criteria for al-cohol abuse and alcoholism,” wrote Secre-tary of Health and Human Services DonnaE. Shalala introducing the Ninth Special Re-port to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol andHealth (National Institute on Alcohol Abuseand Alcoholism of the National Institute ofHealth, 18 July 1997). The 450-page refer-enced report noted: “Alcohol-related mor-bidity and mortality remain significantproblems. As many as 44 percent of morethan 40,000 traffic crash fatalities each yearinvolve alcohol and, although such crashesare decreasing, young drivers continue tobe over-represented in drinking drivingdeaths.” A report published by Britain’sNHS Confederation and Royal College ofPhysicians (1 Jan. 2010) said the country’sdrinking culture is straining their taxpayer-funded healthcare system. The NHS nowspends 2.7 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) ayear treating patients for alcohol-relatedproblems—double the amount five yearsago. The new report also warns that about10.5 million adults in Britain drink abovesensible limits, and 1.1 million people havesome form of alcohol addiction.

Most mainstream organizations workingagainst alcohol use are use control and notprohibition oriented. At least restricting al-cohol sales can help to some extent. JosephA. Califano, Jr. (chairman, National Centeron Addiction and Substance Abuse; Secre-tary of Health, Education and Welfare un-der President Carter) insists, “Availability isthe mother of abuse.”

The community needs to go beyond im-parting the right education and training toits members, or simply feel satisfied by quot-ing the Qur’an and hadith. There is a needfor active participation by joining organiza-tions opposed to alcohol use to deny businesslicense applications of alcohol vendors,pressure community members who are in-volved and profit from the alcohol trade,and indeed extend help in finding alternatesources of income for those who feel thatthey have no alternative but to be employedin the alcohol-related trade. _______________________________Sabrina Enayatulla is founder and director of www.SliceofLemon.com

45ISLAMIC HORIZONS

Required Qualifications:> Should have a degree in Islamic studies from a recognized Islamic institution> Should have excellent knowledge of the Qur’an, Hadith, Seerah, and Fiqh> Should be a hafiz of the Qur’an, be able to recite well and must have

knowledge of the tajweed rules> Should be able to lead daily, Jumaa, and Taraweeh prayers and be able to

conduct educational programs> Should be able to interact with the youth and provide for their spiritual

growth through educational programs and other activities > Should be fluent in English and have excellent communication skills> Should have adequate knowledge of the Arabic language > Should be US citizen or US permanent resident > Should have knowledge of interfaith and be able to participate at inter-

faith forums > Should be able to promote harmony within the Muslim community and

with other communities living in the area

Desired Qualifications:> Should have some experience in pre-marital and marital counseling> Should have knowledge of different schools of Fiqh > Should have some experience in conflict resolution> Should be able to lead marriage ceremonies and funerals

> Compensation and benefits commensurate with education and experience. > Please email resumes to [email protected] and include

telephone number.> Mail to: Imam Search Committee, Islamic Center of New England

PO Box 412, Sharon, MA 02067

A Qualified and Dynamic Imam

The Islamic Center of New England, one of the largestand oldest Islamic centers in the New England area, is looking for:

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other factors. Since peer/youth culture isextremely influential in campus life, I ar-gue that it is de facto policy in their lives.While peer/youth culture excludes minor-ity norms, university cultures cannot betruly inclusive and equal. In these cultures,leisure activities (e.g., drinking, dating, andfashion) emerge as highly significant, andstudents who do not participate in them be-come marginal.

Between July 2002 and June 2003 I con-ducted participant-observation and open-ended “talking diary” interviews with fe-male Muslim American undergraduates atGeorgetown and George Washington tolearn how they dealt with alcohol withincampus culture. Both universities are pri-

vate, reputable, expensive, and undergrad-uate-focused; cater to upper-middle classfamilies and above; and have strong partycultures. In addition, both are located in af-fluent parts of Washington, DC.

In my fieldwork, I found that students of-ten end up drinking in order to be “normal”college students, and that those who abstainhave an uncertain relationship with campuscommunities.

On college campuses, drinking is a val-ued form of social capital; in fact, the firstvisit to a bar is seen as a rite of passage. Suchrituals, activities, and parties exclude manyMuslim students from the off-campus centerof college culture and thus marginalizethem. Many of my study’s participants had a

strong sense of being perceived as the “Mus-lim Other” and of being observed by the“non-Muslim Other.” They felt that manyof their peers associated Muslims with theusual stereotypes, which therefore consti-tuted part of their own consciousnesses andemerged in the interview data.

Seen through the lens of alcohol, theplurality of choice on campus allows stu-dents to assimilate by accepting the drinksoffered, dissemble, or become marginaland different. Such choices have to bemade within peer leisure (bars and night-clubs) as well as academic spaces (depart-ment events). Belonging and camaraderieare at stake here, and passing as “ordinary”is key in this struggle. Pluralism, therefore,


WHY DO SOME

FEMALE MUSLIM

STUDENTS OFTEN

END UP DRINKING

ALCOHOL IN

COLLEGE? WHAT

HAPPENS TO THOSE

WHO ABSTAIN?

College campuses are

known these days for their

rhetoric about diversity,

which is often merely ornamen-

tal, doing little except to perpetu-

ate cultures of inequality, usually

in favor of the majority culture.

Higher education theorists and

researchers emphasize the im-

portance of peers in the students’

identity construction, above all

B Y S H A B A N A M I R

Drinkingto be

‘Normal’

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club hold a wine and cheese party fornew freshmen and sophomore (i.e., un-derage) members, she used her positionas a white woman on a majority-whitecampus to lend racial and cultural powerfor a (Muslim) minority concern by op-posing this proposal.

Zahida, a Pakistani-American sopho-more who had recently stopped drink-ing, mentioned that she had started todrink because “I just kind of thought Iwas missing something. ... I was tired ofbeing the only person [who didn’t drink].... I wanted to be just another girl in highschool that lived in [a southwestern me-tropolis].” In Washington, DC, she even-tually gave it up and remained comfort-able with her peer culture, attendingclubs and bars and publicly acknowledg-ing her religious background.

The Muslim Peer GroupMy interviewees stated that they dislikedgoing to bars because they felt pressuredto drink. Roshan described how the MSA“rescued” her from a social life character-ized by incomplete conformity and reli-gious guilt. As abstinence was not tenablewithin the local popular peer culture, shefelt that joining Muslim peer groups wasnecessary for living a committed Islamiclifestyle and making friends.

Heather found herself faced with be-ing friends with “everyone” and thustrapped in social situations involvingalcohol and sex, or finding differentfriends. Even if one practiced importantsocial skills (e.g., being “cool or funny oroutgoing”), one could not continue to befriends with people whose weekendplans involved drinking simply becausedrinking/not-drinking seemed to createa sharp division between students.

Charlise, an African-American con-vert with many friends and a wide rangeof extracurricular activities, felt thatsticking to the Muslim community couldhelp her abstain on the ground thatfriends can influence you. She reportedfeeling torn between religious practice

and her friends’ influence. Haseena, aPakistani-American sophomore andnon-drinker, loved dancing at clubs andwas comfortable in the South Asian stu-dent community. Most of her friendswere Muslim (many were not very obser-vant) and/or South Asian. Her non-drinking status was important to her asan indicator of her religiosity, especiallybecause she had a steady boyfriend. Ac-knowledging that some Muslims wouldconsider her sexual behavior problemat-ic, she nevertheless presented her non-drinking as evidence of her observanceof the “more important boundaries”: “Ido consider myself religious; I just don’tconsider myself conservative.” Alcoholwas a barrier between her and friendshipwith white students, but heavy drinkingamong South Asians did not disturb hermuch, for, as she claimed, it was more ac-cepting of non-drinkers.

Some Muslim women construct“spaces” by socializing in bars and night-clubs but not drinking. Thus they com-bine da‘wah (by not drinking), pluralismand diversity, and a successful accommo-dation with the dominant culture. Amiraand Haseena were two such women. Sev-eral of the interviewees felt that Roshan,who had stopped going to bars, clubs,and many college parties, had become in-sular and unnecessarily “different.”

Those who constructed their ownspaces within that of the dominant major-ity, instead of occupying Muslim-onlyspaces, found that their peers still askedthem why they were not conforming tostereotypical images of Muslims. Amira,perhaps the only religiously observantMuslim female member of an academicclub, faced such questioning: “I guess atthe [club] there’s very few Muslim girls inthere—or at least practicing Muslim girls.So people always are like: ‘You don’tdrink? Oh! But you come to the partiesanyway?!’”

Yasmin, as an undergraduate, foundherself pressured to drink with studentsand professors in a (mostly secular) ArabStudies Department. According to her,the professors tried to pigeonhole her as a“drinker”—perhaps because of how shedressed and behaved. Thus, she vacillat-ed between drinking and not drinking.She is, however, considering giving it upwhen she starts her postgraduate studies. _______________________________Shabana Mir, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in social foun-dations and qualitative inquiry at Oklahoma State University’sCollege of Education.

comprises a range of possible practicesbetween the cultural core (ordinary,white, Christian majority) and the periph-ery (not ordinary, for example, Muslim) inthe students’ communities of practice.Overall, in my participants’ perspectivesnon-drinking emerges as a strong indica-tor of religiosity and as a practice on theperiphery of campus culture.

In campus leisure spaces, alcohol ren-ders female Muslim students either invis-ible as members of youth culture or hy-pervisible as Muslims. The necessity ofpositioning themselves vis-à-vis alcoholhighlights their religious identity aboveother identities, especially in contrast totheir peers’ religious identities, which, inrelative terms, operate in the shadows.At the same time, the inability of many ofthem to participate fully in the cama-raderie of alcohol communities rendersthem invisible as friends and peers. Alco-hol highlights this “difference” from themajority norm and veils any commonal-ities between the two.

Case StudiesRoshan, a Bangladeshi-American sopho-more, relate that she eventually signed apetition to allow alcohol at an event be-cause it was “integral” to a “normal”American undergraduate persona. Inother words, she did not want to be an“outsider.” Yasmin, a Pakistani-Ameri-can sophomore who drank, considered itpart of the youth culture promoted byvested interests: “It’s pretty dumb whatwe do for enjoyment, but then everyonekeeps telling you it’s fun. And then youstart believing it’s fun.”

Zareen, a relatively liberal non-drink-ing and sociable Pakistani-Americanfreshman, was frustrated with the col-lege social scene, which she saw as “verymuch dominated by drinking.” As shehad not been allowed to attend suchevents in high school, this was somethingnew for her. Finding it reductive to be de-fined by the usual stereotypes associatedwith abstinence and Islam, and realizingthat being “Christian” is generally not adominant-majority member’s first iden-tity, she resisted bringing up her own re-ligious identity.

Heather, a white (and therefore non-identifiable) convert and senior who be-longed to an honors club where she andtwo other Muslim students were the mostactive members, offered another per-spective. Once, when a white non-Mus-lim board member suggested that the

In campus leisure spaces, alcohol rendersfemale Muslim students

either invisible asmembers of youth

culture or hypervisible

as Muslims.

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P R O F I L E

Sporting events are closely tied to corporate sponsors. But despite all therighteous talk about protecting young and impressionable people fromharmful substances, sports teams unabashedly f launt the logos of alco-holic and tobacco products. Thus South Africa faced a problem whenits cricket team selected Hashim Amla, who had been appointed cap-

tain of his state team (Natal) at 21, for this elegant, stroke-filled player blessedwith the temperament to make the most of his talent refused to wear the teamsponsor’s logo. Castle Larger beer, produced by South African Breweries, is oneof the country’s largest sports sponsors and one of the world’s largest brewers byvolume. Valued for his talent, Amla was exempted and became the first Muslim(and the first one of South Asian descent) member on the South African team.

Mohammed Moosajee and logistics man-ager Goolam Rajah do not wear the logoshirts or pocket any money from the CastleTests or any share of prize-money from theCastle-sponsored games.

Today Amla, a popular figure knownfor his sense of humor, remains a candi-date to become South Africa’s second non-white test team captain after AshwellPrince. Cricket, which originally had five-day test matches, has evolved into a day-long game with each team playing 50overs; lately in 20/20, each team plays 20overs. However, purists regard test cricketas the “real game.”

Although the right-handed Amla, whobecame 26 in March, was selected as batterfor the crucial number 3 (the first drop) po-

sition, he can be called upon to bowl. In the2010 series in India, he amassed a doublecentury and a century in test matches, withhis burqa-clad wife Sumaiyah in atten-dance. Amla toured New Zealand with theSouth African Under-19 team in 2000-01,captained South Africa at the 2002 Under-19 World Cup, and, after starring for the Ateam, made his test debut against India in2004-05. He has left serious questions abouthis technique behind by emerging as a reli-able team member and one of three SouthAfrican batsmen to have topped 1,000 runsin test matches during 2008. Such perfor-mances have ended any speculation that hewas selected because of his color.

In 1980, when South Africa was stillruled by apartheid, the UN began compil-ing a “Register of Sports Contacts withSouth Africa” to exert moral pressure onathletes. Other sports bodies disciplinedathletes based on the register. During thesummer of 1988, the InternationalOlympic Committee adopted a declara-tion against “apartheid in sport.” WhenSouth Africa officially terminated thissystem in 1991, the apartheid-related boy-cott of South African sports ended andSouth African sporting teams and players

Amla’s action has led to campaigns to re-move all alcohol-promoting logos frommerchandise and playing gear. He also re-fuses each match fee or share of awardswhen the team wins in test matches. Hisagent, Ismail Kajee, told Durban’s “DailyNews” (28 Dec. 2009): “Hashim does notand will not at any time in his career con-sume the earnings from [alcoholic drinkssponsored] Test matches. … Since Hashimis a devout Muslim, he understands his reli-gion well, his beliefs are staunch, and heknows what is right and wrong. At the out-set he made the decision not to wear theCastle logo on his clothing, which wentpublic, and at the same time he also took thedecision that the money earned from theTests, sponsored by Castle, were forbiddenfor his use. The money has been givenaway—Islam teaches us to give it away with-out having to make a song and dance of it.”

Kajee, also a Muslim, takes no commis-sion from the Castle-sponsored games. Hesays: “I cannot give you any figures as tohow much Hashim has earned since hisfirst Test for South Africa. It’s not some-thing we are proud of—the money is dis-pensed [to a non-Muslim charity] as soonas it comes in.” Likewise, team manager

The Noble Aspirant

A man at peace, Hashim Amla offers alesson in reaching the highest level withoutsacrificing faith. BY UMBREEN ABDULLAH

Hashim Amla’s action

has led to campaigns

to remove all

alcohol-promoting

logos from merchandise

and playing gear.

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tions and the best form of attraction and un-derstanding of Islam we can offer is that ofthe beloved Messenger (Prophet Muham-mad, salla Allahu ‘alyhi wa sallam) and hehas mentioned: ‘ballighoo anni wa loaayah’—‘Convey from me even if it be a sin-gle verse.’”

Amla says that he encounters no diffi-culties in the locker room: “I find mylifestyle really aids me in keeping a soundmind. Cricket is an extremely disciplinedsport, and I feel the way I try and live mylife aids me in sticking to those disciplines.”

In Aug. 2006, while playing Sri Lanka inColombo, Amla’s brilliant catch lead DeanJones, a former Australian test cricketerturned commentator, mockingly declared:“The terrorist has got another wicket.” Joneslater apologized to Amla, who concedes thateveryone has some inward prejudices andsays that he forgave him in the Islamic spirit.

Cricinfo.com commentator Will Lukesays that Amla “possesses the most impres-sive beard in all the game.” Beards havebeen rare in cricket. The ultimate beardedcricketer, formerly the legendary W. G.Grace (1848-1915), is now Pakistan’sMuhammad Yusuf, who holds several in-ternational batting records.

During the tour of England, when Amlahelped South Africa to a historic series win,Donald McRae (“The Guardian,” 8 Jul.2008) raised the Grace and Jones issue. Am-la told him: “I love it when guys ask me aboutIslam or my beard. To share knowledge is aduty … I have seen pictures of his [Grace’s]beard but mine is definitely shorter … Butit is not purely a tribute to Islam. If you goback many years the beard is a tribute to allthe faiths stemming from the biblical Abra-ham—or Ibrahim, as we say in Islam. … Inthe Christian tradition Jesus, peace be uponhim, has a beard. In the Jewish traditionMoses has a beard. And in Islam we haveMuhammad, whom Muslims believe is thefinal messenger, and he kept a beard becauseit was the tradition of all the other messen-gers before him. We see it as universal.”

Speaking to Chloe Saltau (11 Dec. 2008“The [Australian] Age”) during SouthAfrica’s tour of Australia, he remarked: “Ireally don’t see myself a role model but …it would be very naive (to think) that asportsman is anything but a real role mod-el as well. I try to practice my faith to thebest of my ability. … Fortunately SouthAfrica is a country that is very understand-ing. We do come from a difficult path withthe racial prejudices that did exist … WhenI made the team and I put forward the re-quest (to remove logos promoting alcohol)they were very much accommodating.”

In an expansive 28 Mar. 2008 interviewwith South African journalist Neil Man-thorp for cricketnirvana.com, Amla saidIslam is compatible with the discipline re-quired to reach the pinnacle of internation-al cricket.

Amla’s father and sister are physicians,and his elder brother (who introduced himto cricket) is an aspiring cricket player. Athird-generation South African—his grand-parents immigrated from Gujarat in 1926—he enjoys reading, swimming, soccer, andoccasionally fishing for relaxation._______________________________Umbreen Abdullah is a freelance writer.

emerged as major forces to be reckonedwith. Among these strong sports sectorswas cricket, a sport implanted during thedays of British colonialism.

Respected cricket journalist Peter Roe-buck, a former captain of Somerset (UK)and author of “In It To Win It: The Aus-tralian Cricket Supremacy” (2007), wroteon Cricinfo.com (29 Jan. 2009): “Too hum-ble to disdain criticism, too resilient to bedistracted, the young Durbanite [Amla] hasa toughness in him not easily detected fromafar. But then he has overcome a lot, hasfought for his place every step of the way,has managed to remain cool amidst the fu-ries that sometimes rage around him. Al-ways he has retained his inner core whilerecognizing the need to improve, and with-out judging others. Accordingly he has fitcomfortably into cricket teams containing abroad swathe of humanity, and a fair shareof ruffians, and has cheerfully joined in ac-tivities without ever selling himself short.”

In an exclusive interview with Ra-madan.co.za (21 Sept. 2008), Amla, whoplays while fasting, advised young Muslim to“strive to keep good friends, those that en-courage [you] towards the path of faith andknowledge. In our daily life we have interac-

Amla, a popular figure known

for his sense of humor, remains a

candidate to become South

Africa’s second non-white test

team captain after Ashwell Prince

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Known as the 2003 Detroit Arab Amer-ican Survey, the researchers say that as faras they know, it is the first representative,population-based investigation of 9/11’shealth and psychological impacts on Arab-American adults. It was devised through acommunity-academic collaboration, dur-ing which both communities were repre-sented, and conducted by means of face-to-face interviews. The following questionswere asked to its 1,016 participants: Howprevalent is reported abuse and discrimi-nation in our study population? How arereports of abuse or discrimination associ-ated with self-reported psychological dis-tress, level of happiness, and health status?What role do sociodemographic factorsplay in reported abuse or discrimination?

There were four independent variables:

(1) “In the last 2 years, have you personally,or anyone in your household, experiencedverbal insults or abuse, threatening wordsor gestures, physical attack, vandalism ordestruction of property, or loss of employ-ment, due to your race, ethnicity, or reli-gion?”; (2) “Since 9/11, have you personallyhad a bad experience due to your Arab orChaldean ethnicity?”; (3) “Arab Americansare not respected by the broader Americansociety” (they were instructed to list theirlevel of agreement with this statement); and(4) “How much—if any—have the events of9/11 shaken your own personal sense ofsafety and security?” They were also askedhow they would rate their levels of health(“excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor”)and happiness (“very happy, happy, notvery happy, or not happy at all”).

Padela remarked that the truly disturb-ing fact about the findings is that they wererecorded in an Arab-American communi-ty that has been well-established for manydecades. “Negative associations of per-ceived post-9/11 abuse or discriminationmight be much worse in less concentrat-ed Arab populations within the UnitedStates,” he believes. In addition, the au-thors worry that many of those who expe-rience racial and ethnic abuse and dis-crimination may not seek adequate care,due to fears of racial or ethnic discrimina-tion from health care providers or, possi-

Areport published in the 17Dec. 2009 issue of the“American Journal of Pub-lic Health” (Feb. 2010, vol.100, no. 2) finds that post-9/11 personal and familial

abuse experienced by Arab inhabitants ofthe Greater Detroit area was based onrace, ethnicity, or religion. More than 25percent of the sample population claims tohave been discriminated against, or other-wise abused, say University of Michigan(UM) authors Aasim I. Padela, MD, MS(Robert Wood Johnson Foundation clini-cal scholar, Department of General Medi-cine) and Michele Heisler, MD, MPA (as-sociate professor of internal medicine andhealth behavior and health education,School of Public Health).

In their words, this state of affairs couldlead to higher chances of adverse healtheffects within this minority if action is nottaken soon. According to them, MuslimArabs are worse off than the other popula-tion studied: Chaldean Christians, whomainly come from the Tigris-EuphratesValley. Those respondents who admittedto being abused tended to exhibit greaterlevels of psychological distress, lower levelsof personal happiness, and a diminishedperception of their own health status, asopposed to those who reported no harass-ment or personal/familial abuse.

Maligned and AbusedPost-9/11 discriminationand negative experienceshave led to adversehealth effects among theGreater Detroit area’sArab community.

BY RAMADAN ALIG

Dearborn’s IslamicCenter of Americasuffers post-9/11vandalism

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Both authors also mentioned that “Weknow that anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hatecrimes are still higher than they were pre-9/11. Years after, we think this is over. Butnot only is it not over, it’s having negativehealth consequences and we’re not doinganything to address it.” The study notedthat women did not report significantlymore abuse than men, that being a womanwas not significantly associated with one’shealth status or level of happiness, andthat partnerships with religious and com-munity organizations are needed to en-courage Arab-Americans to get the mental

health services they so crucially need.The Arab-American community repre-

sents an ideal population with which topartner in an effort to better understandhow racial and/or ethnic and religious dis-crimination may lead to adverse health be-haviors and outcomes. Such partnershipsalso hold the potential for developing cul-turally sensitive programs and interven-tions designed both to assess to and meetthis community’s ongoing—and largelyunrecognized—health needs._______________________________Ramadan Alig is a freelance writer.

bly, to the stigma of admitting such a prob-lem when their culture has historically notfully accepted mental illness.

The 490,000 people living in the areasurveyed represent the largest concentra-tion of Arabs outside the Middle East, theUM team says. They also are Detroit’s thirdlargest minority, and yet they still face heavydiscrimination. “Untreated psychologicaldistress leads you to do something bad, likesmoking, drinking, or other unhealthy re-sponses. It becomes a vicious cycle. We maybe missing an entire spectrum of peoplewho are most stigmatized,” Padela adds.

derstanding the basics of familylife, business transactions, inher-itance, raising children, and simi-lar matters should be prerequi-sites for any Muslim. ProphetMuhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhiwa sallam) said: “When Godwishes good for someone, He be-stows upon him/her the under-standing of the deen’’ (al-Bukhariand Muslim).

The devaluation of Islamicknowledge has reached crisisproportions today, particularly inAmerica. While the Muslim Ameri-can community has plenty ofbusiness, medical, and technicalprofessionals, there is a cata-strophic shortage of individualsstudying to become Islamic schol-ars, imams, academics, or re-searchers. This reality should be

Are Muslim American organizations geared toward turning outscholars, imams, and academics? BY SHAHZAN AKBER

As human civilization ad-vances, the disease ofignorance progresseswith great strides. In an

era of unprecedented technologi-cal advance, when instantaneouscommunication is possible practi-cally anywhere in the world, theabsence of knowledge remainsthe root cause of many of theproblems plaguing humanity. Oneof Islam’s primary objectives is tolift the veil of ignorance from peo-ple’s hearts by shedding lightwhere darkness once existed.

To achieve this goal, however,one must have a certain funda-mental set of knowledge. In otherwords, every Muslim has to ac-quire enough Islamic knowledgeso that he/she can live in harmo-ny with the Islamic tradition. Un-

Cradle of Scholars Prophet’s tafsir, the Qur’anic sci-ences, Arabic, Arabic calligra-phy, tafsir, purification of theheart, and parenting.

Driven by a passion to ad-vance Islamic education, ISNAFellow Shahzan Akber, who is al-so a founding member and vice-president of the institute, hasused his public affairs and non-profit management backgroundto help Legacy utilize best-prac-tice techniques. For example, heconducted a value analysis toformulate a strategic plan tobroadcast some of its flagshipcourses live on the Internet.While this is no substitute for ac-tual attendance, it enables amuch wider audience to obtainthe knowledge being conveyed.Today students from across thecountry and around the world,especially those living in smallercommunities where Islamicscholars may not be present oravailable, log in to benefit fromthis virtual education.

Muslim institution-building inAmerica has reached the pointwhere the community has tomove beyond its current survivalmode in order to advance towardthe next phase, that of addingvalue. This phase must includethe development of specializedIslamic institutions that focus onresearch, the arts, policy, andother areas—and, most impor-tantly, the pursuit of sacredknowledge. Muslim Americansmust begin to really invest inpeople instead of buildings, asthis was the model left to us byProphet Muhammad. Moreover,this is the only model that will re-sult in success. _______________________ISNA Fellow Shahzan Akber is also a foundingmember and vice-president of the Legacy Institute.

Hamid Omar moderates a Legacy Institute session that offers talks by (fromleft) Imam Zaid Shakir, Shaykh Tewfik Choukri, and Imam Mohamed Magid_______________________________________________________________________

no surprise, since Muslim Ameri-can institutions at their currentlevel of development cannot offersuch individuals, even if they aretruly qualified, any meaningfulemployment. Such a deplorablestate of affairs should be of con-cern to every Muslim American.

In order to preserve this sacredknowledge and establish its at-tainment as the highest priority,the Zaytuna Institute, Seeker’sGuidance, the SunniPath Acade-my, the Qurtuba Institute, and theFawakih Institute have dedicatedthemselves to adult Islamic edu-cation. Indiana-based Legacy In-stitute (www.legacyin.org), locat-ed just outside metropolitanIndianapolis in Fishers, strives toprovide quality, authentic Islamiceducation for adults, help pre-serve and promote authenticknowledge and scholarship, andpresent fundamental Islamicknowledge to both part-time andfull-time students in the greaterIndianapolis and surrounding ar-eas. It also seeks to restore therole and independence of schol-ars, revive the time-tested educa-tional methods to restore trust inIslamic teaching, develop knowl-edgeable and capable leaders,and create a grass-roots reformin Islamic education that can be amodel for fellow communities.

During its approximately sev-en years of existence, ShaykhTewfik Choukri, the institute’sprimary scholar-in-residence,has conducted a variety of edu-cational programs on the

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Haiti called, and I responded by joining the NYC Medics team inPort-au-Prince. We were camped with the U.S. military’s 82ndAirborne, which certainly eased our logistics, supplies, and securityissues. I was quite impressed by the military’s humanitarian touch

when it came to helping the Haitians. But while the army’s logistical supporthelped us, there was no getting around reality: living in tents; eating MREs;drinking lukewarm water; and working long, intense hours in a hot, humid,mosquito-filled disaster environment. While our current situation was tempo-rary, many Haitians will endure their current situation for a long time.

H A I T I

Days of Haze

Dr. Umair Shahreaches out toHaitian children,many of whomhe had treated

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hospitals for more intensive care, includingtransporting four patients on our last day.What an adventure it was to go to two hospitalsthat could not accept our patients due to thelack of proper staff or equipment. Forget thesophisticated equipment like an MRI machine;what was missing was far more basic, like elec-tricity. It took nearly two hours to reach the on-ly facility that could take them.

Two hours too long, with one of our patientscrashing en route. With a BP of 80/40, she be-gan to fade. Holding her in my lap, I checked hercarotid pulse, trying to comfort her while yellingout orders. Each team member did somethingduring this journey—the longest, slowest ride ofour trip, one that seemed to take forever, onethat exemplified wilderness medicine, Haiti-style. Throughout, the patient remained stoic,calm, trusting. We breathed a sigh of relief aftergetting her stabilized at the makeshift tent hos-pital, as we felt we had saved a life.

We encountered many people who werescared, hurting, and just happy to see us, toknow that we cared. And the children—smiling,playing. Perhaps it was better that they did notfully comprehend the difficult road ahead.

We saw hundreds of patients a day at ourmakeshift clinics—a church, a school, or justoutdoors. Our triage area was often no morethan a chair or our truck. In the last week alone,we treated over 2,000 Haitians nationwide.

When not with the military, the nicest UNpeacekeeping force from Sri Lanka providedsecurity, scoped out some of our locations,and fed us a Sri Lankan-style lunch each day.Other times, security consisted of watchingout for each other. Looking back, I am proudthat we went off the beaten path to find peoplein need and then take care of them in the mostcompetent, professional, and compassionatemanner possible.

As we were leaving Port-au-Prince on thelast day, a chilling rainfall foreshadowed theoft-talked about approaching rainy season. Wethought of the IDP camps that especially willneed further attention from public health/sani-tation vantage points. While we were tem-porarily uncomfortable, at least we knew that itwas only temporary. It must be a horrible feel-ing to have no hope for the future or not toknow when that future will come.

Coming back to America makes one so thank-ful for everything we take for granted: runningwater, working traffic lights, electricity, food,homes, clean air, drinkable tap water, and toiletsthat flush. Most of all we have hope, because weknow that for the most part, if we give it our all(and have a few breaks), we will have a future.

Yes, similar disasters happen here. Katrina,9/11, and everything in-between. And, speakinguniversally, those with the least are the mostclearly impacted. Those with the least have the

least likelihood of overcoming the challengesof today to create a better tomorrow. This istrue all over the world.

I have been troubled by how easy and howhard it is to leave everything behind. One re-sponds and deploys to an isolated area. Life aswe know it stops. We leave behind so much thatgrounds us in our own reality. Despite this,when leaving Haiti I felt I had a handle onthings—at least until I met a twenty-seven-yearold Haitian on my return flight. Having heard ofmy medical deployment to Haiti, he thanked merepeatedly and relayed this was his first timeout of the area since the earthquake, that heneeded help, needed to get away.

He began telling me how the floor split apartand he was knocked off his chair; how hecrawled to the door, broke it down, and went in-to the streets; how he got into his car and be-gan driving, like so many others, not knowingwhere. There were awful traffic jams, as every-one was scrambling to get away. Darkness wasfalling, but he continued to drive. Darkness de-scended, and no one knew what was happeningas unanswered cries for help went out. Finallymorning came. When he went back out, he sawa mother clutching her dead child, a father withdead family members on the ground—he al-most stumbled over them.

Each story made him tear up as if he werere-living each moment right in front of me. Icould hear the real-life panic in his voice. Heshowed me pictures, as if to validate what hehad described. I tried to give him some real-time crisis counseling, all the while failing torecognize how his vivid story-telling was im-pacting me. When we parted ways, I walkedalone between the American and Continentalterminals in the Puerto Rico airport—walkingand, eventually, breaking down and sobbing. Idid not know why, but I just could not stop cry-ing. Typically, responders in “response mode”do reasonably well—only afterwards does it hitus. Clearly my time in Haiti had impacted me.This beautiful country, made up of these beau-tiful people, has changed me forever.

I hope we can all rebuild Haiti, do somethingto improve the Haitians’ lives, do something forpeople both at home and abroad. The collec-tive “we” is the only hope such people have. In-deed, we must be ready when called upon. Itold my team repeatedly how proud of them Iwas, for they were among the very few peoplewho had actually come to help, instead of justtalking about doing so. Giving up one’s mun-dane daily routine to help strangers is nevereasy, but do not all of us hope that someonewill be there during our time of need? _____________________________Umair A. Shah, MPH, has extensive emergency response ex-perience and currently serves as deputy director of the HarrisCounty Public Health and Environmental Services, Houston, TX.

The New York City-based nonprofit NYC Medics(www.nycmedics.org), founded in the aftermathof the 2005 Pakistan/Kashmir earthquake, re-sponds to disasters by rapidly deploying emer-gency health and medical professionals. Once onthe ground we saw many good things: daily im-provements, people working together, and in-credibly resilient people who refused to becowed by hardship. Just as they had sensed thebeginning of a “turning-point,” the earthquakestruck and blotted out a great deal of hope.

As responders, we struggle with the feelingthat whatever good we do is really no morethan a drop in the bucket. Yes there has beenimprovement, but for the people impacted ithas been far too slow. The initial emer-gency/trauma phase was marked by chaos andnon-coordination, as well as other woes withthe UN, USAID, and countless international or-ganizations trying to respond appropriately.From the field, the reality of such responses isthat the situation gets worse before it gets bet-ter. Things are now transitioning into the pri-mary care/chronic care needs phase.

We witnessed this contextual transition, al-though our main task was to provide emer-gency care by integrating into personnel-poor“hospitals” (really just simple tents strung to-gether) in the heart of urban Port-au-Prince.Suturing up lacerations, inserting chest tubes,caring for sick children with pneumonia or di-arrhea-related dehydration, providing post-wound/surgical care, or dealing with chronicillnesses exacerbated by the lack of suitablemedications—these were the individual storiesof our collective ER experiences.

We also deployed to the more remote—andunvisited—areas: the slums of Soleil (de-scribed as one of the world’s worst slums); theinternally displaced person (IDP) camps of thecapital’s less frequented areas; and Gressier,Leogane, Bassone, and other towns that sup-posedly had not been so badly impacted. Butonce there, we found people on hill sides, insugarcane fields, along plantain tree-lined vil-lages, or in shanty towns erected in local stadi-ums—all of them hurting. We did what we couldby giving them supplies and/or expertise; whenthis was not possible, we gave them our smiles.

Other times, we transported patients to

Most people do notrealize their ownblessings until theyconfront the tragedy of others. BY UMAIR A. SHAH


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Going from mosque to mosque to distributefood and assess needs, we were amazed to find allof them standing despite the total destruction onall sides. Two of the mosques were built right nextdoor to churches, both of which, along with all ofthe other buildings in those areas, had been flat-tened. The mosques, on the other hand, serestanding high amidst the rubble, virtually un-harmed. We promised their leaders that we wouldhelp them repair their facilities and provide a newcarpet and copies of the Qur’an in the near future.

At Masjid Al-Fatiha I met that elderly manmentioned above, whose radiant glow of piety Iwill never forget. After telling me of his vision, hedrew me near and whispered: “I will visitMakkah and pray there for you and your family.”I don’t know if it was all of the blocked-out horrornow catching up with me or if the spirituality of itall overcame me, but when he uttered thosewords tears burst from my eyes uncontrollably aswe embraced tightly. I was crying for him, forHaiti, and for myself, because I knew I did not de-serve the blessings God has bestowed upon methroughout my life. Moreover, no matter what Idid I could never do enough to thank God forwhat I had: my daughters, my wife, my health,my job, and, of course, my faith.______________________________________Ayman Aburahma heads of the fundraising department at the Life for Relief and De-velopment charity.

MY BODY UTTERLY FROZEAS he whispered into my ear:“I knew you were coming. Isaw it in a dream.”

My emotions overtook meas I stood amidst the carnagein Port-au-Prince, listening tothis righteous elder of Haiti’sMuslim community. It wasabout ten days since the earth-quake had struck, and myfourth day in the country. Thereality of everything was final-ly catching up with me. I wasin Haiti as the head of a teamsent by Life for Relief and De-velopment (www.lifeusa.org) todeliver emergency aid.

The instructions given byour president and CEO, Dr.Mujahid Al-Fayadh, were sim-ple and straightforward as wedeparted from Life’s Southfield(MI) headquarters: “Buy foodand other relief items from theneighboring Dominican Re-public (DR), truck it into Haiti,and hand it out to the needy.”

Surprisingly, this was easier than I expected, thanks to the help of the DRMuslims who met us at the airport when we arrived in the middle of the nightand provided us with logistical support. On our first day in the DR, we boughtenough food from wholesalers to fill a 53’ super-extended semi-truck. Wequickly mobilized after the truck was loaded, and within ten hours were inPort-au-Prince.

The death and destruction surrounding us as we approached the epicenterwas surreal. The urgency of our mission, however, seemed to have a numbing ef-fect on my senses. I was trying to focus on our plan and anticipate any unknownchallenges and dangers—grief and sorrow would have to wait.

A neighbor back in Toledo had given me the name and number of a ministerat the Morningstar Academy, a Christian missionary school in Haiti. As we hadno other contacts, Morningstar was our starting point. A visibly exhausted Dr.Jay Threadgil was still very excited as we pulled into the compound: “Your con-voy is the first to arrive and bring us food. We haven’t seen any other relief orga-nizations, not even the U.N.!” While we talked about getting medical supplies forthe makeshift hospital established on the school grounds, volunteers unloadedthe truck and set up distribution tables atop the school’s basketball court. Foodand water were immediately handed out to people who had already lined up forthis badly needed assistance. After leaving, we stopped by an orphanage thathouses several staff members and nearly 150 HIV-affected children. As theywere stranded without any supplies, we unloaded several days’ worth of food,baby milk, and juice for them. Our final stop was a refugee camp, where wehanded out food to about 500 families before calling it a night.

The following morning, another relief team from Life’s partner, the Dubai-based Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Charity (MBRMC), joined ourconvoy. Over the next few days, together we distributed forty tons of foodtrucked in from the DR by Life, as well as tons more of non-perishable suppliesflown in on a royal charter from Dubai by the MBRC team. Much of our ef-forts were centered on the Port-au-Prince’s 5,000-10,000 Muslims.

Muslim American relief mission was among the first toreach earthquake-devastated Haiti. BY AYMAN ABURAHMA

R E L I E F

MISSION TO HAITI

Life team distributes

tarps for temporary

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BCL students and even its own dissenters.BCL toughs routinely kill those who refuse topay them extortion money. Murders by BCLcadres, sometimes dubbed an “organizationof killers and extortionists,” generally receiveinadequate press coverage and are not ar-rested. Nor does the media and the govern-ment raise any questions. The police seemtoo busy with smothering the ICS. Despite thealmost total news blackout, some incidentsdo get reported. For instance, the “Daily Star”(27 Feb.) reported that Syed Ashraful Islam(local government and rural development andcooperatives minister) blamed BCL activistsand leaders for tarnishing Dhaka’s image.Ashraful Islam, who is also AL’s general sec-retary, directed party leaders to take stern ac-tion like expulsion, if necessary, against BCLactivists involved in manipulating govern-ment contracts and destructive activities.The “Daily Star” (3 Mar.) also reported thatthe DU committee investigating the death of astudent in a clash between two BCL factionstemporarily expelled ten BCL members re-sponsible for the incident, pending furtheraction. On 26 Feb., DU expelled five BCLmembers for assaulting a female student.

The BJI opposed the AL-led movement tobreak up Pakistan. Although no BJI or ICSmembers were involved in war crimes, afterits return to power the AL launched a smearcampaign to shut down the opposition bymeans of special courts established underthe International Crimes (Tribunal) Act(1973). Many of its provisions, however, vio-late the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights (1948), Covenants on Civil and Po-litical Rights (1966), and a host of other in-ternational legislations. But above all, thislegislation violates the fundamental rightsguaranteed in the nation’s constitution.

For example, this trial will be convened bya special government tribunal that is notbound by technical rules of evidence. News-paper reports and hearsay evidence will beadmissible, and the provisions of the CriminalProcedure Code (1898) and the Evidence Act(1872) will not apply. In other words—a freeand fair trial will be quite impossible, no morethan a kangaroo court. Bringing up the warcrimes issue, which was resolved interna-tionally through the Simla Agreement (1972)and nationally through the Collaboration Act(1972), again shows that this trial is politicallymotivated. In addition, the current regime isnow trying to subjugate Bangladesh’s judicia-ry (Daily “Amar Desh” 16 Feb. 2010).

Ironically, except for Amnesty Interna-tional’s much watered-down statement,“human rights” groups (both local and for-eign) and foreign missions have not spo-ken. Their silence over the repression of Is-lamic elements and their outcries overother issues make it obvious that their pri-orities are at best selective. In theBangladeshi context, both of them are mostvociferous on the question of putative mi-nority repression (while ignoring anti-Mus-lim pogroms in India and elsewhere) and in-cidents of militancy in the country. _______________________________Shimul Chaudhury is a freelance writer.

BY SHIMUL CHAUDHURY

In the past weeks, one regular news storyhas appeared in Bangladeshi newspapers:arrests of suspected Bangladesh Jamaat Is-lami (BJI) and Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS)members, as well as at rallies against politi-cal repression. Scenes of police paradingICS suspects tied at the waist with rope, atreatment degrading even to animals, infront of the media have become common.The media remain eerily silent about all ofthis, especially in the case of students andhuman rights violations. Indeed, theBangladeshi newspapers are serving to vic-timize the victims. Interestingly, when itcomes to the freedom of expression (read“freedom to taunt Islam”) and minorityrights, they follow a very different path.

Cadres of the ruling party-affiliatedBangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) regular-ly harass and torture university and collegestudents on the pretext that they are ICSsympathizers. The crackdown has onlycompounded that injustice. Soon after theAwami League (AL) came to power, hun-dreds of students suspected of ICS tieswere expelled from Dhaka University’s (DU)dorms and many were severely tortured(even in the presence of helpless teachers).The anti-ICS pogroms continue. Most ofthose affected are from poor rural families;they have had to rent higher priced privateresidences and thereby have incurred addi-tional transport expenses. This was notconsidered a sufficient punishment, howev-er, for a subsequent police crackdown gotthem ejected from their new premises.

This new wave of anti-BJI and anti-ICSrepression started after a Rajshahi Univer-sity student was killed on 9 Feb. 2010. Theruling AL—without proof—blamed the ICS,despite its leaders’ categorical denial. Thematter is presently under judiciary review.Political murders, especially at universities,are not new in Bangladesh. Some reportsblame this death on BCL in-fighting (“DailyProthom Alo,” 15 Feb. 2010). According to areport published in “Nayadiganta” (Dhaka, 4Mar. 2010), the country experienced thir-teen political murders during Feb. 2010alone, a sad reflection of the scale of the on-going political violence. However, the gov-ernment is selectively using the 9 Feb. mur-der to silence its opposition.

In reality, the BCL is at the forefront of thecampus war and has killed dozens of non-

Bangladesh human rights groups need a consistency check.

Bludgeoned in Bangladesh

____________________________________________________

Paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)officers stand guard in front of the central postaloffice in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh

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THE SOVEREIGN NATION OFBosnia and Herzegovina turnedeighteen on 1 Mar. 2010, thanksto the internationally super-vised 1992 referendum and thesubsequent official EuropeanUnion and American recogni-tion. But this happened onlyafter the world once again wit-nessed continental Europe’sdark side: ethnic chauvinism,religious bigotry, ultra-national-ism, massive carnage, massrape as an official policy, con-centration camps, and the dis-placement of half of Bosnia’spre-war population. KofiAnnan, UN secretary-general atthe time, has admitted that UNinaction was “a big mistake,and the United Nations will behaunted forever because of it.”

This holocaust only endedthrough direct American-ledNATO intervention and the en-suing Dayton Agreement ham-mered out in 1995. This docu-ment, despite its shortcomings,represented what many at thetime considered the best alterna-tive. In his 1999 IndependenceDay address, President AlijaIzetbegovic (d. 2003) said: “TheDayton Agreement was good if itwas consistently implemented.The war was stopped, but it hascontinued by other means. Thisnew kind of war is called ob-struction, and it is unfortunately,at work….” Many Bosnian lead-ers have decried this “war of ob-struction.” Last year whilespeaking at the University ofCalifornia at Los Angeles, Dr.Haris Silaidizc, the currentBosnian Muslim member of thetri-part presidency, blamed thenation’s continued political dys-functionality on the constitution-al provision that allows less than25 percent of the Parliament toblock any adopted law.

Bosnians living at home andin the diaspora hoped thatthings would change for the bet-ter under President Obama,who ran with Joe Biden (he had

championed Serbian presidentMilosevic’s removal in the1990s) and Hillary Clinton’s ap-pointment as secretary of statealong with other ranking Clin-ton-era officials. After all, Clin-ton had sent the American-led

NATO forces to end the Bosnianholocaust. To date, it seems thatObama has “forgotten” severalof his Bosnia-related state-ments, especially his Nov. 2009declaration: “Our nationstands with Bosnia and Herze-govina as it continues its jour-ney from a war-torn past to apeaceful and stable future.” Infact, to the dismay of some, heapparently is allowing Europeto drive the Dayton Agree-ment’s implementation.

In his 23 Oct. 2009 op-ed in“The Wall Street Journal,” for-mer Senate majority leader and1996 Republican presidentialnominee Bob Dole observed:“Today, Bosnia is again underthreat. This time the threat isnot from the brutality and im-mediacy of genocide. Rather, itis a more subtle menace: theprospect of a state weakened tothe extent that it dissolves;leaves its people in separatist,monoethnic conclaves; loses all

hope for democratic develop-ment; and validates ultranation-alism. This is happening not onbattlefields, but at the negotiat-ing table. It is happening be-cause, rather than strengthen-ing state powers and drawing

the recalcitrant Bosnian Serbsback into Bosnia, representa-tives of European Union mem-ber nations led by formerBosnia chief negotiator CarlBildt are walking back parts ofthe 1995 Dayton Agreementthat had put an end to the three-and-a-half year war that hadtorn the country apart.”

After pointing out several“insidious” elements andadding that the American-Eu-ropean proposal being consid-ered preserves “entity voting”—a Dayton provision that allowsthe Serbian parliamentary mi-nority of 22 percent to veto al-most anything it desires—Dolecautioned: “Without a resump-tion of American leadership,Europe may deliver a coup degrâce to the Bosnian state.”

America needs to resumeownership of the Dayton Agree-ment’s implementation and ad-ministration. At a minimum, itshould facilitate the formation

of a comprehensive constitu-tional reform that will enableBosnia to join the EU andNATO. These reforms must fo-cus on strengthening civic rep-resentation, rather than ethno-territorial spheres of influence.

Muslims have a special re-gard for this Muslim state locat-ed at the crossroads of European“western” and Islamic “eastern”civilization. The holocaust thatbefell it galvanized MuslimAmerican calls for communityaction, empowered greater do-mestic interfaith action, and in-

creased the community’s civicinvolvement. Furthermore, giv-en their generally tolerant andpluralistic past and their recentdirect experience of genocide,Bosnian Muslims are experts onxenophobia run amok. Not sur-prisingly, they are at the fore-front of various interfaith initia-tives (e.g., the “CommonWord”), ongoing dialogue withthe Vatican, and crafting pro-gressive religious frameworks(e.g., the European Fiqh Coun-cil). In addition, they are com-mitted to a functioning and posi-tive integration within Europe,thereby making the Continentmore just and truly pluralistic.American leadership will helpall of this state’s citizens functionas living interpreters of severalreligious traditions and civiliza-tions to the benefit of everyone. _______________________Saffet Abid Catovic, an American-born Muslim ofBosnian descent, served as counselor and then min-ister counselor at the Mission of Bosnia and Herze-govina to the United Nations from 1992-2001.

Only an assertive American role in enforcing theDayton Agreement can create a functional Bosniaand Herzegovina state. BY SAFFET ABID CATOVIC

B O S N I A A N D H E R Z E G O V I N A

Awaiting Functionalism

Initialization of the Dayton

Agreement in 1995, which

paved the way for the signing

of the final aeace agreement

on Dec. 14 in Paris

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T R I B U T E

among them the court’s awarding custody ofher two children to her husband, who di-vorced her after she renounced Christianity.But she triumphed in all her tests. The firstfamily member to share her path was hergrandmother, at that time over 100 years old.The next converts were her father, who hadwanted to kill her after she had embraced Is-lam, and her mother. Her sister, who hadwanted to put her in mental institution, alsoconverted. When he turned 21, her son calledher and said that he wanted to become a Mus-lim. Sixteen years after the divorce, her ex-husband also accepted Islam.

Wearing hijab cost her her job. During hercareer she founded and served as presidentof the International Union of Muslim Women(www.IUMW.org), traveled nationwide to lec-ture on Islam, and was chosen as one of thetop 500 most influential contemporary Mus-lims in the world (Jordan’s Royal IslamicStrategic Studies Center in concert withGeorgetown’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Cen-ter for Muslim-Christian Understanding).

She decided to drop the class because shethought it was not possible for her to be in themiddle of Arabs: “There was no way I was go-ing to sit in a room full of dirty heathens!” Up-on being told that God has a reason for every-thing and that she should think some morebefore quitting—she was a scholarship stu-dent, after all—she locked herself away fortwo days and came out determined to contin-ue the class because she felt God had calledher to convert Arabs. But after failing to con-vert any of them, she began to read their “ownbook to show to them that Islam was a falsereligion and Mohammed was a false Prophet.”

At her request, one student gave her acopy of the Qur’an and another book on Islam.And thus began her research, writing downwhat she found objectionable and what shewould use to “prove” that Islam was a false re-ligion. Unconsciously, however, she waschanging from within; she announced herconversion on 21 May 1977.

This was the beginning of the many chal-lenges and tribulations she would face,

Diagnosed with advanced-stage cancersome years ago, doctors gave her a year tolive. Even though she was confined to awheelchair for a few years, had a seriousheart condition, and was homeless for awhile, she never stopped working for Islamand her faith in God remained strong.

Riyad Shamma (executive director, In-stitute of Youth Development and Excel-lence), who considered Assilmi a secondmother, mentor, and dear friend, said: “Shewas completely committed to Islam. Shelived simply and humbly. She walked thewalk and talked the talk … Her term of ser-vice was no flash in the pan, not based on alevel of popularity or fame. From the timeshe embraced Islam, she was moving for-ward in her desire to serve and help others... she has had some amazing challenges—and the only thing more amazing is thatshe never let any of them deter her.”

She is survived by her daughter Am-ber, sons Whitney and Mohammad, andseveral grandchildren.

AMINAH ASSILMI

(1945-2009)

Stamp ofService

Not every American knows that the Eidstamp they have been using since Sept.2001 owes part of its existence to Ami-nah Assilmi, who died in a one-car road

accident outside Newport (TN) on 5 Mar. whilereturning from a speaking engagement in New York.

At the time of her death, she was working tomake Eid a national holiday, planning to start a cam-paign to have the stamp reissued with a new designin time for its tenth anniversary, and trying to es-tablish a Center for Muslim Women’s Studies to in-struct converts about Islam and serve as a retreatcenter and a summer camp for Muslim children.

Assmili, 65, fondly assigned her journey to Is-lam to a computer glitch. A devout Southern Bap-tist girl, this radical feminist and broadcast jour-nalist was mistakenly assigned to a class that hada roomful of Arabs (or “camel jockeys”).


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thinks evil, then that is for him/her” (“SahihIbn Hibban,” no. 639). In his commentary onthis hadith, the great hadith scholar al-Mu-nawi (d. 1621) explains the meaning as “I treatmy servant in accordance to his/her opinionof Me, and I do to him/her what he/she ex-pects of Me … So whoever thinks that Godsuffices him/her and that He is generous,merciful, and compassionate, he/she shallfind that. And whoever thinks the opposite ofthat, he/she shall find that” (Al-Munawi, “Al-Taysir bi Sharh al-Jam‘i al-Saghir”).

To determine whether God is displeasedwith us, we should first ask if we are displeasedwith God. If we fail to find any displeasure inour hearts, we should ask if we are displeasedwith anything or anyone in creation, recall-ing that God is the One Who decrees allthings, even the actions of our fellow humanbeings. If we find ourselves resentful, whetherit be of the weather, the traffic, or even a neigh-bor, we should recognize that we are ultimate-ly resentful of the One who willed it: GodAlmighty. This is a great way to bypass the de-ceptions of the self, for how often is the selfpleased with itself and displeased with others?

One common way displeasure with Godcan manifest is in dwelling on problems; an-other is to lodge unconstructively wordedcomplaints with those incapable of changingour situation. And how often do we complain!How often do we complain about neighbors

One of our greatest challenges as spiritualwayfarers is to objectively assess our standingwith God. So commonly distorted is our viewthat a term has even been coined in socialpsychology for our capacity for self-delusion:the above average effect. Researchers inAmerica, for example, have found that 88%of Americans rank themselves as above-aver-age drivers (O. Svenson, “Are we all less riskyand more skillful than our fellow drivers?”Acta Psychologica 47, no. 2 [Feb. 1981]: 143-48). Other research has found that 70% ofAmerican students believe they have above-average leadership qualities (Mark D. Alicke,David A. Dunning, and Joachim I. Krueger,“The Self in Social Judgment: Studies in Selfand Identity” [Psychology Press: 2005]: 85-106), and 68% of professors at one Americanuniversity ranked themselves as being in thetop 25% for teaching ability (P. Cross, “Notcan, but will college teachers be improved?”New Directions for Higher Education 17[1977]: 1-15).

It is vital to bear this in mind as we assessour own standing with God. In each of the fivedaily prayers, we remind ourselves that Godis the Master of the Day of Judgment and en-treat Him not to make us among al-maghdu-bi ‘alayhim (those whose portion is wrath) noral-dalin (those who have gone astray) (2:7).But when we stand to pray, how often do wefall for the above average effect?

It is imperative that we see ourselves clear-ly, for God promises in the Qur’an that on theDay of Judgment “anyone who has done theweight of a dharrah of evil shall see it” (97:8).According to the scholars of language, theword dharrah refers to a speck of dust thatscatters when blown. And how wonderful aword choice this is! Not only does it capturethe idea of minuteness, but it also calls to mindthe cavalier manner with which dust is so oftenbrushed away, as if to say: “Those smallest ofour sins; our minor omissions and offhand re-marks that we brush off, the way we brush offa book, will return. A scary thought experi-ment would be to imagine every vacuumcleaner bag of dust we have ever vacuumedpresented to us at the end of our lives.

What can we do to see our standing withGod more clearly? First, we can remind our-selves that “those whose portion is wrath”and “those who have gone astray” may verywell describe us. Unfortunately, many Mus-lims limit these phrases by trying to identifythem with particular groups of people. Un-doubtedly many do earn God’s anger andmany do go astray; however, we should re-member that God intentionally kept thewording open. Thus we must keep our heartsopen to the possibility that we just might beamong those with whom God is displeased.Second, we should reflect upon the powerfuland fascinating hadith qudsi in which Godproclaims: “I am just as My servant thinks Iam” (“Sahih al-Bukhari,” vol. 9, book 93, no.502). Other narrations add: “If he/she thinksgood, then that is for him/her. And if he/she

Food for the Spirit

Surat al-Fatihah/The Opener. Part X

One of the greatestchallenges of spiritualwayfarers is toobjectively assess theirstanding with God.______________________________________________________

Imam Mohammed ibn Hagmagid, vicepresident of ISNA, was educated by his father, anal-Azhar graduate and a leading scholar in Sudan,and other notable scholars, and earned the ijazah(permission to teach) in several disciplines.Samuel Ross is a student of the Arabic language.

BY IMAM MOHAMMED IBN HAGMAGID ^ WITH SAMUEL ROSS

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59ISLAMIC HORIZONS

and family members, housework and illnesses,bosses and co-workers, politicians and tele-marketers, mosques and schools? Of course asMuslims, we are not called to sit passively by.As God says in the Qur’an: “Let there arise outof you a nation of people inviting to all that isgood, enjoining what is right, and forbiddingwhat is wrong: They are the ones to attain fe-licity” (3:104). But there are multiple ways tocall to what is right. Let us call to the right witheyes of contentment, grateful for the innumer-able blessings God has given us and aware thatGod’s Mercy precedes His Wrath, and withhearts of mercy, free from the baser motives ofmalice and revenge.

What should we do, then, if we find withinourselves the urge to complain when no benefitcan come of it? The first step is to follow the ex-ample of our blessed Prophet Muhammad (sal-la Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and hold ourtongue. As he said: “Whoever believes in Godand the Last Day should say what is good orkeep quiet” (“Sahih al-Bukhari,” vol. 8, book73, no. 157). A great example is that he nevercriticized any food he was invited to eat. If hedisliked it, he simply left it alone (“Sahih al-Bukhari,” vol. 7, book 65, no. 320). The secondstep is to remember the sound hadith: “Amaz-ing is the affair of the Muslim … If somethingpleasing reaches him/her, he/she gives thanksand that is good for him/her. And if harm af-flicts him/her, he/she is patient and that is bestfor him/her” (“Sahih Muslim,” book 42, no.7138). The reason patience is best is that “noMuslim is afflicted with any harm except thatGod removes his/her sins, [just] as the leavesfall from a tree” (“Sahih al-Bukhari,” vol. 7,book 70, no. 550). The next time we feel theurge to complain, let us strive to bear our diffi-culties patiently, focusing on the benefit we re-ceive from enduring our difficulty, rather thanon the uncomfortable pain they may cause.

Third, we should realize that God maychoose to punish us in this world for the sinsthat we commit. It is easy to play victim, buthow often do we consider our own role in cre-ating the problems we lament? Sometimes theconnection is obvious. An angry spouse is oftenthe result of a hurtful word. But even when wedo not see any fault on our own part, we shouldconsider the possibility that Allah could be pu-rifying us for something else we may have done.And how much better to be purified in thisworld than in the next!

Fourth, let us remember to never judge asituation until it is over. How often do God’spurposes become clear only long after the sit-uation has ended? As He states in the Qur’an:“It is possible that you dislike a thing and it isbetter for you … But God knows, and youknow not” (2:216).

May God help us to love Him, His cre-ation, and His decree so that we, in turn, maybe loved by Him. Ameen.

Please send your feedback and questions to:[email protected]. Visit us at ourwebsite, where you can download this and previouscolumns at: www.isna.net/foodforthespirit.

THE DUNKAN BLACK MACDONALD CENTERFOR THE STUDY OF ISLAM & CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM RELATIONS

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Mail this envelop(s) IN ONE LARGER ENVELOPEto: ISLAMIC HORIZONS, Dept. M, PO BOX 38,PLAINFIELD, IN 46168-0038.

FOR CANADIAN/OVERSEAS RESPONSESONLY, forwarding postage will be provided. Allother letters for forwarding within the US ornot specified must have correct postage orforwarding will be delayed until postage isreceived. Editors reserve the right to

dispose/return any ad or response deemedin violation of Islamic principles or Americanor Canadian laws in any manner whatsoever.Solicitations of any kind are prohibited.ISNA, “Islamic Horizons”, or it’s employeesare not liable in any manner whatsoever forany problems or claims arising as a result ofthe correspondence generated from theseadvertisements, or any actions of theadvertisers or those responding to the ads.

FOR MATRIMONIAL ADVERTISING please call 317-839-8157 ext. 248 or 317-204-0187

215473_01-64.qxd 4/7/10 5:13 AM


student in a prestigious U.S.medical school.


Indian-origin Sunni Muslimparents of fair, slim, U.S.-born daughter, 23, 2d-yearM.D. student in U.S., with Is-lamic values seeking corre-spondence from practicingSunni Muslim medical pro-fessionals. Contact: [email protected].


Sunni Muslim parents origi-nally from Bangalore seekmatrimonial alliance for theirdaughter, 31, in first year ofresidency in internal medi-cine from doctors or those inresidency. Please contact:(734) 536-0313 or [email protected].


Pakistani Sunni Muslim par-ents seek match for kind, car-ing, family-oriented, religiousCanadian-born/raised daugh-ter, 27, wears hijab, M.S. (com-puter science) from Canadian-born/raised, well-educated,and devout Muslim. Contact: [email protected].


Sunni Muslim Pakistani(Panjabi) educated parentsof beautiful, slim, U.S.-borndaughter, 26, 5’6”, M.A., prac-ticing Muslimah seek God-fearing, educated profession-al. Contact: [email protected] or (703) 941-0559 (VA)


Muslim parents invite seriouscorrespondence for tall, beau-tiful, U.S.-born daughter, 28,physician in competitive resi-dency from physician or pro-fessionals, 28-33, preferablyof South Asian descent. E-mail photo/details to: [email protected].


Sunni Muslim Hyderabadiparents invite correspon-dence for U.S.-born/raiseddaughter, 26, good-looking,fair, slim, 5’6”, wears hijabfrom a professional of Indo-Pakistani origin, 26-32. Con-tact: [email protected].


Sunni Muslim (Punjabi) fam-ily seeking match for daugh-ter, 23, beautiful, smart, 5’3”,B.S. in biology, raised in U.S.with Islamic values from aprofessional, around 28 yearsold. Please contact at (240) 355-1038 or [email protected].


Pakistani Sunni Muslim par-ents invite correspondence fortheir daughter, 30, electricalengineer, beautiful, slim froma professional Muslim withgood religious and family val-ues. Contact: [email protected].


Sunni Muslim parents invitecorrespondence for theirbeautiful, U.S.-born/raiseddaughter, 24, with Islamic val-ues, graduating from a presti-gious law school from a U.S.-educated professional. Contact: [email protected].


Muslim Hyderabadi Sunni,moderate parents invite corre-spondence for their U.S.-raised daughter, 26, fair, slim,in final year of Ph.D. biomed-ical engineering at a presti-gious U.S. university fromU.S.-born/educated, moderateprofessionals with M.D. orPh.D. Serious inquiries only. Contact: [email protected].


Sunni Muslim, Arabic-speak-ing parents invite correspon-dence for their U.S.-born,beautiful daughter, 26, lawyerfrom educated professionalswith religious and family val-ues. Contact with details: [email protected].


Kashmiri Muslim parentsseek match for their beautiful,family-oriented, and profes-sional daughter, 29, 5’5”, U.S.-born/raised, currently prac-ticing career in finance withreputed firm looking for educated professional of Muslim origin, 29-34, U.S.-born/raised. Contact:[email protected].

Principal WantedAnnoor Academy of Knoxville, Tennessee (AAK), afull-time Islamic School serving the Muslim Community ofKnoxville Tennessee, since 1999, seeks applications fromqualified individuals for the position of Principal. AAK hasmore than 120 students enrolled in PK -7th grades.In January 2008, the school moved to a newly built26,000 sq. ft. building.

Job Responsibilities:¥ Provide overall leadership and supervision of the

school staff, and administrative job. ¥ Provide leadership in developing and reviewing

instructional materials. ¥ Maintain communication with parents and the

community at large.

Qualifications:¥ Masters degree in education or equivalent,

preferably from a US university. ¥ Excellent communication and leadership skills. ¥ Excellent command of the English language. ¥ Firm Islamic knowledge and practice.

Compensation:Competitive salary and benefits package.

To Apply: President, Islamic Education Foundation of Knoxville 742 Foxvue Road, Knoxville, TN [email protected]

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley in Northern California,Peace Terrace Academy is a full-time Islamic school servingPre-K through 8th grades. We are currentlyin our 12th year of operation.

We are seeking a highly motivatedindividual to assume the position of School Principal.

QUALIFICATIONS:> A Masters degree with an educational

background> Preferred 3-5 years experience in an administrative role

at a public or private school> Excellent verbal and written communications skills

For a detailed job description, please visit us at:http://www.peaceterrace.org/pta_jobs.shtml

33330 Peace Terrace ~ Fremont, CA 94555

Peace Terrace AcademyPhone: (510) 477-9946 ~ Fax: (510) 477-9963

Position forPRINCIPAL/VICEPRINCIPAL

Resumes may be emailed to: [email protected]

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Short TakesJihad of theSoul: Single-hood and theSearch forLove in MuslimAmericaZarinah El-Amin

Naeem

2009. pp. 208.

PB. $19.95. Niyah Publishing, Kalama-

zoo, MI

Among the host of ques-tions that Naeem tackles ishow young single MuslimAmericans balance their faithwith western culture. Sheweaves a powerful and inti-mate narrative about thechallenges they face in under-standing their own souls andin searching for their soulmate.

The Bible andthe Qur’an atthe Edge of Renaissance: A Judeo-Christian-Muslim Com-pass to a Worldof Peace

Linda “iLham” Barto

2009. pp. 272. PB. $18.95

Mill City Press, Inc., Minneapolis

Barto leads the reader to-ward a broader understand-ing of the three books com-prising the Abrahamicscriptures. Offering harmonyand unity, she invites readersto focus on the constant valuesof all religions to affect theworld for a global, spiritual re-naissance.

Rounded Up:Artificial Terrorists and Muslim Entrapmentafter 9/11 Shamshad

Ahmad

2009. pp. 267.

PB. $17.50.

Troy Book Makers, Troy, NY

Ahmad, alleging the “per-version” of justice, analyzesthe trial and subsequent con-viction of Yassin Aref, aKurdish refugee from Iraq,who was working as an imamat an Islamic center in Albany,NY, at the time of his arrest.

The Media Relations Department of HizbollahWishes You a Happy Birthday: UnexpectedEncounters in

the Changing Middle EastNeil MacFarquhar

2009. pp. 359. HB. $26.95

Public Affairs, New York, NY

MacFarquhar, an Arabic-speaker who grew up in theMiddle East, maintains that“the constant, bloody up-heaval that captures most at-tention has become the barri-er limiting our perspective onthe Middle East.” To counterthis, he presents a broad cul-tural and personal investiga-tion of his own. Despite therecent changes in leadershipin many of the region’s coun-tries, the author shows thatthe new rulers have provedonly marginally less brutalthan their predecessors.

Muslim, Christian, andJew: Finding aPath to PeaceOur Faiths Can ShareDavid Liepert

2010. pp. 320. PB.

$15.95

Faith of Life Publishing, Toronto,

Canada

Liepert, a Muslim convert,argues that all religions areequally guilty of being used topromote violence, and thatcenturies of political manipu-lation have distorted how weread our holy books. In otherwords, all of us are equallyguilty of not following our re-ligions’ true teachings.

MuslimScientists andThinkersSyed Aslam

2009. pp. 194.

$10.00

Alpha Scientific

Publications,

Canton, MI

The collection of profiles fo-cuses on a select group ofscholars to point out howMuslim scientists andthinkers have contributed tohuman civilization.

REVIEWS

The Qur’an’s message,says Emerick, couldbe better understood

if the reader had some ideaof the situation surroundingits verses’ revelation. In histranslation of the Qur’an’smeaning, he presents an in-troductory background(supplemented with hadiths)for each surah (chapter), anda contextual background forselected verses.

Also included are appen-dices on polygamy, maritaldiscord, the Trinity, prison-ers of war, and the punish-ment for adultery. Such in-formation will help those involved in interfaithactivities to present Islam’s teaching on such mattersmore accurately.

However, one continues to long for the day whenIslamic publishers will emulate mainstream produc-tion standards — especially when the item is directedtoward a mainstream readership.

A Journey through the Holy Qur’an Yahiya Emerick2010. pp. 804. PB. $29.99CreateSpace, Scotts Valley, CA

In the aftermath of 9/11,many Arab and MuslimAmericans came under in-

tense scrutiny by federal andlocal authorities, as well astheir own neighbors, on thechance that they might know,support, or actually be terror-ists. The author, who focuseson metropolitan Chicago, ob-serves that even native-bornMuslim Americans were por-trayed as outsiders, an imagethat was amplified followingthe attacks. She argues that9/11 did not create anti-Araband anti-Muslim suspicion, forsuch socially constructed im-ages and socio-political exclu-sion have been longstanding.

Thus, 9/11 only created an environment in which pre-exist-ing negativity could thrive and the government could de-fend ethnic profiling.

Combining analysis and ethnography, Cainkar offers anintimate view of what it means to be an Arab or a Muslim ina country set on edge by the worst non-domestic terrorist at-tack in its history. Far from being a dull academic tome, herlandmark study humanizes both communities’ post-9/11 ex-perience and should help readers realize that both groups ofpeople are just as patriotic as any other Americans. Let’s notforget that even the 9/11 Commission found no evidence thatany Arab-Americans or Muslim-Americans were involved.

Increasing Understanding

The Fallout Continues

Homeland Insecurity: The Arab Americanand Muslim American Experience after 9/11 Louise A. Cainkar2009. pp. 325. HB. $35.00Russell Sage Foundation, New York, NY

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WHERE EAST MEETS WEST: APPROPRIATING THE ISLAMIC ENCOUNTER FOR A SPIRITUAL-CULTURAL REVIVAL

Mona Abul-Fadl

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THE PEOPLE ON THE EDGE: RELIGIOUS REFORM AND THE BURDEN OF THE WESTERN MUSLIM INTELLECTUAL

Abdelwahab El-Affendi

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STUDIES IN ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION: THE MUSLIM CONTRIBUTION TO THE RENAISSANCE

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