altmuslim this week - june 29, 2009 - This week, reeling over the death of Michael Jackson (or is it Mikaeel?), a brutal (and brutally unfair?) new film about the stoning of women in Iran, and our good friend Farah Pandith - the most effective behind-the-scenes American Muslim you've never met - is promoted to a new office by Secretary Clinton. 
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US outreach to Muslims in good hands - Several of us at altmuslim have had the opportunity to work with Farah Pandith, who has just been appointed by Secretary Clinton to be a special representative to Muslim communities worldwide. (June 27, 2009)
Her name is Neda - Many have died tragic - and silent - deaths in the post-election violence in Iran. But one woman, Neda Agha Soltan, became a symbol with her death caught on video. Here, Neda's fiancee, Caspian Makan, comments on her story in comments transcribed exclusively for altmuslim.com. (June 25, 2009)
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altmuslim review 032 - Muslim writers everywhere! We speak about the new wave of Western Muslim literature and interview two authors with recently released books. Our own Irfan Yusuf talks about his memoir, Once Were Radicals and Reza Aslan tells us more about his second book, How to Win a Cosmic War (June 11, 2009)
altmuslim review 031 - Oh, Bama! What does the election of Barack Obama mean for American Muslims, who were both courted and shunned during a long campaign? We speak with American Muslim Democratic activists who were gathered in Washington for the historic inauguration. (March 5, 2009)
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Recent and upcoming talks and offsite articles by altmuslim contributors
State-sponsored Sufism, Ali Eteraz, Foreign Policy, June 10, 2009.
Pushing the Envelope Without Breaking It, Shahed Amanullah, The Mosque in Morgantown, June 2, 2009.
Obama in Egypt: Let the unsaid be said, Zahed Amanullah, Patheos.com, May 28, 2009.
Zahed will be a panelist at Divan 2.0, a debate on the future of the Muslim internet sponsored by the Radical Middle Way at the London School of Economics in London, England, May 22, 2009.
Once Were Radicals (published by Allen and Unwin), the first book by Associate Editor Irfan Yusuf, is released in Australia, May 4, 2009.
Shahed and Wajahat will be speaking at the 3rd Annual Leadership Summit presented by the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals in Princeton, NJ, May 2, 2009.
Shahed will be leading a workshop on Media Strategies & Techniques at the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow conference in New York, NY, April 24-25, 2009.
Bringing it all back home, Wajahat Ali, The Guardian, Comment is Free, April 9, 2009.
Zahed will be conducting a two day workshop on Blogging and New Media for Italian students at the United States Embassy, Rome, Italy, April 8-9, 2009.
Crusading for Modern Islamic Art, Shahed Amanullah, Beliefnet, March 26, 2009.
Wajahat will be speaking at the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow conference in Doha, Qatar (January 16-19, 2009)
Finding the middle ground, Hesham Hassaballa, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 8, 2009.
Shahed will be speaking about Muslims in the political process at the 8th annual Texas Dawah Convention in Houston, Texas (December 27, 2008)
Skyscraping ambition for Mecca, Ali Eteraz, The Guardian (UK), Comment is Free (December 18, 2008)
Zahed will be leading a technology workshop for European Muslim professionals at the Salzburg Global Seminar, Salzburg, Austria (November 16-20, 2008)
Zahed will be a keynote speaker at the inaugural meeting of the Network of European Muslim Technology Entrepreneurs, in Madrid, Spain (November 14, 2008)
Shahed will be a featured panelist at Red Faith/Blue Faith: Religion in the 2008 Election and Beyond at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC (November 7, 2008)
Let the Global Islamic Conspiracy Begin, Ali Eteraz, Jewcy, (November 5, 2008)
Zahed will be a guest on Press TV's Islam & Life, hosted by Tariq Ramadan, speaking on French and American Muslim experiences (November 3, 2008)
Zahed will be a guest on Irish broadcaster RTE's Spectrum radio show, speaking about Barack Obama and the Muslim factor in the US presidential election (November 1, 2008)
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Media appearances and analysis featuring altmuslim editors
Islamic Society reaches out to other faiths - "ISNA is very interested in extending their connections with Protestant groups," said Rafia Zakaria, an Indiana lawyer and associate editor at altmuslim.com, a Web site that looks at Muslim issues. "Having a figure as high profile as him gives them legitimacy to extend those kinds of alliances with church groups that have a significant amount of power in the United States." (June 21, 2009)
American Muslims, Jews rate Obama’s speech - "He was really pressing for people to say in public what they say in private. Everybody knows what the solutions to a lot of these problems are and I think there is vast agreement on what they are going to be. But nobody really talks about it and puts the cards on the table," said Shahed Amanullah, editor of the Web site altmuslim.com. (June 5, 2009)
A place to explore Muslim American life - "The biggest challenge facing us is more internal - asking the deeper question. Okay, now that we know that we are Muslim Americans or American Muslims, whatever you want to call us, what does that mean?" (May 23, 2009)
The great potential for online Muslim media - "A recent study in the US implies a correlation between non-Muslims who fear Islam and those who don't know any Muslims. The more Muslims get to know their non-Muslim neighbours, the more ability they will have to influence them." (April 29, 2009)
Obama’s entreaty to Islam surprises Muslims - "Here's where the American public is going, and here's where Obama is going and trying to head it off," said Shahed Amanullah, editor and publisher of altmuslim.com. The Bush administration asked Amanullah for help in shaping dialogue with the American Muslim community. "He's heading it off on a global level," Amanullah said. "He's starting at a core of the problem. The core of the problem is the crisis overseas." (April 8, 2009)
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British parliamentary candidate Osama Saeed
Muslims in Europe: The Scottish example
By Zahed Amanullah, July 1, 2009
With the increasing influence of nationalist parties in Europe (such as Britain's BNP and the Dutch PVV party) and their subsequent demonizing of Muslim communities, you might find it surprising that a Muslim would run for British Parliament as a candidate for a self-described nationalist party. But the Scottish National Party (SNP) is no ordinary nationalist party and its candidate for British Parliament from Glasgow, Osama Saeed, is no ordinary Muslim. Though under 30, he is already an experienced activist, an award-winning blogger, and chief executive of the Scottish-Islamic Foundation. Saeed became attracted to the SNP when it opposed British involvement in the Iraq war in 2003 and soon found himself under the wing of Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond. Though he was a failed SNP candidate in 2005, the turmoil of Britain's expenses scandal and recent successes of SNP candidacies in European Parliament elections in early June both mean that Saeed has a very good chance of winning his seat at the next general election, to be held before June 2010. Here, Saeed speaks with us about his impending candidacy, Scotland's model of multiculturalism, and why Muslims in Scotland should continue to find comfort in a nationalist political party. ( 1 comment) | |
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Obituary: Michael Jackson The way he made us feel By Zahed Amanullah, June 26, 2009 |
 | | Like him or not, Michael Jackson, who passed away this week at 50, had an intriguing and tangential relationship to Islam in addition to his many controversies. Nevertheless, he was loved by millions of Muslims for his music and talent. ( 2 comments) |
Pakistan State-sponsored Sufism By Ali Eteraz, June 24, 2009 |
 | | After years of bemoaning official Saudi sponsorship of Wahhabism, and condemning official Iranian sponsorship of milleniarian Islam, we are now being asked to celebrate a state-sponsored brand of Islam in Pakistan. Not only is this unprincipled - it is going to backfire. ( 7 comments) |
Iran crisis Leave Iran alone By Rafia Zakaria, June 22, 2009 |
 | | Despite the cacophony of mock-solidarity echoing from all echelons of the US neo-conservative establishment, when it comes to doing what’s best for the Iranian people and indeed for the world, the US must do nothing at all. ( 12 comments) |
Mideast Politics One step forward, two steps backward By Muqtedar Khan, June 18, 2009 |
 | | Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad are ensuring through their recent actions that the peaceful and just solution to the Arab-Israeli problem inspired by President Obama is harder to reach. ( No comments) |
Movie "The Mosque in Morgantown" Pushing the envelope without breaking it By Shahed Amanullah, June 17, 2009 |
 | | Asra Nomani, deserves credit for bringing light to the issue of gender inequity in American mosques. But since there is widespread agreement among Muslim leaders for the need for change, is Nomani's approach the best way to create it? ( 2 comments) |
Iran Elections Repressive Islamic rule loses its lustre By Irfan Yusuf, June 15, 2009 |
 | | Iranian Muslim youth aren't the only ones disillusioned with theocratic politics. Many young Muslims in the West like myself, once attracted to political Islam, have now become disillusioned by it. At the same time, we feel disenchanted with Western attempts to manipulate it, then demonise it when it suits. ( 18 comments) |
Obama's Cairo speech The value of words By Rafia Zakaria, June 4, 2009 |
 | | For all the ensuing media chatter on the necessity of following his beautiful words with beautiful deeds, President Obama deserves credit for his overtures to Muslims around the world in his groundbreaking speech in Cairo. ( 16 comments) |
Pakistan Send thousands more tea drinkers to “AfPak” By Salma Hasan Ali, May 27, 2009 |
 | | US foreign policy-makers and military leaders have something to learn from what author and philanthropist Greg Mortenson has achieved. Long-term success in the tribal regions of Pakistan takes patience, resilience and the ability to listen. ( 10 comments) |
Education The case for an American madrassah By Junaid M. Afeef, May 25, 2009 |
 | | In order for American Muslims to dispel the misperception of incompatibility, American Islamic scholars will need the intellectual gravitas to go toe to toe with foreign trained and overseas scholars. Zaytuna's proposed "Muslim Georgetown" could achieve this. ( 18 comments) |
Somalia Time for a consensus on Islamic law By Hussein Yusuf, May 22, 2009 |
 | | Despite the threat to stablity from Al Shabaab, Somali governments from 1960 to 1991 (when the last government fell) adopted a mix of Islamic law and Western systems of governance that were compatible with Somalis' sense of moderation and faith. ( 1 comment) |
Society I would die to defend my community By Musab Bora, May 20, 2009 |
 | | The concept of life is taken as a precious thing, to save one life is as if to save the life of the whole mankind. However, this is, again, an abstract idea. What is real and tangible is the community around me. And I would die to defend it. ( 3 comments) |
Pope Benedict XVI The Pope meddles in the East By Muqtedar Khan, May 18, 2009 |
 | | It is hard to predict what the Pope has accomplished on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, which essentially used interfaith relations as a means to mediating international relations. But nevertheless, he spoke with sincerity and faith as he linked justice with peace. ( 4 comments) |
Pakistan How to rescue a failing state By Dr. Hassan Abbas, May 15, 2009 |
 | | In Pakistan, poor law enforcement, inadequate counterinsurgency know-how, popular conspiratorial thinking, failing infrastructure and the absence of good governance as exposed through declining economic and social indicators shows us a dismal scenario. However, all of this presents only one side of the coin. ( 9 comments) |
Obama in Cairo A blow to democracy By Wajahat Ali, May 13, 2009 |
 | | US President Barack Obama's decision to give his long-advertised speech to the Muslim world from Cairo will be seen as an endorsement of Egypt's brutal 30-year long dictatorship which has stifled political and press freedom alike. ( 36 comments) |
Torture Torture is evil, not a forensic technique By Muqtedar Khan, May 8, 2009 |
 | | According to most experts of torture, barring a few like Dick Cheney, torture is ineffective. If we have to waterboard people hundreds of times, then either torture doesn’t work at all, or we have some really very sadistic and mean people working in our government. ( 34 comments) |
Civil liberties Checking faith and politics at the door By Farhana Khera, May 6, 2009 |
 | | Historically, one's politics, faith, and associations have been protected from government scrutiny and surveillance under the First Amendment. But for Muslim Americans, questions probing our politics, faith, finances, associations and charitable contributions to lawful organizations have become the price of admission to return home when travelling. ( No comments) |
Obituary: Dr. Hassan Hathout The reconciliation of oppositions By Mazen Hashem, May 1, 2009 |
 | | Noted American Muslim leader Dr. Hassan Hathout, who passed away this week, tried to braid a message to American Muslims and non-Muslims alike - criticizing Muslim behavior that did not correspond to ethical standards, while asking non-Muslims to recognize the common ground between them. ( 3 comments) |
Former British PM Tony Blair More fundamentalism, please By Junaid Afeef, April 29, 2009 |
 | | Last week, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave a speech in Chicago that focused entirely on a "fundamental" Islam that is "the opposite of what extremists preach." Instead, if his focus been on extremism as a global threat, he would have been justified in confronting extremist interpretations of Islam. ( 23 comments) |
Talibanization The war against girls’ education in Pakistan By Shehla Anjum, April 27, 2009 |
 | | This week, a soccer-ball shaped bomb killed seven boys and girls at a school near the Swat region of Pakistan. Here, an Pakistani-American shares her thoughts on the changes affecting girls' education in her former homeland. ( 13 comments) |
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman Flirting with fascism By Muqtedar Khan, April 24, 2009 |
 | | For better or for worse, the US has been an incredible friend to Israel. Will Israel prove its friendship to the US or will its current flirtation with fascism undermine this long-standing alliance? ( 3 comments) |
Extremism Does Islam need a reformation? By Hesham Hassaballa, April 22, 2009 |
 | | Given the often terrible news about Islam, it is only natural to wonder whether Islam itself is the problem. Yet, as tempting as it is to apply the Christian experience as analogy, it is a flawed premise from the very beginning. ( 48 comments) |
Perspectives The many shapes of extremism By Naif Al-Mutawa, April 15, 2009 |
 | | Extremism is nothing more than a bunch of neurotransmitters working overtime - or perhaps under time. It is not Islam or Judaism or Hinduism that creates extremism; rather, some people are predisposed to extremism and will pursue it in any faith. ( 11 comments) |
The Taliban A response to modernity By Rafia Zakaria, April 13, 2009 |
 | | In its rigidity, the Talibanised society mimics an authenticity that sounds and feels truly pure and Islamic and is greedily imbibed by a population that is hungry for answers.
( 83 comments) |
Interfaith Growing up Muslim amongst Jews By Zeba Khan, April 9, 2009 |
 | | Zeba Khan traces her own adherence to Islam as an adult back to the Jewish friends she made as a young student at the Hebrew Academy of Toledo, who shared with her the joy and spiritual fulfillment they felt from practicing their faith. ( 4 comments) |
Book: Mother of the Believers A new literary take on Aisha By Kamran Pasha, April 1, 2009 |
 | | Screenwriter and author Kamran Pasha explains what motivated him to write a novel about the Prophet Muhammad's youngest wife, Aisha and how it differs from both contemporary and historic views of this complex, controversial, and revered figure in Islamic history. ( 63 comments) |
Identity The dehijabization phenomenon By Darah Rateb, March 30, 2009 |
 | | After a brief, identity-driven swell in the number of hijab wearers, there now appears to be a decline. Why did women who spent years, or decades, in hijab decide to dehijabize? What is it that women feel must be fulfilled in life without the hijab that is apparently missing while wearing it? ( 44 comments) |
Domestic surveillance End the FBI’s abuses, but work with them By Parvez Ahmed, March 27, 2009 |
 | | The FBI's hasty pronouncements and ensuing misguided responses by some American Muslim organizations have placed undue burdens on the American Muslim community. Both the FBI and American Muslim groups should work out their differences before security and civic harmony are undermined. ( 10 comments) |
Public service Homeless for one week By Hena Ashraf, March 25, 2009 |
 | | Yusef Ramelize didn't just want to call attention to the plight of the homeless in New York City with his groundbreaking "Homeless for One Week" project. He wanted to experience it. ( 1 comment) |
Perspectives Muslim westerners have built - and become - a bridge By H.A. Hellyer, March 23, 2009 |
 | | Muslim westerners bring something else to the Muslim world – a more sophisticated understanding of the West as a whole, which as westerners they have as their birthright. That understanding is crucial if the Muslim world – West dialogue is ever to bear fruit. ( 5 comments) |
Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad An imam who can By Ali Eteraz, March 18, 2009 |
 | | The founder of the Cambridge Muslim College, Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad, looks likely to create a positive, British culture among young followers of Islam. Too bad so few people know about him.
( 27 comments) |
Darfur Rallying to the wrong cause By Hesham Hassaballa, March 13, 2009 |
 | | It took an indictment by the International Criminal Court to rally the Muslim world to the cause of Darfur. But Muslim countries are rallying to support Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir, rather than to support the victims of the Darfur tragedy. ( 30 comments) |
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