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Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts

Monday, April 13, 2009

RE: Cultivating an Indigenous Muslim culture

Thanks to Brother Dash for the recording. Search "Shuruk 2009" on youtube for more videos...

"Muslims of the past were thoroughly capable of making the distinction between Non-Muslim and UnIslamic."

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

My thoughts: Cultivating an Indigenous Muslim culture

Last Friday, I attended an excellent panel discussion at NYU on "How to cultivate an Indigenous Muslim culture: Defining Roles and Responsibilities"

I included the following speakers (with bio's at the end):
Dr. Sherman Jackson
Dr. Martin Nguyen
Imam Khalid Latif
Madeeha Mir
Su'ad Abdul Khabeer

I think many good points were made at this event. Some of them (what I remember) I will try to relay (mixed in with my own thoughts)...

1.  My first point is just one of my own views and I apologize for my brashness but I never even thought twice about "how to be Muslims + American" until I came to NYU.  Inadvertently, I never really interacted with Muslims outside my own ethnicity until I came to NYU either.  But that leads to my point...I don't think I'm alone in thinking that many Black Muslims never had to deal with the struggle of being Muslim and being American in the same way that many Muslims who are of "immigrant" families have.

Now there's alot of loop holes in that last statement...that is why I point out the words "in the same way".  Most African-American Muslims have never associated themselves with any other country other than America.  In fact, many held (and now hold) an Anti-American view.  My point is that I never had a problem with understanding what country I belonged to or what religion I was practicing (even after 9/11) and I think many brothers of my ethnicity can share in this view.

Now like I said before, there are many loop holes in that statement because of course many "American" practices are in fact, un-Islamic and have lead all Muslims, including Black Muslims to struggle with the two identities.  And this has even led many African-American Muslims into identity crises. But we will save that discussion for later.

If you gathered nothing else from the convoluted generalizations that I just made, just know that I never thought that hard about being American and Muslim...I just did it.

2. In criticism to the title Sis. Su'ad made some good points.  The title (How to cultivate an Indigenous Muslim culture) suggests that we don't have one now! It also suggests that there is a solution to this "problem" that can be placed in a pamphlet and handed out after Jummah. She noted that government really "cultivated" the ideal of culture in order to place people in boundaries for the advancement of power and control (ie. the effects of slavery and race).

She said that culture is the value/meaning that people place on themselves. We should resist the attitude toward the "HOW TO" of culture...and appreciate what we already have.

That is to say that many would feel that what we do have is not what we want or its not good enough.  To speak plainly, indigenous Muslim culture has been established in America for some time now.  But many Muslims don't want to CLAIM it. And it may not be anything necessarily "wrong" with that.  Wearing timberland boots with a thobe is indigenous Muslim culture, but everyone may not want to do that.  BUT, we should ACKNOWLEDGE that it exists. Respect it. Value it.

3. Imam Khalid mentioned one thing that applied to me and many others: Many of us have NEVER engaged a Muslim outside of our own ethnicity until college (until we were forced to).  And I'll leave that statement as it is.

4. Dr. Jackson, being the scholar that he is, made a few comments that worth pondering.  He said that we don't feel we have the authority to make the decision about our culture.  In other words, our culture (here in America) has to be validated by those we hold in authority.  But the problem that we run into is that the traditional Mathabs and the top Islamic scholars don't explicitly address much of the cultural decisions that we face everyday.  The issue boils down to cultural authority and authenticity.

5. I believe that there will never be just one single American Muslim culture.  We won't have just a single Muslim expression in American, both regionally and socially. We come into this religion through different ways and experiences and ultimately can practice our beautiful religion in different ways that are still all "Islamic" in the general definition/understanding of the term. And that's fine.  But, in all different ways, we still struggle to some extent with being a Muslim American.

What we should focus on is the Islamic spirit and the Islamic way of life.  This should be infused into our daily life.  Living as an American but staying true to your Islam.
As Imam Mohammed has put it:
"The focus is community life: (1) That means Masjid; (2) That means schools; (3) That means cultural centers; (4) That means we should be trying to provide cultural outlets for Muslims; (5) That means we should have Muslim theaters; (6) We should have Muslim art; (7) We need a different music, a new music and a new expression; (8) We must also have strong business. We need to concentrate on business; (9) let's push the wilderness out of ourselves, out of our homes, out of our neighborhoods. Lets push the wilderness out of the Muslim community; (10) we have to have a Muslim Teachers College, we have to support the Muslim Teachers College. We have to see growth and expansion for the Muslim Teachers College." ("Growth For A Model Community In America"--Imam WDM)

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Confirmed Panelists Bios:

Dr. Abd al-Hakim Jackson, a native of Philadelphia, received his Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania in Oriental Studies –Islamic Near East in 1990. Presently, he is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Visiting Professor of Law, and Professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Michigan. From 1987-89, he served as Executive Director for the Center of Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) in Cairo, Egypt.

Dr. Abd al-Hakim Jackson has taught at the University of Texas at Austin, Indiana University and Wayne State University. In addition to numerous articles on Islamic law, theology and history, he is author of Islamic Law and the State: The Constitutional Jurisprudence of Shihâb al-Dîn al-Qarâfî (E.J. Brill, 1996), On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam: Abû Hâmid al-Ghazâlî’s Faysal al-Tafriqa (Oxford, 2002) and, most recently, the controversial Islam and the Blackamerican: Looking Towards the Third Resurrection (Oxford, 2005).

Dr. Abd al-Hakim Jackson is co-founder of the American Learning Institute for Muslims (ALIM), a primary instructor at its programs, and a member of its Board of Trustees. Jackson is also a former member of the Fiqh Council of North America, past president of the Sharî‘ah Scholars’ Association of North America (SSANA) and a past trustee of the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT). He is a sought-after speaker and has lectured throughout the US and in numerous countries abroad.
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Martin Nguyen is currently a PhD candidate in Islamic History at Harvard University. He has served as graduate advisor to the Harvard Islamic Society and was one of the founders of Shura: Islamic Forum at the Harvard Divinity School. He will be joining Fairfield University this fall as Assistant Professor in Islamic Religious Traditions.
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Imam Khalid Latif was appointed the first Muslim chaplain at NYU in 2005 where he began to initiate his vision for a pluralistic future on and off campus for American Muslims. He was also appointed the first Muslim chaplain at Princeton University in 2006. Spending a year commuting between these two excellent institutions, he finally decided to commit full-time to New York University’s Islamic Center where his position was officially institutionalized in the spring of 2007. Under his leadership, the Islamic Center at NYU became the first ever established Muslim student center at an institution of higher education in the United States. Imam Latif’s exceptional dedication and ability to cross interfaith and cultural lines on a daily basis brought him recognition throughout the city, so much so that in 2007 Mayor Michael Bloomberg nominated Imam Latif to become the youngest chaplain in history of the New York City Police Department at the age of 24.

Imam Latif has not only managed to solidify the basis of a strong Muslim community at NYU that seeks to emphasize inclusiveness and understanding of others without compromise, but has also worked tirelessly to foster dialogue with people of other faiths in order to clarify misconceptions and encourage mutual education. Through his work Imam Latif has demonstrated not only an exceptional dedication to gaining and disseminating religious knowledge and values, but has begun to carve out a much-needed space for young American Muslims to celebrate their unique identity and have their voices heard in the larger public sphere.
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Madeeha Mir is a fourth year Counseling Psychology doctoral student at New York University, volunteering time on a regular basis to provide counseling services through the Islamic Center at NYU. She currently externs at Barnard College Counseling Center and has completed externship training at Bellevue Hospital Center and CUNY Baruch College Counseling Center. She has worked with young adults and children in both outpatient and inpatient settings and has an emphasis on providing counseling to college-aged students on a variety of areas, including relationships, marriage, identity, family conflicts, substance use, and other mental health issues.
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Suad Abdul Khabeer is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology at Princeton University. Suad's dissertation explores the ways Chicago Muslim youth negotiate religious, racial and cultural identities through hip hop. Suad is also a research affiliate with the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies at Princeton University. Suad has spoken and presented papers at Yale University, Haverford College, University of Massachusetts - Amherst and the University of California – Berkeley. Her publications include *Rep that Islam: the Rhyme and Reason of American Muslim Hip Hop *in the January 2007 issue of The Muslim World, *Black Arabic: Some Notes on African American Muslims and the Arabic Language *(forthcoming in edited volume “Black Routes to Islam”, Palgrave Macmillan), and *A Day in the Life*, poetry which appeared* *in the anthology “Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak”.

Prior to her graduate work, Suad received a Bachelors in Foreign Service from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown. During her senior year at Georgetown, she interned at the President’s Interagency Council on Women at the Department of State. There she worked specifically on State Department initiatives to engage the broader American Muslim community. After graduating, Suad spent at year in Damascus, Syria where she was a student at the Islamic Studies Institute of Abu Nour University. While at the institute she studied Islamic Studies and Arabic language, building on her many years of Arabic language training. She also gave a presentation at the American Cultural Center of the US Embassy in Damascus on the relationship between Hip Hop and Islam.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Living the Culture...

2:19 am

As I sit hear re-listening to Mos Def's Black on Both sides...I step outside of my own box (body) and realize how much I am subconsciously connecting with a New York City lifestyle.

I am literally submerging myself into this new/old culture. Its no new thing for me. I've been here for 2 years now but I can see myself struggling to connect with why people LOVE Brooklyn so much?? As cliche as it sounds, I went to watch the movie Notorious. I've been re-discovering Mos Def's first solo album which I kinda-sorta-am-shamed-to-say I passed over at a younger age. ( I guess I wasn't ready for it yet.) I mean this album is it. I was always looking for something to continue my thirst after Blackstar. This is it. I'll be good til another year or so.

But outside of the music genre, I notice that I almost ....almost love riding the NYC train. The experience that so many take lightly, and tourists over-exaggerate, I have grown to love in a curious-George kind of way. Crowded, dirty, dark, uninviting...but sooo New York.

Sooo New York. And thats what its all about.

I find myself (like the hadith) a traveler in this world. I don't want to be a New Yorker. (believe me I don't). But, you have to respect it. You have to study and respect the culture. And you can't just come and TAKE. You have to GIVE something as well. This is the essence of a travler. You can't come and take without giving something of yourself.

What I noticed about me, wherever I go....I love studying and learning about new cultures. Be it Cincinnati, Atlanta, DC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Bermuda, Jamaica... I love to submerge myself as much as religiously possible (when in Rome...). That is the only way to see Rome. You have to become a Roman. To really understand and respect a culture...you can't view it from the airplane ...and books will only take you so far....

YOU HAVE TO LIVE IT.

Ironically, I woke up this morning watching "The Proud Family". You know that Disney Channel show of the black family. This episode was called, "culture shock" and all the kids switched families with those of other cultures....Chinese, Puerto Rican, Black, Jamaican, one rich guy, and the highlight of the show: a Muslim Pakistani family.

They did a decent job of explaining about Islamic concepts like Ramadan and Hijab by showing the little girl's adjustment to the new family. (The Simpsons had a similiar episode where they addressed Islamophobia. )

The point being...culture has to be experienced and lived. This gives the best appreciation. ANd I think you gain a much broader view of the world when you gain that type of experience. It essentially makes you who you are.

Thank you world for shaping my development. Thank you NYC for the part that you play. I'll be giving back very soon now...

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The "veil your lollipop" campaign???

In Egypt, Some Women Say That Veils Increase Harassment

"Surprisingly, some Egyptian women say that their veils don't protect against harassment, as the lollipop ads argue, but fuel it. A survey released this summer supports the view."
This Washington Post article addresses a serious problem within this particular city (and maybe elsewhere).  I spent time in Cairo studying Arabic in 2007.  My wife and I traveled with MSA members from college.  The sisters on the trip did not have an enjoyable time in Cairo...to say the least.  One of their major concerns was the HARASSMENT they received by the some of the Muslim men.  I would often listen to some very explicit stories of taxi drivers exposing themselves, brothers touching them, or men suggesting inappropriate things to Muslim females. 
Two-thirds of the Egyptian men surveyed admitted to harassing women, in actions ranging from staring openly at their bodies, shouting explicit comments, touching the women or exposing themselves.
"It makes a woman happy when I call to her. It makes her know she's attractive," 20-year-old Alla Aldin Salem said on the sidewalk in Mohandisseen, after going out of earshot of the glaring fellow vendor in hijab.
As we began to learn more about Egyptian culture, we learned that there are way too many single brothers in Cario.  I found myself asking why? Why don't they just get married?  If it were only that easy for the average Egyptian brother.

I may be off on a few details but generally this is what I find the problem to be:  Most Egyptian men are not married because in Egyptian culture the men often have to provide large dowries consisting of (for example) a FURNISHED apartment, money, rings, etc.  Not only that, they often have to be very much "accepted" by the bride's family.  Most Egyptian men are not that financially stable in a city who's population and cost of living mirrors that of NYC for the average Egyptian man.

This is in no way an excuse for the above described behavior.  However, a society of Muslims who value family as much as they do, Cairo and much of Egypt should really look at the problems arising within their cities and come up with Islamic solutions.  As I've mentioned before, the hijab is more than an article of clothing (which is never referred to as such in the Qur'an), it serves a serious purpose.  WE should, at the very least, respect modesty.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Weekly Wisdom - 8/8 : Culture vs. Islam



The Deen Show featuring Yasir Qadhi

This is a very informative video as it relates to culture and innovation in Al-Islam.

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