Muslim in America blog firmly stands with the organizers of the Park51 project which seeks to build a community center 2 blocks away from the World Trade Center. For more details about our stance or questions or concerns, please feel free to email us at MusliminAmericablog@gmail.com
That’s it for now, more soon..
- Muslim in America Admin
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Black Muslims: Left out of the national conversation on Islam: Russell Simmons and Imam Talib
By STEPHON JOHNSON Amsterdam News Staff AND
OROBOSA IGBINEDIO Special to the AmNews“We have to be able to decode what’s happening and realize that this is religious intolerance on one hand, and it’s [also] good ol’ red-blooded American racial and ethnic bias on the other hand,” said Imam Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid, sitting in his office at the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood Inc. in Harlem.
A controversial nationwide conversation has sparked following the proposal of a Muslim-themed community center two blocks away from Ground Zero. Those in opposition harbor the national pain of the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 nine years ago and feel it is insulting and insensitive to the memory of the near 3,000 people who lost their lives. On the other hand, religious freedom is decreed in the Constitution, therefore, developers of the center at Park 51 have a legal status to build wherever they please.
Assalamu’ Alaikum
I cannot add much more to what has already been said about the flood situation in Pakistan, which the UN has already called one of the worst natural disasters in recent world history, surpassing the South Asia tsunami in 2004 and Kashmir earthquake in 2005 (pictures). Over 20 million people- 1 out of every 10 people- in Pakistan have been affected by the disaster and around 1,500 have been killed. The area of land which thrives on agriculture has been destroyed and it’s been said that the land won’t be suitable for cropping for a long time. Over 3 million children are at risk of diseases carried by contaminated water and insects, thousands of villages remain under water, and yet, the international aid still has not been enough. The UN recently said that many in Pakistan have yet to receive any aid, and only a fraction of the millions, maybe billion, of dollars needed for immediate needs has been raised.
We need to keep donating and spreading the word so that more people see the urgency in this. Pakistan itself was unable to even celebrate its own independence day on August 14th because the situation is so bad. The Prophet (S) once said: “The best charity is that given in Ramadan”, so the best time to give is NOW. I ask you to please remember all those in Pakistan in your prayers, and to continue to generously donate.
Here is a link to Islamic Relief’s Pakistan Flood Emergency site.
JazakumAllahu Khairan and Thank you,
- Noman
Every year during Ramadan, many of us try to distance ourselves from the duniya (real world) and focus on the akhira (afterlife). We all know that it is good to do extra during this month, such as reading Qur’an and praying more Sunnah, but what about some of the “potential sins” we have come to make daily habits out of? Is it right for us to commit those actions, even outside of Ramadan? People always ask me every Ramadan why I stop doing certain actions like listening to music and watching certain TV shows during the month. Many of them always seem to bring up the argument that, if I’m going to go back to it after the month is over, what’s the point? To really answer this question, I want to reflect on a couple of Ahadith that many of us know, but don’t apply into our lives as often as we should.
