In what is being billed as “the most nuanced and complex view about the [9/11] terror attacks from the American Muslim perspective ever seen on television,” TLC’s All-American Muslim series — targeted by some far-right and fundamentalist groups — on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012, will explore the direct impact on the lives of Muslim families in Dearborn, MI in the decade since the attacks.

Commenting on the episode, titled “The Day the World Changed,” the Rev. Dr. Katharine Henderson, president of Auburn Seminary in New York, said that it reveals “the pain and suffering [Muslim Americans] have endured, not just once, but twice. … The first time because terrorists attacked their country on 9/11 and the second time because some fellow Americans turned on them, simply because of their religion, which is absolutely unacceptable.”   »»» Contactmusic

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Terror attacks by the radical Muslim sect Boko Haram across Nigeria on Christmas Day have left 39 people dead and dozens wounded.

A bombing targeted St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla near the nation’s capital of Abuja killed 35 people and wounded another 52, according to the AP news agency.

A second bombing happened near a church in Jos, capital of Plateau state. Gunmen opened fire on police guarding the area, killing one officer.

In the third incident, a suspected suicide-bomber rammed a car into the entrance of the State Security Service building in the northeastern city of Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state where fighting between security forces and the sect already had killed at least 72 people in recent days, killing four people and the bomber.

The Boko Haram, a group that draws inspiration from Afghanistan’s Taliban movement, claimed responsibility for the Abuja church attack, the Abuja-based Trust newspaper reported, citing a spokesman for the group, Abu Qaqa. The claim couldn’t be independently verified.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country of more than 160 million people, is roughly split between a mainly Muslim north and a Christian south. Radical Islamic group Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for at least 504 deaths in Nigeria this year alone.   »»» Muslim group Boko Haram bomb attacks in Nigeria on Christmas kill 39, wound at least 50 – Taiwan News Online

Boko Haram may call itself “Muslim” but they have gone far from the doctrines of Islam. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) has specifically forbidden attacks on Christian churches and Jewish synagogues.

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Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem. In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

. . .And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a place in the East, and had chosen seclusion from them. Then We [God] sent unto her Our Spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect human being. She said: “Truly I seek refuge in the Merciful One from you, if you are God-fearing”. He said: “I am only a messenger of your Lord, to give to you a pure son”. She said: “How can I have a son when no man has touched me, neither have I been unchaste”? He said: “Even so. Your Lord says: ‘It is easy for Me. And that We may make of him a revelation for humanity and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained’”. And she conceived him, and she withdrew pregnant with him to a distant place. And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree: She cried out: “Oh! Would that I had died before this! Would that I had been a thing forgotten and unseen!” Then (a voice) called out to her from beneath her: “Do not grieve, for surely your Lord has made a stream to flow beneath you; And shake towards you the trunk of the palm tree, it will drop on you fresh ripe dates: So eat and drink and refresh yourself. Then if you see any person, say: ‘Surely I have vowed a fast to the Merciful One, so I shall not speak to any one today’”. Then she brought the child to her own people, carrying him. They said: “O Mary! You have come with an amazing thing. O sister of Aaron! Your father was not a wicked man nor was your mother an unchaste woman”. Then she pointed to the child. “But they said, ‘How shall we speak to one who is still in the cradle, a little child?’ Jesus said, ‘Behold, I am God’s servant; God has given me the book and made me a prophet. God has made me blessed, wherever I may be; and God has enjoined me to pray and to give alms so long as I live, and likewise to cherish my mother; God has not made me arrogant or unblessed. Peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised up alive’”. Qur’an, Chapter of Mary, (19:16—35)

Good evening, al-salaamu alaikum, peace be upon you all.

I am, as ever, honoured to be here with you on this blessed night at Trinity-St. Paul’s. It is a great joy to be back in this church, both in the primary meaning of that word as this gathering of people, and in the secondary meaning of this amazing physical space that we share. I was delighted when Karen and Hal asked me to reflect for a few minutes on the importance of Jesus in Islam.

Many people are unaware that for Muslims, Jesus is a great prophet, born of the Virgin Mary. In the passage that I just read, as well as the verses immediately preceding it, you will hear echoes from the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel, and the parallel annunciations of the birth of John the Baptist to Elizabeth and Zechariah, and the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph. A bridge toward inclusivity is the regard that both Christians and Muslims have for Jesus, Mary, John the Baptist, and Zechariah (the father of John), all of whom are mentioned in the Qur’an.

Jesus, in particular, is an important prophet for Muslims, and is mentioned in 15 chapters and 93 verses of the Qur’an. In addition, it may surprise Christians that Muslims have collected more than 300 sayings of Jesus over the centuries. Tarif Khalidi’s The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature, published in 2001, brings these sayings together. Many Muslims are familiar with several of these sayings. My own favourite, not surprising when you realize that I am a university professor, is this one: “Jesus was asked, ‘Spirit and Word of God [note his titles here, “spirit” and “word of God”. Spirit and Word of God], who is the most seditious of men?’ He replied, ‘The scholar who is in error. If a scholar errs, a host of people will fall into error because of him.’”

In the Qur’an, Jesus is described by many names. Most often, he is referred to by his proper name, Jesus. The title “Son of Mary” occurs 23 times in the Qur’an, but only once in the New Testament (Mark 6:3). Other designations are servant of God; prophet; messenger; word; spirit; sign; example; witness; a mercy; eminent; brought near to God; upright; and blessed. A number of miracles are also associated with Jesus. In addition to speaking from the cradle as an infant, he heals the blind and the lepers; raises the dead; feeds his followers from a heavenly table; and he creates birds from clay and they come to life and fly away (reminiscent of a story from the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas).

Eleven times, the Qur’an also refers to Jesus as “messiah” or “anointed one” – a direct parallel with the same term in Hebrew. The word messiah is translated into Greek as Christ, and for Christians assumes divine significance. But the differences between Christian and Muslim usages of term are significant. Unlike Christians, when Muslims think of Jesus as “messiah” or “Christ”, they do not think of Jesus as God, or God incarnate. But perhaps that is not absolutely crucial to what we are celebrating tonight. Tonight, whatever our different understandings of Jesus, we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, an event of deep significance for Muslims as well as for Christians.

As in the New Testament, the Qur’an also portrays Jesus as a prophet of social justice. This comes through in the passage that I just read to you from the Qur’an:

“Jesus said, ‘Behold, I am God’s servant; God has given me the book and made me a prophet. God has made me blessed, wherever I may be; and God has enjoined me to pray and to give alms so long as I live, and likewise to cherish my mother; God has not made me arrogant or unblessed. Peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised up alive’”.

Jesus thus reflects a call to action and social justice; one must pray and take care of the poor. In this way, Christians and Muslims can come together, as we do here tonight, to work for the common good for all of us.

On this night, may the miracle of the birth of Jesus, who is called Christ by both Christians and Muslims, remind us of God’s love for us all, and for our need to share that love with each other. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!

Talk by Amir Hussain at Trinity—St. Paul’s United Church in Toronto, Dec. 24, 2006   »»» tabsir.net

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The U.S. Department of Defense will begin allowing Muslim and Sikh students who wear an Islamic head scarf (hijab) or a turban to participate in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC).

In a Dec. 19 letter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Larry Stubblefield wrote:

”I have been asked to respond on behalf of the Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta to your October 13, 2011 letter concerning Miss Demin Zawity’s request to wear a religious head covering (hijab) while participating in an Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) event at Ravenwood High School.

“Based on your concerns, the Army has reviewed its JROTC uniform policy and will develop appropriate procedures to provide Cadets the opportunity to request the wear of religious head dress, such as the turban and hijab. This change will allow Miss Zawity and other students the chance to fully participate in the JROTC program.”   »»» Orlando Sentinel (U.S.)

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The British State has been attempting to develop a version of Islam that is subservient to a secular ideology, ever since the Rushdie affair. This version of Islam has been widely described as “moderate” Islam in the media. The State has also been grooming individuals and organisations whom it would deal with as representatives of “moderate” Islam (moderate Islam for them being Islam without politics and ideas of governance).

Having prosecuted or marginalised some preachers, created new groups to tow the line, attempted to outlaw some Muslim groups, withdrawn funding for those groups who it was alleged hold the wrong version of Islam; what remained was to outlaw certain ideas and ban the materials in which they were contained. This would then allow for an unchallenged promotion of “moderate “Islam and reduce the space for promotion of what Neo –con writers call “political” Islam. Of course the British State could not pursue a direct ban on books. Instead, in this next phase on the war on Islamic ideas, it has chosen to pursue a back door policy of effectively banning books using terrorism laws and the courts.

In recent cases, British courts have ruled that certain books and videos are terrorist material, effectively banning them and classing the ideas contained within them as not being genuine Islam. On the 13th December, a Birmingham bookseller (in Regina vs Faraz ), was sentenced to three years, for publishing and distributing a number of books and DVD’s classed as terrorist material ( using the opinions of an expert Muslim witness whose own ideology was clearly different to that of the authors in question, and hence his opinion was a difference of thought , not expertise ). This trial clearly shows that the next phase of the battle to create a compliant Islam is now being played out in British courts.

The books being judged and sold by Faraz inlcuded Milestones by Sayyid Qutb, and a number of writings by Sheikh Abdullah Azzam , Hassan al Banna and others. These were written in a different era, and for different conflict situations, yet judgements were made on them in Britain 2011. The prosecution case, the “expert” testimony and the Judges summing up, all point to the fact that it was not Faraz who was on trial but Qutb, Abdullah Azzam and the ideas and thoughts in the books; and whether or not they constituted legitimate Islam as defined by the states prosecution and “expert “. Having established that the books on trial represented an erroneous interpretation of Islam, Faraz as was bound to be found guilty. His crime was to be a publisher and bookseller of the books and hence to be associated with them, and by implication an adherent of the “erroneous “ideas and thoughts in the books now defined as “terrorist”. Therefore we have had the ludicrous situation where a British Court has been debating at length the legitimacy of the ideas of Syed Qutb, Abdullah Azzam, Hassan al Banna, Ibn Taymiyyah; and whether they had correctly interpreted verses of the Quran. And we have had the absurdity of a British Jury and Judge passing judgment on what is and isn’t legitimate Islamic thought and ideas.   »»» New Civilisation

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Violence against women has no place in a religion that proclaims equal rights for males and females, Canada’s Muslim leaders say.

Ongoing publicity surrounding an Ontario murder trial featuring prominent discussions of honour killings motivated imams throughout the country to tackle the topic of domestic violence in their Friday prayer sessions.

Their sermons reinforced one of the key messages of the Qur’an and reminds Muslims that respect for women is a fundamental part of their faith, they said.

“Domestic violence is very un-Islamic. It’s a crime in the eyes of the law, it’s a crime in the Islamic teaching,” Imam Soharwardy said in a telephone interview. “Prophet Mohammed has clearly said in very unambiguous words that women have rights on men and men have an obligation to treat their wife and daughters . . .with kindness and courtesy.”

Soharwardy said members of the Islamic Supreme Council and other Muslim organizations across Canada felt the need to speak out against the image of repressive violence emerging from a courtroom in Kingston, Ont. There, Mohammad Shafia, his son Hamed and his wife Tooba Yahya are facing four counts each of first degree murder in the deaths of four female family members.

The Crown alleges the victims died for dishonouring the family either by dating, skipping school or planning to leave the household. Shafia, his wife and son have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

“Hypothetically, if a person has killed a family because a person, male or female, is doing something un-Islamic, Islamic teaching says this person should be brought to a court,” he said. “I cannot take law in my hands. This is un-Islamic.”   »»» Global Regina

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Ninety-five percent of prosecutions in Pakistan for insulting the Prophet Mohammed or the Koran are false, according to a high-profile Muslim lawyer in the country.

The legal expert, who cannot be named for security reasons, said in most cases the law is abused by people bent on carrying out a personal vendetta. In a statement given to Aid to the Church in Need, the lawyer claimed that almost all prosecutions are against poor people who have “no status in society” and cannot defend themselves.

The lawyer’s statement comes at a time of heightened concern about Pakistan’s infamous Blasphemy Laws.

The Blasphemy Laws were introduced in the 1980s and controversy centres around Articles 295B which sentences people guilty of desecrating the Koran to life imprisonment and 295C which imposes the death penalty on those who insult the Prophet Mohammed.

In his statement, the lawyer highlighted abuses against the law both in court proceedings and police investigations, claiming that massive workload meant that cases were not investigated properly.

According to Pakistan law, evidence must be gathered within 14 days. The accused is arrested and incarcerated if the evidence suggests he is guilty.

Evidence gathering often takes 14 months during which time the accused is in jail.

According to the Catholic Church’s Commission for Justice and Peace in Pakistan, 38 people were accused of blasphemy last year, of whom 14 were Christians.   »»» Independent Catholic News

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Icelandic parliament has passed a resolution making the country the first in western Europe to accept Palestine as an independent state.

Iceland’s foreign minister, Ossur Skarphedinsson, said he would discuss the outcome of the vote with other Nordic countries before making a formal declaration on Palestinian statehood.

Iceland has become the first western european country to recognise Palestine as an independent state.

The Icelandic parliament said in a statement on its website that it had passed a motion to recognse Palestine “as an independent and sovereign state” based on borders predating the six-day war of 1967.   »»» Sailan Muslim (Sri Lanka)

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The Muslim Brotherhood’s success in the first round of Egypt’s elections has added to western fears of an Islamist future for the Middle East. But this does not necessarily mean that democracy and liberal policies face extinction.

Welcome to the age of “political Islam”, which may prove to be one of the most lasting legacies of the Arab spring. It is not only in Egypt that an unprecedented Islamist political moment is playing out. In the recent Tunisian elections the moderate Islamist Ennahda party was the biggest winner, while Morocco has elected its first Islamist prime minister, Abdelilah Benkirane.

In Yemen and Libya, too, it seems likely that political Islam will define the shape of the new landscape.

None of which should be at all surprising. Indeed, if elections in Egypt and Tunisia had been held at any other time in the past two decades, the same result would almost certainly have ensued, reflecting both the levels of organisation of Ennahda and the Brotherhood and the countries’ cultural, economic and social dynamics.

“It was a change that was supposed to happen a long time ago,” says Omar Ashour, who lectures on the subject of political Islam at Exeter University and is currently in Cairo.

So what, precisely, does the rise of electoral Islamist politics mean for the Middle East and North Africa?

“Islamism is a term that has been used to describe two very different trends,” wrote Maha Azzam, an associate fellow at Chatham House, in a recent paper on the implications of the Arab spring for British foreign policy earlier this year.

“First, [it describes] the non-violent quest for an Islamic-friendly society based on the ‘principles of Islam’, which can involve a more liberal application of Islamic teachings and tradition or a more strict interpretation. Second, Islamism is also associated with violent extremism, most notably that of al-Qaida in the promotion of terrorism.”

Azzam, like a number of experts, is firm in the belief that, if the Arab spring has demonstrated anything about Islamism today, it is how those cleaving to the second, violent definition have become ever more marginalised in the Arab world.   »»» The Observer (U.K.)

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Imperial Security Inc. has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a federal religious discrimination lawsuit involving a Muslim employee’s religious head covering, the U.S. federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Monday.

The EEOC said Julie Holloway-Russell had worn a khimar (hijab)—a cloth that covers her hair, ears and neck, as required by her religious beliefs—when she interviewed for a job as a security guard at the Philadelphia-based firm in November 2009. However, she was told to remove the khimar when she reported to her first work assignment. After she refused to do so, she was terminated.   »»» Business Insurance

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