New Islamic Directions
Essays and longer reflections by Imam Zaid Shakir.
Imam Zaid Shakir · March 22, 2009
Timbuktu is believed to have been founded early in the 12th Century AD. Its name gives us insight into its origins. Tim, in the language of the Tuareg people, means well. Buktu is a female name. Hence, Timbuktu means the place of Buktu’s well. The…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · March 19, 2009
Early the next morning, we awakened for the morning prayer in the courtyard of the IR center. After praying, I ascended to the rooftop to take in the surroundings. Looking around I was treated to a spectacular view. As I mentioned previously, the…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · March 17, 2009
Early in the afternoon we left for Rharous, a town even further to the north. Our caravan had grown by one car as some of the Islamic Relief officials from Gossi were joining us for the trip to Rharous and then onward to Timbuktu. Until now, we had…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · March 17, 2009
Early the next morning, Thursday, March 5, 2009, we departed for the Town of Gossi, the location of the Islamic Relief Regional Office in the Northern part of the country. As we ventured ever farther from Bamako, the terrain became more and more…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · March 14, 2009
The next day, Wednesday, March 4, 2009, was a day of travel as we moved out on a journey to the northern parts of the country that would culminate at Timbuktu. The bustle of the roadside markets that seem to be omnipresent in Bamako thinned into…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · March 12, 2009
The flight from Casablanca to Bamako was routine. I was able to do a little reading. However, since we left close to midnight, drowsiness eventually rendered my attempts to continue reading futile, and I slept the latter part of the journey. The…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · March 11, 2009
The check-in at the airport was uneventful. However, as soon as we boarded the plane there was a bit of a problem. Due to a mechanical problem of an unspecified nature, the plane’s departure was being delayed and we sat on the runway for over an…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · March 8, 2009
For the last several years I have had the great honor and pleasure of assisting Islamic Relief on a variety of fundraising projects. Those efforts assisted Muslims challenged by various disasters and calamities in places ranging from Darfur to…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · January 24, 2009
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم These were the verses mentioned by Shaykh `Abdullah bin Bayyah in his lecture on Anger Management, which he recommended to be recited whenever provoked to anger and whenever one seeks calm and tranquility or feels overwhelmed…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · January 22, 2009
The following two comments were written in response to my article, Looking Into the Abyss . They raise questions that deserve a detailed response. In responding to the two individuals who posted these comments, I want to acknowledge that they were…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · January 8, 2009
“If he has not virtue, man is the most unholy and the most savage of animals…” Aristotle In America and Israel it is frequently said that Hamas is guilty of killing the political process evolving between Israel and the Palestinians, owing to its…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · November 12, 2008
A well-meaning brother has written a principled criticism of my brief article written in the aftermath of Senator Barack Obama’s victory in the recent American presidential elections. His letter has stimulated a lengthy response from me. I have…
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