notes

The Islamic Legitimacy of the Uprisings in Muslim Countries

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Jun 24, 2011 at 5:19 pm

An earlier version of this article appeared in EMEL Magazine. It is reprinted here with slight modification in light of requests for clarification on this very sensitive issue. This is a theoretical essay and should not be construed as an endorsement of any particular movement, as each movement would have…

articles

The War Within Our Hearts

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Jun 14, 2011 at 1:42 am

The following essay was written as the introduction to a book by Habeeb and Sa’ad Qadri, two Chicago-based youth activists, entitled, The War Within Our Hearts. It contains valuable information into the nature of our hearts and the means to their purification. It also has some advice that may prove…

notes

Allah: The Loving

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Jun 14, 2011 at 1:36 am

A family friend recently attended a lecture by one of the propagandists crisscrossing the country to inform his audience of the reasons Americans have to stop the “menace” of “Shariah” that threatens to “take over” American society. If that proposition was not being taken so seriously by so many people…

news

Service with Zaytuna College and Berkeley Muslim Students’ Association

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

May 05, 2011 at 12:36 am

Reflections from the Dartmouth Chaplaincy By Maryam Zafer “Our first day took us to the UC Berkeley campus where students of Zaytuna College greeted our 13 enthusiastic trip members soaked from the characteristic early-Spring Northern California downpour. The plan for the day was to attend Friday…

articles

Islam and the Question of Nationalism [1]

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Apr 18, 2011 at 11:31 pm

Introduction The nation-state, which involves wedding a specific people to a sovereign territorial entity, is a modern phenomenon. For example, the unity of the Italian city-states into a coherent modern nation-state did not occur until the late 1850s. The unification of Germany under Prussia did not occur until 1871. Even…

articles

Reflections on The Islamic Legitimacy of the Muslim Uprisings (Expanded)

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Apr 05, 2011 at 8:49 am

As revolutions and uprisings sweep the Middle East from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and elsewhere most Muslims everywhere are energized by a wave of hopeful change in a region that has suffered far too long under the stultifying rule of “presidents for life.” However, some Muslims are more hesitant and…

articles

Why I Oppose the US-led Intervention in Libya

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Mar 24, 2011 at 10:55 am

Some days before the U.S.-led intervention in Libya began; I was forwarded a copy of an open letter directed to President Barack Obama urging him to work in concert with U.S. allies, NATO, and the United Nations to immediately impose a no-fly zone over Libya. The organizers, a group of…

news

Why Do Muslims Pray Five Times A Day

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Mar 21, 2011 at 9:26 am

By Soraya Salam and Photos: Angie Lovelace March 21, 2011 Imam Zaid Shakir, co-founder of Zaytuna College - which is aiming to be the first accredited Muslim college in the United States - says salat symbolizes what Islam considers the purpose of creation: to worship God.

notes

What Went Wrong? Funny You Should Ask

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Mar 06, 2011 at 11:46 pm

The refrain from an old popular song goes as follows, “What the world needs now is love sweet love, it’s the only thing that there’s just too little of…” According to Nicholas Kristof, in his recent New York Times editorial, Is Islam The Problem?, the Muslim world doesn’t need more…

news

Bridging The Gaps

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Feb 21, 2011 at 3:38 pm

The International Museum of Muslim Cultures had partnered with Tougaloo College to host two historic national conferences, “Islamic West Africa’s Legacy of Literacy and Music to America and the World” on Feb. 19 and 20, and “Slavery and Its Legacy” Feb. 21 and 22 at the Jackson Convention Complex. Scholars,…

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