notes

Hard Questions

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Jan 05, 2018 at 6:21 pm

As we North American Muslims enter a new year it might be beneficial for us to ask ourselves some serious questions. A bit of soul searching has never harmed anyone. The type of questions I have in mind involve a set of challenges to some of the prevailing trends which…

notes

Jerusalem: What Can We Do?

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Dec 18, 2017 at 8:56 pm

The recent decision of President Donald J. Trump to both recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel and to move the US Embassy to that blessed city is not only a slap in the face of the world’s Muslims and the Palestinian people, it is also a…

notes

“Heil Trump” is Not a Bad Joke

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Dec 08, 2017 at 6:44 am

When the President of the United Stated retweeted the filthy, fake anti-Muslim propaganda put out by a fascist British organization he effectively declared war on a segment of the population he is sworn to lead and protect. What was the response of his administration? From Sarah Sanders Huckabee to…

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The Perversity of So-Called “Jihad” Thought

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Nov 26, 2017 at 9:32 pm

If Mao Zedong described the guerrilla fighter as one who “must move amongst the people as a fish swims in the sea,” an apt description of the “Jihadi” could be one who hates the people and wants to drown them all in a sea -of blood. The murderous atrocity perpetrated…

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A Day of Thanksgiving and Penitence

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Nov 26, 2017 at 9:07 pm

When in the autumn of 1863 Abraham Lincoln proposed that the last Thursday of November be observed as a national holiday, he had two things in mind. One was for everyone to stop and thank God for His Bounties, Mercy and Grace. The other, in his words: “And I recommend…

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Cities Ablaze…

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Sep 21, 2017 at 9:10 pm

In 1970 the R&B group, The Temptations, sang about “...cities ablaze in the summertime.” The reference was to the race riots that left large swaths of cities like Los Angeles, Newark, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington DC and others burned to the ground. Racism, America’s seemingly incurable disease, continues to rear its…

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Afghanistan: America’s Vietnam

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Aug 23, 2017 at 1:06 pm

Afghanistan: America’s Vietnam When the Soviet Union became bogged down in Afghanistan during the 1980s, having fallen into the trap devised by President Jimmy Carter’s recently deceased National Security advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, it was frequently said that Afghanistan was the Soviet Union’s “Vietnam.” The reference was to the lasting damage…

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Not Puzzled or Surprised

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Aug 16, 2017 at 1:58 am

Many people are puzzled that President Donald J Trump did not immediately and strongly condemn the white nationalist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. The situation should not be puzzling. Mr. Trump is presiding over a white nationalist regime. Why would he condemn his own? While the country has been obsessed with…

notes

The Seat

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Aug 12, 2017 at 8:07 am

A place to contemplate the fate Of mortals trying to be men, A place that time cannot erase, Whose depth defies the pen. A seat of power, a seat of love, Which will we let it be? A seat spanning heavens above, A…

notes

Lady Liberty?

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Aug 05, 2017 at 1:26 am

Liberty is a gift, Handed down by the Constitution, Through time. But have all accepted it, And given it a home In their minds. Are the graces of liberty Truly free, When the disproportionately incarcerated Ask for the key, Given…

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