Currently Browsing: Notes
notes
Keep the memory of Taha Omar, Adam Mekki and Mohannad Tairab Alive
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Nearly a month has passed since the execution-style murder of three young men, two of them Muslim, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We have to keep the memory Taha Omar, Adam Mekki and Mohannad Tairab alive and continue to pressure the authorities for answers. I am consciously writing these lines after…
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notes
Bike Lanes
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Black folks ride bikes to work and ride bikes for fun, Some are faster than an ice cube melting in the sun, Some can break the sound barrier: Brother Super Sonic! So why are black folks and bike lanes so oxymoronic? If brothers can ride in…
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notes
War Planes In The Skies Over Syria
by Imam Zaid Shakir
American warplanes on their way to bomb ISIS targets fly over Syrian helicopters dropping barrel bombs on civilians in Aleppo. Russian warplanes on their way to bomb anti-Assad forces in and around Aleppo, killing a large number of civilians in the process, fly next to American warplanes. Now, there are…
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notes
Civilization or Barbarism
by Imam Zaid Shakir
“Good and evil are not equal. Respond [to evil] with what is best, [good]. You will unexpectedly see one between whom you and he there is enmity become as it were an intimate friend.” Qur’an 41:34 Recently, a young man, who did not identify himself, approached me and mournfully informed…
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notes
Morning Light
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Morning light As the birds take flight. Oakland Marina; Enter the arena, To fight for the right Of every man, woman And child To be able to smile As the retreating night Is overwhelmed… By the morning light. …
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notes
Flint, Michigan: The Future of America
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The deepening scandal and crisis in Flint, Michigan, over the contaminated water forced upon the residents of that city provides an insight into where the entire country is headed. The destruction of Flint, epitomized by th water crisis, is a direct result of what happens when democratic processes are…
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notes
All You Need to Know About Doomsday
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Many Muslims are obsessed with the end time Hadiths and prophecies. Many feel that the end is near, some groups and or Shuyukh actively recruit followers based on the certainly that we are living at the very end of history and Doomsday is well nigh upon us. That being the…
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notes
Add Another Brother to the List
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Yesterday, Sunday, December 13, 2015, Basim Callens, one of the young brothers from my New Haven, Connecticut, “Jamaat” was murdered in Atlanta, Georgia during a carjacking. This brother was one of the kindest, most pleasant, mannerable young men you could ever meet. His death comes as a shock to us…
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notes
Dry Your Eyes My Sister…
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Dry Your Eyes My Sister… Do not be torn asunder by the gazes From eyes of hatred oh so venomous; The prejudicial words befitting racists, “Your people, your religion, we can’t trust.” The words like acid rain fall from the sky, “Go back from whence you…
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notes
A Guide to the Confused of Our Times: Part One
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The seeming tsunami of negativity unleashed by the dastardly actions of terrorists, some claiming to act in the name of Islam, and the nefarious reactions of an assortment of bigots, racists and opportunistic politicians, have combined to create an environment that has demoralized many Muslims, terrified others, and left many…
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notes
We Need Peacemakers
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The day before the shootings in San Bernadino, California, a friend of mine, who is a distinguished journalist, sent the following note to me from Belgium: “Salaams, I have been in Belgium for a few days now. The Muslim community here is in serious trouble and they know it.…
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notes
Refuting the Idea That A Muslim (Amin al-Husayni) Prompted the Holocaust
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Refuting the Idea That A Muslim (Amin al-Husayni) Prompted the Holocaust Note: This is an excerpt from a longer article I wrote refuting the idea that “Muslims are the new Fascists” and that the prompting of a pro-Nazi Muslim, Amin al-Husayni, led to the Holocaust. This allegation was recently advanced…
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notes
Begging Veteran
by Imam Zaid Shakir
I passed a begging veteran today. Sitting on a bench. No homeless stench. He held an empty cup in his hand. It pleaded for money to help the man. He sat forlorn in military dress. His face portrayed a life of stress. Had…
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notes
On the Passing of Salahud-Din Abdul-Razacq
by Imam Zaid Shakir
“We belong to Allah, and unto Him we will all return…” Death has an uncanny way of rearranging our priorities. Before an early morning text message yesterday from a dear friend, like many Muslims here in the United States, I was preoccupied with an easily recognizable laundry list of…
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notes
Who Are We?
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Who are we? The entire world is waiting to see, Just what this Ummah might be, But can we tell them who we could be, When we ourselves cannot see… Who we are. Are we the proverbial raisin withering in the sun? Are we…
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notes
Egypt: Between Old Men and Starfish Throwers
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Most of us are familiar with the story of the boy, the old man and the starfish. A storm had washed up thousands of starfish onto a beach. An old man who was strolling on the sandy stretch noticed a little boy in the distance frantically throwing as many of…
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