New Islamic Directions
Shorter reflections and statements on the events of the day.
Imam Zaid Shakir · February 21, 2024
To my young Palestinian brothers and sisters, the fallen children of Gaza, you continue to die because those capable of stopping the massacre instead repeat, like drunk parrots, “Israel has a right to defend herself.” To “defend” herself against you…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · January 22, 2024
Let Us Mock the Muslims (For We Traffic in Mockery) Mockery: Behavior or speech that makes fun of someone or something in a hurtful way. Mockery of entire groups has effectively been criminalized in Western societies. One would think thrice before…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · January 4, 2024
Was it the crime of the state, Or the state of the crime That has my body, soul, and mind Suspended in air; Awaiting the moment, Dreading the time, That will mark its descent to the ground With a thud; Like the thud of a bomb, Like the thud of a…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · January 2, 2024
May all seeking it come to know peace. May all of the wars, violence and conflicts cease. May the fools come to see the folly of their ways. May those suffering come to know better days. May the weary find rest, may the homeless find shelter. May…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · October 19, 2023
I begin by offering my condolences to the families and loved ones of every innocent Palestinian, man, woman, and child who has been unjustly killed during the ongoing illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Likewise, I offer my…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · May 30, 2023
Navigating Differences: Clarifying Sexual and Gender Ethics in Islam Last week, a group of Muslim scholars released a statement outlining a reasoned and reasonable response to the growing challenge the LGBTQIAP+ movement presents to the Muslim…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · April 28, 2023
We often say that some people come into our lives. In many cases as quickly as they come, they go. We might even forget the mundane encounters with many of them, which, if we strain to search the deepest recesses of our memories, we might say we…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · February 23, 2023
So many blessed people have been passing away. May Allah have mercy on Imam Khalil. He attended a seminar I taught a few months ago and I was blown away by his humility and encouragement even as he was an intimate part of the history I was teaching.…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · November 12, 2022
إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُون Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un I first met Brother Mansour Ansari in Washington DC in 1981. It was probably at one of the many rallies occurring around that time in support of the Iranian Revolution,…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · June 10, 2022
In the climate of fear and mistrust of Muslims being carefully cultivated by some elements in this country it is extremely important to be a very public, very visible, very talkative Muslim. Some Muslims would tend to shun this advice thinking that…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · November 20, 2021
In Conversation The phrase “thoughts and prayers” has become overused almost to the point of cliché, but using faith and worship as a tool to get through hardship is as old as recorded history. This week on “In Conversation,” we explored the role of…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · November 4, 2021
The Shaykh directed him to join a cell, That would dispatch the disbelievers to Hell. To clarify just who were the Kuffar, They studied ibn Taymiyya’s fatwa. The one in which he ruled that the Tartar, Despite their Shahada they were Kuffar. As for…
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