DISORDER IN THE COURT

Towards the end of 2011, the Fifth Circuit judicial panel released a highly anticipated opinion affirming the convictions against the five organizers of the former Richardson-based Holy Land Foundation on charges that they conspired to funnel money to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Those who know, love or support them cannot help but feel incredibly sad. We hoped for the vindication they all deserve. 

Ghassan Elashi has been a man of endurance. In spite of his history and his innocence, he is a man of calm. He is a man of faith. This makes him unlike many other men convicted unjustly.  The problem for men of even the strongest faith, are the families who will simply miss those who have loved them a little bit longer.  We must asked Allah that they be entrusted to his care and that He rewards Shukri Abu Baker, Mufid Abdulqader, Abdulrahman Odeh,  Mohammad El-Mezain for the good deeds that have been misrepresented and labeled as crimes. 

Many of us still cannot believe that a gentle and benevolent man like Shukri should  have to lived in a perpetual nightmare where everything he has known, loved, touched or hope to be, has been ruined and disfigured by injustice, prejudice and political deception. These are our brothers who refused to ignore the refugee camps filled with starving children, hopeless men and weeping women made homeless by missiles or the crippled children in the hospitals in Gaza.  These are five men who tried to make the lives of innocent civilians, a little easier as they continue to be force

to live within a political quarantine

What the judges have ruled today, will be remedied one day. Our brothers will be compensated in this life and the one to come. For now, they are committed to keeping the faith, the least we can do is keep them in our dua. 

DISORDER IN THE COURT

The Hijab- It's My Prerogative and My Right

If a mere scarf causes discomfort, dissension and social nullification, then its obvious that there is a problem with the way Muslims are being treated and a problem with how non-Muslims in America are becoming more discriminatory. If we hold each citizen to democracy’s standard that insist on equality for all and privileges for none; of we hold each citizen ot democracy’s standard that each American, regardless of background, has equal standing in the public forum -then we must agree beyond words, that this nation is an inclusive nation rather than an exclusive group of human being where everyone’s voice counts, along with the way they manifest their convictions. Central to making this social transactions is truth, we must acknowledge that everything is not fine here and many people are experiencing  the most cruel kind of punishment form a crime he did not, himself commit.  This basic understanding assures that all parties in the conversation recognize that there are systematic social inequities operating in our society, and that the playing field is not level. We may have different ideas about how to repair unfairness , but an acknowledgment of the such incivilities is essential to a productive solution. 

Following Your Instincts

What we often do, is not only suppress, but divert our ethical instincts because we believe that religious solidarity requires us to do so. We do it by giving preference to a sanctioned subculture. We do it by ignoring the rule or the standard that dictates a difference in the treatment between foreign born and American born. At the end of the day, however, you tell yourself the truth about brotherhood. There are two groups of people called Muslim in America,  They are all real people, in two real worlds, with a real but separate human dilemma. Then I tell myself that this dilemma is enough to bury someone. 

All of a sudden, faith kicks in. Then the belief in amazing grace convinces me that all is not over, a sense of disaster subsides and I feel I have a divine assurance that all of this is going to get better, and with increased awareness and merciful enlightenment, for one more day God has given me the ability to overcome. There isn't anything like that feeling. Its like being born again. Amazing !

Being True to Oneself

 Cultural shenanigans and blatant discrimination often reduced converts to becoming supplicants for acceptance. These were people who were in fact victimized twice though in different theaters. 

Being in such crossfire bore into me and challenged my owe acquiescence. It would be fair to say that every individual who silently complies with an injustice shares some degree of blame. 

As an individual what could I do and how long could I submit to my own fears and weaknesses. Lastly, where does someone turn when there is no voice left to listen to, no map to follow, or no obvious direction? Where is a real hiding place when a woman looks behind her and see that she is only being pursued by herself? 

Without being true to oneself, you lose a sense of definition. I tried to assemble the vestiges of my spirit and fuse it together to create the Muslim I first set out to be. In starting out I was remiss, far too impressionable. I did not know, at first, whom to revere and why, whom to deny all consideration and why, and exactly who had a right to my loyalty. Eventually I learned only after counting out the passing of really tough years. I needed to keep my own visions, not have it give way to behaviors or judgments faulty in ethical principle and practice. 

In the end the issue was not being faithful to America or my Arab or Muslim brothers.  The issue was me and what truths I needed to uphold. Love of religion could not erase a bruised history. 

In had to look inward and examine my own fantasies about brotherhood and identity, patriotism and religion, not only as a psychological phenomenon, but what the force of social and historical implications have on the Muslim individual and his personality. 

Virginity Test is a Result of Strength Uncontested

Virginity Test is a Result of Strength Uncontested

By Khalilah Sabra

          A virginity test is the practice and process of determining whether a female is a virgin, i.e., whether she has engaged in sexual intercourse. The test involves an inspection of a female's hymen, on the assumption that her hymen can only be torn as a result of sexual intercourse; many people believe that a girl is only a virgin if she still has an intact hymen. The hymen is a thin membrane of skin that partially covers the entrance to the female private part. This membrane can rupture from intercourse, but that is not the only scenario that causes a disruption. In addition, neither the presence of the hymen nor bleeding during intercourse can truly indicate virginity. Some girls are born without hymens, others will have hymens that stretch and don’t break during sex, and some will have torn their hymens during sports or when inserting tampons. But this isn’t really the point, is it? It’s not of the government’s business to determine if a woman is a virgin or not, but the ultimate test of its superior strength. There has been no eradication of this kind of violence and no real response whatsoever because the sexual degradation of women is consistently papered over and archived by the media, causing us to be far removed from the actual situation. The events in Egypt will be forgotten and we will move past dealing with such “complex emotions.”

Although Egypt and many Middle Eastern and African countries are joined in spirit through the Islamic and Christian faith, the pull of traditional values remains strong in many of these lands, several amounting to pure cultural transgressions. Several cultural expectations in some countries are vastly different from the others, but sexual discrimination and pattern biases dominate the two regions. While some governments have allowed humanitarian gains for their female populations, others have regressed and gender biases greatly influence how women are perceived and labeled. Picking a lifetime partner is still a family affair. Personal choice, at times, is irrelevant. Marriages are still arranged by parents, with the union considered to be a part of family matters, rather than a relationship between one man and one woman.

The revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, as well as the violence in Libya, have not really enhanced the movement for gender justice and are far from challenging politically sanctioned sexual assault (PSSA). Any speculation that the liberation of women may follow appears to my mind as unrealistic. As long as men believe that they can forcibly control women, they will proceed to do it. In the violent landscape of conflict, it seems inevitable. Sexual abuse seems to be part of the “fallout”  of political conflict and is equally as savage as the other actions of the oppressive class. 

Societies that reprimand women who are “not found to be virgins” and threaten to charge them with prostitution are sanctioning assaults on citizens based on gender and vulnerability. It is more than degrading - it is criminal and an extreme act of perversion.  A woman can kicked, hit, pushed and may attempt to run, but she cannot retaliate in kind.

Human Rights Watch criticized the virginity test as “degrading and unscientific” and a second assault on traumatized women. In its report it raised concerns about Indian courts bringing views of rape victims’ general moral character into their rulings. It is more than “degrading and unscientific.” It is an appalling loss of control over justice and a symptom of an unhealthy society, in which men display contempt for women. It is an ugly characteristic of unnatural behavior that has nothing to do with sex.

Cultural environments, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have erected invisible barriers and act as anchors in the sand when it comes to advancing new ideas about gender equality. Equal rights for women do not fit the existing pattern so it is dismissed, filtered to generalized legal attachments, or subjected to the corners of the parking lot where it will be ignored and unrecognized. Men are bred to be conditioned into recognizing this pattern and advancing the norm, which is usually what has been traditionally defined as conventional behavior of women, or ideas about womanhood, likely to be embraced. 

Amnesty International reports about how women protesters being subject to virginity checks is not uncommon. That they were beaten, given electric shocks, subjected to strip searches while being photographed by male soldiers, then threatened with prostitution charges is another atrocity that follows a history to gender violence following political violence.  Throughout history it has not only been a male prerogative, but man's basic weapon of force women into submission - the primary tool being his will and her fear.

Understanding the anatomy of the opposite sex can help eliminate confusion, stop harassment, and challenge misconceptions, but it won’t make government empowered handlers obtain a moral look at their own attitudes toward this devastating crime unless they are punished for it. Without enforced penalties, these “lawmen” are unless likely to succumb to pressure to do something which they should naturally have the wherewithal to oppose. Man's structural capacity to abuse women has been long ignored and nations have not supported the fact enough that a woman’s body is her own.

Frankness about the subject matter will rankle some people.  Stories of men committing assault against women reveal the darkest side of the social and biological differences as well as the potential conflicts between men and women. This type of behavior evokes the worst aspects of gender and racial stereotyping for both males and females. 

While sexual abusers may have a variety of motivations and those who participate in politically sanctioned sexual assault will vehemently disagree with being labeled as a sexual assailant, this kind of biological warfare should be acknowledged for what it is.  Females will continue to be kept tightly under the rule of men as long as men are not held accountable under the rule of law. 

Women should not fear being grope while traveling, on-route to work or the weekly trip to the marketplace without their husbands or a male escort. Egyptian, Tunisian and Syrian women stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their men when their nations called out for democracy. They have also died in furtherance of the cause. Now that the constitutional mandates are being re-written, will women be left out of the process?

Khalilah Sabra, is Executive director of MAS-Immigrant Justice Center and has provided decision makers, the general public, and members of the legal profession around the world with brief, balanced accounts and analyses of significant social developments and newsworthy events that are typically ignored, involving women’s rights and gender equality and other issues that are critical to understanding and enforcement of foreign judgments, child custody, consular relations, female asylum issues and legal assistance for refugee women. Author of  An Unordinary Death, the Life of a Palestinian” and  “Cleansed: Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia- Herzegovina” were testimonies of women forced to endure rape and, in many cases, give birth to the children of their abusers. 

The Madness of Media

People, typically, can identify all the news that journalists see fit to print, but it’s

more difficult to determine what they chose to ignore. 

Without any meaningful backlash, Islamophobia found its way into the American

mainstream, accessing a national platform and audience through such tributaries

as cable TV and conventional newspapers such as the New York Post and

Washington Times. Imbalances in the way journalists frames news creates an

allusion used to past on biases that overwhelmingly support conservative views.

But then, perception is often the stepchild of stupidity, particularly when

controlled by those with the most to gain. Media, an institution, has erected a

mighty wall between analysis and refutation - one that might promote the

expression of disagreements in print and in public circles of cable discussion. A

venue that purports to provide a ‘fair’ basis for opposition and the building of a

consensus without provocative maneuvers and schemes in reality has allowed

for much of its work to be in concert with those who control the minds of a nation.

“Respected analyst” has strategically created a sense of calm and undeserved

trust while propaganda used to promote rightist point of views have won an

ethical exemption, even while a campaign of bigotry is waged against a selected

group of people. We rarely hear loud spoken voices willingly denouncing

intolerance and support for religious freedom. Prejudice is therefore allowed;

discrimination does not count and oddly appears reasonable. They are not seen

for what they are - immoral, illegal, hateful and unjust.

How Do You Achieve Religious Rights, When You Ideas Are Judged Wrong?

The concern with the growth of “political” Islam is not new and over the last forty years, the rise of Islam and/or the Islamist movement as a political force across the Muslim world is a phenomenon which has been greeted with fear and trepidation by the West. Western scholars and government practitioners have not learned or have flatly refuse to accommodate it. The language of political opposition in the Middle East, then as now, is overwhelmingly Islamic; the question of the day is whether there are any useful distinctions to be made among the various Islamist divisions of ideas, and whether any will permanently accept a democratic model and adhere to a doctrine of "one man, one vote."

This tenacious democracy that once insisted that all; regardless of race or creed, religious rights and independent thought are more likely to secure peace, deter aggression, expand open markets, protect American citizens, combat international dissension and uphold human and rights. Then a tragic and unthinkable event occurs and the tragedy, itself is been overshadowed by the many tragedies of its
aftermath.

Loud voices that once spoke passionately for patriotic values are quieted. The American government curtails the civil liberties of its citizens and patriotic values are not inconsistent with the cultural
contradictions of the post 9/11 Patriot Act. The meaning of patriotism is relatively unclear. A nation which feels entitled to self-defense and even to vengeance willingly condones immigrant registration, profiling, no fly listings, and wide-range security clearances which have been declared by the conservatives as being meritorious. Fairness and reasonable seem irrefutable, regardless of its composition. Champions of the security issue were for the most, the ones governing the discussion. The Framers of an altered Constitution were government officials and they sat the policy for an entire nation. And so their actions, their behavior, spoke to something more than just one system of rights.  Many foreigner born immigrants were left legally vulnerable, because they looked foreign born. Their only argument was justice. But justice, poorly argued, is no match for the political ingenuity of the powerful.

Such a reaction should not come as a total surprise. politics from colonial times, right into the twenty-first century has been plagued by manic delusions. Local political “exaggerations, premonitions and conspiracy fantasies” have existed to complement the more widespread versions. With Armageddon around the corner, alien ships leaving there mark in corn fields, rays from space and the illuminati set to mastermind the events that will lead to the establishment of the new world for, what harm does it do to add another conspiracy to the mix?  Why not spout Islam at the evolving threat to democracy and world civility: a religious ideology thats been around for more than 1400 years? Isn’t it odd that no one saw this dire plot to control the world coming?

America has succumbed to waves of hysteria over various immigrant groups: Chinese, Irish, German, Italian, etc. Then came the Red Scares of the 1920s, followed by concentration camps for Japanese Americans during World War II. After that there was fear of communism and McCarthyite persecution. Then followed the paranoid reaction to the civil rights movement, and on it goes.

Every one of these episodes formed the basis for imagined enemies embedded in the homeland and seeking its ultimate destruction, alleging Orthodox Christianity, along with American democracy is to be destroyed and replaced with Islamic Sharia. Persons with a polytheistic outlook--with rarely an absolute truth associated with its thinking, Ideas of morality (notions of right and wrong) are relative to the individual or culture--are to be suspect as disloyal subversive traitors out to undermine national sovereignty and promote anarchy.

A very old game with a new group to name as the enemy. It’s been happening from the very beginning, since the first pioneers stepped foot on American soil and found others here waiting for them.

It would appear that people are most susceptible to these paranoid feelings and fears under conditions of cultural challenge and social uncertainty. In turn, such uneasiness is subject to manipulation by assorted demagogues, the media and politicians in general. This is particularly the case if outsiders are felt to be a source of trouble.

An American Identity

The emergence of a rigid definition of an “American” identity may actually be a response to the rise of multicultural diversity. A decade of finger-pointing has increased this phenomenon and there seems to be too much to overcome towards initiating a way of reversing this social shift.

Even with globalization and multicultural interaction around the world,  the evolving human mind and its psychosocial needs have not transitioned to the point of favorably responding to the varied definitions of Islamic culture. Both the human mind and other religious institutions of our societies increasingly struggle with tolerating Muslim beliefs, even though to more than a billion people worldwide, Islam is a way of life, a belief system, and a guide.

There has never been a time when the mainstream classes of our modern societies were more aware of and living with conflicting religious claims, sharply distinct sources of meaning, and widely variant claims on ethical norms. Among it all, Islam is the least of the appealing. Dubbed by both its advocates and critics as a political religion, bizarre and unconventional concepts of Islamic fundaments have emerged. In spite of the multiplication of Islamic organizations, Islam remains an enigma to Americans because its essence is still unknown to the average American, although it continues to affect many Americans.  There is, therefore, a profound fear of the unknown or an unwillingness to discover.  

And this is one of the major obstacles towards Christian-Muslim dialogue initiated some time ago, but still at its initial stage, remains cognitively impaired in the United States. 

When Will We Wake Up From the "Dream?"

Every year we celebrate the virtues of Martin Luther King. We celebrate the “Dream.”

I wonder if the “dream” is nothing but a palpable illusion we use to trick ourselves into believing in a democracy that does not truly exist. The “dream” is, sadly, taking us away from the truth. The “dream” is not allowing us to acknowledge that we still manipulate the labor of the poor, segregate schools, disenfranchise the poor and deny our own moral impotency. The “dream” is becoming a familiar myth in progress: a celebration of self-awarded respite from concern for those who continue to suffer and from those who continue to be oppressed in “the land of the free.” 

Three years ago, a group of interfaith torchbearers met in Tel Aviv to commiserate about peace and justice. It was lead by the son of Martin Luther King, Jr. Since then, I have noticed, progress has not picked up speed and moved at rates un-”dreamed” of. American children still go to bed hungry and teeth still rot in the ghetto. 

The “dream” is more of a hallucination. It is like mental illness. There is no basis for optimism. Rage surged in Martin’s time and continues during our time. Rage is more technologically advanced and it has grown worse. Twisted and contorted, the lives of Latinos, Palestinians, detainees at Guantanamo Bay, gender oppressed women, the homeless, the hopeless people of color - all these lives have grown only more intricately twisted into a nightmare that we continue to deny and give proof to the fact that “time does not heal all things” but only makes more of us passive, tranquil and invulnerable observers of the numerous scenes of pain. 

Omid Safi, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, summed it up best when he said, “It is time to stop and ponder not who killed Martin, but who kills the Dream now. A bullet killed Martin on April 4, 1968. We kill Martin every day, we kill the Dream now, when we stand aside and look, when we ignore the prophetic challenge that this beautiful liberated man of God posed to us.”

We as Americans have the most powerful military in the world, a dominant and pervasive culture, some of the best universities, and still one of the most creative economies. As Spiderman once said, "With great power comes great responsibility." This day, every day, if we want to honor Martin, let us realize that: "Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love."

Next year, same time and hopefully significant change in the moral state of mankind

Khalilah Sabra

Muslim American Society

Immigrant Justice Center, Raleigh, NC