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| MESSAGE FROM ISNA PRESIDENT ON THE HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE Dr. Ingrid Mattson Posted on 01/14/10 |
| It has been reported that a prominent Christian leader, Pat Robertson, has said that Haiti has been “cursed” by a “pact with the devil.” Fortunately, this is not the mainstream Christian position and my friend, the Reverend Paul Raushenbush, has rejected Robertson’s “blaming the victims” theology. Religious leaders must take a stance against extremist voices in their community, and I am glad to see Rev. Raushenbush respond to Robertson’s ridiculous and offensive suggestions. As Muslims, we believe that human suffering is not always explainable or understandable. We do know that innocent people suffer all the time, from sickness and natural disaster, and that in such cases, we are required to do two things: First, pray and remember, as the Qur’an says that “to God we belong and to Him we return.” Second, we must help those who are suffering. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, reported in a Sacred Hadith that if we want to be close to God, we should visit the sick and feed the needy. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will say, “O son of Adam, I fell ill and you did not visit me.” The person will say, “O Lord, how could I visit you when You are the Lord of the worlds?” He will say, “Did you not know that So-and-so fell ill and you did not visit him? If you had visited him, you would have found Me with him [the hadith continues].” We realize from this hadith that the path to closeness with God is, after worship, service to humanity. Perhaps the most needy collectivity of people in the world today are the Haitians after enduring this terrible earthquake. Helping the Haitians in this time of need is certainly a sign of religious sincerity. It is also important to realize, however, that this is much more than a “natural” disaster – that this suffering is not just part of God’s inscrutable plan. As was the case of the devastation that followed hurricane Katrina, human negligence and oppression made a challenging natural event into a disaster of hugely devastating proportions. We cannot understand this disaster without asking the question, why is Haiti the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere? The sad reality is that the people of Haiti have endured almost constant oppression and injustice since the first arrival of European colonialists five centuries ago. The indigenous population was nearly completely exterminated following the arrival of Christopher Columbus, and then hundreds of thousands of Africans were enslaved and transported to Haiti, where they endured possibly the most brutal conditions ever experienced by humanity. Deep and enduring oppression continued under French colonialism, and every time Haitians attempted to assert their independence, they were brutally suppressed. After finally winning national independence in the nineteenth century, Haitians did not remain free of foreign interference, and were occupied by the United States in the early twentieth century. Imperialism was followed by a series of dictators in the second half of the twentieth century. Only recently have Haitians been able to restore democratic rule. As we know from the experience of people across the Middle East and Africa, centuries of colonialism and imperialism destroy cultures, families, and all social and economic structures that are needed for a functioning society. The people of Haiti are desperately poor because they have endured centuries of injustice and oppression. It is because of their poverty that their homes and buildings were utterly unsuitable to endure a major earthquake, which scientists have predicted for many years. It is because of their poverty that the people of Haiti do not have even the basic infrastructure and equipment they now need to dig their people out of collapsed buildings and provide them with urgently needed care. This Friday, I ask Imams, Khateebs, and other Muslim leaders to share the message of religious sincerity and compassion with their communities. We need to discuss the significance of the collective obligation to help the poor and needy, to ensure that we go beyond occasional charity to help reform oppressive social and economic structures. Finally, this is a lesson in human solidarity. Our community knows very well the devastation caused to Muslim societies by colonialism and imperialism, but we do not often recognize that others in the world have also suffered from the same history. Surely God will lift up the Muslim community and ease the suffering of our people if we sincerely and earnestly serve our brothers and sisters in humanity – the sons and daughters of Adam - who also cry out for relief. ____________________________________________________ |
| NATIONAL PRIORITIES TALLIES COST OF WAR THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2010 Portside.org Posted on 01/13/10 |
| $747 billion for Iraq $299 billion for Afghanistan Congress has appropriated an additional $136.8 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the 2010 fiscal year. National Priorities Project estimates that for this fiscal year, $64.5 billion is directed to Iraq and $72.3 billion to Afghanistan. Bills that included war-related funding were the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 2892) passed on October 28, 2009; the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 3288) passed on December 16, 2009; and the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 3326) passed on December 19, 2009. These new appropriations bring total war-related spending for Iraq to $747.3 billion and for Afghanistan to $299 billion, with total war costs of $1.05 trillion[1]. National Priorities Project (NPP) updated its Cost of War counters to reflect the new totals and to show the local costs of these wars to states and many cities. NPP's trade-off tool allows you to explore what services could be obtained for your community with the same amount of money that Congress has appropriated for war spending. These current year appropriations do not include funds to support the "surge" of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan proposed by the Obama administration on December 1, 2009. Conservative estimates suggest that it will cost approximately $30 billion to fund this surge. Supplemental appropriations for this funding are expected later this year. Since 2001, the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and related activities have been funded through emergency supplemental appropriations. In a clear departure from this practice, the Obama administration integrated the FY2010 war funding into the core budget appropriations process. While this process purportedly allows for greater scrutiny and control over the allocation of tax dollars relative to the emergency supplemental funding process, it has - ironically - also become more difficult to ascertain the exact spending amounts directed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Past supplemental bills outlined funding almost exclusively for war costs whereas departmental appropriations combine these war costs with all other departmental funds for the entire fiscal year. War funding was found within three separate appropriations bills with the bulk of money in the Defense Appropriations Bill passed just before Congress left for their winter break. In addition to defense funding, this bill was used to extend Food Stamp benefits (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - SNAP), unemployment benefits, and COBRA payments to continue health insurance coverage for the unemployed[2]. NPP will continue to follow Iraq and Afghanistan war funding including any supplemental bills to support the Afghanistan surge that has already begun as well as any other additional war costs. For more information: 413.584.9556 or www.nationalpriorities.org. [1]Total war funding to date includes all approved funds for Afghanistan since FY2001 plus all approved funds for Iraq since FY2003. See also CRS Report RL33110 September 2009. Please note that funding estimates for FY2007-2009 have been revised in this updated report on which our estimates are based. [2]The cost of these extensions was not included in the bill but NPP estimates place funding for these three programs at approximately $40-$45 billion. ____________________________________________________ |
| ‘ NEVER SHOULD A BELIEVER KILL A BELIEVER, EXCEPT BY MISTAKE …’ Qur’an 4:92 Aminah McCloud Posted on 02/15/09 |
| To say that I am outraged at the acts of some Muslims is an understatement. One week it is a father or should I say sperm donor, giving his eight year old daughter to a friend to marry in exchange for a debt. Why wasn’t he jailed and the child returned to her mother who risked imprisonment to speak out? Well, because a heralded grand spiritual leader says that it is just fine for an older man to marry a female child and then, rather than dealing with this horrendous act, other spokespersons accuse the West of sensationalism on this one issue. It is not just that some Muslims have problems with the western notion of democracy; Muslims seem to have problems with justice, ethical standards and what is good period. While it is true, that Western media focus on acts like these; why not eliminate the acts and then deal with western media? How can we American Muslims not call for what is morally right and just? Perhaps it is because too many American Muslims are cowards in the face of such acts in this the 21st century. We must turn to the Qur’an and stand up for what is right, no matter who it is perpetrating the wrong. Many American Muslims seem to have laryngitis when it comes to atrocious acts on the part of Muslims all the while decrying acts done to Muslims. We never protest or demand justice when the act is done by a Muslim. What’s wrong with this picture? This past weekend the highly praised CEO and founder of Bridges TV allegedly beheaded (he is not convicted still) his wife who was in the process of divorcing him. Well, surely domestic violence is not new in the American Muslim community as there are shootings, burnings and other types of murder occurring all the time. A few Muslims have attempted to confront the issue on polite terms thus ensuring that nothing will be done. This is akin to what the Catholic Church did with knowledge of pedophilia. Muslims should be asking for the death penalty for this once praised man. My God, a beheading in the 21st century in the United States!? What next? Muslims remained silent during the burnings, beatings and so on, that have taken place in America in the past few years. We must know what is happening in our communities and take actions immediately to eliminate criminal and unethical acts. THIS IS NOT A CASE OF HIDING THE FAULTS OF ONE’S BROTHER BECAUSE OF ONE’S OWN FAULTS. IF YOUR FAULTS INCLUDE MURDER AND OR DOMESTIC ABUSE, THE COMMUNITY OUGHT NOT HIDE THEM BUT EXPOSE THEM. Unreflective thinkers on the internet are decrying western solutions (such as putting perpetrators of crimes or immoral acts in jail) to a universal problem– the violent abuse of women, and want to just forget about it. Many American Muslims just like their Muslim world counterparts have consistently ignored sensitive yet extremely serious issues such as domestic violence by claiming that the issues should be relegated to some mufti or ‘alim who has no authority or education on the issues. Any solution found or offered in the American context is also consistently declared an innovation. Well, we are in America and if this is what you think then need I say where those folks can go!!! Go on and continue to worry about innovation while Muslim women die at the hands of Muslim men and see where that will take you. Just as Muslim women are beginning to find out that they are Muslim too and Allah says what believers are to do in the face of injustice; many more will decide to take matters of continued domestic violence into their own hands. Continue to welcome abusers into the masjid and one day it will be on fire with the anger. ‘Contend not on behalf of such as betray their own souls …’ Qur’an 4:107 ____________________________________________________ |
| Obama Reaches Out |
John Esposito Posted on 02/03/09 “Obama’s message did strike many of the right chords. He spoke directly to the peoples of the Muslim world, not to its rulers. He communicated a sense of respect, humility and at the same time confidence and conviction. His message was one that emphasized the importance of mutual understanding and respect for the peoples of the Muslim world, declaring 'my job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people…My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy.' Obama also emphasized a new readiness to listen rather than to dictate.” View Esposito's full post. ____________________________________________________ |
| A Reason to Remain Hopeful |
Jen'nan Ghazal Posted 02/02/09 “The significance of this interview and his message cannot be overstated. It goes beyond merely re-infusing hope in the Arab and Muslim American communities. It has the potential to start changing how the 1.2 billion Muslims around the world view the United States. It has the potential to start changing how the international community, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, views America’s seemingly unilateral approach to policies in the Middle East.” View Read's full post. ____________________________________________________ |
| This Is Our Moment |
Robert Bellah Posted on 01/15/2009 For a long time after November 4, I found it hard to believe that Barack Obama had actually been elected President of the United States. Even as his inauguration approaches I still find it a remarkable moment in our history. There are two things I want to comment on about Obama: his person and what he stands for. Mostly I want to discuss the latter, but just a word about the former. What is most remarkable about him as a person is that he is a grown-up. Growing up is a task for everyone in every society and most of us don’t do a very good job of it. Even highly gifted people, in the arts and sciences as well as politics, are often not very grown up, or have obvious personal flaws, even when we admire them. I’m not saying that Obama is perfect—no one is. But he shows the quality of maturity that the great classical philosophies, Confucian or Stoic for example, tried to inculcate in their followers. Extraordinary intelligence helps but we know many brilliant people who are not very grown up. Extraordinary ethical sensitivity is closer to the core of what it means to be grown up. My amazement and near disbelief in Obama’s victory is that I never again expected an American president to be so grown up. In my lifetime some have come close to the mark, but for me the clearest previous example is Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whom I, as a very young person, heard and admired. Rest of the Article ____________________________________________________ |
Obama Calls For Bold New Economic Course
posted on 01/12/2009
Faced with the biggest economic crisis sincethe Great Depression, President-elect Barack Obama already has assumedthe burden of the presidency — and with it the opportunity to shape hislegacy and make the economy go boom or bust.
Twelve days before taking the oath of office,Obama on Thursday urged Congress to act swiftly on his still-emergingplan to ignite the smoldering economy or risk sinking "deeper into acrisis that at some point, we may not be able to reverse."
"For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, moreAmericans will lose their jobs. More families will lose their savings.More dreams will be deferred and denied," he said. "That's why I'masking Congress to work with me and my team day and night, on weekendsif necessary, to get the plan passed in the next few weeks."
Rest of the Article
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