PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — School teacher Darlene Derosier lost her home in the 2010 earthquake that devastated her country. Her husband died a month later after suffering what she said was emotional trauma from the quake. She and her two daughters now live in tents outside the capital of Port-au-Prince, surrounded by thousands of others made homeless and desperate by the disaster.

What's helped pull her through all the grief, she said, has been her faith, but not of the Catholic, Protestant or even Voodoo variety that have predominated in this island country. Instead, she's converted to a new religion here, Islam, and built a small neighborhood mosque out of cinderblocks and plywood, where some 60 Muslims pray daily.

Islam has won a growing number of followers in this impoverished country, especially after the catastrophe two years ago that killed some 300,000 people and left millions more homeless. A capital where church attendance is so prevalent that the streets echo with Christian hymns on Sundays now has at least five mosques, a Muslim parliament member and a nightly local television program devoted to Islam.

The disaster drew in aid groups from around the world, including Islamic Relief USA, which built 200 shelters and a secondary school with 20 classrooms.

"After the earthquake we had a lot of people join," said Robert Dupuy, an imam or Islamic spiritual leader in the capital. "We were organized. We had space in the mosques to receive people and food to feed them."

Derosier said she was drawn to the religion's preaching of self-discipline, emphasis on education and attention to cleanliness. The constant washing, she said, helps her and other Muslims avoid cholera, the waterborne illness that health officials say has sickened nearly 600,000 people and killed more than 7,500 others since surfacing after the quake.

"This is a victory for me," the 43-year-old woman said about her post-quake conversion. The former Protestant spoke in the tent-filled courtyard of her home, her face framed by a clean, black head scarf. "It's a victory that I received peace and found guidance."

In part, the Muslim community's growth can be attributed to the return of expatriates who adopted the faith in the U.S., said Kishner Billy, owner of the island's Telemax TV station and host of the nightly program "Haiti Islam."

Billy and some others believe that Islam's Haitian past goes back before the country's independence in 1804, and that a Jamaican slave and Voodoo priest named Boukman who led the slave revolt that ousted French colonizers was actually a Muslim.

"Islam is coming back to Haiti to stay," said Billy, who says he converted from Christianity 20 years ago. "Future generations, my sons and daughters, will speak about Islam."

There are no firm statistics on the number of Muslims in Haiti, just as there are no reliable figures for many things in the country, including Port-au-Prince's exact population.

A 2009 study by the Pew Research Center on the world's Muslim population estimated that Haiti had about 2,000 devotees. Islamic leaders in the country insist the figure is much higher and growing.

Islam is hardly unknown in the Caribbean; countries such as Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname andGuyana have significant Muslim populations. Many of those nations have strong roots in countries such as India and Indonesia where Islam is widespread.

The ancestors of Haitians, by contrast, were brought largely from non-Muslim areas of Africa. Haiti's French colonial rulers also imported their Christian beliefs.

The recent growth of Islam, as well as other new religions, shows Haiti is modernizing and becoming more pluralistic, said Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, a professor of Africology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"Inroads made by Islam (and by extension, by Mormonism and Rastafarianism) tell me that Haiti is very much a product of this century, subject to all winds, ill-winds and otherwise, that blow over the Caribbean nation-states," Bellegarde-Smith wrote in an email.

Rosedany Bazille, a 39-year-old teacher who converted several months after the earthquake, said she had felt rudderless before embracing the religion and was looking for a way forward.

"Islam can put people on the right path and show them who's God," she said.

Some Haitian Muslims belong to the Nation of Islam, a U.S.-based branch of the religion that preaches black self-determination. Some local members converted while serving time in U.S. prisons before being deported back to Haiti. The group's leader, Louis Farrakhan, visited the country for the first time last year.

The decision to convert has made some targets of discrimination.

The Haitian government doesn't recognize Islam as an official religion, nor does it honor Muslim marriages. Wearing the skullcaps or flowing head scarves typical of the religion can draw stares and finger-pointing. Derosier said her neighbors gossip that she's evil.

Voodoo, a blend of West African religions created by slaves during the colonial period, has long been a popular faith in the country, with elements followed even by some of the 85 percent of the population who claim Christian beliefs. Voodoo was once so commonly embraced that the notorious dictator Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier used it to terrify and control the masses.

Most Christian Haitians identify themselves as Roman Catholics. A priest, the Rev. Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was elected president in 1990 by opposing the hereditary dictatorship that continued with Francois' son, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.

With so much still wrong in Haiti, the need for Islam couldn't be greater, said Billy. Two months ago, he launched his live talk show to educate his compatriots about his adopted faith.

"Haiti has gone astray. It can't produce anything," said Billy. "Right now Haitians just want a visa to go the United States, to Canada. They don't want to stay in Haiti."

With a tapestry of Mecca and praying crowds as a backdrop to his TV show one recent evening, Billy and his co-host Ruben Caries invited watchers to send questions about Islam via text messages.

Billy's BlackBerry buzzed with missives, including this one in Creole: "M vle vini Muslim" — "I want to be a Muslim."

 

Parents go to concert, leave baby in trunk

Now they want their baby back

MONDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- For better health, try standing up more, a new study suggests. Those who spend 11 or more hours a day sitting are 40 percent more likely to die over the next three years regardless of how physically active they are otherwise, researchers say.

Analyzing self-reported data from more than 222,000 people aged 45 and older, Australian researchers found that mortality risks spike after 11 hours of total daily sitting but are still 15 percent higher for those sitting between 8 and 11 hours compared to those sitting fewer than 4 hours per day.

"The evidence on the detrimental health effects of prolonged sitting has been building over the last few years," said study author Hidde van der Ploeg, a senior research fellow at the University of Sydney. "The study stands out because of its large number of participants and the fact that it was one of the first that was able to look at total sitting time. Most of the evidence to date had been on the health risks of prolonged television viewing."

The study is published in the March 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Average adults spend 90 percent of their leisure time sitting down, van der Ploeg said, and fewer than half meet World Health Organization recommendations for 150 minutes of at least moderate-intensity physical activity each week.

The data was collected as part of Australia's 45 and Up Study, a large, ongoing study of healthy aging. Strikingly, the elevated risks for dying from all causes remained even after taking into account participants' physical activity, weight and health status.

Sixty-two percent of participants said they were overweight or obese (a similar proportion to Americans), while nearly 87 percent said they were in good to excellent health, and one-quarter said they spent at least 8 hours each day sitting.

Inactive participants who sat the most had double the risk of dying within three years compared to active people who sat least, van der Ploeg said, and among physically inactive adults, those who sat the most had nearly one-third higher odds of dying than those who sat least.

Because many people must sit for long hours at their jobs, they should make sure a greater portion of their leisure time is spent standing, walking or engaging in other movement, said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women and Heart Disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and a spokesperson for the American Heart Association.

"Yes, you have to work, but when you go home it's so important you don't go back to sitting in front of the computer or television," Steinbaum said. "After the 8-hour mark, the risks go up exponentially. It's really about what you're doing in your leisure time and making the decision to move."

Several workplaces in Australia are testing sit-stand work stations, van der Ploeg said -- a generally well-received initiative that may be a future option for other offices. "Try ways to break up your sitting and add in more standing or walking where possible," she suggested.

While the study uncovered an association between total sitting hours and death risk, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

The study was limited by the relatively short follow-up period of less than three years, experts said, which may have obscured undiagnosed health problems among participants that could have led to earlier death. Dr. David Friedman, chief of heart failure services at North Shore Plainview Hospital in Plainview, N.Y., said those who sit longer "tend to be sicker, have obesity issues and cardiovascular problems. Perhaps they're less ambulatory in the first place."

Van der Ploeg acknowledged these limitations and said more studies will need to replicate the findings and focus more on sitting's influence on developing conditions such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

"Studies that measure sitting time with activity monitors instead of questionnaires will also help build the evidence base," she said. "All these studies will further inform us of the exact relationship between sitting and health conditions, which ultimately will result in public health recommendations like we already have for physical activity."

More information

Read more about the World Health Organization's physical activity recommendations.

 

Egyptian protesters had a grim anniversary on Friday, one year after soldiers cleared demonstrators from Cairo's Tahrir Square, and forcibly subjected some female detainees to "virginity tests."

 

When going to a local market, a pond, or even a farm, you notice some animals here and there either being sold or being free. You look around and you meet the gaze of a beautiful duckling waddling away in the little box-like cage.  This isn’t just any duck; you have met the eyes of a cute, cuddly, yellow, fluffy, orange-beaked, short-winged, webbed-feet, black-eyed pekin duck. Yes, it’s called a pekin duck. These quacking creatures can be found at almost any market, or farmhouse and they’re very easy to take care of.

            While you purchase a duck, the salesman or farmer would most likely offer to give you duck-feed. If not, you can go to your city pet shop, in the mall or even at some wholesale stores. Note that a duck can cost from five to ten dollars and the duck feed is well around three. This feed can give you 1-2 months worth of food for your duck.

            Feeding a duck is very simple. A baby duck has difficulty with eating dry food; therefore, you should put them in a shallow pool of water or bath tub. All you have to do is pour the duck-feed into it. The duck can easily eat it with no harm done. But be sure to let it have its fun in the pool, you don’t want to imprison your own pet! When the duck grows older and starts changing its feathers from yellow to white, you need to fix a change in its diet. You may start adding a little more variety in its food, such as: oats from oatmeal (soaked in very warm water to prevent your duck from choking.) green peas, lettuce, tomatoes, and other vegetables mostly found at your local supermarket or grocery store. It’s still a good idea to lay the food into the water that is now raised to reach the bottom edge of your duck’s wings.

            Pekin ducks are instinctively great at swimming so you can gradually raise the level of water after the duck finishes its food. It is a very good way to exercise their legs. You can also help them stay healthy by letting them outside so it can flap its wings freely. Many people cut the animal’s wings off because they’re afraid it might fly away, but don’t worry, it can fly as far as a chicken. Be sure to let them out in a gated area so they don’t wander off. Look out for your neighbors, make sure they don’t see or hear your duck, I’m sure you don’t want them to be stolen the next time you check on them.

            *A duck has predators, don’t leave them out at night, when they are babies keep them in the box they bought in. If not, get some kind of storage box in your house or buy one at a supply shop. When they grow up, you may need to get them an enormous plastic container. Note that a duck doesn’t grow very big.

            When the duck grows, their poop grows too. This is one of your advantages and you have to use this wisely. A duck’s poop is like fertilizer, an excellent food source for your garden plants. Don’t be scared of the poop because they only eat vegetables. Place newspaper inside of the outline of your box so you can easily remove it each time you take the duck out, remember to replace it! To avoid being pooped on, just face the duck’s rear end away from you when you carry it.

            It is very easy to carry a duck. All you need to do is place your hands underneath the duck, in front of its legs. The duck may attempt to scratch you with its webbed feet, but all you have to do is ignore it. The duck’s beak is fairly sharp, so you may have to try to steer clear of it.

            It’s very important to have fun with your duck. A very safe and simple way is by what I call, “the nibble.” All you need to do is take your fingers and reach them around your duck’s beak, don’t be harsh, just hold it out there. Make sure NOT to grab their beak, they can severely suffocate. Their nibbles aren’t painful unless you attack them, they can really SNAP!

            You may be wondering how to tell the distinction between a male and a female duck. There are a variety of differences. Female ducks are larger in size compared to their small and muscular brother. Male ducks, because of their size, are very fast and jumpy, therefore harder to catch than the females who are slow and wobbly. Their main difference is that the male has a quieter, more raspy quack than the females. The feminine’s voice is loud and clear to call out to her offspring. Note that you can only notice these differences once they’ve grown up.

            “Aw, how time goes by fast!” You might say after 6-7 months of taking care of your young beauty. The duck has grown about four times its size than when you first laid eyes on them.

            You bought your duck in the spring and raised it all throughout the summer. As time goes on, the seasons change as well. Leaves change color and suddenly its cool and windy outside. Remember that a duck can survive during the winter. All you need to do is keep it in a safe and warm area. I, personally, would prefer you kept it under your porch. You may leave it in your house whether it’s in your bedroom or your basement.

            When your duck is grown, you can do whatever you’d like with it: let it live for as long as it can, or… eat it. Ducks are very famous in most restaurants and very expensive too. You can do yourself a favor and try it out. As I would say, it’s easier to hold on to something rather than to let it go.

Every day we hear about the negative impacts human beings are having on the environment. It is so important to take care of and preserve one of the greatest gifts Allāh has given us: the planet.

Composting is one of the most daunting but easiest ways to make your home eco-friendly.  It reduces your garbage and produces a rich supplement for your garden soil.

Fact: The U.S. is the #1 trash-producing country in the world at 1,609
pounds per person per year, 3/4 of which is organic garbage that can be composted.

Fact: In the UK households throw away 8.3 million tons of food every year.

Make your Deen Green Tip: Compost.

Ever thought about composting your trash, but never followed up because it seemed too hard? Composting is good for the Earth and we will be held accountable for our actions- even the seemingly small ones like throwing away banana peels.

Take your:

-tea bags

-grass clippings

-dryer lint

-hair clippings

-houseplant trimmings

-shredded newspaper

-fruit and veggie peels and scraps

-egg shells- crush them first

-cardboard egg crates- wet and crush

Get your kids involved-my daughter is my composting buddy. She helps me crush up the egg crates and throw it all into the heap.  Composting is the best way for children to witness how Allāh has created the cycle of life.

And put it in THIS:

My poor little composting container  It is just a tall, plastic Tupperware container with a cover- I need to get a new one (sheepish grin). They have ones with carbon filters to keep the smell at bay.

We save the scraps and dump it in here. I have the gardener put the grass clippings in it.  The soil that you harvest from it is so rich, and smells so good  like EARTH.  I don't ever buy soil amendments.

Do not add:

-meat

-bones

-grease

-bread (sometimes attracts rats or too many bugs)

There will be bugs but when you turn it once in a while, it's not that bad.

Doesn't this remind you of the āyah in the Qurʾān:

 

See you not, that Allāh sends down water (rain) from the sky, and causes it to penetrate the earth, (and then makes it to spring up) as water-springs and afterward thereby produces crops of different colors, and afterward they wither and you see them turn yellow, then He makes them dry and broken pieces. Verily, in this, is a Reminder for men of understanding. (Sūrat'l-Zumar, 39:21)

 

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Some hats I made from friends and family. The blue and black one is from my friend and her husband. The black and pink one is for my sister. We have little contact and I am hoping this gift will help open a door between us. The brown one is for my husbands friend, hubby asked me to make it for him.

I made this for my mom for her birthday on Feb 28th. I got it mailed off late,  hope she will get it today or Monday inshaAllah. She loves colors, and blue is her favorite color, so this is what I came up with :D

This one is for my father in law. He said he wanted his blue and white, and when I went yarn shopping I found this beautiful multi colored yarn that was blue and white. It's so soft to mashaAllah. I used a bigger needle(size 11) on the scarf, took me a little bit to get used to using a bigger size lol. And the yarn made these really cool stipes in the scarf, looks so nice mashaAllah.

This one is for my mother in law, she asked for purple. I had planned on making all my inlaw...

Based on a khutbah by imām Omar Suleiman.  

By Ammar M Ali.

Video Link to khutbah by imām Omar Suleiman (video cannot be embedded).

Once upon a time, three bulls lived in a forest: one white, one brown, and one black. They were brothers and lived together in harmony. In that forest also lived a tiger that had his eye on the bulls. But every time he attempted to attack one of them, the others came to his aid, and together they drove the tiger away.

The tiger decided that he needed to improve his strategy. So one day, when the black bull was away, the tiger approached the other two and whispered, You know, the black bull is black, dirty, and evil. Why do you keep him with you? He is a disgrace to you both. You are beautiful and noble. If the black bull is no longer here, you will have all off this land to yourself. He takes away your food and adds no value to you. The two bulls listened to the tiger's spiel and said, After all, he is our brother. What can we do?

You need not do anything, said the tiger. I will do what needs to be done. Just turn your back, and don't come to the aid of the black bull when he calls you. They agreed.

The next day, they heard the black bull calling desperately for help. They listened to him in his anguish and continued to graze. Gradually, the cries for help ceased, and the two brothers avoided eye contact. The luscious green grass wiped away memories, and after a short while, it was as if the black bull never existed.

Then one day, the tiger came to the white bull when he was alone and said, Are you happy with the advice I gave you? Did I not advise you well? Now here is some more advice: you are the real king of the forest. You are white and clean, beautiful and pure, wise and holy. You deserve to live in solitary splendor like a king. Why do you need the brown bull? He is an embarrassment to you. The white bull asked skeptically, Well, what should I do?

Nothing at all. Turn your back, and ignore his screams. I will take care of the rest.

The next day, the white bull heard the dying screams of the brown bull and closed his ears as he went back to his grazing.

The white bull lived by himself for a few days, grazing where he wanted and drinking from the clean streams of the forest. One morning, the tiger came again. From the look in his eyes, the white bull knew that this visit was different, and suddenly his whole life flashed before his eyes. He recalled the time when the three brothers stood together, shoulder to shoulder, and recalled all the incidents since then. As the tiger sat before him, not in any hurry, knowing that the result was pre-determined, the white bull said to him,

I do not die today. I died the day the black bull died.1

In October 2011, a graphic video sparked outrage as it spread across the Internet. Surveillance camera footage showed a two-year-old girl in southern China, who was run over by two vans while wandering through a market, where her parents run a shop. Both of the drivers sped off without checking the girl's condition. In addition, 18 people walked, cycled, or drove past the toddler as she lay bleeding in the busy market. Not a single one of them chose to protect, help, or even scrape her dying body off the floor.

Upon hearing stories like these, I am reminded of the statement from our beloved Prophet ,

“A time will come when adultery with women will be committed in the middle of the street, and nobody will object to this.”2

No matter where we are in the world, filth is being shoved down our throats. We are exposed to nudity in movies, lewdness in magazines, and vulgarity in music. Shameless acts are not only discussed, but are propagated and encouraged on the Internet. Turn on the news, sports games, and now even programming targeted towards children, and it becomes clear that we cannot escape it. We breathe it in and expose our eyes and ears to it, but no one says anything about it. Instead, we have become so desensitized, that we're left unfazed.

When people see wrong or evil and they don't change it, then it is eminent that the punishment of Allāh will fall upon them [all.]”3

With the passing of time, this chronic muteness is spreading rapidly, and is sparing no one. Not even us Muslims; the so-called people of truth and justice. The people whom Allāh (swt) praises in the Qurʾān: “You are the best ummah singled out of all of mankind:” Why are we the best? Because, “you enjoin what is right (ma'roof), forbid what is wrong (munkar), and believe in Allāh.”4

This passiveness has corroded our hearts to such an extent, that is has become the norm to turn a blind eye, to pretend to not see anything, and to ignore injustice and transgression taking place before our very eyes.

Rasoolullah said, “The similitude of believers in regard to mutual love, affection, fellow-feeling is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever”5

How can we call ourselves believers, when we know this full-well, yet sleep peacefully throughout the night? When we know our limbs around the world are in excruciating pain, yet feel nothing. When our brothers and sister are literally suffocating their own souls in front of our eyes, by committing the most evil sins, and we remain mute. What has happened to us? We used to be the best at caring for each other, and in turn became the best of all people. Now we pretend that we don't see what's going on, and presume we're not responsible. That it's every man for himself.

And just like that, we have become the white bull.

Rasoolullah said, “He who believes in Allāh and the Last Day, let him not sit at a table where liquor is served.6 It is narrated in the books of fiqh, that four men who drank alcohol were brought to 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azeez and he ordered that they be lashed. It was said to him, one among them didn't drink, rather he is fasting. Umar -[ra] said, “start with him.” For he knew of the evil around him, and remained silent.

Rasoolullah said, Whosoever of you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hands; and if he is not able to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart; and that is the weakest of faith.7

Do: It is said that Bashar Al-Assad's father massacred around 40,000 people in the city of Hama in 1982. We must realize that the reason Al-Assad cannot oppress and butcher innocent civilians as blatantly as his father did, is because of the presence of reporters, videos, and the internet. All of this public pressure was not possible in 1982 in Hama. We must therefore, never trivialize acts that we deem insignificant. However little it may be, some good will come out of acts like petitioning and holding demonstrations in front of embassies.

Speak: When asked why we don't speak out against transgression, let it be against other human beings, or against our own souls, how often do we hear excuses like “we don't want to seem judgmental” or “we don't want to feel awkward” or “we are afraid of appearing too 'conservative.'” For this reason, many of our scholars and imams don't make global injustices and tyrannical oppression the subject of their sermons and talks. Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi, the famous scholar from Andalus, was so frustrated and fed up with the situation of the scholars and the imams of Andalus, that he said, “Do not be deceived by these corrupt people, who claim to be scholars while they are wearing the skins of sheep on hearts of wolves. They are doing nothing for the Ummah. The Ummah is falling down, the Ummah is being fought against, the land of Andalus is being invaded, and they are talking about other issues.” Rasoolullah said, The best Jihad is a speech of truth in the presence of a tyrant ruler.8 Yes, it is usually tough. But we must still “say the truth, even if bitter [for you].”9

Feel: And if you are too weak to say something, then at least hate it in your heart. For so long have we allowed poison to seep into our hearts through our eyes and ears that we no longer feel. We have become numb. We are more hurt over the death of one celebrity, then we are over the death of thousands of our brothers and sisters around the world. When we see an inhumane tyrant who is killing children in front of their mothers just for a little bit of power, the least we can do is despise it in our hearts. When you see your brother and sister saying and doing filthy things, at least feel a sense of disgust in your heart. Keeping in mind though, that you hate the sin, because of your love for the sinner. Unfortunately we have strayed so far from this point, that the only time we feel hate or disgust, is when we despise a particular individual; we have learned to hate the sinner, and could care less about the sin.

However, when those of us with a little bit of decency look around at the transgression and tyranny in the world, we feel an immense amount of pain. How can we not feel pain when we see those who lack an ounce of humanity in them? How can we not feel pain when we see a barbarian kill his own civilians and his own population? No human can abduct and kidnap 10-year old kids and torture them to death. No human can take a warplane and bomb it upon a civilian building. This is not a part of humanity. How can we not feel pain when the world is silent as this happens all around us? How can we not feel pain when the thirst of oil led NATO and the UN to intervene for Libya, but they leave the people of Syria to die and rot?

Let us realize that Allāh (swt) is testing us. Just as He is testing them with deprivation, bloodshed, oppression, and death, He is testing us with the opposite. Allāh (swt) wants to see whether we break out of these luxurious lives that we have immersed ourselves in, and take on some discomfort for His sake. Our Lord is filtering out those amongst us with true faith, versus those amongst us who only claim to have it. “Do people think that they will be left alone because they say we believe, and will not be tested? We indeed tested those before them. And Allāh will certainly make it known the truth of those who are true, and will certainly make it known the falsehood of those who are liars.”10

It is at times like these, that weak start to doubt their lord and ask questions like, “O Allāh, are You not seeing what's happening? Why are You allowing this?”  However, we must never lose our hope in Allāh (swt). We must place our trust in him, and show the world that we are Muslims, and we will never lose faith in our Lord. When we think to ourselves “When will the help of Allāh come,” let us be reminded, “Verily, the help of Allāh is near.”11 It is in this last year that we have seen multiple tyrants fall like dominoes, one after the other. How can we lose hope in Allāh (swt) when we have seen how He humiliated them?

There is no doubt that a day will come on which Allāh (swt) will punish the wicked transgressors.

Rasoolullah (saw) said, “Verily Allāh gives respite to the oppressor. But when He seizes him, He does not let him escape”12

But what about us? What alibi will we present when our brothers and sisters stand up before Allāh and say, “he knew that thousands of us are being tortured and killed, but he turned away and kept silent. All he did was change the channel, and stayed away, because it looked too 'messy' to him.” What excuse can we possibly give when they tell our Lord, “I cried for his help, but he laid in his bed sleeping. He turned a blind eye, and by doing so, handed me over to the oppressor. I bled, and it didn't affect him in the slightest.”

What will be the case when your best friend in this world, who will then be your worst enemy, appears before you with tears in his eyes and says, “I thought we were friends? You saw me sin every single day, you saw me do things I wasn't supposed to do, you saw me transgress the bounds that were set by our Lord. Why did you never say anything? Where were you? I don't understand why have you done this to me. You could have saved me. You could have helped me. Why didn't you correct me? O Allāh, You told him we are brothers, but he treated me like a stranger.”

What will your answer be on that day? “Oh, I didn't want you to think I'm judgmental, I didn't want to seem 'backwards,' I didn't want to look too 'extreme,' I didn't want to appear too 'religious.'” Umar [ra] said, “I seek refuge in a day, that the one that's disobedient is proud of his disobedience, and the ones that's obedient is shy and embarrassed of his obedience.” We have turned into silent ghosts that can't even save our friends from the hellfire, out of fear of coming off as awkward or strange. Have we forgotten that Rasooullah said, “Islam began as something strange and will revert to being strange as when it began, so give glad tidings to the strangers.”13

“Imagine a person dying of dehydration, and he needs a sip of water, and you've got that bottle of water in your pocket. But you say, 'I don't think I'm going to give it to him because I think he might feel a little degraded if I go down and put water in his mouth. He's going to feel like an animal, I will let him die instead.” -Omar Suleiman

What have we done to save our fellow bulls from the tiger?

We ask Allāh (swt) to grant us the decency to feel pain for humanity. We ask Allāh (swt) to grant us the dignity to beg Him in the middle of the night. O Allāh! Respond to the prayers of the oppressed, just as you have promised. O Allāh! Lift the massacres and bloodshed. O Allāh! Grant them fortitude and patience. O Allāh! Accept their martyrs and comfort their widows. O Allāh! Send your tranquility and mercy to those who are living deprived amongst them. O Allāh! Cause us to feel hate and disgust when we see injustice, transgression, and sin. O Allāh! Grant us the courage to stand up to the oppressive devils of the world, and moreover, to stand up to the devils within.

Āmīn.

“Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice to go on. But I'm afraid He would ask me the same question.” –Anonymous

 

1. Old Arab legend

2. [Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p.142]

3. [Abu Dawood and others]

4. [Qurʾān 3:110]

5. [Muslim]

6. [Tirmidhi (2801)]

7. [Muslim]

8. [Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi]

9. [Related by Ahmad from Abu Dharr]

10. [Qurʾān 29:2-3]

11. [Qurʾān 2:214]

12. [Bukhāri and Muslim]

13. [Muslim]

Often times we get quite frustrated and upset with where we are in our lives.  We feel like our drama and trials are more intense that other people's situations.  We can feel helpless, frustrated, annoyed, or even possibly hopeless.  However, let us take a step back and reflect on why certain events occur in our lives and why we should be content with our lives no matter what the situation.  Furthermore, at the very least, we should not question why something has happened to us.

Let's take a moment and reflect on the story of Adam and Iblis.  Adam and Iblis, in general, both committed “mistakes” when it came to their encounters with each other.  Iblis refused to bow down to Adam when he was commanded to do so, while Adam ate from the forbidden tree when he was prohibited from doing so.  Why is that Adam was forgiven while Iblis was condemned?  Indeed, eating from the forbidden tree was a “mistake” while refusing to bow down was a “mistake.”  Why are Iblis's actions described as an act of kufr?  Where is the disbelief/kufr in Iblis's actions?  Why is that Iblis committed an act of kufr while Adam did not?  Many scholars explain the situation by referring to the words that Iblis uttered when he was asked why he refused to bow down.  Iblis responded by saying he was better than Adam.  By saying he was better than Adam, Iblis claimed that he did not need to bow down to Adam, which insinuated that Allāh made a mistake and was wrong to command Iblis to bow down.  Iblis was inferring that he thought he knew better than Allāh (and we seek refuge from such thoughts!) and that Allāh should not have ordered Iblis to bow down to Adam.   Therefore, we see that Iblis's questions of Allāh's Wisdom and his belief that he should not have been asked to bow down to Adam is labeled as an act of kufr, which ended up leading to his ultimate destruction and eternal damnation.

So the next time something “harsh” happens to you, don't question why it is happening.  If you question the wisdom of Allāh, what makes your state of mind any different than the state of mind of Iblis at the time of his encounter with Adam.  Indeed, the very fact that you need to question Allāh and ask “why” is an extremely dangerous road to wander down.  By asking “why,” you may be questioning the wisdom behind such actions, which is the same path Iblis took towards his own destruction.

Indeed, whenever something happens to a believer, it is for his benefit.  Let us reflect upon the hadith of Suhaib: “The affair of the believer is amazing! The whole of his life is beneficial, and that is only in the case of the believer.  When good times come to him, he is thankful and it is good for him, and when bad times befall him, he is patient and it is also good for him” [Muslim].

So, if something good happens to us and we praise Allāh and because of it, it is beneficial for us.  And if something befalls us against our desires, we should be patient and because of it, it will indeed be beneficial for us again.  Indeed, everything that befalls a believer is for his or her benefit.  There is no such thing as something bad or unfortunate when it comes to the affairs of the believer.

What we really need to do is reflect on whether or not we are true believers.  If we were to fall sick, get into a car accident, or be in times of despair we should try to easily overcome those hardships.  We are told, “when the believer is afflicted with pain, even that of a prick of a thorn or more, God forgives his sins” [Bukhāri].  So the next time such a difficulty comes to you, simply try to bear it with patience and remember the many references to patience in the Qurʾān such as, “Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account” [39:10].  Let us be optimistic and encouraging whenever we encounter a situation that requires sabr and patience.  Indeed, regardless of what happens to us, let us say, “alḥamdulillāh!”

By the grace and mercy of Allāh, my mother accepted Islam last year in April. After having made du‘ā’ for this for my entire existence, I can safely classify that as the best day of my life. By the next day, the news of her conversion had spread throughout the community. My mom had just taken her shahādah, was not yet wearing ḥijāb, and was still adjusting to such a huge change, when a nice Bengali auntie in niqāb took it upon herself to give my mom her first and most important advice (sarcasm intended). She approached my mom and said in a thick accent “Sister, what is your name?” My mom responded, “Tara…” The auntie asked her, “No, no….I mean your new name.” So my mom says “Uhhh…I'm going to keep my name.” The woman looks troubled and then proclaims, “No, no, I must now give you a nice Islamic name. I have re-named you………Fatima.”

We've all seen it happen time and time again…There's a crowd gathered in the masjid. The imām goes up to the microphone and happily shares the news that someone would like to publicly accept Islam. Everyone gets out their camera phones, the women flood into the main hall, and the more often than not nervous new Muslim approaches the microphone to repeat the shahādah in a language completely unknown to them. The moment they finish their proclamation, the foundation of the building shakes with the sound of hundreds of excited Muslims screaming “Allāhu Akbar!” at the top of their lungs. The new Muslim is then showered with more hugs and kisses they have likely ever received in the span of their life, and voila: we have a new member of the Muslim community. Everyone goes home feeling elated and inspired, but far too often that is the last time they will think of that new Muslim, now alone somewhere driving home from the masjid.

We are living in a time where Muslims are no longer living in the shadows, and people are flooding to Islam without ever having been given “organized da'wah.” This fact is one that needs to be accepted by every masjid and every Muslim community in the West. We no longer have the luxury of remaining unprepared and unorganized in the field of New Muslim Support. With da'wah coming to our doorsteps, the least we can do is have a system in place to teach, mentor, and support our new Muslim brothers and sisters.

The Need for New Muslim Support Systems

When a person accepts Islam, aside from the peace and contentment they gain from submitting to Allāh's way, they are also diving headfirst into an entire new lifestyle and belief system. Shahādah is only the first step of the journey, and what follows it is not always an easy path. Firstly, a new Muslim must learn the basic beliefs and actions of being a Muslim. Additionally they must learn how to make wuḍū' and pray properly, eventually learning the prayer in Arabic. As they have just stepped into a new faith, they will often have multitudes of questions regarding a variety of Islamic issues. On top of this, they are most likely dealing with one or more of the following issues: Problems with family, being kicked out of their residence, drinking or drug issues, poverty, work related challenges, or any number of other things.

As the icing on the cake, many also have to deal with drama from the Muslim community itself. Common issues include being pressured to change everything about their life overnight, being judged for not yet wearing ḥijāb or dressing properly, accusations of being a spy because of their non-Arab/desi heritage, and many other issues. A story from my local community displays this all too well: A brother had recently taken his shahādah, and soon after, he came to his first Friday prayer. A man in the masjid heard this new Muslim brother praying in English and approached him saying, “You're going to Hell if you pray like this.”

New Muslims need mentors to teach them, support them, and guide them through their new journey as a Muslim. When they have someone that has warned them about these issues and is constantly helping them, teaching them, and answering questions, they feel supported and confident that they have someone to go back to. The lack of such a person, however, will leave the new Muslim feeling isolated and unaware. Attempting to go through any combination of these issues alone without any support is often the reason why many new Muslims end up leaving Islam. In recognizing and highlighting these issues, the need for New Muslim Support Systems becomes blatantly clear.

In 2009, a group of brothers and sisters at the Islamic Institute of Orange County (IIOC) sat down to define the scope of the newly created da‘wah and Outreach Committee. It didn't make logical sense to give da'wah, bring people into Islam, and then have no system in place to take care of the new Muslims. So it was decided the responsible thing to do was to create a New Muslim Support Group (NMSG) before planning any da'wah endeavors. Under the leadership of Br. Khalid Mansour, we began working to develop this system. Yet as we looked to other communities hoping to benefit from their examples, we were shocked to find that roughly 95% of masājid in the U.S. had absolutely no system in place for new Muslims. Realizing what a magnanimous void existed, the team at IIOC developed and continues to update and improve the NMSG: a model that can be implemented in any community.

How to Start a New Muslim Support Group in Your Community

Firstly, what exactly is a New Muslim Support Group? It's a “buddy system” with a set curriculum and set protocols for interaction. It is an organized way of ensuring that when someone walks into the masjid and accepts Islam, you already have a trained mentor lined up who will be assigned to the new Muslim. The mentor will then be their main person of contact and will take them through the curriculum, teaching them the basics of Islam, how to make wuḍū', how to pray, etc.

Here is what you will need:

1.  Get your local imām or Community Leader involved and aware: This will help get the community in tune with issues facing new Muslims and how to act appropriately (And how to not act like “Your new name is Fatima” lady or “You're going to Hell” guy).

2.  A highly dedicated and organized leader: This person will be managing the entire NMSG and therefore must be professional, responsive, and altruistic.

3.  Curriculum for new Muslims: IIOC has created a comprehensive curriculum geared towards a new Muslim who is starting from scratch. In the form of a small booklet, the curriculum will take them through all the basics of Islam and everything they need to know. It even includes quizzes to test their understanding of the material. IIOC hopes to make this curriculum available online in the next few months. I will be posting a follow up article once it is up inshā'Allāh.

4.  A volunteer training presentation: This is also something that IIOC will be making available online in the very near future inshā'Allāh. Until then, this presentation should include training on how volunteers (aka mentors) should deal with the new Muslim they are assigned to.

5.  Team of trained mentors: These volunteers should have gone through the training presentation and should be familiar with the curriculum they will be teaching their assigned new Muslim. Volunteers must be professional, responsive, and recognize that they cannot fall short in dealing with people's lives and faith.

6.  Know your community resources: At times, there may be new Muslims who have special circumstances and may need extra help besides mentorship. Rather than being caught off guard, it is best to have information on your local resources ready ahead of time. You should be aware of resources for: Financial assistance, housing assistance, shelters, clothing for sisters who may need ḥijābs/modest clothing, rehabilitation centers for drugs and alcohol, job finding assistance, counselors, and anything else you think may be needed.

With the help of Allāh, once those points are in place, you are well on your way to having an established New Muslim Support Group in your community.

After all is said and done, imagine the countless rewards that can be gained by teaching a new Muslim the basics of Islam. If you teach a new Muslim how to pray, perhaps you will gain the reward of every ṣalāh they perform and every ṣalāh their children perform, etc.

I will leave you with a story of a new Muslim sister from the IIOC community. The sister accepted Islam, and for an entire year she went to different masājid, never finding the support she needed. Almost every experience she had at a masjid left her feeling rejected by the community. She knew that Islam was true but she was becoming increasingly depressed. Alḥamdulillāh, after some time she stumbled across the New Muslim Support Group at IIOC and was assigned a mentor who gave her the support she needed and invested time and effort into her. She was able to work through the issues in her life, began wearing ḥijāb, and is now happily married to a Muslim man. After searching for her dīn for a long time, at the end of the day it was just a matter of someone being there for her.

By Mahmoud āmīn El-Gamal - This is a transcript of Dr. El-Gamal's khutbah given on February 10, 2012.

 

O community of faith, have the proper measure of God consciousness and do not die except in a state of submission to God (3:102)  (= Islam. And the third pillar of Islam is alms-giving  (zakāh)).

 

:صحيح البخاري: ‏كِتَاب ‏ ‏الْإِيمَانِ ‏.

‏حَدَّثَنَا ‏ ‏عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُوسَى ‏ ‏قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا ‏ ‏حَنْظَلَةُ بْنُ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏عِكْرِمَةَ بْنِ خَالِدٍ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏ابْنِ عُمَرَ ‏ ‏رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا ‏ ( ‏قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ‏ ‏صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ‏ ‏بُنِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ ‏ ‏مُحَمَّدًا ‏ ‏رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ وَالْحَجِّ وَصَوْمِ رَمَضَانَ ‏).

(Islam was built on five pillars: confession that there is no God but God and that Muhammad is his messenger, establishing prayers, giving alms, performing pilgrimage, and fasting in Ramaḍān).

What is the purpose of alms-giving? It is quite explicit in the Prophet's command to Mu'ādh :

 ‏كِتَاب ‏ ‏الزَّكَاةِ :صحيح البخاري

‏حَدَّثَنَا ‏ ‏أَبُو عَاصِمٍ الضَّحَّاكُ بْنُ مَخْلَدٍ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏زَكَرِيَّاءَ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏يَحْيَى بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ صَيْفِيٍّ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏أَبِي مَعْبَدٍ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ‏ ‏رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا ‏ ( ‏أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ‏ ‏صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ‏ ‏بَعَثَ ‏ ‏مُعَاذًا ‏ ‏رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ‏ ‏إِلَى ‏ ‏الْيَمَنِ ‏ ‏فَقَالَ ‏ ‏ادْعُهُمْ إِلَى شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ هُمْ أَطَاعُوا لِذَلِكَ فَأَعْلِمْهُمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ افْتَرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ خَمْسَ صَلَوَاتٍ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ وَلَيْلَةٍ فَإِنْ هُمْ أَطَاعُوا لِذَلِكَ فَأَعْلِمْهُمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ افْتَرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَدَقَةً فِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ تُؤْخَذُ مِنْ أَغْنِيَائِهِمْ وَتُرَدُّ عَلَى فُقَرَائِهِمْ ‏).

The Prophet sent Mu'ādh to Yemen and told him to call them to witnessing that there is no God but God and that Muhammad is his messenger, if they obey him on that to inform them that God has mandated five prayers on them during each day-and-night cycle, then if they obey to inform them that Allāh has mandated them to pay a charity on their wealth, to be taken from their rich and returned to their poor.

Yes, there are as many as eight avenues for the payment of zakāh, as per the verse:

Charity is restricted to these categories: the poor, the needy, its distributors, those whose hearts must be won, freeing people from bondage, freeing people from debilitating debt, to struggle in the Way of God, and to support the wayfarer  this is a mandate from God; and God is the Most Knowing the Most Wise [9:60].

And, yes, there are many technicalities that Muslims can exploit  from using zakāh shelters by putting their wealth in assets that were not traditionally subject to zakāh to giving too much of it to the building of mosques and other activities that enrich real estate developers and bankers and contribute to their own consumption without helping the poor, the needy, etc. Obeying the letter of the law without understanding its content is the biggest tragedy of today's Muslims, which gave us the travesty of Islamic finance that enriches bankers and others by providing inferior financial products at higher costs.

It is also the method through which the champions and multi-million beneficiaries of the mislabeled Islamic finance” tell us that we should not think rationally about zakāh because it is an act of worship  thus protecting the interests of the real estate developers, the bankers, and those who want to spend only in ways that contribute to their own religious consumption.

The order in the verse matters: poverty comes first!! Yes, scholars cannot tell me that I did not pay my zakāh if I spent it all on some building while millions suffered oppressive poverty, but that does not make it right. Scholars also will not tell me that I made any mistake by spending tens of thousands of dollars performing a second or third Hajj or an umpteenth 'Umrah  religious consumption  instead of letting the wealth stay and paying my due share of alms.

The scholars  and now I am talking about real scholars not those who maximize their consultancy fees  can't see my heart, and can't wake up my conscience. But I am ashamed to be a hypocrite.

Do I want scholarship? Then fine, here is some scholarship, all from Ibn Qudama's   Al-Mughni:

Imām Mālik said (regarding which areas should receive zakāh) that one should investigate where it is needed, and go by order of priority.

Based on the Ḥadīth of Mu'ādh , quoted above, Mu'ādh was ordered first to take from their rich and give to their poor, and did not mention any other category for which alms should be given until he received more wealth and could pay a category other than the poor.

Then he (Ibn Qudama) said: And it is not permissible to move charity from its city to another city at a distance that would justify shortening the prayer (which is only a few tens of miles). Ahmad was asked if zakāh could be transported from one country to another, and he said no. He was asked if that would be the ruling even if the person's relatives lived in that other country, and he still said no.

It was narrated that `Umar ibn `Abedlaziz returned zakāh that was sent from Khurasan to him in the Levant.

The Prophet instructed Mu'ādh specifically to take from the rich and give to the poor in the same land. Thus, when Mu'ādh later sent zakāh money to 'Umar b. Al-Khaṭṭāb , `Umar chastised him by saying, I did not send you there a tax collector; but sent you (as the Prophet had done) to take from their rich and give to their poor.

Did I get the idea already, or should I read more? Well, I can read more and see that Ibn Qudama says that if one were to violate all these priorities, and give to build a fancy mosque (or in the case of my native Egypt, to the development of a Science city to satisfy the desires of an ego-maniacal Egyptian scientist), or even to give the poor in one's native country, it can still be charged against one's obligatory zakāh. Am I then looking for technicalities, or do I want to do the right thing? The right thing is to look around us and see the poverty in this land of opportunity. America's shame is not only her history of slavery (a history that we as Muslims share), but also the continued racism and denial of opportunity to a massive underclass, including numerous Muslims, most of whom are African-American. This racism and poverty is America's shame, but it is our double shame as Muslims. We are racist too, except for those whom God has blessed. Even dating back to the life of the Prophet , we see the following Ḥadīth about one of the most pious men of Islamic history and one of the Prophet's dearest companions:

 

صحيح البخاري: ‏كِتَاب ‏ ‏الْإِيمَانِ ‏.
‏حَدَّثَنَا ‏ ‏سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ ‏ ‏قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا ‏ ‏شُعْبَةُ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏وَاصِلٍ الْأَحْدَبِ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏الْمَعْرُورِ بْنِ سُوَيْدٍ ‏ ‏قَالَ لَقِيتُ ‏ ‏أَبَا ذَرٍّ ‏ ( ‏بِالرَّبَذَةِ ‏ ‏وَعَلَيْهِ ‏ ‏حُلَّةٌ ‏ ‏وَعَلَى غُلَامِهِ ‏ ‏حُلَّةٌ ‏ ‏فَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ إِنِّي سَابَبْتُ ‏ ‏رَجُلًا ‏ ‏فَعَيَّرْتُهُ بِأُمِّهِ فَقَالَ لِي النَّبِيُّ ‏ ‏صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ‏ ‏يَا ‏ ‏أَبَا ذَرٍّ ‏ ‏أَعَيَّرْتَهُ بِأُمِّهِ إِنَّكَ امْرُؤٌ فِيكَ جَاهِلِيَّةٌ إِخْوَانُكُمْ ‏ ‏خَوَلُكُمْ ‏ ‏جَعَلَهُمْ اللَّهُ تَحْتَ أَيْدِيكُمْ فَمَنْ كَانَ أَخُوهُ تَحْتَ يَدِهِ فَلْيُطْعِمْهُ مِمَّا يَأْكُلُ وَلْيُلْبِسْهُ مِمَّا يَلْبَسُ وَلَا تُكَلِّفُوهُمْ مَا ‏ ‏يَغْلِبُهُمْ ‏ ‏فَإِنْ كَلَّفْتُمُوهُمْ فَأَعِينُوهُمْ ‏).

(Abu Dharr narrated that he exchanged insults with a man and in the heat of argument insulted his mother  the man according to another narration was Bilāl, and the insult was racist; I do not wish to repeat that insult here and list above the narration without the insult  The Prophet told Abu Dharr, You insulted his mother (in racist fashion), you are a man with jāhiliyyah (ignorance) in your heart.”

I don't need to give you more recent evidence from the Islamic world and Muslim communities here in America.

I must remind myself that the word for zakāh as charity does not indicate superiority of the giver, but a right for the poor; the poor here, who are predominantly African-American. Black Americans have twice the unemployment rate and poverty rates of other Americans, and the same is true for Black American Muslims. Their college graduation rates are half these of other American Muslims and their poverty rates are twice these of other American Muslims.

This is a travesty, and it is our triple shame. It is America's shame that poverty and racism continues to this day. It is Muslims' double shame that they have even more massive inequalities and racism (to the degree of quasi-slavery in some Muslim countries) despite having a religion that orders the opposite. Like Abu Dharr , we still have plenty of ignorance in our hearts, most probably much more. It is therefore the triple shame of American Muslims that we are not doing enough to work with our Black American Muslim brethren to improve their and our lots. We immigrant Muslims can't continue to live like parasites in this society, spending for our religious and secular consumption and sending zakāh money abroad while our own backyard is full of poor brothers and sisters. Shame on us. Triple Shame!

There was unrest at Al-Aqsa mosque all week afters calls from right-wing Jewish websites to push Muslims off the site. Jews hold the space sacred as it is the site of the Temple Mount; they pray below the plaza and are not allowed in the area. Muslims responded by converging at the Mosque to confront a possible take over. Tensions reached their peak and there were clashes between police and Palestinians after Friday prayers. Following are excerpts of what was reported in a different new sources:

The NYTimes

Several hundred Palestinians clashed with Israeli police at Jerusalem's holiest site on Friday, after calls posted on right-wing Jewish Internet sites for Jews to push Muslims from it prompted Palestinians to mass there in resistance.

Anticipating trouble, police officers, as well as Palestinian news photographers, gathered at the site of the expected standoff, the plaza by Al Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, two of Islam's holiest shrines, which sit above the remains of two Jewish temples. Tensions have always been high over control of the space, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

The Boston Globe

Israeli police clashed with hundreds of Palestinians throwing rocks after Muslim prayers at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site on Friday, while Israeli troops opened fire on protesters at a separate demonstration in the West Bank, killing one Palestinian.

It was not immediately clear what set off the confrontation at the Jerusalem shrine sacred to both Jews and Muslims. However, there have been heightened tensions in recent days, with rumors circulating among Palestinian activists that far right Israelis are trying to gain entry to Muslim-controlled areas at the site. The rumors were false, according to Israeli police.

Violence has repeatedly erupted in the past at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits atop the remains of the two biblical Jewish temples. It is the most sacred site in Judaism and is Islam's third-holiest site.

The shrine looms large in the rival narratives of Israelis and Palestinians, and any perceived attempt to change the delicate division of control there quickly sets off protests.

Later in the day, a Palestinian died of wounds after being shot by Israeli troops during a demonstration near Ramallah in the West Bank. The Israeli military said Palestinians protesting the events in Jerusalem threw rocks and firebombs at soldiers stationed nearby, prompting a soldier to open fire.

Al-Jazeera

Four people were arrested in clashes near the al-Aqsa mosque after Israeli police officers entered the compound where the mosque is situated and used stun grenades to disperse stone-throwing rioters, an Israeli police spokesman said.

Witnesses at al Aqsa said police had also fired tear gas, forcing a number of women to run for cover inside the adjacent Dome of the Rock.

We were praying when they started shooting tear gas towards us, 58-year-old Umm Mohammad told the AFP news agency by telephone from inside the Dome of the Rock.

At first, they were shooting at the Al-Aqsa mosque but we hid in the Dome of the Rock, and now they have started firing tear gas and sound bombs towards the gates, she said.

Women were terrified and screaming at first, but we got over it and started shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest), she said.

The clashes followed nearly a week of unrest at the walled complex.

In another outbreak of violence in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, soldiers clashed with demonstrators who participated in two separate protests, and soldiers arrested four people, an Israeli military spokesman said.

In the Gaza town of Khan Yunis, thousands of Palestinians also marched in support of Palestinian sovereignty over Jerusalem.

 

Welcome, it's our monthly Poetry day again! If you want to share your verses with everyone here, kindly email us at poetry[@]muslimmatters[.]org stating your name, along with your poem.  As soon as your poem is selected for publishing, we'll let you know so that you can keep an eye out for it, inshā'Allāh. JazakumAllahu khayr for sending in your poems!

Without further ado, here are two inspiring poems we've selected for today…

________________________________________________________

Uncloak My Veil
Jenan Zahria

You'd die for me to uncloak my veil
Haven't succeeded to your avail
Mock my faith; claim it's causing my oppression
Distort the truth with your wide deception
To uncloak my veil would reveal my beauty
My beauty I reserve for my true love solely
To uncloak my veil would cost me greatly
Foolish men approaching abruptly

Loved enough not to aim for unwanted attention
Confident enough not to seek your wordly affection
My inner beauty I can uncloak
My point of view I shall expose

I chose to cloak my veil
Listen to God Who guides my trail

I'm not the one who's bitterly oppressed
You're just the one who's deeply obsessed
Longing to see me uncloak my veil
Disclose my beauty to all your males

Dress like the women on T.V.
So called role models exploited as free

Sex, drugs, clubs
Society's unrequited love
No, thank you
I'm a rebel with a cause

I will never uncloak my veil
The lies you spout will not prevail

 

________________________________________________

A Generous Lord and a Stingy Slave in Need of His Mercy
by Anonymous

Ya Ilaahi Your generosity is wider than the horizon
Yet how stingy am I to raise my hands to You
to bow and prostrate to You
to praise and thank You

Ya Rabbi You took care of me in my mother's womb
I was alone inside and by Your Mercy came out to a colorful world
You gave me so much without me asking for anything
I grew physically stronger and also in rebellion against Your commands

Deeper and deeper I drowned in the ocean of vice
You took me out of the suffocation and made me see light
I came back to bow down and prostrate to You Alone with delight

Soon I shall go back to the womb of the earth and again I shall be alone
So please take care of me as You always did
And help me meet You
A beautiful meeting, Ya Rahmaan
I wish to hear from You my Rabbi
Oh my slave, I have forgiven you

___________________________________________________

 

Noora runs into the house and slams the door behind her.  She bounds up the stairs and her mother hears her bedroom door slam.  She audibly sighs sadly thinking to herself, “She had another bad day at school.  I wish she would talk to me about it.”  Noora curls up on her bed and cries quietly wondering what she did to deserve what she goes through at school everyday.  Sometimes she even finds herself wishing she could just get a physical “beat down” rather than suffer through the daily emotional torment of being teased, ostracized and singled out for abuse.  She feels as though her mother won't understand what she's going through and she also doesn't want to disappoint her by confessing that she just doesn't know how to handle the bullies.  She feels hopeless and she doesn't know to whom to turn so she cries quietly in her room, and each day holds in more and more of the torment she faces.

Bullying was once viewed as a necessary rite of passage of childhood, something children simply must endure.  However, bullying is not simply something children will mature out of; rather, bullying can result in serious harm and long-term consequences.  Bullying can take different forms, including[1]:

Physical bullying: includes hitting, punching, kicking and other types of physical harm, as well as destruction of a child's property. Verbal bullying: includes teasing, name-calling, taunting and racial slurs, as well as spreading gossip or malicious rumors. Cyberbullying: includes harassing emails, instant messages and text messages, as well as intimidating or threatening websites, blogs or posts.

Parents often feel completely powerless as they witness their child's tears day-after-day, as much a part of the afterschool routine as homework.  Bullying has reached a new peak in our society and with tragedies such as the shooting at Columbine, bullying has received a great deal more attention than it used to. With the advent of technology, bullying no longer occurs exclusively within the walls of schools.  Rather, social media has provided another opportunity to bullies who seek to demean others.  Home is no longer a safe haven for victims of bullying; a Facebook status can hurt just as much, if not more, than hearing the typed words spoken aloud.

The Victims of Bullying

Being the victim of bullying can evoke a great deal of shame in children and teens (and in adults as well, since bullying is not an epidemic that exclusively targets children).  Therefore, your child may not confide in you and may go through great pains to hide the fact that s/he is being bullied.  The signs may not be as visible as a black eye; although children are often physically intimidated, bullying can be also be targeted in a way that leaves psychological and emotional bruises.  Some things to keep a lookout for, which may signal that your child is being bullied includes (but is not limited to): damage to personal belongings, unexplained injuries, a decline in academic performance, physical complaints (i.e. stomach aches, headaches, tiredness, etc.), reluctance when going to school or riding the bus, few friends, or a noticeable change in sleeping or eating habits.

There are certain qualities that may make some children more susceptible to bullying.  These include the following characteristics: cautious, sensitive, quiet, withdrawn, shy, anxious, insecure, low self-esteem, unhappy, lack of a close friend, relate better to adults than peers, physically weaker than peers.  Bullying is a cycle, so these characteristics can be just as much a consequence as a partial cause of being victimized.  There is also another subset of people within this bullying cycle who are characterized as bully/victims, who are both bullies and victims of bullying simultaneously.  Bully/victims tend to experience a greater variety of symptomology including both internalized (anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts) and externalized (hyperactivity, rule-breaking) issues[2].

The Bullies

Although the focus of prevention and interventions are often on victims of bullying, it is important to provide support to bullies as well.  As the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,  “Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is oppressed.” The Prophet was asked: “It is right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?” He replied: “By preventing him from oppressing others.” (Ṣahīh Bukhāri, Volume 3, Ḥadīth 624)

From this ḥadīth, we learn the importance of helping those who are oppressed but, even more profoundly, the need to assist oppressors by stopping them from committing this infringement on the rights of others.  Bullies are often misconstrued as people who simply take pleasure in the pain of others.  However, research has found that some are quite complex and somewhat of a mystery.  Many research studies have found that bullies are more likely to exhibit behavioral issues including aggressiveness, hyperactivity, attention deficits and conduct problems.  However, contrary to what is normally considered of bullies, one research study found that they suffer from depression, anxiety, psychosomatic disorders, and eating disorders to the same extent as those who were victimized by their bullying[3].  Some things that may signal that your child is bullying others include: being aggressive with others, gets sent to detention often, has unexplained new belongings or extra money, quickly blames others, refuses to accept responsibility for actions, and has a need to win or be the best at everything.

Verbal, Emotional & Psychological (Nonphysical) Bullying

Interactions between individuals, from an Islamic point of view, are governed by the fundamental right of sanctity of life, honor, and property.  Therefore, anything that compromises these rights should be stopped.  In Sūrat'l- Ḥujurāt (49:10-12), Allāh says, “Verily, the believers are brothers…

  let not some people mock others, for they may be better than themselves, nor (let) women (mock) women who may be better than themselves. And do not slander yourselves, nor revile by (offensive) nicknames… O you who believe, avoid (indulging in) much suspicion; truly, some suspicion is a sin. And do not spy or backbite one another; would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would abhor that. And be conscious of Allāh; indeed, Allāh is Relenting, Merciful.” 

These verses emphasize the non-physical face of bullying.  Verbal and emotional bullying can have even greater and longer-lasting negative effects on the victims than physical bullying.  Many of us may have grown up asserting the maxim, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” however, we soon realize that sometimes words can hurt more than anything else.

According to Rachel Simmons's Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls[4], this type of bullying is particularly common among girls and often goes unnoticed by non-participants (such as teachers and parents).  Due to the expectation of girls to be sweet, nice and caring, direct aggression is deemed unacceptable in them.  However, girls are just as likely as boys to experience anger, a natural human emotion, so they engage one another in nonphysical, alternative forms of aggression.  This includes:

 Relational aggression: acts that harm others through damage (or the threat of damage) to relationships or feelings of acceptance, friendship, or group inclusion.  This is seen through behaviors such as ignoring someone to punish them, excluding someone socially for revenge, using negative body language or facial expressions, sabotaging someone's relationships, etc. Indirect aggression: the bully avoids confrontation using covert behaviors.  In this way, it may seem as though there was no intent to hurt anyone and others may be used as vehicles to cause pain to the targeted person.  This is seen in the spreading of rumors, backbiting, “accidentally” knocking over someone's books, etc. Social aggression: intent to damage the self-esteem or social status of a targeted individual. This can include rumor spreading, backbiting, and social exclusion.

Rather than using physical intimidation as a weapon, relationships are used for leverage.  What could be worse than the threat of loneliness and social isolation as you wander friendlessly through the halls of school?  Hearing lies spread about you to cause you to lose your friends and fall into a downward spiral of lowering self-esteem?  One of the issues inherent in these forms of alternative aggressions is the fact that they can easily be committed under the radar of others.  Teachers are often caught unaware when their students speak with them about this type of bullying and don't know how to deal with it since it is not easily spotted.  When engaging in covert aggression, the bullies often seem like the type of people who would never mistreat someone; it's the perfect disguise for accomplishing as much damage as possible while ensuring their actions are undetectable to others.

Girls in this type of situation often have nowhere to turn; they may feel too ashamed to speak to their parents or teachers about the torment they're enduring because they may feel as though they have failed at a fundamental rite of passage – making friends.  There is also a great deal of uncertainty regarding these alternative aggressions; girls may question, “Did she just bump into me on purpose?;” “Did she roll her eyes at something I said?;” “Is that note she's passing about me?” It's easy to know when someone gives you a black eye, but if you're uncertain whether others are shutting you out or teasing you behind your back, it becomes much more difficult to discuss it with others.  By the same token, many girls withstand emotional abuse from their close friends in order to maintain the inclusion as a part of a group; they fear that the creation of any conflict (including voicing their concerns) will cause them to lose a relationship.  Due to this, anger continues to simmer and issues pile up and are rarely addressed.

Practical Tips & Possible Solutions

It is incredibly important to arm our children, our students, and ourselves with the proper methods of coping with bullying.  This is not simply a rite of passage that children must endure. Furthermore, the issues brought about by bullying can quickly, and dangerously, spiral out of control.  In the next segment, practical tips and possible solutions will be offered to promote healthy relationships.