Catch Your Tongue: A Response to MuslimMatters Comments on New York Times Article About Sheikh Yasir Qadhi

There once was a man who was born and raised in the United States, but left to pursue an education in Islam in the Middle East. After that he dedicated many more years to further his education in Islam at one of the United State's most eminent universities. Not only that, but he has constantly been helping to improve the condition of American-Muslims communities. This is the story of Sheikh Bohot Acha, who is shown above. 

Now what would you say if random person comes out and questions Sheikh Bohot Acha in a rude and condescending matter? You may say something like, "What a jerk!" or "Who does he think he is?!" What ever you may say, we would all agree that acting in such a way, even if the issues brought up are valid, is plain annoying and not consistent with the manners taught to us by our religion. 

That's why I was very surprised to see this behavior at Muslim Matters in the comments section of a post about a New York Times article on Yasir Qadhi. Now we all know how comments sections are on most websites (a hotbed of internet trolling), but this is going on a Muslim website and is about Sheikh Yasir Qadhi, a very intelligent brother who has done so much for our community. What was even more annoying was that these comments were:

Salah: You Get What You Put Into It + Video On How To Improve The Quality of Your Prayers

I remember a few years ago, I was praying at the masjid. Of course, someone's cellphone went off during the prayer playing some music. It's funny how it has almost become a sunnah (prophetic tradition) to say, "please turn off your cell phones" before prayer, yet there is ALWAYS one person who forgets. After the prayer, a brother said to the entire congregation:

Whatever You Do, Just Ihsan It Up!

Click the picture to proceed

Last week, Muhammad and I were chilling as usual. It was 8 pm and Muhammad was playing videos. I remembered that he had an exam the next day so I asked him:

Me: Hey Muhammad, shouldn't you be studying for the exam?
Muhammad: Yeaaa, this professor is easy. I'll start studying at 9 pm.
Me: Umm you sure?
Muhammad: Yea, don't worry bro.

A few days ago I asked Muhammad about his exam:

A Muslim Response to the Japan Earthquakes + Video On Japanese Muslims

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Muhammad and I were watching the news the other day, just to kill time. The very devastating earthquake that hit Japan was constantly being shown. Thousands of lives have been lost, cars are floating in water like pebbles and nuclear reactors unstable, this truly is a difficult test for the Japanese people. Muhammad couldn't ignore it any longer and said to me:

+2 to Congressman Keith Ellison For Defending Muslims Again: This Time On Real Time With Bill Maher

Sorry for the lack of color. I have an exam on Monday =[. Please make dua for me!

There are times when I completely agree with Bill Maher, but usually when he speaks about Islam, it makes me want to bang my head on my computer. Alhamdulillah, this time a real Muslim was there to correct him. Congressman Keith Ellison made a great point that people like Osama bin Laden and others who call for violence justify their actions by citing political reasons, while those who refute them cite religion reasons. (See video after the break)

Cartoon Muhammad Is Going BALD To Help Fight Childhood Cancer!

InshAllah on March 20th, Cartoon Muhammad will be going bald! Muhammad will have his head shaved in an event by the St. Baldrick's Foundation. He's doing it to show solidarity with children who lose their hair during chemotherapy and to help raise awareness of childhood cancers. For the record, St. Baldrick's Foundation is not a religious organization, it's just cleverly named.

Alhamdulillah, Allah has allowed some people to become ill so that it may be a test for them. We know from our religion that there are many benefits that Allah has placed in illness. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "Yes, no Muslim is afflicted with harm because of sickness or some other inconvenience, but that Allah will remove his sins for him as a tree sheds its leaves"(Bukhari). We also know that every illness has a cure. The Prophet said, "There is a remedy for every malady, and when the remedy is applied to the disease it is cured with the permission of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious"(Bukhari).

But remember, that Allah does not want us to just sit around and wait for Him to cure us. We are supposed to make an effort to change our condition. Allah says, “Truly, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves” (Quran 13:11). There were many diseases in the past which used to kill people, but now are easily cured with some medication, because some people made the effort to research, finance are raise awareness for a cure.

So please DONATE HERE 

If everyone who visits this site donates at least $5 ,we can raise a good amount of money for a great cause! May Allah reward you =D

Oh and please ignore the picture of that random guy...

Day 1 of Peter King's Congressional Hearing on "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response": Still a Bad Idea and a Waste of Time

You can probably guess from the above comic that I'm not so crazy about Peter King's congressional hearing on "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response." Basically, Peter King is arguing that Al Qaeda is seeking to convince Muslim Americans to commit acts of terrorism in the United States and that the Muslim community needs to do more to combat such radicalization. 

First of all, these hearing wont accomplish anything. As Fareed Zakaria said, these hearings are not going to help the FBI, since it is already doing whatever needs to be done to find and capture terrorists. It's not like FBI officials are taking notes at these hearings and learning something new. These hearings will only further inflame the preexisting fears that people have about Islam and Muslims.

The second issue that I have with these hearings is that it is associating the radicalization of Muslim individuals

Be Good To Your Mother

Cant see the comic?: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

"We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents; in pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth" (46:15).

"Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: ‘My Lord! bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood' "(17:23-24).
(Quran Ayahs taken from Sound Vision)

"Today, I Am a Muslim Too" Rally: America at Its Finest

Rabbi Marc Schneier, Imam Shamsi Ali and Muhammad on stage. Muhammad spoke about what it is like to be an American Muslim cartoon character. (Picture from globalgrind.com)

So yesterday, Muhammad and I attended the "Today, I Am a Muslim Too" rally at Times Square, New York. The rally was in protest of Congressman Peter King's hearing titled "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response." The organizers and participants of this rally felt that this hearing will single out and further alienate the Muslim community, which is already participating with law enforcement to prevent terrorism in the United States. 

 It was raining pretty badly, so we were afraid no one would show up. After I finally found parking (took like half an hour!), we walked to where the rally was taking place. To our surprise, the area was packed! According to some reports there were 300 participants, while others stated there were almost a thousand. Celebrities like Russel Simons, Jim Jones and Adrian Grenier were in attendance as well. 

We Have a Lot More In Common Than You Think

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

After publishing the last post, I saw a lot of people making the video below their status. The background of the situation was that ICNA relief held a fundraising dinner to raise money for women's shelters and to help relieve homelessness and hunger in the US. What a nice thing to do right? Unfortunately, instead of praising such efforts, hundreds of people came to protest the event. The protests were filled with hateful and offensive language against Muslims. (see video after the break)

Muslim Hate Got You Down? It's Ok. Superheroes Go Through the Same Thing

I was watching this video about Sohail Mohammed a few days ago. MashAllah he's done quite a bit for the community. He's an immigration lawyer that was appointed as a judge to the New Jersey Superior Court by governor Chris Christie. Not only that, he arranged job fairs at his local mosque that encourage Muslims to find employment in the FBI and other police forces. Oh and that's not all, he has given lectures on Muslim culture and Islam to the FBI. It would be tough to find a better citizen than that right? But no, Mr. Mohammed