notes

America, Stop Exporting Your S**t!

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Jan 14, 2018 at 8:50 am

America, Stop Exporting Your S**t! Trump and the millions of racist Americans he faithfully represents love to point out the problems of what Vijay Prashad refers to as, “The Darker Nations.” However, there is no acknowledgement of what we and other western nations have done to create what Trump so…

notes

The Greatest Thing My Mother Taught Me

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Jan 06, 2018 at 9:00 am

I was not blessed to be able to enjoy the presence of my mother throughout my adult life, as she passed away when I was eighteen-years-old. I was able to benefit from her mentorship and wisdom during my formative years, even though many of the lessons she taught me I…

notes

Hard Questions

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Jan 05, 2018 at 6:21 pm

As we North American Muslims enter a new year it might be beneficial for us to ask ourselves some serious questions. A bit of soul searching has never harmed anyone. The type of questions I have in mind involve a set of challenges to some of the prevailing trends which…

notes

Jerusalem: What Can We Do?

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Dec 18, 2017 at 8:56 pm

The recent decision of President Donald J. Trump to both recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel and to move the US Embassy to that blessed city is not only a slap in the face of the world’s Muslims and the Palestinian people, it is also a…

notes

“Heil Trump” is Not a Bad Joke

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Dec 08, 2017 at 6:44 am

When the President of the United Stated retweeted the filthy, fake anti-Muslim propaganda put out by a fascist British organization he effectively declared war on a segment of the population he is sworn to lead and protect. What was the response of his administration? From Sarah Sanders Huckabee to…

notes

The Perversity of So-Called “Jihad” Thought

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Nov 26, 2017 at 9:32 pm

If Mao Zedong described the guerrilla fighter as one who “must move amongst the people as a fish swims in the sea,” an apt description of the “Jihadi” could be one who hates the people and wants to drown them all in a sea -of blood. The murderous atrocity perpetrated…

notes

A Day of Thanksgiving and Penitence

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Nov 26, 2017 at 9:07 pm

When in the autumn of 1863 Abraham Lincoln proposed that the last Thursday of November be observed as a national holiday, he had two things in mind. One was for everyone to stop and thank God for His Bounties, Mercy and Grace. The other, in his words: “And I recommend…

notes

Cities Ablaze…

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Sep 21, 2017 at 9:10 pm

In 1970 the R&B group, The Temptations, sang about “...cities ablaze in the summertime.” The reference was to the race riots that left large swaths of cities like Los Angeles, Newark, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington DC and others burned to the ground. Racism, America’s seemingly incurable disease, continues to rear its…

notes

Afghanistan: America’s Vietnam

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Aug 23, 2017 at 1:06 pm

Afghanistan: America’s Vietnam When the Soviet Union became bogged down in Afghanistan during the 1980s, having fallen into the trap devised by President Jimmy Carter’s recently deceased National Security advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, it was frequently said that Afghanistan was the Soviet Union’s “Vietnam.” The reference was to the lasting damage…

notes

Not Puzzled or Surprised

BY IMAM ZAID SHAKIR

Aug 16, 2017 at 1:58 am

Many people are puzzled that President Donald J Trump did not immediately and strongly condemn the white nationalist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. The situation should not be puzzling. Mr. Trump is presiding over a white nationalist regime. Why would he condemn his own? While the country has been obsessed with…

New Islamic Directions is dedicated to bringing to our visitors a fair and balanced presentation of Islam and its basic teachings.

We are a balanced nation whose historical advance has only been possible when that balance created the spiritual and intellectual space for some of the most brilliant minds known to humanity to flourish.