Currently Browsing: Notes
notes
One Political Team
by Imam Zaid Shakir
One Political Team Last week, I received a call from one of the leaders in the African American Muslim Community, Salima Suswell. She is the founder of both Evolve Solutions and the Black Muslim Leadership Council. I have been in touch with Salima over the years, both seeking…
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A Letter to The Fallen Children of Gaza
by Imam Zaid Shakir
To my young Palestinian brothers and sisters, the fallen children of Gaza, you continue to die because those capable of stopping the massacre instead repeat, like drunk parrots, “Israel has a right to defend herself.” To “defend” herself against you children who never had a chance to grow to defend…
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Let Us Mock the Muslims (For We Traffic in Mockery)
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Let Us Mock the Muslims (For We Traffic in Mockery) Mockery: Behavior or speech that makes fun of someone or something in a hurtful way. Mockery of entire groups has effectively been criminalized in Western societies. One would think thrice before publicly mocking Jews, African Americans, homosexuals or many other…
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The Crime of The State
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Was it the crime of the state, Or the state of the crime That has my body, soul, and mind Suspended in air; Awaiting the moment, Dreading the time, That will mark its descent to the ground With a thud; Like the thud of a bomb, Like the thud of…
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A New Year’s Thought
by Imam Zaid Shakir
May all seeking it come to know peace. May all of the wars, violence and conflicts cease. May the fools come to see the folly of their ways. May those suffering come to know better days. May the weary find rest, may the homeless find shelter.…
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They Do Not Care
by Imam Zaid Shakir
I begin by offering my condolences to the families and loved ones of every innocent Palestinian, man, woman, and child who has been unjustly killed during the ongoing illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Likewise, I offer my condolences to the families and loved ones of every…
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A Statement Deserving Our Support
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Navigating Differences: Clarifying Sexual and Gender Ethics in Islam Last week, a group of Muslim scholars released a statement outlining a reasoned and reasonable response to the growing challenge the LGBTQIAP+ movement presents to the Muslim community. The statement is timely owing to growing confusion in the community resulting from…
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On The Passing of Mouaz Al-Nass
by Imam Zaid Shakir
We often say that some people come into our lives. In many cases as quickly as they come, they go. We might even forget the mundane encounters with many of them, which, if we strain to search the deepest recesses of our memories, we might say we have known them.…
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Imam Khalil Abdur-Rahman
by Imam Zaid Shakir
So many blessed people have been passing away. May Allah have mercy on Imam Khalil. He attended a seminar I taught a few months ago and I was blown away by his humility and encouragement even as he was an intimate part of the history I was teaching. He has…
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Farewell to Brother Mansour Ansari: No More “Humazatin’ and Lumazatin’
by Imam Zaid Shakir
إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُون Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un I first met Brother Mansour Ansari in Washington DC in 1981. It was probably at one of the many rallies occurring around that time in support of the Iranian Revolution, or one of the many causes the Revolution…
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Importance of Being a Very Public Muslim
by Imam Zaid Shakir
In the climate of fear and mistrust of Muslims being carefully cultivated by some elements in this country it is extremely important to be a very public, very visible, very talkative Muslim. Some Muslims would tend to shun this advice thinking that by “laying low” and being almost invisible they…
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Exploring the intersection of faith and race on ‘In Conversation’
by Imam Zaid Shakir
In Conversation The phrase “thoughts and prayers” has become overused almost to the point of cliché, but using faith and worship as a tool to get through hardship is as old…
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The Ballad of Jihadi Mike: (Part 3) Requiem for a Movement - The Operation
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The Shaykh directed him to join a cell, That would dispatch the disbelievers to Hell. To clarify just who were the Kuffar, They studied ibn Taymiyya’s fatwa. The one in which he ruled that the Tartar, Despite their Shahada they were Kuffar. As for Syed Imam Dr. Fadl, They studied…
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The Ballad of Jihadi Mike: (Part 2) Requiem for a Movement - Islam (Limerick)
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The Ballad of Jihadi Mike: Requiem for a Movement (Part 2) Islam (Limerick) The brothers were the very best he could meet, And the sisters were gentle and sweet. He got a Qur’an, Which he pondered upon, Then they invited him up to their suite. Mike found himself in a…
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The Ballad of Jihadi Mike: (Part 1) Requiem for a Movement - The Early Years
by Imam Zaid Shakir
This is the ballad of Jihadi Mike. He was a likeable and lovely tyke. His family was loving and very good And Mike lived in a pleasant neighborhood. Sometime when he was in the second grade He saw Mom and Dad’s love starting to fade. And…
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Usama Canon
by Imam Zaid Shakir
إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُون Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un We come from Allah, and surely unto Him we are all returning. Qur’an 2:156 Early this morning, Usama Canon returned to Allah. I had the great honor of watching Usama grow personally,…
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