New Islamic Directions

By Imam Zaid Shakir

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Muharram 1443

by Imam Zaid Shakir

To summarize the duties of brotherhood and sisterhood in Islam, we should love for our brother and sister what we love for ourselves. This is an incredible teaching that if implemented would go a long way towards improving relations between us. This spirit of love is especially important between the… Read More

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A Year in The Gardens of The Righteous

by Imam Zaid Shakir

MANA: Muslim Alliance in North America presents: Riyad as-Salihin “A Year in the Garden of the Righteous” with Imam Zaid Shakir. A 45 week course daily Monday through Thursday. Starting May 17th, 2021 9:30pm EDT and 6:30pm PDT Enroll Here: www.mana-net.org/enroll Watch a short… Read More

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Ramadan Mubarak!

by Imam Zaid Shakir

As we enter our second Ramadan of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been blessed in innumerable ways. Despite the tremendous losses resulting from the pandemic, when compared to other scourges such as the 1918 Spanish Flu (so-called), the smallpox contagion that wiped out most of the populations of the Americas… Read More

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MANA Statement Following The Murderous Attack on Asian American Spas in Metro Atlanta

by Imam Zaid Shakir

For this reason [Cain murdering Abel], we prescribed for the Children of Israel, that whoever takes a life, for other than retribution murder, or spreading murderous corruption throughout the land, it is as though he has murdered all of humanity and for whoever saves a life, it… Read More

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Women’s Day​

by Imam Zaid Shakir

International Women’s Day​ is on 8th March. The day has been set aside to celebrate the social, economic and political accomplishments of women. March is a most appropriate month for such a celebration. In the northern hemisphere, March signals the arrival of spring and the blossoming flowers whose colors and… Read More

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Prayer For a Fractured Nation

by Imam Zaid Shakir

O God! During this time of disinformation, distortions and lies, we pray that You show us the truth as truth and bless us to follow it, and that You show us falsehood as falsehood and bless us to shun it. O Merciful Lord! We pray that you bless us to… Read More

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MANA Statement Following The Capitol Insurrection

by Imam Zaid Shakir

The Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA) joins all law-abiding, peaceful Americans in condemning the deadly insurrection that occurred in and around the Capitol building yesterday (January 6, 2021) in Washington, D.C. We believe that this bloody affair was directly incited by President Donald Trump and his surrogates, both those… Read More

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Brothers and Sisters: Vote!

by Imam Zaid Shakir

Election day has finally arrived. Although over one hundred million Americans have already voted, scores of millions will do so today. As we all know this is one of the most pivotal and controversial elections in the recent history of this country. Pivotal because it comes at a time when… Read More

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Breonna Taylor: Why?

by Imam Zaid Shakir

Like many others in this country I have shed tears thinking of the tragic manner in which Breonna Taylor was killed in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment. A young, loving soul gunned down as she was just beginning to embark on what all who knew her believed would be a bright… Read More

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Explosions: Malicious Design and Neglect Benign

by Imam Zaid Shakir

This past Tuesday, a massive explosion sent a giant mushroom cloud billowing into the air over the port of Beirut, Lebanon. As the dust settled, a landscape where the handiwork of humans -buildings, machines, cars, trucks, electrical wires- was obliterated; reduced to a twisted, melted, garbled, wasteland, block after devastated… Read More

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Fasting Six Days of Shawwal

by Imam Zaid Shakir

When one has enjoyed a delicious and nurturing meal, one does not jump up from the table and race off to another endeavor. One takes time to savor the lovely tastes and to reflect on the great blessing one has been privileged to enjoy. So too our worship. One… Read More

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The Wider Significance of Malcolm X

by Imam Zaid Shakir

Today, MANA: Muslim Alliance in North America joins many other organizations and individuals in commemorating the life of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, more popularly known as Malcolm X. Malcolm was born May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Ossie Davis famously said in his eulogy for Malcolm, “And if you knew him,… Read More

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The Virus Questions America

by Imam Zaid Shakir

I came just like a thief inside the night. Confused you no longer know wrong from right. A plague, a pestilence, a scourge, or worse? I’ll let you know just who I am in verse. A tyrannical king I wear my crown. A novel threat yet… Read More

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My Problem with Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories

by Imam Zaid Shakir

There are a large number of books that discuss the coming of the Antichrist, known to Muslims as the Dajjal (The Great Deceiver). One can spend a lifetime studying this literature from its myriad angles. The Antichrist as an individual. The Antichrist as a demonic system. The Antichrist in secret… Read More

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Who Revived Malcolm X?

by Imam Zaid Shakir

With the release of the Netflix series reexamining the assassination of Malcolm X there is a renewed interest in determining the identity of his killers. It is not my desire to delve into that contentious issue. Rather, during this time when Malcolm’s passing is commemorated by so many, I pray… Read More

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Death Comes Suddenly

by Imam Zaid Shakir

This past Sunday Jan. 26. 2020, I was teaching a class at the DarusSalam Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. The class was based on an Arabic book entitled الاستعداد ليوم المعاد (Preparing for the Hereafter). One of the last things we covered before taking a break was the following poem: يا… Read More