Source: CNN

I was surfing the internet, looking for something to write about, when I came across a piece on one of my favorite websites, The Frisky.  It was just a blurb linking to CNN, but the headline,”TV Station Staffed By Fully Veiled Women Launches In Egypt,” intrigued me. The video and accompanying text piece on CNN detailed a new Egyptian television station called Maria. The station allows fully veiled women to operate and broadcast their own programming.

Initially, it seemed like a great idea. Women like Heba Seraq-Eddin who had studied mass communication in college, couldn’t get a job in television because networks, even in Egypt, weren’t hiring women who wear niqabs, the covering that shields everything except the woman’s eyes. These women had been discriminated against in class, where they couldn’t wear their niqabs during tests, or in their dorms and now in the job market. Seraq-Eddin felt that in Maria, she found a place where she and her beliefs were accepted: “I felt that we finally have a place in society after being marginalized. As women wearing niqab, we had no rights, and no one to talk about us. Through Maria, we’ll find people like us talking about us, with no discrimination.”

As a minority woman who majored in journalism, my heart went out to them. I thought, Go ‘head girls! It seemed like an empowering endeavor. But as I continued watching the video, I bristled several times at some of the thoughts expressed. Abu Islam Abdallah, the creator of Maria‘s mother channel, Al-Omma, is vehemently anti Christian (bristle) and believes it, Christianity, is the cause of society’s ills. Ills like women dressing immodestly, working as dancers and serving as members of parliament. (Bristle) Abdallah said that this network is about rejecting the type of discrimination these veiled women have had to face and putting them on the “right path.” (Bristle!)

Honestly, my first thought was either this man is crazy, a hypocrite or a liar. How can you claim to promote female empowerment and independence but believe women serving in Parliament is “madness.” Is that not another form of discrimination against women? The CNN article interviewed an Egyptian academic who believes Abdallah and his new network could just very well be a gimmick, a cover up to promote his conservative agenda. And I had formed my judgment about the whole thing, I was ready to slam the gavel, dismiss the network as oppressive and move on to the next thing.

But before I could click away, I had to ask myself, Why are you mad?

Clearly, as a Christian woman, who is also some version of a feminist/womanist/whatever, there were plenty of opportunities for me to be offended. And though Abdallah’s comments didn’t help me come to terms with Maria’s message, I had to ask myself what if the tables were turned? What would an atheist, post-racial, misogynist think about me writing and working for a black women’s website? We could argue all day about whether or not I should be able to do such a thing and what my job represented; but hopefully the atheist, post-racial, misogynist and I would come to the conclusion that we’ll never see eye to eye and should both just respect that my work empowers me, even if it goes against everything Mr. Atheist, Post Racialist, Misogynist believes in.

Now, I can’t speak for these women. I don’t know how fulfilling being a part of such a network, is for them. But I’ll just concede that they’re doing something they believe in. And though, I can’t support their message, I’m not mad at them.

What do you think, is Maria helping or hurting these Egyptian women? Watch the video and let us know what you think?

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Source: Zimbio

Erykah Badu was scheduled to perform at a concert in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow night, but when Malaysian officials came across an image of the singer’s body art, which includes the Arabic word for Allah on her shoulder, they shut her event down, saying Erykah isn’t a suitable role model for young Malaysians who are mostly Muslim.

Information Minister Rais Yatim said in a statement that government officials forbid Erykah’s concert because her body art is “an insult to Islam and a very serious offense.” He added that the photo of the artwork, which appeared in Malaysia’s most widely read English-language daily, The Star, “triggered public criticism that could jeopardize national security and cause a negative impact to the government’s image.”

Because Erykah was already in Malaysia, government officials said that she can stay as a tourist but will not be allowed to perform. Razman Razali, managing director of the show’s Malaysian organizer, Pineapple Concerts, told Reuters Erykah is “worried and dismayed” and said his company hopes the decision will be reversed.

Do you think Erykah still has a chance of performing?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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By Alexis Garrett Stodghill

Rep. Allen West is becoming famous for saying the most ridiculous things. As a man who entered Congress not even a year ago, he has transformed from being the Tea Party poster boy for their claims of racial inclusion into a figure who inspires vigorous head scratching with his boisterous words. Having JUST left behind the rancor caused by comparing himself to Harriet Tubman and black Democratic leaders to overseers on the Democratic plantation (I kid you not), Rep. West couldn’t just sit back for a moment and relax. That mouth had to keep on flapping — but now instead of trash-talking obvious enemies, he has decided to take on his real nemesis: GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain.

Yes, another overly loud and painfully cantankerous Tea Party “favorite,” who also gleans his popularity from the fact that his blackness seems to prove that the overwhelmingly white political organization is not racist. Rep. Allen West probably does not appreciate his doppelganger, who is stealing his shine as the black far right lap dog. And he made his feelings known in a rather lengthy offhand comment made to left-leaning political site, Talking Points Memo. When asked his opinion of Cain’s recent apology to Muslim groups for making inflammatory comments against them, Wild Wild West had this to say:

Cain issued an apology to Muslims in July following his meeting with officials at a Virginia mosque for a “discussion about religion and politics.” The meeting came after Cain claimed that American communities had the right to ban mosques in their neighborhoods.

His apology earned him a verbal beating from former supporters on his Facebook page and on anti-Muslim blogs.

Not gonna happen with West, the Tea Party favorite told TPM following a news conference at the Capitol Hill screening he hosted of an anti-“Ground Zero mosque” film.

“He did not frame things in a very good objective and historical assessment, and I think he kind of got himself backed into a very ugly corner,” West told TPM. “I would never give anyone the opportunity to come back and exploit me making some type of gaffe, and I think that’s what happened.”

By Charlotte Young

If you’re Muslim in America, chances are you’re happier with your life than the general American public.  According to the Christian Science Monitor, a Pew Research Center survey reveals that 82 percent of Muslim Americans are happier with the way things are going in their lives.

The survey, which was created to study the demographics, experiences and opinions of Muslim Americans, also shows that 56 percent of Muslims are content with the US, compared to 23 percent of the general public. In 2007, a previous survey conducted on the Muslim American demographic, revealed that 38 percent of Muslim Americans were more content with the way things were going in this country, compared to 32 percent of the general public.

The survey, as well as its 2007 predecessor, was conducted by Pew researchers curious to find out if public fear of home-grown terrorism had led Muslim Americans to feel increasingly segregated in the US and in anger turn to support extremist views.

Scott Keeter, the Pew director of survey research, tells the Christian Science Monitor that “there’s been no increase in favorable views of Al Qaeda, of suicide bombing, or Islamic extremism.” In addition, although Muslim Americans admit that they do often face discrimination, they “do not regard the American people as particularly unfriendly to them.”

The recent results show Muslim Americans experienced a change of heart in their opinion of Obama. In 2007 only 15 percent were impressed with the president. The current survey results also reveal that they are more satisfied with President Obama’s leadership at 76 percent than the general public, which show at 46 percent.

Although 70 percent say they have “a very negative opinion” of Al Qaeda, the beliefs on Islamic extremism shift within the community. Native-born Muslims are more likely to support Islamic extremism that Muslims born elsewhere. And African-American Muslims are least likely to say they have a “very unfavorable view of Al Qaeda.”

As far as discrimination goes, 55 percent believe that being a Muslim has become more difficult after 9/11. Twenty-two percent say they have endured name-calling and 21 percent have underwent added scrutiny at airports.

According to the survey, 2.75 million Muslims currently reside in the US. About two thirds wire born abroad of those 18 and older, and 25 percent arrived in the US since 2000.

by Selam Aster

A deadly terrorist attack has hit  a UN building in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja. A car bomb blasted the section of the building that houses Unicef. Witnesses say that they saw a man driving a sedan, pummeling through UN gates and barging into the main reception area of the building. The total number of casualties is still unknown but at least 16 have been found dead at last count.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Nigeria has been grappling with an Islamic militancy at home, and there has been speculation that these fighters may also be seeking links with foreign terror groups.” It is suspected that the Islamist group Boko Haram, aka “western education is sinful,”  is behind the bombing. The group opposes Western education and modern science and is seeking to implement Shariah law in the North, which is the home to Nigeria’s large Hausa and Muslim population.

Nigeria has suffered other attacks at the hands of local radical groups but only a few have garnered international attention. The United Nations target sent a clear message to foreign powers that the West African country is to be watched.

The last high profile terrorism incident came at the hands of a young Nigerian man, Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to ignite explosives hiding in his underwear on a Northwest airlines flight to Detroit in 2009. Although of Nigerian origin, Abdulmuttallab said he was trained by al Qaeda forces outside of his home country.

Apparently the music industry can be taxing on the soul and some of it’s biggest stars had to make a change. Whether that meant leaving the game entirely or switching up their style they decided to devote their energy to a higher power. Check out some artists and musicians who came to Jesus, Allah, or Moses.

By Charlotte Young

Three years ago, President Barack Obama had 89 percent of the Muslim vote. In 2009, he was praised by the Muslim community for his speech in Cairo. But as he prepares to deliver his second speech Thursday to the Muslim world, he faces an audience that is skeptical and disillusioned with his administration. The Daily Beast reports that some “are even nostalgic for George W. Bush.”

Complaints from the Muslim community relate to foreign and domestic policy, with many feeling as if not much has changed. Yes, they acknowledge that Obama has appointed Muslims to several high ranking government positions, spoken to the international Muslim community and sent officials to meet with American Muslims.

Still, Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a leading American Muslim group, says though “we’re quite happy if any president offers positive rhetoric toward the Muslim world or Islam, it really needs to be backed up with concrete policy initiatives.”

Additionally, Obama has not spoken at any Muslim gathering or visited a mosque in the U.S. Muslim leaders point out that Bush visited mosques twice.

Then there were Obama’s actions regarding the Park51 Project, the proposed mosque and Islamic Center near ground zero. Obama at first seemed to defend the project, but denied doing so the next day.

Shireen Zaman, executive director of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, says Obama is “still missing the political courage to stand up for immigrant communities, and not just Muslim communities.”

Obama may not be perfect but his attempts have demonstrated more tolerance of the Muslim community as opposed to the Republican opposition. Many conservatives have expressed negative feelings towards Islam. Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain has even gone as far to say that “he wouldn’t appoint a Muslim to his Cabinet or the federal bench.”

Haroon Mogul, executive director of the Maydan Institute, which consults Muslim groups on media relations and leadership, recognizes that many Muslim Americans aren’t left with much choice. “Whether we like Obama or not, it’s the best thing we have going for us,” he says.

(News One) — Whether it’s vandalizing a Mosque or a hateful taunt, harassment of Muslim Americans post 9/11 is at an all time high. But what about African-American Muslims, who according to the most recent study by the Virginia based Allied Media Corp, make up 24% of 7 million Muslims in America? They can be harder to recognize (they often don’t wear scarves or head dresses) but they are lawmakers, rappers, and even corporate executives.  Debra Mubashshir Majeed, an associate professor of philosophy and religious studies at Beloit College in Beloit, WI and author of Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America (Indiana University Press, 2006), says this is really about the stereotype of what a Muslim looks like. Dress is the cultural aspect of the faith and interestingly, since 9/11, people associate the Arab garb with Islam.

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(Crain’s) — On a recent moonlit night on Frederick Douglass Boulevard just south of 116th Street, in the shadows of a spiffy new condo building called the Livmor, the crowd for a Ramadan prayer at Aqsa mosque spilled out onto the sidewalk. Two dozen West African women in bright-colored head wraps knelt on a blue tarp, listening as the imam’s prayer filtered through an open door, his voice competing with the staccato bounce of a basketball on the pavement and a group of young boys rapping. The mosque is literally bursting at the seams.  Three years ago, two West African mosques facing escalating rents consolidated into one congregation and building. The joint effort, Aqsa mosque, now faces the same problem. Imam Souleimane Konate believes that Homeside Development Corp., which bought the Aqsa building for $3.7 million in 2008, wants to build on the site or sell to another developer.

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(New York Times) — NPR has terminated its contract with Juan Williams, one of its senior news analysts, after he made comments about Muslims on the Fox News Channel.  NPR said in a statement that it gave Mr. Williams notice of his termination on Wednesday night.  The move came after Mr. Williams, who is also a Fox News political analyst, appeared on the “The O’Reilly Factor” on Monday. On the show, the host, Bill O’Reilly, asked him to respond to the notion that the United States was facing a “Muslim dilemma.” Mr. O’Reilly said, “The cold truth is that in the world today jihad, aided and abetted by some Muslim nations, is the biggest threat on the planet.”

Read More…