Sean Hannity has a history of attempting to portray Rep. Keith Ellison as a “radical Muslim.”

Hannity accuses Keith Ellison of “a host of radical connections”

(Salon.com)

Sean Hannity attempted to tie Muslim Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., to controversial Nation of Islam pastor Louis Farrakhan and his national assistant Khalid Mohammed, following anexplosive interview on Fox News earlier this week in which Ellison accused Hannity of being “the worst excuse for a journalist I’ve ever seen” and a “shill for the Republican Party.”

In a segment on his show Thursday, Hannity accused Ellison of having “a host of radical connections,” and revived attacks made during Ellison’s 2006 campaign about ties to Farrakhan and the Million Man March. “The reality is, the congressman not only associated with these radicals – but he spent years spewing their hateful rhetoric,” Hannity said.

He continued: “What is the difference, I mean, do we have somebody then in Congress that is the equivalent of one side of what the Klan is? Because I view the rabid ranting of Khalid Mohammed as frightening in terms of racism, anti-Semitism.”

As ThinkProgress reports, Ellison addressed his work with the Million Man March and Farrakhan several years ago:

In the late 1990s, Ellison worked with the group to organize the Million Man March, but apologized for failing to “adequately scrutinize the positions and statements” of the Nation of Islam and Farrakhan six years ago in a letter to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas.

“I wrongly dismissed concerns that they were anti-Semitic,” he wrote, adding, “They were and are anti-Semitic and I should have come to that conclusion earlier than I did.” “I have long since distanced myself from and rejected the Nation of Islam due to its propagation of bigoted and anti-Semitic ideas and statements, as well as other issues.”

Sumbul Ali-Karamali shares her views and understanding of Jihad. (h/t:Fred A.)

Who Are You Calling a Jihadist?

Jihad, Jihadi, jihadist, even — most ridiculous of all — counter-jihadist. These labels are used by laypeople and journalists alike, often using jihad as a synonym for “any violence undertaken by Muslims.” An extreme example is the ad campaign posted a few months ago on New York City buses, equating Muslims to savages and any opinion not supportive of Israel as “jihad.” In fact, the ads — the creation of Pamela Geller, who is the head of what has been deemed a hate group — equate savagery with jihad, as well.

More recently, another set of bus ads have hit Chicago — this time, trying to counter some of the hate. The first features a young family with the caption, “My jihad is to march on, despite losing my son. What’s Yours?” On Twitter, too, check out the #MyJihad hashtag, where statements vary from the inspirational (“My jihad is to build friendships across the aisle”) to the humorous (“My jihad is not to eat the whole box”).

So what does jihad really mean, then? The media and anti-Islam manipulation of the word has so obscured the actual meaning that confusion is inevitable. I even encounter, alarmingly, a reluctance on the part of journalists and lay people to believe Muslims who try to explain their own religion and what jihad actually means.

Well, I’m a Muslim woman, an American, and a former corporate lawyer, and I know my religion pretty well, as I’ve not only been a practicing Muslim all my life, I have an additional degree in Islamic law. So let me explain what jihad, a specifically defined term of art, means in Islam.

The word itself means “effort” or “struggle.” Generally speaking, jihad can be divided into two broad categories: the internal jihad and the external jihad. The internal jihad is the struggle to make oneself  better — more just, more fair, more compassionate. The external jihad is the struggle to make society better — more just, more fair, more compassionate. Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, who died in 632, once famously described the internal jihad as the “Greater Jihad” and the external jihad as the “Lesser Jihad.” The most difficult struggle and the greatest, in other words, is the struggle to improve our own selves.

The external jihad can again be divided into further categories. How can we improve society? First, by “jihad by the word” which is using verbal persuasion to try to correct an injustice in society, such as letters to the editor or petitions. If that doesn’t work, then Muslims may use “jihad by the hand,” which is doing good works to correct an injustice in society, such as volunteering in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. And the last resort is “jihad by the sword,” which is taking up arms to correct an injustice in society.

But here’s what vast majority of Islamic scholars, for centuries, have decreed when it comes to jihad by the sword: it can be exercised only to overthrow an oppressor or in self-defense. That’s right: only in self-defense or to overthrow an oppressor.

Some scholars over the centuries have even contended that the jihad doctrine does not allow the overthrow of a mere run-of-the-mill oppressor, but only one who is actively preventing people from practicing their religion.

Other Islamic scholars, however, disagreed with this opinion; they said that invading a country and oppressing its people was sufficient reason to fight back (I suspect that’s what Americans would do if we were invaded), and that no suppression of religious practice was necessary. But, even so, they confirmed, jihad must be exercised only in self-defense or to overthrow an oppressor.

What about al Qaeda’s version of jihad? It’s not jihad. Terrorism has never been allowed in Islam, not in 1,400 years of history, and in early Islam it was severely punished.

Using religion as justification for violence is not unique to any one religion. Religion was used to justify the Crusades, as well as the Spanish Inquisition, and the attendant killing of tens of thousands of Muslims and Jews. In modern times, the Serbs’ genocide of Bosnian Muslims and themassacre of thousands of Muslims in Gujarat by Hindus also were at least partly, by some, justified by religion. But no religion condones murder or genocide.

To the Pamela Gellers of the world, a Muslim living in the U.S., going about his or her business and living everyday life as an American, is practicing jihad. But if that means that Muslims are trying to make themselves better people, then that’s a good thing. If that means that Muslims are trying to make their societies better by working within the law to correct injustices, then that’s a good thing. And it’s no different from what most of us are trying to do, regardless of our religions.

Lesley Hazleton, one of our favorite “anti-Loons” describes herself as the “Accidental Theologist” by which she means that even though she is an agnostic Jew she is fascinated by religion, theology and faith. Her fascination with religion has led her in recent years to be consumed by a study of Islam, particularly the Quran and the life and times of the Prophet Muhammad.

We first encountered Lesley when she gave her memorable speech in 2010 at TEDxRainier about her “extensive devotion to the study of the Quran”:

The comment thread in our article on her speech became quite lively as you would expect.

Recently, Lesley was back at TEDxRainier and delivered another stunning speech, this time on the Prophet Muhammad (she has just completed a book on his life) and what he means today in light of those who like to cast him as the evil villain par excellence and his self-described devotees who sometimes move to excess in his “defense.”

TEDx Talk: Muhammad, You, and Me

Just released:  the video of the talk I gave at TEDxRainier on November 10, 2012.

I can’t judge how effective the talk is (a few of the slides were dropped in the video-editing process, including a shot of Newsweek‘s infamous ‘Muslim Rage’ cover).  But as with my previous talk on reading the Quran, I do think I’m getting at something that needs to be said in today’s politically manipulated climate of suspicion and distrust.

Islamophobia, Left and Right

Eric Bolling is one of the low tier Fox News presenters, but one of the biggest supporters of the Islamophobia Movement. He regularly gives a platform to prominent anti-Muslim bigots such as Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, Brigitte Gabriel and even JihadWatch zombie Eric Allen Bell. (h/t: JD)

Fox News’ Eric Bolling Says Obama Administration ‘Answers To The Quran First,’ Clarifies Remarks (VIDEO)

(Huffington Post)

Eric Bolling walked back his words about the Obama administration on Monday’s “The Five.”

The roundtable was discussing the White House’s response to the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, which was initially believed to have been spurred by an anti-Islam film. Filmmaker Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was recently questioned over potential probation violations.

On Monday, co-host Greg Gutfield blasted what he saw as an apology from the White House. Bolling pulled up a picture of Nakoula with probation officials, and went one step further. “America changed at that moment,” he said. “To use what is being called a flimsy ploy to bring this guy in for questioning proves that the Obama administration, through all this appeasement and apologizing, answers to the Quran first and to the Constitution second.”

Co-host Bob Beckel was outraged. “That’s just an outrageous statement. Even for you, that’s an outrageous statement,” he exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. “That is the most — of all the things you’ve said, and I love you, brother, but that’s the most outrageous statement I’ve ever heard.”

Bolling clarified his remarks later on in the “One More Thing” segment, saying, “What I meant was, rather than appeasing the Muslims, [President Obama] should worry about free speech first. That’s it. I’m done with, I don’t want to hear about it.”

(h/t Mediaite)

An article from a few week ago, but a good one that many can benefit from–not just Catholics:

What Catholics can learn from the Quran

By Kathleen K. Duff (Washington Post)

This year during Ramadan — the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar when Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad — I was in solidarity with my Muslim sisters and brothers throughout the world by reading the Quran. But here’s the thing: I am a Roman Catholic.

My copy of the Quran, with more than 1,700 pages, has sat on the top shelf of my bedroom bookcase among other sacred texts for 14 years. Typically I would use it as a sporadic reference and resource to better understanding Islam, reading a few short passages at a time.

However, this Ramadan something at the core of my being was calling me to read the Quran in its entirety. And so my monthlong Ramadan journey began.

Each day and evening, the prayerful poetry in the Quran held me in a meditative mode of peace as I read without being aware of the passage of time.

When I finished reading a week before the end of the month, I felt as if the Quran was almost endless, reaching beyond the confines of my calendar days. I didn’t want to read the last page. I didn’t want to be finished.

The Quran inspired me, taught me and helped me to remember my essential holiness and how that holiness in the image of God should be reflected in the world.

As Ramadan comes to a close this weekend (Aug. 18-19) with Eid al-Fitr, I find myself focusing on the blessings I have been given through the grace of God while reading the Quran.

The Quran encouraged me to continuously be aware of a gracious and merciful God who cherishes humanity and cherishes all of creation. I came to believe more firmly during my humble Ramadan experience that being cherished by God is an example of divine love beyond the limitations of any one language, symbol and imagination.

Certainly this has implications for how we treat each other and care for the world.

Many chapters, or surahs, in the Quran had me reflecting on the diversity and opposite realities in nature (night/day, male/female, darkness/light, beginning/ending, life/death) and reaffirming that God is found in both. This insight into sacred polarity is a perfect teaching paradigm for respectful interreligious dialogue, which is never about win/lose, right/wrong profiling and divisiveness.

Among my greatest lessons from the Quran was to be reminded to have faith, seek the truth, praise God, pray, forgive, be kind, be peaceful and take care of people who are most vulnerable — those who are oppressed and often forgotten.

Perhaps the commentary found in the conclusion of my Quran says it best:

“What can we do to make Allah’s light shine forth through the darkness around us? We must first let it shine in our own selves. With the light in the niche of our inmost hearts we can walk with steps both firm and sure: We can humbly visit the comfortless and guide their steps. Not we but the light will guide. But oh the joy of being found worthy to bear the torch and to say to our brethren: I too was in darkness, comfortless, and behold, I have found comfort and joy in the grace divine.”

Read the rest…

A very interesting story out of Bangladesh about the possible unearthing of an ancient mosque from northern Bangladesh. This is an interesting find and a story that also reveals a lot about the state of how antiquities and archeology into early Islamic history is treated by some governments.

Another aspect of this story that is intriguing is that if true this would affirm speculation of the very early presence of Muslim in this region of the world. Indeed, it is true that Muslim traders were key in the early spread of Islam, and this would likely reaffirm this point. As Prof. Jonathan Brown notes in his lecture on the Abiding Stereotypes About the Prophet Muhammad in the Medieval and Modern West (6:30), ‘you will not find a single forced conversion in the first 300 years of Islam.’

Ancient mosque unearthed in Bangladesh

(AlJazeera English)

In a remote village in northern Bangladesh, an amateur archaeologist has discovered the remains of a mosque believed to be built in the 7th century.

Villagers initially stumbled on the site where they found ancient treasures and artifacts of Islamic history, including a stone with Quranic scripture, buried underground.

Further investigation into the findings could prove the site to be the earliest mosque built in South Asia.

Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque reports from Rangpur in northern Bangladesh.

American pens Quran against Islamophobia

By Niamh Fleming-Farrell (Daily Star)

BEIRUT: The world never has to look far to find evidence of U.S. citizens’ negative relationship with Islam.

When a Florida pastor oversees the trial, conviction and incineration of Islam’s holy book, it’s splashed across front pages, or when American soldiers serving in Afghanistan burn the Quran, news stations lead with the story. But pervasive as such headlines are, not all Americans’ interaction with the Quran is focused on its destruction.

Everitte Barbee is a U.S. citizen who grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He’s also a calligraphy artist. About a year and a half ago, the 24-year-old commenced work on a unique project: The Quran for Solidarity is, as far as Barbee is aware, the first Quran to be completely handwritten by a non-Muslim. He also believes it may be the first edition of the book entirely written in figurative calligraphy.

“I don’t know of any other non-Muslims to write the entire Quran by hand,” Barbee, who currently lives in Beirut, told The Daily Star. “I [also] don’t know of another Quran written completely in pictures, in actual figurative designs … Normally it’s just linear text.”

Barbee, who studied international business and Arabic at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, learned his art from master calligrapher Adnan Farid while living in Damascus in the fall of 2009.

The Quran for Solidarity project emerged almost by accident as Barbee sought to improve his skills as a calligrapher. The artist began writing Surahs from the Quran because he didn’t have many reliable sources of Arabic in dual translation and needed text with which to practice his art.

“I wrote one or two Surahs, just short ones here and there – all just geometric designs,” he explains. “But then after I’d done five or six, I thought, you know, why don’t I try to write the whole Quran.”

The extent of such an undertaking quickly became apparent. Barbee realized that handwriting the Quran “would take a few years.” So, in order to sustain his endeavor, the artist decided to find sponsors who would pay a small amount per word and receive the original calligraphic production of the sponsored Surah in return.

At the same time, Barbee was aware of and concerned by the growth of Islamophobia and religious and racial intolerance toward Islam and Arabs in the United States.

“I was reading the news constantly, and they have all this, you know, this constant negative flack about Park 51. And then even in my hometown of Nashville they were trying to build a mosque in Mufreesboro … but even that whole thing was held up because basically the city said they didn’t want a Muslim building in their town,” he says.

Park 51 is a community center incorporating a mosque and Islamic center. Its location in lower Manhattan, mere blocks from the former site of the World Trade Center towers, drew extensive controversy as many objected to the establishment of a mosque so close to the site where some 3,000 people were killed by Islamist militants on Sept. 11, 2001.

The Islamic Center of Mufreesboro received approval to proceed with construction of a new mosque two years ago, but opponents to the project, some of whom said its objective was to infiltrate the local community with Shariah law, launched a lawsuit that succeeded in delaying its opening. Just this week, the ICM received a 30-day temporary occupancy permit for its new site.

However, local opposition to the mosque continues.

“I mean the fact that you can just say churches are allowed here but mosques are not is just absurd,” says Barbee.

“I hate the way Americans look at the Middle East right now, especially mainstream Americans,” he adds.

Barbee’s hope is that his Quran will encourage his compatriots to rethink their position on Islam: “Hopefully, maybe they’ll see that if another American [who isn’t a Muslim] can really appreciate [the Quran] for what it is … maybe that would change the way some people think about it.”

Once his Quran is completed, Barbee intends presenting the first two copies of the book to Park 51 and the ICM.

But completion is still two to three years away. So far, Barbee has finished just 25 of 114 Surahs.

And those 25 are “mostly the shorter ones,” he admits, confessing that his task will become much more difficult as he takes on the longer Surahs.

Drawing each Surah as a picture is relatively easy for the last 70 or 80, but fitting the hundreds of verses that comprise the likes of the second Surah onto a single sheet of paper is a daunting task, Barbee explains.

“How I’ll get that on one picture, I still haven’t quite figured out,” he says. “It may have to be quite large.”

He muses that perhaps the final volume will contain both a print of the whole picture – in which the text will be quite miniscule and unreadable – alongside the picture reprinted across several pages in order to make the words decipherable.

Although still in its early stages, Barbee’s project has so far been well-received. “I haven’t gotten any bad feedback about it,” he says, “and I have gotten quite a few sponsors – sponsors from Pakistan, America, probably about seven states in America now.”

All the sponsors to date have been private individuals, about half of whom are Muslims and half other religions, Barbee says.

When someone sponsors a Surah, Barbee finishes the piece and sends the sponsor the original picture. However, he retains the right to use scans and images of it in his final Quran.

Sponsors may also have some input into the figurative calligraphic design of their chosen Surah.

For instance, in Surah Ar-Rahman one particular verse says the trees will prostrate before Allah. So at the request of the sponsor, Barbee manipulated the words of the Surah into an image of a tree bowing down.

The use of words to create portraits of animals and people is a regular feature of much of Barbee’s other calligraphic work, however, when writing the Quran he says he’s more comfortable working with abstract and geometric patterns.

“I’m still not sure how I feel about drawing animals in the Quran,” he says. He admits that he has drawn an elephant for the Surah Al-Fil, but says “I might have to redo that one.”

In addressing such matters, one enters a complex debate.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of Muslims about it,” Barbee says, “but as far as actually going to an imam or sheikh about it … no, I haven’t actually. [That] might be a good thing to do.”

“But … do I go to a Shiite imam or do I go to a Sunni imam?” he asks.

Ideally, Barbee would also like to have his Quran appropriately blessed, but he’s happy to address such matters at a later stage. “I’ll cross those bridges when I come to them,” he says.

For now, he continues work on the Surahs, each of which he must handwrite three separate times to produce the final picture.

“It’s a slow process,” he says, as he motions toward his current Surah in progress: “This one I’ve been working on for about two weeks now and it’s still [only] about halfway done.”

“But,” he adds, “it’s fun. It’s very relaxing and I enjoy it.”

The artist also articulates a deep aesthetic appreciation of the Quran: “It’s a very beautifully written book … the language is amazing, the poetry in it is phenomenal, but the rhythm of the actual strokes, the way it’s drawn, is actually pretty amazing.

Read the rest…

Surah Rahman:

Surah Hujurat:

by Mooneye

Controversy was sparked when Indianapolis Democratic Rep. Andre Carson spoke about the merits of faith-based schools at an Islamic conference in Hartford, Connecticut. Right-wing sites such as Fox News, The Blaze, Right Side News and the usual blog suspects ripped four sentences from a 19 minute speech that Carson gave in which he briefly touched on the subject of public vs. faith-based schools.

If you view the totality of Rep. Carson’s speech you see that there isn’t really much in it that is controversial from a purely objective point of view. He praises President Obama, condemns terrorism and couches much of his speech in the language of American exceptionalism with the only difference being that he ties it to the Muslim American experience:

How is this any different from a speech by Christian or Jewish congressmen to audiences that share their faith? Clearly such a speech doesn’t do much to alleviate Islamophobic hostility towards Muslims, since Islamophobes want Muslims to be treated as second class citizens. Heck, a significant chunk of the right doesn’t even believe Islam should be afforded the recognition of “religion.”

Can a Muslim American even hope/dream to be mayor, representative, senator…and, hold your breath–president of the USA? If you’re in the anti-Muslim right the answer is definitely no.

Rep. Carson’s sly remark about imagining a future female Muslim president who wears hijab got quite a few laughs, as it was meant to, but likely sent shivers down the spine of Islamophobes. Don’t fret, there have been Muslim female heads of state who have worn the hijab, in one form or another.

All in all, Carson’s speech really should be viewed as a sign of mainstream Muslim integration, and not one of a threatening Islamization effort. In fact, many might view his glossing over of the issue of drone strikes as the most problematic aspect of his speech.

On the topic that most disturbed the Right, Carson’s brief discussion about the merits of faith-based schools: it seems they got tripped up by Carson’s usage of the word madrassah, which is Arabic for “schools,” and his belief that America must tap into why these schools are excelling.

Clearly Rep. Carson could have chosen his words more carefully, considering how Islamophobes will look for anything to capitalize on and further the myth of “Islamization” and “stealth jihad.” Even though a public speech, in front a large crowd that is being recorded doesn’t fit into the whole “stealthy” narrative.

In any case, Rep. Carson cleared up any lingering doubts about what he meant in the speech in follow up questioning by news reporters. Will the websites and blogs that claimed he wants the Quran to be taught in public schools update their articles? I highly doubt it, they assuredly will use his decontextualized quote any time they want to prove the stealth, Islamic takeover myth:

Carson: Speech to Islamic Circle praised success of all faith-based schools

(IndyStar)

U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, an Indianapolis Democrat who is one of only two Muslims in Congress, is coming under attack for a speech he gave to the Islamic Circle of North America.

The headline on one blog read: “Rep. Andre Carson: American schools won’t excel until the foundation is the Koran.”

Really? Well, no, Carson didn’t say that. What Carson did say was that schools could learn something about innovation from madrassas, the Islamic religious schools. It is about four sentences in a 19-minute speech, given May 26 in Hartford, Conn., as the group held its annual gathering.

“America will never tap into educational innovation and ingenuity without looking at the model that we have in our madrassas, where innovation is encouraged, where the foundation is the Koran, and that model we are pushing in our schools meets the needs of our students,” he said. “Most of us are visual learners. Some of us are auditory learners, learn by hearing. Many of us are kinetic learners, learn by doing, touching, feeling. I have found, as my wife is a (public school) principal, and we have a five-year-old daughter, Salima, that we need an educational model that is current, that meets the needs of our students. America must understand that she needs Muslims.”

The full speechis about being proud to be a Muslim-American and notes that Muslims have been part of the nation from its inception and have much to offer. The conference’s theme was on addressing Islamophobia.

In an interview, Carson said he has said the same thing talking about faith-based schools to Catholic, Jewish and Christian audiences, noting that something is happening in those schools that could help all schools excel.

“This is a message that I’ve given consistently to Christian groups, Jewish groups,” Carson said. “The question becomes for me, ‘Why are the graduation rates higher at faith-based institutions? What are they doing that we might be able to extract from that?’ That is not an argument saying that we should remove separation of church and state, because I think that is important in the public sector.”

He said he believed faith-based schools, with smaller class sizes, are able to be more experimental and address different kinds of learners.

“They’re given a different kind of freedom to tap into these young American minds,” Carson said.

Asked if he was saying that the Koran should be in the public school classroom, Carson said: “No, no, no.”

But, he added, one reason he mentioned education in a conference about Islamophobia is because “people across the country came to me because they were saying there are folks who want to shut down us building a school in the community. They’re having to fight back against Islamophobia, and they don’t want us to teach things from our holy book. That statement was made in reference to the faith-based schools that they have where they are allowed to teach from their book of choice.”

Carson said that whether a religious school teaches the Bible, the Torah, the Bhagavad Gita or the Koran, “there’s something to be said about the success rates of faith-based learning institutions that we might be able to extract some principles or some methodology from.”

This isn’t the first time Carson has stirred controversy at an out-of-state speech. Last August, while speaking at a Congressional Black Caucus event in Miami, Carson criticized the tea party movement, saying “some of these folks … would love to see you and me hanging on a tree.”

He later dismissed calls for an apology, saying: “I stand on the truth of what I spoke.” Still, he conceded then that his word choice wasn’t the best.

(Via IslamophobiaToday.com)

US Navy to remove Muslim images from target range