I'm A Feminist and I Converted To Islam

I am a Muslim, but I wasn't always. I converted to Islam in November 2001, two months after 9/11.

I was 21 and living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was a bad time to be a Muslim. But after four years of studying, poking and prodding at world religions and their adherents, I decided to take the plunge.

Questions and Answers

I am the product of a Creole Catholic and an Irish atheist. I grew up Catholic, then was agnostic, now I'm Muslim.

My journey to Islam began when I was about 15 years old in mass, and had questions about my faith. The answers from teachers and clergymen -- don't worry your pretty little head about it -- didn't satisfy me.

So I did what any red-blooded American would do: the opposite. I worried about it. For many years. I questioned the nature of religion, man, and the universe.

After questioning everything I was taught to be true and digging through rhetoric, history and dogma, I found out about this strange thing called Islam. I learned that Islam is neither a culture nor a cult, nor could it be represented by one part of the world. I came to realize Islam is a world religion that teaches tolerance, justice and honor, and promotes patience, modesty and balance.

As I studied the faith, I was surprised many of the tenants resonated with me. I was pleased to find that Islam teaches its adherents to honor all prophets, from Moses to Jesus to Muhammad, all of whom taught mankind to worship one God and to conduct ourselves with higher purpose.

I was drawn to Islam's appeal to intellect and heartened by the prophet Muhammad's quote, "The acquisition of knowledge is compulsory for every Muslim, whether male or female." I was astounded that science and rationality were embraced by Muslim thinkers like Al-Khawarizmi, who invented algebra; Ibn Firnas, who developed the mechanics of flight before DaVinci; and Al-Zahravi, who is the father of modern surgery.

Here was a religion telling me to seek out answers and use my intellect to question the world around me.

Taking The Plunge

It was 2001 and I had been putting off converting for a while. I feared what people would think, but was utterly miserable. When 9/11 happened, the actions of the hijackers horrified me. But in its aftermath, I spent most of my time defending Muslims and their religion to people who were all too eager to paint a group of 1.6 billion people with one brush because of the actions of a few. I was done being held hostage by the opinions of others. In defending Islam, I got over my fear and decided to join my brothers and sisters in the faith I believed in.

My family did not understand, but it wasn't a surprise to them since I had been studying religion. Most were very concerned for my safety. Luckily, most of my friends were cool about it, and even curious to learn more.

The Scarf

These days, I am a proud wearer of hijab. You can call it a scarf. My scarf does not tie my hands behind my back, and it is not a tool of oppression. It doesn't prevent thoughts from entering my head and leaving my mouth. But I didn't always know this.

Studying Islam didn't immediately dispel all my cultural misconceptions. I had been raised on imagery of women in the East being treated like chattel by men who forced them to cover their bodies out of shame or a sense of ownership.

But when I asked a Muslim woman "Why do you wear that?", her answer was obvious, and appealing: "To please God. To be recognized as a woman who is to be respected and not harassed. So that I can protect myself from the male gaze." She explained how dressing modestly is a symbol to the world that a woman's body is not meant for mass consumption or critique.

I still wasn't convinced and replied, "Yeah, but women are like second class citizens in your faith?" The very patient Muslim lady explained that, during a time when the Western world treated women like property, Islam taught that men and women were equal in the eyes of God. Islam made the woman's consent to marriage mandatory and gave women the opportunity to inherit, own property, run businesses and participate in government.

She listed right after right that women in Islam held nearly 1250 years before women's lib was ever thought of in the West. Surprisingly, Islam turned out to be the religion that appealed to my feminist ideals.

Getting Married

It might shock you to know that I had an arranged marriage. That doesn't mean I was forced to marry my father's first choice suitor, like Jasmine from Aladdin. Dad didn't even have a say.

When I converted, it wasn't a good time to be a Muslim. Feeling isolated, alienated and rejected by my own society pushed me to want to start a family of my own. Even before converting I had always wanted a serious relationship, but found few men looking for the same.

As a new Muslim, I knew there was a better way to look for love and a lifelong partnership. I decided that if I wanted a serious relationship, it was time to get serious about finding one. I wanted an arranged marriage.

I made a list of "30 Rock"-style deal breakers. I searched. I interviewed. I interrogated friends and families of prospects.

I decided I wanted to marry another convert, someone who had been where I was and wanted to go where I wanted to go. Thanks to parents of friends, I found my now-husband, a convert to Islam, in Mobile, Alabama, two hours from my New Orleans home. Twelve years later, we are living happily ever after.

Not every Muslim finds a mate in this manner, and I didn't always see this for my life. But I am glad Islam afforded me this option.

Living In A Post-9/11 World

I never had to give up my personality, American identity or culture to be a Muslim. I have, at times, had to give up on being treated with dignity.

I have been spat on, had eggs thrown at me, and been cursed at from passing cars. And I have felt terror when the mosque I attended in Savannah, Georgia, was first shot at, then burned down.

In August 2012, I moved back home to New Orleans, where being different is the norm. I finally felt safe -- for a while. But now, with the continuous news coverage of the un-Islamic group known as ISIS, I have been subjected to much of the same treatment I received in other cities. And I now feel less safe than I ever have.

It enrages me to know there are some who call themselves Muslims and who distort and misappropriate Islam for political gains. It weighs on me knowing that millions of my countrymen see only these images as a representative of my religion. It is unbearable to know that I am passionately hated for my beliefs, when those hating me don't even know what my beliefs are.

In my journey to Islam, I came to learn that Muslims come in all shapes, sizes, attitudes, ethnicities, cultures and nationalities. I came to know that Islam teaches disagreement and that shouldn't lead to disrespect, as most Muslims want peace. Most of all, I have faith that my fellow Americans can rise above fear and hatred and come to learn the same.

By Theresa Corbin

Ireland ‘The Most Truly Muslim Country In The World’

The country in the world most faithful to the values of the Koran is Ireland according to an Iranian-born academic at George Washingon University in the US. Next areDenmark, Sweden and the UK.

Not a single majority Muslim country made the top 25 and no Arab country is in the top 50.

... when their ‘Islamicity index’ was applied onlyMalaysia (33) and Kuwait (42) featured in its top 50 countries, compared to the US at 15, the Netherlands also at 15, whileFrance is at 17.

Saudi Arabia rated 91st, with Qatar at 111st.

In carrying out the study, they applied the ideals of Islam in the areas of a society’s economic achievements, governance, human and political rights, and international relations.

On that index “Muslim countries do very badly,” and accused them of using religion as an instrument of power.

Last Novembe Prof Askari said that “we must emphasize that many countries that profess Islam and are called Islamic are unjust, corrupt, and underdeveloped and are in fact not ‘Islamic’ by any stretch of the imagination.”

“Looking at an index of Economic Islamicity, or how closely the policies and achievements of countries reflect Islamic economic teachings - Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Singapore, Finland, Norway, and Belgium round up the first 10”.

In their ‘Overall Islamicity Index’, a measure that encompasses laws and governance, human and political rights, international relations, and economic factors, “the rankings are much the same: New Zealand, Luxembourg, Ireland, Iceland, Finland, Denmark,Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Netherlands; and again only Malaysia (38) and Kuwait (48) make it into the top 50 from Muslim countries,” he said.

“If a country, society, or community displays characteristics such as unelected, corrupt, oppressive, and unjust rulers, inequality before the law, unequal opportunities for human development, absence of freedom of choice (including that of religion), opulence alongside poverty, force, and aggression as the instruments of conflict resolution as opposed to dialogue and reconciliation, and, above all, the prevalence of injustice of any kind, it is prima facie evidence that it is not an Islamic community, ...

“ Islam is, and has been for centuries, the articulation of the universal love of Allah for his creation and for its unity, and all that this implies for all-encompassing human and economic development.

By Patsy McGarry

Islamic Prayers To Be Held At Vatican

From Al Arabiya news…

For the first time in history, Islamic prayers and readings from the Quran will be heard at the Vatican on Sunday, in a move by Pope Francis to usher in peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Francis issued the invitation to Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit last week to Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority.

Abbas, Peres, and Francis will be joined by Jewish, Christian and Islamic religious leaders, a statement released by Peres’s spokesperson said, according to the Times of Israel.

Holy See officials on Friday said the evening prayers would be a “pause in politics” and had no political aim other than to rekindle the desire for Israeli-Palestinian peace at the political and popular level, according to the Associated Press.

And from the Times of Israel…

President Shimon Peres will head to the Vatican on Sunday to participate in an interfaith peace prayer event at the invitation of Pope Francis.

Francis issued the invitation to Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit last week to Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority.

According to a statement released by Peres’s spokesperson, Abbas, Peres, and Francis will be joined by Jewish, Christian and Islamic religious leaders.

The event will feature readings about peace by the clergy from the Tanach, the New Testament and the Quran. Francis will then read religious verses with Peres and Abbas, which the three will have selected for the ceremony.

Israel’s delegation, which the Chief Rabbinate helped to select, will include members of the local Jewish, Druze and Muslim communities.

And most importantly, the official statement from the Vatican…

Vatican Radio) At a press conference in the Vatican on Friday, the head of the Holy See’s press office, Fr Federico Lombardi, and the Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land, Fr Pierbattista Pizzaballa, announced details of a prayer encounter to be held on Sunday with the presidents of Israel and Palestine. Also attending the event will be the spiritual leader of the Orthodox world, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.

Pope Francis invited Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the encounter on May 25th during his brief but intense visit to the Holy Land.

“Building peace is difficult, but living without peace is a constant torment.” Those were Pope Francis’ words to the Israeli and Palestinian presidents when he invited them to come to the Vatican to join him in “heartfelt prayer to God for the gift of peace.” Both leaders immediately accepted that invitation and will be arriving in the Vatican around 6.30pm on Sunday evening, accompanied by delegations of about 20 people representing the different faith communities present in both states. Also taking part in the Vatican delegation will be the Orthodox Patriarch who played such a central role in the Pope’s recent pilgrimage to Jerusalem to recall a similar encounter between their predecessors exactly half a century ago.

Following a brief welcome in the Casa Santa Marta where he lives, Pope Francis will accompany the two presidents and the patriarch through the Vatican gardens to a specially prepared venue surrounded by two tall hedges between the Pontifical Academy of Sciences building and a wing of the Vatican museums.

Fr Lombardi explained that each faith community will present a piece of music, then thank God for the gift of creation, ask forgiveness for sins committed and pray for the gift of peace. 

Pope Francis and the two presidents will add their own calls for peace in the region, before exchanging greetings, planting an olive tree as a visible symbol of their desire for an end to the conflict and sharing a moment of private conversation together.

Answering journalists’ questions about the aim of the encounter, Fr Pizzaballa said it is a purely religious event designed to provide space for people to stand back from the conflict and “recreate a desire for change”. While the meeting will not lead to any overnight solutions to the complex problems of the Middle East, Fr Pizzaballa said he hoped it might just reopen a path of dialogue and allow people to dream of a world where peace really is possible.

(From archive of Vatican Radio)

By Katrina Fernandez

Magnificent Azan

What an amazing voice!

What Europe's Far-Right Parties Can Learn From Islam

By Craig Considine

Today's far-right parties in Europe, such as the National Front in France and the Party for Freedom in Holland, are surging in popularity and calling for legal bans on veils, mosques, minarets, sha'ria, and even the outright expulsion of Muslims from the continent. In short, the far-right perceives Muslims as "inassimilable" and their religion as "evil" and "backward."

Ironically, however, Muslims have a rich history of harmony, justice, and compassion for humanity. These historical facts raise the question of whether Europe's far-right parties should look to Muslim history for direction and guidance in their approach to handling minority communities.

Prophet Muhammad set the precedent for Muslims in regards to tolerance in the Constitution of Medina, one of history's first legal documents to safeguard human rights. Also called the Medina Charter, Prophet Muhammad's Constitution provided equal rights to non-Muslims living under an Islamic government around the year 622. According to the Constitution, "Strangers" in Muhammad's Muslim society were to be treated with special consideration and "on the same ground as [Muslims]."

Six years after creating the Medina Constitution, Muhammad sent a letter to Christian monks at St. Catherine's in the Sinai, Egypt, to show his desire to protect vulnerable religious communities. In the letter, Muhammad offered the Christians peace and called on his fellow Muslims to "defend [Christians], because Christians are my citizens." 

Muhammad's letter to the Christian monks also includes advice on how Christian judges are not to be removed from their offices, nor are the monks to be forced out of their monasteries. "No one is to destroy a house of their religion," Muhammad stated, "or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses." He added: "Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants."

On Mount Arafat in 632 AD, Muhammad left another "charter" for human rights. In his "Final Sermon," he claimed that "an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab... a white person has no superiority over black nor does a black have any superiority over white except by piety and good action." The Final Sermon shows how Muhammad had great care for all people, regardless of their ethnic composition, and that diversity should be celebrated instead of eradicated from society.

Other Muslims leaders, such as Caliph Umar, advised his predecessors "to treat ahl al-dhimmah (Jews and Christians) well, to defend them against their enemies and not burden them with more than they can bear." 

Umar also stated: "Treat all people as equal... I advise you not to let yourself or anyone else do wrong to ahl al-dhimmah." Umar was following in Muhammad's footsteps in treating Jews and Christians as equal to Muslims.

Abu Bakr, one of Muhammad's trusted advisors, is also on record stating that "the most important foundation of a truly Muslim country is justice and equality for all. In fact, a country that is bereft of justice and equality, though it may be inhabited by Muslims, is not really a Muslim country at all."

Another Muslim leader, Akbar the Great of the Mughal Empire, would echo Muhammad, Umar, and Abu Bakr's message of tolerance and harmony centuries later. Upon assuming power, Akbar ended the jizya, or poll tax, on non-Muslims and invited people of all religious backgrounds to his court to engage in interfaith dialogue.

Moreover, Akbar had tremendous respect for Christianity, visible in the Buland Darwaze, a large gate-structure at the city of Fatehpur Sikri, on which he had transcribed the Qur'anic inscription: "Isa [Jesus], son of Mary, said: This world is a bridge. Pass over it, but build no houses on it. He who hopes for an hour may hope for eternity. The world endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer, for the rest is unseen." 

Rumi, the famous Sufi poet of the 13th century, also revered Jesus and extended his hand in friendship to non-Muslims. Rumi's most powerful words echo love and peace to all regardless of ethnic background:

I am neither Christian, nor Jewish, nor Muslim I am not of the east, nor of the west... I have put duality away, I have see the two worlds as one; One I seek, One I know, One I see, One I call (Divan-i Sham-i Tabriz, II)

Members of Europe's far-right parties can look to these great Muslim leaders for guidance in how to treat Muslims in their societies. However, Europeans today can also look to the example on their continent - Muslim Spain, between the 8th and 15th centuries - when Muslims ruled a diverse society of Jews and Christians in a relative state of harmony, which was utterly unthinkable in other Christian European cities such as London or Paris.

Muslim Spain reached a state of tolerance which has its very own name - convívencía - which can literally be translated as "living with-ness," or "requiring tolerance." 

Perhaps its time for Europeans to adopt a 21st century style convívencía so they can come to grips with what Muslims and Islam can offer to European society.

Muslims and Jews Vow To Stand Up For Each Other

By Rabbi Marc Schneier and Russell Simmons

There is a widely accepted belief that Muslims and Jews are enemies and will always remain so. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

For the past six years The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding has not only challenged this narrative, but has facilitated a global dialogue between Muslims and Jews that is taking place on all six populated continents.

This Muslim-Jewish dialogue is our annual Weekend of Twinning which encourages joint Muslim and Jewish programming on the grassroots level in every community across the world where Muslims and Jews reside.

Our efforts reveal the actual harmony that exists between these two faiths and peoples and here is a video that we produced with Unity Productions Foundation, which documents this global Muslim Jewish coalition that is vowing to stand up for one another by combating Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred.

Next month, in cities around the world, these peacemakers will come together and break bread and discuss ways of improving the world as part of the Weekend of Twinning, which officially takes place November 15-17th.

"Islam Has Given Me Happiness"

New Zealand’s Sonny Bill Williams reflects on his return to rugby league after a successful spell playing union, where he won the World Cup with the All Blacks.

He says Islam is important to him, adding that he “wouldn't be half the man I am today without my faith”.

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Honored At The U.S. Supreme Court

JESUS V MUHAMMAD: MISCONCEPTIONS

This a response to the EPIC FAIL of a video by Steven Crowder in his desperate attempt to gain attention. It's always best to ignore such videos, especially since the whole "Islamophobia" thing is getting old now, but in certain instances it's good to clarify where he went wrong in terms of the misconceptions he put forward.
This video deals with the obvious criticisms of Islam and brings light to their reality.

1) The Marriage of Aisha with Muhammad (pbuh)
2) The issue of polygamy and multiple wives in Islam
3) The punishment of adultery in Islam
4) The concept of Jihad and fighting
5) The final words and death of Muhammad (pbuh) the best man to walk this Earth.

We will defend our beloved and noble Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) until our last breath. We are used to this already.

"They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it." Quran 61:8

American's Defend Muslims

This powerful social experiment set out to show us a glimpse of the disturbing discrimination many Muslims sadly face every day in America. I began watching this video thinking I would be left feeling disheartened and angry, but the words the soldier says at 5:05 are so powerful that I wish all people who held prejudice could hear him speak.

The Bosnians’ Coexistence: Long History To Be Read

By Amir Telibečirović

"No 'Westerner' can erase the Islamic influences in Bosnia, and no 'Easterner' can impose their own influences on our way of life."

This statement, overheard at a Sarajevo coffee bar, explains the unique character and identity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Despite the conflict of the previous decade, it is still a unique case of a country following a middle path of coexistence between individuals with different religions and ethnicities.

Islam was introduced to Bosnians in the 15^th and 16^th centuries during the Ottoman Empire.

Bosnian Muslims, ethnically identified as Bosniaks, have long been neighbors with ethnic Serbs who are largely Orthodox Christian, predominantly Catholic Croats and other ethnic and religious minorities, such as Sephardic Jews, Albanians, Roma and others.

If you talk to members of the older generation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they will recall a time when Yugoslav communist leader Josip Broz Tito pointed to Bosnia and Herzegovinia as a model for Yugoslavia to coexist without conflict.

Though there has been intolerance and conflict between members of various religious and ethnic groups, tensions never pitted the entire populations of one group against another. Most conflicts in Bosnia's history were imported or orchestrated from Istanbul, Vienna, Berlin, Belgrade and Zagreb – for territorial occupation or the exploitation of local natural resources.

Since the war, however, restoring the middle path of coexistence has been the goal of ordinary Bosnians working with non-governmental organizations in local cities.

The War Woes…

One critical exception in recent history was the Bosnian War (1992 to 1995), which erupted as a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia and brought much misery and destruction to the region.

But after the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995, which brought an end to the three-year war, refugees returned to their homes to find their cities divided – sometimes physically – along ethnic lines. And local laws limiting freedom of movement exacerbated these tensions and obstructed reconciliation efforts.

As a result, parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina remain divided – politically, religiously and ethnically – even today.

Since the war, however, restoring the middle path of coexistence has been the goal of ordinary Bosnians working with non-governmental organizations in local cities.

Reconstruction has served as a way for various groups to work together for a common good. Non-governmental organizations such as the Sarajevo-based International Forum Bosnia, which houses the Center for Interreligious Dialogue and facilitates dialogue among different religious groups, and the International Mennonite Organization which aids in home reconstruction and youth programs, are hard at work to ease remaining tensions in this post-conflict society.

But what is the most notable are those places where coexistence between ordinary people of different religions and ethnicities never stopped, not even during the war. These are the communities that the rest of the region can learn from, the people that adhered to the middle path and refused to align with those who committed acts of violence along ethnic or religious lines and turned against their neighbors in times of trouble.

Despite the violent upheaval in the 1990s and the tumultuous years that followed, coexistence amongst the diverse population of Bosnia and Herzegovina has endured.

Cities like Sarajevo, Mostar and Tuzla, were known to have the largest inter-ethnic populations in the Balkans. In various sieges throughout the war, neighbors came together, regardless of ethnicity or religion, to protect one another and their towns from destruction. In fact, the heavy artillery raining down upon them created solidarity among them, instead of separating them.

Historically, neighborhoods in these cities were not divided between one group or another. There had been inter-ethnic and inter-religious mixing for generations, and this kind of coexistence was considered the norm, unlike other towns in the region where one ethnic or religious group comprised the majority.

This attitude of coming together during the war demonstrated that not all communities can be driven apart along ethnic or religious lines, even in times of war. In fact, people of various backgrounds came together in reaction to the aggressive attempts to divide them.

Despite the violent upheaval in the 1990s and the tumultuous years that followed, coexistence amongst the diverse population of Bosnia and Herzegovina has endured.

The resilience of the people in the region, particularly those still working to build united communities out of divided groups, serves as an example not only in the Balkans, but for conflict-torn countries around the world.