Al Jazeera recently released documentary footage of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan being urged to embark on an evangelical mission to "hunt" misguided Afgans and share the word of Jesus.

Now, we all know that good, moral people of many faiths want to save their brothers and sisters from the hell fire, but should American troops overlap military objectives with proselytizing?

A U.S. church certainly hoped so, since it generously sent a stack of Bibles to an American soldier on duty in Afghanistan. The bibles were conveniently printed in local Afghan languages.

Proselytizing is against U.S. military rules, but perhaps the chaplain in the video below got confused. Or maybe it's understandable that the line gets crossed when one finds himself confronted with the axis of evil. After all, former President George W. Bush famously stated about Afghanistan, "This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while. And the American people must be patient. I'm going to be patient." 

He wasn't kidding. Eight years after making this historical observation, the war in Afghanistan is still going strong. But it's not the U.S. that needs patience –  it's the Afghans.

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Of course I already knew that Orthodox Jews observe a modest dress code, but it was eye-opener to learn that in some ultra-conservative areas a modesty patrol – police the streets in a vigilante manner, terrorizing and belittling "immodest" Jewish women.

Imagine that – someone other than a Muslim taking religious law into their own hands! This could be juicy stuff, as interesting and controversial as headlines about the religious police in Iran and Saudi Arabia, or about Taliban-enforced modesty in Afghanistan. Yet, until I read a friend's recent blog post on this topic, I've never chanced across a news story about the underground Jewish modesty patrol in Jerusalem.

Why not?

To be fair, some stories about vaad tznius are out there; they just don't get reported that often or they quietly get swept under the carpet. After all, would Israel want the world talking about how paint, bleach and even acid have been thrown on "immodestly" dressed women and girls in Jerusalem?  Or how about the silently sanctioned cases where women have been beaten up for suspected immoral behavior?  Obviously it's just more convenient for the West to focus on religious fanaticism in the Muslim world. That way there's no need for a "Terrorism Is Not Judaism" campaign.

Speaking of campaigns, enter Crown Heights, New York –  home to a large conservative Jewish population. Recently a tznius poster campaign emerged, encouraging Crown Heights women to observe modest tznius dress. Similar signs and grafitti dot some streets in Jerusalem.

Nuff said. If you want to read more about the Jewish modesty patrol, here are a few quick links:

• [Read More]

Dalia Mogahed, an Egyptian-born American who heads the Gallup American Center for Muslim Studies, has become the first Muslim woman appointed to serve in President Barack Obama's administration, and the first Muslim woman in hijab to be named to a position in the White House.

According to an article on Al Arabiya, Mogahed, along with 24 other religious and secular representatives, will sit on an interfaith advisory board which will advise the president on the role religion might play in resolving social problems and civil rights issues.

While the far right will clearly disapprove of this, for the first time in ten years a majority of Americans think the country is headed in the right direction. This statistic is according to an Associated Press-GfK poll, which shows "most Americans consider their new president to be a strong, ethical and empathetic leader who is working to change Washington."

Surely Mogahed's new role as adviser in the White House will be viewed by some as symbolic of that change. The question remains, however, whether interfaith dialog with the President will lead to a tangible change in how the average American views Muslims. Rather than be skeptical or speculate, I'll simply look at Mogahed's appointment as a small step in the right direction.

The Register published an article yesterday announcing plans by the British government to offer search engine optimization (SEO) training to pro-Western, moderate Islamic groups. The hope, of course, is that the moderate groups' web sites will "flood the Internet" with "positive" interpretations of Islam which will rank high in online searches, while extremist sites will lack SEO prowess and therefore lag pages behind. 

For those uninitiated into the world of SEO, Search Engine Optimization is a skill just about any writer can learn. It involves tailoring articles in such a way that they stand out amongst countless other pieces of writing on the same topic, thereby showing up higher in search results. The higher up on the results, the more likely a web user is to click on a link for further reading.

While I'm sure the UK thinks it's on to something big in terms of controlling extremism, it's questionable whether SEO skills implemented by a handful of sites could effectively relegate the "extremist" point of view to the bottom of the slush pile.

For Muslims, the real issue at stake is what the government defines as "extreme." Lots of so-called "moderate" material is already out there, and it consistently shows up high in Internet searches. Not surprisingly, also ranking high alongside the moderate viewpoint are articles and fatwas which are unapologetic about Islam and would probably be considered "extremist" by UK authorities. I'm not talking about such controversial subjects as suicide bombings, beheadings, and the like – just niche topics such as veiling, modesty, polygamy, shariah, hadd  punishment, Muslim women's rights, and any number of other things a person might be searching in relation to Islam.

I'm curious to see which groups sign on to this SEO training. Moderat... [Read More]

The U.S. Muslim Engagement Project released a report called "Changing Course: A New Direction for U.S. Relations with the Muslim World" on September 24, 2008. The report features recommendations by a group of 34 bipartisan and multi-faith American leaders who came together out of concern over the rise in tension and violence between the U.S. and Muslim countries and communities. Eleven Muslims were among the leaders involved.

Key points in the report were reached by consensus and include:

• Elevate diplomacy as the primary tool for resolving conflict in Muslim countries.
• Support efforts to improve governance and improve civic participation in Muslim countries.
• Help catalyze job-creating growth in Muslim countries to benefit both the U.S. and Muslim countries' economics.
• Improve mutual understanding and respect between Americans and Muslims around the world.

There's a lot more, of course. For example, one section recognizes that  "The U.S. Has Greater Impact When We Live Up to Our Own Ideals."

You can download the full report at the U.S. Muslim Engagement Project's web site. 

Also check out Change the Story, a new web site devoted to promoting dialog and positive interfaith relations between Muslims and non-Muslims. Change the Story's launch was timed to coincide with the "Changing the Course" report and was organized by Intersections, a multi-faith and multi-cultural initiative of the Collegiate Church of New York.

The Boston Globe has published some stunning photos of Muslims in the month of Ramadan -- take a look!  The pictures capture the visual essence of Ramadan, and the sense that Muslims worldwide are united and spiritually active during this holy month.


Consider the amazing scene which has been happening outside my home each evening in Ramadan. In the short period between 7:30 and 8 p.m., the quiet streets and vacant lots fill with thousands of people. They form row after row of neat lines for prayer, and from my living room window's vantage point, my neighborhood has the appearance and feeling of Mecca during hajj season. 


The people have come together to observe the nightly Tarawih prayers. These many, many people praying outdoors are the overflow from our neighborhood mosque.


My youngest children like to look out at this sea of people before going to bed.  As I look with them, I'm always humbled by the thought that what I see is just my little corner of existence. All throughout Morocco -- in fact, all throughout the Muslim world -- other mosques and streets are also overflowing.


It's staggering, really, to contemplate how many millions of people worldwide come together every night for the simple and pure purpose of prayer in Ramadan. It's a powerful few hours, when it's easy to remember the real spirit of this month is to humble oneself in prayer and charitable acts, and learn patience, self-discipline, and compassion for those who do without basic needs year-round.


It was nice to see some of this essence captured and published by the Globe. But while looking through the pictures, I was struck by the images of Palestinians being prevented from entering Jerusalem to pray at Al Aqsa Mosque. They contrast sharply with the other images of people who have the freedom to observe a peace... [Read More]

 

Yesterday, the Moroccan government charged Hassan Rachidi, the head of Al Jazeera’s bureau in Rabat, with false reporting and conspiracy after Al Jazeera reported that five people in Sidi Ifni had been killed at demonstrations over unemployment.

 

Moroccan authorities claim that there were no deaths at the protests, but report that 188 people were arrested following clashes.  The injured included 20 civilians and 28 police officers.

 

In his defense, Rachidi says the station received its information from what is considered a reliable source, the Moroccan Human Rights Centre (CMDH).

 

An official at CMDH also faces charges. The trial for both men was set for July 1.

 

Perhaps all of this wouldn’t seem so spectacular except for the fact that last month, the Moroccan government blocked Al Jazeera from continuing its daily news broadcasts on the Maghreb countries. The program had been airing for well over a year, and the withdrawal of its broadcast frequency over “technical and legal problems” was unexpected and without clear explanation.

 

No wonder Reporters Without Borders jumped in last month to say something about it.  Perhaps they’ll speak up again.

 

Rachidi’s own reaction to being charged?  “I am very surprised by this decision... [Read More]

Muslim Charities:  Unfairly Eyed with Suspicion

On the surface, things are looking up for some of the Muslim charities accused of indirectly supporting terrorism. In October, a U.S. District Court judge declared a mistrial on most of the counts against the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development  and several men connected to it; together, they were accused of channeling over $12 million to Hamas. More recently, in December a U.S. Federal Appeals Court overturned a $156 million settlement awarded in 2004 to the family of an American yeshiva student killed in 1996 on the West Bank. In that case, Stanley and Joyce Boim alleged that a fundraiser from the Chicago area, the American Muslim Society and the Holy Land Foundation all played a role in their son’s death by supporting Hamas.

Despite the failure of both the U.S. government and the Boims to link the charities to terrorism, the damage of trying to do so will outlive the historical legal precedents of freezing charities’ assets, of naming Muslim organizations as un-indicted co-conspirators, and of assuming that individuals are guilty by association. 

 

American Muslims now face the ongoing dilemma of where to give their charitable dollars. Although Muslim advocacy groups like CAIR are calling on Washington to develop regulations that clearly define what constitutes an illegal donati... [Read More]