Human-caused global warming has already begun causing worldwide suffering: extreme weather, drought, flooding, refugee crises, and the terror of warfare. Our Islam calls us to be a force of mercy for all of humanity and to protect God's beautiful miracle of nature, preserving her purity and gaining benefit from her nourishment.
Jews around the world, and my family and I, are now celebrating the eight day-long holiday of Passover (peysakhin Hebrew), commonly known as “The Festival of Freedom.” Passover celebrates four themes or moments of redemption: the liberation of the earth from the harshness of winter; the liberation of the Hebrew slaves from their enslavement in Egypt; the freeing of humankind from idolatry and ignorance; and the personal and spiritual liberation of every human being from darkness and pain.
Today, April 4th, 2017, marks 49 years since the assassination of one of America’s greatest faith leaders and civil rights advocates, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One year before his death, Dr. King delivered a historic speech at The Riverside Church of New York that forever binds the peace movement with the movement for civil rights and social justice.
China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. These five countries execute more of its citizens than any other countries in the world, in that order. It is interesting to note that three of these countries are predominantly Muslim. While the Qur’an does allow state sanctioned killing in specific situations, Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl of the UCLA Law writes:
Entrusting the state to play this hazardous and often untenable role of carrying out the Divine mandate, if one does in fact exist, raises a set of theological and ethical problems that are not adequately addressed by simple reliance on procedural guarantees or by augmenting the integrity of the process that results in the decision to terminate life.
Listen to the speeches and presentations from our 11th Annual Banquet held on March 11, 2017, including Linda Sarsour, Jacob Bender, PA State Senator Sharif Street, Ejaz Sabir, Salima Suswell, and others.
Last evening may have marked the first instance where Donald Trump’s words have come back to haunt him. Prior to last evening, Trump’s myriad offensive comments have had little effect on his ability to gain support among the American people and Republican legislatures across the country. Trump supporters either wholeheartedly embraced his xenophobic, sexist, racist, bigoted comments or routinely downplayed them by urging people not to take Trump’s words literally. Well, fortunately for those who still believe in the Constitution, Derrick Watson, a federal judge in Hawaii, decided to hold Trump to his words.
This past Saturday night, March 11th, nearly a thousand CAIR supporters, Muslim community leaders, Jewish and Christian clergy, and elected officials, including Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf, joined together at our sold-out Eleventh Annual Banquet to celebrate the accomplishments of CAIR-Philadelphia. With a theme this year of "Revelation and Resistance," the 2017 banquet stressed the deep connection between our spiritual lives and the movements for social justice.
Last week, Pennsylvania's Jewish community received numerous bomb threats after white supremacists desecrated a Jewish cemetery in Northeast Philadelphia. Numerous mosques around America have received similar threats in recent weeks.
Yesterday, Donald Trump signed another Executive Order, aiming to ban Muslims from entering the United States. This order is a scaled-back version of the president’s first Muslim ban that prompted an inspiring wave of solidarity from American civil rights defenders of all backgrounds. Packed town halls, marches, and advocacy from the people pressured the government to protect our rights as Muslims. Eventually, the courts stopped the last ban in its tracks. To those who continue to stand for our rights, the rights of all the oppressed, and refugees fleeing violence, thank you.
