I Grieve
I Grieve By: Yasmin Mogahed I lifted my head Once more Only to see The sun had set, The trees had slept, And they’d all gone home I grieve. The sky that was clear is now covered with fog. My path, I no longer see. Why try…when it’s all so gray? I grieve. Today I grieve For what’s been lost. My forgotten people, still on their knees before a snow god in spring I grieve. They’ve forgotten that prayer And to whom they should call. The Essence replaced by mundane ritual, empty symbols. Their hearts… so tired, jaded and...
Read MoreOne Jewish Woman’s Fight for Palestine
One Jewish Woman’s Fight for Palestine By: Yasmin Mogahed For Jennifer Loewenstein, April 19, 2002 was a “waking nightmare”. She stood silent at the edge of the camp, in disbelief–and horror. Listening to the sound of wailing, she watched as medical workers lay out the bodies of the dead. The corpses, wrapped in white, were loaded onto the back of a pick-up truck. “I will never forget this time,” Loewenstein recalls. “I stayed in the camp for two days, picking through the ruins and debris of people’s former lives–watching children and families look for their...
Read MoreResponse to Violence Overseas
What is my response to the recent violence overseas? Well, it depends who I’m addressing: To my Muslim brothers and sisters, I say: The violence is wrong, and only helps the cause of those who want to insult Islam and the Prophet (pbuh). To the media and all those who’d like to make the world believe that Muslims are flipping out over cartoons and movies, I say: This anger wasn’t born a week ago over a movie. It is rooted in decades of humiliation and oppression. To employ the old cliche, the cartoons and movies just serve as straws that break the camel’s back. Photo...
Read MoreMy Speech in Cairo on June 4, 2012: Hope for the Future of Egypt
An older lady was standing in line to vote in Egypt. And she was asked, “How long have you been waiting here in line to vote?” She replied, “For 30 years.” Many people in this room have been standing in line waiting their entire lives to vote. I’ve had the privilege, this week, of being in Egypt, and I’ve listened as every conversation gravitated towards politics. I’ve rode through the streets of Cairo and seen the once pictures of Mubarak replaced with countless posters of political candidates and messages. I’ve witnessed the fury of emotion for or against each political...
Read MoreBe Muslim–But Only in Moderation
In his first 2004 presidential debate, Senator John Kerry began the night in the favor-of-the-day. Answering his first question, Kerry explained that America needed to isolate the “radical Islamic Muslims”. “I have a better plan to be able to fight the war on terror by … beginning to isolate the radical Islamic Muslims, not have them isolate the United States of America.” At first, the statement sounded redundant-even uneducated. A Muslim is, by definition, a follower of Islam, and is therefore, by definition, “Islamic”. Saying “Islamic...
Read MoreIrvine 11: Waiting for Victory
We can hardly get them off our minds. The whole world is watching today. And everyone is wondering, ‘what will happen to the brave men who spoke truth to power in Irvine?’ What will go down in history about the students who gave a voice to the voiceless, and took a bullet in the process? They stood for justice. And God is always with those who stand for justice. So now as the case winds down and we wait anxiously for the jury’s verdict, the question on many of our minds is “mata nasr Allah?” When…where is the help of God? Will God give them victory? Will they win? Does...
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