30 Days: Muslims and America appeared in 2005. The TV Guide description of the show was as follows: “A conservative Christian who believes that Islam is a violent religion experiences life as a Muslim by spending a month in an Islamic community in Dearborn, Mich. While there, he studies the Koran; adopts Muslim dress; and takes Arabic lessons.â€
So what has happened to the main characters since then? The show, produced by Morgan Spurlock, placed the conservative Christian West Virginian David Stacy with Shamael Haque and Sadia Shakir in Dearborn, Michigan.
Morgan Spurlock is a counter-culture icon in his own right, having produced “Supersize Me†about the effects of eating only McDonald’s food for 30 days, and “Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden,†a movie in which he uses the premise of a hunt for Bin Laden as a vehicle to explore relations between ethnicities and religions. After making Supersize Me, he decided to continue with the lessons he learned from that episode by making a TV show which puts people in unfamiliar situations for 30 days at a time.
The pilot episode was the “Muslims and America†episode in which West Virginia Christian David Stacy lived with Shamael and Sadia Khan in Michigan for 30 days; Stacy visited with Muslim scholars, adopted Muslim practices (other than those which he felt uncomfortable doing given his own Christian background). He studied Arabic, learned about the practice of Islam from local Dearborn Muslims, and lived with Shamael and Sadia for the 30 days.
Recently Shamael and Sadia attended the ISPU fundraiser in Novi, Michigan, and I had the opportunity to speak with them about the show.
“We were actually the pilot episode—we were the first ones shot,†Shamael explains. They showed our episode to the producers and they decided to go ahead with the show.
The couple married in 2000, and had had one baby, Hanaan, as of the filming of the show; now they have 3 children, Hanaan (now 5), Maryam, 22 months, and Raneem, their newborn, is 1 month old.
Sadia graduated from Cooley Law School.
“She is actually practicing now—she does some estate planning,†although she remains busy with the couple’s 3 children, one of them only a few months old.
And Shamael has made professional progress as well.
“I’m a doctor, neurology and psychology, at Henry Ford.†They remain in Michigan, living in Ann Arbor.
Shamael explains how they originally decided to do the show: “We talked about it and decided it was a way to show Muslims in a positive light, to open dialog between Muslims and non-Muslims.â€
The couple is still in touch with David Stacy, who himself is married to a Filipina woman, with now two children. The couples occasionally visit one another.
Stacy continued learning about Islam after the show was over, fasting a day in Ramadan when he returned to West Virginia and meeting and speaking with local Muslims there.
“Overall it was a really positive experience,†explains Shamael. He explains that the show has been seen all over the world, including in Dubai.
HOUSTON, TX: All are invited to come and hear about the unique ILM Academy School on Sunday, December 14, 2008 between 3:30–5:30pm, located at 1209 Conrad Sauer Drive, Houston, Texas 77043 (inside ISGH Education Center, next to Masjid El-Farouq). Special guest speaker is going to be Gretta Yaeger of Houston Montessori Center. For more information, please call 713-464-4720 – Ext. 300 or Visit www.ilmacademy.org
Fiqh Council of North America Bases Eid AL-Adha On Hajj
PLAINFIED, IN: This is according to website of the Islamic Society of North America (www.ISNA.Net): Following the Hajj announcement, Fiqh Council has decided that Eid AL-Adha will be on Monday, December 08th, 2008. According to Saudi Press Agency, the Supreme Judicial Council announced that Saturday, November 29th, 2008, is the first day of the lunar month of Zil-Hijja, and accordingly Arafat Day will be on Sunday, the 09th of Zil-Hijja, corresponding to December 07th, 2008, and Eid AL-Adha day will be on Monday, the 10th of Zil Hijja, corresponding to December 08th, 2008, said a statement released today by the supreme judicial council. Please read the Article regarding Eid AL-Adha at www.ISNA.Net
ISGH Follows Decisions of ISNA & Fiqh Council of North America
HOUSTON, TX: This is according to website of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (www.ISGH.Org): ISGH stand on the issue of moon-sighting. ISGH Majlis AL-Shura in its meeting on August 18th, 2007 passed the following resolution unanimously that reaffirmed ISGH stand on the issue of moon-sighting for Ramadan and Eidain. (0807-06): ISGH will revert back to ISNA & Fiqh Council decision: “Resolved that ISGH will revert back to ISNA & Islamic Fiqh Council decision for start of Ramadan and Eidain.†UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED
ICNA Eid AL-Adha Announcement
NEW YORK, NY: This is according to website of Islamic Circle of North America (www.ICNA.Org): EID MUBARAK – There was no valid moon-sighting in the U.S. on the eve of Friday, November 28, 2009. Therefore, Sunday, November 30th will be the 01st of Dhul-Hijjah, 1429 AH, and Tuesday, December 09th, 2008 will be the day of Eidul Adha ~ Insha’Allah. May Allah(S) have His(S) special Mercy on the Ummah and bless the humanity with understanding, tolerance, peace and tranquility. AAMEEN
PCC-USA Honors Mohammedmian Soomro & Sheila Jackson Lee
HOUSTON, TX: “President of the Chamber Saeed Sheikh is a man of collaborative collaborations,†said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee at Marriott Sugar Land Luncheon in the honor of Chairman Senate Pakistan Mohammedmian Soomro. This lunch was organized by the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce – USA (PCC-USA). On this occasion, PCC-USA Awards of Excellence were conferred upon Mohammedmian Soomro, Sheila Jackson Lee and Ghulam Bombaywala. Special Recognition Awards were given to the Year 2008 Sponsors Tara Energy and Sam’s Club.
Talking on the occasion, Mohammedmian Soomro thanked the Pakistani Community in USA especially Houston for the remittances they send everyday to Pakistan and for the assistance during natural disasters like the Earthquakes of 2005 and 2008. He informed about the opportunities in Pakistan in the field of energy (renewable and clean energy), water conservation and Joint Storage in Agriculture. He congratulated Houstonian Pakistanis for Pakistan Center and for being the trend setting community in USA.
President of the Chamber Saeed Sheikh, whose tenure will be finished at the end of Year 2008, called it the most historic year, with several Memorandums of Understanding signed with Karachi, Lahore and Sialkot Chambers of Commerce and Trade Development of Pakistan. He informed about the upcoming Pakistan Gems and Jewelry Expo and the Pilot Project of PCC-USA Pakistan’s Energy Sector Committee. He requested Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee to bring back and have the Re-Investment Opportunity Zones (ROZ) Legislation approved (which she agreed to). He saluted Mohammedmian Soomro and Sheila Jackson Lee for working to alleviate Poverty and extremism.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee called Mohammedmian Soomro a man with excellent demeanor, upon whom any society would look upon to lead them to revival. “Pakistan is going through tough times, as are many other countries. I am soon going to re-introduce Biden Economic Legislation on Pakistan. I am against intrusions inside the borders of Pakistan by US Military. Although anything can happen in politics, but there is every chance that Hilary Rodham Clinton will be US Secretary of State and under her, we will have a more sensible policy on Pakistan. President-Elect Barack Obama’s Stimulus Package, which will soon be announced and may begin as early as December one month before his inauguration: We have high hopes that this will help in the economic recovery and will bring back the much needed stability,†said Congresswoman Lee.
For more information on PCC-USA, one can call 281-948-1840 or E-Mail: President@PCC-USA.Org.
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The Mumbai-siege, which lasted for nearly 60 hours – from Wednesday evening to Saturday morning is over but its scars may never heal and tremors never die down. The ease with which a handful of terrorists held life in Mumbai, the financial pulse of the country, to ransom, the horrendous manner in which they systematically carried out their operations raises many questions. More than 180 people lost their lives in the attacks, including 22 foreign nationals, 20 security personnel and around 140 Indians. At least 325 persons were injured. The siege is over but the real battle has begun now for the Indian government and the people. If it is Mumbai today, it could be any other city in the country tomorrow. The terrorists, using assault rifles, explosive devices and hand grenades, struck at 13 places, including the Taj Mahal & Oberoi/Trident hotels, Nariman House, Leopald Cafe, Chhatrapati Shivaji Train terminus, the Metro Cinema junction, Cama & Albless hospital and outside Olympia restaurant in Colaba.
The toll could have been much higher, as Indian leaders have said that the terrorists planned to kill around 5,000 people. They were here only to kill and create havoc. It is for the first time, however, that terrorists targeted primarily foreigners, particularly Americans and British at the two posh hotels and Jews at Nariman House. Why? Does this carry a message for US, UK as well as Israel, that however safe their citizens may be in their own countries, their security is now at risk in India?
If the militants’ entry into Mumbai via the coast exposes lapses in security maintained at the coastal area, who is to be blamed? Taking “moral responsibility†for the Mumbai incident, Home Minister Shivraj Patil resigned on Sunday. P. Chidambaram, earlier the Finance Minister, is now the new Home Minister. The finance ministry would be additional charge of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Even National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan submitted his resignation, but it was not accepted by the Prime Minister. Ironically, at the all-party meeting called by the Prime Minister to discuss the security situation (November 30), while need was voiced for strengthening it further, there was no mention of Mumbai-siege reflecting a major lapse in the country’s defense system. While addressing the meeting, Singh said: “We are further strengthening maritime and air security for which measures have been initiated. This will involve the Navy, the Coast Guard and the coastal police, as well as the Air Force and the Civil Aviation Ministry.â€
It is indeed tragic that among the Indian officers who lost their lives in the siege, was Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, who had been investigating the role of Hindutva terrorists in Malegaon blasts and elsewhere. Just a day before the Mumbai-encounter, the police control room in Pune received a call saying that Karkare “will be killed in a bomb blast within two-three days.â€
A day before he was killed, Karkare had called veteran police officer Julio Ribeiro and had shared his views on being unhappy at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) questioning his integrity at his investigating several Hindu extremists’ involvement in blast cases. Karkare also told Ribeiro that he had managed to get hold of a CD with additional information on Malegaon case. Karkare had planned to confront those already under the scanner with these facts. The fact that the Mumbai-siege and Karkare’s death are likely to push these investigations to the backburner has not gone totally unnoticed.
Though credit must be given to Mumbai Police, the National Security Guard, the Army and other personnel involved in countering the terrorists, the siege clearly also reflects that Indian authorities were not totally prepared to tackle it. There is a view, that howsoever prepared the Indian personnel may have been, it may not have been possible to avert the incidents that occurred. The security arrangements even at luxurious hotels, including the two targeted in Mumbai, are largely at the entrance point. The terrorists entered Taj from the back through the kitchen. The entry of terrorists at other points too, including the railway station, exposes lapses in security there too.
While identity of the terrorists has still not been confirmed, different versions are doing rounds. Though Pakistan-based militant groups are held to be linked with Mumbai siege, there is as yet no coordinated report on this. One version points to Pakistan-connection, as the terrorists allegedly received orders from Pakistan, another points to two killed terrorists being Britons with Pakistani connection and yet another says their being probably having been trained earlier in Pakistan by United States for its operations in Afghanistan. There is also “news†about US and Israel being jointly responsible for Mumbai-siege with the aim to apparently weaken India, create communal divide with the terror-strikes being painted as work of “Islamic†militants. In addition, various reports of terrorists speaking fluent Marathi and chaste Hindi indicate possible involvement of local elements.
Irrespective of who is responsible for Mumbai-siege, whether external elements based in Pakistan, elsewhere or from India itself, the 59-hour ordeal, at the cost of numerous lives and billions of rupees is definitely an eye-opener to a hard reality. It is time, Indian politicians moved beyond rhetoric as well as fake encounters and started paying serious attention to their anti-terrorist drive. With due respect to all the courage and expertise displayed by Indian personnel, it is appalling that less than a dozen, fairly young terrorists were able to hold India’s commercial capital at siege for nearly three days. Whoever is responsible for the siege certainly deserves condemnation as well as punishment. But that does spare the concerned national authorities from explaining security lapses, which only contributed to terrorist-strikes in Mumbai.
San Francisco–I am in the midst of the insanity of moving, but I am trying to keep up with my basic compilations early in the morning or late into the night.
I would like to discuss three presentations made last year (Summer of 2007) –in the Asian Art Museum — as part of the bi-annual meeting of the American Council of Southern Asian art in this City here on the Western shores of San Francisco Bay. I found the talks to be slight in news content; thus, I have previously refrained from composing on them, but because of circumstances, they have become a practicable article, and make an acceptable historical feature on an ancient vital Islamic tradition. An article on this form of piety stated that Sufism “…is a…mystical dimension of Islam†where meditation plays an integral part.
People talking about Islam usually mention Sunnis and Shi’a; among Sunnis are also Sufis – there is mutual tension between Sufis and Wahhabi/Salafis. Salafis accuse the Sufis, saying “…[Sufism] has never played a part in normative Islam.â€
A position with which your author extremely disagrees!
First, your journalist acknowledges that his main sources for his background on the Sufis in an historical and contemporary context are an excellent unsigned, thorough yet concise article on the Internet encyclopedia, Wikipedia. My second source is a review essay I wrote on a book that is considered the main Western source on Sufism. Unfortunately, I do not have the piece at my fingertips; therefore, I am paraphrasing it ex aqua.
Sufism has gained much of its doctrine through accretion from the mystic environ of religious clusters that Islam absorbed in its Eastward expansion. Accordingly, to several Western scholars, Sufism arose initially in the Western Mahgreb in a region of present-day Morocco where Christianity had been repressed three hundred years before. There was a yearning for the type of mysticism found in monasteries of the old religion, but in the Qur`an there is a strong injunction to marry and procreate! The early “Order†solved this “problem†by creating brotherhoods of married men who followed Muslim law carefully. As their Society traveled into new lands, they met new converts. For instance, the Sufic poet, Rumi, who has had a considerable influence over contemporary thought here in the West’s, name derives from the word “Roman†(i.e., the Eastern Roman Empire ruled from Byzantine) in the local language of Anatolia at that time. The Turks had held that province from which Rumi wrote for a comparatively short time. Thus, his family must have been fairly recent converts. Sufic thought gained much when it crossed into India. The great poet Kabir, who some scholars claim was a Sufi was not fully Islamized, even though he did accomplished the hajj, for he referred to God both in the Hindu terminology as Ram and, also, as Allah interchangeably in his poetry! Traditionally, in the Sufi-dominated Districts of India, the Hindus revere the Islamic Saints as much as their own.
Yet the traditional Islamic scholarship on the Sufis view their development in quite a different manner. The Sufic thinkers trace their origins through the Prophet (Blessed be his Name!) himself. To quote an early Sufi, their teaching “…is a science through which one can know how to travel in the presence of the Divine…†Their beliefs and persons have been persecuted by more fundamental (and, thereby, less mystically inclined) individuals. Consequently, their writings and practices took on an esoteric, secretive tone.
In the early centuries, Iman Al Ghazali answered that Sufic doctrine was compatible with Islamic law conclusively. In fact, “Sufism…is the central organizing principle of many…[other] Islamic groupings.â€
With the rise of more strident forms of Islam, Sufism is currently under duress. In many regions the repression made them illegal, and forced them underground. For instance, the Turkish government compelled the whirling dervishes into a mere entertainment. Yet there are areas in the Muslim world where they are still strong. To understand the attitude for an inquirer, a Sufi master was quoted as saying, “…the seeker must not self-diagnose†the situation.
The Islanicists have no sympathy for the Sufi reverence for saints, and their pilgrimages to the holy tombs for religious merit. In my following comments, these pilgrimages and the places of devotion and worship will be placed in context.
Persianate culture had a dominant position in the old Hindustan even before the rise of the Mughal Empire. An Indo-Persian culture dominated from western Persia well into the Subcontinent after the Muslim Empires in India, and Sufism had dominated Persian thinking before it crossed from Southwest into South Asia. Now, Sindh (presently in Pakistan) had been Islamic since the Ninth Century of the Common Era (i.e., A.D.). Sufism came forward with the Islamic conquest, but not from the top to the bottom. It burst through at the “grassroots†level (i.e., bottom up), and was greatly embedded in the evolving Indo-Persian Islam. The “Missionaries†were the humble, holy Pirs, a type of holy men with which the Medieval Indians could easily culturally identify. Soon, converted Indians adapted Islam and the Persian Worldview of Islam – even though they may not have chosen Shi’a religious views.
An Afshan Bokari pointed out that female devotees upheld the high ideals of religiosity within the Timurid Empire, and were the mainstay of the Mosques during this period which not only included India, but Iran into Mesopotamia – even into Syria — and a good extent of Central Asia. The Empire, founded by the Sunni military genius Emir Timur (Shakespeare’s Tamerlane) was comparatively short-lived. Most of the acquisition of territory occurred during the late Fourteenth into the early Fifteenth Centuries (C.E.). This brief Imperial sway not only spread S.W. Asian ideas, but mystical Islam. as well. This can be termed a Timurid “ideology.†Mystical Islam centered on feminine participation, also. This is markedly at odds with the modern Islamicists’ dogma. A site was shaped into the sacred by an association with a saint or a sacred act, etc. This confine almost became a “…second Mecca!â€
The major contemporary art historian, Catherine Asher, from Minnesota spoke on the “Sufic Shrines of Shahul Hamid in India and Southeast Asia.†The basic style of the Sufic shrines spread into Peninsular and Insular S.E. Asia forming a consistent Southern Asian approach to sacred space. On the emigration of the righteous Pirs, it is hard to determine fact from legend. The Enlightened man often died in his travels. South Indian Islam, from which Southeast Asian cultural religiousness derived, assumed many traits of traditional Hinduism – in this case the veneration of exceptionally piously devout men, and this practice advanced ever eastward. Males were encouraged to go to the tombs, besides, for a sort of “darshan,†or, in the Islamic cognizance, a type of religious merit. Basically, the Sufis’ influence flowed over three different faiths because the Pirs exhibited extraordinary powers to do miracles in their lifetime, and to bequest assistance from the tomb to his devoted believers – whatever the saint’s follower’s religiosity!
Kishwar Rizvi talked about a shrine in the present Pakistani Punjab that was built around circa 1300 (C.E.). Most of the devoted came from the minority Shia community there. Further, there are many Sufic elements in the shrine, for it revolves around the casket of a Saint endowing the building as sared space. Women still retain a great responsibility in sustaining the shrine’s sacredness. On the other hand, sexual degenerates are attracted to the location because of the laissez faire attitudes of the worshippers which may detract from the great postiveness of the greater Movement to more mainstream Muslims.
In this essay, your scribe has tried to describe a living tradition in Islam in historical and conteporary terms that has been repressed by the main thrust of the religion today, but is still strong among the common people in particular localities all over the World, and, furthermore, has brought many Westerners to the Qur`an, for its mystical saving methodologies.
Editorial Note: Harun Yahya is the source for one of our popular newspaper columns. He is really a pillar with very strong faith, supporting belief in this time of ignorance and oppression and difficulty. We at TMO pray for his success and ask you to do what you can to support him.
This letter was forwarded to us by Seda Aral, who works for him.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Announcement Regarding the New Crescent of
THE HOLY MONTH OF THU EL-HIJA 1429
To all believers in North America,
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon all of you.
"The Crescent Committee" of the Council of Shia Muslim Scholars in North America would like to announce that there were no reports of sightings of the New Crescent at sunset on Friday November 28th, 2008, in all of North America. Even in localities where sighting possibilities were weak, but the conditions were perfect for sighting such as in South Florida, no reports were recorded. Therefore Sunday November 30th, 2008 will be considered the 1st of Thu el-Hija, 1429.
In addition, it follows that the Day of Arafa will be Monday December 8th, 2008, and Tuesday December 9th, 2008 will be the Day of the Blessed Eid al-Adha. May Allah bless all of you and provide you with the success to achieve closeness through acts of worship in this Holy Month.
The Crescent Committee:
* Syed Muhammad Rizvi, Toronto
* Sheikh Fadhil Al-Sahlani, New York
* Syed Rafiq Naqvi, DC
* Syed Mahboob Mahdi Abidi Najafi, Chicago
* Sayyid Nabeel Abbas, Montreal
* Sheikh Ja’fer Bangalour, Miami
* Sheikh Mohammed Ali Elahi, Detroit
* Sheikh Ahmad al-Ameeni, Philadelphia
* Sheikh Mohammed Falah al-Attar, Los Angeles
* Sayyid M B Kashmiri, Los AngelesNote: The committee was established in the 8th annual conference of the Council of Shia Muslim Scholars in North America which was held in the suburbs of D.C. in the month of Thu el-Qida 1429
* Statement in the English Language [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001J7Z13UH0gxCULLnnQuMcJMuh9_0kSSSPiI0fRDeY0xJWqcDOJSHl9QN95PMJiOOJ1h2nQRtQRib6-eLtU8vSnS9Qg13SaXs3qh4pBhN9zgnHn9DXjxBKcEo2EP5WbtMf-cVvbKet_7-kXnAkk7BCGnGEYHzdH1ZPq0rqr-TJudlMbsQ4QMkuag27m4AFAUrt]
Saudi Announcement (Official): Saudi Supreme Judicial council has just announced that Saturday, November 29 was 1st Zul-hijjah. Eid-al-Adha will be on Monday, December 8. It was reported that moon was not sighted on Thursday, November 27, 2008 which was 29th Zul-Qi’dah in Saudi Arabia. So 30 days are completed on November 28.
Markazi Jamat Ahle Sunnat UK & Europe: Following the Sunnah of RasoolAllah SAW and Shariah, President Markazi Jamat Ahle Suunat Allama Zafar Mahmood Firashwi announced due to the impossible sighting of the Moon in Majority of the world on the 27th November and limited sighting on the 28th November, we Officially announce the 1st of Dhul Hijja to be Saturday the 29th November 2008 and hence Eid-ul-Adha to be on Monday 8th December 2008. May Allah (SWT) give the Leaders of the Islamic Ummah the Taufiq to announce the correct sighting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS for SWEDEN for Dhul Hijjah 1429 Hijri: As Sweden is situated in the northern part of the world and its location is more than 60 degree north (Moon is generally visible from 60 degree north to 60 degree south), so it is never possible to sight the Hilal until a few days of the month in Sweden. So, for these types of problems, according to Shariah of Islam, we have to follow the nearest (better if possible- then take eastern) muslim oriented regions for starting the Arabic months. According to Shariah we should not start the months following the Governmental declaration but we have to be assured that general people of that muslim oriented region also sighted the Hilal or Crescent moon. The Crescent moon has to be seen by bare eyes in Saudi Arabia; it is not acceptable to see the Crescent moon by any reinforcement technique (Telescope, Binocular, CCD image etc)".
So, According to this Fatwa as well as Sharia of Islam, Anjumane Al Baiyinaat, Sweden on behalf of the Muslim Community of Sweden is now announcing, "Inshallah the month of Dhul Hijjah ‘1429 Hizri will start from 3o November 2008 and Eid-ul-Adha 1429 Hijri will be 9 December 2008 in Sweden. Because according to the reliable reports, the Hilal or the Crescent moon of Dhul Hijjah was not sighted anywhere in Saudi Arabia neither on 27 November 2008, nor on 28 November 2008, although the Saudi Government surprisingly has Declared that the 1st day of Dhul Hijjah ‘1429 Hijri will be 29 November 2008 and Eid-ul-Adha will be 8 December 2008".
Moonsighting for Dhul-Hijjah 1429
The Astronomical New Moon is on Thursday, November 27, 2008 at 16:55 Universal Time (i.e., 11:55 am EST, and 8:55 am PST ). This crescent moon is impossible to be seen anywhere in the world on November 27. On November 28, 2008, it is sightable in Australia, Part of Southern Africa, and South & Central Americas. In North America, on November 28, chances of visibility are very slim with naked eye (e.g., in San Diego, CA at sunset, the moon is only 3 degrees above horizon, and is setting 38 minutes after sunset). So if it is seen on November 28, Eid-ul-Adha in North America will be December 8 (Monday). For North America, ISNA has decided to go with Saudi’s announcement on Hajj such that the next day will be Eid-al-Adha, which is expected to be on December 8 (Monday), unless Saudi announced Hajj on December 6, and then Eid-al-Adha will be on December 7 (Sunday).
In UK, according to a Fatawa from Deoband, India, Eid-al-Adha is expected to be on December 8 (Monday). According to sighting, in Australia, and IndoPak subcontinent, Eid-al-Adha is expected to be on December 9 (Tuesday), Insha-Allah.
Alhamdulillah the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) has also endorsed the decision of Hilal Sighting Committee of North America and announced Eid Ul Adha for Tuesday, December 9 Insha’Allaah.
Extending our Matla to South America could present major problems such as asking New York to start/stop fasting due to Hilal sighting e.g. in Argentina, even when New York Moonset is BEFORE Sunset! Seasons (Summer / Winters) have major effect on Hilal visibility curves (roughly parabola shaped) and the seasons reverse when you go to South America. Futher, in Hadith Kurayb, Damascas sighting is not accepted for Medinah Munawwarah even though most of the distance between Damascus and Medina is North – South. Thus Insha’Allaah we should in fact contemplate reducing our Matla and at the very least not increasing it.
Following the Hajj announcement, Fiqh Council has decided that Eid Al-Adha will be on Monday, December 8th, 2008.
According to Saudi Press Agency, The Supreme Judicial Council announced that Saturday, November 29, 2008, is the first day of the lunar month of Zil-Hijja, and accordingly Arafat Day will be on Sunday, the 9th of Zil-Hijja, corresponding to December 7, 2008, and Eid al-Adha day will be on Monday, the 10th of Zil Hijja, corresponding to December 8, 2008, said a statement released today by the supreme judicial council.
Editor’s Note: Muslim voters could have a ripple effect on the close Georgia Senate race runoff says NAM contributor Hazem Kira.
Apparently, Nov. 4 wasn’t the last stop for American Muslims this election season. For the past two weeks, leaders and activists have been rallying community members in a series of "get out the vote" events prior to Georgia’s Senate runoff elections on Dec. 2 to get out large numbers to the polls.
Muslim leaders are pushing hard for a stated goal of twice the state average for runoff elections, which tends to be around 30 to 35 percent, according to Georgia’s Secretary of State.
Arguably, a successful swing vote by Muslim Georgians will have a ripple effect way beyond the state lines of Georgia.
"Muslims could be four to six percent of the total voter turnout, if once again more than 70 percent of the eligible Muslim voters show up at the polling stations," says Dr. Agha Saeed, chair of a prominent umbrella organization, the American Muslim Taskforce (AMT).
According to a post-Nov. 4 election survey commissioned by the AMT, and conducted by Genesis Research Associates, 95 percent of eligible Muslim Americans — both nationally and in states like Georgia — voted in the general elections. This is the highest voter turnout among all socio-religious communities.
A unified four percent vote in Georgia could be a decisive factor in such a close race where recent polls show the Republican candidate Saxby Chambliss with a narrow four-point lead over Democratic nominee Jim Martin.
It is believed that the massive turnout by Muslims and other minorities in Georgia, during the general elections, helped move the once strong Republican state, which gave George W. Bush in 2004 a lead of over 15 percent, towards a relatively narrow lead of only 5.2 percent for John McCain.
Georgia Muslims, who tend to have a Republican streak, says Chris Burke of Georgia’s Council on American Islamic Relations, have been moving towards the Democratic Party after sensing hostility by many Republican leaders.
Many Muslim Republicans strongly oppose Chambliss after his infamous remarks, immediately after September 11 that Georgia ought to "arrest every Muslim that crosses the state line."
"Every Muslim I’ve spoken to knows of this statement and is intent on voting for his Democratic opponent," says political activist and Georgia native Saeed Raees. Such remarks remind many Atlanta Muslims, most of whom are African American, of Georgia’s pro-segregation stance during the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement.
"For American Muslims, civil liberties and the economy are by far the most pressing issues in this state’s runoff election," says Burke.
But regardless of who wins, says Salim Akhtar, an AMT national coordinator who was on the ground galvanizing the state’s Muslim voters, "I believe that the vote in Georgia will once again demonstrate the voting prowess of American Muslims, and how they have defied all odds to empower themselves."
