Visit “Muslim Lookout”

“Muslim Lookout” is a new blog that “analyzes and critiques representations of Muslims in mainstream Canadian media and pop culture.”  Please visit the site and show your support by spreading the word, sharing the links, and leaving comments!

More about the blog:

Muslim Lookout defines Canadian media and pop culture as the mainstream media and pop culture to which Canadians are exposed, which often includes media and pop culture that come from the United States and other countries. All of this will form part of the analysis and critique on this blog.

ML is meant to be an inclusive and safe space for all Muslims, as well as sympathetic non-Muslims. We aim to maintain a safe and respectful space for our contributors and commentors. To help us maintain this safe environment we ask that you be considerate of all others in this space. One of the tools for real progress is open and respectful dialogue. Please help us achieve this. We believe we cannot learn from each other unless we respect each other.

In our effort to serve our readers to the best of our abilities, we suggest that if you see something in the media that you feel needs analysis, or would be of interest to us, please do let us know. Or better yet, if you would like to contribute, as we are limited in number ourselves, drop us an email. We cannot guarantee that we will publish your piece, but if it matches with our worldview and perspective, and is in line with our purpose, then we welcome guest contributors.

Our worldview:

We recognize the role that colonization has played in shaping societies, including ones from which many Muslims hail, all around the world.

Our analyses are presented from a perspective that recognizes privileges in society whether it be race, ethnicity, religion, class, sexual orientation, etc.

“Muslim Lookout” is currently looking for Muslim writers, so if you would like to contribute, please visit the site and contact them for more info!  You can also find my critique on Frank Miller’s “300″ published on the site, as well as my piece on “Yes Man.”

No Brotherly Love for Palestine

The following post comes from Islam on My Side Guest Contributor, Asfura.  She is a Palestinian-American who blogs at Petals for Peace.

I attended both protests supporting Palestinians in Gaza in Philadelphia during the last week of December. Both protests against Israeli attacks were peaceful and welcoming and joined by non-Muslims. When I heard about the “Philadelphia Protest for Israel” at Love Park I was expecting the protest to be peaceful on both ends. However, I was in for a rude awakening.

On Thursday January 4th an estimated 2,000 people gathered in Love Park with speakers such as Sen. Arlen Specter, television personality Dave Frankel, and J. Whyatt Mondesire (of the Philadelphia NAACP). Israeli/Jewish music played while people danced hora. It was as if Love Park turned into a rave in Tel Aviv. People held signs that read “Palestinian Terrorists Terrorize Israelis and Palestinians, Each Rocket from Hamas Punishes Everyone, Stop Terrorism Now” while waving Israeli flags.

A group of police stood in a line in between the entrance of Love Park and the side walk. No one was permitted to step into Love Park unless you were joining the rally for Israel. From behind the police many Israeli supporters shouted curses and phrases like “Terrorists, There was never a Palestine!”

I was among a group of 50 Palestine supporters who stood there with signs reading “Stop the Attacks on Gaza , Killing children is not a Jewish value, Stop the Massacre.” Some were chanting “Free Free Palestine, From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free.”

While I stood there with my sign that read “Death Toll Gaza 700 + , Israel 10 This is NOT Self-Defense” I was harassed by many supporting the bombing of Gaza who were joining the rally for Israel . A woman passed me by screaming “Those are inaccurate numbers, How many Israelis have died in the past years” in reference to my sign. I replied “And hundreds more Palestinians have been killed in the past years.” Another man came from behind me and said “We should have killed all of you.”

I was having a conversation with a friend from one of the Peace organizations I’ve worked with, when another man interrupted “You should be 6 feet under.” I thanked him for his remark while my friend replied “Well we all have to go there someday, so will you.” As the man continued to curse at us I said “Maybe then you and I will be able to have a conversation in peace.”

While some others shoved to make their way into the entrance they shouted things like “Go Home A**&$^&@” along with obscene language. Some shouted phrases in my direction like “You deserve to die, all of you are going to hell”, “Disgusting people” along with other obscene language.

While I stood there speaking to my friend, a Caucasian woman (who was without a sign) an older man stuck his middle finger in her face while shouting “F*$& You! Go F*&% Yourself.” I responded by holding up a peace sign with my fingers. My friend just put up her hand to block the man’s finger and said “Please, that isn’t necessary.”

An old woman who reeked of perfume with tons of makeup piled on her face and dressed in fur stopped in front of another protester to dispute his sign that read “US Taxes and Israeli Bombs Killing Children.” She then accused the protester of not wanting to pay taxes and live in a free country. I commend another woman who stopped to have a conversation with one of the protesters from the Peace organization. After a long conversation, she said “What do you think this protest is for? These are Jews for peace” My friend and I were stunned at her remarks. My friend replied “You could have fooled me, do you see how we are being treated?”

At the end of the protest, I watched as buses of Jewish children passed by shouting in hate out of the bus windows. How unfortunate for hate to be taught to these children. We are fortunate to live in a country in which Palestinians and Israelis can have open discussions and live peacefully. We must utilize these opportunities to create bridges of understanding and peace.

As a Palestinian-American living in the city of Brotherly Love I was shocked at the hate that I and other counter-protesters encountered. Love Park is a significant landmark signifying the importance of love. After all, Philadelphia is the city of “Brotherly Love.” Any hopes of Brotherly Love that could have rekindled between the descendants of Abraham were overcome with lack of understanding and hate.

What Palestine Teaches Us About Ourselves

The following article was written by a friend of mine.  Upon request, the author is to remain anonymous.

A protest for the suffering of Palestinians was held in the streets of Washington DC. Did it make the news? Not likely.

Was I there? No.

For as vocal as I have been in my support for the suffering of the Palestinian people since and before these strikes in the Gaza strip began, I came to a realization, something that could not be ignored.

In times of trouble, when nothing makes sense in the world, one has a tendency to turn towards their crutch. For me this is Islam, a religion often maligned and distorted by the ignorant, and more often ignored by its followers due to its rigidity, its laws, and it’s often conflict with the modern world.

But like over a billion people in the world today, I take what Islam and more importantly the Qur’an to be as the Truth. There is always an answer in the Qur’an, often times we just don’t look hard enough.  There is a verse in Surah Al-Imran that states:

“Say: ‘O Allah. Lord of Power (and Rule), Thou givest power to whom Thou pleases, and Thou strippest off power from whom Thou pleases: Thou enduest with honor whom Thou pleases, and Thou bringest low whom Thou pleasest: In Thy hand is all good. Verily, over all things Thou hast power.’” [3:26]

Verily, Allah speaks the truth. Over all things He has power and over all things He rules. This type of thinking brought me back to Palestine. See Palestine, more specifically the 1.5 million people suffering in the Gaza strip, reveals something greater about the 1.6 billion “rest” of us. Here’s how…

An innocent black man gets shot and killed by local police. The streets are full of rioters. Leaders speak out. Local politicians are harassed. The system is forced to respond. The cops get paid leave. An investigation occurs. Sometimes the cops go to jail or sometimes they don’t depending on how south you go.

A little white girl disappears. You won’t stop hearing it on the news for months. Fox News, CNN, and your local stations will cover it on end till death. ATF, FBI, CIA, NSA, and however many three letter acronyms you can think of are out fervently searching for her.

800+ people die in a single week. There’s a protest of about a 1,000 people through the streets chanting their chants, screaming their slogans. A candle light vigil is held. A “night of prayer and remembrance” is held at your local Masjid. But no politicians are harassed. No riots occur. No leaders speak up. No petitions signed. Nothing. Don’t get me wrong, praying is important. But one night? You can do that five times a day everyday anyways.

Where’s the pressure? Where are our outspoken leaders? Apparently there are 1 million Muslims in North America. Are you telling me that not one of them is rich? That not one of them holds a position of power where he could make even the smallest of differences? Are we that tame?

Or is it true that we have gotten comfortable living the middle American or upper middle American lifestyle? A lifestyle where allowing the deaths of your fellow brothers and sisters to go unpunished was acceptable. A lifestyle where you could feign caring with simple flag waving and the chanting of some cheers as long as you went home to your mansion to sleep at night. And how many actually lose sleep over this “conflict” affecting Gaza at the moment? If it was Pakistan, would the Pakistani community be up in arms? What if it were Iran, Egypt, or Morocco? Or do we really have to wait until they burn down Mecca before we as a people get off of our collective asses and “actually” do something about the state of the world we live in?

It must be so as the House of Representatives, even after Israel ignores U.N. laws, kills humanitarian aid workers, violates Egyptian air space, is caught conspiring to invade Iran, not to mention kill primarily civilians… the House states that Israel has the “right to defend” itself. By going into Palestine killing anything that moves? By that logic if Iraq and Afghanistan were to level every building in America above 100 feet, it could only be called “self-defense.”Forget the fact that 9/11 had its roots in the same type of hypocritical American foreign policy that now sees hundreds of defenseless Palestinians dying weeks on end.

So what does all this have to do with “us” in the west? We have our homes and comfortable beds to sleep in. We went out and did our little song and dance, wore our keffiyahs and prayed for our fellow brothers and sisters. We did all we could right?

Or do we have an obligation being blessed to live in a place where you don’t have to worry about constant death, where children make it through adolescence instead of biting the bullet of some IDF soldiers’ rifle? Should we all do as much as possible to make sure that this, all of this that is happening against Muslims end tomorrow? Should we be calling our representatives until 3 or 4 AM, should we be donating money and creating political action committees to harass politicians to death to do what we want? If you want to organize a march do a million persons march. Force them to close down half the streets to the city. If you want to show them that you are serious, be serious yourself. After all, that’s how Israel does it.