Sara Haddad and I had planned this extraordinary Asian dinner. Shrimp dumplings in a noodle soup (like here, except with shrimp instead of pork), thin, savory steak slices rolled up with peppers and carrots (like here), and fresh hot rice.

It mostly worked. The steak rolls (which i’ll tell you about later) and the soup turned out beautifully. But, right afte we had made this delicious shrimp mixture to pleat into wonton wrappers, we discovered that the wonton wrappers were MOLDY. What a downer.

But we didn’t panic! We brainstormed (and Googled, which is often the same thing). And we came up with these. Fried shrimp balls, a.k.a. Shrimp Falafel! They were phenomenal. We ate them dipped in chili sauce as a side dish to the steak rolls or floating in a brothy soup of cabbage, mushroom, and egg noodles. Sara took these great pictures, too.

Shrimp balls, also known as Shrimp Falafel (thanks, Sarah!)
(adapted from Steamy Kitchen)

1 pound ground shrimp (mince it in a food processor)
3 or 4 stalks scallion, finely minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 egg
2 slices of toast, made into breadcrumbs and toasted in a dry pan

Mix everything up. Drop tablespoonfulls of the mixture into a pan with hot oil. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Makes about 20. Serve with chili sauce or plop them into a bowl of soup (for the soup option, maybe make them 1/2 tbs size).

Alhamdulillah. We couldn’t have done this without the help, guidance, and support of Allah, our parents, and our community. Our parents sacrificed much to give us hope, love, and the ability to follow our dreams. We will never be able to repay them for that.

Also, as my friend Sophia mentions, this cultural and educational movement takes on a similar form in today’s Muslim students going into medicine: “While our parents encouraged science careers or medicine for the monetary stability and gain, their children who are pursuing such a career might not be doing it for those reasons– and while the shift the kids are making isn’t in careers to another field, it is an ideological shift as to why they are pursuing such a career– i.e. medicine as a means of empowerment, being a poor doctor by passing up lucrative specialties for something like family medicine, and then using that career in ways to help the community that hasn’t been done before. again, this kind of shift also requires the stability that comes with being a second generation . . . so hopefully in the future this shift that is occurring towards non-science careers will be accompanied by a paradigm shift in what a science career can be used for. i think the key is for people to realize that the possibilities are endless. we have to get past a “survival” mindset and think bigger.”

A particular moment comes to mind when I think about why I came to law school. Once, I was at the masjid after I had started my first year of law school. An older brother who was active in the Muslim political action sphere stopped to talk to me. He is a Palestinian who had to leave his homeland. He said Salaam and asked me how I was doing, what I was up to. I told him I was in law school. We were both walking away, but he stopped and smiled brightly. “You make us so proud, Sister Taiyyaba,” he said, “we are so proud of you.” That’s when I realized that going to law school isn’t just about doing it for me….it’s about doing it for them – for our parents who sacrificed for us, for our community who gave us a home. Inshallah, all of us youth who are working in any field now have to keep ourselves grounded in our roots and remember who we are.

And we don’t just have to work for “Muslim” issues to be true to ourselves. Being who we are makes us uniquely situated to empathize and sympathize with other communities who are finding themselves victim to the same discrimination and struggles. Being empowered by our careers makes us able to do something about it for all of us. We have to be fighters for justice for all.

O ye who believe! Stand out firmly For justice, as witnesses To Allah, even as against Yourselves, or your parents, Or your kin, and whether It be (against) rich or poor: For Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (Of your hearts), lest ye Swerve, and if ye Distort (justice) or decline To do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted With all that ye do. (The Noble Quran, 4:135)

Shout out to Natasha, Saja, Yasmin Amer, Shahid, and all the other Muslim liberal arts students who were interviewed in the article! Thanks also to Nigel Edwards, whose picture is in the article in the center of the section; he was also part of our group of four Muslim law students from UNC who interviewed for this article.

Students on course for empowerment
More young Muslims gravitate toward careers in law, journalism, acting and filmmaking
By Yonat Shimron, Staff Writer
http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/1274326.html

One year ago: Absence, reality, and all that jazz (no, I don’t have time).

www.WeeWorld.com actually has hijabs and niqabs for you to put on yourself as a little image! Huzzah! I’ve got one of my favorite colors on and have my camera in hand, of course.

One year ago: Absence, reality, and all that jazz (no, I don’t have time).

this morning i opened my box of fruity pebbles for breakfast, and suddenly i was three years old again. i used to love this cereal – it was a regular in our house because…well…i was a bit of a picky eater back then (i know, can you imagine?) so whatever i ate, i ate a lot of.

i specifically remember going on a trip with my parents to texas – my dad had a business meeting in houston, so we all went. i was used to drinking whole milk, but my parents got me a little carton of 2% and a box of fruity pebbles so i’d actually eat something.

i was perplexed and indignant. “when can we go back to america? the milk doesn’t taste good here!” after all, it had taken us three million hours to get here, just like it did when we went to pakistan, and drinking a different type of milk always tastes funny. that was enough proof for me that we were *not* in america.

ahhh memories. being three years old for a few minutes this morning was a blessed relief from the horrors of “one month left” law school. alhamdulillah

One year ago: Muhajjibah = 1, Robber = 0

For those of you who have not been so fortunate as to hear about this shirt or know its creator, Mike Mallah, let me introduce you!

Mike is one of the most humble, polite, and caring people I’ve met. He has faced the kind of challenges that would break most people. But Mashallah, not only has he dealt with them all with grace and gratitude, he has used them to project himself into, Inshallah, a successful medical career. I’m lucky to know him.

Mike is a Palestinian who got sick of stereotypes and decided to do something about it. He realized that the root of most stereotyping is ignorance, so he started the Not A Wear company. At www.NotAWear.com, he sells this phenomenal tshirt – simple, black, with a message in red and white:

You should by this shirt, and you should wear it. The portion of the proceeds goes to Seeds of Peace and United Palestine Apparel.

Today, I was wearing my Not a Terrorist shirt in a very serious manner – black pants, black long sleeved shirt underneath, topped with a red hijab to highlight the colors (Sarah L. called it “blood red). It just looked like I was making a statement.

Today, I got a “look” – you know what look I mean – the “whoa…uh…okay….” kind of deer-in-headlights look when you’re wearing an emphatic t-shirt. I instinctively held my Evidence book so that it covered the message…..and then called myself a cop-out for doing that.

For some reason, the “looks” bother me more than they used to when I wore emphatic shirts in high school or college. (I had one from MuslimBasketball.com that was just a black tshirt with MUSLIM in big white letters across the chest. I loved that shirt. My mom, probably for my own good, hid it for a little while after 9-11 so I wouldn’t wear it to my high school). Maybe it’s because today I feel very strongly about presenting a professional appearance while in law school because it adds credibility to my external professional image, which might be a little hampered in some circles because of my hijab. I think twice about wearing this shirt every time, wondering what my professors will think. It could also be because today is the Law Review Symposium and there are legal professionals in suits walking around everywhere.

But, I want to get over that. I spend too much time sometimes thinking about what other people think of my professional appearance (though, you have to fairly grant me that in my profession, that is quite important in most circumstances). I find this shirt increasingly powerful as we move towards the election, and I’m going to wear it on Nov. 4th.

What a great speech by Powell today, eh?

Colin Powell during his interview with Tom Brokaw, speaking of his endorsement of Democratic Senator Barack Obama for President and his disappointment with the narrowing of the Republican Party:

“Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no. That’s not America. Is there something wrong with a seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion that he is a Muslim and might have an association with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards — Purple Heart, Bronze Star — showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old.

And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross; it didn’t have the Star of David; it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life.”

Also see Arsalan Iftikhar’s interview on Al-Jazeerah English on General Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama today. [And check out www.theMuslimGuy.com!]

Also look at this article:

Muslims applaud Colin Powell for defending them
October 23, 2008

Lepers. Untouchables. Politically radioactive.

These are ways American Muslims describe their status in an election year when Barack Obama’s opponents are spreading rumors that he is Muslim, when he is Christian, and linking him to terrorists.

So when Colin Powell, a Republican, condemned using Muslim as a smear — a tactic he said members of his own party allowed — there was an outpouring of gratitude and relief from American Muslims.

‘‘That speech really came out of left field and really shocked us,’’ said Wajahat Ali, 27, an attorney and playwright from Fremont, Calif. ‘‘The sense is that it’s about time. He said something that needed to be said.’’

The retired general, who was President Bush’s first secretary of state, made the comments on NBC’s ‘‘Meet the Press,’’ as he broke with his party to endorse the Democratic nominee for president. Powell noted in last Sunday’s broadcast that Republican John McCain did not spread rumors about Obama’s faith, but Powell said he was ‘‘troubled’’ that others did.

‘‘The correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America,’’ Powell said.

‘‘Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, ‘He’s a Muslim and he might be associated (with) terrorists.’ This is not the way we should be doing it in America.’’

Powell said he felt especially strongly about the rumors because of a photo he saw in The New Yorker magazine of the mother of a Muslim soldier in Arlington Cemetery embracing her son’s grave, which was marked with a Muslim crescent and star. The solider, Kareem R. Khan of New Jersey, was 20 when he was killed in Iraq.

‘‘We American Muslims have talked about our patriotism and the heroism of some American Muslims till we were blue in the face, and neither the media nor the people listen,’’ said Seeme Hasan, a Pueblo, Colo., Republican whose family has given tens of thousands of dollars to the GOP.

‘‘Gen. Powell made people listen and at a very humane level,’’ said Hasan, who is backing McCain. ‘‘More people in leadership positions need to say this and recognize this — that American Muslims have worked very hard to fight this war on terror.’’

The inaccurate claims that Obama is secretly Muslim started as soon as he was mentioned as a potential presidential candidate.

There were false rumors that he was educated at a radical Islamic school as a child in Indonesia and that he was sworn into the Senate on the Quran.

His opponents emphasized his middle name — Hussein — and circulated a photo of him wearing traditional tribal garb on a 2006 visit to Somalia.

Kari Ansari, a mother of three from Villa Park, Ill., said the allegations upset her 10-year-old son.

‘‘It sort of made him feel like, ‘If they won’t elect him president just for trying on Muslim clothes, they will never elect me because I’m a real Muslim,’’’ said Ansari, a founder of America’s Muslim Family, a quarterly magazine. ‘‘That’s heartbreaking for us as Muslim parents.’’

Obama has combatted the claims in speeches and on a campaign Web site dedicated to debunking inaccuracies about him. But the belief persists.

A poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found 12 percent of voters believed the Illinois senator is Muslim. That poll was released Tuesday — coincidentally, the same day the head of a New Mexico Republican women’s group called Obama a ‘‘Muslim socialist’’ and said ‘‘Muslims are our enemies.’’ County and GOP officials condemned the statements.

‘‘Muslims feel jaded by the 2008 election precisely because they see the smearing of their identity,’’ Ali said. ‘‘Muslim or Arab is seen as a scarlet letter, political leprosy, kryptonite. There is that taint there. We’re the lowest of the low.’’

The experience isn’t entirely new for American Muslims, who have struggled for acceptance in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The major parties have quietly courted them for years, yet presidential candidates have refused to publicly associate with them, leaders say.

The exact number of U.S. Muslim voters is not known. But many are wealthy professionals who came to the country to earn graduate degrees in engineering, medicine and business. They settled in significant numbers in key states including Michigan and Florida.

Presidential candidates ‘‘are not willing to have their photo taken, they don’t meet with Muslim organizations, and they shy away from any issue that may link them to the Muslim community,’’ said Salam al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a Los Angeles advocacy group leading a national Muslim voter registration campaign.

‘‘We’re treated as untouchables in politics,’’ al-Marayati said. Yet, this year has been especially painful because of the attacks on Obama.

Hesham Hassaballa, a physician and author from Chicago, said this month he formally left the GOP, partly because of the allegations. Like many other Muslims, Hassaballa had joined the Republican Party because of its small-government philosophy, social conservatism and pledge to limit taxes.

In 2000, he supported McCain in the primaries, then Bush in the final election. Four years later, he backed Democrat John Kerry for president, partly to protest Bush policies on detaining and interrogating terror suspects, but remained Republican.

Now, he says the party has abandoned its principles. ‘‘The McCain of 2008 is not the McCain of 2000,’’ Hassaballa said. ‘‘With the way the campaign has been going and a lot of the anti-Muslim rhetoric, just how the McCain campaign has conducted itself, just really turned me off.’’

The McCain campaign did not respond to requests for comment. In defending himself, Obama has rejected the idea that being called Muslim is an insult. His campaign also has an outreach coordinator to the Muslim community.

Some American Muslims said they wished the Illnois senator would say more forcefully that their religion should not be used as a smear, but said they understood that it could damage his presidential bid in this political climate.

‘‘I don’t think there could have been any better messenger than Colin Powell, being someone who is a well-respected Republican, a former secretary of state and an army general,’’ said Arsalan Iftikhar, a Washington, D.C., civil rights lawyer and writer who supports Obama. ‘‘American Muslims feel slightly politically radioactive at this time. This sends a resounding message of inclusiveness.’’

I am very disappointed that MAPAC NC endorsed BJ Lawson over the incumbent, Congressman David Price. This was a very hasty decision based on Dr. Lawson’s well-spoken presentation at the MAPAC candidates forum – but we cannot overlook Dr. Lawson’s inexperience and impracticable views. Because he has so little experience and would be a junior member of the Republican party, forced to vote party line, I doubt that he can exact any of the changes he promises. Please see below my detailed explanation for why I support Congressman David Price.

Also, Congressman Keith Ellison, the first Muslim Congressman, also called MAPAC earlier this week to encourage us to endorse Congressman David Price. He gave us these reasons:
1. David Price is a strong leader in Congress
2. He is respected by members of both parties
3. David Price has always stood with Keith Ellison when issues of hate/bias/discrimination have come up in the Congress
4. Keith Ellison can always turn to David Price when he needs support in Congress
5. Keith wants to build the Muslims momentum in the US political system through rational/practical choices and decisions
6. Ron Paul and his followers have extreme views which will not be successful in the US Congress. Dr. Lawson’s views are very heavily influenced by Ron Paul.

Politics rewards experience.
Firstly, we must realize that the power structure of politics rewards experience. Congressman Price has 20 years of experience in the House of Representatives. I worked in his office for a summer and I saw firsthand the respect he has from both Republicans and Democrats because of his seniority. Dr. Lawson has no state government experience and it would be imprudent to send a novice to Congress at this critical stage of American healthcare, economy, national security, and international affairs. As a junior member of Congress and a junior member of the party, Dr. Lawson will probably have to vote with his Republican party on most issues and be restricted by that party’s conservative views.

Politicians reward loyalty.
Secondly, elected officials reward those who are loyal to them. It would be a mistake for us to endorse Dr. Lawson instead of Congressman Price. Change is good, but if we change something that has been working well for us for the past two decades, we would be shooting ourselves in the foot. Muslims have to think strategically about who we want to represent us in Congress.

A Congressman remembers who supports him and rewards that loyalty by protecting that community’s interests and by responding to its constituent needs. We should continue to build our relationship with him – and now we have the grounds to do so, to ask more of him, since we have supported him for so long. It would take another long term to build a relationship with a new candidate.

We have to think big.
Thirdly, our community has to think big – we want Senator Barack Obama to be president, but the more Republicans that are in Congress, the less likely it is that Senator Obama will be able to effect any meaningful change. I’ve already mentioned that Dr. Lawson would probably be restricted by his party in his freedom to vote. Mr. Price has more leeway in voting for something right because of his twenty years of experience and as a Democrat, would support Obama’s positions.Congressman Price has been loyal to our community on a personal, national and international level.

Fourthly, Congressman Price not only shows interest in our community here in NC, but is one of the few members of Congress who visits Muslim countries to constructively interact with those governments. He’s been to Lebanon, Afghanistan, Indonesia and many other countries and worked with their governments as a chair of the House Democracy Assistance Commission. I’ve even heard him say in a speech, when he was invited by a Jewish student group, that even though the United States is a friend of Israel, we do not have to agree with everything Israel does.

Congressman Price voted against the Iraq war from the beginning, when it was unpopular to do so and has continually introduced bills to revoke the war’s authorization. Since he has become chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Department of Homeland Security, Congressman Price has worked to shift DHS’s attitude to focus on privacy and civil liberties. Also, Senator Obama has introduced the Senate version of Congressman Price’s bill on reforming regulations on private contractors following the Blackwater debacle.
Congressman Price has consistently supported the Muslim community. He always attends the MAPAC events and has year after year come to smaller meetings when invited by Muslims to their homes. He listens to our issues and gives us solid answers, not empty policy promises.

One personal thing I’d like to share that I haven’t shared with this community before shows how far Congressman Price will go to support our community and to do the right thing. When Professor Nasser Isleem’s wife and children were stuck in Gaza during the Lebanon war, I called Congressman Price’s office after every other avenue to get them out had failed. Not only did Congressman Price get Mrs. Isleem and her children out of Gaza, he chartered a plane and got 50 other Arab Americans, mostly women and children, out of Gaza when every border had been closed off. Any other Congressman would’ve said “Sorry, I can’t help you.” But Mr. Price went the extra 10 miles for people who weren’t even voting for him because we asked him for help.

Dr. Lawson is not ready to represent our community in Congress.
Lastly, Dr. Lawson is not ready for Congress and our community would be harmed by supporting him instead of Congressman Price. He is young and charismatic, but he does not have the experience in any level of government to make him a strong advocate for our issues. We need a powerful force like Mr. Price.
Dr. Lawson handed out copies of the Constitution as support for his campaign. But his extreme and conservative interpretation of the Constitution leads him to believe that many functions of government are illegal because they are not literally proscribed in the Constitution. He thinks Social Security and Medicare are unconstitutional. This is an unworkable from a legal point of view. If we based our laws only on what was literally in the Constitution, we would still be living with restrictive 18th century laws and social systems.

Dr. Lawson seems to believe that the Department of Education, research entities like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, and safety net programs like Social Security and Medicare are unconstitutional and therefore should be abolished. Because he subscribes to a libertarian view that there has been too much financial regulation, he has advocated unworkable ideas on his website’s blog like abolishing the Federal Reserve and reverting to regional currencies or bartering. As a freshman member of Congress, Dr. Lawson would realistically be forced to vote with his Republican party and endorse all of its restrictive policies – or, even worse, he would follow the lead of his mentor Ron Paul in voting far out of the mainstream of both parties on many issues and accomplishing nothing.

Dr. Lawson is not unskilled or immature. He is charismatic and new. But he is not ready to lead us in Congress as Muslims or as North Carolinians. At most, let him prove himself and his ideas in state government first. Changing focus now and supporting him instead of Congressman Price would seriously dampen our voice and representation in Congress.

Mr. Price has the experience and initiative to support us as Muslims and North Carolinians. He has a history of speaking strongly for us and going out of the way to help us in times of need. We should continue to support him as we have in the past, and we can continue to expect him to be an advocate for us.

Ameir went out for dinner with a friend, so I just wanted something easy and warm to pour into a bowl and sit on the sofa with (and watch 4 episodes of Monk). For some reason, I had been craving green beans all day – not the gross school lunch kind – the slow simmered with lots of garlic kind.

Braised Green Beans

1 lb green beans
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 huge tomato, diced
1 onion, sliced
1/2 cup vegetable broth, or more if you want this soupier
salt, pepper
red pepper flakes

Cut the tips off of the green beans, then cut them in half and split them lengthwise. In a medium-hot pan, heat some olive oil and add red pepper flakes when it’s hot. Swirl around. Add the onion and garlic and saute till softish. Add the green beans and let them cook for about 5 minutes. Salt/pepper it. Add the tomatoes, let them cook for another 3 minutes. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil, then back down to a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes or until they’re as soft as you want them. Serve on top of couscous.

One year ago: H.Res. 635: Recognizing Ramadan.

Today is the third anniversary of the October 8th earthquake which started in Kashmir, Pakistan and killed more than 70,000 people. I wrote this on October 10, 2005 and I’m republishing it now in memory of those people, among them an uncle who left behind three young sons. May we never forget our brothers and sisters.

There’s something so different in watching a disaster on the news, reading about it, seeing pictures of the devastation, saying “SubhanAllah” as you watch the death toll rising – and actually experiencing the tragedy on a personal level. Why is that? What has extinguished our humanity such that the only time we feel true emotion about a calamity is if it affects us.

In the early days of Islam, the Prophet (S) did not yet have a pulpit, so he used to preach standing next to a palm tree. When a masjid was built and the Prophet was about to leave the palm tree for the last time, there came a sudden heart-shattering groaning, moaning sound. The sound was coming from the tree, and water actually started to leak from the tree’s trunk. Out of love for the Prophet (S), the tree had started to weep as if it were a human, so hard that the Companions could hear it groaning. The Prophet gently stroked the tree, and it stopped weeping.

Hearing the tree’s moaning, one of the companions said to the people – What is wrong with your hearts that you do not weep when you heard this sound?

At least 20,000 are dead. What is wrong with our hearts that we do not weep when we hear this number?

I am one of those for whom 20,000 was just a number, until I found out that an uncle was among them.

He was my father’s first cousin and was a colonel stationed in Kashmir. He had volunteered for a task and was driving a jeep when the earthquake shattered the mountain he was passing. A huge boulder smashed on top of his jeep. My uncle was thrown from the car and tumbled down a ravine. When they found him, his body was crushed. They airlifted him and he died in the helicopter. His wife became a 30-year old widow with three sons, aged 7 years to 8 months.

My uncle’s regiment lifted the rock which crushed him and placed it in their headquarters, where it stands now as a memorial to him and all those who died in the earthquake.

But my uncle is only one of those 20,000. A family friend of mine lost 20 people all at once. Another friend lost an uncle and cousin as they were trapped underneath the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in Islamabad. They could be heard calling for help, but then it rained. The 8-year old girl’s body was lifted out later.

May Allah soften our hearts such that 20,000 is not a number – such that 20,000 becomes 20,000 fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, daughters, husbands, wives, and children.

May Allah forgive all the dead their sins and enter them easily into Jannah. May Allah give their families patience and composure. May Allah help the areas hit repair and restart their lives.

May Allah turn our hearts towards the truth. May Allah soften our hearts and grant us awareness, compassion, wisdom, and love for the fellow man. May Allah forgive our sins and keep us away from sin and may Allah protect us from the trials of the end of time and save us from the punishment of the grave. May Allah grant us all Jannah, InshAllah.

Inna lil-Allahi wa inna ilayhi raji3oon Truly, we are from Allah, and to him we return.

Ohh, this was a good one! The chipotle peppers give this soup a smoky smooth flavor. It’s a nice departure from the normal corn chowder. But, beware. The first bite of the soup isn’t spicy, so you might be tempted to add more chipotle. Be ye warned – it gets progressively spicier as you eat it. In the end, I felt feel somebody kicked me in the tastebuds. And I liked it.

The fish tacos couldn’t be easier. Why? They’re made of fish sticks! Gasp! Cheating! I know. Fish tacos from frozen fish sticks? What? But they taste so good, and they’re so quick. All you have to do is fancy them up a little with some salsa.

Recipe here: (more…)