Until I have time to write something myself, I defer to my fellow thinkers and speakers for their views. There is a lot of interesting commentary and conversation going on in the Muslim American community about President-Elect Obama, his new role, and his relationship to the Muslim American community and the Muslim world. It is a great mix of ideas: hope and optimism, tempered with realistic and thoughtful articulations of our domestic and international concerns as Muslims and Americans. See below “Letter to Obama on the Muslim World,” by DC-based human rights attorney Arsalan Iftikhar, posted on CNN. I’ve also provided links to a few of the thousands of interesting pieces in this discussion.

By Imam Zaid Shakir:
Yes We Can!
Hopefully, Obama is Not a Used Car Dealer
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Barack Obama, and the Fate of America
Response to a Well-Meaning Brother

By the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections: American Muslims and the 2008 Election, A Post Election Survey Report . 89% of Muslims voted for Obama!

Other news, commentary outlets:
Islam and the Election, New York Times
Smears against Obama energized Muslim voters, expert says, Washington Post
Rahm Emanuel apologizes for father’s remarks, Washington Post
Open letter to President-Elect Obama from Ralph Nader, posted on MujahideenRyder
Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s letter to President-Elect Obama, posted on MujahideenRyder
For the Muslim World, It’s Not Time to Celebrate Yet, Saturday Nation
Black Muslim Teen beaten by white men furious at Obama’s win, NY Daily News
Look to the Arab Youth, Mr. Obama, The National (UAE)

Muslim Bloggers and writers
A letter to my boys on the eve of a nation’s great change, From Thedaysarepacked
Is Obama the Muslim World’s Superman? Wajahat Ali, Washington Post
Islamic-Phobia stains American values, Daily Post
Why President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama Matters, www.HAhmed.com
Obsession with Obama? www.Ijtema.com
Obama and the Discourse on Race in the Muslim Community From Just Another Angry Black Muslim Woman?

Commentary: Letter to Obama on the Muslim World
Article at: CNN.com

By Arsalan Iftikhar
Special to CNN

Editor’s Note: Arsalan Iftikhar is an international human rights lawyer, founder of www.TheMuslimGuy.com and contributing editor for Islamica Magazine in Washington. This is one in a series of letters to the new president that will appear on CNN.com in the next several weeks.

(CNN) — First of all, as one of more than 66 million Americans of all races, religions and ethnicities who voted for you, your electoral victory was one of the proudest moments of our collective lives.

As our American political history witnessed the magnitude of our nation’s first African-American president, our society was also able to collectively (and finally) exhale, knowing that the mailbox at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. would now read “Obama” instead of “Bush.”

With hardly a moment’s rest, as you transition toward Inauguration Day, our nation (and the rest of the world) will not wait for long before seeking your leadership on many pressing global issues.

From an economic recessionary mess to a perpetually broken health care system with 46 million American neighbors as uninsured casualties, your soon-to-be administration will face some monumental domestic and foreign policy issues that will affect us for generations.

From an ill-conceived war in Iraq to an oft-forgotten war in Afghanistan, from global flashpoints from Tel Aviv to Islamabad, your diplomatic and political interaction with the Muslim world may decide the success (or failure) of your foreign policy legacy.

Your unenviable task will be to undo the catastrophic policies of George W. Bush and his fellow neoconservative ideologues, facing the specter of al Qaeda’s sinister terrorism while undertaking public diplomacy efforts addressing anti-Americanism around the world. Similarly, since the tragedy of September 11, the global Muslim community has continued its own daunting task of undoing catastrophic damage caused by Osama bin Laden and his creepy terrorist cronies. From global debates on religious extremism broadcast on BBC World Television to global interfaith outreach with the Vatican, we Muslims are in the midst of our own internal dialogue condemning terrorism and reclaiming the mantle of Islam from the rusted claws of dinosaur extremists.

Again, let it be known to the world that Barack Obama is not (and has never been) a Muslim. Sadly, your presidential position vis-à-vis the Muslim world is still unenviable because some Republican adversaries sinisterly tried to paint you as a “crypto-Muslim” during the presidential election, although Sen. John McCain did not join in these absurd accusations.

However, in one fell political swoop, former Secretary of State Colin Powell bravely challenged the xenophobic undertones of his own Republican Party on “Meet the Press” by highlighting the ultimate sacrifice of a Muslim-American soldier who died in Iraq for the United States.

Regarding Iraq, it is important for your administration to keep its promise of removing our troops in a “responsible and phased” manner. Furthermore, we need to press Iraq’s elected leaders (Sunni, Shiite and Kurds) to take responsibility for their own democratic future by spending their $79 billion surplus of oil revenues on their own civil reconstruction.

Additionally, if any sort of prolonged military security presence is necessary, the League of Arab States should take an increased role and be recruited to provide some services in exchange for increased foreign aid development in education and health-care arenas for their impoverished people.

On Afghanistan/Pakistan, your administration must help re-launch an aggressive diplomatic effort to attain stability in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (more commonly referred to as “Waziristan”).

This is especially daunting because President Bush decided to support a tin-pot dictator named Gen. Pervez Musharraf for more than seven years. Thus, Bush’s acceptance of a soft dictatorship in Pakistan has increased anti-American sentiment in the region.

In light of the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the September 2008 bombing of the Islamabad Marriott; for anyone to expect Musharraf to deliver on his democratic promises was like waiting for a Hershey’s chocolate bar to belt out a Shakespearean sonnet.

On the subject of al Qaeda, according to a recent CNN report about a secret summit in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Taliban leaders met under the auspices of the Saudi king with Afghan government officials to end the bloody conflict in Afghanistan.

Sources close to the historic discussions said the Taliban representatives said it was no longer allied to al Qaeda. This sends a resounding message that even Taliban members in the bubbling cauldron of Osama are now rejecting his ungodly principles as being un-Islamic and beyond the pale of human civilization.

On our domestic front, we must immediately close Guantanamo Bay, implement a universal health insurance system, stop racial profiling/domestic spying, improve No Child Left Behind and overturn every unconstitutional provision of the (in)famous Patriot Act.

As proud members of Generation Obama, more than 66 million Americans (and billions more worldwide) wish you Godspeed in your administration, and we will channel our collective “audacity of hope” and pray that your presidency will be a radiant silver lining within our collectively war-ridden, globally warmed and craven dark sky.

P.S. Please send Bill Clinton as chief diplomatic envoy for the Israelis and Palestinians; plus, tell him not to come back until he has a signed peace accord from both begrudging sides. He is probably the best qualified individual in America to serve as an honorable Middle East peace broker who will be respected by all sides because of his legacy at the Oslo Accords.

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.’’

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.

Muslims were understandably excited upon receiving this letter; it caused quite a stir. Finally, someone who and respects us and understand what we’re going through! Maybe he will be the kind of President we can trust with our lives, liberties, and mutual honor. Maybe this time, we won’t feel betrayed, like strangers in our own homes. Go Obama!

Except, Obama didn’t write this letter. Umar Lee did.

Brother Lee wrote this letter as a satire, expressing sentiments he wished that Senator Obama would vocalize with regard to the Muslim community. He posted it on his blog with a disclaimer stating that it was a satire and that Obama did not write it. The letter was copied and emailed around to thousands of people. Perhaps these emails did originally contain the disclaimer, but it soon disappeared and became thought of as a true letter from Senator Obama. [an abbreviated version of the letter is at the end of this post]

I’m disappointed. I’m glad that Brother Lee is at least thinking and posting commentary about the candidates (which is more than a lot of people do), but I think he should have foreseen that people would forward out this letter and that eventually it would lose his disclaimer. It’s like a huge game of Telephone, except it’s especially bad for people who seriously want to hear a message like this from a politician. A lot of people, unfortunately, have a tendency to believe things they get over email and then forward them out to all of their friends. If these issues didn’t cross his mind, I guess I can’t blame him for it. But I think, with a little bit of thought, Brother Lee could have realized that this was a risky move. Since I started writing this blog post, he has removed both the original letter and his correction/clarification from his blog.

Why am I making such a big deal about this? Because it’s unfair, for two reasons. Firstly, it is unfair to Senator Barack Obama that this letter is being circulated in his name. There will be many Muslims who do not find out that this is a fake letter and they will vote for Obama because of it. If he becomes President, they will expect him to follow through with the promises and values expressed in this letter. He did not write it, so he should not be expected to uphold those promises as if he had truly made them. Secondly, it is unfair to the Muslims who will see this letter and have high hopes that there finally exists an elected official who will treat them with true respect and kindness, instead of something laced with suspicion. Since this has been coming to Muslims directly in their inboxes from so many sources, it has a bigger impact than just something they hear in the news.

At the same time, the rapid and widespread popularity of letter brings up another lesson. Muslim constituents *want* to hear a message like this. It’s a little disheartening and embarrassing when a man running for office has to try so ard to convince people that he is not Muslim and has no ties with Muslims. Are we really that bad? You can see this desire in the letter’s last sentences. “This is what I will bring to the office of the Presidency of the United States. I will deal with Muslims from a position of familiarity and respect and at this time in the history of our nation that is something sorely needed.”

Would it be so hard for Senator Obama to make a statement like this? To openly say that, even though he is not Muslim, he respects Muslims and sees them as valuable members of society. Instead of running hard in the other direction, away from any connection with Islam, making such a statement would win him hoards of Muslim constituents all over the country.

So, in the end, Brother Lee raised an important issue, even if not in the wisest of manners.

For all my Muslim brothers and sisters - please tell as many people as you know that this letter is not real, but please continue to be involved in such important political issues. Muslims can have an impact on elections, local and national, so it’s essential that we become educated and vote. On first glance, Obama looks like the best person for the job, but may whoever becomes president be one who will make clear-headed decisions for the benefit of all.

click below for the abbreviated letter

FAKE Letter from Barack Obama on His Muslim Heritage

[Note: I've abbreviated this because I don't want it to be picked up from here and forwarded out again. Leave a comment if you want the whole letter and I'll email it to you]

There has been a lot made in the recent weeks about the Muslim history of my family. Some of the things that have been said are true, others are false, so I am writing this letter to clear up the misunderstandings on this issue.

Yes, it is true that I have a name that is common amongst Kenyan Muslims where my father came from and that my middle name is Hussein. Baraka is a name which means ‘blessing’ and Hussein is a masculine form of the word beauty. [...]. [It] is the strength and beauty of America that the son of an African man with a ‘funny sounding’ name,[...] can now be a serious candidate for the presidency[..].

My father was a Muslim and although I did not know him well the religion of my father and his family was always something I had an interest in. [...] As a small child, I lived in Indonesia and attended school alongside Muslim pupils. I saw their parents dutifully observing the daily prayers, the mothers covered in the Muslim hijab, [...]

[Explains that he grew up hearing Islamic teachings like..] ‘no one truly believes until he wants for his brother what he wants for himself’, ‘oppression is worse than slaughter’, and ‘all humans are equal the only difference comes from our deeds’.

Growing up in Hawaii with my mother and her grandparents Islam largely escaped my mind. My mother installed in me the values of humanism and I did not grow-up in a home were religion was taught. [...]while I attended college [..] I became reacquainted with Muslims [..] [I learned] from them and to me Muslims are not to be looked upon as something strange. [...]

After college I settled in my adopted hometown of Chicago [which] has one of the largest Muslim populations in America (estimated to be around 300,000) and Muslims make-up some of the most productive citizens in the area. I met countless numbers of Muslims in my job as an organizer and later on in my early political career. I ate in their homes, played with their kids, and looked at them as friends and peers and sought their advice.

Therefore, when the tragic terrorist attacks of 9-11 occurred I was deeply saddened with the rest of America [...] but I did not blame all Muslims or the religion of Islam. From my experience I knew the good character of most Muslims and the value that they bring to America. Many, who did not personally know Muslims, indicted the entire religion for the bad actions of a few; my experience taught me that this was something foolish and unwise.

Later I had the chance to visit the homeland of my father and meet Muslim relatives of my family [...] I found that these were people who wanted the same things out of life as people right here in America and worked hard, strive to make a better way for their children, and prayed to God to grant them success.

This is what I will bring to the office of the Presidency of the United States. I will deal with Muslims from a position of familiarity and respect and at this time in the history of our nation that is something sorely needed.

Note again – this letter is fake!

H. Res. 635
In the House of Representatives, U. S., October 2, 2007.

Whereas it is estimated that there are approximately 1,500,000,000 Muslims worldwide;

Whereas since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, some threats and incidents of violence have been directed at law-abiding, patriotic Americans of African, Arab, and South Asian descent, particularly members of the Islamic faith;

Whereas, on September 14, 2001, the House of Representatives passed a concurrent resolution condemning bigotry and violence against Arab-Americans, American Muslims, and Americans from South Asia in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States;

Whereas some extremists have attempted to use selective interpretations of Islam to justify and encourage hatred, persecution, oppression, violence and terrorism against the United States, the West, Israel, other Muslims, and non-Muslims;

Whereas some Muslims in the United States and abroad have courageously spoken out in rejection of interpretations of Islam that justify and encourage hatred, violence, and terror, and in support of interpretations of and movements within Islam that justify and encourage democracy, tolerance and full civil and political rights for Muslims and those of all faiths;

Whereas Ramadan is the holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal for Muslims worldwide, and is the 9th month of the Muslim calendar year; and

Whereas the observance of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan commenced at dusk on September 13, 2007, and continues for one lunar month: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives–

(1) recognizes the Islamic faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses friendship and support for Muslims in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the onset of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal, and conveys its respect to Muslims in the United States and throughout the world on this occasion;

(4) rejects hatred, bigotry, and violence directed against Muslims, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(5) commends Muslims in the United States and across the globe who have privately and publicly rejected interpretations and movements of Islam that justify and encourage hatred, violence, and terror.

Crow calls for limit on loo paper

Singer Sheryl Crow has said a ban on using too much toilet paper should be introduced to help the environment.

Crow has suggested using “only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required”.

“I propose a limitation be put on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting”

“Although my ideas are in the earliest stages of development, they are, in my mind, worth investigating.

Crow has also commented on her website about how she thinks paper napkins “represent the height of wastefulness”.

She has designed a clothing line with what she calls a “dining sleeve”.

The sleeve is detachable and can be replaced with another “dining sleeve” after the diner has used it to wipe his or her mouth.

Genius, Ms. Crow. Ge-ni-us.

Seriously….this is a GREAT idea. If we all only used one piece of toilet paper, imagine how much more water and energy we could spend doing laundry to compensate!

Can we get some real solutions to pollution and energy waste? Can we get some celebrities who have real ways to use their positions to promote social change?

In the words of Sumreen, who’s gonna be your friend if they know you’re skimping on the TP?

I realize i may be walking a fine line with this discussion but it’s something i’ve been thinking about for a while….something, really, that has been disturbing me for a while. Excuse me if it isn’t fully fleshed out yet. I’m still pondering it.

I remember in sophomore year of college i took a class with Professor Sarah Shields called “Modern Muslim World.” It was a good class with a good professor who was surprisingly pro-Muslim, considering our current global political situation. We studied some of the history of Iraq (the US was quite early in the war at that time) and watched a film about Saddam’s early interactions with Kurds and Shia’s. Anyone who knows anything about this relationship knows what an inhuman and hellish scenario it was, with Saddam and his henchman stopping at nothing to get control of the land and its inhabitants.

As i sat there watching this film, i felt myself getting angrier and angrier. Livid is more like it. Fumingly furious. And a new sensation that, as far as i can remember, never felt before – or at least never felt as strongly or in any way that particularly mattered.

Hatred.

Hatred? I felt a twinge of guilt as i realized what it was – and as i realized the object of said emotion – a fellow Muslim. To be sure, not the kind of Muslim i would be proud to call a brother, but Allah and the Prophet (S) taught us not to judge intentions. We humans have no right to pass such judgement that we allow ourselves to hate a person. Hatred is for actions only, not the people who do them.

So i tried to reconcile this to myself. What would be the test of my emotion, of my self-control? How was i to make sure that i hated Saddam’s actions and not Saddam himself? I decided that if i could ask pray for him, if i could pray that Allah bless him, guide him, and forgive his sins, i would be able to remind myself that he was human like myself, fallible and prone to error and weakness.

I unfurled my hands, cupping them into a pitcher to catch my duas. But as i started to speak….no words emerged.

My voice failed me; even the voice that speaks in my heart and mind was silent. I could not forgive him. I could not ask that Allah forgive him for what he so unabashedly did to my brothers and sisters. My anger still overwhelmed me. I could not forgive.

All at once, i was furious with myself. Disappointed, guilty, ashamed of my arrogance. All i could think about was how much i wished Allah would repay him for all of his misdeeds…even punish him for the pain and torture he inflicted upon fellow human beings. I could not forgive.

Somehow i let this internal struggle fade away as i busied myself with academic matters, but it has re-emerged with a vengeance in the current Israel-Lebanon political crisis.

When i see the brutality of the fighting, it is easy to pray for the innocents, for the oppressed. There are a thousand things your empathetic heart can ask for them.

But what do we ask for the criminals, for the oppressors, for the ones who are perpetuating the pain and anguish?

A momentary respite, reader, before you answer this question. Let me complicate it a little to match the confusion in my mind.

Ground rules:

* We know that, although Allah’s Mercy far overshadows his Wrath, His punishment is strong
and severe, something that one should always fear
* We know that Allah is ultimately Just and that nothing escapes his judgment without its
reward or punishment, as much or as little as it deserves
* We know that Allah is at-Tawwab and al-Ghafoor. He turns towards His servants and
forgives them when they ask to be forgiven, no matter how great their wrongs, until the
last moment of their life

On the authority of Anas , who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: Allah the Almighty said: O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it.

I’m torn between two extremes. One which represents Prophetic perfection and the other which represents the human obsession with revenge and recompense.

Part of me wants to have the strength to forgive those who oppress innocent people, to ask with all my heart that Allah guide them to the truth and erase their sins. The Prophet Muhammad (S) forgave those who were extremely cruel to him. He prayed that Allah guide them and welcomed them with open arms when they accepted Islam. It is true that he prayed for victory over his enemies, but the most important thing is that he also prayed that they be guided to Allah, that Allah open their eyes to His Light. When the angels asked him for permission to crush Taif, he refused, with the hope that their future generations would accept Islam. When an elderly woman reviled him with trash and insults, he went to her door to ask after her when she was sick. Knowing the man’s hatred for Islam and himself, the Prophet prayed that Allah strengthen Islam with Umar ibn al-Khattab.

Shouldn’t we be aspiring to that same forgiveness and love?

At the same time, we cannot escape the brutality of oppression. It wrenches your heart to learn of the torture, the bombings, the murder, and I, for one, can’t help but feel anger and hatred against those perpetuating the madness. Allah always promises that those who do wrong will be held accountable for their deeds. The human in us wants to promise the innocents that they will rest in peace while their oppressors are punished. Shouldn’t we pray that those villains are taken to task?

I am still pondering over the answers to these two questions, trying to reconcile between these two. I think i’ve come up with a possible ideal answer, whether i can implement it in my life or not.

Ideally, in my opinion, we should be praying for two things. One, that Allah ease the pain of our brothers and sisters who are under constant trial and torture and that any pain they do have is a purification for them in this life and in the next. We should pray that Allah ease their judgment and forgive their sins (and all of our sins) and help them to rise above their suffering.

Secondly, we should be praying much the same thing for the oppressors. Justice and judgment are ultimately Allah’s decision. He will always and ultimately be Just and reward and punish those who deserve it. But we humans have no right to demand punishment for someone when there is a possibility they could become our brother in Islam with the very next breath. We should pray for their guidance and forgiveness, no matter how horrid their crimes, while not forgetting those crimes so that we can prevent them from being repeated. Our role is simply to pray for those innocents that are being oppressed and pray again for those who are oppressing – that they may see the error of their ways.

(Narrated Anas) Allah’s Apostle (S) said, “Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one. People asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?” The Prophet said, “By preventing him from oppressing others.”

and all people are our brothers in humanity. all are children of Adam.

Easier said than done.