Illustration by Arthur Rackham, 1909

Children have been told horror stories for as long as storytelling has existed. Should a child become traumatized hearing a story like Hansel and Gretel, where the witch plans to throw the children into the oven to make a nice meal, parents can tell the child not to worry, “That’s just a fairy tale. Things like that don’t really happen.” But they do.

Do you want to know more about Islam, but feel too shy to approach the stern-looking Muslims you see in Costco?

Are you tired of hearing about the world’s second-largest religion from hysterical media personalities who themselves have little or no firsthand experience on the subject?

Do you wish you could learn about Muslims without spending too much time or money on it?

There’s an app for that!

The new smartphone app called 365muslim was created specifically for a non-Muslim audience. It provides an interesting (and often entertaining) fact about Islam and Muslims each day for one year.

It’s purpose is to reach across the social barriers that still seem to be separating Muslims from mainstream American society and give simple, easy-to-verify information without proselytizing.

Currently 365muslim is available only for the iPhone, although an Android version is in the works. And yes, it’s FREE.

This is the first post in an exclusive Tikkun Daily series highlighting Muslim activists, entrepreneurs and artists who are making waves online.

Fatemeh Fakhraie is the founder and editor-in-chief of Muslimah Media Watch, the premiere website for Muslim women to discuss media images of themselves since 2007. In 2009, Fakhraie published her first book, Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Hijab Styles in Urban Iranian Women, a textbook version of her master’s thesis. In addition to blogging at Muslimah Media Watch, she also contributes to Bitch Magazine, Racialicious, AltMuslimah, and her own eponymous blog.

In an interview this month, I asked Fakhraie about Muslimah Media Watch and what motivated her to launch a site which is truly peerless.

“I hated everything I saw about Muslim women in mainstream media, and didn’t see myself in traditional feminist media,” she explained. “So I made a place for myself and women like me. In U.S. media, Muslim women are much more visible and even welcomed than we were when I started. But I think that there are still huge problems with that visibility: a lot of books and movies about Muslim women still fall into one stereotype or another, and a fair amount of news articles that feature Muslim women are reductive or coddling – I see so many articles that simply just pat Muslim women on the head for doing stuff that isn’t in itself exceptional, but seems like such a big deal for a Muslim woman to do.”

The past few months I had the opportunity to participate in a short documentary project about Muslim women. Yasmin Diallo Turk, a graduate student at the LBJ School of Public Policy at the University of Texas invited me to be featured along with a couple other women from Austin’s diverse Muslim community. It was an honor to work with her and to have my family involved.  I hope you’ll enjoy our efforts:

Muslim Women Do That

If you are interested in supporting a full length feature based on this short film please see the Kickstarter page.

A couple weeks ago I saw this diagram on my friend’s Facebook page and stopped short:

For years since 9/11 I’ve been trying to make this very point, often talking until I was blue in the face to fellow Americans who have very little working knowledge of Islam.

One of the greatest challenges I face as an American Muslim activist is simply trying to convey the vastness and diversity of Muslims in the world. Whether from ignorance or sheer prejudice, many Americans (and other westerners) refuse to see the second largest religion on earth than anything but what is represented by a minority. This diagram clearly illustrates the sheer madness of that mindset.

Used by permission. (c) 2000 Mark A. Schmidt

There are two very important aspects to the holy month of Ramadhan:

First, it was during this month that God revealed the opening of the Qur’an to a simple merchant in 7th century Arabia. Muhammad was given the prophet-hood and the religion of Islam was born setting off a chain of events that changed the world forever. This month is holy to us because it reminds us of the most precious gift of the Qur’an and the thrilling story of the birth of our ummah.

But the other important aspect of Ramadhan has to do with social justice. An orphan himself, Muhammad was sensitive to the needs of those who didn’t have all the advantages of pre-Islamic Arabian society. After he established a community of Muslims, it was decreed that this holy month would be one of fasting and charity. Thus, we are reminded during Ramadan that the very foundation of our religion is intimately tied to our ability to empathize with and relieve the distress of the less fortunate among us.

This is important for all Muslims to realize, because the disparity between the rich and the poor in the world today is something we cannot in good faith ignore. A very small percentage of the planet holds the majority of its wealth (and if you are reading this it is almost certain that you are among them).

Giving charity isn’t just about writing a check to your favorite non-profit organization in order to “increase your rewards” during the holy month. It’s not about sponsoring an iftaar at the masjid. It’s not about handing out alms to panhandlers. It isn’t about sleeping through the day to gorge yourself on rich food at night, or throwing lavish parties for your friends. True charity is about looking after the well-being of the disadvantaged throughout the year, and making sure they have the tools they need to improve their situation when they need them.

We fast each day during the month in order to remind ourselves that this state of discomfort is a way of life for many. But if the discipline of fasting doesn’t inspire us to long-lasting action, what good is it? While Ramadhan is a time to renew our focus on charity and social justice, it cannot be the beginning and end of our efforts. Charity and good stewardship is a year-round obligation.

The old saying, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life,” illustrates this idea. Our efforts toward charity should not just be about making sure the poor have good meal during Ramadhan or new clothes to wear on Eid, but in creating institutions and programs for the poor which will empower, educate and inspire them forever.

Islam has a great tradition of appreciating and revering the earth. More than 700 verses in the Qur’an extort Muslims to reflect on the miracle of creation and make it clear that Allah views the earth as its own entity with the right to be protected and cared for. It even goes so far to say “Greater indeed than the creation of man is the creation of the heavens and the earth.” (40:57)

As Muslims, we understand that our submission to God is intrinsically tied to the way we treat His gift of life on this planet.  A peaceful, gentle reverence for plants, animals and landscapes are part of the fabric of our religion and translate beautifully through Islam’s strong foundation of social justice and activism.

Therefore, the environmental movement is one area where Muslims can make a huge contribution to society at large, and to productive interfaith dialogue.

For example, this month I contributed to a joint interfaith statement about Chemical Regulation Reform:

Interfaith Groups Speak Out on National Chemical Regulatory Reform

Amanda Quraishi, a member of Austin’s Muslim Community, said, “I think it is an ethical and moral imperative for average consumers to be informed on what we are buying and putting into our bodies. As a parent I feel an even greater responsibility to choose healthy foods and products for my children. I tend to support and buy from companies that identify, classify, and test their products for personal and environmental safety. Ideally, this kind of transparency would be the norm.”

Most concerned citizens would happily make a statement like this to voice their worries over the undisclosed exposure to unnatural chemical compounds that we are subjected to on a daily basis. But it is a great privileged to be able to make this statement as a Muslim because it lets me present the tenets of my faith in a positive, constructive and practical way. I am certain that my neighbors feel the same way, and the mutual respect and admiration that is created as we work together to protect the earth within our own faith traditions is miraculous in itself.

I had the chance to talk to Amanda Robinson, Coordinator of Texas Interfaith Power and Light, an environmental program of Texas Impact. When I asked her about her experience engaging various faith groups in environmental activism she told me, “What I see is that different communities are in different places on environmental issues – some have been very engaged and active for a long time, while others are just beginning to connect teachings from their religious tradition to concerns about the environment. Increasingly, people of all faiths are realizing that their tradition, whatever it is, has important things to say about care for the earth and care for other people, and that these concerns are interrelated.”

She continued, “There are many areas where teachings from different religious traditions converge in a shared concern, and environmental issues are one of these areas. The world’s great religious traditions all speak of care for the earth and its creatures. In the Abrahamic traditions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – there is a call to guardianship and care of creation. In the Eastern traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism, there is a profound sense of the interconnectedness of all life on earth. Although our traditions use different terms, the message on this subject is the same – it is a unified call for humans to care for the environment. On environmental issues, then, there is a lot of room for people of different faith traditions to work together in common cause.”

Learn more about Texas Interfaith Power and Light on the main website, or check out their Facebook page for current events and news about the organization. You can also email info@txipl.org.

When most people think of Texas they probably don’t think of Muslims.  But here in the land of BBQ and bluebonnets, where the official state religion is football, is where I discovered Islam.

It’s been ten years since I’ve declared the Shahada and in that time I’ve watched the Muslim commmunity in Austin grow and flourish.  We have one of the most diverse and progressive activist Muslim communities in the country with almost a hundred nationalities represented.  There are seven Muslim houses of worship which include the Sunni, Shia, and Sufi traditions within a radius of forty miles.

Austin boasts two private Islamic elementary schools, two Sunday schools, one of the largest and most active MYNA (Muslim Youth of North America) chapters, and several other community organizations dedicated specifically to the social needs of Muslims in the area.

We also have a robust interfaith scene and the Muslim community is extremely active participating in events that promote understanding among people of various religions.  I’m proud to have been involved with such exciting events as the Annual Muslim-Jewish Hands on Housing event through Austin Area Interreligious Ministries.

From the time I became a Muslim I was intensely aware that there was a need for outreach by common everyday-Muslims to offer a real glimpse into the way we live, work and worship.  That need became even more urgent after September 11, 2001.  It has been my pleasure to work with  the Muslim community, as well as the greater community of Austin, Texas to foster understanding and goodwill.

I was extremely honored to be approached by the editors of Tikkun to contribute to Tikkun Daily blog.  In addition to my knowledge and practice of Islam and interfaith dialogue, I bring a progressive political outlook, an interest in feminism and GLBT rights, as well as a deep appreciation for the arts.

Here’s to getting to know your neighbors!

Classroom in Afghanistan where boys and girls would learn together, with a curriculum emphasizing peacemaking

One of my favorite things to do is wander around a school and see how teachers and students have decorated their classrooms. Beyond the basic academic stuff like maps, history charts, word drills, homework assignments, art projects, etc… many classrooms also have posters talking about how everyone should treat each other, character messages, encouragement to work hard and reach out when help is needed. The picture on the left is from my visit to Afghanistan. It was an amazing school that had a central theme of peacemaking in its curriculum. On Saturday March 20th 2010, I got to poke around inside a Muslim children’s school much closer to home in Santa Clara California and was thrilled with what I saw there.

On Abercrombie & Fitch’s web site, they say “At Abercrombie & Fitch we are committed to increasing and leveraging the diversity of our associates and management across the organization. Those differences will be supported by a culture of inclusion, so that we better understand our customers, enhance our organizational effectiveness, capitalize on the talents of our workforce and represent the communities in which we do business.”

If that’s true, how could one of their management team have fired a Muslim for wearing a head scarf? I’ve sent the following message to the Diversity Department at Abercrombie & Fitch, and have yet to hear back from them.

In the years since September 11th, I’ve often heard radio-talk-show hosts / callers, chatterers at family gatherings, and TV pundits asking “Where are the peaceful Muslim leaders?” as though there were none out there condemning violence and encouraging friendship and peace. Whenever I have a chance to directly answer that question I’m very happy to have some solid examples of incredible Muslim leaders who have spoken out and continue to work for peacemaking and friendship. On September 11th, one of my closest friends and colleagues helped organize a gathering outside the White House, lighting the night for peace and friendship.

Tikkun readers will see a photograph in the latest Tikkun Magazine on page 59 of a man in saffron colors wielding a sword at a huge rally of the Hindu right-wing chauvinist party in India. That man is Mr. Narendra Modi, who has been at the helm of affairs in the western Indian state of Gujarat, and where a number of highly respected human rights observers documented a pogrom against Muslims in 2002 that resulted in the murder of about 2000 people and the public rape of numerous women.

I reproduce below a letter that is calling for as many signatures as possible from those of us deeply concerned about the ways that such individuals as Mr. Modi routinely seek and get legitimized through awards handed out by well-known institutions (who may not be aware of their background or worse, may not consider such crimes as significant). This letter is to Ms. Marjorie Scardino, CEO of the Pearson Group, which owns the Financial Times group, which owns FDI magazine. As some of you may know from media coverage, FDI just anointed Narendra Modi “Asian Personality of the Year 2009.” Please join us by signing the letter below. The louder the reaction to this, the more chance this outrageous action will be sanctioned.

The compatibility of Islam and pluralism is sometimes defended by referencing examples of Islamic “tolerance” of minorities in centuries past. Some Muslims’ interpretation of pluralism is colored by Islam’s political power in the past,[1] and they define religious tolerance in terms of how religious minorities were treated in the Islamic Empire – that is, as groups that were free to practice their religion as long as they obeyed the Islamic political order and paid taxes in return for protection by the Islamic state. As some modern Islamic thinkers argue, however, this form of religious tolerance is inadequate in light of changing human rights standards.[2] Whereas the Islamic Empire’s notion of religious tolerance may have been appropriate for that time, Muslims in the modern age must re-evaluate and realize that the historical approach to religious tolerance must be modified. Conditional and condescending “tolerance” must be redefined to include mutual respect, equal treatment, and robust pluralism.

Contemporary Muslims’ effort to grapple with pluralism and their political position in relation to the religious “other” is in some ways analogous to the challenge the American religious right has faced realizing that America is not a “Christian country” – at least not in the sense that allows conservative Christianity to hold a privileged position. In both cases, a religious group that once dominated a society is coming to terms with greater diversity and the demands of justice in a pluralistic context.[3]

A few years ago I was invited by an evangelical campus ministry to speak on the campus of a liberal arts college. My topic was Christian peacemaking, and the Christians advertised my talk on campus by sharing the story of how I learned what God’s love looks like when Muslims in Iraq offered me and my friends life-saving hospitality just three days after our country had bombed their hospital. This story caught the attention of a Muslim group on campus and they invited me to meet with them for a meal before my talk.

After telling my story, I asked the Muslim students to share about their own experiences of practicing their faith in America. “We have a lot in common,” one of the students said to me. “The individualism that makes it hard for you to be a Christian also makes it hard for us to be Muslims.” Reflecting on each of our traditions, we swapped stories about the challenge of being an authentic faith community in a culture that sometimes seems to worship independence.

I thought of that conversation with Muslim friends when my friends at the Englewood Review of Books sent me their list of “40 Ways to Celebrate Interdepedence”-a wonderfully subversive call to action for people of faith on July 4th. Like any good list, it’s a countdown. I’ve listed the first ten here. To read the others, click on the link below.

40. Shop only at locally-owned merchants or restaurants.
39. Write a note of appreciation to a mother; thank her for raising a child.
38. Look through your clothes. Learn about one of the countries where they were manufactured and commit to doing one thing to improve the lives of the people who live and work there.
37. Take a digital recorder out into your neighborhood and do “field recordings” of your neighbors showing off their talents (singing, playing instruments, telling jokes/stories). Make a cd of these recordings and distribute it freely in your neighborhood.
36. Gather some neighbors, walk around your neighborhood and do asset-mapping, noting key places in the local economy: local businesses, restaurants, parks, community gardens. Make a map that highlights these assets and distribute it freely in your neighborhood.
35. Learn where your utilities come from-the source of your electricity, gas, and water.
34. Dig up a bucket of soil from your garden or yard, examine it, noticing all of the elements of organic matter, sand, clay, and the organisms that make your daily meals a possibility.
33. Host or plan a neighborhood produce exchange, where gardeners can barter the fruits (and vegetables) of their labors with one another.
32. Spend the 4th of July baking cookies or bread. Give your baked goods to the person who delivers your mail or picks up your trash the next time you see them.
31. Host a rain-barrel making party and teach your neighbors how to make and use rain-barrels to recycle rain water.

For full list go here.