By Shinoa Matos Bismillah irRahamnir Raheem The day of Sumaeyah’s Aqiqah had arrived, after having postponed it for two months. My husband Julio and I intended to do it on the 7th day after her birth in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet but because of my Cesarean, I was not up to making all the arrangements so soon. After we both fully recovered-me from my surgery and Sumaeyah from a respiratory infection-everything seemed to be well enough to call the imam and set up the ceremony. I met Imam Muhammad Shamsi Ali at the Islamic Cultural Center of
Read MoreBy MusliRican http://muslirican.blogspot.com/ Hejab on my headWith a machete dangling from my neckI’m not a terroristJust a bonafide Boricua with coquis on my mindI love the flares of salsa skirtsWith claves and congas singing to my heart’s contentWhile I prostrate on the sands of RinconAwaiting the whales to make their presenceBorinquen is my paradiseAllah is my creatorYes–I can inhabit both spacesAnd when bachata comes on the radioI move three steps liftThree steps liftAnd when the azhan is called“Allahu Akbar” and “Bismillah” run out of my mouthGive me some piraguas with a side of datesA little of sunlight with a dash
Read MoreBy Sayyed Mohammad http://www.irca.org.au/Islam/Poems/principles.htm In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful I Know, child, that God is only One,And has no Partner or Son;He has made us and everything,All beasts, all fowls, all birds that sing,The Sun, the Moon, the Starry Sky,The Land, the sea, the mountains high.He knows whatever we think or act,By Him is seen the real fact.And only He does what He wills,He makes, He keeps, He saves, He kills.Forever the same, no age, no youth,He is Perfection, He is Truth.Almight, All-Seeing, Wise,He had not form, or shape or size.But Self-Existing is our Lord,And is
Read More“But celebrate the praises of thy Lord, and be of those who prostrate themselves in adoration. And serve thy Lord until there come unto thee the Hour that is Certain.” – Quran 15:98-99. “It was by God’s grace that you (O Muhammad) did deal gently with your followers: for if you had been harsh and hard of heart, they would indeed have broken away from you. Pardon them, then, and pray that they be forgiven. And consult with them in all matters of public concern.” – Quran 3:159. The Prophet said, “The example of the person abiding by Allah’s order
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Latina/o y Musulmán: The Construction of Latina/o Identity among Latina/o Muslims in the United States By Hjamil A. Martínez-Vázquez Latinas/os are the fastest growing “minoritized” ethnic group in the United States and Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the U.S. It is therefore no surprise that the Latina/o Muslim population is one of the fastest growing communities in the U.S. As a minority within a minority, the ways in which Latina/o Muslims construct their identity is not only interesting in itself but also of interest for how they challenge traditional understandings of U.S. Latina/o identity. This book
Read MoreBy Saraji Umm Zaid The Message InternationalDecember-January 2005, pp 29. Samantha is a poet, writer, teacher, da’iyee, mother, and wife. She is one of the original co-founders of LADO: The Latino American Dawah Organization, and wrote her master’s thesis about Latinos and Islam. She was one of MuslimPoet.com’s “Poets in Residence” from 2003 to 2004. Juan is a writer, husband, soon-to-be daddy and da’iyee who lives in San Antonio, Texas. He has written extensively about the emerging Latino Muslim community. He enjoys encouraging cooperation among ethnically diverse Muslim communities. Saraji: What is the goal and purpose behind LADO?Juan: The purpose
Read MoreBy Aboobaker Ebrahim http://www.mycrescent.com/community-news/casa-de-paz-helping-refugees.html March 24, 2009 Sister Amira and Dr. Riyad Taha are the founders and current owners of Casa De Paz, Inc. Located in the heart of Dallas on Phoenix Drive close to the sprawling Presbyterian Hospital Complex, Casa De Paz is surrounded by apartment complexes occupied by refugees and immigrants from all over the world. “Well, I have been working in the refugee neighborhood of northeast Dallas for about ten years. At first we used to visit the refugee apartments using our cars only. Then when a very large population of Somali Bantu’s were arriving in Dallas,
Read MoreBy Khadijah Rivera What Islam means to me: To be qualified is to know GOD? I was raised as a Roman Catholic from a very strict and practicing Hispanic family. To even think of leaving the aristocratic Catholics was considered a sin. Actually having been raised by nuns in private schools taught me that one did not have the luxury of questioning the Bible or even the Catechism that was engraved in our memory banks as children. I once had the audacity to ask my teacher why we did not study the Bible; her answer was a blunt, “You might
Read MoreBy Sara Hassan The Message InternationalNovember-December 2005, pp 8-13. The soft lilac headscarf compliments her matching outfit and her light complexion. Her face rests at peace as she concentrates on her prayer, her lips moving softly to the memorized Arabic words. She kneels and prostrates in the front line of several rows of a culturally diverse group of women at the Omar Ben Abdel-Aziz mosque in Queens, New York. When the prayer ends, she happily bounces around the room chatting with the others, addressing each one as sister. “I feel like I belong,” she says. Marlene Lillo-Smith, 44, says she
Read MorePor Rebecca Abuqaoud ¡Assalam Aleikum! El pasado domingo, 4 de octubre del 2009, se llevo a cabo una vez más la tradicional fiesta de Eid familiar en el MCC, Muslim Community Center, de la avenida Elston en Chicago. El evento empezó aproximadamente a las 4:35PM. Esta vez con la participación especial del hermano Abdullah Clark, quién abrió el programa con un dua (suplica personal) y luego compartió con un tema islámico y entre los puntos que trato fue del porque los musulmanes celebran el Eid-ul-Fitr, la fiesta del fin del ayuno del Ramadán. El hermano Abdur Rahmán hizo la traducción
Read MoreBy Rebecca Abuqaoud Assalam Aleikum, All praise be to Allah SWT. Alhamdulillah! This year of 2009 has been a very blessed one. This year was very active and dynamic because of the participation of a group of revert Latina Muslim sisters in Chicago. A committee of sisters put together a conference to get more sisters involved and to get their ideas on how to continue Islamic classes for sisters. It was an honor to have the support of LADO, the Latino American Dawah Organization, for the conference. The committee of sisters needed a host name in order to extend invitations
Read MoreBy Mariam Abbassi The 7th Annual Hispanic Muslim Day – an event of recognition of Hispanic reverts of our community. The mission of organizing this event was to outreach and convey the message of Islam to everyone in the community of Muslims and the community of non-Muslims. On November 8, 2009 more than 150 Hispanic Muslims gathered to celebrate and to remember the day of their reversion. We started the celebration with verses recited from the Glorious Quran by Sheikh Mahmoud. We acknowledged and appreciated the humbleness shown by the non-Arabic speakers. Brother Omar Garcia, a Muslim that was born
Read MoreBy Francisco Deleon http://www.islamicpoetry.org/viewpoem341.htm I looked at the Men who bowed in the day to the strangemusic that playedThe voice hypnotizingThey say Islamic Faith ..Is corruptBut if they lookThey are corruptThey see what they wish to seeBut from outsiders eyes I see beautyI see sands sweeping soft melodiesI hear children playI cry for understanding of two faithsI fear the impendingBut open my arms to Allah Copyright 11/11/2006.
Read More“Treat not the orphan with harshness, nor repulse him who asks.” – Qur’an 93:9-10. “Of them there are some who believe therein, and some who do not: and your Lord knows best those who are out for mischief. If they charge you with falsehood, say: ‘My work to me, and yours to you! You are free from responsibility for what I do, and I for what you do!’” – Qur’an 10:40-41. Allah’s Apostle said, “A prostitute was forgiven by Allah, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst,
Read Morehttp://www.muslimmuseum.org International Museum of Muslim Cultures (IMMC)Eighth Year Anniversary CelebrationJackson Convention Center105 E. Pascagoula St.Jackson, Mississippi 39201 July 10 -12, 2009 The Muslim American community is one of the fastest growing religious-cultural communities in America. This community is very diverse. It represents indigenous Americans to include African Americans, European Americans, Native Americans, and Latino Americans–and immigrant Americans who migrated from every continent and country of the world. This ethnic melting pot shares a common belief and way of life, Islam. However, they represent very diverse Ethnic and cultural communities that are assimilating within the American culture. As the Muslim community
Read Morehttp://es.groups.yahoo.com/group/CASADE_PAZ Bismillahir-Rahmaanir-RaheemPeace be on you all with mercy and blessings The Islamic Center Dar-us-Salaam, located in Dallas, Texas, is a not-for-profit organization that was founded to help the community in general to help resolve some of the few problems that plague it. At the same time, it has made a dawa project for the Spanish-speaking community. The facilities with which the center has are a small musala, with an area for men and women. Muslims from all nationalities attend, alhamdulillah. If you live in the area of Dallas, Texas, and want to be part of this beautiful project, insha’Allah, come
Read Morehttp://www.islamweb.net/ramadanS/nindex.php?vPart=55 Durante esta temporada de Ramadán, www.Islamweb.net, reunió artículos de alrededor del mundo para ensenar la diversidad del Islam. Los siguientes cinco países fueron entre los demás en este reportaje especial. —Ramadán en Santa Cruz, Bolivia La comunidad musulmana en Bolivia es pequeña, pero, Al Hamdulil-lah, está creciendo poco a poco. El Centro Islámico Boliviano, ubicado en la ciudad de Santa Cruz de la Sierra, realiza un arduo trabajo de Da’wa, tanto a nivel local como nacional, y colabora con las comunidades musulmanas de otras ciudades del país. La llegada de Ramadán es muy esperada y apreciada por los musulmanes
Read MoreBy Yusef Maisonet As Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatullah, Warith Deen Mohammed (October 30, 1933 – September 9, 2008) was a scholar and a reformer. A world traveler and known to all from Pope John Paul II to the President – all the way to Jerusalem, his opposition against his father’s teachings is widely known. His father was Elijah Muhammad who was the leader of the Nation of Islam from 1933 to 1975. Although excommunicated several times, the love of father and son are very strong and the deep respect that he had with his father was profound and
Read MoreBy Shahzady Suquillo August 18, 2009ReadingIslam.com http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1248188035705& pagename=Zone-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout&ref=body A Young Latin American Girl Shares Her Thoughts In Quito, Ecuador, very soon all the members of the Muslim community will start preparing themselves in body and soul for the happy arrival of the sacred month of Ramadan. How fast this year has gone by! Considering some aspects of the Western culture here in Ecuador, where no observance for division at social events is taking place, Assalam Mosque has become a unique place for sisters to feel solace and relax. Another particular aspect is that Ramadan at the Equator in Latin America
Read MoreBy Ashley Makar September 13, 2009Killing the Buddha http://killingthebuddha.com/mag/witness/better-than-a-thousand-months/ The holiest night of the year for a Nuyorican Muslim. Rushing to Manhattan’s 96th Street mosque in the white gallabiya he promised Allah he would wear, toting leftover dates in tupperware, Abdu Alim did a good deed. In Spanish-inflected Arabic, “Salamm’alaikum,” he said, to a kid he didn’t know running out of the mosque. They exchanged peace like a high five, and Alim explained that that was an act of charity. And that every move you make toward the mosque and every letter you pronounce from the Qur’an is an act
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