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<< From the AltMuslimah Archives >>
What the Greeks called agape, the boundary-less, self-sacrificing love between believers, or between a believer and God, is the struggle in Islam to serve God, and one another, out of love. This jihad of human potential against the jihad of violent ideology, if resurrected, has the power to change the world.

Before we left home, I had a long conversation with Zayd, our nine year old. I explained to him that we were going to Staples to shop for school supplies for underprivileged children in our community. I asked him gently to please not ask for anything for himself, that this trip was about doing something good for someone else. I reminded Zayd that I had already ordered his school supplies and that he would find them sitting on his desk on the first day of school.

A recent Huffington Post editorial, “Women Retake Islam,” calls on Muslims to improve the status of women by “rediscovering the progressive jewel at the heart of Islam.” The author, Kamran Pasha, rightly attributes much of the misogyny in places like Saudi Arabia to regional customs rather than religion. Yet despite the many valid points he raises, he undermines his own argument by selectively disregarding elements of the Islamic tradition that seem unfriendly to women. This inconsistency begs a question which cannot be overlooked…

Of the various strands of Muslim reformers and reformists, the Tablighi Jamaat, a Muslim association composed of volunteers and centered on internal individual and community regeneration, is a phenomenon that has taken form in recent times. The first convention of the Tablighi Jamaat was created and led by Maulana Muhammad Ilyas, and took place in New Delhi, India around 1927.

I was raised in a very religious Christian household. Religion is as much a part of our family’s identity as are the black eyed peas, corn bread, and greens we eat after Sunday service. At any given time, guests who walk into our home would be greeted by Christian, TBN/Moody Bible/Focus on the Family orchestra blaring on all three televisions and the radio. Outwardly, I sang in the church choir, orchestrated college trips to service, and dutifully made communion every first Sunday. But internally, a storm of confusion brewed.

On February 12th, 2009 and the days following it, we – as Muslims, as Americans, and as citizens of the world – were shocked and overcome by profound grief when informed of the brutal murder of Sister Aasiya Zubair Hassan, general manager and co-founder of Bridges TV. We learned, incredulously, that her husband – a man who made it his career goal to dispel negative images about Islam – decapitated his wife of many years.