Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/author/engage-minnesota/page/7/)
By Fedwa Wazwaz, 2/15/08 • Engage Minnesota • Although Muslims in the United States and around the world have repeatedly condemned terrorism and extremism, Muslims stand falsely accused by nationally known commentators and influential religious leaders of remaining silent.
by Thasneem Ahmed, 2/9/08 • Engage Minnesota • This past week’s Super Tuesday was truly a historic event. The energy, the excitement, the crowds …for many of us, especially for those who were voting in our caucus for the first time, that night will not be soon forgotten. As Americans around the country placed their votes for who they wanted to represent them in the Presidential election, the words “…. government of the people, by the people, for the people…” seemed to almost come alive. Continue Reading
by Tamim Saidi, 2/5/08 • Engage Minnesota • As an American Muslim, when I see the issues and events about Islam that get treated as “news” in the mainstream media, it bothers me that so many are portrayed as “problems with Islam,” the religion, when they are in reality problems of culture, traditions, politics, superstitions, and tribal or ethnic codes of conduct of some Muslim-majority region. Continue Reading
By Marcia Lynx Qualey • February 1, 2008 • Engage Minnesota • Officially, the first mosque in the U.S. was erected in 1929. This building was constructed by Syrian and Lebanese immigrants in Ross, North Dakota, and has since been demolished. But those Midwestern immigrants were hardly the first observant Muslims in the Americas. Others had worshiped on U.S. soil hundreds of years before.
by Rawan Hamade, January 2008 • Engage Minnesota • Two years ago, I sat nervously in one of my professor’s offices. He asked a very simple question that changed my thinking completely: “Are you Muslim?”
by Nahid Khan • Engage Minnesota • One of the few benefits of our increasingly stop-and-go traffic situation in the Twin Cities is the increased opportunity to read bumper-sticker messages and think about the process of communication through this medium.
by Dr. Ghulam M. Haniff • Engage Minnesota • Last spring King Abdullah II of Jordan concluded his speech to the joint session of the U.S. Congress with the familiar salutation, “Assalamu-alaikum!” Immediately, in response a booming voice rang out from the center of the chamber with a loud “Walaikum-assalam.” Everyone present was stunned.
by Elias Karmi • Engage Minnesota • Some myths in Middle East politics and religion need to be deconstructed.
Myth: The “Ancient Feud”
Unfortunately, a few academics have fallen for this one. The myth is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is rooted in an ancient feud between Ismael, the perceived ancestor of the Arabs, and Isaac, the ancestor of the Children of Israel, both of whom are the sons of Abraham from different mothers.
by Heba Abdel-Karim • Imagine this scenario: You live in the same area with your Minnesotan Muslim neighbor. This person, his actions, beliefs, and practices seem a bit peculiar to you, as you have not encountered many Muslims. All you know about Muslims is what you hear others say, from the media and the like, but they are otherwise unfamiliar.