MuslimMatters.org Discourses in the Intellectual Traditions, Political Situation, and Social Ethics of Muslim Life

When I began searching for a job back in '04, I was advised by experts that a clean-shaven face was a must for the interview. A bearded face was a job seeker's death sentence. Now me, I follow the opinion that you leave the beard alone and just let it ... Read More »

A fascinating trend I observed while working for AlMaghrib Institute in Chicago was that the vast majority of Muslims either don’t know or don’t care for the hyper-partisan bickering among salafis, sufis, ikhwaanis, deobandis, ash’aris, hanafis, shafi’ees, hanbalis (I realize there’s some overlap there), and so on. Most don’t know the theological or fiqh differences between one popular speaker and the next - all they care about is that said popular speaker enlightens, inspires, and perhaps entertains the masses with their ability to speak to spiritual issues in a manner they can relate to. Read More »

The time has come for us to break free from the shackles of inferiority that have imprisoned our minds, teaching us that Islam is backwards, out-of-touch, impractical, and if not properly modernized and sanitized, barbaric, medieval, dishonorable, and outright embarrassing. The time has come for us to turn our attention away from that which raises a nonMuslim in this world to that which raises a Muslim in both this world and the next. Read More »

About 4 – 5 years ago, my wife and I would go to visit a Saudi family once a week who would teach both of us tajweed. They had been married for a number of years and had 4 children. My teacher, AbdurRahman, would take me into his office and ... Read More »

After an agreement to a six-month ceasefire between between Hamas and Israel expired on December 19th, Israel launched multiple F-16 bombers into the Gaza Strip, dropping 100 tons of bombs in the first nine hours of fighting, indiscriminately massacring over 225 Palestinians and injuring over 700 others, the worst number of Palestinian casualties, and the bloodiest, since the 1967 attack in Gaza. May Allah subhaana wa ta'aala accept them all amongst the shuhadaa, aameen. Read More »

Hey there MSA superstar, how's it going? You've survived daw'ah table dramas, brothers vs sisters power struggles, fast-a-thon, IAW, and some shady thing online facebook behavior from your peers. Activism was amazing, and now it's time to graduate and continue on in the MSA at...? Oh yeah, that's right - there is no MSA (or whatever acronym your rebellious student org chose) after college. It's time to step out in the real world and make your way. Read More »

My wife had a bit of sore throat today and needed some rest.  Normally, I'd watch the kids (destroy the house) and order food for lunch and dinner, but today my wife had a different request. “So what are you preparing for lunch today?” She wanted a homecooked meal, and the last ... Read More »

Due to unexpected family matters, I found myself on a midnight cruise leaving George Bush International (oxymoron) Airport with Juan (not his real name), a Nicaraguan Super Shuttle Driver who was, in his own way, informed about national politics, and an active participant during presidential elections. “Did you know that ... Read More »

I have close to a one hour commute back and forth to work, and besides coffee, I'd found the only way to keep myself awake was through listening to far right, neo-conservative talk radio. Anger, as it turned out, was a great substitute for Red Bull. One particular morning on ... Read More »

I picked up a lot both in and out of class, and was anxious to return to "the real world" to practice what I'd learned. And alhamdulillaah, what a huge difference those changes have since made in my day-to-day life, which is why I say, I've enjoyed the past few weeks post-Ilm Summit. Here are a few habits and lessons learned I picked up. Read More »