Some Muslim Americans Take Part in Christmas Festivities

December 23, 2011
Some US Muslims Share in Christmas Traditions
VOA - Elizabeth Lee | Los Angeles

In the United States, Christmas has become a holiday for people of all faiths, not only Christians. Some Muslim Americans also take part in Christmas festivities.

Outside the home of Saman Namazikhah and his wife Fatemeh, there sits a snowman adorned with lights and strings of lights wrapped around a tree. Inside, a Christmas tree sits beside a fireplace with Christmas stockings hung above a roaring fire. The Namazikhahs might have one of the most beautifully decorated homes on their street, but they are not Christians. They are Muslims, who came from Iran.

"We consider ourselves American as well as Iranians and Muslims, too. We don't differentiate it. As far as it goes so we enjoy it; we celebrate it. We decorate the house," said Fatemeh Mokhtari Namazikhah.

Saman Namazikhah says they combine an American tradition with Iranian traditions, especially during the meal for Christmas day.

"It wouldn't necessarily be a traditional Christmas feast. It could be a traditional Iranian feast," Saman Namazikhah explained.

As a board member of the Iran American Muslim Association of North America, Namazikhah says many of his friends at the culture center also take part Christmas traditions.

"A lot of them celebrate it. It's a part of their lives. They grew up here. A lot of them are people that have been here for a long time, so going through the school system, it's something that was pretty much embedded in their lives in their childhood," added Namazikhah.

Pakistani American Tehmina Khan started decorating her home for her children for Christmas 25 years ago.

"It's festive. We'd like to be a part of the American celebration. And its sharing and giving and just a joyous occasion, and we want to be a part of it," Khan explained.

Khan exchanges gifts and holds holiday parties, inviting many Muslim friends, such as Sara Khan and her family, who also decorate their homes for Christmas. But Khan says some of her other friends do not approve.

"They basically think that's nothing that Muslims do. It's not in our religion. They don't celebrate the birth of Christ. But we do believe in the Jesus, so there's nothing wrong with celebrating it," Sara Khan noted.

Usman Madha is the spokesman for the King Fahad Mosque in Los Angeles. He says Muslims should not attach religious significance to their Christmas celebrations.

"They are on a very thin line there," Madha explained. "We also believe in Moses. When I say 'believe' in meaning that we believe them to be major prophets of Islam. How many Muslims go out and celebrate Pesach, Passover?"

Madha says it is important for Muslims to remember their faith.

"Participate, enjoy. Yet at the same time, the differences are there. It's just this is Christianity, this is Islam; we are Muslims, you are Christians," Madha added.

Just how many Muslims participate in Christmas traditions depends on demographics. From Madha's perspective this is a practice of "very, very few individuals." But the answer is very different for Pakistani American Vallikhan Khan, 22, who was born and raised in the United States.

"I think everyone that I know that's Muslim celebrates Christmas. Their faith is really strong, but they want to associate with the culture and be like everybody else," said Vallikhan Khan.

Many Muslim Americans who have Christmas trees say they do not see Christmas as a religious holiday. For them, it is simply a time of sharing and giving with family and friends of all faiths.

Many Indonesian Muslims voiced support for the U.S. operation that killed Osama bin Laden.

Indonesian Muslims Express No Sympathy on Death of Osama bin Laden
VOA - Brian Padden | Jakarta May 02, 2011

In Indonesia, a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, many people voiced support for the U.S. operation that killed Osama bin Laden.

Although Indonesia is home to a variety of militant Islamic organizations that have carried out attacks against Western targets, the country has a history of religious diversity and moderation.

So it is not surprising that Darma Widjaya, like many of the Muslims who came to midday prayers at the Sunda Kelapa mosque in Jakarta Monday expressed no sympathy upon hearing of the death of Osama bin Laden.

He says it is quite good for the entire world, because bin Laden is a terrorist.

Another mosque visitor who was leaving morning prayers, Dadang Solihin, said he hopes that the death of the man responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York and Washington, D.C., will make the world a safer place.

"It is a good thing. Maybe it is a time for people to, I mean for the situation in the world to be cooling down," said Solihin.

Sitting at a lunch cart outside the mosque, Ellen Sitorus says Bin Laden's death is good news for Indonesia's fight against terrorism.

She says when she heard that bin Ladin was killed, she was very happy because the number of terrorists like those that haunt Indonesia is decreasing.

There are small groups of radical Muslims in Indonesia that have been affiliated or influenced by bin Laden. These groups continue to advocate and execute violent attacks against westerners and urge assassinations against government officials and moderate Muslim Indonesian leaders.

The Indonesian terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah, which wants to establish an Islamic state in Southeast Asia, is reported have ties to bin Laden's Al Qaida terror network. The group has been involved in several terrorist attacks in recent years, including the 2002 Bali Bombing that killed more than 200 people. In 2010, a new terrorist group that called itself Al Qaida in Aceh was discovered operating a training camp in Sumatra.

Azyumardi Azra, a professor of history at the State Islamic University, says news of Bin Laden’s death could incite these militant groups to retaliate.

"I think the death of Osama bin Laden would revive the resentment and also hatred against the U.S., so I think particularly with the show of joy in a number of cities in the West,” he said. “Particularly in the U.S."

He says, although anti-American sentiment will likely increase within radical circles, most Indonesians remain supportive of the U.S. military action taken to kill Osama Bin Laden.




Indonesian Muslims Express No Sympathy on Death of Osama bin Laden
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Muslim Americans Make Political Gains in Chicago

Muslim Americans Make Gains in Chicago Political Effort
VOA - Kane Farabaugh | Chicago April 07, 2011

Two of the seven candidates supported by the non-profit Project Mobilize, known as Project M in the southwest suburbs of the Midwestern U.S. city Chicago, won their races in municipal elections April 5. Project Mobilize views the election as an important first step to get the Muslim American community more involved in local politics.

Ahmed Aduib is a newly elected board member for the Bridgeview Public Library in a southwest suburb of Chicago. "Our library is in a nice area and they just rebuilt it so the question now is how to make that new library full," Aduib said.

Aduib represents the growing Muslim-American community in Bridgeview. He says making the library full depends on how well it reaches out to the different ethnic communities in the area.

"We do not just have a Muslim-American Community. We have a Polish-American community; we have a Spanish-American community, so there are different communities that we can reach out to and start making connections. Just for the library, and I think that is where everything starts, especially for the younger generation." Aduib said.

Aduib was one of seven Muslim-American candidates supported by Project Mobilize in municipal elections April 5 in suburban Chicago. Two of the seven candidates were elected. Aduib, who won his race uncontested, said the overall results are still an accomplishment.

"I do not think there are any disappointments. Two out of the seven, for a group of new candidates who started off pretty late actually, so two out of the seven is a great accomplishment," Aduib said.

Project Mobilize Director Reema Ahmad says low voter turnout across the suburbs may have been a factor for those candidates who lost their races.

"I think there is voter apathy among all groups, all segments of the community. It was not only the Muslim American who were voting yesterday or not voting, but in communities all across the municipalities we were working in, all across the country and the state, so I am not going to say this is something exclusive to the Muslim-American community, but I will say that for the Muslim-American community this is very much a learning process still," Ahmad said.

Ahmad says this was the first full-scale election effort for Project Mobilize. The organization hopes to use the lessons learned here as an education tool for future elections.

"The idea of coming out on a non-presidential election to cast a ballot is still going to be something that we are working towards, becoming more and more of a habit and a matter of practice instead of something unique because there are specific candidates on the ballot," Ahmad said.

As Project Mobilize builds on the foundation formed while preparing for the April 5 elections, Aduib hopes his successful race will encourage other Muslim Americans to fulfill their civic duty.

"This shows them that look, this is not a foreign idea to get active. It is not something weird. And if you do want to get active, there are options to get active and we can help you to get active. So I think it just shows them that look, do not be scared," Aduib said.

Aduib says while he is encouraged by the results of this first election effort, he remains uncertain whether or not politics will be his chosen professional career path.


Muslim Americans Make Gains in Chicago Political Effort
Article from VOA

Program Trains Pastors, Imams, Rabbis Together - University Project

Innovative Program Trains Pastors, Imams, Rabbis Together

Scholars from the three major Abrahamic faiths focus on their spiritual commonalities

Monaliza Noormohammadi | Claremont, California February 25, 2011 - VOA

Photo: VOA

Christian, Jewish and Muslim students learn together in classrooms at the University Project, which aims to make religion more a source of peace in the world rather than a source of conflict.

There’s an ambitious effort under way, to change the way religious leaders in the United States are educated.  It’s a new theological program which plans to train Muslim, Jewish, and Christian clergy together.

In one southern California classroom, scholars and students from the three major Abrahamic faiths - Christianity, Islam, and Judaism - are examining sacred texts, focusing on their spiritual commonalities.

This course on interreligious leadership is part of a new graduate program taking form at the Claremont School of Theology. The initiative that would train future pastors, rabbis and imams side-by-side, as they work toward their theological degrees.

“We think it’s the world’s first shared curriculum in interreligious understanding,” says Rev. Jerry Campbell, president of Claremont's School of Theolog - an institution which has educated Methodist ministers and scholars for more than a century. “Our concern was how to make religion more a source of peace in the world rather than a source of conflict.”

The first approach was to desegregate theological education. That paved the way for what’s known  as the University Project - a consortium of the Claremont School of Theology, the Academy for Jewish Religion California, and the Islamic Center of Southern California.

The project is just getting off the ground. So far, seminary students at Claremont and the Jewish Academy are able to take courses at each other’s institutions. By next fall, three Muslim-leadership graduate programs will begin at Claremont, adding a number of Muslim students to the mix.

While there is no separate Islamic school yet, Claremont plans to help develop an Islamic center, with hopes of incorporating an imam-training program - the first of its kind in the United States.

And as the University Project develops, so will its diversity. The founders hope to include other faiths, such as Hinduism and Buddhism.

“You can’t really respect and get to know other people unless, unless you study with them, unless you have relationships with them," says Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, president and dean of the Academy for Jewish Religion California. "And then you could have a clear idea of their traditions rather than stereotyping or categorizing the other out of fear or ignorance.”

The University Project will be particularly valuable to the Muslim community, says Jihad Turk, director of Religious Affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California.

“The Muslim community has the most to gain from this University Project because Muslim-Americans are the most misunderstood," says Turk. "And yes it will benefit all the partners because it will benefit American society at large to be more informed.”

For second-year student Emris Staton, the University Project reflects the pluralistic nature of the United States. “Interfaith, multi-religious, diverse, what ever word you use, that’s the world we live in and preparing us to be comfortable in that context and competent in that context I think is really important.” 

Certainly, American society does have its share of religious tension.  Take, for example, the controversy that arose last year over plans for an Islamic center and mosque in New York, near the site of the September 11 World Trade Center attack.
Or the uproar over a Florida pastor’s plan to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of that attack.

Campbell says that, while other issues may lie ahead, learning to overcome them is what the “progress of history is about,”

Campbell and his collaborators hope the University Project will strengthen their individual faiths, and through mutual respect and understanding, strengthen America. 

Innovative Program Trains Pastors, Imams, Rabbis Together

Aticle and video from VOA

African-American Muslims and Baltimore Police Forge a Relationship

Baltimore Police, African-American Muslims Forge a Relationship

Deborah Block | Baltimore, MD February 10, 2011 - VOA

Photo: VOA

Baltimore police officer Robert Horne, the city's Islamic liaison, chats with students at a predominately African-American Islamic school to help the children better understand what police do, February 2011

African Americans first introduced Islam to the east coast city of Baltimore 65 years ago. Today, more than 60 percent of the city's 630,000 residents are black. About 5000 of them are African-American Muslims. Some African Americans in Baltimore, including Muslims, distrust the police. To foster good relations, the department has an Islamic liaison.

Police officer Robert Horne is Baltimore's Islamic liaison. On this day, he is visiting a predominately African-American Islamic school to help the children better understand what police do.

"How many of you are learning Arabic?" he asked. Horne speaks Arabic and is teaching the children some Arabic words. He said he wants to show that the police can be their friend.

"Just to kind of show them that there are officers who are bilingual, who have an understanding of the same culture and language that they’re studying," said Horne.

Akilah Rabb is the head of the school. She said she's glad that Horne stopped by. "We have someone we can trust to communicate on our behalf and also to be sensitive to our community's needs."

Horne said he plays many roles. "You’re a counselor, you’re a big brother, you’re a mentor, you’re all these things wrapped up into one.”"

Horne began his career patrolling the area around this Muslim Community Cultural Center. He developed a relationship with the people and became Muslim.

Earl el-Amin, the Imam, said Horne has encouraged a rapport between the police and African-American Muslims, "which has allowed us to establish a viable relationship based on truth and honesty”"

Horne agreed relations are generally good, but said mistrust grew after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. He said he reassured Muslims that the police wouldn't target them.  

"Many of them were afraid that the police would stereotype them, that they would just enter into the mosque and there would be surveillance on the mosque and things of this nature," said Horne.

Horne said Baltimore police learn about Islam and Muslims. Omar Davis, President of the Baltimore City Muslim Council, said his group provided the training requested by the police. "One of the concerns that some of the officers had expressed to us is that when they get called on various police calls, that they wanted to be respectful of the person of the culture. They don’t want to come off as being disrespectful."

Horne said he hopes he has helped bridge the gap between the police and African American Muslims, especially the younger generation who he said is the future of the community.

Baltimore Police, African-American Muslims Forge a Relationship
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Muslims - Fourth of World's Population by 2030

Study: Muslims to Make Up Fourth of World's Population by 2030

Jerome Socolovsky January 27, 2011 - VOA

A major research institute in Washington, DC, is predicting that the global Muslim population will grow by more than a third over the next two decades - with significant increases in Europe and the United States. However, it also expects that the overall rate of growth will begin to slow down.

The report called the Future of the Global Muslim Population was prepared by the widely respected Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Researchers said it is a synthesis of data from around 1,500 different sources including national censuses, health surveys and other studies. It defines a Muslim as someone who self-identifies as a Muslim, not whether he or she is secular or religious or is considered a member of the faith by religious authorities.

The Pew Forum's Associate Director of Research Alan Cooperman said one of the main findings is that the Muslim population worldwide is expected to grow at about twice the rate for non-Muslims.  "So if current trends continue, Muslims will make up 26.4 percent of the world's total projected population of 8.3 billion people in the year 2030," he said.

Two of the main factors, he said, are higher fertility rates and the so-called "youth bulge." That refers to the proportionately large youthful population of Muslims who will soon enter the child-bearing phase of their lives.

But Cooperman says the actual pace of growth is slowing.  "The number of children per woman has been dropping, in  such countries  as Indonesia and Bangladesh, as more women get a secondary education, living standards rise, and people move from rural areas to cities and towns," he said.

So he says the increase in the next twenty years will not be as large as in the last twenty years.

In America, researchers said Muslims will double in number to more 6 million in the next twenty years. That would make them as numerous as the current population of Jews or Episcopalian Protestants.

The Pew report says the Muslim share of Europe's population is expected to grow by nearly a third to 58 million.

However, researchers said there's no evidence that Islam may one day be the dominant culture in Europe. This is a prediction by the European far right known as the Eurabia hypothesis. Pew researcher Brian Grim says it is not supported by the current trend in which the Muslim share of the total European population increases by 2 percent every twenty years. "It would take many, many years. And there's no real scenario, that we've looked at, that this Eurabia scenario would come to be," he said.

One place where the Muslim population is growing fast is within Israel. Researchers said it has doubled in absolute terms since 1990, and is expected to continue to rise from around 18 percent of the total population currently to 23 percent in 2030. Grim said that is the largest percentage increase in any country in the world.

Study: Muslims to Make Up Fourth of World's Population by 2030
- article from VOA