Tag: western muslims
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Can the Liberal State Ever Be Neutral When It Comes to Muslims?
With his usual eloquence, Shadi Hamid attempts to make sense of an issue dominating Muslim dinner table conversation on both sides of the Atlantic, that of LGBTQ-themed lessons in state schools. His basic argument? It is not a dereliction of liberal norms to tolerate the protest of Muslim parents who fear the ever-encroaching state imposition…
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Palestinian Activism in the West and LGBTQ Alliance
Like clockwork, this June a slew of “pride” themed ad campaigns and social media posts filled online spaces. While participation in celebrating sodomy and cross-dressing is nothing new to non-Muslims and fringes of self-proclaimed Muslims who ascribe to progressive interpretations of Islam, what has emerged more recently is a celebration and endorsement of LGBTQ+ ideology…
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Navigating Defilement: Thoughts on the Navigating Differences Statement
On May 23, 2023, a public statement was released titled, “Navigating Differences: Clarifying Sexual and Gender Ethics in Islam.” Traditionally studied scholars, post-Salafi preachers, celebrity imams, small-town masjid imams, Muslim academics, well-known bloggers, and a slew of people from other diverse backgrounds signed onto the statement. The signatories are not names that you would expect…
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Ilhan Omar, Representation and Muslim Political Organizing in the West
Ilhan Omar’s recent invite to a prominent Muslim convention in America sparked an intense debate around representation calling into question the successes or failures of Muslim activists who have allied themselves with the left in the West. While these are two separate discussions, Omar, as a Muslim political figure represents, the overlap between these two…
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Musings on Iran, Hijab, and the Western Muslim
Recently, deadly protests have broken out across Iran after authorities supposedly detained a woman, Mahsa Amini, and eventually killed her for violating Iranian laws regarding the Hijab. The killing of this woman and the brutal nature of Iranian authorities is surely horrifying and detestable — if it indeed happened as they say. Initial reports stated…
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Pronouns: Progressivism’s Preposterous Plight
He/him, she/her, they/them, ze/zir — the options grow daily. One can simply wake up one day and assume the identity of a boy, the next claim that they are a girl, and the day after neither, and announce their pronouns as a part of their introduction, expecting an unquestioned adherence to affirm self-identification. This is…
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A Study of Worldviews: Islām and the Modern West, Part III: The Reign of Quantity
In the previous part, the notion of what I call ontological apathy was explored, which occurs when the reality of our place as humans in relation to God and nature is dissolved. In the worldview of Islām, we operate with the hierarchy of “ontology-epistemology-axiology-politics-economics,” and I have asserted that in the modern West, this hierarchy…
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Engaging in the Abortion Debate: Considerations for Muslims in the West
In light of the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade, American Muslims are increasingly engaged in the abortion debate, yet their contributions thus far consist of little more than superficial claims to shari’a. There remain significant chasms and oversights in our understanding, ranging from the exact scope of Roe v. Wade to seriously grappling with…
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Modern Muslim Activism: Returning to the Sacred
Activism is a loaded word. It is a label that ranges from being a commodity used for profit by companies to one that elicits groans at sincere intentions but for the wrong causes. Amidst online discussion of Islamophobia, performative activism, cancel culture, and identity politics, the role of American Muslims comes to light — of…
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Muslims and Progressive Sexual Ethics in America
Muslims, perhaps sincere, are unable to adequately ground themselves in line with the deen, awash in the pressure to disregard Islamic morals that are controversial in modern day America.