Un-Aired LOWE’S Commercial for “All-American Muslim” (by gregorybonsignore)
In Winter 2011, The Lowe’s Company pulled their television commercials from TLC’s new series “All-American Muslim” at pressure from a Florida Christian Group …This is that commercial.
If they’re teaching it properly, this is actually smart.
To thwart the Taliban, marines in Helmand province are teaching the locals to read the Koran:
For years, America viewed religion in Afghanistan as a minefield. Worried that the war on terror would be seen as a crusade against Islam, the U.S. military mostly tried not to cause offense, and instead focused on killing insurgents and building up the local government, economy, and security forces. But the Taliban has long wielded religion as a weapon, presenting the Talibs as true believers, and coalition forces and their Afghan allies as infidels and apostates. Though the U.S. military’s counterinsurgency manual makes slight mention of religion, the few references neatly summarize Taliban efforts:
“Islamic extremists use perceived threats to their religion by outsiders to mobilize support for their insurgency and justify terrorist tactics … Effective insurgent propaganda can also turn an artificial problem into a real one.”
In their patch of Helmand, Solomon and his Afghan and American colleagues started meeting this spring to brainstorm ways to counter the Taliban’s message.
“The Taliban are Muslim too, but they do bad things against Islam,” Khabir’s assistant, Sergeant Muhammad Nabi, another mullah, told 20 American and Afghan soldiers and religious advisers crowded into a tent in May. “Islam doesn’t say ‘Kill the people, bury IEDs in the road, and ambush the Afghan army.’ Islam doesn’t say ‘Do suicide attacks against other Muslims.’ We have to talk to those who have dark ideas.”
More here.
Highly recommended read.
I always thought that the only way the US could win this war was if it utilized religion positively to combat terrorist ideology.
ᴍᴜṧʟɪᴍɐʀɪᴄᴀɴ: An Open Letter to Dylan Ratigan, from a Muslim
Educated people like Muslimerican are what give me hope in life, and motivate me to actually pay attention in lectures :D
Read it all here.
Dear Dylan,
It was refreshing to hear you speak so candidly and powerfully about the (mis)treatment of Muslims in today’s media. Clearly, the other commentators on Morning Joe were not used to hearing such penetrating critiques of their profession. Your words may be hard to swallow for some…
This is totally one of those “ohhhh I wish I directed that” videos.
(CAIR: 9/11 Happened to Us All, via ChillYoIslamYo)
It is greater dawah when Muslims don’t have a particular Muslim theme.
As close to a cinematic experience as I’ve seen a website get. Inspiring and mysterious all the same.
This photo = supachill.
“Chinese Muslims wait to buy mutton skewers during Eid al-Adha outside Huxi Mosque in Shanghai December 9, 2008. (REUTERS/Aly Song (CHINA)” from Boston.com
Mos Def on Islam
In thinking about that Mos Def track post from yesterday, I realized that he often crosses Islam with Hip Hop both fiiguratively and literally. He says some pretty profound stuff in that track outright, but it gets even better when you think about his links between Hip Hop and Islam, and then re-listen to the track like this:
A lot of things have changed
A lot of things have not, mainly us
We gon’ get it together right? I believe that
Listen.. people be askin me all the time,
“Yo Mos, what’s gettin ready to happen with Islam?”
(Where do you think Islam is goin?)
I tell em, “You know what’s gonna happen with Islam?
Whatever’s happening with us”
If we smoked out, Islam is gonna be smoked out
If we doin alright, Islam is gonna be doin alright
People talk about Islam like it’s some giant livin in the hillside
comin down to visit the townspeople
We +are+ Islam
Me, you, everybody, we are Islam
So Islam is goin where we goin
So the next time you ask yourself where Islam is goin
ask yourself.. where am I goin? How am I doin?
Til you get a clear idea
So.. if Islam is about the people
and the.. Islam won’t get better until the people get better
then how do people get better? (Hmmmm…)
Well, from my understanding people get better
when they start to understand that, they are valuable
And they not valuable because they got a whole lot of money
or cause somebody, think they sexy
but they valuable caause they been created by God
And God, makes you valuable
And whether or not you, recognize that value is one thing
You got a lot of socities and governments
tryin to be God, wishin that they were God
They wanna create satellites and cameras everywhere
and make you think they got the all-seein eye
Eh.. I guess The Last Poets wasn’t, too far off
when they said that certain people got a God Complex
I believe it’s true
I don’t get phased out by none of that, none of that
helicopters, the TV screens, the newscasters, the..
satellite dishes.. they just, wishin
They can’t really never do that
When they tell me to fear they law
When they tell me to try to
have some fear in my heart behind the things that they do
This is what I think in my mind
And this is what I say to them
And this is what I’m sayin, to you check it
Imam Suhaib Webb encouraging Muslims to use Ramadan as a diving board for social involvement
Mecca One Media
With Ramadan coming up, we could use all the educational resources we can - MeccaOne has a lot of good Ramadan episodes as well as general good stuff. High fives and du’as to brother Omair Ali for all his hard work.
