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First thoughts on London

These thoughts were actually not my first on the London bombings today. However, they have recently come to me, and I want to document them. The delay in my posting was due to the fact that I was waiting to hear from/about friends and family in London. (shukrunlillah, everyone seems to be OK). It dawned on me, that as much as I talk about being Muslim and American, about the search for shared humanity, and today really brought home the point that even to me, subconsciously, there is a distinction – the internalization of being the “other?” – between a…

Back to Afghanistan

Some of you may have heard of a country called Afghanistan. The US invaded in 2001 because the country was the home base of Al-Qaeda, the group responsible for the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The reason we believe AQ moved there is because Afghanistan was considered a failed state, which made it a haven for illegal activities, including planning terrorist attacks. To me the logical response to such a theory is that we should not let another state fail, least of all a state over which we have control.

There was a Muslim on the Maersk Alabama

Zahid Reza said he and shipmates lured a pirate to a darkened engine room, where a struggle broke out. “I held him, I tied his hands and tied his legs. He was fighting me,” said Reza, who stabbed the pirate in the hand. “He was scared. He said he was planning to ask for $3 million. I told him, ‘You’re a Muslim and I’m a Muslim.’ “ Maersk Alabama crew recalls pirate attack – USATODAY.com.