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Rikers: An American Jail

There is a new film on Rikers, called Rikers: An American Jail, and I’m quoted in the interfaith discussion guide. As a Muslim, when I hear about prison, I think to the Story of Joseph, told in Chapter 12 of the Qur’an: are we punishing difference, rather than actions, and putting the innocent in jail? Do we seek to turn people to repentance, or are we fulfilling our needs for revenge? One of the clear commandments in the Qur’an is to maintain the balance of justice, and to not give into our own desires and call it justice (55:9, 4:135).…

From a blue stater to red staters

John Stewart said last week that being in New York he clearly knew nothing about terrorism and he was glad that the red staters were there to tell him about it…. Maybe you are content to think that, to write me off as a “liberal” — the dreaded “L” word — and rejoice that your candidate has triumphed over evil, immoral, anti-American, anti-family people like me.

A Muharram victory

Oh boy! Was the US so confident of Allawi’s victory that they didn’t think what would happen if the Shi’i religious party won the elections? It’s not so much that they won, I think everyone but this administration saw them winning a plurality if not a majority, but it dawned on me today that they won the elections during Muharram. The first ten-days were when the Prophet’s grandson Husayn was tortured and killed. It’s one of the formative moments of Shi’ah identity and remains incredibly important for the Ithna’ashari, the type of Shi’ah in Iraq. The symbology of Imam Husayn…