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Islam in America – Keynote

Karen Leonard on race and religion. Moorish identity first. Noble Drew Ali, etc. Turks were classified as Asiatics and Arabs (associated with Ottoman Empire) and therefore denied citizenship based on race. South Asians were also disqualified. All S. Asians were initially referred to as “Hindoos,” but not used in religious sense. S. Asian and Arab identity is internally ambivalent about identifying as white. New racialization of Muslims. Imposition of Arab phenotype. US Dept. of Transportation issued in Oct., 2001 indicates Arabs, S. Asian, Muslim and Sikh passengers should not be singled out for searches. None are racial categories. Islam is…

A 9/11 Widow Balances Her Family, a Job and Islam – NYTimes.com

Nearly every Sept. 11 since Sept. 11, Hadidjatou Karamoko Traoré has made sure that her three children were dressed in their best clothes, and taken them from their tidy brick home in the Bronx to the pit where the World Trade Center stood, and where her husband, their father, worked and died. via www.nytimes.com

Afghanistan Creates Constitution

I am impressed that Afghanistan has managed to create a new constitution. I haven’t had a chance to get my hands on it, but I wonder how different it is from the 1964 constitution, which was the last functioning one in the country. I think settling the language issue is key, as it is one of the markers of ethnicity, and one of the big dividing forces in the country. How the Hazaras will be treated is still an open question, as is the role women will play. As the BBC article correctly notes, the country still lacks the rule…