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February 29, 2012 | 3:53 PM | By

Muslim refugees and new immigrants helping fuel new mosque growth

Photo by Steve Rhodes/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A mosque in Fremont, California, January 2009

Immigration is one of the factors driving the growth in the number of U.S. mosques, according to a new report that tracks a 74 percent jump in the number of mosques over the last decade. So are different patterns of settlement, as the suburbs draw more Muslim families away from urban centers.

Titled “The American Mosque 2011,” the report is part of a University of Kentucky-led study. It cites several reasons for why the number of Islamic houses of worship in the country has gone from 1,209 mosques in 2000 to 2,106 last year. A few of these factors, from the report:

  • The increased number of Muslim refugees and new immigrant groups has led them to establish their own mosques where they can feel more comfortable in their own language and cultural environment. The new groups that are starting their own mosques are Somalis, Iraqis, West Africans and Bosnians.
  • The expansion of the Muslim population into new areas of a city, suburb or town has motivated Muslims to found mosques in these new areas where no mosques exist. In other words, Muslims get tired of driving an hour to the closest mosque and they decide to found a mosque closer to where they live.
  • Being a richly diverse community, the ethnic and religious divisions within the Muslim community has led Muslims to leave a mosque in order to establish their own mosque which better reflect their vision and understanding of Islam.
FILED UNDER: Islam, Mosques, Muslims, University of Kentucky
February 21, 2012 | 12:42 PM | By

Seeking, losing and finding ‘Love, InshAllah’

Photo by David Campbell/Flickr (Creative Commons)

How do American Muslim women navigate love, culture and identity?  KPCC’s Yasmin Nouh gives us a glimpse in this Q&A with the co-editor of a new anthology of Muslim women’s personal stories.

“Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women,” is an anthology of 25 love stories told by American Muslim women from different backgrounds – black, white, Arab, converts, lesbians, Sunni, Shia, South Asian. Editors Ayesha Mattu and Nura Maznavi say they compiled them to dispel stereotypes that Muslim women are generally repressed, forced into arranged marriages, or live loveless lives dictated by men.

Each tale is more than a simple love story, with complex underlying themes that these women face as they navigate hybrid identities while searching for a sense of belonging as Muslims – and as the children of immigrants, in many cases – in the United States.

In one of the stories, for example, contributor Tanzila Ahmed follows a Muslim punk-rock band on their cross-country tour. A self-proclaimed Desi (meaning of Pakistani or Indian descent) punk rocker, she ends up having an affair with one of the band’s members. An excerpt:

I had fallen in love in the best way – with a boy, with like-minded people, and, maybe most important, with being honestly and truly myself. I had found a family that was cut from the same contradictory cloth and going through the same blasphemous struggles as I was. I had found myself, and I had let myself go. I had punk-rocked, prayed, loved, moshed, laughed, skated, cuddled, rocked, touched, kissed, and cried.

It wasn’t just a story about my falling in love with a guy, or following a band, or going on an adventure. It was about love, punk, and punk-drunk love. People who got me, really got me, and all that I came with.

Co-editor Nura Maznavi, herself the daughter of immigrants from Sri Lanka, discusses how the book got its start, what she learned along the way, and what the reaction to it has been so far.

M-A: What inspired the idea of “Love InshAllah”?

Maznavi: My co-editor Ayesha and I have been friends for many years. About five years ago, over coffee in San Francisco, we were chatting about how so much has been written about Muslim women, but very little of it has been written by Muslim women. Nowhere in the discourse did we see reflected the funny, independent and hilarious Muslim women we know. We wanted to change that. We decided to ask women to write about the search for love, because love is a universal emotion that resonates with everyone.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: "Love InshAllah", Ayesha Mattu, Interracial marriage, Interracial relationships, Islam, Muslims, Nura Maznavi
December 14, 2011 | 1:52 PM | By

Readers sound off on Lowe’s pulling ads from ‘All-American Muslim’

The recent decision by the national Lowe’s Home Improvement chain to pull its advertising from “All-American Muslim,” a TLC reality show, has landed the company in a public relations mess. The home improvement chain made its decision after being targeted, along with other advertisers, by a religious-right Christian activist group called the Florida Family Association.

The group has condemned the show, a reality series which follows five Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan, as “propaganda” on its website.

Here’s what Lowe’s posted on its Facebook page explaining its decision to pull the ads:

Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lightning rod for many of those views. As a result we did pull our advertising on this program. We believe it is best to respectfully defer to communities, individuals and groups to discuss and consider such issues of importance.

A post yesterday by KPCC’s Yasmin Nouh addressing the anatomy of the Lowe’s controversy drew a long string of comments from readers sharing their thoughts, some of them pretty interesting. Here they are, unedited.

Mandingo wrote in support of the boycott that critics of Lowe’s have called for, and regarding hip hop mogul Russell Simmons supporting the show and buying remaining ad time:

I am boycotting Lowes and support Rusell simson in boycotting them. There should be repercautions for Blantant prejudices

Jskdn wrote:

I think commercial sponsors should only be concerned with the audience they reach and stay out of issues around the programing content. Otherwise they will needlessly involve themselves into political controversies that shouldn’t be their concern. Of course that principle would also apply to the John and Ken show.

A reader whose handle is too profane to print – but whose comment was clean enough – wrote:

Lowes has the right to do what they want. I guess it would be okay if Russell Simmons wanted to protest chic filet because of their Christian standards. Double bias always come from the left and the minorities.

InTheDark replied with this:

The Florida Family Association’s statement was very unfair to a sizable portion of our fellow Americans and to TV producers who dare to show Muslims simply being Americans not involved in advancing Islamic fundamentalism. Lowe’s, by discontinuing their ads, showed either agreement with that unreasonable statement or acceptance of it as legitimate.

The appearance is there—that Lowe’s corporate leadership considers anti-Muslim discrimination and prejudice to be appropriate in American society. Lowe’s could have made a positive gesture in favor of fairness to American religious minorities by continuing the sponsorship it originally undertook with potential consequences anyone could have foreseen. A shame they caved.

So did prado4587:

As a shareholder, I would be disappointed in Lowes’ decision. Muslim Americans are highly educated and high income earners. I like companies I invest in to maximize profits instead of making business decisions based on religious beliefs and perceptions.

But apmd disagreed, writing:

Lowes did the right thing.

(everyone so offended and protective when it concerns anything related to islam)

Lowe’s isn’t the only company to stop advertising on the show. The online travel booking company Kayak admitted it won’t continue advertising on “All-American Muslim” when it returns in January although “we adamantly support tolerance and diversity,” as chief marketing officer Robert Birge wrote on the company website. “Mostly, I just thougth the show sucked,” he wrote.

The Florida Family Association has claimed that several other companies have pulled advertising, but the New York Times reports that at least three have denied the claim, including the Campbell Soup Company, Sears Holdings and Bank of America.

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Economy, Politics/Justice, All-American Muslim, Islam, Lowe's, Muslims, TLC
November 8, 2011 | 10:44 AM | By

Readers sound off on racial-ethnic profiling

Photo by Jeffrey Beall/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A post from Friday that featured five American Muslims discussing racial-ethnic profiling in light of the New York Police Department’s Muslim profiling case, a report on FBI profiling and other recent news drew a long string of comments over the weekend, and the discussion among readers continues on the site.

The reactions have been surprisingly civil, considering. Some readers believe that law enforcement officials are within their rights to target specific ethnic communities for surveillance, while others hold firm that this kind of law enforcement action is an infringement on the civil rights of law-abiding Americans. Here’s a taste of the discussion that’s been taking place:

The first comment this weekend came from Jason Van Bemmel, who wrote:

How do we expect anti-terror law enforcement to protect us from future terrorist attacks if they do not monitor communities most likely to have terrorists in them?  The terrorists who have attacked us and who have plotted to attack us are Muslims.  That doesn’t mean that all Muslims are terrorists or even that most Muslims harbor or sympathize with terrorists.  However, if you’re looking for Islamic terrorists, the place to watch is Islamic communities.  That’s really just common sense and good police strategy.  We cannot realistically expect them to do otherwise.

The comment was rebuked by several readers, including Larry Woller, who replied:

Threats to my ability of pursuing life, liberty and freedom does not come from terrorists threats or Muslims but from within..only when law enforcement practices the same vigorous monitoring of all aspects of American society that they do Muslims and others will I concede they are not racial profiling..

Sulayman also replied:

That doesn’t mean the police can treat the entire community of millions of Muslim-Americans as suspects. When the JDL was terrorizing people, they didn’t start bugging mosques and compiling lists of all Jewish-owned businesses like the NYPD is doing today against Muslims.

Come on, that just goes against state and federal law. Police can’t target someone solely because they’re Muslim, courts have determined that it goes against the First Amendment.

Another reader has pointed out parallels between what Muslims in the U.S. are experiencing today and what Japanese Americans experienced in the era of internment camps during World War II. And reader Liam Foote brought up post-September 2001 hate crimes against people perceived to be Muslim, which the interviews in the post didn’t get into:

The story doesn’t mention other victims such as Sikh merchant Balbir Singh Sodhi, shot and killed by wingnut Frank Roque simply because he wore a turban and beard.

What are your thoughts on racial-ethnic profiling? Join the discussion here.

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Politics/Justice, Ethnic profiling, FBI, FBI counteterrorism training, Islam, Muslims, NYPD, Racial profiling
November 4, 2011 | 12:19 PM | By

Five American Muslims on racial-ethnic profiling: ‘This is my country. I feel insulted.’

Photo by Jeffrey Beall/Flickr (Creative COmmons)

Over the past several weeks, a growing number of law enforcement documents have surfaced pointing to the institutional profiling of Muslims in the decade after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. First, an Associated Press investigation revealed a large-scale New York Police Department effort to collect intelligence on Muslims in the New York area, with police conducted surveillance on Muslim neighborhoods, mosques and businesses, even checking out immigrants who changed their names to sound more American.

Also controversial has been the use of counterterrorism training materials by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, under fire for using materials portraying Muslims in a negative light. And late last month, the American Civil Liberties Union issued a report alleging that the FBI targeted specific ethnic communities across the United States based on race, ethnicity, religion and nationality for potential criminal investigation.

While Muslims weren’t the only ones scrutinized, the organization said that FBI documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act showed that agents monitored Muslim and Arab-American communities in Michigan as a probable terrorist recruitment ground. Law enforcement officials have contended they were engaging in effective crime mapping, not ethnic profiling.

KPCC intern Yasmin Nouh spoke with several American Muslims in California after the latter report was released, some of them community leaders, others rank-and-file citizens. Some have been subject to law enforcement scrutiny themselves, including the president of an Orange County, Calif. mosque infiltrated by an FBI informant.

While most aren’t surprised by the recent news, it’s disappointing, they say. Some have chosen not to engage with law enforcement for lack of trust; others see an opportunity to foster dialogue. “If you’re not at the table,” one man said, “you’ll be in the menu.” Some of their thoughts:

We continued to maintain our relationship because at the end of the day, although we were disappointed, we still gave the FBI the benefit of the doubt that they are doing what they need to do to protect citizens of the U.S..

It doesn’t make us happy to hear that FBI agents are being trained about Muslims and Islam by individuals that don’t know anything about Muslims and Islam and they’re feeding law enforcement agents with incorrect and inaccurate information. I’m pleased to see and hear that Muslim organizations have spoken out against this and as a result, Muslims are being called to the table to meet with law enforcement, and review materials, because if you’re not at the table, you’ll be in the menu.

  • Shakeel Syed, head of the Shura Council of Southern California, an umbrella organization of local mosques and Muslim groups. After meeting with the FBI regularly since mid-2004, the council officially suspended relations with the agency in 2008, after Syed found out that the agency was collecting information on his activities. In 2007, the Shura Council and several other Muslim groups filed a lawsuit against the FBI over surveillance.

In terms of alienation, I don’t feel alienated. This is my country. I feel insulted. I feel betrayed. You fool me once, shame on you. You feel me twice, shame on me. And hence we [Shura Council] continue to remain engaged for the purpose of everything else except mutual understanding and dialogue, and all that time wasted on meeting with the FBI.

But if there is an imminent situation, they can reach out to us for the sake of communication. Our engagement will remain in the area of advocacy and righting these wrongs but not in getting to know one another.

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Politics/Justice, Ethnic profiling, FBI, FBI counterterrorism training, Islam, Muslims, NYPD, Racial profiling
September 12, 2011 | 10:23 AM | By

‘Isn’t this the land of the free?’ Growing up in an era of Muslim stereotypes

Last week, Yasmin Nouh joined four other young people on the Patt Morrison Show to talk about growing up Muslim in the decade following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Here she expands on that interview, sharing her perspective in a first-person essay.

Yasmin, whose parents are immigrants from Egypt and Iran, was barely in her teens when she heard the devastating news of what had occurred in New York that morning. She writes about what followed and how, as she experienced it, helped shape who she would become.

Photo by iMuslim/Flickr (Creative Commons)

My eyes, still heavy with sleep, lit up wide open when my father told us the spine-chilling news as he drove us to school in the morning: Two planes turned missile had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. At 13 years old, I barely understood the gravity of the terrorist attacks. When I asked who the hijackers were, he said the United States had identified Osama bin Laden as a likely suspect.

“This is going to be a hard time for Muslims,” my father said.

His words puzzled me. Why would this be a hard time for Muslims?

The magnitude of terror that followed would not hit me at once. My school decided to close for the day. My younger sister came back home as well. She attended a private, Islamic elementary school at the time. The school shut down for the rest of the week, out of fear of a bomb threat.

When we returned home from school, I turned on the television. The terrifying images reverberated on the screen, and in my mind when I would turn my eyes away.

But one particular series of images, displayed on various mainstream news stations, angered me. It showed several women in Palestine celebrating news of the attacks. The women, clad in hijab and abayas, were eating cake and cheering “Death to America.”

They looked just like me, but I did not share their happiness. And afterwards ensued a slew of images, connecting terror with men bearing resemblance to my father, and oppression with women who looked like my mother.

At the time, I wore the hijab, the Islamic headscarf donned by Muslim women. My mother sat me down in the family living room a few days after 9/11, and explained to me that I could remove my headscarf if I felt like I was in danger. A number of family friends’ daughters had done the same, and she told me she would understand.

“God wouldn’t want you to be in danger,” my mother said.

I turned to my father, who was in the same room with us. He held a disapproving look of my mother’s words.

“Isn’t this the land of the free?” he said.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: 9/11, 9/11 attacks, Islam, Muslims, September 11
September 9, 2011 | 5:36 PM | By

Five young Muslims who came of age post-9/11 share their experiences

Photo by cruxphotography.com/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A girl at a rally in New York, September 11, 2010

A post this morning involved one young Lebanese American woman’s experience growing up in Los Angeles following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In a first-person essay, she described the bullying that she and her sister were subjected to, a relatively common occurrence in the confusing months that followed.

But years passed and as the nation healed, young Muslims growing up in the shadow of the attacks continued to feel stigmatized. Among them were young women who wore hijab, the religious headscarves worn by many Muslim women, who endured stares and suspicion.

Earlier this week, KPCC’s Patt Morrison interviewed five young Muslims who were either children or entering early adulthood at the time the hijackers attacked the World Trade Center. They shared their experiences coming of age in post-9/11 America and how it shaped them, for better or worse. An excerpt:

A few days before 9/11, then-high school freshman Nida Chowdhry started wearing the hijab — the Islamic headscarf worn by Muslim women. After the attacks, however, her mother feared wearing hijab might threaten her daughter’s safety. “My mom thought I shouldn’t wear it because she didn’t want any harm to come to me,” Chowdhry said. “I remember seeing girls that had made the same decision as I had, and they wouldn’t make eye contact with me because they chose to stop wearing a headscarf.”

Chowdhry, who studied film and English at UC-Irvine, says she was affected by the media’s misrepresentation of Muslims, Islam and minority ethnic groups like Arabs and Southeast Asians. She questioned her religious identity after the attacks, mostly due to confusion over how Muslims and Islam were portrayed in the media. “I feel like the rhetoric calls on Muslims to say, ‘OK this is what good Islam is and this is what bad Islam is,’” she said. “Are you a good Muslim or a bad Muslim? The rhetoric tries to pit you against yourself sometimes.”

One of the five young people interviewed was KPCC intern Yasmin Nouh, who has written several posts for Multi-American. She wrote most recently about how Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and reflection, is celebrated in an always-on American society.

The audio for the segment can be downloaded here.

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Politics/Justice, 2011, 9/11, 9/11 attacks, Islam, Muslims, September 11
July 21, 2011 | 10:59 AM | By

More ethnic reality TV, this time with Muslims

Photo by Plaubel Makina/Flickr (creative Commons)

The crowd at Dearborn, Michigan's International Arab Festival, July 2006

The ethnic reality show phenomenon continues, this time with Muslims. The Hollywood Reporter and other entertainment trade publications are reporting on the planned November debut of a show called “All-American Muslim,” which will follow five families in Dearborn, Michigan, a large and long-established Middle Eastern immigrant enclave.

From today’s Reporter piece:

According to the press release, the docusoap “offers an intimate look at their customs and celebrations, as well as the misconceptions, conflicts and differences they face outside—and within—their own community.”

Amy Winter, TLC general manager, called All-American Muslim “a perfect fit” for the network. “Through these families and their diverse experiences, we will explore how they blend their values and traditions with everyday life in America, providing insight into their culture with care and compassion,” Winter said in a statement.

Eight 30-minute episodes have been ordered so far. It’s not the only planned reality series involving a cast of Middle Eastern descent, as Bravo is developing a series called “Shahs of Sunset” produced by American Idol’s Ryan Seacrest, which reportedly will “follow a group of young Persian-American friends who juggle their flamboyant, fast-paced L.A. lifestyles with the demands of their families and traditions.”

A post last year on how 2010 had become the year of the ethnic reality series in the aftermath of “Jersey Shore” detailed this trend, which has also led to the development the yet-to-air “K-Town,” set in Los Angeles’ Koreatown. It’s been billed by TMZ as “Like ‘Jersey Shore,’ But with Asians,” i.e. about a crew of Asian American (not all are Korean) party animals.

And Discovery en Español aired the tamer “Norte a Sur: Una Ruta, 5 Experiencias” (North to South: One Route, Five Experiences), a travel show underwritten by Levi’s as part of a Latino marketing push, with an attractive cast of five outfitted in the company’s clothes while traveling from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.

There may be other shows I’m missing. Question to readers: To like or not like? Jersey Shore, whose upcoming season has Snooki and the gang running amok in Italy, has angered Italian American groups. From the looks of it, K-Town and Shahs could have a similar effect.

How does a show about American Muslims that promotes itself as “providing insight into their culture with care and compassion” sound like it will go over? Your thoughts are welcome.

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, All-American Muslim, Islam, Jersey Shore, K-Town, Muslims, Norte a Sur, The Shahs of Sunset