Miss Kelly

Madrassahs in Buffalo?! Founder Comes to Boston

Who knew? 

The local MAS sent out an e-mail announcing that Shaykh Ibrahim Madani is coming to town this weekend, July 11 and 12.  He's lecturing, leading prayers and giving one-on-one counseling sessions at the Islamic Center of Burlington.  Now there's a golden opportunity. 

Who is Shaykh Madani? He was born in Medinah, Saudi Arabia, where he studied the Koran and the Hadith (traditions about what the Muslim prophet Muhammed said and did).  In 1980, he went to England and studied at Darul-Uloom Holocombe, one of a chain of Deobandi madrassahs.  In 1987, Madani moved to Waterloo, Canada to be an imam at a mosque there.  In 1991, he moved to Buffalo, New York with his father and brothers to help establish Darul-Uloom Al-Madania, an Islamic boarding school.   Madani is currently an Imam for the Islamic Society of Niagara Frontier, and a teacher of Arabic, Fiqh, Hadith, and Tafseer at the madrassah he established in Buffalo.There are lots of audio files available there. 

While much of what Madani writes is about improving oneself, he's also written articles about keeping your pants above your ankles, not a trivial matter. "Whatever hangs beneath the ankles of the izaar is in the hellfire."  Don't want that!  He's also written about what the Koran says about prayer, noting that Allah gave special orders to women: "And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance, and perform Salah, and give Zakah, and obey Allah and His Messenger."  I bet some of the men at the Islamic Society of Framingham use that quote a lot, I've heard there's much controversy about women's participation at the Framinham  mosque. 

The Darul Ulooms boarding schools were established in 1866 "as a movement for Islamic revivalism after the fall of Islamic Empire in India," and practice traditional Sunni Islam.  More on Darul Uloom here and here.   This Sunni forum about the Darul Ulooms notes where the schools are in the US and Canada and what they cost. Rather predictably, a Muslim woman in Texas asks this question at the forum:

"For those of you in Houston, where can a sister study or send her children for Islamic studies, that is friendly toward Americans. I find most of the traditional masjids here are not very accomodating of women or Americans."

Tell me again why we allow these institutions in our country?  How exactly does our beloved country benefit by allowing people to come here and set up institutions which are explicitly anti-American and discriminate  against women?

The Darul Uloom boarding school in NY appears to allow girls to study only until the 10th grade.  Boys are educated for 12 years. According to a former student, it is required for female students to wear niqab (covering everything but the eyes, even hands) if they leave the premises.  Given that the only courses appear to be Islamic religious studies, I'm surprised that these are approved by New York as secondary schools.  The website is curiously devoid of any pictures of actual human beings, and provides no information about teachers, aside from Madrani and the principal.  Creepy.  The mosque associated with the school is a former 100-year old Polish Catholic church, which is a sad statement in itself.  A former student makes allegations of rampant violence and sexual abuse at the Buffalo madrassah here.  While I take those allegations with a grain of salt, there's ample evidence of sexual abuse at madrassahs in Pakistan and Indonesia.

What the heck are madrassahs - notorious for generating radical Islamists -  doing in this country? 

And why are Boston area Muslim organizations inviting "scholars" who preach that women shouldn't attend mosques and men's pants shouldn't hit their ankles?  Is this standard Islamic teaching?  Do most Muslims follow this?

As if to Prove Haqqani's Point.....

Seemingly as if to prove Husain Haqqani's point, the Boston Globe publishes a puff piece on the new imam of the Islamic Center of New England (ICNE).  The article provides little in the way of new information, and it recites the same cliches, the new imam is "an outspoken foe of extremism," "Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in America," blah blah blah.  Where's the news here? 

The article touches upon a few topics that are worthy of journalistic research, but no such luck from the reporter.  The new imam, Khalid Nasr, is originally from Egypt, but he came to Quincy in 2005 from North Carolina.  Interesting, I believe that both former imam Muhammed Masood and Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) imam Basyouny Nehela also were in North Carolina for a short while before moving north in 1996 or so.  Were they all at the same place?  Is there some sort of North Caroline gateway for imams coming to Massachusetts?

The article quotes ICNE director Ghazwan Ghazi (who is also on the board of directors of the ISB and considered to be calling the shots there), who says:

"  'He (Nasr) really wants to present the American Muslim as an integral part of the whole community,' said Ghazwan Ghaza (sic) of Canton, a member of the board of directors of the New England Islamic Center.

Why are we looking to an Egyptian who's been here for 8 years to "present the American Muslim"?  That community has been here - very well integrated - for some sixty years.  Do they really need the new guy to do this?

No mention by the reporter that Ghazwan Ghazi is in the center of a controversy at the ICNE about its takeover several years ago by external forces.  ICNE members have presented a petition to the ICNE board of directors, and have threatened legal action.  The article does at least mention the long-standing roots of this Center:

"The Islamic Center in Quincy was founded in 1963 by a group of Lebanese families who gathered together to worship. Over the next several decades, the organization grew steadily, and in the 1990s, the center acquired property in Sharon and built its second mosque."

Interesting.  Are there any people left on the board of directors from the original Lebanese families?   I think not.

"Combating extremism is an important goal of Nasr's. He said Sept. 11 was a wakeup call for Muslim leaders. Before the terrorist attacks, leaders were not paying attention to the threat that extremists posed, according to Nasr."

Really?  And exactly what is Nasr doing to combat extremism? 

There's far more information provided in this Patriot Ledger article from two years ago.  And I suggest reading this article to understand some of the dynamics that are roiling the Islamic community in this area.   

The Boston Globe loves to dish the dirt when it's about a Catholic church, say a threatened church closing or the removal of an uber-liberal priest from a church.  Those articles feature lots of juicy details and comments from different church goers, generally negative.  But mosques?  They get the kid glove treatment from the Globe, all hushed tones and deferential "reporting."  Why?

Ayn Rand Institute Lecture - May 6 - Pipes, Spencer, Brooks

Wowee, there's a lineup: Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer and Yaron Brook.  The Lyndon Larouchies are sure to be out in force.  Pretty good singers they are, but we don't need their interruptions. Here's the scoop for tonight, Tuesday, May 6:

The Threat of Totalitarian Islam
A panel discussion at Harvard University

What: A panel discussion on the nature and threat of totalitarian Islam, followed by a Q&A

Who: Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute; Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum; and Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch

Where: Harvard University, Emerson Hall, Room 105, Cambridge, MA

When: Tuesday, May 6, 2008, at 7:30 pm

Admission is FREE and open to the public.

More info here.

May 1 - Remember the Victims of Communism Day

I read about this over at the Volokh Conspriracy, it strikes me as a an excellent way to observe May Day:

"Today is May 1, AKA May Day. May Day began as a holiday for socialists and labor union activists, not just communists. But over time, the date was taken over by the Soviet Union and other communist regimes and used as a propaganda tool to prop up their regimes. I suggest that we instead use it as a day to commemorate those regimes' millions of victims. The authoritative Black Book of Communism estimates the total at 80 to 100 million dead, greater than that caused by all other twentieth century tyrannies combined. We appropriately have a Holocaust Memorial Day. It is equally appropriate to commemorate the victims of the twentieth century's other great totalitarian tyranny. And May Day is the most fitting day to do so. I suggest that May Day be turned into Victims of Communism Day."

Why do so many still romanticize Communism?  I still hear from a dear older friend of mine, "Sure, there were bad things about communism, but it just hasn't been properly implemented."  Some Muslims say the same thing about Islamic societies: "We've never seen a truly Islamic society, there hasn't been one yet."  And these same people believe that they can create one here in the U.S., with its constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.  But totalitarian societies will always fail, because they deny essential truths about human nature, including the idea of freedom and free will, the inherent dignity of the individual, and the innate competitiveness of humans.

You can review the death counts of 20th century wars here.

Mohammad Cartoons Redux

I saw this over at Sisu, who saw it at Michelle Malkin, and thought I'd participate too.   As Michelle says:

"Two years ago, the Mohammed cartoon conflagration consumed the world and the blogosphere helped lead the way in fighting back. Longtime readers will remember that this site hammered the issue in support of Denmark. “Sammenhold,” you may recall, is the Danish word for solidarity. With the arrests this week of five jihadists accused of plotting to murder one of the Danish cartoonists, it’s time to demonstrate sammenhold again."

."...As a show of solidarity and a reminder of how cowardly American media outlets refused to stand up when it counted, take a minute to reprint your favorite Mo cartoon or link back to the blogging you did on the cartoon rage two years ago."

Gladly.  Link to my original blog: We Are All Danes Now.  My favorite Mohammed cartoon:

Danish cartoonists and newspaper are living with round-the-clock security because Islamists think that it's OK to murder you for drawing a cartoon depicting their prophet.  THIS IS INSANE!   The war in Iraq is the tip of the iceberg, people. 

Here's a snappy reminder of the Danish immigrant imam and liar Abu Laban and how "he turned Danish newspaper cartoons into a global jihad", from Hot Air:

Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week - Local Lectures

As Instapundit says, Happy Islamo-Fascism Week!  This week, some 30 colleges around the country are hosting lectures and events to create awareness of the threat of Islamofascism we face and to support moderate Muslims in their struggle. Speakers include Nonie Darwish, Tammy Bruce, Robert Spencer, Daniel Pipes and more.  Spencer and Horowitz explain the intent of this week's events here. More on the term "Islamofascism":

"As the Algerian sociologist Marieme Helie Lucas explains, the term “Islamo-Fascism” was “initially coined by Algerian people struggling for democracy, against armed fundamentalist forces decimating people in our country, then later operating in Europe, where a number of us had taken refuge.” In other words, the term “Islamo-Fascism” originates with moderate Muslims under attack from Muslim radicals, who murdered more than 150,000 Muslims whom they regarded as infidels in Algeria in the 1990s."

Here's some info on who's speaking locally:

• Wedneday, Oct 24 University of Rhode Island – Robert Spencer – Memorial Union Ballroom, 7 PM
• Wednesday, Oct 24 - Tufts University - Daniel Pipes - Cohen Auditorium, 7 PM
• Thursday, Oct 25 - Brown University – Robert Spencer – Salomon Hall 101, 7 PM

Both men are great speakers, these lectures are not to be missed!  Christopher Hitchens has an excellent article defending the use of the term "Islamofascism" at Slate here. More discsussion of the term's origins, aptness and limitations here.

Islamic Schools - What ARE They Teaching?

There were two articles in today's newspapers today, both about Islamic grade schools.  First, the local news, about an Islamic school in Shrewsbury, MA, the first accredited Islamic school in New England (two more are in the pipeline). 

"It's located on 2.8 leafy acres in Shrewsbury, complete with a basketball court, small playground, and the traditional classes that can be found in any public school. But Al-Hamra Academy in Shrewsbury, a private school housed in a simple two-story brick building under an American flag, also teaches Arabic, Islamic studies, and the Koran. There are prayers during the school day."

"Now, the academy has become the first Islamic school in New England to win accreditation, a milestone for the region's Muslim community....There are only 10 Islamic schools in New England, and Al-Hamra was the first to seek accreditation, a voluntary evaluation process, Bennett said....The school, founded in 1994, has 152 students, male and female, preschool through eighth grade."

I have some concerns about Al-Hamra, which featured Ingrid Mattson of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) at its April 2007 fundraiser.  The ISNA is on the list of unindicted co-conspirators in the federal government's case against the Holy Land Foundation in Dallas, TX.  Ms. Mattson spoke at Harvard University in March 2007, where she warned Jews to be wary of Christian fundamentalists:

"Right-wing Christians are very risky allies for American Jews," Mattson said, "because they [the Christians] are really anti-Semitic. They do not like Jews."

Is this indicative of the prevailing attitude at Al-Hamra? 

The Links page at Al-Hamra's website shows the usual ties to the MAS-run Islamic Society of Boston, and the Islamic Society of Greater Lowell and the Islamic Society of Greater Worcester.  There are links to Sound Vision, Al Jazeera and Saudi One TV, which promote a fundamentalist Islam.  Al-Hamra links to Islam Q and A, where one can read the fatwas declaring that under shariah law, women doctors cannot treat male patients, that Muslim women should not wear their hair or dress in a way that imitates the kaafirs (non-Muslims), and that it is only permissible for "scholars and knowledgable people" to go to churches and interfaith discusssions, and then only to call the people there to Islam.  Think about that the next time you attend an interfaith discussion with ISB or MAS.  Ordinary Muslims who aren't "scholars" might get confused and be influenced by the church.

Don't miss the winning entry in the 8th grade Al-Hamra Religion fair, a Powerpoint presentation about the "History of Islam in America".  "Muslims have played a titanic role in the development of this country."  (Interesting word choice, titanic.) The presentation is slide after slide of fabricated history, full of unsubstantiated claims that Muslims were here before Columbus, North African Muslims brought Islam to Native Americans, and Christopher Columbus saw  a mosque in Cuba.  This is largely based on Saga America, a book by Barry Fells, a Harvard marine biologist, whose "history" has never been accepted by serious scholars and historians.  No one - aside from Fells and some deluded Islamists- believes this stuff, because there is no documentation, relics or substantiation of these claims.  One of the local proponents of this cult archeology is Salih Yucel, who currently serves as a Muslim Chaplain at Harvard Medical School's Brigham and Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital Boston and North Shore Medical Center.  Deafening Silence provides a thorough debunking of the Islamists's misappropriation of Native American culture here.  Deafening Silence also skewers the Barry Fells make-believe.

The PowerPoint further goes on to explain that many African slaves became Muslims in order to "confront" the European slave traders.  Righhhht.  No mention of the far larger Arabic slave trade which enslaved millions more Africans than the Atlantic slave trade did, except to say that "Muslims were also more open to be captured for the slave trade because they moved around Africa a lot for the purpose of spreading Islam."  Righhhhht.  Who is feeding this stuff to 8th graders?   More fantastic claims:

"Muslims developed the art of "autobiography" and and their stories, letters, and personal quotations became the primary sources for people today learning about slave experience on ships. The growing collection of Arabic documents that were once buried in libraries and archives provides the solid evidence of African Muslims in the Americas."

Really? Where are these Arabic documents?  Buried in which libraries?  More details, please. The PowerPoint contrasts the illiterate European Masters with the literacy of the noble Muslim slaves, and exposes the great deceit by American colonists:

"Later the American colonists conjured the idea that they would trick people by saying that the Muslims were Arabs, since everyone knew how smart and clean the Arabs were, so it wouldn't arouse any suspicion."

Tricky American colonists!

This nonsense won a prize at a Religion fair?  I'm ever so slightly consoled that it didn't win a prize at the History Fair.  Did Bill Bennett, director of the commission on independent schools at the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, read this winning entry? 

Somewhat ironically, the second article on Islamic schools I read today was this one, in the Washington Post:

"An independent government agency that monitors worldwide religious freedom will suggest today that the State Department shut down the 23-year-old Islamic Saudi Academy in Northern Virginia on the grounds it is fomenting hate and religious extremism."

"The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which advises Congress, the State Department and the president on religious-freedom issues, has issued a 30-page document saying the Saudi Embassy, which operates the 933-student academy, is violating U.S. law. It will explain its findings at 10 a.m. today in Room 538 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building."

"....At issue are textbooks the USCIRF says contain "highly intolerant and discriminatory language, particularly against Jews, Christians and Shi'a Muslims." Its findings are based on a three-year study of Arabic-language textbooks, some of them from the Saudi Academy, by the Center for Religious Freedom in the District."

Hmmm, kind of makes you wonder what sort of Arabic textbooks they use at Al-Hamra, dunnit?

Imam Talal Eid - Globe Trotter Promoting Religious Freedom

Very positive write-up for Imam Talal Eid in today's Patriot Ledger:

"QUINCY - There he was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at a lavish reception marking the nation’s 50th anniversary of independence. Britain’s Prince Andrew was seated to his right, Australia’s ambassador to his left, and Brunei’s foreign minister across the table. ‘'And they were asking me about Muslims in America,'’ said Imam Talal Eid, recalling the event a month later."

"The 56-year-old Lebanon native and Quincy resident is fielding such questions more often than ever these days, in farther-flung places. Four months after he became the first Muslim cleric appointed to the high-profile U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, he is traveling the globe acting as something of a U.S. ambassador to the Islamic world."

Please read the whole thing, reporter Lane Lambert describes Eid's activities with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the controversial dispute with the Islamic Center of New England (ICNE) in 2005, and how he was able to recreate himself as a "freelance imam"

"A chaplain at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brandeis University, he has a Web site, iiboston.net, for his one-man Islamic Institute of Boston. Invitations to White House Ramadan dinners in 2005 and 2006 gave him national prominence. He regularly gets job offers from other mosques, but he says he’s not interested."

Gotta love this country.  Here, you can pick up the pieces and start anew, recreate your vocation and livelihood.  Dream BIG!  Imam Eid has many supporters and followers in the greater Boston area, and we wish the best for Eid and his community.

The article also provides some interesting background about the ICNE controversy back in 2005: 

"Before his departure, by some accounts, conservatives at the Islamic Center complained that he had gotten too active with interfaith programs and was spending too much time outside the Quincy-Sharon community - a charge Imam Eid tersely disputes."

The person who replaced Imam Eid at the ICNE, Muhammad Masood, currently faces federal criminal charges for visa fraud and making false statements.  One wonders who was behind installing Masood as the imam, and what those folks are thinking about that move now. Not a good outcome there.....very divisive and disruptive to the ICNE. 

Kudos to Imam Eid!  We wish him continued success, and we hope that he effectively promotes true religious freedom around the world.   We need lots more of that.

The Arabization of Islamic Communities, Even in Boston

I came across a fascinating five-part series entitled The Arabization of South Asian Islam, written by the blogger Yursil.  It's a wide-ranging look at how Arab Islam is assuming the leadership in Muslims communities across the U.S., especially South Asian ethnic communities, and how that is essentially overpowering the emergent unique American Islamic culture.  When Muslims are complaining about Saudi/Whabai influence rolling over Muslim communities, you know it's real.  He doesn't mince words, either:

"Yet the “Islamic” values that have been deemed acceptable for import (to the West) are those which are deeply rooted in academia and the heterodox. Today we find that it is those Islamic movements which existed in the vacuums of Islamic history which are being promoted most. Ideas and trends which were quickly eliminated by traditional Muslim societies are now propped up in the false garb of traditionalism, masquerading as the faces of traditional Islamic societies when in fact they are its malignant tumors which were cauterized by the scholars, saints, and Sultans of the time. How can we truly call ourselves ‘traditional’ if we simply import the discarded remnants of a past society, as opposed to those institutions and ideas which led to its glory?"

"....The issue here is the creation of a vision of an American Islamic culture before the reality has formed. And the reality has not formed because we have sought to marginalize all other Islamic cultures (except for Arab culture) in the American Islamic discourse."

Yursil asks a pointed question in Part 4:

"Why is nearly every speaker on Islam in the West a convert or a card carrying member of the Arabized Al-Madinah University ideology?"

"It is clear that American Islam, like the South Asian Muslim, is heading down a direct path of forced Arabization, and this is a tragic fate due to the irresponsibility and intellectual subordination of Muslim organizations, immigrant Muslims, and South Asian Muslims in general."

The Islamic Society of Boston gets mentioned in Part 2 of the series:

"By seeking to spend hours in small conference rooms pondering over methods through which to brilliantly create an American-Islamic culture, we do ourselves a disservice by stifling the growth of a nascent Islamic community, one that can only grow naturally. Recently, the Islamic Society of Boston erected a monumental masjid which is able to facilitate thousands of Muslims. While such a feat certainly contributes both architecturally and historically to the creation of an American Muslim culture, this project has left many small Muslim communities to the wayside. Masjid Noor, the markaz of Tablighi Jammat in New England, will now lose a great number of congregants, thus putting its already tenuous rent in more peril. The Mosque for the Praising of Allah, the oldest masjid which has a large African-American population, has also been displaced by this project. By theorizing on the topic of an American-Islamic culture in the comfort of large conference halls, we destroy the culture being created by those who live American Islam."

One in Four American Catholics Favor Bombing Abortion Clinics

Oops, sorry, I got things mixed up!  According to the recent Pew Survey, one in four young American Muslims support suicide bombing, "in some circumstances**."  If one in four Catholics said they supported bombing abortion clinics, we Americans would admit that we've got an enormous problem on our hands.  But somehow, our media is largely overlooking this particular survey result (with the exception of this Washington Times article), and are instead focusing on the more positive elements of the survey.  From the Times:

"The first nationwide survey of Muslim Americans revealed that more than a quarter of those younger than 30 say suicide bombings to defend Islam are justified, a fact that drowned out the poll's kinder, gentler findings suggesting that the community is mainstream and middle class. 'There are trouble spots,' noted Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center, which conducted the survey of 1,050 adult Muslim Americans -- two-thirds of whom were foreign-born -- January to April. The results were released yesterday." 

'We should be disturbed that 26 percent of these young people support an ideology in which the ends justify the means,' said Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, chairman of the Arizona-based American Islamic Forum for Democracy.     'But the survey also found that only 40 percent of the overall American Muslim population would even admit that Arabs were behind 9/11. They're in denial, refusing to take moral responsibility, and the radicals will feed on this,' Dr. Jasser said."

Are we surprised?  There's support in many Islamic organizations, domestic and international, for suicide bombings. 

Ingrid Mattson: "[the Christians] are really anti-Semitic. They do not like Jews"

Nice try, Lady, but it won't work.  From today's Boston Globe about Ingrid Mattson's lecture at Harvard yesterday:

"The president of the Islamic Society of North America warned last night that American Jews who ally with right-wing Christians to oppose Muslim organizations are pursuing a high-risk strategy that could backfire. Ingrid Mattson....said that many American Jews have an existential fear that Muslims are anti-Israel."

Golly gee willikers, I wonder where they get that crazy idea???  Maybe from the endless stream of anti-Israel material that comes from the Muslim American Society, Muslim Student Associations, CAIR and countless Islamic websites? Maybe from the college students protestors led by the Muslim Student Union that called for Israel to be wiped out? (At UC/Irvine in February 2007: "They (Israelis) have no future. And it’s just a matter of time before the state of Israel will be wiped off the face of the earth. Takbir! Allahu akbar!")  I'd have an existential fear about that myself.  Dr. Mattson continues:

"Such fear leads Jews to ally with Christian fundamentalists who are supportive of Israel and critical of Islam, she said.  'Right-wing Christians are very risky allies for American Jews,' Mattson said, 'because they [the Christians] are really anti-Semitic. They do not like Jews' and enter into the alliance on the basis of fundamentalist beliefs that it would be desirable for all Jews to return to Israel. She suggested that fundamentalist Christians might turn against Jews or that there could be backlash from ordinary Americans against Jewish and fundamentalist Christian supporters of Israel."

Wowee.  Way to go, Dr. Mattson, what a great way to promote interfaith understanding!  They do not like the Jews and want all Jews to return to Israel. 

Apalling, Dr. Mattson, appalling and wrong.  You should be ashamed really.  What, pray tell, is the basis of these assertions of yours? 

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) used the copyrighted Globe story word for word to create a press release, although the  Boston Globe isn't listed as the source.  (UPDATE, 4:30 PM, press release removed from the site.)

Dr. Mattson is the head of the ISNA, "which was established by the MSA in 1982 to serve as an umbrella organization for Sunni Muslim groups across the country."  According to the Pluralism Project, the ISNA has some 400 member schools and 1,200 Islamic centers and mosques.  In Massachusetts, member organizations include the Islamic Society of Boston, the Islamic Center of Boston (in Wayland), the IS of Greater Lowell, the IS of Worcester,  the IS of Western Massachusetts, and many others.  What are these affiliated schools and masjids teaching their members?

Ingrid Mattson Coming to Harvard This Week

FYI, Dr. Ingrid Mattson: President, Islamic Society of North America, is coming to Harvard University this week, as part of the Center for Public Leadership (CPL) series.  Last year, Harvard brought Ayaan Hirsi Ali as a CPL speaker.  The date and time: Tuesday, 13 March 2007 @ 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM, Starr Auditorium, Belfer Building (map here). From CPL's website:

"Dr. Ingrid Mattson is the President of the Islamic Society of North America. She is the first woman, the first nonimmigrant and the first Muslim convert to be elected to head the largest Islamic group for social outreach and education in North America. Her election comes at a pivotal time in the history of Islam. Dr. Mattson is Professor of Islamic Studies and Director of Islamic Chaplaincy at the Macdonald Center for Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, CT."

Dr. Mattson is widely lauded as a moderate Muslim, someone who represents an "American" Islam.  Some background on Dr. Mattson:

• She converted to Islam in the last year or two of college, according to her brother. "She wasn’t the only one of her siblings to switch religions — her older sister Peggy Smith, now a lawyer in Kingston, converted to Judaism, said Hal, who remains a Catholic. A “liberal upbringing” encouraged the Mattson kids to ask questions..."  (More on her brother's view of Catholicism here, somebody missed the boat on what his religion requires.)

• "In her essay on the topic (Muslim modesty), she writes: "The Koran orders Muslim men and women to lower their gaze when speaking with the opposite sex." She advises women not only to wear headscarves but also "to adjust the ends of their headscarves to cover their chest". In keeping with the Islamic norms of modesty, she does not shake hands with men; she also feels that Muslim women should not take part in musical performances."

• In a CNN online chat, she was asked "At what point in history... did the Islamic nation turn from a philosophical and educated state comparable to the Greeks to the now third world state it is in?" Her response: "The decline began with the colonization of the Muslim world by European powers. One of the first things the colonialists did was to dismantle the institutions of what we could call civil society. The Muslim world has until now not recovered from that dismemberment of its society." In response to a question about the Treaty of Sevres in 1920 that dismantled caliphates and sultanates, she stated: "...the overthrowing of the caliphate, which was a plan of European powers for many years. This deprived the Muslim world of a stable and centralized authority, and much of the chaos that we're living in today is the result of that." 

Some suggested questions to ask Dr. Mattson at the lecture:

• Massachusetts allows same-sex marriage, and it allows gay couples to adopt children.  What does Islam say about homosexuality, gay marriage, and adoption of children by gays?

• You freely converted to Islam, leaving the faith of your upbringing.  What does Islam say about leaving the Islamic faith?  Is it allowed under Islamic law? Can you give an example of how leaving Islam could be treason?

• Why do we see that Muslim countries have the least freedoms of religion and worship? Since American Muslims are part of the world-wide Islamic community, what can they do to promote freedom of religion overseas?

• What is the role you see for Islamic law and jurisprudence in the U.S., both for now and in the future?  What happens when Islamic law contradicts our common law legal system?

• Why should Muslim women "not take part in musical performances"?

• How much funding does the ISNA receive from Saudi Arabia?  Is it fair for the KSA to fund Islamic proselytizing in the U.S. when the U.S. cannot do the same there?  Why doesn't the ISNA divest itself of Saudi funding as a statement against the KSA's religious intolerance?

• You say that European colonialism caused the decline of Muslim world.  Do you not acknowledge that European colonialism also brought education, hospitals, roads, and civil engineering to the Muslim world?  That European archeologists unearthed and preserved antiquities of Muslim countries, including Egypt and Iraq?

• Your courses in Islamic Law at the Hartford Seminary in Hartford, CT rely heavily on Sheikh Qaradawi, infamous for his fatwas in support of suicide bombing and calling for death for homosexuals.    On the other hand, in 2004, Tunisian reformer Lafif Lakhdar and others petitioned the United Nations to call for an international treaty banning the use of religion for incitement to violence. In this petition, Sheikh Qaradawi was singled out as one of "sheikhs of death."  How can you reconcile these radically different views of Qaradawi?

• What is the ideology of ISNA?  Is it Sunni, Hanafi, Shia, Whahabi, Salafi, Akhwan, Deobandi, Ahmadiya, Ismaili?

• Do you endorse the Saudi exclusion of non-Muslims from Mecca and Medina?

If anyone attends the lecture, please let me know how it goes.  Thanks!

Nonie Darwish at Boston College Last Night

Rats! I missed it!  If anyone attended, please let me know how it went. 

*Empowering Moderates in the Middle East*
an evening with Nonie Darwish

Monday, February 5, 2007, 7:30pm, Devlin 008, Boston College

Nonie Darwish, a Muslim raised in Gaza and Egypt, graduated from the American University in Cairo and worked as an Editor/Translator at the Middle East News Agency. Her father led the Palestinian Fedayeen, which was responsible for killing 400 Israelis. As a child, she was taught to hate Israelis and Jews. Today, she is a founder of Arabs for Israel, an outspoken Arab feminist, and author of Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror.

Ms. Darwish was recently interviewed at Front Page Magazine, where she discussed the rights of women in Islam, polygamy and it effect on the family structure, and the refusal of Islamists to engage in Western-style self-critical thinking:

"We rarely see Muslim vs. Muslim debate and that is why when the brave Arab American Dr. Wafaa Sultan, debated a Muslim cleric on Al Jazeera TV, it became international news. The thank you she got for her honesty by powerful radical Muslims was a Fatwa -- a death warrant. This explains and exposes the deep cultural need to even lie for self-preservation and protection. They don’t want an honest debate for reform from within; but they want to continue the lies to save face."

"Very simply, Islamists do not want to admit to the world their jihadist agenda and their sympathy with terrorists. That is why they simply want to silence the opposition; a Danish cartoonist; the Pope; a Dutch film maker or politicians and the few Muslims and Arabs who dare to speak out."

What Darwish noticed about America when she first came here:

"What is most noticeable to a newcomer is not just a good paying job, but the virtues of many aspects of American culture. The “thank you” or “may I help you” with a smile in the stores and markets of America; the “good morning”, “hello” and a smile to a perfect stranger on the street; the self-sufficiency and pride in physical labor; the openness, honesty and decency of the American people."

Her thoughts on the phenomenom of Muslim who hate America but who come here to live:

"To my surprise, I started seeing Egyptians and other Arabs getting radicalized right here in US mosques. We were told that Saudi Arabia is building all these mosques, sending their clerics from the most radical Muslim backgrounds and even send the Friday sermons to such preachers directly from Saudi Arabia. When I asked why are we building more mosques than the need of the American Muslim community, I was told we are here to fill them with Americans; to bring Islam to and change America's constitution to the Qur’an. I heard some say “congratulations, Europe is now dominated by Muslims; may God bless with Islam too.”

"...Some radical Muslims and shady characters started coming to America and I often wondered why they were here. Why would they choose to live in a country they consider the “great Satan”? Why would they subject their children to the temptations of the West? It became clear to me that America was being flooded by radical Muslim clerics with a political rather than a religious agenda."

I'd appreciate any reports or comments on Darwish's lecture last night. You can e-mail me at misskelly99-at-gmail.com or leave info in the comments here. 

Imam Talal Eid - Imam Without a Mosque

The Boston Globe carried an article about Imam Talal Eid, former imam at the Islamic Center of New England (ICNE) in Sharon and Quincy.  We've mentioned Imam Eid here several times, since his story is linked to that of Imam Muhammed Masood, the former Imam of the Sharon mosque, arrested last November as part of a religious visa fraud sweep. 

  "Imam Talal Eid has a flock but no mosque, and he insists he likes it that way."

Imam Eid has a loyal following, you might call it a refugee community, and he's managed to carve out his own role as an independent religious leader.

"Nearly 20 months since delivering his last khutba , or sermon, at the Quincy mosque, the Lebanese-born spiritual leader has reinvented himself as an imam "at-large." From his home in Quincy, Eid runs a one-stop shop of Islamic services that he calls the Islamic Institute of Boston. He performs marriages, officiates funerals, blesses newborns, and counsels quarreling couples and troubled teenagers. Last February, Brandeis hired him as the university's first Muslim chaplain, a role he performs twice per week on top of his twice-weekly duties at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he has been the Muslim chaplain for eight years. He has twice been invited to Ramadan dinners with President Bush at the White House and has been sent overseas by the State Department as the face of Muslim Americans."

The article provides some details of the controversy at the Sharon mosque.  More details provided by members of the ICNE community who supported Eid can be found at the ICNE Founders Trust website.  Nabeel Khudairi, president of the Islamic Council of New England, is quoted in the Globe article as calling it a turf battle.  If you do call it a turf battle, exactly who was the battle between?  Why is it that so often when I google the name of someone from the ICNE (like Dr. Khudairi's), there's a connection to the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB)?  The ISB really seems to get its people into leadership positions of many area Islamic organizations (ICNE, IANE, ISGL, MAS, etc.).      

More on how an "at-large" imam holds services:

"When he does need a mosque, a loyal core of congregants pitches in to get him one. So when Eid Al-Adha, one of two major Muslim holidays, arrived in the final weekend of December, area businesses such as the East Gas and Convenience Store and Haymarket International Food , along with several "anonymous community members, " donated money to rent a hall at the Tara Sheraton in Braintree. Eid performed two services, drawing at least 300 people between them."

Good showing! I heard there were more like 500 people there.  The imam's perspective of religious sevice:

"There are two kinds of imams, Eid believes: those who stay in the mosque and study dogma, and those who go out into the community to serve it. And although he no longer has a mosque, Eid said he still has the original appointment from the Muslim World League, a theological and cultural entity in Saudi Arabia that certifies imams, that sent him to Boston in 1982."

The Muslim World League, according to the ICNE Founders website, is an NGO representing nearly 50 Muslim countries at the United Nations.  It is mostly funded by Saudi Arabia (85%) and "spends millions of dollars each year sponsoring trained imams for Islamic organizations in the U.S. and Canada."  Hmmm.  Can't say I'm thrilled about that, given the track record of the KSA for exporting Wahabi radicalism to our shores.  But Imam Talal Eid hardly appears to be a Wahabi Muslim.  In fact, he's been criticized for being too moderate.  Some of his followers believe that's why he was removed form his position at the Sharon mosque.  Jihad Watch had a interesting entry on this in July 2005, quoting from a forum at Reviving Islam.com:

"Okay this guy Talaal Eid, I have meet him on a few occasions. This guy is a hardcore modernist who went and visited the Pope and made du'a [prayed] for Bush and the military and against the Iraqi mujahideen [jihadists] during Eid last Ramadan. He went around telling the media that his masjid [mosque] had been hijacked by "Salafi" ["pure ones," usually Wahhabis] extremists. I don't know him well or anything like that, but I know many brothers that do. This guy is wacked out. He resigned as Imam, and than decided he wanted to still be Imam and is now making lots of trouble because the board won't let him resign. (he is even threatening legal action)."

"As for being "beloved" from what I hear he was widely despised in Quincy and many people refused to even pray behind him and made a second juma'ah [Friday, i.e., the practice of going to the mosque to hear a sermon]. The Islamic Center of New England oversees two masajid [mosques]: one in Quincy and one in Sharon. I don't really know the community in Quincy, but I do know the one in Sharon (as I regularly pray there). This brother Rajab Aboubakr (BOD, ICNE) that is mentioned, I hang out with his son as I do with the son of Imam Hafiz Masood in Sharon (whom   Talaal and his cronies make out to be "extremists")."

"....So you can be sure if the Ikhwaanis [members of the Muslim Brotherhood] around here hate this guy (and are willing to make takfeer of him [i.e., consider him anathema]) that he is really messed up. Talaal and several other secularists have been recently making alot of trouble in the community. Some of the secularists had threatened to crash a fund raising even a few months back when Siraj Wahhaj came and are now accusing Imam Masood of immigration violations."

There we go again with Imam Masood's name!  The Globe article discusses Imam Eid's work with Muslim students at Brandeis, answering their questions about their faith.  I take slight issue with one statement, which was how Imam Eid helped the students there to counter the criticism that verses in the Koran order Muslims to kill others.  Eid "explained to her that the verses being cited were not commands but references to battles and historical events."  Maybe so, but you need to get that message across to the thousands of jihadists around the world who use exactly these Koranic verses to justify murderous attacks on "crusaders, Jews and apostates." Don't tell us, tell those guys.

Regarding the situation of American Muslims, the imam says:

"You need to help Muslims abroad understand that Muslims, despite the difficulties, are having somewhat of a better life than any Muslim minority in the world....You find Muslims in the FBI, in the Army, police, as firefighters. Muslims are everywhere here." 

I'm thinking that American Muslims have more opportunities here than in most Muslim-majority countries as well, or else why would they continue to immigrate here in such numbers? 

The article teases that "There might even be a mosque involved."  Hmmm...which one?

Godspeed to Imam Eid.

Celebrating Eid in the Boston Area

There have been newspaper articles recently about Muslims making their pilgrimage to Mecca, a trip called the Hajj:

"Pilgrims in Saudi Arabia visit the cities of Mecca and Medina, which are also the sites of the formative events in the beginnings of Islam.... Hajj culminates with a celebration, Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, which Muslims believe honors Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Ishmael at God’s request. Muslims believe God ordered Abraham to release Ishmael, telling Abraham he and Ishmael had passed the ultimate test of devotion.... The Hajj begins Friday, Dec. 28, with Eid al-Adha set to take place Sunday, Dec. 31. As with all Islamic observances, dates vary annually because they fall in accordance with the cycles of the lunar calendar."

Eid-al-Adha will be celebrated in Saudi Arabia on Saturday and Pakistan on Monday.  The Fiqh Council of North America has determined that Eid Al-Adha in North America will be on Sunday, Dec. 31st.  The basis of the date is esoteric (to me), but has something to do with moon sightings.  Most Islamic groups in the area are sticking with the Sunday, December 31 date, except for the Islamic Center of New England, with mosques in Sharon and Quincy.  That Islamic organization, apparently per the decision of Imam Muhammed Masood, has decided that Eid-al-Adha will be on Saturday. 

The Islamic Institute of Boston, headed by Imam Talal Eid, is recognizing Sunday, December 31 as the date of Eid. Imam Eid was removed from his role at the Sharon mosque in the spring of 2005, in what some describe as a coup.  Members of that "exiled" or refugee community are holding their Eid celebration at the Sheraton Tara Hotel Braintree on Sunday.  There will be many activities for the children, including face painting and a balloon twisting.  Eid Mubaraak!

Lecture at 2006 MAS/ICNA Convention, Part 3

I couldn't bear to listen to the whole thing (1 hour and 36 minutes), but here's a third lecture from the 2006 Muslim American Society (MAS)/Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) in Dearborn, Michigan.  Selected lectures are available for a few days at Yousendit.   This lecture has has four speakers, the opener is Mahdi Bray, next is Ibrahim El-Rimi, followed by Imad Damaj, and Suhail Gannoushi (according to the audio file info). This lecture is Nothing Moves American Like a Movement. 

http://www.yousendit.com/download/25m5cgOMbWx5TA%3D%3D

Mahdi Bray uses the Jesse Jackson style of preaching for this audience.  Recycling an old line from the civil rights movement, he asks, "Is it justice, or is it JUST US?"  At about 20 minutes in, he discusses the six flying imams:

"It's JUST US that have to wait 5-6 years to get our greeen card and citizenship after we've been approved?  It's JUST US who are getting pulled aside and profiled at the airports.....  JUST US who have to face the hue-mill-ee-AY-shun of if you pray, you get kicked off an aer-o-plane?  Can you imagine?  Six imams prayin'?   Well, thas awright.  We gonna keep on prayin'! "   

About the flying imams, Bray proudly recounts that:

"We went right down to Ronald Reagan airport, we brought us some rabbis and Christian pastors and some more Muslims, and we prayed.  We're not gonna stop prayin'!  We're not gonna stop prayin'!  Why should we?.... Guess what?  Every major media outlet made it be known that Muslims were not going to accept this sort of treatment... We made it very clear through the media. ... Whether its drivin' while black, flyin' while Muslim, travelin' with a Torah or (unintelligible) with Jesus,  racial profilin' and discrimination is not acceptable, and second-class citizenship for Muslims in America is not acceptable."

Bray left out many details on those flying imams.    They weren't just flying while Muslim.  They were moving from their assigned seats, putting seat belt extenders at their feet, disturbing other passengers, and disobeying the directions of the flight crew.  Bray claims that they were held for fifteen hours, which is not true. 

Mahdi ended his talk with these words of wisdom: "America does not respect wimps, never has, never will."  That perception might explain some of the the hyper-aggressive, in-your-face posturing of MAS and CAIR.  It's true, we don't respect wimps, but we don't respect demagogues either. 

Not only does Bray use the style of Southern preacher, he's appropriated the victimization politics of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.  Instead of "Hallelujah, Lord!", we hear lots of "Allahu Akbar!"  I think Mahdi Brays' antics are counterproductive to American Muslims, but he's perfected his schtick and he's staked out a role for himself with the MAS. Mahdi was formerly the Outreach Director of the Islamic Society of Boston.  (The ISB ran into some trouble with their coalition building and interfaith efforts.)  Mahdi is moving on up.   

Damaj, the speaker following Bray, said that "We Muslims were one of the victims of September 11th."  Galling stuff.   

Lecture at 2006 MAS/ICNA Convention, Part 2

Second entry about lectures given at the 2006 Muslim American Society (MAS)/Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) in Dearborn, Michigan.  The lectures are available for a few days at Yousendit.    One lecture was Muslims for Revival and Reform by Dr. Suheil Ghannoushi. 

http://download.yousendit.com/8508C1A454786A89

This lecture was about the mission of Muslims in America to revive Islam and reform America.  Ghannoushi said that all Muslims "must be able to articulate the mesage of Islam."  He said that a main reason for the collapse of the ummah is that Islamic scholars withdrew from reality, they got out of touch with peoples' lives.   He encouraged immigrants to develop a genuine Islamic way of life and to create Islamic institutions.  Muslims should integrate into American society, but without melting into the melting pot or assimilating.  Muslims are here to reform America, not to blend in. Islam is a comprehensive way of life.  It is the obligation of Muslims to work to eliminate the problems of American society (drugs, crime, drunk driving), and "if you aren't working for social reform, you are betraying Allah." 

Ghannoushi said that Muslims should do charitable work and volunteer for all humans in need, not just Muslims, although he acknowledged that many leaders and books say that Muslims should only help other Muslims.  Muslims should be advocates for justice, engaging public media and politicians.  Muslims should fight Islamophobia by voting, enacting legislation, and voting politicians into or out of office.  He said Muslims should work against foreign policies "like the blind support of Israel" and domestic policies such as the Patriot Act. 

Lecture at 2006 MAS/ICNA Convention, Part 1

Audio files of selected lectures given at the 2006 Muslim American Society (MAS)/Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) in Dearborn, Michigan are available for a few days at Yousendit.  I'll write about these in separate entries.  One lecture was A Model Muslim Community in the US by Dr. Esam Omeish and Dr. Hisham Abdallah.

http://download.yousendit.com/5A415CC54456AD24

This lecture was given Friday night, Dec. 22, 2006 at 8 PM, it's about 48 minutes long.  Omeish talks about the need to create a model Muslim community so that Muslims ("We are the best of nations") can transform the United States.  Muslims should portray the "divine guidance of Allah" and "bring the message of Islam to others."  Some eyebrow-raising elements:

"All humanity is divided into  two categories: those who follow divine guidance (Muslims) and those who are seeking or need to be invited to Islam (everybody else, non-Muslims)."  (Approx. 10:25 in lecture)

"We don't want to repeat the Jeffersonian model. We cannot say 'All humans are created equal,' and then we go back to sit down at our mansion and we have slaves working in the very house we are talking about." (Approx. 18:05 in lecture)

"To call all humanity to Allah, that role is incumbent upon us." (Approx. 20:00 in lecture)

"We are not just another community to bring into the mainstream." (Approx. 25:05 in lecture)

The superiority complex continues.  It is inconceivable to these "leaders" that in a pluralistic American society, Islam is one religion among many.  Assimilation into American society is rejected.  It's also clear that to MAS/ICNA, Islam is not simply a religion, it's an ideology that seeks to dominate our society.   They make no bones about it.

Hmmm, Muslims reject the principles of equality of Thomas Jeffeson, one of America's founding fathers, because of hypocrisy about slavery?  Excusez-moi?  Arab Muslims famously created a vast, brutal African slave trade for hundreds of years before the Europeans did, and continued for another 150 years after the end of the European/American slave trade.  Arab Muslims also enslaved millions of Europeans, slave raids reached up into Italy and England.  The Koran condones slavery.  Slavery legally exists today only in Muslim countries (Saudi Arabia, Mali, Niger).  Yet Omeish can say, apparently with a straight face, that America's founding fathers were hypocrites and Muslims reject claims that America stands for liberties and freedoms. 

The second speaker on Friday night was Hisham Abdullah, who said at the beginning of his lecture that would speak about two things, ethnic and racial barriers in the Muslim community, and the "global objectives of shari'ah."  Abdullah referred to it as "beloved shari'ah."  Most unfortunately, the audio tape only presents what he said about racial tensions between Muslims (he described pre-Islamic Arabs as "extremely racist").  We didn't get to hear about the global objectives of shari'ah, pity!  Hmmm, what happened to that part of the lecture?  Enquiring minds want to know!

At a second fiery, impassioned talk by Essam Omeish (http://download.yousendit.com/F04790E71512D726), he peppered his talk with directives including:

• "Muslims must be willing to live and die for the sake of Allah," 
• "It is not enough to be a good Muslim, we must spread our message to others," 
• "I am here for Allah to establish the way of Allah,"
• "We must create a society that is aligned by the will of Allah and that glorifies the almighty Allah."

Fastest Growing Religions, Part 1

If only I had a nickel for every time someone said: "Islam is the fastest growing religion, you know."  I'd be rich, rich, rich!  Nihad Awad* of CAIR was on Nightline in March 2006, speaking from Iraq about the release of reporter Jill Carroll in Iraq.  Awad stated that CAIR went to Iraq "on behalf of 8 million American Muslims."  Wow!  Now there's a population explosion. Two years ago, CAIR routinely claimed that there were 4-5 million Muslims in the U.S. Last year, CAIR's number rose to 6-7 million.  In early in 2006, we allegedly have 8 million American Muslims.  Call me skeptical and disbelieving, this sounds like a bunch of hooey.  Is CAIR just making numbers up?  And what's behind the claim that Islam is the fastest growing religion?   

According to Adherents.com, a website of statistical information on all different religious groups, the "highest reasonable total number of Muslims in the United States is 2.8 million."  The Adherents.com website has several articles that discuss the methodology and reliability of several surveys of American Muslims. The U.S. State Department estimates there are 2 million Americans associated with a mosque.  The State Department further asserts "...there is no official count of Muslims in the United States nor is there a number that is commonly accepted by all who have studied the question."  The Brittanica Book of the Year estimates 4 million.  A recent article published by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) asserts that "Muslims comprise less than 1 percent of the (US) population."  Ummm, that would be 3 million Muslims, not 8 million. 

Only CAIR comes up with a number like 8 million. But they repeat it over and over again, and most reporters and newscasters accept it and repeat it some more.  Special interest groups like to inflate their numbers, in an attempt to obtain greater political influence.  Next time you hear or read about the vast numbers of Muslims in the U.S., please politely protest.  We need to keep a check on the feigned influence.  It's a mighty squeaky wheel as it is.

Is Islam really the fastest growing religion in the U.S.?  That one strikes me as horsefeathers too.  Again, checking with Adherents.com, the religions which show the greatest increase from 1990-2000 include Buddhists (+170%, with roughly equal numbers to Muslims), Hindus (+237%), Bahai (+200%) and Sikhs (+380%).  Islam increased 109% from 1990-2000.   One wonders why Buddhist, Hindu, Bahai and Sikh advocacy groups aren't pumping out regular press releases about their increasing population.   

Regarding whether Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, that's a subject for another time.  But with Christianity on the rise in China and Africa, somehow I'm doubting that one too.....

* CAIR is a spin-off of the Islamic Association of Palestine, a group identified by a U.S. intelligence official as a front for Hamas. Nihad Awad was the group's public-relations adviser.  Awad praised Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini and at a university forum in 1994 declared, "I am in support of the Hamas movement."

Book Review (Not Quite) on Mohammed Books

Today's Boston Globe printed a book review that wasn't quite a book review.  Amherst professor Ilan Stavans "reviewed" two new works on Mohammed, Muhammed by Eliot Weinberger and Mohammed: A Prophet for Our Time by Karen Armstrong.  Stavans began by criticizing Pope Benedict's recent statements at Regensburg:

"In a lecture at the University of Regensburg, in Germany, last month, Pope Benedict XVI talked about "jihad" as holy war and about using religion as an excuse for destruction and death. He quoted from a debate in the 14th century between Manuel II Paleologos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire, and a Persian cleric..... The immediate response in the Muslim world was one of outrage. In the end, the pontiff was forced to apologize, and maybe revisit his ideas about Islam."

When a book review begins with a misstatement like this, the bells go off - ding-ding-ding-ding!!  Pope Benedict did not apologize for what he said, he expressed regret that the Muslim world reacted with violence.  Pope Benedict has written and spoken about the nature and history of Islam for several years.  I'm quite sure that he is not "revisiting his ideas about Islam" because of the riots, church burnings, and the deaths of a priest and a nun.  The violence rather proved his point.  Benedict's ideas are well formulated and based on an extensive historical and theological knowledge. 

For the next two paragraphs, Stavans discusses how ignorant the West is about the life of Mohammed, notes that all religions have their fanatics, and he tells us what he knows about Mohammed's life, and lists several bibliographical sources.  Four paragraphs in, he discusses one of the authors:

"Thus, the fact that Eliot Weinberger's increased curiosity toward the Muslim world is due, in large measure, to George W. Bush's intolerance ought not to be seen as an impediment."

Let's have some more of Stavan's ideology, shall we?  I'm sure there's a book review in there somewhere!  Finally, Stavans talks about Weinburger's book, which he dismisses as "useless" in a mere three sentences.  Stavans then turns to Armstrong's book, noting that "she offers a panoramic perspective, meticulously following the path of the prophet from birth to death while analyzing the theological, social, economic, military, and cultural forces shaping him."  She is criticized by Stavans for being didactic and having a stilted style.  Armstrong is viewed by many conservatives (including Robert Spencer and Efraim Karsh) as sugar-coating Islam, ignoring or glossing over the unsavory aspects of its history. 

Speaking of Robert Spencer, why no mention here of Spencer's recent book, The Truth About Mohammed?  His book is currently ranked 49th top selling book at Amazon.com, and #31 on the NY Times best sellers list.  Hmmpphh, oversight on the part of the Stavans or the Boston Globe?  Reviews of Spencer's book can be found here and here.

The book review concludes with a suggestion for the Pope and all of us:

"The sword isn't absent in the Koran. Neither are tales of wisdom and morality. Pope Benedict shouldn't waste time in proxies and surrogates. He would do well by reading the Koran directly. So would we."

How do you say "chutzpah" in Spanglish*? 

Well, I think that we would all do well by reading the Bible (some of the Acts of the Apostles are fascinating), and better knowing the literary, philospohical and religious underpinnings of our Western culture.  But I wouldn't say that in a book review.  Stavans is far too heavy on ideology here, and his piece belongs on the op-ed pages.  So many academics just can't help themselves.    

* Ilan Stavans is known for his research on Spanglish, which he calls a new American language, comparable to Yiddish and Ebonics.  According to Wiki, he advocates teaching Spanglish in the classroom.  Way to keep the kids back, Professor.