Documentary: "New Muslim Cool"

A documentary called, "New Muslim Cool" is airing on PBS and is the story of Hamza Perez, a Puerto Rican who gave up his life as a drug dealer after embracing Islam. Hamza dedicates himself to rehabilitating drug dealers and also is a hip hop artist. A nice review of the documentary was posted by Ginia Bellafante on the New York Times website. An excerpt:

Shot primarily in grim quarters of Pittsburgh, it chronicles the life of a young religious convert to quietly explore the porousness of cultural identity and the immense challenges presented to a man dramatically trying to reinvent himself in the face, essentially, of sanctioned prejudices.

ACLU condemns U.S. crackdown on Muslim charities

An article in the Los Angeles Times by Duke Helfand discusses the difficulties Muslim Americans face in charitable giving by highlighting a recent report from the ACLU. An excerpt:

The federal government's crackdown on suspected terrorism financing since the Sept. 11 attacks has violated the rights of American Muslim charities and deterred Muslims from charitable giving, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a report Tuesday.

An expansion of laws and policies since 2001 has given the U.S. Treasury Department in particular virtually unchecked authority to designate charities as terrorist organizations and freeze assets without adequate safeguards to protect against mistakes or abuse, the study concluded.

Islamophobia

An interesting review in the New York Times by David Sanger of "Engaging the Muslim World," a new book by Juan Cole, a professor at the University of Michigan and author of the blog, "Informed Comment." There is also a funny interview of Juan Cole on Colbert Nation.

Yusuf [Cat Stevens] rides the inner-peace train

Niece piece in the LA Times about Yusuf Islam's (formerly Cat Stevens) upcoming album and his personal journey over the years...here's a quote from the article in which Yusuf describes how he found Islam:

"I think it was my birthday, and my brother decided to buy me a copy of the Koran. He knew of my ardent search for big answers, and he had realized that here was a religion that very few of us in the West had taken the time to study," Yusuf said. "It's all been colored by our prejudice, connected to the history of wars in Christendom. But really the religion is quite hidden. I personally was surprised when I discovered how well it fit in with my dreams.

"It was," he said, pausing briefly, "kind of miraculous."

You can hear clips from his new album, Roadsinger, on his website. One of my favorites is "Welcome Home." Some videos from the new album are on YouTube:

First Pakistani Muslim Female Student Named City Tech Valedictorian

It's never too late to complete your education but it's even better when you do it with excellence
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