Umar Lee

Three Shootings the Start of a Trend?

June 11, 2009 · 3 Comments

In case anyone hasn’t noticed there have been three high-profile political shootings in the last few weeks.

There is the case in Wichita, KS where an anti-abortion activist shot and killed an abortion doctor named George Tiller who practiced late-term abortions. I am not in favor of legalized abortion and think that Mr. Tiller was not a very good man; but I am also not in favor of someone being his judge, jury and executioner.

Then you have the case of a Muslim brother named Abdulhakim Mohammad who went into a US military recruiting station Little Rock, AR and shot two recruiters killing one of them. I am sure that this brother was upset by all of the death and destruction that the US military has caused in the Muslim World; but his actions will be used to vilify Muslims, set law-enforcement towards a path of greater scrutiny of prison converts, and at the end of the day it achieved absolutely nothing but the taking of the life of a man who had never been to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Now you have the case of James Von Brunn. An 88 year old white supremacist originally from St. Louis ( whose father actually worked at the same steel mill as my grandfather) who ran up in the US Holocaust Museum yesterday and shot and killed a guy who was just trying to make a living as a guard.

Are the three related? I am not sure but one thing I do know is that there are often rashes of certain types of behavior. Remember the wave of race riots in the late 1960’s? The wave of car jackings in the 1990’s? Now, both of these occurrences had their own individual histories, but maybe these shootings do too.

There have been those in law-enforcement who have suggested that there may be a wave of violence from the white-right in response to the Obama Administration. Maybe we are seeing it now as two of these shootings came from the white-right. I do know that there is a very angry segment of the white population now and many are armed and ex-military.  Only time will tell if these shootings are the start of a trend.

→ 3 CommentsCategories: American Politics
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The Double Standard for Some and an Update

June 10, 2009 · 17 Comments

I just want to give two examples of the double standard of how white people are treated in society.  I was listening the other day to Jay Dobyns, the author of No Angel, on the Diane Rehm Show on NPR.

Dobyns is an ATF agent who was the first federal agent to infiltrate the Hell’s Angles motorcycle gang. Now, I do not have a great knowledge of the Hell’s Angles, and I do know they are involved in some charity and community work and not all of their actions are criminal. But, what is also known, as Dobyns explained, is that the group is involved in drug-dealing, extortion, and violence (including the murder of enemies).

What struck me as odd is when Dobyns stated that some of the members were white collar people and one guy he knew was even an airline pilot. This illustrates for me how the rules are just different for white people in this society. Can you imagine an employer finding out that a black pilot based out of LA was a Crip? He would be terminated immediately and under federal investigation.

Next, I read an article in the New York Times about the self-described hipsters and artists in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn. Now this story could be in any number of high-priced ex-industrial urban areas were affluent young whites are pushing out working-families and diving real-estate prices up.

Come to find out that little Billy and Suzy aren’t really starving artists struggling to pay there 2 and 3 thousand dollars a month rents on their skinny paychecks from the coffee shop. And Lisa has not saved up on tip money at the bistro to buy that million dollar condo that sued to be home to industry.

No, guess what, these trust fund babies are in their 20’s and 30’s and their parents are paying their rents and buying the condos while they pretend they are artistic and edgy. How is this an issue of race? Because the working people that have been pushed out of the neighborhood and the surrounding areas are overwhelmingly black and Latino and this is why it has always been so ironic to me that these white gentrifiers tend to see themselves as ultra-progressive.

This does not have to be Williamsburg. It could be the Lower East Side or Harlem in Manhattan, Logan Square in Chicago, the Central West End in St. Louis, parts of West Philly, Roxbury Boston, or any number of other neighborhoods.

The other factor for me of course, as a Muslim, is that while these families are being displaced they are making way for those engaged in an extended adolescence. Many of these Globos do not take life serious until they are 40 and spend the time between travelling, bar-hopping, experimenting with the foods of the empire, and living a college lifestyle. These urbanist Globo lifestyles tend to be heavy on drinking, partying, loose sexual behavior, delayed marriage, and a detachment from family. So, it not only represents an issue of class and race; but an issue of the God-fearing and the Godless.

Update on B

Just a little update on B and this can go to show you that there are a lot of good people out there who will look out for you when you are down. A fellow driver saw B and after hearing his story gave him his cell number and said call him Tuesday. He called the driver and he picked B up from the shelter and they talked and it was determined that B needed 300 bucks to get back on his feet.

The driver told B he would give him half the money and asked if he knew anyone who might give him the other half. Because B is not from St. Louis his connections are not deep. They considered asking me (and I am glad they didn’t because I definitely do not have that kind of money to give out); but instead B decided to ask one of his favorite passengers.

The guy is a regular rider who is a doorman at an exclusive private club in the city. He takes a cab home every night and the fare is around 8 bucks but he always gives you 15 or 20. B was taken to the club and he asked for the regular rider who was reportedly surprised to see him. After explaining his situation the doorman reached into his pocket and gave B the $150 that was needed in cash (the next time I get the call for this guy the ride is on me).

Tonight B is resting in a motel and tomorrow morning the driver will pick him up to make all the runs he needs to renew his license. .

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Listen Dummies: I Am Not Salafi Burnout

June 9, 2009 · 2 Comments

Let me make this clear to all of the half-brained nit-wits out there; I AM NOT SALAFI BURNOUT. OK? So do not email me threatening to sue me over something at that site. I have no relation to the site and I do not know the owners and as a matter of fact, as anyone with half a brain can see, I do not even agree with SB on all of the issues.

→ 2 CommentsCategories: Uncategorized

A Story of the Stages to Being Homeless

June 8, 2009 · 7 Comments

I always say that cab drivers are like high school students in that drivers form cliques and some groups don’t like other groups. Personally, I don’t really fit into any of the main groups (immigrants, angry white men who listen to Michael Savage and flirt with right-wing extremism, surly bald-headed black guys, old-timers, etc); but here in St. Louis there is a core group of drivers that I would say I am friendly with.

Perhaps none of these drivers have I spent more time talking to and sharing thoughts with more than a guy I will just call B.

B is an interesting character. He was born and raised in the Bronx and worked in factories in New York until he graduated from City College with a degree in education and English (he would later get a graduate degree in both fields).

From there B would become a teacher in the New York City Public Schools and he married a Dominican woman who taught him to speak fluent Spanish. The couple had two or three children, I am not really sure, but somehow ended up in a divorce.

Around this time B’s sister was transferred to a job in St. Louis and B decided to give the city a try to get away from the problems with his ex. He first worked as a teacher in St. Louis; but because of the child support and alimony cuts in his check he deiced to go into the cash economy and become a cabbie.

This is when we met and we hit it off. B is a big reader and always has something around to read and we would often trade magazines and books to read in our cabs. Both of us also listen to a lot of NPR and BBC and we would often talk to each other about stuff we had heard on the radio.

When we first met B had a nicely furnished apartment in North St. Louis County, a cell phone, and was well-dressed and well-groomed. He was optimistic about life and planned to save up money and either move back to New York or out to the West Coast.

I left St. Louis for New York and when I came back B no longer lived in the apartment but was in a boarding house in North County. Some people may look down on boarding houses, not me, I have lived in them before and think they fit the needs of a lot of single males pretty well, so I didn’t look down on this move.

During this time B was writing a screenplay and I was kind of helping him with it (although he never took any of my advice) and was talking o a Jewish woman in California. The woman is a lawyer and seemed to like B from what I could tell. He also had a woman in Louisville he was talking to and I think his plan was to move to one of these places and live with the woman.

The woman in LA cut ties with B and he focused on the woman in Louisville. He bought her gifts and flew down there to spend time with her. She decided to break it off with him when he visited and he was pretty much crushed and even asked her to reimburse him for all the gifts he bought.

A little while later I left to DC for about a year to work with Imam Mahdi Bray. When I come back I see B again and this time he does not have an apartment and is not renting a room. Instead he was living in his cab and when he had a good day he rented a motel room by the airport.

B was no longer writing and his grooming was slipping; but he was very enthralled by the Presidential election and told me he would stay in the motel all day watching MSNBC and CNN coverage and would not even go to work. He seemed to stop living his life and to be living through the life of Barack Obama.

Now he told me that he planned to move back to New York or to Portland, OR after the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in July. That was before it came time for his license to get renewed (around $250) and he did not have the money.

He lost his job a couple of weeks ago and knowing that he was sleeping in his cab and had now lost that I wondered what happened to him. On Saturday night I found out. As I was driving up to the valet of the upscale Chase Park Plaza Hotel I heard someone yelling my name from the bus stop on the corner.

When I looked over it was B who ran towards my cab sweating and looking a mess saying “yo Umar I haven’t eaten in two days brother”.  I decided to give him some pocket money and took him to Taco Bell and I asked him what he had been doing. He said he had been living in a homeless shelter but had gotten a two day “time off” because he spent too much time in the shower and was now trying to hustle up the money to get his license.

Later that night I drove by that same bus stop and I saw B again. He did not see me; because he was reading a book at the bus stop and seemed to be into it and I am sure that to all of those passing by looking his direction he was just another big homeless black man, but I knew he had a story.

A man is going to do what he is going to do. If I was him I would just get out of St. Louis and live closer to family; but there may be things I do not know. For me though, what the story of B illustrates is how a man can just slowly devolve over the course of years and then finally hit rock bottom. It also leads me to believe that there are other nameless homeless faces out there who have their won stories-maybe not so different than B.

→ 7 CommentsCategories: Cabbie Stuff
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Obama Speech to the Muslim World and My Thoughts

June 5, 2009 · 14 Comments

This is the text of the Obama Speech to the Muslim World and my commentary in bold.

I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning (true indeed and it would have been nice to have some of the Americans studying there behind him), and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt’s advancement (very true and interesting to not that while no masjid was built for the university as it was a sign of secularism it is now the place to be for some of the largest congregational prayers in the region). Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum (wa alaikum).

We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world – tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate (good to see a president with some historical analysis and not some cowboy “shining city on the hill” view). The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam (Muslims believed this because Western colonial powers, the Soviet Union and its communist allies attacked the religion without shame).

Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust.

So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end (agree).

I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles – principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings (if he can hold to these words it would be great; let us see if he can recognize not every Islamist is out to destroy the US).

I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point. But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, “Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.” That is what I will try to do – to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.

Part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith (Obama is someone who is very familiar with Muslims and I think with all of these experiences, something that very few middle-aged and older white men have has to shape his view of Muslims…now I am sounding like Sotamayor- but she is right too BTW).

As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam. It was Islam – at places like Al-Azhar University – that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and Enlightenment (very important for Americans to know). It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.

Keep reading →

→ 14 CommentsCategories: American Politics · Muslim Issues
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St. Paul Rabbi Calls for Death and Destruction

June 4, 2009 · 14 Comments

Rabbi Manis Friedman

Rabbi Manis Friedman

Now, I do not want to use this story as an indictment on all Jews and it is not representative of all ( or maybe even most) Jewish thought; but here are the words of the Chabad Rabbi Manis Friedman of St. Paul, MN

“I don’t believe in western morality, i.e. don’t kill civilians or children, don’t destroy holy sites, don’t fight during holiday seasons, don’t bomb cemeteries, don’t shoot until they shoot first because it is immoral,” Friedman wrote.

“The only way to fight a moral war is the Jewish way: Destroy their holy sites. Kill men, women and children (and cattle).”

“The first Israeli prime minister who declares that he will follow the Old Testament will finally bring peace to the Middle East,” Friedman added. “First, the Arabs will stop using children as shields. Second, they will stop taking hostages knowing that we will not be intimidated. Third, with their holy sites destroyed, they will stop believing that G-d is on their side. Result: no civilian casualties, no children in the line of fire, no false sense of righteousness, in fact, no war.”

I first want to thank the rabbi for confirming what any student of history should know – there is no such thing as a Judeo-Christian ethic. Two different religions and two diffeent ways of looking at the world and like the Rabbis said he is not “western” in his outlook.

Next, what this should highlight, is that there is a violent extremism in the Jewish community that is not just releagted to some small fringe. There are violent religous groups in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Israel proper who not only agree with the rabbi; but they act on those belifes on a regualr basis and their ( non-government) allies in America provide weapons, training, and money ( and if they were Muslim they would be in prison).

I have had face to face conversations with such people while in the region ( one settler told me of his desire to blow-up Masjid al-Aqsa) so I know this is out there. However, I think you will find that this is a minority opinion even in a World Jewry that is becoming increasingly radicalized and stoking anger and fear towards Muslims.

→ 14 CommentsCategories: Jewish Issues
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Duahs Please for Family Issues

June 3, 2009 · 21 Comments

I am asking all of my Muslim brothers and sisters to make duah for my dear long–time friend and brother Tariq Nelson ( our friendship goes back to the early 90’s) whose father is in failing health at this time. Tariq is very close with his Dad who is a role model for how a small black businessman in the South can turn hard work into a major company.

I am also sad to report that I am undergoing a very serious situation with my eldest daughter and, due to legal issues and her mother, cannot speak freely on the topic; but let us just say she is in a bad situation and make duah that she can come out of it in a good way and come live with me and be guided to the Right Path.

Allah is ar-Razaq and the thing that would help me most at this time is an increase in Rizq and a better income situation ( no matter if that is in St. Louis or elsewhere) so make duah that Allah will increase my Rizq.

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Commenting and Two Posts

June 3, 2009 · 13 Comments

There are two posts that I really want to write; The Reality Gap Between the Muslim Internet and the Community ( basically saying that all the debates and labels and strange groups that mean something online mean nothing in the vast majority of masajid) and Respect for Our American-Muslim Pioneers ( in response to some people who used to respect them but are now trying to become famous vilifying them).

Because of me not feeling well and a very serious family issue I have not had time to address the topics; but hope to do so soon insha’Allah.

Commenting

Due to the fact that  a lot of people are posting under fake names and talking loud behind online nicknames combined with the fact that I think some people are posing as Muslims when in fact they are not,  I am changing my commenting policy. All who wish to comment must complete this questionnaire and email it to me ( my email can be found at the contact page on the right side). The two exceptions to filling out this form are people with well-known blogs and people I personally know:

Real Name:

Posting Name ( If different):

Sex:

Religion:

If Muslim the masjid you attend the most:

City:

Email address:

telephone number ( optional):

BTW

This blog was named one of the 100 Best Spiritual Blogs over at the EKG site.

→ 13 CommentsCategories: Uncategorized

Twelve Questions for Obama in the Muslim World

June 2, 2009 · 4 Comments

As President Barack Hussein Obama gives his speech to the Muslim World from Cairo I have some questions I hope he will answer:

1. Will he issue an order prohibiting the desecration of the Quran, the use of dogs, and the use of loose female soldiers when interrogating Muslim prisoners?

2. You plan on closing GTMO; but what about the inhumane treatment of Muslim prisoners in other facilities?

3. Will you close the American GTMO in Terre Haute, IN or improve the conditions of American-Muslim political prisoners serving time there?

4. Do you feel that the prisoners in Florence ADX in Colorado, Muslim and non-Muslim, are suffering in “cruel and unusual punishment”?

5. Do you feel that Muslims have the right to elect Islamic Parties such as Hamas in Palestine and the FIS in Algeria?

6. Do you think Muslims have the right to implement shariah if it is the will of the people?

7. Will you ask Israel to get rid of its nuclear arsenal as a part of your call for a “nuclear free middle east”?

8. Will you ask President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt to free the political prisoners he is holding and let the Muslim Brotherhood run freely in elections?

9. Will you promise that American tax-dollars will not go towards creating a ” new Islam” or “progressive Islam” or in support of  “moderate Muslims” as this is a violation of church and state?

10. Will you admit that the right of Muslims to join mujahudeen groups, and train for that purpose, is different than participation in terrorism such as blowing up buses?

11. Will you allow the people of Somalia a right to their own government or will you continue to order American military action and Ethiopian incursions?

12. Will you stop the government harassment of Muslim citizens in America, and spying at mosques, who are under investigation for no other reason than they are Muslim?

→ 4 CommentsCategories: Muslim Issues
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Support the Brothers in the American GTMO Obama is Not Closing

June 1, 2009 · 4 Comments

alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh

Umar,

I am trying to get as many letters for these brothers as possible, all I ask from you is that you put a post on your site with the following information asking people to send letters to letterstothecmu@hotmail.com . I am trying to spread this around and figured your blog would be a good place to start…Below is some info you can post.

The ‘communication management units’ are Guantanamo Bay style prisons in the Midwest. The first ‘unit’ was quietly opened during the winter of 2006 in Terre Haute, Indiana. The second was created last year in Marion, Illinois. The intent and purpose of these special units is to manage (and eliminate?) all types of communication the prisoners have, inside and out. The population of these prisons is overwhelmingly Muslim. The few mushirks who are also held there, such as environmental activist Daniel McGowan, are most likely there for show. It is a prison for Muslims. It is a prison for those who do not belong in prison. The brothers who are held in these prisons are not there because they are a danger to socitey or the government, they are there because the governemnt needs easy targets. If you would spend only a few minutes looking over the cases of these brothers you would be surprised that you too are not in jail. Although we have a duty to all the prisoners, I believe we have a special obligation to these brothers because the federal government wants us to forget about them. They have opened these prisons in order that we may forget these brothers exist. So let us remember them even more. Let us write to them, make dua for them and publicise their plight.

The are (from what I know) 19 brothers in these two prisons. So for every letter that is sent to me I will, Insha’Allah make 18 copies and send them off. These brothers can use the company of words…even if you only copy and paste some ayat and hadith it will be enough..so I ask you to help out the best you can.

May Allah reward you…

-Ibn Jafar

→ 4 CommentsCategories: Muslim Issues
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Muslim Girls Boarding Schools?

May 31, 2009 · 7 Comments

Does anyone know about any good Muslim girls boarding schools? Also, does anyone have the contact info for Dar Uloom School in Trinidad or South Africa?

→ 7 CommentsCategories: Uncategorized

The Search for Inner Peace

May 31, 2009 · 2 Comments

This video my be helpful to those wishing to gain knowledge on spiritual issues.

→ 2 CommentsCategories: Muslim Issues

Yam ul Jumma in Da Lou: Corruption, Salaams, Khalil Greene, and Masjid Food

May 30, 2009 · 9 Comments

Corruption

This is the end of the month and the Cardinals are not in town so business is slow, and I mean slowwwwwwwwww. Anyway, I wish I had the comfort to blog about something I saw last night; because it illustrates the culture of political corruption here in St. Louis. If you are part of the club here you can flaunt your corruption; but if you are not in the club then you become a target of prosecution and public scrutiny (see Virvus Jones, Eddie Hasan, etc.).

Salaam at the Light

I was at the stoplight at Delmar and Kingshighway next to the Mobil station owned by Iraqi brothers that sells bean pies when a brother honked is horn at me and yelled out “salaamalaikum akhi Umar” I turned and returned the greeting not really knowing who it was until he drove off. It was Missouri State Rep. Talib el-Amin.

What You Get When a Yuppie Becomes a Pro Athlete

Khalil Greene, a yuppie from a Baha’i family, is a player for the St. Louis Cardinals who has went nuts and is injuring himself so now he had to be put on the DL.  This is what you get when a yuppie becomes an athlete and that is why most yuppies are not into sports. They would rather watch American Idol or a spelling bee and if they have to play something they play some sport they choose a kids sport like kick ball or dodgeball (they choose these sports because they are non-contact, co-ed, and they can goof off and not really try to win).

To be a good athlete you have to be a team player and not a spoiled-brat, have to observe deferred gratification, have to lose, have to be told you are doing a bad job, and have to suck it up when times get tough, all thing secular yuppies don’t observe who were babied since they were kids by parents who “spared the rod”.

Masjid Food

I have eaten food at many masjids all over the country. Some, are more famous than others. WD Mohammed masjids tend to have good food no matter what city you are in but it is always the same thing (Fried fish or chicken with a side of greens, spaghetti and cornbread with someone selling bean pies and cheese cakes on the side).  Dar al Hijrah in VA is another one that used to have great food when Fawaz was still the cook. Yesterday I attended jumma at the old Islamic Center ( now Masjid Bilal) and heard an excellent talk by Sheikh Minhaj and got some food there for the first time since Ramadan and I mean to tell you that is some of the best Pakistani food I ever had and I don’t even know what it was. My only request is this; if you are going to sell food hot enough to burn a glacier can you also sell a drink on the side?

→ 9 CommentsCategories: Uncategorized

Nu Ha Mim Keller Debate Finale

May 29, 2009 · 51 Comments

The Problem

Since there has been a lot of discussion and emails on the topic of my bringing to light (along with other blogs) the problems with the Keller Cult and Nu Ha Mim Keller himself I would like to address several issues in this post knowing that between now and Sunday I will be working almost non-stop with only breaks for salat, food, and gas which usually all 3 coincide.

Commenter’s should note that I do not have a desk job where I sit at a computer all day and sometimes it takes me hours and even days to get to comments so be patient ( I do check me email and facebook on my phone). Also, if you do comment, please do not cut and past large articles and please refrain from racial or family attacks.

Now, first let me diagnose the problem. The problem, as I and many others see it, is a cult has emerged around the personality of Nu Ha Mim Keller that is leading people astray and damaging families and individual lives.

Like other cults the Keller Cult preys on weak minded individuals looking for a father figure who is only too eager to mange their lives for his personal benefit. The loyalty of the Cult Member is first and foremost with the cult and the leader stands between them and Allah. The goodness of fellow Muslims and humans is not based on anything other than the question of how does this person relate to the cult? A Muslim is judged by members of the cult according to their relationship with the cult leader. Sects and party-sprit are things which the scholars of Islam have spoken against for precisely this reason.

Another crucial fact in examining Muslim cults is why do people feel compelled to follow them? Has Islam not been perfected? Was not the Message of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) not complete? What can your sheikh bring that will be better than what the Prophet ( PBUH) brought? And when we look for answers we come to the conclusion that these groups such as the Keller Cult see the message of Islam as insufficient and the Prophethood of Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (PBUH) as incomplete and their Islam is in need of their sheikh to complete the deen for the and he stands between them and Allah and His Messenger (PBUH). Gyrate and dance in dhikh if you like and raise your voice in praise of the Prophet ( PBUH); but if you loved him you would not be talking about his urine and taking the words of another man above his.

Tauheed , Shirk and a Warning to Muslims

The fundamentals of Islam are in the kalimah and the first part of that creed is la ilahah ilullah. One could spend a lifetime just studying what la ilaha ilullah means and the one who tells you that there is no need to study la ilaha ilullah and tauheed is precisely the one who needs to study.

What are the implications of tauheed? What invalidates it? These are questions the Muslim needs to study. If we understood the Names and Attributes of Allah and know He is ar-Razaq would we make idols out of the food and clothes of sheikhs and think it is these idols and not Allah who will bless us?

If we understood tauheed would we go to the graves of men, no matter how pious, and not just merely give salaams, but pray to these men as if they can hear you and they can give you something in this life?

If people truly wanted to get closer to Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (PBIH) shouldn’t their focus be on that and not sitting in their bedrooms at night and waiting for their sheikh to appear?  Or if we want to perfect our salat should we pray as the Messenger of Allah ( PBUH) prayed? Does placing a photo of your sheikh on the wall in the direction of the qiblah to look at as you go into sajud fit into this?

What the Muslims need to realize is that in elevating your sheikh to be the focus of your life you can very easily fall into the trap of associating a partner with Allah and committing shirk.

Culture of the Cult and Attacks on Me

In the debate which has occurred we have seen at the SB site followers of Keller defending praying to graves, idol-worship, attack converts to Islam, and make racially motivated attacks against me.

We must understand the nature of the Keller Cult to understand these attacks. First of all, the defense of praying to graves and the blessings in idols is one in which they believe they have religious justification and I believe they do not as I believe Islam came to smash idols and not create new ones. On these issues you do not need to hear from me. Read the works of the scholars on these topics.

I can only look at the social make-up of this group. We know that the bulk of this group is made up of second-generation Desis, then a large segment of white converts, and a smattering of other ethnicities and a handful of blacks.

From all I have spoken to, and have known to be involved with this group, there is somewhat of a smug elitism to this crew ( sort as if a bunch of Bill Maher and Dinesh D’Souza types all became Muslim together).

The Desis coming from a culture of caste systems and societies that brutalize the poor and working people and come to America as a product of privilege and joining the upper-class while keeping the arrogance of Muslim Brahmans status-seekers. It should be noted, that this is not the case for all Desi Muslims, I now of several teaching right now in inner-city schools and others actively involved in community work and others have used their experience in America to question old backwards mentalities; but it is the case for many and a common trait of Keller followers who embrace his “anti-egalitarian” stance.

The white converts are disproportionately coming from the liberal middle and upper-class which has a disdain for the working-class and the poor which I am a part of (political correctness prohibits them from saying what they feel about poor people of color but they spew their venom towards the white working-class and poor on a regular basis).

Both the white and brown upper-class, Muslim or non-Muslim, are for the most part ignorant of the social dynamics of the working-class and how it intertwines with race. That is why you have seen Keller Cult members make racially-based attacks on me; it is out of their ignorance.

I do not conform to their ill-informed notion of what a white man should be and do not act like the sons of doctors and lawyers they went to school with so they poke fun at me as if that would negate the deviance of their cult.

A rational person would know that a white man raised in a bi-racial family in North St. Louis (and later Brooklyn and DC) and who has been a Muslim his entire adult life surrounded by non-white Muslims and having very little interaction with White America from say the age of 12 until he started driving a cab is just not going to be capable of acting, talking, or thinking like a white man with a more orthodox upbringing and life just as a Desi kid in Queens working at his dads gas station from a young age is not going to be like the son of a Desi doctor in the Bay Area.

It is also the case that a man who knew the pain of hunger as a child and the sneers a child with shabby clothes gets in the schoolyard and the roughness of life in the underclass of America and has worked as a cabbie, street vendor, and laborer for most of his adult life and has a passion for boxing, wrestling and combat sports is not going to write or speak like a child of comfort who now works in comfort. I am combative and that is my nature and maybe at times I go a little too far ( such as with my Ecuadorian brother from New Jersey); but there is also a negative in holding your tongue and being too polite when you know it is best to speak up. Who I am is also why I have always been attracted to strong assertive Muslims and have always been sickened by brown-nosing Muslims always seeking to please a foe that cannot be pleased without surrender.

Recommendations

People have asked me in the last few days; you attacked the Salafis and now the Sufis, so do you like anyone? The answer is yes; but before I say that I want to say that it makes no sense to attack someone because they are Salafi or because they are Sufi, that is not the point.

To avoid being trapped in a cult and to learn this deen and practice it in a community and keep your children out of danger I will personally recommend these imams and groups (and May Allah forgive me if I am in error);

These are all groups in America; because as my brother Abu Usamah al-Aswad stated there will be no sheikh coming from another land who does not know the culture here saving us-that is a fantasy!

Imam Suhaib Webb

It has been a blessing to know this brother for the past 14 years or so and having known him before he was known and seeing that the brother has stayed humble and true to his roots. Insha’Allah I believe, and pray that I am right, Suhaib will complete his studies and come back to America and be a great force in creating a Muslim community that stays upon the Sunnah, does not avoid politics and social engagement with an Islamic message, has a love for the Islamic Revival in the ummah, is non-sectarian, is balanced, and is finely tuned for American-Muslims.

MAS

Love MAS or hate MAS they get the job done and build communities. Where there is MAS there are well-ran masjids, a school, a youth center, and programs for children, youth, men and women. If a Muslim lives in America in an area with MAS they are far better off than those living in areas without MAS. Like every organization, it has its shortcomings (an over-emphasis on Palestine and politics and too Arab-oriented); but on-balance they have been a tremendous blessing for Muslims in America and without these brothers we wouldn’t have ISNA, the MSA, CAIR and any number of other organizations.

ICNA

ICNA is basically the South Asian equivalent to MAS and is a Mawdudiite organization embracing the Sunnah, the religious life and education of families, and political engagement from an Islamic perspective.

Imam Siraj Wahhaj

Imam Siraj is the Sheikh of dawah in the West. He created a blueprint that others, such as the Oklahoma-based Sheikh Abdul-Rahman, have followed. The Imam Siraj model is an Islam with a message to the ghettos in America creating strong brothers and families who are aggressively Muslim and a force in the neighborhood. In some areas this has worked better than others; but in this day of weak-kneed Muslims it is good to see those who are not “moderate” Muslims but assertive Muslims.

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik

Imam Johari, though a little more media and tech savvy, is the evolution of the dawah of Imam Siraj (we just need him to take a stance on marriage in DC, but you know I love you brother).

Jamaat at-Taabliq

I will give you what Sheikh Ali al-Timimi told me;

“There is no benefit for any of my students to go 40 days or be involved with this group. But, for the Muslims who have been away from the deen, new Muslims, or those who may be lost, there is a benefit”

I will also add that in this day and time these brothers are holding firm to the Sunnah even if they may not have a lot of knowledge and I would be comfortable sending a child of mine to a Dar Uloom school.

Salafi Remnants

Most will think of almaghrib when I say this and in a way I do mean that because there is much benefit in that organization. However, almaghrib has its demographic and it leaves out most of the community and I do not have a problem with that, I just know it is not for me and a lot of other people. There are others such as Kemal Mekki, Yusuf Estes, and Jamal Zarabozo who are good to take knowledge from but do not have any community-based programs. In the African-American community I know of a lot of individual brothers who have knowledge I would like to see step to the plate and move the ball forward (such as Imam Muhammad Witten in Maryland and a very special white scholar on the DL named Joey); but at this time the only brother I know of who is really engaging in positive work that comes from the Salafi dawah in the black community is Abu Muslima in East Orange, NJ and there could be others.

Of course there are hundreds of other masjids doing good work all over the country we do not know about and there are others, such as Imam Zaid Shakir, who I may take from on certain topics and not on others.

Threats and Boxing Question

It seems that I get threats from everywhere. Jihadis made threats against me, Salafis made threats, and now people who are either members of or admirers of the Keller Cult. I do not have time to go back and forth making threats and arguing with people who are so cowardly they do not share their real name, their photo, or where they live while I have let all three be known.  Anyone can talk tough from an anonymous location on a keyboard using a made-up name. If you are that mad at me and wanna do what you say you know what I look like and where I am. I have been warned by a brother who knows many members “cult members are known to get violent” but I only fear Allah.

Regarding boxing, I have talked to a number of sheikhs about this as I am aware of the hadith about hitting in the face. I have got different opinions; but those who have said it is acceptable have said that Muslims should be trained to fight at the highest level and fight the kufar in the way they fight us as the ayah says and that by not hitting the foe back in the face would be to put the Muslim in the weak position.

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Smoking Ban

May 29, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Both St. Louis City and the County are debating if they should pass a smoking ban in public places. I am a non-smoker and hate the smell of cigarette smoke but had been somewhat indifferent to the debate taking place until today. I was at the laundromat by myself washing clothes for five people, including a newborn baby, while there were two men huffing and puffing on nasty cigarettes. It just so happened that while this was going on I had been reading an article in the RFT about the smoking ban. I went to my car and grabbed a can of air freshener and began spraying it throughout the laundromat and vowed to find a non-smoking place to wash my clothes after all; what is the point of washing your clothes if they smell like cigarettes?. I now support the ban after this experience; but know from living in New York that even when there is a ban there will still be smoking in many places.

FYI, I am having some connectivity problems so it is taking me a while to get to the comments.

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