A Black Man Did It

She claimed that a black man did it. 

As if the backwards “B” scratched onto her cheek wasn’t clue enough, so many white folks jumped onto the bandwagon and started pointing fingers at the non-existent black man and more symbolically at the one running for president.  The authorities say that Ashley Todd, the accuser, is mentally ill.  Maybe she is, maybe she isn’t.  That said, the thing that I think is really ill, the willingness of the McCain camp to push this story without ever verifying its truthfulness.  And then there are the do-do heads who support McCain and in their desperation to grasp at straws tried to ride this story like a sled down a snowy hill.

Then what do we hear?  Its all a hoax.

Anyone else see the shells on the floor, the bits of mud, the feathers?  Those desperadoes who couldn’t wait to lend this bit of debauchery to the un-American terrorist Obama and his camp, now have egg and mud on their faces and are eating crow until they gag.

Most disturbing, is the fact that this invisible attacker just happened to be a black man.  A big black man.  So here we go again, setting fire beneath fears and prejudices that should no longer exist.  All a white girl has to do is say that she was beaten and sexually assaulted by a black man and we instantly land ourselves in Lynchburg, Nowhere.  A black man is still the easy likely suspect, still the convenient scapegoat.  Then add Obama to equation, the former madrassa student, the secret Muslim, the cohort of terrorists, and the opposition has proved their point.  The point being that Obama isn’t a fit for the presidency of this country.

No, not really.  It proves that racism is still strong in the spirits of the people of America.  It proves that desperation knows no bounds when it looks like a black man, who’s father was an African and a Muslim, might actually clinch the presidency.  If the polls are right, it looks like this may actually happen.  It looks, Insha Allah , like we are really watching history in the making. 

And guess what?  A black man did it.

Khaalidah

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Almost Time

On October 20th early voting begins here in Houston.  Insha Allah , I intend to be there.  During the primaries, I stood in line, while wearing boots, for three hours, after work, so that I could cast my vote.  My right to vote has never meant as much to me as it does now.  It isn’t just that this election, which ever way it goes, will be history making.  It is the fact that this country has descended to such unforgivable lows in the past few years that.  Each and every vote counts, and if we fail to initiate positive change for this nation, Insha Allah , it will not be because I failed to do my part.  All I can do is be present and pull the lever.

Well that isn’t all that we can do.  I have heard, on only a very few occasions a bit from our candidates about personal accountability.  Being the wealthiest nation on earth (are we anymore?) comes with some responsibility, not just to the world in which we live, but to ourselves.  Affluence (which so many of us take for granted never realizing that we are) should never make us so comfortable with our lives that we forget how to live with a sense of frugality.  We should know how to derive comfort from the simple things.  We should know how to do without, how to make due with little, how find success in the things that are intangible. 

As we strive to fill our lives with the things we think we need, a newer larger car, designer clothes, bigger homes in more affluent neighborhoods, a wall mounted plasma screen television, the mp3 players, the snazzy colorful gadgets and cell phones, we unwittingly crowd out the things that really matter.  Time with our families, time for our faith, time for our studies.

We have become so preoccupied with this life and as a result, so many of us have lost precious time that could have been devoted to preparing for the next life.

There are obstacles, this I know because Allah has promised them.  My most favorite ayats from the Qur’an states:

Surah Ankabut 29:1-6

1. Alif Lam Mim.

2. Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, We believe, and not be tried?

3. And certainly We tried those before them, so Allah will certainly know those who are true and He will certainly know the liars.

4. Or do they who work evil think that they will escape Us? Evil is it that they judge!

5. Whoever hopes to meet Allah , the term appointed by Allah will then most surely come; and He is the Hearing, the Knowing.

6. And whoever strives hard, he strives only for his own soul; most surely Allah is Self-sufficient, above (need of) the worlds.

If we will live in this world, we will be tested in terms of our faith, our families, our livelihood…  None of us will be exempt.  In my own life, I have been able to identify so many of the challenges that Allah has put before me, but Subhanallah, who am I?  I know nothing.  and so, there are countless other challenges that have been set before me that I had no idea were there.

This all gets me thinking, yet again (perhaps this is a continual test for me, Allah knows best) about loving for the sake of Allah , forgiving for the sake of Allah , and acting for the sake of His pleasure.  This has been a recurring thought for me, and Insha Allah , I will find success in this aspect of my life.  May everyone else also learn to master their own nafs toward  receiving the favor of Allah .  Insha Allah .  Ameen.

So, back to the election.  Obama has my vote.  I am all for change, but even more than that, I am all for being proactive.  If I want to see change in my life, in my spirit, in my soul, I must learn to master my nafs, my anger, and even my love.  I must also learn to take part.  I can’t sit down on the sideline and let life happen.  I must vote, and raise my voice and earn this blessing that Allah has given me: Life.  May Allah continue to be kind.

Khaalidah

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Arab=Terrorist=Muslim=Nigger

Just when I want to believe (I have been accused of being an idealist before) that we, as a country, are making headway racially, socially, and economically (what a joke, yeah?), everything falls apart.  Okay, I am not silly enough to believe that all bad things happen just to thwart me, let me make this clear.  Istagh firullah.  It is just that when I am overwhelmingly disappointed, I am really disappointed.

Have you seen the news clip where the little old white lady says to McCain, “I just don’t trust Obama.  I’ve read about him.  He’s a, a, a, a Arab.”  WHERE DID SHE READ THAT?  You and I both know that Arab is code for Muslim.  And unfortunately in the case of bigoted white America, concerning Barack Obama, Arab is code for nigger. 

Arab=Terrorist=Muslim=Nigger. 

Well, when you put it that way, “He’s an Arab,” somehow this makes it easier and more PC to say  you could never vote for him to be your president.  Even I, who by the way is American born and raised, wouldn’t vote for someone who isn’t an American, regardless of their religious leanings, because that just wouldn’t seem right to me.  But this insistence that he is other than what he claims to be is getting old and tiresome.  Yes?

The blame lies on the head of McCain.  His very subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) rhetoric concerning Obama and supposed ties to terrorists was enough to fan the flames beneath those who already had a simmering hatred for the black man who dared to become president.  During the entire election campaign, even the media appears to have been attempting to take a hesitant approach to the issue of race. 

If thou protest too much, or make too much of a big deal…one gets labeled as a racist or hate-monger.

Unwittingly, this is what has happened to McCain.  After unleashing the provincial Alaskan governor Palin on the campaign circuit, McCain appears to be trying to clean up the mess a bit.  Now, at his rallies, he is telling people that no (and I paraphrase), Obama isn’t a bad guy.  He isn’t the boogie man.  He isn’t a crazy Muslim radical.  He is a good guy, a decent family man that I respect.  I just don’t want him to become president because oh yeah, I can’t trust him either, because he started his political campaign in the living room a domestic terrorist.

Am I the only one who sees the absolute contradiction to that statement?  Can McCain have it both ways?  Well, he can try.  But now his town hall meeting supporters are booing him because he won’t follow their line of thinking (at least not out loud) when they chant things like “Kill him!  Kill him!  Kill him!” and “Off with is head!” in reference to Obama at the political rallies.  Are these campaign rallies or KKK initiations?  See why I am disappointed yet?

1.  The media needs to absolutely crucify (like my play on words here?) McCain for getting this entire ugly situation going in the first place.  Even those in the media who support him should divorce themselves of his divisive rhetoric and anger mongering.  Some of them have, but certainly not enough.

2.  It scares me to think that there are still enough of these types of people, ie. angry, racist to the core, ignorant of a true world view and understanding, hillbilly people to actually fill a town hall.

3.  There is a presidential candidate ie. McCain/Palin, desperate enough to resort to and accept the public support of the above mentioned people. 

Well, Obama is ahead in most all polls.  But I am still unconvinced that he will win.  While there are plenty of people who say, I like Obama and what he stands for, I believe that many of them (white folks in particular) will vote for McCain instead when in the privacy of their voting booths because they can’t vote for a black man.

Obama is either very brave or very foolish.  Even if he makes it to the White House, now more than ever, I fear that his  presidency will be all too brief.  We may end up with Joe Biden for president.

Remember the people shouting, “Kill him!  Kill him!  Kill him!”?

It only takes one fool to pull the trigger.

KHAALIDAH

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A Little Insulted

I listened to the Palin/Biden debate.  Biden surprisingly kept his head and didn’t blurt out anything untoward.  Palin, on the other hand, while attempting to siddle up to “Main Street America”, managed to alienate and insult my personal sensibilities.  The phrases that did it? 

“Joe Sixpack and hockey mom.”  And there was that brief diatribe when she attempted to define what “real patriotism” is.  Well, while I consider myself to be part of “Main Street America”, I am not a hockey mom.  I am a science fair, honor role mom.  And my husband is no Joe Sixpack.  He doesn’t drink beer, Istagh firullah. 

As for patriotism, how dare she define that for me.  I believe in the good that my country possesses as well as its potential for future greatness, but not to the extent of agreeing with every failing policy and not to the degree of supporting a war mongering president.  I love my country, but like my children, I am willing to chide my country when it does wrong and vote accordingly.  And believe me, it won’t be fore the McCain-Palin ticket.

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pol-i-tics

Anyone sick of this whole campaign business?  Sick of McCain and that moose eating woman slamming Obama and ducking issues about the economy?  Anyone sick of Obama softening up like a tenderized steak to make the masses happy?  Anyone sick of this gastly war, the price of gas, the rising cost of cooking oil, milk and eggs?  Anyone sick of the newscasters, who are supposed to be objective and unbiased not sticking to the old addage, “Just the facts ma’am?”

 I have a solution.  Turn off the television and open the Holy Qur’an. 

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Obama Is Not a Muslim. Alright, Already!

Yesterday Obama, then John McCain, was interviewed by Dr. Dick Warren in front of an audience at the mega-church Saddleback.  I watched some of this.  I actually watched more of the warm-up.  You know, the two hours of pontificating on CNN and similar news stations, by so-called political experts discussing what they expected would come out of this discussion.  A major part of this speculating session was devoted to Obama, he refuting rumors of being a Muslim and having to prove to those ignoramuses who for some reason “want” to believe he is a Muslim, that he is not.

Which brings me to a question, and I know you have been thinking it too.  What’s so bad about being called a Muslim?  Of course, if I were inadvertently called a Christian, I would be quick to correct the mistaken party, but I certainly wouldn’t make out like this is some hideous disease.  Surely, the press is more to blame for this.  Obama has, for the most part, remained pretty neutral about this.  He has said that he is a Christian, he has been filmed in his own church, has spoken to people in churches on the campaign trail, and of course there was that never-ending debacle with his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, Jr.  However, in my opinion, neutrality in this instance is akin to fueling the flames.  Why not say, “I am not a Muslim.  I am a Christian and this is my choice.  That said if I were a Muslim, I would be proud of that.”  Or he could say something like, “While I am not a Muslim, I want to be the one to say that Islam is just as decent and valid a way of life as any other and I am disappointed that this has become such a point of contention in this campaign.”  Is this too much to ask for?

Some may say it is too much to ask for.  After-all he is trying to become elected as the first Multi-ethnic African-American in post 9-11 America (ie. highly suspicious and bigoted against anyone who looks like they may be from the East.).  BUT, I say that the actual presidency doesn’t mean as much as the race.  I believe that no matter what he does in office (should he become president - which I hope for, because no matter what he is better than McCain in my estimation) what he is doing right now will be remembered above it all.  His race, fairly clean and dignified as it has been, his character and seeming honestly, the fact that he is NOT the status quo and completely unlike any other candidate this country has ever seen - these are the things that will make all the difference in the end.  And then if he does a good job in office, that will be the icing, but not the cake.  The icing because at the heart of it all, I believe that a politician is a politician, and a politician is a liar.

Certainly, as a Muslim, I feel it is a bit unfortunate that Obama’s Muslim father did not do the job all Muslim parents are charged with, ie. raising the new generation of Ummah, but that is really neither here nor there.  What is done is done, and what is done is forgotten.  Okay, so Obama is not a Muslim, but I do think that he is a fairly good guy, so why can’t he just say it?  He is after-all calling for CHANGE.  Right?  So isn’t this the time to change peoples perceptions?  Is this not the time to be that agent of change, not just in terms of economics and foreign policy but also in terms of how this so-called “melting pot” actually melts?

 Melting pot.  Does anyone use that term anymore?  When I was a kid, maybe twenty-five or thirty years ago that term was used regularly in school to describe the ethnic make-up of our country.  We are a melting pot, not all the same, but we go together in one big happy equal stew.  What happened to the melting pot?  Or have we become more synical; instead of a melting pot we are the main course (white America), and a bunch of side dishes that we can either choose or reject?  If so, America may be on a diet.  A no Eastern immigrant diet, a no Muslim diet, a not anyone who isn’t a Christian like me diet.

“Yes please, I’ll have the fried chicken.”

“Would you like anything with that?”

“Uh…Yes, I’ll have a butter milk biscuit and the all-American apple pie.”

“Would you like anything else?  We have biryani rice, hummus, and couscous as a nice side dish.”

“That sounds weird.  No.  I think I’ll just have a Coke with that.”

But you may say, America is accepting of people who are different, after all it looks like we might just elect a black man named Barack Obama into the White House.  Maybe.  But no matter how much America like African American Barack Obama, they still don’t like us.  We haven’t come as far as we would like to think.

  Allahu Akbar!  Khaalidah.

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