My Muslim-American Thanksgiving

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: NBC Asian America

 

"Amma, will we have to eat turkey?"

"Amma, are you sure we can celebrate Thanksgiving even though we're Muslim?"

 

The questions start even before Thanksgiving break comes around, usually around the time of the fall party at school and the coloring papers with Mr. Turkey who begs to be hidden so that nobody eats him. My first generation Pakistani-American children, now 9 and 6, struggle with much these days, and Thanksgiving is just another worry as they try to live life with dual identities. Imagine how much harder it is for an immigrant like myself.

Muslim Reaction after the Paris Attacks

Source: Houston Matters

 

What Exactly is Interfaith Dialogue

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: J-Vibe Houston

 

I’ve been working in the field of interfaith activism for almost fifteen years, and when I started it wasn’t actually a profession and it didn’t even have a name. People would look at me strangely if I said I wanted to visit a church or a temple, because I was obviously a Muslim. There was an idea that we were all different and we stuck to our kind, stayed in our spaces. There was little overlap. I remember how difficult things were after 9/11 and how my ideas of meeting with other faiths was met with resistance and even ridicule. 

Why I Turned to Fiction

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: The Story Prize

 

Since Brick Walls has been published I’ve had the opportunity to visit a lot of cities and give a lot of talks. I’ve spoken to a diverse audience about my interfaith work, my article writing, my non-profit consulting. The most frequent question I get asked, though, is why I decided to write fiction. I’ve been writing for years, and it’s mostly been boring, technical, non-creative work. Where did the sudden urge to write not one but seven short stories come from?

Can Interfaith Dialogue Lead to Racial Justice?

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: State of Formation

 

 

O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. – The Holy Quran 49:13

 

I was born and raised in Pakistan, a country predominantly Muslim. I never knew about lofty ideas such as interfaith dialogue, although I had friends who belonged to other faiths. Religion wasn’t really discussed, it made us all uncomfortable and slightly offended. How do you talk about different beliefs if everybody thinks they have a monopoly on the truth?

The Power of an Image

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: Tikkun Daily

 

A picture is worth a thousand words, even more so in the digital age than ever before. My experience has been that images are amazing things, with the power to anger, comfort or heal. They have the power to change opinion, to reflect harsh realities. And the last two days have been fraught with all the baggage that comes from one tiny image with a huge message. You know the one I’m talking about, of course. Who hasn’t seen the image of little Aylan’s still body on the beach? Who hasn’t been moved by the thought of a little boy drowning for the mistakes of his countrymen? I know I have. Yesterday while driving on the highway to pick up my kids from school, I listened to NPR’s account of refugees like Aylan’s family and their dangerous trek through Hungary, and I burst into tears. I had to navigate to the side of the road to calm down before I caused an accident. Why? Because it could be me, it could be my child’s drowned body, it could be any of us.

Inclusion & Dialogue During Ramadan

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: State of Formation

 

The holy month of fasting for Muslims, called Ramadan, is finally here and there has never been more media publicity about it. Have you noticed how even mainstream news publications are writing about Ramadan these days? From photo essays of fasting scenes around the world, to op-eds about what it means to fast and how the act of fasting can bring everyone closer together, everyone seems to be writing about Ramadan.

It's Time for Community in Ramadan

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: ABC Religion & Ethics

 

Last Friday at congregational prayers, I had an eye-opening experience. As I entered my mosque parking lot, I saw two Caucasian women, possibly a mother and daughter, holding up a sign that read, "Please Help, Need Money for Food and Rent." I found it disturbing, even though my hometown of Houston is ridden with poverty and homelessness. So what was wrong with this picture? The mosque I attend is a Pakistani community, with the occasional Indian or Bangladeshi standing out like a sore thumb. Yet here were two white women standing outside practically begging.

The Seeds of Intolerance

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: Tikkun Daily

 

Hate disguised as free speech is a particularly ugly thing. Google Maps labeling the White House as N****r House is no less disgusting than a French magazine drawing the Prophet Muhammad in a stereotypical or untrue sketch. As I see the intolerance among us grow and ultimately divide us, I fear for the world we will leave our children and grandchildren in. Instead of learning to live in peace and love, we still think of ourselves as Muslims, Jews, Christians, white, black, brown, Israeli, Palestinian.

Taboo Topics

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: State of Formation

 

I’ve been working in the field of interfaith dialogue for more than a decade. On good days it’s a lot of fun, and I really see the benefit. On bad days, it’s nothing but headache and heartache. Why? Maybe because there are some topics that are off-limits, and so become the elephant in the room in a very difficult way.

A Muslim's Reflections on Holocaust Remembrance Day

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: Tikkun Daily

 

Shalom and Peace! Today on Holocaust Remembrance Day I would like to share a recent experience that changed my perspective in an unexpected way. My perspective about Jews, about the Holocaust, about myself. Sounds mysterious? I didn’t mean it to be. Let me go back a couple of weeks and start again.

Celebrating Women's Interfaith History

By Saadia Faruqi
Source: State of Formation

March is women's history month and usually that means a celebration of women from a national or cultural perspective. In the United States that implies celebrating American women of independence, courage and fortitude, whether they are white, black or Latina. More importantly, however, I believe that we must also celebrate women from an interfaith perspective, because the female gender has so much to offer in that field.

Can We Just Love Each Other?

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: State of Formation

 

Today is Valentine’s Day and as a Muslim I’m expected to write terrible things about it. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that the whole concept of sexual promiscuity dressed up as “love” is pretty awful and sends a very negative message to younger generations. I’m appalled at the seasonal displays at Wal-Mart and CVS and all the other stores where alcohol, chocolate and sexy nightwear jostle for space as if one cannot be used except with the crutch of the others. I am horrified when my five year old daughter comes home from kindergarten telling me some boy is always trying to kiss her but she’s not interested because he’s not handsome. Yet today all the parents of my children’s classmates sent home 26 Valentine’s Day cards and candy and little hearts because it’s so cute.

What the Interfaith Community Can Learn from MLK

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: State of Formation

 

Today (January 19^th) is Martin Luther King Day, celebrated by millions across the United States. We all know Dr. King very well, of course, and although his courageous efforts were for the betterment of the African American community, he has now become a national icon – a symbol for freedom, civil liberties and justice. He is not just a man but an image standing for the downtrodden sections of society and demanding their rights.  

Muslim Memories of Christmas

By Saadia Faruqi

 

Today is Christmas Day, and I want to take this opportunity to wish my friends and colleagues a very happy Christmas. Some among my circle express surprise, even shock, at my supposed participation in this very non-Muslim tradition each year. These are the people who don't know me, I suppose. These are the people who don't know what Islam is truly about. Christmas to me and countless other Muslims is a very positive, joyous occasion for a number of reasons. Here then, are a few of them:

Celebrating Religjons on Thanksgiving

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: State of Formation

 

 

Thanksgiving is such an American holiday. Turkey, stuffing, apple pie and football… what could be more American than that? Well, how about religion, or rather many different religions? 

 

It used to be that Thanksgiving was strictly a family affair. Extended family members would often brave snow storms and other kinds of bad weather to arrive at the doorstep like Prodigal Sons and Daughters.

 

Finding Common Ground in Grief

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: State of Formation

 

 

The last month has been a roller coaster for me personally. A friend, who became a friend only through interfaith dialogue, was grieving. Her younger sister had suddenly been taken to the hospital with several imminent health concerns, and finally after about three weeks of ups and downs, hope and despair, she passed away. I don’t need to explain how my friend felt; grief translates across boundaries of geography, culture and faith. What was interesting to me was how I felt, and how I reacted to this illness and death. How, even in the midst of grief and pain, I could learn an interfaith lesson.

 

Bringing Interfaith Dialogue from Pakistan to the United States

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: State of Formation

 

 

I was recently selected as a 2014 Contributing Scholar of the State of Formation, an online forum for emerging religious and ethical leaders. As part of my first assignment I was asked to submit an essay answering the question: why are you committed to building interfaith relationships with people of other religions? Here is my response:

 

Youngest Nobel Peace Prize Winner - Yes She's Female and Yes She's Muslim

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: Tikkun Daily

 

I switched on my computer early this morning to get a lovely surprise: Malala Yusufzai won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014. For all those who think Muslim women are too oppressed, too quiet, or too busy being mothers and housewives, to make international news, todays’ announcement from the Nobel Peace Committee may have come as a bit of a shocker. For me, it was validation of a lot of things. 

The New God of Football

By Saadia Faruqi
Source: Sacred Matters

The NFL made headlines yet again earlier this week, for imposing a penalty on Muslim football player Hussain Abdullah and then promptly retracting the penalty and issuing an apology. Most people like myself heard of the apology before the penalty and had to backtrack to find out exactly what occurred on Monday night. I think Abdullah was confused by all the attention as well. His offense: prostrating in prayer after a touchdown in a game against the New England Patriots.