Incubation [in-kyuh-bey-shuh n]. The act of incubating: To sit upon (eggs) for the purpose of hatching; to maintain at a favorable temperature and in other conditions promoting development, as cultures of bacteria or prematurely born infants; to develop or produce as if by hatching.

All of the above can easily be applied metaphorically to our condition and situation as Muslims in America. Like a collective group of mother hens, we’re sitting on our eggs. But if we do not soon act in our best self-interest, we will loose our eggs through negligence and heedlessness. Every day, every month that passes by, I think to myself: “What are we waiting for?” Our situation only becomes more grim as the hours slip by. I do not say these words lightly or for the sake of dramatization. I say them because we’ve only seen the Hollywood version of how bad things can get. Yet we have no screen writers to script us a happy ending. No, that happing ending will have to be done with our own hands. But first, we’ve got to get off our duffs — intellectually, politically, socially and more — or our eggs will never hatch and we will go the way of the Dodo bird. (more…)

I was honored last night to be asked to attend the Town Square Meeting at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Center City Philadelphia. The meeting was presented by Philadelphia Green and was about the merging of faith-based organizations and the stewardship of those religious groups and how they are or can be engaged in environmental activities. It quickly came to my attention that Muslims at least in this area have been woefully absent. Absent either due to ignorance of such activities or because it’s simply not on the radar. For the concerns of this post, I will address the latter.

Like so many topics and events today, Muslims seem to either be swept along by the Zeitgeist of the day or bypassed all together. This is an issue that we as a Muslim community need to address more seriously if we wish to have our voice taken seriously – otherwise, it will be taken away. By Zeitgeist I am referring to the trend that many Muslims allow popular consensus or dominant voices dictate to us what is or is not important. One example that comes to mind is a conversation I had with a Muslim brother who said we needed to take a tougher stance towards homosexuality. When I inquired as to what he meant, he was referring to the unions of gay couples and homosexual marriages. He was quite passionate about the topic and felt that Islam was somehow being eroded by this lapse in what he saw as social immorality. I calmly reminded the brother to consider the following: homosexuality is not permissible in Islam. God has made this readily apparent and therefore he should take comfort in this incontrovertible truth. In other words, the question has been answered by the Highest Authority, therefore why approach the topic as if it could be reopened for discussion [and ultimately, permissibility]. (more…)

May the Almighty shower rewards on IMB for setting up the event and the speakers who enlightened us this past Saturday and Sunday. I can’t yet tell if attendance was up or down this year but I will say this: it keeps getting better. I felt the speakers really worked in tandem – like a sort of jazz improve where musicians work off of one another. The following are a few of the shots from the event. I will post my thoughts and notes on it shortly. For those who are interested in obtaining audio copies of the event, please contact IMB. I would like to thank IMB for inviting me back again this year to photograph the event. I am honoured to be able to document our history as it unfolds in front of our eyes. Enjoy.

Sherman Jackson

Yours Truly

Brothers Discussing

Dr. Khalid Blankinship

Professor Amir al-Islam

Muslim Woman

Brothers

Imam Anwar Muhaimin

Hajj Musa and company

Professor Amir al-Islam

Muslim Man

Imam

Muslim Man

Captivated Brother

Sherman Jackson and Imam Anwar Muhaimin

Muslim Men

Sisters

Sherman Jackson

Taking Notes

Muslim Woman

Sherman Jackson

Captivated Woman

Sherman Jackson, Book Signing

Book Signing

Honoured Speakers: Amir al-Islam, Anwar Muhaimin, Khalid Blankinship, Sherman Jackson