Dr. Jackson will be one of many guest speakers at this year’s 3rd-annual CAMP Summit in Princeton, NJ, on May 2nd, 2009. Click here for registration and info.

Dr. Jackson’s seerah talk [A Perfect Message For Imperfect Times] at the ADAMS Center, in Herdon, Virginia, was quite a success. The attendence was decent and after speaking with a number of people who attended, they felt it was a highly productive and infomative two-day event. If you attended the talk and wanted notes, please contact the ADAMS Center for them.

The following was a khutbah via Halal Tube that Dr. Jackson gave at the Islamic Center of Long Island, New York, on Friday, April 3, 2009. Hat tip to MR.

You may read Jihad and the Modern Word, part 2 of 2, in this month’s Ascent Magazine, the magazine published by the Harvard and MIT Students on Islam and Society.

B. Jihad in the Classical Juristic Tradition

Turning to the post-Prophetic era, classical jurists unanimously divided jihad into two main modalities. The first we may refer to as “aggressive jihad,” which is pro-active, and according to the majority, constituted a communal requirement to be carried out at least once every year. The second modality was the “defensive jihad,” which was waged whenever Muslim lands were attacked. This jihad was actually a much more serious affair than its counterpart, inasmuch as many of the stipulations and restrictions governing aggressive jihad were dropped in the case of defensive jihad. For example, the Muslim ruler did not have to announce the obligation to join the defensive jihad nor conscript soldiers for its prosecution. Similarly, all those groups who were normally exempt from participating in the aggressive jihad, e.g., women, minors, the elderly, young men who had not been granted permission by their parents, were required to participate in defensive jihad. For our purpose of trying to determine the credibility of the claim that Islam is a religion of peace, we may ignore the defensive jihad. For no one would accuse Islam, or any other religion for that matter, of not being a peaceful religion simply because it insisted on defending itself. We shall thus restrict the remainder of our discussion to the aggressive jihad.

Part 1 is also available.

Dr. Jackson will be delivering a talk at Ursinus College, Monday, March 23, 2009 at 7pm. The talk will be held in Musser Auditorium - Pfahler Hall. For more information, please email the contact person here.

Beyond Obsession
How Should We Respond to the Assault on Islam?

Before the 2008 Presidential election, 28 million copies of the DVD Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West were distributed in major newspapers to voters in swing states. As certain groups fan the flames of prejudice against Islam in America, Muslims must be able to collectively articulate a response that is balanced and effective. Please join us for a special presentation by Sherman Jackson and Zaid Shakir, two American Muslim scholars whose advice is well worth considering.

During the program, you will also learn how you can participate in the efforts of Zaytuna Institute to promote a better understanding of Islam in the West.

Sherman Jackson is a professor of Islamic Studies, Law, and Afro-American Studies at
the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is the author of the acclaimed Islam and the Blackamerican: Looking toward the Third Resurrection (2005, Oxford University Press), and his Islam and the Problem of Black Suffering, is forthcoming in 2009.

Zaid Shakir is a resident scholar at Zaytuna Institute in Berkeley, California. He is a leading public voice on Islam in America and most recently published Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance (2008, NID Publishers), a translation and commentary of a classic early work on Islamic spirituality composed by Imam Harith al-Muhasibi (d. ah 243, Baghdad).

Where: Muslim Community of Western Suburbs, 40440 Palmer Rd., Canton, MI 48188
When: 7:30 pm (after Isha) | Thursday, December 4th

Sponsors: Zaytuna Institute www.zatuna.org and Muslim Community of Western Suburbs www.mcws.org

In the wake of Imam W. D. Mohammed’s death [may God have mercy on his soul and grant him peace and Paradise], Dr. Jackson presents to us a most erudite article regarding not only the imam’s passing but a clarion call to entire America Muslim community as to the milestone we’ve reached and where we ought to be heading. Enjoy the article here.

The 2008 ALIM Summer Program this year will be held at Madonna University, Livonia, Michigan. Dr. Jackson will be joined by scholars Dr. Ali Sulaiman Ali, Dr. Muneer Fareed, Dr. Sulayman Nyang and many others. This summer’s program is titled, “Think”. The program will be held from July 13th, 2008 through August 9th, 2008. For more information, visit ALIM’s web site.

In a talk delivered at Standford Univesity, Dr. Jackson discusses the realities of Shari’ah as they are contexualized here in America, especially in “Western” points of view in lieu of how Islam and Muslims are portrayed in the media and other various worldly happenings. The talk, entitled Laying Down the Shariah Law: Democracy or Theocracy?, is available on HalalTube. See a small write up here. Hat tip to MJ.

The Muslim Alliance of North America [MANA] is presenting a special fundraising event - a banquet to announce the official opening of SHARE Detroit Inc., America’s very first SHARE Center [Services for Human Advancement and Resource Enhancement], a social service and advocacy institution. The banquet will feature Imam Siraj Wahhaj, the Amir of MANA and Dr. Sherman Jackson, from the University of Michigan. The theme of the event is: “SHARE - When you care it shows…, when you share, we grow!” Additional speakers will also feature Dr. Ihsan Bagby and Imam Qasim Khan.

The event will be held Saturday, March 15th, 2008, at 5pm at the Muslim Center in Detroit, Michigan [1605 W. Davison, Detroit]. Tickets are $15. Babysitting services will be available. For additional information, call these numbers: 313-999-4953, 248-752-7237, or 773-557-9315 or email the Muslim Center at muslimcenter@ameritech.net.