Assalamulikum All,

Eid Mubarak! Eid is a joyous time when people embrace one another as Muslims. Once strangers; but after Eid salaat they hug another like they have known each other for years.

But, this only happens on that one day. The rest of the year I mind my own business and sit with empty stares, pretending no one else exists. And I have noticed this among many of my peers in the Muslim community as well. And that one time someone does smile at us, we wonder... Why? Because the simple act of smiling at someone raises suspicion: surely there must be a motive behind this act of kindness.

But, I have realized that acts of kindness should not and do not require a forewarning. I will take them for what they are. Cherish them. And through these acts I can keep the spirit of Eid alive throughout the year. I will share those hugs, warm feelings and keep the brother/sister hood alive.

Oh, and I will smile back.

The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) said: “To smile in the company of your brother is charity. To command to do good deeds and to prevent others from doing evil is charity. To guide a person in a place where he cannot get astray is charity. To remove troublesome things like thorns and bones from the road is charity.  To pour water from your jug into the jug of your brother is charity. To guide a person with defective vision is charity for you” (Bukhari).

Last week, KIH editor Anas Ingar wrote an article admonishing the University of Toronto (and society in general) for not cracking down harder on the St. Michael's College boys who "dressed as the Jamaican Bobsled team from the movie 'Cool Runnings' in blackface."

As he mentioned, the group apologized at a town hall meeting that the Black Students’ Association held. One person from St. Michael’s College also took full responsibility and apologized. I have to ask: what are they apologizing about? Is it really that big of a deal?

I have to correct Anas on the issue of blackface. Blackface itself is not something racist and evil. That is like suggesting that ANY coloured paint is inherently racist. Does this mean that darkening your skin with spray tan to get a Brazilian tan is a sign of some inherent racial issues? It might be, but not necessarily.

Because it's not the product that is the problem, it is the intentionality behind it. As Anas himself says, those boys were simply trying to dress up as the film characters they loved. And what his article fails to mention is that one of the four boys was black and he played the role of the white actor in "Cool Runnings." So, why didn't he come under pressure?

So what if they knew the history of blackface? Why does that even matter? They were not using it in the same way that the actors of the early 20th century did. They didn't rumble around the room calling the white men "masters" nor did they amble about, implying that all black people are fools.

They were not perpetuating any racial stereotypes: they simply dressed up as individuals who happened to be black.

But why can't we be -dare I say- funny enough to tell the difference? Why did we not assume that it was flattery? "Cool Runnings" is a classic, after all.

My greatest fear is that we misuse the word "racist" so much that it becomes meaningless. Being discriminated against because of the colour of your skin is horrendous. However, trying to pretend that these colour variations don't exist is equally unhelpful.  

Of course, we have to be aware of really discriminatory and prejudiced behavior. However, being so politically correct that we make people afraid of engaging with us doesn't help the cause of minorities in any way. It makes people afraid to talk to us, afraid to laugh with us, and afraid to understand us. And this only worsens segregation.

I say, we drop it. They were educated boys and they did it in good fun. It only belittles us for the next time we attempt to comment against "real" acts of racism. Like the boy who cried wolf, when we really mean it, nobody will care.

As if the world doesn’t have enough issues, here comes Iran which wants to hold war games (lasting five days) to protect its nuclear facilities. The nuclear facilities Iran claims are apparently for “generating electricity”. Even though senior officials from six world powers had proposed to delay this, Iran disagreed. “The United States, Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France met after U.S. President Barack Obama warned there could be a package of sanctions against Iran within weeks”.

Another interesting point is that, “Iran, which says its nuclear program is solely to generate electricity, has threatened to hit back at Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf if it is attacked”.  A cleric in the Revolutionary Guard warned that the Islamic Republic would fire missiles at "the heart of Tel Aviv" if attacked.

Now I’m confused. So if Iran’s nuclear program electricity is “solely” to generate electricity, how does it expect to attack back, and with what? It all seems a little suspicious. If Iran is holding these “defense exercises”, what are they preparing for exactly?

"If the enemy should want to test its bad luck in Iran, before the dust from its missiles settles in this country, Iran's ballistic missiles would land in the heart of Tel Aviv," said cleric Mojtaba Zolnour, IRNA news agency reported,”

it seems as though Iran and its leader are very much on board with the idea of attacking. Apparently, Iran holds these exercises and announces them well before they occur to let the rest of the world know that if their nuclear program is disputed, they are ready to take measures on it.

Now there’s another issue Iran has, and that is that Russia isn’t delivering the “S-300” (which I later figured out is a type of missile). Hilary Clinton, on the other hand, commended Russia for not presenting Iran with these missiles. 

“The truck-mounted S-300PMU1, known in the West as the SA-20, can shoot down cruise missiles and aircraft. It can fire at targets up to 150 km (90 miles) away.” Now how’s that for a comforting bedtime story?

"They have declared technical problems as the underlying reason for this delay, but we think it has been due to the Zionists' pressure," Mighani said, Fars reported. "We are hopeful the Russians will ignore the pressure of the Zionist lobby."

All I wonder is: could these incidents lead to some sort of war? I know Anila wrote an article stating that Tehran isn't as big a threat as its words suggest, but this pompous rhetoric is certainly not helping its case. What is Iran trying to do and why all these war games? I don’t believe at all that it is necessary for countries to have nuclear weapons (nor do I think war is the answer to any matter). I know that power is a horrible thing that drives even the most down-to-earth person mad. And since nuclear weapons and these missiles are sources of power, couldn’t that mean that once Iran (or any country for that matter) has it, it would be tempted to use it? I know its suggested that Iran only wants to defend itself from attack, but what if it is instigating the very attack it is trying to prevent? 

If Iran keeps getting its troops ready and keeps preparing that an attack, I think that could lead to an attack, even if it has no purpose.

Only time will tell where all this will take us, Until then, May God be with us All.
Full article here.

The Pew Forum Research on Religion and Public Life recently published a report called “Mapping the Global Muslim Population.”

According to its calculations, Muslims currently represent 23% (1.57 billion) of the world population of 6.8 billion. Muslims reside on all of the five of the world's inhabited continents. As well, 1.26 billion (80%) of the world’s Muslims are living in countries where they are the majority religion. Greater than 300 million of Muslims (or one-fifth of the global Muslim population) reside in countries where Islam is not the primary religion.

Two-thirds of all Muslims live in 10 countries, six in Asia, three in North Africa, and one in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of the total Muslim population, 154 million and 200 million (10-13%) are Shia Muslims and the rest 87-90% are Sunni Muslims.

The largest region for Muslim residence is the Asia-Pacific region which holds 62% of all Muslims worldwide.   The six Asian countries with the largest Muslim numbers have the following individual populations: Indonesia (203 million), Pakistan (174 million), India (161 million), Bangladesh (145 million), Iran (74 million) and Turkey (74 million) and they form 53% of the global Muslim population.

About half of the Muslim population within Asia lives in South Asia (50%) and the remainder are somewhat equally divided between Southeast-East Asia (26%) and Central-Western Asia (24%). Around 116 million and 147 million Shias live in Asia (which makes up 75% of the world’s Shia population and 12-15% of the total Muslim population in the Asia-Pacific region).

The Middle East-North Africa region has 315 million Muslims, 20% of the world’s Muslim population. About 79 million (25% of Muslims in this region) reside in Egypt. More than half of the countries in this region have populations that are 95% Muslim or greater: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Western Sahara and Yemen.

North Africa has three of the largest Muslim populations in the Middle East-North Africa region: Egypt (79 million), Algeria (34 million) and Morocco (32 million). The Palestinian territories are home to about 4 million Muslims. Israel is also home to roughly 1 million Muslims, which is slightly larger than Qatar and greater in proportion to Eastern European countries with similiar populations. A quarter of the world’s Shias (36 million to 44 million) live in the Middle East-North Africa. 

Sub-Saharan Africa has about 241 million Muslims, 15% of the world’s Muslim population. Nigeria, with 78 million Muslims, has the largest Muslim population in this region. About 32% of Muslims in Sub-Saharan Africa live in Nigeria. Western Africa is the only area in Sub-Saharan Africa with a Muslim majority. The southern part of Africa has the smallest Muslim population.

Europe has about 38 million Muslims, 5% of its population. European Muslims make up about 2% of the world’s Muslim population. European Muslims are concentrated in Eastern and Central Europe. Russia has the largest Muslim population in Europe with 16 million Muslims. 40% of European Muslims live in Russia. Germany is home to more than 4 million Muslims, the largest in Western Europe. Germany has more Muslims than Lebanon and about the same as the Americas. Germany is amongst the top 10 countries with the largest number of Muslims living as a minority population. The European countries with the highest concentration of Muslims are located in Eastern and Central Europe: Kosovo (90% Muslim), Albania (80%), Bosnia-Herzegovina (40% Muslim) and Republic of Macedonia (33% Muslim).

Of the 4.6 million Muslims in the Americas, 2.5 million live in the United States but make up only 0.8% of the total population. In contrast, 2% of Canadians (or 700,000 people) are Muslims. With 16%, Suriname is the country in this continent with the largest Muslim population percentage. Argentina is home to the largest number of Muslims in South America: 800,000.

Iran has 73,777,000 and Turkey has 73,619,000 Muslims that each make up 4.7% of the total world Muslim population. The addition of these two countries to the Middle-East North Africa Region instead of the Asia-Pacific region would mean the Asia-Pacific total would decrease from 61.9% to 52.5%  and the Middle-East North-Africa region would make up 29.5% from 20.1% of the total Muslim population.  Since there are 66 million to 70 million Shias in Iran and they make up around 37% to 40% of the world Shia Muslim population having Iran in the Middle East-North Africa region would increase its Shia population percentage to 62% - 65%.

The organization does research on different religious and political issues and remains bipartisan.  The presentation for this publication with its divided regions makes for the easy understanding and browsing of the demographics and statistics on Muslim population.  The data collection for the “Mapping the Global Muslim Population” publication was “calculated by multiplying the United Nations’ 2009 total population estimate for each country and territory with the most recent and reliable demographic or social-scientific estimate of the percentage of Muslims in each country’s population, based on the conservative assumption that Muslim populations are growing at the same rate as each country’s general population” (Mapping the Global Muslim Population, 2009).

The sources include national censuses, demographic and health surveys, and general population surveys and studies. Calculating the Shia population is a harder task as there are no surveys determining which sect a Muslim self-identifies with. The Pew Forum therefore had to use the following for its calculations: analysis by more than 20 demographers and social scientists at universities and research centers, ethnographic analysis published by the World Religion Database and other published or frequently used estimates. A report like this helps us to understand how regions with affluent, influential or poor Muslim populations affect policy outcomes and national political worldviews. Knowing where and how many Muslims there are around the world create better understanding of Muslim culture and life.

 
Report found at: http://www.pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=450

Obama has yet to to respond to General McChrystal's request for 40,000 more troops in Afghanistan, and he's taking a lot of flack for taking so much time.

But it's not just negligence or incompetence that keeps him from making his decision: its leverage. The troop surge issue was Obama's way of pressuring the Karzai government in Afghanistan to have legitimate second elections. He can't be seen to supporting a suspect government.

There were second elections in place because the first ones were marred with scandal from the very beginning. Presidential candidates were linked to warlord groups and even Karzai's vice-presidential candidate, Marshal Muhammad Qasim Fahim, was linked to drug traffickers. There was a huge security vacuum and election day was seen as extremely high-risk. Access to polling stations was severely compromised and ISAF (The International Security Assistance Force) was on high alert.

According to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, the day turned out to be exactly the disaster ISAF was expecting. "Polling day recorded the highest number of attacks and other forms of intimidation for some 15 years. Regrettably, 31 civilians were killed, including 11 IEC officials as well as 18 Afghan National Police (ANP) and eight Afghan National Army (ANA) personnel."

After the election, declarations of fraud and corruption only became louder: charges of fake voter tickets being bought and sold, bribes being offered, coercion and polling stations being shut down and attacked.

The results were contested. According to the BBC, the partial results were: Hamid Karzai – 212,927 votes, 40.6%, and Abdullah Abdullah – 202,889 votes, 38.7%.

Neither of the two has been directly implicated in corruption, but both are most likely involved in some way. It’s inevitable and unavoidable.

Abdullah allies mostly with the Tajik north. He IS the old Northern Alliance, and he holds Ahmad Shah Massoud as his mentor (a beloved "character" we all remember from Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns).**   

And under heavy U.S. and Western pressure, Karzai acquiesced to a run-off election to be held on November 7, 2009.

It was hoped that Karzai and Abdullah would work together in some kind of coalition government. Despite all the corruption, the two had garnered at least 80% of registered votes. Abdullah had the support of the Tajik north and Karzai has the support of the South. As well, they had worked together before: Abdullah was the Foreign Minister of the first Karzai government.

But, it was decided only a few weeks ago that the run-off election would be cancelled. Karzai's term was renewed and he was declared victor. On November 1, 2009, Abdullah announced that he was withdrawing, saying "I will not participate in the November 7 election," because a "transparent election is not possible."

Obama will have to make his decision about the troops now, as soon as possible. It likely won't be zero, but it certainly won't be all 40,000, as requested. The issue of bad government in Afghanistan is an even bigger headache for the Americans, if Islamic insurgents and poppy trafficking wasn't bad enough.

The war in Afghanistan is a political mess. And when the invasion first happened, THIS was seen as the good war, and Iraq was seen as the illegitimate war. Over time, the tables have certainly turned. While many Western politicians are adamant that we stay the course, most are starting to second-guess the nation-building and democratizing policy that is underpinning the US invasion.

The Iraq-Afghanistan Difference
When the US first came into Iraq, we would do well to remember that Iraq already had a history of strong government, industry and wealth. When the Americans came in, many Iraqis saw them as liberators and the presence of American soldiers was seen as safe. Baghdad was already seen as the centre of the country and it was easier to see the Americans filling a centralized role.

Afghanistan is a different story. Kabul has never really had a strong grasp over the rest of the nation. So when the Americans came into this dirt-poor country, they tried to not only displace the government but also to strengthen it and centralize it, and extend its control over the rest of the country.

The first part was easy. The campaign of displacing the government started early October, after 9/11. It was a relatively short campaign. The number of American soldiers on the ground, at the height of the campaign, was literally no more than 300 Allied forces. The Americans bought out the Northern Alliance  (who hated the Taliban) and subcontracted the war. The soldiers and the CIA brought equipment and luggage bags full of money, to win over support on their side.

So the government was won with 300 soldiers and a wad of cash.

But now what? A makeshift government stands in Kabul but it has little power.  It has limited control over the rest of the country and it can't strengthen its own services because Afghanistan has no industry, no wealth and no economy.

So what will become of Afghanistan? What will it look like before the West is finally able to convince itself that its okay to leave? The Americans have to leave eventually and their dreams of having a "good" government in Kabul will not ever be realized. The most they can hope for is "not bad."

And how can they get even that? For one thing, the corruption cannot be dealt with. It's inevitable and somewhat stabilizing, since there are so many diverse and violent interests in Afghanistan.

Second, the intervening forces may have to rethink centralized government and democracy. They may have to allow diverse groups to exist and have their own local forms of governance, tribal councils or loya jirgas. The most control that Kabul can hope to extend over them is to have them all agree that they are normatively anti-Taliban and perhaps get them to accept Kabul as the big dog. Other than that, it will have to be a loose arrangement, and we may just have to get used to it.
 
**The Northern Alliance and Massoud fought against the Soviets during the Cold War, and then later fought against the Taliban. Their goal was to set up an Islamic state in Afghanistan - without Taliban fundamentalism. Massoud, who was working closely with the CIA to shut down the Taliban, was killed - most likely as part of the 9/11 attacks.

On October 29, 2009 several Halloween parties were held. Amongst these parties was one that garnered a lot of media attention: thrown by three University of Toronto student-elected and student-run councils (with university funding). The reason it drew so much attention was because the "Best Costume" prize was awarded to four university students dressed as the Jamaican Bobsled team from the movie “Cool Runnings” in blackface.

For those of you who don’t know what blackface is, it is theatrical make-up that was historically used by white people. It was meant to overtly exaggerated black facial features in order to ridicule and perpetrate racist conceptualizations of the black community. It was commonly used in America and England up until the late 1970s. Essentially, white men would paint their faces black and "act black": uneducated, uncivilized and foolished. Later, black men would also do the same, in blackface.

Though the group of individuals knew what blackface was, they decided they were not exemplifying racist portrayals of blacks and decided to dress up as such because the movie was a fond childhood memory. The group did apologize at a town hall meeting that the Black Students’ Association held. One person from St. Michael’s College also took full responsibility and apologized.

But, further action has not been implemented to prevent such occurrences and an apology by the respective councils has not been released. The issue at hand is far reaching outside of this campus and exists globally. Racism and racist behaviour (whether done consciously or unconsciously) exists, and is often promoted and propagated in pop culture. It is not limited to black Canadians but to everyone.

If we were to go back to those Halloween parties you would have seen people dressed as Arabs and labelling themselves as terrorists or people in niqabs: ridiculing it; all in the name of fun and games and under the cloak of costumes.

The issue won’t be resolved tomorrow, and it may even take several decades and several events before we see a more sensitive media, more unbiased news reports and culturally sensitive education.

One thing that we can not do is ignore the situation.

“O mankind! We created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)” (Quran 49:13).

The excitement, the passion, the eman packed days & nights of Ramadan has long departed us. Life is back to routine, desires and lusts have clouded our hearts, our worship has weakened, our conviction & determination wavered.  But from this dark & mundane routine Allah blesses us once again with a momentous occasion. An occasion defined as *THE BEST, THE FINEST* days of the year! And indeed, these are none other than the 10 blessed days of Dhul Hijjah.  

HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THESE ARE THE BEST 10 DAYS OF THE ENTIRE YEAR?  

Ever wondered why we don't possess the same urge to strive for good deeds in these days as we do in Ramadan? Is not this hadith sufficient to spark up this urge and yearning?   The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "THERE ARE NO DAYS IN WHICH RIGHTEOUS DEEDS ARE MORE BELOVED TO ALLAH THAN THESE TEN DAYS." The people asked, "NOT EVEN JIHAAD FOR THE SAKE OF ALLAH?" He said, "NOT EVEN JIHAAD FOR THE SAKE OF ALLAH, EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF A MAN WHO WENT OUT TO FIGHT GIVING HIMSELF AND HIS WEALTH UP FOR THE CAUSE, AND CAME BACK WITH NOTHING" (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 2/457).  

Imagine! Even those deeds which are less preferred, in these days are more beloved to Allah than superior deeds done at other times - even Jihaad, which is one of the most superior of all deeds!   SUBHAN ALLAH! ALLAH'S MERCY IS ENDLESS! THE QUESTION IS, ARE WE WILLING TO STRIVE FOR IT?  The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "There are no days more loved to Allah for you to worship Him therein than the ten days of Dhul-Hijja. Fasting any day during it is equivalent to fasting one year and to offer salatul Tahajud (late night prayer) during one of its nights is like performing the late night prayer on (Lilatulqadr) the night of power" [This is related by at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and al-Baihaqi].  

With regards to fasting, that should only be done on nine of first ten days of Dhul Hijjah; the tenth day is the day of Eid when it is haraam to fast as is indicated by the marfoo' hadeeth of Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him): He [the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] forbade fasting on the day of (Eid) al-Fitr and the day of al-Nahr (the day of sacrifice, i.e., Eid al-Adha). Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 1992; Muslim, 827. The scholars are unanimously agreed that it is haraam to fast on these days.   Righteous deeds on these ten days are better than on others.  What can we DO during these days?  

1) Indulge in Dhikr (remembrance of Allah). Our beloved Prophet (saw) said: "There are no other days that are greater before Allah (T), or that good deeds are more beloved to Him in them, than these Ten Days, so say in plenty Tahleel (laa ilaaha illa 'Llaah), Takbeer (Allahu Akbar), and Tahmeed (al-Hamdu lillaah)." [Ahamd & at-Tabarani; authentic] So, while driving to work, running your errands, or enjoying your daily, leisurely walk, moisten your tongue with the praises of Allah.  

2) Fast. This should be easy since the days are sooo short and we still have sweet, fresh memories and habits of Ramadan. So, lets set a target (e.g. 5 fasting days out of 9) and stick to it. And remember- this deed becomes easy especially when we think about the enormous reward in store for us. One of them is- one day of fast distances us 70 years away from hellfire! So, treat yourself with this noble deed especially on the day of Arafah as fasting on this day expiates our sins of the past year and the coming year.  

3) Perform Hajj and Umra. Most of the lucky ones are already on their way. May Allah grant them all a Hajj Mabroor. Ameen.  

4) Do any good deed you can think of: read the Qur'an, do dua, forbid the evil and enjoin good, give charity, smile at your neighbor, be extra nice to your parents/family, pray tahajud, pray with khushoo & fear, make a sacrifice just for the sake of Allah (anything at all), make someone's day? and list goes on & on.  

5) Forsake sins. All the 'not to do deeds' fall under this category. Ask yourself: 'What am I am doing that Allah dislikes?'... and then leave it.   Spice up these days with a variety of virtuous deeds. Surprise your family and friends with your exceptional, cheerful behavior; strengthen your bond with your Rabb and discipline your inner desires & traits.   This is an occasion in which...Allah's love is intensified, the reward is multiplied and the time is limited. Seize it!

Let me try to be a bit less serious this week, maybe even funny?!
Hey, you think my other articles were all funny too? But, those were supposed to be serious!

Let me share with you a story, the story that starts with a question...
That question my friends, is: how did kih start? This is the most popular question I get about kih, so, let me set the record straight.

It was a dark and cold night. We were sitting in the middle of Tim Hortons sipping our hot coffees, talking. Khaleeq and I had decided it was time to do something. Take actions into our own hands. But, what? You see, we had just finished helping with the Muslim Interscholastic Tournament and had time on our hands. We had become tired of being involved only in 3 day stints and waiting 362 days again to be active. As we sat there and threw out ideas like those machines that throw baseball pitches, it came down to what we could afford. And so, it was settled: a blog site that would promote Muslim youth intellect and creativity.  And this is how kih came to be. Yes, like all good things, it started at Tim Hortons. (Do we get our endorsement cheque now?)

And slowly, slowly but surely, the pieces came falling together from there on. It took work, time and dedication. A lot of brainstorming and phone calls that got us nowhere. And now today, what you see is kih: free from affiliations, student run and a platform to be unique. It allows you to get involved, be opinionated and be represented 365 days of the year.

kih has faced many obstacles and difficulties with things not always going as planned but, alhamdulillah we are still here. So, if you have an idea or an ambition, go for it. And the best piece of advice I can give you is to get the right people to work with you.

Thank you Anila, Sajid, Shaheena, Hufsa and Fareedah for all your hard work. There’s definitely more to come. And also, thank you Khaleeq and Asma for setting up the building blocks.

And, of course, kih is nothing without its readers.
Thank you for your support.