Scroll down for report on "Columbia University Caves into
Trump's Demands" by Sr. Aisha
and
"Prophet (SAW) said "Ameen" Three Times" by Sr. Yasmin
and "American Muslim Institutions
Marginalize Palestine for Proximity to Power" by Sis. Saleema Gul
World News
United States
California
March 1 - A large protest was held outside of FCI Dublin.
The Trump administration is attempting to reopen it. The
facility is a women's prison with a dirty history of sexual
and physical abuse of female inmates housed there. It was
shut down as a result of a class action lawsuit filed by
prisoner advocates. Trump wants to use it as an ICE
detention center. The California Collaborative for
Immigration Justice, among other groups, organized the
protest outside the prison. Jamaat Al-Muslimeen applauds the
protestors. It is the duty of every Muslim to stand against
oppression, whether against women, Latinos and other
immigrants targeted by unjust and racist immigration
policies, or other oppressed groups.
Texas
March 22 - On the anniversary of the illegal, transnational
abduction of neuroscientist turned political prisoner Dr.
Aafia Siddiqui was marked by a protest outside of FMC
Carswell. Carswell, which has been dubbed "a rape camp" has
striking similarities to FCI Dublin (see report above), with
reports of rape and other abuse emerging for years. Aafia
supporters and other prisoner rights advocates are working
towards its closure. The Muslimah, who is also a
Hafiza-e-Qur'an, has unfortunately been locked up there
since 2010.
Muslims from many area masajid participated, with some even
sending busloads of constituents to the event. Youthful
speakers took the microphone to launch melodic chants,
which, by all reports, Aafia could hear. Alhamdulillah for
all those doing good works during the days of Laila
tul-Qadr.
Gaza
On March 18, Israel unilaterally broke the ceasefire
agreement with Hamas. In just four days, March 18 - 22, it
had killed 634 Palestinians and injured 1,171. (Al-Jazeera,
March 18, 2025)
Israel attacked the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah with
tanks and helicopters. Paramedics were among those injured.
Red Crescent ambulances were surrounded by Israeli forces,
and prevented from approaching the wounded to help them.
(BBC, March 23, 2025)
Breaking news: Five people were killed and others injured
when Israeli forces hit the Emergency Wing of Nasser
Hospital in Khan Yunus.
Top Hamas Leader Killed
March 23 - Salah al-Bardawil, a top Hamas leader, was
martyred by Israel. The martyrdom occurred in an early
morning Israeli air strike in Khan Yunus, which killed 23.
Bardawil and his wife were performing the salaat together in
their refugee camp tent when they were killed. Hamas issued
a statement saying: "His blood, that of his wife and
martyrs, will remain fueling the battle of liberation and
independence. The criminal enemy will not break our
determination and will."
Yemen
March 18, 2025 - The Houthis targeted the US aircraft
carrier Harry S Truman in the northern Red Sea with two
cruise missiles and two drones.
Malaysia
Malaysia introduced a draft resolution before the UNGA
calling for Israel's expulsion from the United Nations.
Starvation and Savagery as Israel Violates Cease Fire:
The Desperate Actions of a Soon-to-Be Defunct Apartheid State
By Nadrat Siddique
Israel resumed its campaign of genocide in Gaza on March 18,
ending the "ceasefire." Since then, 673 people have been
killed and 1,233 have been injured. Of these, 271 were
children, 146 were women, and 45 were elderly. (Source:
Palestinian Ministry of Health). So the majority of those
killed were women and children.
Israel claims it's breaking the ceasefire for two reasons:
Hamas' failure to return all the hostages and Hamas'
rejection of US proposals.
The question arises: How will mass killing of Palestinian
women and children assist in the return of hostages? And
what right does Israel or the United States have to suddenly
ram down the throat of the Palestinians a new-fangled plan
concocted by President Trump which not only contradicts the
existing cease fire agreement arrived at after months of
negotiations, but also blatantly violates the Geneva
Convention to which the US is signatory?
The fact that Israel entered the cease fire negotiations at
all shows the weakness of its position. The terror state has
a Prime Minister who can be arrested at any time if and when
he travels outside of "Israel." The recent arrest of former
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and his expeditious
transport to the Hague for trial on outstanding "crimes
against humanity" charges ought to have put Netanyahu on
notice that he could be next.
Further, a majority of Americans now oppose Israel and favor
Palestine. This is despite decades of unrelenting propaganda
by the Zionists, and despite the actions of US politicians
acting without mandate from Americans. Americans are
beginning to question the utility of handing over billions
of their tax dollars to the Zionist entity.
Interior areas of "Israel" were hit by Hizbullah. Jews are
emigrating from Israel permanently, and in larger numbers
than ever before. The Houthis continue their attacks on
vessels in the Red Sea taking supplies to Israel.
More recently, moves are being made to expel Israel from the
United Nations. And the genocide case brought against it in
the ICC by South Africa—has a growing number of
co-signatories. These include Mexico, Colombia, and Chile,
all previously aligned with the US.
On top of that, Israel's enabler, the US, is talking
directly to Hamas about the hostages. This is also
unprecedented. While the US claims it did so with Israel's
knowledge and/or approval, this action, too, is highly
unusual given the habitual exclusion of the Palestinians at
negotiations which involve them, from Camp David to Oslo. At
a minimum, it shows that Hamas does have some clout.
October 7 itself was a new normal for Israel, which is used
to bloodletting without any response or recourse from those
whom it targets. And Hamas' refusal in Stage 2 of the
ceasefire to allow itself to be removed from Gaza as a
condition of ceasefire likely also comes as a shock for
Israel. In the White Supremacist tradition Israel expected
Hamas to roll over and play dead.
All of this has resulted in a brave new world for "Israel"
which has always behaved with impunity, cried victim at
every turn while committing the most horrendous war crimes,
and suffered no repercussions.
Unfortunately, Israel's response in this new phase of the
genocide was, first, to resume the starvation of the
Palestinian population; cut their electricity; then to
target them with massive fire power. It's the Palestinians'
holy month, but no matter (to the Zionist entity). Israel's
end is near, inshallah, but in the meantime, the
Palestinians are literally being starved to death, and their
demolished homes, from which they were gradually removing
the rubble in the hopes of rebuilding, are likely to be
leveled again by the Israeli army. In any other conflict
where a civilian population, particularly women, are the
target of horrific crimes, a military coalition, similar to
NATO, would immediately be put together to intervene
militarily. (Recall the Afghanistan analogy, where ISAF
forces were deployed.) If that were to happen, Palestinian
suffering might finally come to an end, and morality
restored.
Guest Editorial
American Muslim Institutions Marginalize Palestine for Proximity to Power
By Saleema Gul
March 12, 2025
As American Muslims observe Ramadan through fasting and
celebration, nearly a year and a half into the U.S.-Israeli
genocide of Palestinians, the community—led largely by
its youth—mobilized last year to cancel political
iftars across the U.S. While some still took place, many
were called off, marking a significant shift and a victory
for principled resistance.
Despite this progress, political iftars are making a
comeback this Ramadan.
In Houston, Texas, the Islamic Society of Greater Houston
(ISGH)—the city's and nation's largest Muslim
organization, overseeing 20 mosques and centers—has
decided to revive its tradition of political iftars by
participating in the annual Houston Mayoral Iftar, despite
publicly condemning it just last year. Even as hundreds of
thousands of Palestinians remain buried under rubble in
Gaza, some American Muslims seem to have moved on.
Given the open hostility of Mayor John Whitmire, ISGH's
participation this year is alarming. On June 6, 2024,
Houston Chronicle journalist Eric Killelea reported that
Whitmire proudly emphasized his "working relationship" with
Houston's Jewish community while commemorating Israel's 76th
anniversary. Whitmire made his allegiances unmistakably
clear: "...and when some of your enemies challenged me to do
a proclamation for a cease-fire, I would not respond."
Additionally, Whitmire attempted to pass an ordinance to
prevent protests in front of elected officials' homes, but
it failed. He accused Pro-Palestinian protestors of being
Iranian agents, an Islamophobic dog whistle that is often
utilized against the Muslim community.
Last year ISGH, unequivocally stated: "The Board has
unanimously felt that due to the atrocities committed
against our brothers and sisters in Gaza and the huge loss
of innocent human life, it should refrain from attending
Iftar events with leaders who fail to renounce the
atrocities and fail to call for a permanent ceasefire openly
and publicly." Additionally, the statement emphasized that
the community's values and that of the mayor were not in
alignment.
ISGH's Troubled History in Regards to "Normalization"
"Normalization," is when Muslim figures and institutions
legitimize pro-Israel figures through symbolic partnerships
while sidelining the Palestinian community. Attending events
like the Houston Mayoral Iftar normalizes Zionism and
whitewashes politicians' token engagement with the Muslim
community, allowing them to support Israel without
accountability.
ISGH has a controversial history regarding the Palestinian
cause—whether through interfaith "faith washing"
programs that host Zionists or anti-Palestinian figures, or
by allowing masjid spaces to be politicized by hosting
politicians who fail to deliver tangible results for our
community.
However, under the previous administration, ISGH briefly
took steps toward course correction. While the previous
administration, not without fault, had its critics, it
recognized the community's frustration and responded
accordingly. In 2021, ISGH placed a temporary moratorium on
interfaith events to ensure that anti-Palestinian figures
would not be part of ISGH's interfaith programming and that
future engagements would involve only reliable partners.
This decision came after nationwide American Muslim backlash
when prominent Houston Imams signed a statement with Rabbis
that not only ignored Israeli occupation and violence but
sanitized the IDF's attack on Masjid Al-Aqsa in 2021.
Instead of explicitly condemning the Israeli military's
violent storming of Al-Aqsa during Ramadan, the statement
used vague language about "violations of sacred spaces."
ISGH later clarified that it had not sanctioned the
statement and that the Imams had signed in their own
individual capacity. Some Imams also took to social media to
explain to the community that they had been unaware of the
statement's contents.
The statement was organized by Shariq Abdul Ghani, Director
of the Minaret Foundation, an interfaith and civic
organization. According to the Jewish Herald-Voice, Ghani
holds membership within the ADL.
ADL claims to be a civil rights organization, but critics
accuse it of leading attacks against prominent Muslim
organizations for their pro-Palestinian and anti-genocide
advocacy. Journalist Tom Perkins, writing for The Guardian,
on July 9, 2024, reported that the ADL had been involved in
spying on an anti-genocide Black organizer. Additionally,
the ADL has fully endorsed the U.S. government's kidnapping
and disappearance of Columbia University student Mahmood
Khalil for his anti-genocide advocacy.
Despite distancing itself from the statement, ISGH took a
definitive step by ceasing interfaith engagement with
Zionist leaders.
Former ISGH President Ayman Kabire also joined other
prominent American Muslim leaders in signing an open letter
urging the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) to sever
ties with the American Jewish Committee (AJC), citing the
AJC's long history of anti-Muslim rhetoric and
anti-Palestinian bigotry. The letter stated: "The AJC has
praised anti-Muslim bigots like Daniel Pipes, Steve Emerson,
and Ayaan Hirsi Ali; since 2018, it has smeared Rep. Rashida
Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and other Muslim Americans who support
Palestinian freedom, spread Islamophobic tropes (including
blaming the Quran for anti-Semitism), and repeatedly
defended war crimes committed by the Israeli government
against the Palestinian people."
While the previous ISGH administration attempted to push
ISGH toward a more principled stance, under newly elected
President Emran Gazi, the organization appears to be
reversing course.
From Malcolm X to Palestine: The Crisis of Muslim Leadership in America
The issues with ISGH—how it engages with politicians
and mishandles the Palestinian cause—are just a
microcosm of a larger crisis within American Muslim
institutions. Across the country, many Muslim organizations
and institutions prioritize political access over principled
resistance, hosting officials and organizations who fund
Israel's crimes while they offer empty platitudes to Muslim
communities.
From New Jersey to New York to Houston, political iftars and
interfaith events serve as a tool to neutralize Muslim
outrage, forcing communities into photo-op diplomacy instead
of pushing for substantive action. Rather than demanding
accountability from those in power, many American Muslim
elites equate "having a seat at the table" with
influence.
ISGH exemplified this contradiction when it hosted a "Muslim
African American History Conference", during its celebration
of Black history month, where some celebrated Malcolm X.
Ironically, ISGH is now engaged in the very political
appeasement Malcolm warned against—he explicitly
condemned leaders who sought validation from oppressors
rather than standing for justice.
Malcolm X was one of the earliest American Muslim figures to
link Black liberation to Palestinian freedom, stating: "I
implore every person of conscience regardless of their
origins or beliefs to stand steadfast with the Palestinian
people in their unwavering quest for justice".
He understood what too many Muslim leaders today refuse to
acknowledge: you cannot serve the oppressed and the
oppressor at the same time.
The Path Forward: Rejecting Performative Politics & Building
True American Muslim Power
Despite the vital work of Muslim-led advocacy organizations
at the national level-lobbying against Israeli aggression,
combating anti-Muslim bigotry, and defending civil
rights-they have largely remained silent on the communal
marginalization of Palestinian Muslims within Muslim
institutions.
Pro-Palestinian causes and voices are often sidelined in
favor of institutional diplomacy, where organizations and
religious leaders engage in highly curated discussions.
These efforts-whether through photo-ops, interfaith panels,
or iftar parties-offer the illusion of inclusion.
At the same time, institutional diplomacy acts as a filter,
creating a false sense of influence, where the mere presence
of Muslim leaders at official gatherings is mistaken for
real political impact, even when little actually changes. In
the end, institutional diplomacy manages dissent rather than
empowering it, ensuring that pro-Palestinian advocacy stays
within boundaries that don't threaten the status quo.
Every American Muslim organization, both large and small,
bears a responsibility to address anti-Palestinian
marginalization within our communities. The Palestinian
cause is not just a foreign policy issue—it is a moral
imperative that speaks to the core of justice in
Islam—and it impacts our domestic policy issues.
Palestinian-American political analyst, AbdelHalim
AbdelRahman, writing for the Center for International
Policy, explains, "Gaza hit home with America's labor unions
and youth, marking foreign policy not as a separate issue
from domestic issues but one intimately bound up in
them."
When Muslim organizations fail to stand for justice, they
alienate their members, especially young people, and
disconnect grassroots leaders from traditional spaces. This
fracturing erodes trust in religious institutions and risks
rendering them irrelevant and morally bankrupt overtime.
Ultimately, it diminishes Muslim collective power, making
advocacy for justice on the national scale less
effective.
As the ethnic cleansing of Palestine continues, and as our
civil rights come under attack, it is no longer enough for
Muslim institutions to fundraise for donations for
Palestine's humanitarian concerns, while undermining the
movement politically. The time for appeasement politics
should have been over last year!
Malcolm X famously stated: "If you turn the other cheek, you
can be enslaved for 1,000 years."
Saleema Gul is a social justice activist and blogger based
in Texas.
The Trump Administration threatened to withhold $400 million
from Columbia University if it did not change its protest
policies. Recently, interim president Katrina Armstrong
announced that Columbia has decided to change its protest
policies, including outlawing protests in its academic
buildings and the wearing of masks except for health
reasons. The Ivy League university even agreed to use the
administration's new definition of "antisemitism." The new
definition was not revealed in the article.
Another condition for gaining access to the $400 million in
federal funding was Columbia University's agreement to put
its Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies
Departments under academic receivership. Under an academic
receivership, Columbia will appoint an outside professor or
administrator to "fix" these departments, which is a rare
step for any university to take.
The media and academic professionals have criticized the
Trump Administration's moves as unprecedented and an attack
on academia. However, in May 2016, former President Barack
Obama did something similar when his administration directed
that U.S. public schools add transgender bathrooms under
Title IX. Unlike Trump's, which is a form of extortion,
Obama's directive had no teeth and could not force
compliance.
In addition to Columbia University, $175 million in federal
funding has been withheld from Penn State, another Ivy
League school, because it allowed a transgender woman to
join its women's swim team. This latest move is a crackdown
on transgender collegiate athletes.
Source: NY1.com & whyy.org
Guidance from Sis. Yasmin
Prophet (SAW) said "Ameen" Three Times" (Ramadan Hadith)
~Kaab bin Ujrah relates~{May Allah be pleased with him}
Prophet ﷺ~ said...
Come near to the 'Mimbar'
and we came near to the 'Mimbar'.
when he ascended the first step of the 'Mimbar'
he ﷺ said ---
*Aameen*
when he ascended the second
step of the 'Mimbar' he said ---
*Aameen*
when he ascended the third step
he said---
*Aameen*
When he ﷺ descended we said---
' O Prophet of Allah,
we have heard from you today something
which we never heard before'.
he ﷺ~said ---
' When I ascended the first step ---
Jibreel [A.S.]
appeared before me and said---
'Woe to him who found the blessed month
of 'Ramadan' and let it pass by without
gaining forgiveness'
upon that I said---
*Aameen*.
When I ascended the second step,
he said---
'Woe to him before whom thy name is mentioned
and then does not read 'Durood'
(Salat alan Nabi) on you'.
I replied---
*Aameen*.
When I ascended the third step
he said ---
'Woe unto the person in whose presence
both parents or one of them attain old age and
(through failure to serve them)
is not allowed to enter 'Jannah'.
I said---
*Aameen*.