Sikander Hayat's America

The love affair between certain segments of the Confederacy and Donald Trump , the 45th President of the United States , is a complex phenomenon that intertwines historical, cultural, and political factors. This blog aims to explore the reasons behind the affinity some individuals in former Confederate states developed for Trump , examining how his policies, rhetoric, and persona resonated with certain aspects of their identities. The legacy of the Confederacy and its Civil War history continues to influence some individuals in former Confederate states. For some, Trump 's " Make America Great Again " slogan might have stirred sentiments of nostalgia, harking back to an era they perceive as a time of greater prosperity and traditional values. This historical resonance could be seen as an appeal to a lost past, which Trump implicitly promised to restore during his campaign. The Confederacy' s love affair with Trump can be linked to cultural conservatism . Many resid

Donald Trump 's presidency evoked strong reactions from various groups within the United States , and American Muslims were no exception. From his controversial statements on the campaign trail to his policies while in office, Trump 's relationship with American Muslims has been a topic of significant discussion and debate. This blog aims to explore the multifaceted nature of Trum p's engagement with the American Muslim community, highlighting key moments and policies that shaped this complex relationship. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump made several controversial statements regarding Muslims , which ignited concerns and fears within the American Muslim community. One of the most significant moments was his call for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" in the aftermath of the San Bernardino shooting. While Trump 's supporters viewed these statements as a bold stance on national security , many Americ

Home - In Dearborn, Michigan, American Muslims held a march to denounce ISIS. As in they held an actual parade to condemn ISIS and ISIS' version of Islam which is, uncannily enough, exactly what many shrieking xenophobes (e.g. sitting congressman and King of the Mole Rats Steve King) have been demanding American Muslims "do" in order to disassociate themselves with the bad people. You know what happened next, right? It took about 10 days for conservatives online to start sending each other pictures of the march with claims that it was a rally in support of ISIS. Jesse Singal: "This is Dearborn Michigan after the radical Islamic attack in California ! These are Isis flags and Isis supporters folks but the media has not reported because of politically correctness.” It had been shared almost 3,700 times, and I also found a tweet with the same photo that had been retweeted more than 1,300 times. I assured the guy who had messaged me that if ISIS were openly demo

“And then the cynicism, the cynicism tonight to spend a significant amount of time talking about discrimination against Muslims,” said Marco Rubio, Florida senator and US presidential candidate, incredulously, in response to president Obama’s Dec. 6 speech on terrorism. “Where is there widespread evidence that we have a problem in America with discrimination against Muslims?” A quick Google search would have yielded Rubio plenty of evidence. A Pew study from 2014 gauging how Americans feel about different religious groups showed Muslims coming in solid last. According to the FBI, although the number of hate crimes fell in 2014 from the preceding year (in most categories, including anti-LGBT, anti-black, anti-Latino and anti-Jewish crimes), the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes rose. Muslim Americans are five times more likely to be the victim of a hate crime today than before 9/11. Read the full story here.  Home 

“We love everybody, you know? We’re scared,” one woman, wearing a head scarf and holding a small child, told WUSA-TV. At a rally following the worship service, the national lawmakers joined state representatives to slam anti-Muslim rhetoric and pledge their support for those at the mosque. “We can come today to say that we stand in total solidarity with you, and we represent millions more,” Holmes Norton said at the rally. “Religious freedom and anti-discrimination are paramount importance to me and to most, almost all, of our colleagues,” Beyer said. The mosque of choice for the elected officials, as reported by the Washington Times, is the same mosque that Anwar al-Awlaki, an accused al Qaeda recruiter, served as an imam at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Washington Examiner reported that some of the hijackers worshipped at the mosque as well as the Fort Hood shooter. WUSA reported that only Democrats attended the service in Virginia. Read the full story h

Only hours after news broke that a suspect in a mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., had a Muslim name, the well-practiced organizations that represent American Muslims to the broader public kicked into action, as they routinely do after each terrorist attack attributed to Muslim extremists. They issued news releases condemning the attacks as inhuman and un-Islamic, posted expressions of grief on Facebook and held news conferences in which Muslim leaders stood flanked by American flags alongside clergy of other faiths and law enforcement officials. “Groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda,” Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said at a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, “are trying to divide our society and to terrorize us. Our message to them is we will not be terrorized and we will not be intimidated,” either by the terrorists or, he said, “by hatemongers who exploit the fear and hysteria that results from incidents like this.” But the messa

When I was writing this piece for Layali Webzine, I was asked by one of its editors on whether or not I was afraid as a Muslim American in the wake of so many tragedies around the world. I had to take a second to think about it. It wasn't a simple yes or no answer. I looked back at the 27 years of being Muslim in America and being able to practice my faith in this country, my country. I thought of the many times I was able to pray in public without fear. The day I chose to wear the hijab in fourth grade, despite my parents' hesitation, I knew I would be supported by loving neighbors, classmates and friends. My faith has always been the foundation of my identity. My character. My style. The hijab has never been just a piece of fabric on my head, but it was and still is me. Read the full story here.  HOME

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — I SPENT this semester teaching creative writing at Lehigh University. I’ve been a soldier, a police officer and an interrogator. So hearing students call me “Professor” and assigning homework was a significant change of pace. But the course’s title, Writing War, kept me from straying too far from the memories that have haunted me over the last decade. I am grateful to Lehigh for the opportunity to teach the course. The school’s willingness to put a veteran in the classroom is the very thing this country needs to be doing in order to collectively process what the last 13 years of war have wrought. But teaching a class about war reminded me daily that I am no college professor. I was an interrogator at Abu Ghraib. I tortured. Continue reading the main story RELATED IN  OPINION Editorial: The Senate Report on the C.I.A.’s Torture and Lies DEC. 9, 2014 Here Come the Torture Apologists DEC. 9, 2014 Torture and Responsibility DEC. 9, 2014 Op

In John Whitehead’s chilling new book,  “A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State,”  there is a photo of a young Rev. Martin Luther King being arrested by two police officers. The photo is not unusual for the era of the Civil Rights Movement, and we are now decades removed from the incident. Yet it is jarring when one thinks on it for a moment: An American citizen, peacefully protesting legitimate injustice, is hauled off to jail. In the classic human justification, it happened to “him.” This is the essence of Whitehead’s book, and the fairly famous libertarian exposes a growing police state in this country that is flat-out scary. That doesn’t mean we should avert our eyes, however – just the opposite. An interesting quote that opens Chapter 10 (“Dominate. Intimidate. Control.”) comes from passengers’ rights advocate Kate Hanni: “They’re trying to scare the pants off the American people that we need these things. … Fear is a commodity, and they’re selling it.