Sikander Hayat's America

Home - That's what Hamza Warsame's friends and family in Seattle's Somali American community come back to again and again: Hamza , just 16, was only one sura, or chapter, away from finishing Islam's central text. He was a great studier. The American-born son of two refugees from Somalia, Hamza dreamed of studying computer science at MIT. He was already taking classes at Seattle Central College, which is where he said he was headed the last time his family saw him, on Dec. 5. Even for someone as diligent as Hamza, his plans that day were unusual. He never left home on a Saturday to study at school, his sister Ikram Warsame recalled. As he left around 2:40 p.m., his family — doing what families do with children everywhere — reminded Hamza to come home safe. Read the full story here. 

Home - The last real conversation Gasser Shehata had with Syed Rizwan Farook at the Dar-al-Uloom al-Islamiya mosque was about ISIS. After Islamic State extremists claimed responsibility for downing a Russian airliner above Egypt’s Sinai desert, Shehata voiced his indignation to Farook and Shehata’s friend Abdurrahmaan Ali in the parking lot following afternoon prayers. If they hate Russia, then they should fight its army rather than kill innocent people, including 17 children, Shehata recalled telling them. Farook, a man of few words, just stood there and said nothing. In fact, they said they never heard Farook, who had been coming to the mosque two to three times a week on his lunch break for two years, make any comments about politics or violence at all. About a month later, Farook, a San Bernardino County environmental health specialist, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, opened fire at a social service center in San Bernardino, killing 14 people — including many of his co-worker...

“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

AMERICA faces another bitter and almost certainly fruitless debate about gun control, violent crime, the assimilation of Muslims and even the sincerity of politicians’ public prayers, following a mass shooting in San Bernardino, a working-class city deep in the California desert, 60 miles east of Los Angeles, on December 2nd. The attacks left 14 people dead and wounded at least 17, making it the nation’s deadliest mass shooting since the massacre almost three years ago at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. The shooting began around 11am, after two attackers entered a holiday party for county health workers in black masks and tactical gear. After a car chase in the afternoon, the police killed both suspects. Read the Full story here  HOME