Illume Magazine

Talking Elections With The President

Fri, 21 Nov. 2008 01:29:59 PST

Former President Jimmy Carter lives an illustrious life that can be traced from his beginnings in Plains, Ga. A career in politics surfaced after he spent time in the Navy and tended to the family farm. Carter served in the Georgia Senate and then became the Governor of Georgia before he was sworn in as the 39th President of the United States of America. After his term from 1977-1981, he has remained a dedicated public servant with his many humanitarian endeavors. In 1982, Former President Carter and his wife Rosalyn founded the Carter Center which, according to the organization’s website, “is committed to advancing human rights and alleviating unnecessary human suffering”. To this day, he remains heavily involved with the work of the Center. In addition, he is also the author of 23 books.

Twin Bombings

Thu, 20 Nov. 2008 01:35:22 PST

Both Javed Ali and Amir Baluch died instantly in the bomb blasts that went off during Benazir Bhutto’s homecoming procession on Oct. 18 after her 8-year self-imposed exile.

Should Muslims Use The 'N' Word?

Thu, 20 Nov. 2008 01:11:15 PST

I was recently involved in a forum entitled, Should Muslims Use The ‘N’ Word. The event could have more appropriately been entitled, Should Anyone Use The ‘N’ Word? However, the reason for the gathering was the frequency young Muslims, of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, are employing the term. One of the individuals whose suggestion inspired the forum mentioned that he was shocked—upon returning to the university after an absence of several years—by how frequently he was hearing other Muslims on campus saying, “My nigga,” “What’s up nigga,” “Where you niggas going,” and similar expressions.

Using Hip-Hop To Defeat The Devil

Thu, 20 Nov. 2008 01:03:35 PST

I grew up in Oakland between two areas. My mother’s on 11th Avenue, which was known as Funktown, and 43rd Sstreet in North Oakland with my younger cousins and uncles. I was raised on Reaganomics and the crack epidemic. Post civil rights era demise. A lot of activists and freedom fighters were smoked out on dope. Most of them were dead. I mean, even if they were alive physically the legacy wasn’t alive in us, as far as the 90s generation was concerned. No disrespect, but the only direct contact I had with Huey Newton was painting his mural on the hoop court at Mosswood Park after he got shot. I mean, besides Paris, we didn’t have a clue about none of the glory of the legacy of the civil rights era. We really didn’t bump no East Coast records, and it was a chosen few that really got played in the hood. Oh, and Askari X, we stayed bumping that too.

The Crescent And The Mic

Thu, 20 Nov. 2008 00:55:13 PST

I sat there in my pajamas, hypnotized by the woofer pulsing as the crowd cried to the heavens with Malcolm. It was a happy, yet seemingly insignificant moment in my life, that is, until 1988. That was the year I bought Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back on the first day it came out.

An Apology

Thu, 20 Nov. 2008 00:50:57 PST

On Sept. 11, 2008, while countless American flags whipped in the wind and the television and radio waves were dominated by remembrances, recordings, and stories about the terror attacks of seven years ago, I attended the funeral of Warith Deen Muhammad. For me, it was a somber day, but I found myself mostly lost in thought: about African-American Muslim communities, about the challenges ahead in Muslim-American institution-building, and about the future of Islam in America. If you don’t know who Warith Deen Muhammad was, you should look him up. The Sufis say, “The true sage belongs to his era.” And of the many gifts given to Warith Deen Muhammad by God, perhaps the most obvious and beneficial one was his profound understanding of the principles of religion, and adeptness at intelligently applying those Islamic principles in a socially and culturally appropriate manner befitting the everyday lives of his North American followers. While carefully respecting sound, traditional jurisprudential methodologies of the Islamic religion, and the collective religious history and time-honored scholarship of classical Islam, he promulgated creative ideas and dynamic teachings across many domains of human endeavor, including theology, law, spirituality and even ethics and aesthetics, that together articulated a vision for a quintessentially Muslim-American cultural identity. And he did all of this before anyone else, with quiet strength and unending humility—a true sage indeed.

Star Wars: An Islamic Perspective

Sat, 30 Aug. 2008 05:57:10 PST

As most “Star Wars” fans know, director George Lucas took spiritual elements, which are common in most major world religions to create his epic saga of good vs. evil. As a Muslim, I always thought of the “Jedi” as what a true follower of Islam should be like. Never mind the fact Jedi masters with their North African style cloaks and scruffy beards look like Sufi Sheikhs, but they way they are taught to respect a greater power, fight for the defense of the innocent and honor a code of morals and ethics in order to bring about peace and justice to their society, is basically what Islam teaches all Muslims to strive for. So what really is the connection between these similar Islamic principles and the fictional “Jedi Order” of the Star Wars saga?

The PhD Kid

Fri, 06 June 2008 00:43:04 PST

The measuring stick by which an MC’s skills are determined truly depends on who’s holding it. These days, the depth of one’s talent is overlooked to estimate the weight of platinum one wears around his neck. A synthetic persona, often manufactured by marketing experts, now outweighs the authentic performer that once hypnotized devout hip hop congregates. The MC of yesteryear was a product of his environment and a genius of the incredibly complex world around him. This individual was organically bound to a skill set of lyricism, originality, finesse, wit, tempo, stage presence and the capacity to grandstand impromptu if called to the occasion.

The Muslims Of Cham

Fri, 06 June 2008 00:34:58 PST

“There are two types of Muslims in Cambodia,” said Sary Abdulah, president of the Islamic National Movement for Democracy of Cambodia. The two groups include: Sunni Muslims, and Fojihed Muslims, who follow an ancient Cham interpretation of the religion.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama And The Fate Of America

Fri, 06 June 2008 00:22:47 PST

As we celebrated the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on a national holiday dedicated to his honor, many people point to the surging presidential candidacy of Barack Obama as evidence of how far this country has come in terms of race relations since the days of the Civil Rights struggle led by Dr. King. Many see Obama’s campaign as the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream. As they would point out, here is a man who is being judged based on the content of his character, and not on the color of his skin. Could anything be more representative of the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream than that?