Known to the American government as "prisoner #345,"former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Sami Al-Hajj was re-acquainted with his son who he last saw 7 years ago when the boy was 9 months old.
Frail and malnourished from the effects of torture and a 2 year hunger strike, Al-Hajj's weak body (strapped to an ambulance cot) was transported back to his country of origin, Sudan, and taken straight to a Khartoum hospital after he was released from gitmo.
The Al-Jazeera journalist was captured by American forces while covering America's "war on terror" on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He was detained at gitmo for 7 years without ANY charges brought against him! He described the lurid conditions of his detainment, "rats were treated with more humanity." Explicated in greater detail, is the heartbreaking story of Sami Al-Hajj's unjust detention at Guantanamo Bay as told by Al-Jazeera English:
Interesting Facts about the Sami Al-Hajj case:
He explained that the reason for his detention was "to silence the work of free media."
According to Al-Hajj, detainees were banned from praying.
"Rats were treated with more respect," said Sami Al-Hajj of the conditions at gitmo.
He was interrogated 130 times. Roughly 125 times of those investigations have focused solely on Al Jazeera. According to his lawyer, Americans wanted Sami to say that Al-Jazeera was funded by Al-Qaeda.
Al-Hajj underwent a 2-year hunger strike. In response, American forces in gitmo force fed him with a feeding tube shoved down his throat.
He was the only journalist to be detained in Guantanamo Bay
US authorities invited him to spy on Al-Jazeera activities.
As one Kabob-er noted, sometimes our internal conversations on the listserv are more interesting than our actual posts. The following is a conversation between Kabob-ers regarding the "Wiping out a family is how Israel says 'no'" post written by Mohammad:
Excen-Tarik: I started to write (about the story) and I was too tired to be as angry as I wanted to be.
Emily: The really sad thing that I thought when I first saw this email is that it becomes difficult to muster enough energy to be sufficiently sad and angry over tragedies like this. It becomes just one more.
Makes it even more important to blog about it I suppose.
Excen-Tarik: It really does. I was gonna write within the context of the Israeli army spokeswoman Avital Lieberman's callous denial of having anything to do with it... something along the lines of "sorry, but you have to realize that they died because of the terrorists, not because the tank shell hit them..." you know? hella ironic and cynical as fuck...
Mohammad: Ithink you should still go through with that. The other Israeli explanation i heard was that they targeted two militants, and that their missile set off the explosives carried by the militants; and it was those explosives that killed the family. Then of course you realize the only other person killed near the home was a 17 year old schoolboy, so the Israeli army says 'he might have been a militant.'
Excen-Tarik: I know right? Thats what I was talking about: the fact that they said it was "bags" full of explosives that killed them. Does it really make a difference when a TANK SHELL is fired at them? I mean, c'mon... bags of explosives and according to al-jazeera international 4 tank shells were fired- one of which landed 10 meters from the house they were in. The "militants" were reportedly over 100 meters away from the house- and NO ONE has witnessed these "bags" or anything like that- only the shells being fired on 2 younger palestinians. AND there was shrapnel from the shells all over the fucking kitchen they were eating in. You can't fit a qassam in a "bag" man- you know? Fuck.... im so pissed about it. For real.
I'm sure we're all hurting right now- sorry about my emotional shit...
Mohammad: What pisses me off the most (and its sad to say this because i've become almost desensitized to the idea of Palestinian families being wiped out) is how Israel can get away with shit like this with the weakest explanations. I mean, their excuses don't hold any water at all, and yet people take their word as fact when the most basic armchair investigation disproves everything they say. Why is it more believable to so many that Palestinians are responsible for their own deaths, even in the midst of israeli attacks?
Excen-Tarik: seriously, habibi. well said. its such a fucking shame.
Maytha: It kinda parallels how an unarmed black man can be shot 50 times by three cops (including one who reloaded his gun) the night before his wedding, and the cops who weren't forced to face a jury (only a judge), could be acquitted on ALL counts-blemish-free! And there is NO outrage on TV, in newspapers, on the radio, and some have sheik even had the never to say, "well we have to have compassion for the cops, and realize the kinda of stress they might be facing that contributed to this." The world has become so desensitized to the brutal and senseless slaughter of black people as it has to Palestinian families murdered in cold blood (and used pathetic excuses to cover it up).
I think we need to start making these kind of connections, like that of Sean Bell, to take the consciousness about and active support for Palestine a reality outside our circles. Because, when we post stories like these, who really becomes shocked? It's people already aware of the immoral conduct of the Zionist state and its mis-writting of history who read the stories that we post on Palestine.
QuiQui: Hear hear.
Mohammad: I completely agree with Maytha. I think this is an aspect of Zionut assholism that has been neglected by activists for decades-facing their untruths head on and disproving them. They've managed to discredit us-its sad we've let them become the trusted source for anything to do with Palestine. And connecting it to stuff like Sean Bell's murder is important-back in my younger days, in the 60's and 70's, I remember how popular the Palestinian cause was because it was linked to social justice and independence movements worldwide.
QuiQui: Maybe it's just because I'm from L.A., but I swear I thought NYC would riot after I heard about the aquittal. But nothing. There's not enough outrage. Neither civil disobedience nor uncivil disobedience. Isn't the always looming threat of outrage precisely what is supposed to keep democracy in check? Hmmm.
"We might fight with each other but I promise you this we will burn this shit down -- get us pissed" -- Tupac Shakur, To Live & Die in LA
Mohammad: Can't remember where I read about that-that they managed to avoid the rioting because the 'police had made inroads into the community' or some bullshit like that.
Fadi: I think they might just support police killing black men out there... I think NYC might just be whack, i had an mp3 of Bruce Springstein singing his song "American Skin (41 shots)" about Amidou Diallo in NYC and you can hear the crowd is booing him for some odd reason, and then I remember reading how the head of the NYC chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police called Springstein a "Faggot" because he wrote this song that has such contentious (sarcasm) lyrics as "is it a gun, is it a knife, is it a wallet, this is your life, it ain't no secret, you can get killed just for livin in ur american skin" or something like that. What's up New York!
QuiQui: I wouldn't be surprised if it's those effing community organizations that, under the guises of cultural centers, are de facto front groups for the government. They're kept operating through funding from the State and municipal governments and exist to monitor and collect data on the marginalized communities they pretend to serve. As history has shown, you always gotta have a ripe set of collaborators to help do the bidding of the oppressor.
Starplex Cinemas may have tried to halt the screening of the film this past weekend in Irvine, California, but thanks to LinkTV, the whole world can watch the previously banned documentary on the Sami Al-Arian case online for free! I finished watching the hour-long documentary last night and was moved to tears.
And check out all previous posts by Emily, Will, Fadi (and some random KABOB-er named Ibrahim) and I on the case, the film, and petitions and community efforts to free Sami Al-Arian
Coming under pressure from "anti-Muslim bigots," Starplex Cinemas in Irvine decided to cancel a screening of the USA vs Sami Al-Arian this past Monday. The cinema breached a contract signed with CAIR-LA to show the film at their theatre in Irvine today, just a week before screening. Here are more details about the incident:
Calif. Theater Cancels Al-Arian Doc After Pressure from ‘Anti-Muslim Bigots’
(ANAHEIM, CA, 4/17/08) - The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) said today that Starplex Cinemas succumbed to pressure by “anti-Muslim bigots” and canceled a screening of "USA vs. Al-Arian," a documentary highlighting the injustices faced by former Florida professor Dr. Sami Al-Arian.
CAIR-LA officials say Starplex Cinemas breached a signed agreement to screen the documentary.
When the Starplex-owned Woodbridge 5 theater in Irvine, Calif., canceled its contract on Monday, the company released the following statement on a blog: "Starplex Cinemas has no ties or relations with the organization that rented the theater to do a film screening. The intent and content of the film was not disclosed. We have not political affilication [sic] and have canceled the screening. We thank the community for brining [sic] this to our attention. For any questions or comments, please contract [sic] Kristen Wheaton at kwheaton@starplexcimemas.com."
"By succumbing to pressure from anti-Muslim bigots, Starplex Cinemas sends the message that only some points of view deserve to be heard," CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush. "It is un-American for any group to stifle free speech by seeking to censor political views."
Ayloush said another theater has agreed to screen the documentary this evening. The theater, also located in Irvine, is a newer facility and is able to accommodate an additional 100 guests. That facility is also coming under pressure from the same anti-Muslim sources.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, in 2006, revered French actress Brigette Bardot wrote a letter to now president of France, Sarkozy, protesting that the Muslim method for slaying sheep for Eid Al-Kabeer. However, more problematic were the sentences that followed:
"We're fed up with being led around by this whole population which is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing its acts," she wrote.
With the possibility of paying 15,000 euros ($25,000) for "inciting racial hatred toward the Muslim community," the French starlet, with a history of "similar offenses," could face her fifth fine (my favorite part of the story):
Prosecutor Anne de Fontette said she was "a bit tired" of pursuing the former starlet for the same offense. Bardot has been convicted of similar offenses on four previous occasions since 1997 and fined $2,250-$7,500.
Why does every Western representation, photo-essay, primetime special feature on Muslims in America exclusively focus on the muhajabat when portraying the American Muslim woman experience?
Time magazine's online photo-essay "Muslim in America" features 16 pics of "ordinary" Muslim activity in New York. Ironically, I have a good amount of friends featured in this pictorial account of Muslim life in NYC.
The only scene with a hijab-less Muslim woman is one in which girls who look to be between the ages of 5-8 are playing in elegant dresses at a Muslim wedding reception.*
Within this context of a monolithic representation of female Muslim American identity, where does that leave me and others like me who don't choose to veil? Where are our voices and images? And why you ask, is it important to include us in the Muslim American narrative?
Well, for one, I am tired of ignorant-ass, non-Muslim people CONSTANTLY coming up to me judging my Islamic authenticity based on the fact that I don't wear a hijab. The overall perception in my experience with those unfamiliar with the religion and culture is that a Muslim woman's obligations are to:
1. Veiling: to cover one's head and body. 2. Abstain from eating pork and drinking liquor 3. Subordination to men: obedience towards one's husband/men in a woman's life.
For them, Americans unfamiliar with Islamic religious and cultural practices and expressions of faith, these outward performances become primary indicators of a woman's level of devotion to her Islamic faith. Although I shouldn't and don't necessary care how dominant culture perceives me, what I am concerned about is how we as a Muslim community encourage and accommodate this monocular exoticism of our women. Islamically, it is acceptable to cover, and it's permissible not to. But, have our Muslim American marketing strategies failed because we follow suit with how the West wants to represent what appear to be "exotic" religious practices, instead of pushing for a more diverse representation. I am awaiting the day when a Muslim female public intellectual/talking head/ pundit or sitcom/drama character who does not veil makes it onto our flat and silver screens.
Understandably, post-9/11, Muslim groups and organizations worked overtime on publicity campaigns to alter America's perception of muhajabat. Very visibly, these women, empowered because they "can do anything a Muslim man or Independent, modern American woman can do," became the poster-child of the American Muslima movement, and I dare say, the face of Islam in America. I feel like in pre-emptetively tempering hostility towards muhajabat, us un-veiled sisters' suffering has gone unaccounted for. Besides the fact that our devotion to our faith is constantly questioned by both Muslims and non-Muslims alike; our experiences are regarded as invalid in the discourse and visual representation of what it means to be a Muslim in America. All I'm asking is to include our voices and experiences in the construction of this narrative.
Is it finally kool to associate the kuffiyah with palis and other Arabs? To buy a shirt described as an "Armed and Dangerous" look and one that portrays Palestinians as "Victimized"???? I wonder what Stand With US will have to say about this, especially since the shirt is being sold on Urban Outfitters' website.
This is a bold move for Urban Outfitters, which last year, under pressure from the Israel advocacy organization Stand With Us, temporarily halted nation-wide sale and distribution of their "anti-war woven scarf," ahem kuffiyah. However, this time, if the Zionist coming attacking once again, what will they say? It's not like they can hide the shirt's prominently displayed Pali-ness-I mean the shirt does stamp the Palestinian flag right on the front of it. Well, it could always euphesmatically re-name the flag like it did the scarf, perhaps calling it "art deco design African nationalist" flag shirt.
The shirt is also being sold on French site Ma Garde Robe for $56.19-that's 39 euro if you were concerned.
However, more interesting than UO's sale of the shirt, is the clothing company that manufactured the shirt: Los Angeles-based Men and Women's Freshjive clothing line.
A good chunk of their collection is sold on Karma Loop. After looking through Karmaloop's full collection of Freshjive tees, other even more interesting and controversial images materialized. Going for $22.00 is a tee with an image of a young Yasser Arafat (with dark-lens glasses and a kuffiyah as well-go fig!) with the phrase "The Good Ole Days" running under the pic. The last halting Arab-related image I found in Freshjive's newest collection on Karma Loop was a $23.00 T-shirt called "The Oil Rules" tee featuring a swarty Abdullah-looking Saudi Royal decked out in traditional garb-a white kuffiyah, aqal, darkly-tinted avatar sunglasses, sweeping robe, a cigar in one hand and a enigmatic can in the other.
In assessing this new phenomenon, of featuring radical Arab figures as the ironic iconic t-shirt emblem du jour, I ask: Is this a counter movement to the presumed ignorance surrounding the kuffiyah kraze or just a fetishism of the cool West-despised anti-hero?
Lastly, it's an interesting statement for a Woman and Men's clothing line to carry to such images for exclusively for their male line. Instead of Yasser, the women get Tina Turner and and a bubble gum wrapper as part of their ironic t-shirt choices. [Tarbouch Tip: Aseil]
Al-Jazeera English's investigative newsmagazine, Frontline, produced an episode devoted to exploring the power and pull of the Israel Lobby in the US called "Lobbying for Israel." Here is the story on the "programme's" website:
It is said to be the most powerful interest group in Washington DC - but what is the Israel lobby? And how exactly does it operate?
As the race to the White House heats up, there is one policy on which all the presidential candidates can agree - the US relationship with Israel.
Israel is the world's largest recipient of US aid, taking in roughly $3bn in direct assistance every year.
It is an aid relationship unlike any other in the world - and by far the most generous foreign aid programme ever between any two countries.
Yet for decades, the US has criticised Israel for its policy of building settlements on occupied Palestinian land.
Every president from Jimmy Carter to George Bush has warned Israel to put a halt to its settlement expansion - and yet the settlements continue to go up, and the aid money continues to pour in.
How could this be? Many have attributed it to the so-called Israel lobby - a powerful coalition of interest groups working to promote a pro-Israel agenda in Washington DC.
For Israel's friends on Capitol Hill it can mean tens - sometimes hundreds - of thousands of dollars worth of campaign contributions from political action committees.
For Israel's enemies? It can mean the end of a political career.
So just how powerful is the pro-Israel lobby in America, and where is US policy heading from here?
That is the question for this week's Frontline USA.
After 4 and a half years of waiting, of stalkerishly following the filmmaker's every move, of hounding her down any chance I got, of watching and re-watching the online trailer, of forwarding and re-forwarding the trailer, of blogging anything affiliated with the film's stars and pr ogres, of feeling like a nerdy Star Wars fan-all of that Luvox-necessitating obsessive fixating was somewhat normalized yesterday. Because yesterday marked the long-awaited NYC screening of Pali-American filmmaker Jackie Salloum's Sundance entry "Slingshot Hip Hop" at the MoMA (actually the second of two this past weekend). In a future post I will provide a much more expansive review of the film. So for now, all I will say is that, just like our very own Mehammed, it was all that and a bag of batata-satiating obscenely high expectations set by half a decade's worth of hungering and craving.
But for now, enjoy Abeer's (the vocals behind the chorus for DAM's "Born Here" video) post film screening singing (sorry in advance for the random head moment towards the end of the video):
DJ Khaled, sporting a Terror Squad piece over "Allah" bling, on his former moniker and the Arab American dream: "I want to own gas stations, cornerstores...I want to do it all"
If I were to do an anthropologically-inspired power point presentation for this interview, here would be some key points I would devote slides to:
1. "The best" as a discursive tradition: Drawing from the communal spirit of Arab culture, "the best" is a shared cultural practice, one for "we" and not just "I."
A. Defining "the best":
"Why did you go with "we the best." "Cause we the best...if you don't want to be part of the best, you aren't the best."
B. Greetings, discursive affirmations, and conversational closers: The hip hop, southern-inspired version of a "Ma Salaama" or an "Araf-tee Keif" or "know what I'm saying?" or "word", a discursive affirmation or conversational closer, seems to be "we are the best."
2. Memory in the Diaspora: Arab American second generation youth haven't forgotten about their history and roots: gas stations and cornerstores.
3. Pseudonyms and Identity Construction: Is DJ Khaled's rejection of the moniker "Arab Attack" an act of assimilation or one culturally resisting Arab stereotypes, and therefore taking ownership over self-determining identity?
Founder of 24-hour paparazzi-driven celebrity stalker service website, Hollywoodtv, proclaimed in a Nightline news interview on a story on "The Britney Economy"(prefaced by a fiercely uncool middle-aged, stiff, anchor intro-ing the story with the phrase "fo real") that he was divinely inspired by God to follow Britney Spears. On a pligramige to Hajj, the British-born Muslim founder of the website, Sheeraz Hasan, said that during a trip to one of the remote mountain tops in Saudi Arabia, a message appeared from God. The message?
Follow Britney Spears.
Convinced that only divine intervention could position a Western pop culture magazine with Britney Spears gracing the front cover on a deserted hillside in Saudi Arabia during a time of spiritual awakening, he took this as a clear indication from God as to what his calling in life would be; founding a webstie dedicated to round the clock surveillance of the tabloid queen. I wonder if when I go Mecca to complete the Hajj I will be directed by the divine to produce a company devoted to making a profit out of manipulating someone's bad fortunes-nice representation of the faith Sheeraz! Keep up the iman!
As noted in an earlier post about the actress's work with Iraqi refugees, Arabina Jolie, with a prominently displayed "3zeema"("strength" or "will") on her arm, appeared to be one of the few and possibly only celebrity with an Arabic tattoo on her body. Surprisingly, as recent internet pics have proven, this is not the case. A rumor spreading on the internet and blogsphere like fire is that of Brad Pitt inking up his lower back out of inspiration from Jolie with an Arabic tattoo. However, the only pic on the net that points to that discovery is too small to discern what is written and even to make out the alphabet in use! If anyone sees a more reliable pic, please send it K-fest's way.
RHIANA: Giving my father more reason to enigmatically celebrate this talentless, shamelessly pop princes , Rhianna went ahead and got "hurriyah," freedom in Arabic, tattooed to the leftside of her back. Thank you celebrity-obsessed, online paparazzi Perez Hilton for posting the pics and his ignorance along with it. Only after 283 comments in response to the post was he made aware of the goldmine he found. As an update on the post, he noted that: "A lot of readers are commenting that the tat is "Freedom" in Arabic."
CORRIE KYM RYDER
The award-winning British soap opera star Corrie Kym Ryder (Doesn't it look like a porn star name? That's what my out-of-touch with pop culture self thought before I googled her. I mean, doesn't every overly-make-up-ed twenty-something Brit woman look like either a drag queen or a porn star?) tatted her left arm is an Arabic transliteration of "David" and below that,"Emily."
HOT SYRIAN GUY IN LA
And the last notable mention, a celebrity in my own heart, because like a devoted teenie bopper, I would definitely have this man's pic up on my wall: an uber-sizzling half-Syrian bartender at a bar in Santa Monica on Wilshire and 11th tatted his bicep with two important words to him in Arabic to acknowledge his Arab heritage. I wish I could remember those words, but I was too busy oogling his remarkably chiseled features. Anyways....
Considering the unprecedented popularity of kuffiyahs in America (quite literally in NYC, as the expression goes: it's a wrap!), shishas on the hip-est big-city teenager's lips, and now Arabic tattoos, is there an indication that protracted contact with the Arab world and concern for the "Arab Street" (albeit for all the wrong war-mongering reasons) has translated in Americans embracing the new Arab cool? What do you think? Seen any Arabophilic trends in your hometown to speak off?
Who says the kuffiyah doesn't have deadly intentions?
Those media-controlling, misleading liberal pundits that's who! The proof of it's violently evil nature is in its latest mutation:
This obnoxiously bright Urban Outfitter-color inspired variant, selling at $49.00 a pop in a too cool for non-hipsters NYC boutique on Spring street in SoHo, legitimizes the fears of the Kuffiyah terrorizing our good ole American society as outlined in the invaluably educational "Islamofashion PSA."
So, don't feel alone in your crusade to challenge my criticism of the Lena Khan produced music video of the Kareem Salama song "A Land Called Paradise" - which is not the official music video for the song, by the way.
Interesting enough, her explanation of the film's purpose, which, according to her, was to "humanize Muslims," validates the uneasiness I felt about the short film's almost campy sensibilities in its "wholesome-cheesiness" (more like Kraft easy whip than Wisconsin cheddar type of (in)authentic cheesiness) attempt to prove a Muslim American's humanity to the general public.
Once again, my fervent censure of the project is exclusively reserved for the actual video and not the Kareem Salama song used for the video. I will even go as far to say that the video, as a creative interpretation is an abomination to the song. Here is the USA Today article on the recent prize announcement:
Young filmmaker put lives of Muslims in focus
By Jason Millman, USA TODAY, February 20, 2008
Muslim Americans say they often feel like strangers in their own country, and the struggle to overcome stereotypes became more complicated after 9/11.
So when given the chance to tell their stories, more than 100 young Muslim American filmmakers poured their creative energies into producing four- to five-minute films about Islam and its followers for an online competition. Winners are being announced today.
More than 18,000 people voted online for six finalists in six categories. A celebrity panel of judges, including former basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, actor Danny Glover and Mariane Pearl, wife of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, selected winners in the six categories, who receive $5,000 each. There will be one $20,000 grand prize winner.
"Film is one way, one avenue, in which we can change the perception of men, women and children who share the Islamic faith," Glover says. "I found what I saw to be both insightful and informative, and I was really moved by it."...
Lena Khan, 23, an independent filmmaker from Alta Loma, Calif., won the grand prize for A Land Called Paradise, which asks Muslims what the world should know about them. The answers, which included "I, too, shop at Victoria's Secret" and "Islam inhibits my suicidal thoughts," were meant to humanize Muslims, Khan says:
We should be dealing with a better understanding across cultures," says Kim Spencer, president of Link TV, which co-sponsored the competition with the non-profit group One Nation. "For there to be an entire group of people who are misunderstood and we can't talk about is absurd."
The winning films can be seen at www.linktv.org/onenation/films/finalists.
A Land Called Paradise, Bassem Is Trying Grand prize, One Minute and Less categories By: Lena Khan, 23, Alta Loma, Calif.
Frustrated with the myths and stereotypes surrounding Muslims in the media, Khan wanted to help viewers relate to Muslims in America. "The idea was, 'I really wish everyone knew this about Muslims,' " says Khan, a USC film school graduate. So she collected more than 2,000 comments from Muslim Americans, many of which she put into a music video set to Kareem Salama's song A Land Called Paradise. In Bassem Is Trying, Bassem is shown "trying way too hard all the time" just to fit in, Khan says. He tailors his clothes to make them look more American, and he blasts rap music from his car when he's stopped at a traffic light. But in the end, he still draws suspicion because of his Muslim appearance.
How does one a sense of the pulse of a city? Sentiments of a people? Hit to the New York City Subway to discover the sentiments of the inescapable "New York Street."
With the artful stroke of the sharpie, here are poetically depicted reactions to Islam and 9/11 on the subway station walls and on corporate in-train ads. the sentiments of the inescapable "New York Street."
The walls of the Columbus Circle stop on the 1, A,C, D, and B
A close up-zeroing in on a reaction to a reaction:
Written on top of "AN" is "Asshole" and to the left of "911" is "DREAM ON, FOOL" and there is a swastika to the bottom right of the "n" in "AN."
And finally, the ever sensitive and astute observation on Islam:
One question: Why did homeboy feel compelled to air out his grievances with God on a flower delivery ad on the 1 train???
It is refreshing to see a video that says "America you terrorize us and dehumanize us" instead of one that carries the message of: "Guess what we are not all terrorists; we human beings just like you as evidenced by our love for Justin Timberlake." What I am speaking of are the different messages embodied in Danish hip hop group Outlandish's "Look Into My Eyes" (2005)music video and Egyptian American country music singer's "A Land Called Paradise" (2007) music video. Both of the videos, in their most general form, attempt to tackle the American post-9/11 perception of Palestinians/Arabs and Muslims.
Outlandish's video:
Kareem Salaama's video:
I'm not trying to hate, but I feel like Outlandish's creative interpretation of a Gihad Ali poem is a more effective portrayal of the America's role in dehumanizing Muslims and Palestinians. Salaama's video does not inject this variable, the American role in dehumanizing Muslims and Palestinians, as part of his equation. Succumbing to the "we are human like you too" message puts the burden of responsibility on Muslims as they are forced to prove their humanity to Americans. It feels like a problematic to dispel commonly held stereotypes about Muslims without contextualizing where those stereotypes come from. And another problematic is that it the video forwards American's definition of normative behavior-like shopping at Victoria Secrets. No offense Kareem Salaama. I actually, to my great shock, love the song (who knew twangy spiritual ruminations could strike a chord in me!), but the video feels counterproductive, as it assigns Muslims to the strata of unhuman, and the people in your video, ones who espouse the similar American values, that are materialist in nature, "I too shop at Victoria Secrets" or ones who are "good Muslim assimilators" who would rather "watch "Grey's Anatomy" than "help the less fortunate." Interesting enough, the manufacture of Victoria Secrets merchandise is the product of prison labor at slave labor prices. Thank you ma'am, you have financially contributed to the maintenance of slave systems and the nourishment the prison industrial complex. Does that make you "human" or just "American"?
Although I do agree that Muslims and Palestinians have to take responsibility for our actions, we do not have to prove our humanity to a country that continues to rob our humanity.
Here are some choice lines that stood out for me from Outlandish's song:
Your biggest fear is getting a ticket As you cruise your Cadillac My fear is that the tank that has just left Will turn around and come back
Yet, do you know the truth of where your money goes? Do you let the media deceive your mind? Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows? Has our world gone all blind?
See I've known terror for quite some time 57 years so cruel Terror breathes the air I breathe It's the checkpoint on my way to school Terror is the robbery of my land And the torture of my mother The imprisonment of my innocent father The bullet in my baby brother The bulldozers and the tanks The gases and the guns The bombs that fall outside my door All due to your funds You blame me for defending myself Against the ways of my enemies I'm terrorized in my own land (what) And I'm the terrorist?
American , do you realize that the taxes that you pay Feed the forces that traumatize my every living day So if I won't be here tomorrow It's written in my fate May the future bring a brighter day The end of our wait
