Imam Zaid Shakir discusses the latest New Islamic Directions publication: Dear Self. This engaging book is written by Imam Zaid’s mother, Richelene Mitchell, with an introduction by Imam Zaid. Here is a video where Imam Zaid discusses the values, ideas and benefits of the book:

http://tv.muxlim.com/video/04wsGUm6iZe

Here is a description of the book:

Dear Self is the penetrating journal of Richelene Mitchell, a young African American mother of seven struggling to raise her children while wrestling with the burden of poverty, callous public policy, and both overt and subtle manifestations of entrenched, institutionalized racism America. Mitchell was born in the rural south, the daughter of an African American sharecropper. She would venture to the northern ghetto of Philadelphia to enhance her educational opportunities. Hence, her early life was shaped by the twin forces defining African America life in the twentieth century: the rural south and the urban north. Mitchell’s promising academic career was curtailed by an eventually failed marriage that rendered her a single mother of seven children living in a sprawling public housing project. Forced to deal with the humiliation of public assistance, she chronicled a year of her life, 1973, in this penetrating journal. Though written over twenty years ago, her intimate experience with and intricate insights into the informing and penetrating light on race reality faced by an expanding American underclass are as relevant today as they were then. She sheds light on poverty, mothering, gender relations and many other pertinent issues. This book is a valuable resource for all of those seeking to understand the reality faced by millions of Americans whose plight rarely finds an informed and articulate voice.

Read more about the book on Imam Zaid’s blog post: Dear Self - A Year in the Life of a Welfare Mother

Dear Self: A Year in the Life of a Welfare Mother has been selected as a Bronze winner for the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award. See the Family and Relationship category at: Foreword Magazine Book of the Year

And, 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards winner: Parenting/Family

IslamCrunch is honored that NID commissioned our own Su Pittam to design the cover.

You can purchase a copy here: Dear Self: A Year In The Life Of A Welfare Mother

You can view the Youtube version here: Imam Zaid Presents Dear Self

Here is the video of the interview conducted on live television on May 12, 2008 at the Noor TV studios for the FALAH TV program. This is my abridged ‘conversion to Islam’ story.

To view the full interactive video, please click on the speech bubble icon next to the time code (00:21:49). You can add comments and tags at specific points on the video by mousing over the large white and gray circle. A green ‘plus’ icon will show, click on that to add your comments and tags. You can mouse over the small black and gray dots on the progress bar to see comments and tags from others.

Click here to see a larger version video: http://www.viddler.com/explore/islamcrunch/videos/1/

I would like to thank Sidi Feraidoon Mojadeddi for inviting me for the interview. I would also like to thank Sidi Fahim Mojadeddi for taking care of me during the interview. Most importantly, I would like to thank my wonderful Su for her support, patience, love and companionship.

For Bloggers Unite for Human Rights Day, we decided to give a little spin on the event. Here is our perspective on what we can do to be aware about Human Rights.

There is no doubt that we need to be concerned about others who are suffering and who are less fortunate than us. We should definitely educate ourselves and make ourselves aware of the human rights situation in Darfur, Guantanamo, China and elsewhere. We need to start with ourselves. Therefore, we would like to offer these suggestions:

1. Return to your original state (known as fitrah in Islam). Return to your state before there was greed, jealousy, hatred, anger, prejudice and malice. You did not come into this world with blackness in your heart. Somehow, somewhere, the little spots of blackness were introduced into your heart. By removing the blackness, we can learn to have concern for others, we can learn to care and love others regardless of status, race, religion, wealth, etc.

2. Follow your role model. If you are Muslim, follow the exemplary qualities of the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). Do not disregard the sunnah of the Prophet. Learn about his characteristics at home, at work, in the community and throughout society. Learn how he dealt with others from different faith communities. Be a reflection of the Best of Creation.

If you are a Christian, embody the qualities and characteristics of Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him). Coming from a Catholic background before I converted, I learned the qualities of Jesus. He was kind, gentle, patient and caring. He had concern for everyone in his environment. He worked hard for his parents, there was no Hallmark or purple roses to ’show’ his feelings. He didn’t hate. His parents did not avoid or exclude any of the 3 wise men who visited their baby (the 3 wise men were from different regions, thus of different races). 

If you are Jewish, look to Moses for inspiration. Look at how he withstood trials and tribulations. May you all live to 120.

And so forth. Whatever your belief system or lifestyle is, follow the true, beneficial teachings within that system. 

God taught us in the Quran:

O humankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other, not that you may despise (each other). Verily, the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things). 

Chapter 49, verse 13

We should compete to do righteous acts. We should all strive to help the people suffering. We should all do our part to raise awareness of human rights for everyone.

Check out our BlogCatalog profile here: http://www.blogcatalog.com/user/islamcrunch

Peace.

I have been invited to speak on Falah TV tonight. The channel executive producer asked me to discuss my conversion to Islam and my path since then. The program starts at 7pm PST. Here is some info about Falah TV:

Falah TV’s English program is dedicated to preserving and disseminating traditional Islam to the worldwide audience. It provides a colorful array of programs covering classical subjects like Qur’an, Hadith, and Fiqh, as well as contemporary issues. While the views reflected are primarily that of mainstream western Muslims, the programming appeals to Muslims everywhere. Our intent is to attract a strong viewership of both Muslims who are practicing and seeking appropriate programs for their families, as well as those who may have become wayward and are no longer practicing their Deen. It is our hope to provide programs that will educate them in the fundamentals of Islam.

Falah TV is a subsidiary of Noor TV.

Here is a new bookmark to add to your list: http://muslim.alltop.com

Alltop News is a new project spearheaded by Guy Kawasaki that showcases news from different topics and categories. Each topic showcases the top sites/blogs on one page, what they call ’single-page aggregation’. You can find out more about Alltop here.

Muslim.Alltop.com delivers news from different sites that are either authored by Muslims or sites that posts news about Muslims and Islam. This is a great resource to find out what the pulse is on the minds of Muslims across the world.

After sending a tweet to Guy, he graciously added IslamCrunch to Muslim page. Plus, he placed us in the #2 position of the page! Thanks Guy! This is a case of: “Tweet, and you shall receive.”

Also check out Guy’s book, Art of the Start. A good read to start any project, business or partnership. I am currently reading this book, a gift from our friend, Khadija O’Connell of Barakah Life.