Margari Aziza

The United States and Canada observe Labor Day every first Monday of September. The rest of the world honors Labor Day on May 1st. Instead of reflecting on the accomplishments and contributions of workers, we take a holiday, run errands, or shop. September’s Labor Day lacks rallies, commemorations, or political education efforts. Workers do not get a space to voice their demands or concerns.…

Originally Published in Medium Reading Frank Herbert’s classic Science Fiction Novel Dune as a Muslim is an entirely different experience than reading it as someone outside of the faith. How do I know? Well, I have read it from both vantage points. I had my first introduction to Dune at the age of 11 in the 1980s. That was when the term jihad (holy war) was not widely connected with terrorism.…

World Mental Health Day

There will be a lot of altruisms today about mental health, but few people are looking at systems change and the cultural shift work that is required to create real communities of care. Instead, you’ll see a lot of social media posts.  And there will be a lot of memes and info graphs linked to campaigns. I applaud those who are sharing their stories of vulnerability. I applaud those efforts that…

Black Panther and the Islamphobia Debate

“First, I need to tell you who I am,” is how Somali Canadian researcher Hodan Mohamed opens her response to  Faisal Kutty’s critique of  Black Panther (2018).  Mohamed then demonstrates her qualifications to speak on both Islamophobia and anti-Blackness. She writes, “I am an educator, researcher with a focus on diversity and inclusion, curriculum development, public engagement, immigration, and…

Black Panther and Imagination

Image source:http://blog.sapelle.com/black-panther-an-a-z-of-african-nuggets/ I was in the mountains when Black Panther (2018) was released in theaters, so I only glimpsed at the initial reviews during intermittent breaks in my program. My consolation was that in the thin crisp mountain air,  I had time to work with brilliant leaders of color and reflect on my leadership strengths.  It was just a…

As grandma Sara’s memory fades, what remains are the stories she told us. My three other grandparents died by the time I was five and all I am left with are memories of the stories my mother told me about them. I was in graduate school when I gathered enough courage to ask grandma Sara what it was like when she was young in Jim Crow South. She recounted the fear she felt when encountering groups…

Image source: Franciscan Icons by Robert Lentzhttps://robertlentzartwork.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/dr-martin-luther-king-jr/ As a Muslim, we are taught to avoid icons or idols. I’ve taught the various courses in Islamic history and  am deeply aware that this human tendency to create idols happened over and over again in Muslim societies. That is because of the human tendency to imbue objects with…

Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X A major sticking point in the Coates-West feud was the discussion of Barack Obama and Malcolm X in Were Eight Years in Power.  Given the chapter on Malcolm in Between the World and Me, I anticipated a thought experiment exploring what would Malcolm say about Barack Obama’s presidency.  While that didn’t happen, after Cornell West published his bombastic critique,  many…

Image / Santa Clara University, 1933 (Image source Archive of California I stopped writing poetry and stories a long time ago. But recently, I was tasked to celebrate a high point in my life. I chose to write about my Pan African Student graduation in 2003. I still cry when I think about that day and the ten years it took me to get my degree, from DeAnza, to Foothill, to Santa Clara.  There is…

Image from Micah Bazant: https://www.micahbazant.com/we-all-belong-here/ I penned a letter to the editor of Essence Magazine, but haven’t heard back. I thought I’d publish it here. I’m a co-founding director of Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative. You probably haven’t heard of my organization, as we’ve only been around for three years when we launched #BeingBlackAndMuslim. Muslim Americans are a…

Rendering of Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer’s February 2017 tweet. Image courtesy of Kelly Nuttal @typologianista After numerous interviews and casual conversations with scholars, imams, and leaders of all backgrounds across the country, evidence points to highly qualified Black speakers and panelists receiving less compensation than their white, Arab, or South Asian counterparts in the same field. This…

On Tuesday November 8th, 2016,  many of us were frozen with anxiety as we awaited the results of an  unprecedented presidential race with the two frontrunners, Hillary Clinton running as the Democratic Nominee and Donald Trump as the Republican nominee.  Due to the Electoral College system, Trump is the fifth elected president to win while losing the popular vote (Pew). The reactions among Muslim…