‘Bama Muslims Speak Out About Gaza

This is the companion blog to Islamic Learning Materials, a website about the basics of Islam.

I went to the Hoover masjid just south of Birmingham today for Salaatul Isha. When I got there, it was near the end of an interesting symposium and discussion on the events in Gaza.

The Birmingham Islamic Society has joined with the Birmingham Peace Project, the National Lawyers Guild, and the Christian Peacemaker Teams to condemn the atrocities committed against Palestine.

Inshallah, there will be a peaceful demonstration at Linn Park in downtown Birmingham at 10am on Saturday, January 10, 2009.

I’m sure most of the people who are reading this post are probably not familiar with Birmingham or Alabama. Hey, I live here and I’m not familiar with the city either. However, I am fairly knowledgeable of American history, and this upcoming demonstration strikes a certain irony.

The demonstration will take place at Linn Park, Inshallah. You may not know this, but this park is located just four blocks from the 16th Street Baptist Church.

If you don’t know about this church, let me fill you in on the history. In 1963, during the Civil Rights Movement, Ku Klux Klan terrorists planted a bomb in this church. This church was a gathering point for several civil rights activists.

Klansmen planted 122 sticks of dynamite in the church. The dynamite went off a group of children were gathering for a prayer session. The bomb blew out the back wall of the church and killed 4 young girls. The oldest one was only 14.

As bad as that tragedy was, no one was arrested for this crime for almost four decades. The FBI, at the orders of then Director J. Edgar Hoover, withheld incriminating evidence. The Birmingham Police Commissioner at the time, Bull Connor, blamed the attacks on the Supreme Court’s Brown vs BOE decision that outlawed segregation in schools. No city official attended any of the girls funerals.

And here we are protesting the attacks on Gaza just a few blocks away, when just a few days ago, Israel shelled a UN school in Gaza killing 40 people, most of them children.

However, I digress.

It’s good to see the Muslims in Birmingham teaming up with other organizations to speak out against the Israeli attacks in Gaza. Most of the Muslims here are Arab so I know they are especially concerned about the attacks. Though truthfully, I think most Muslims, of every race and nationality, are concerned about the Palestinian situation.

I guess this is a very interesting time to move to Birmingham. I’ve only been here a month and still can’t get around the city without my GPS. But I’m grateful to see the Muslims here get so involved in this situation. It was pretty amazing to see so many Muslims, even young kids, wearing their khafayah’s and carrying posters in support of the Palestinians.

I’ve been around a lot of activism in my time, but I’ve rarely been involved. When I lived in Atlanta, I primarily attended the West End Islamic Center which was founded by Imam Jamil Al-Ameen, aka H. Rap Brown. The Muslims there were very active also, but especially about trying to free our brother Jamil Al-Ameen.

I wish I could have participated in these events more when I was there, but I lived too far from that particular Masjid to be more involved. Inshallah, I hope I don’t make the same mistakes here in Birmingham.

I implore everyone…do whatever you can to stop oppression and help the weak. Not just Muslims, and not just Palestinians. But everyone. Everywhere. As Muslims, we should speak out against wrong doing and injustice no matter where it is.

So if you live in the Birmingham, Alabama area, try to take part in this demonstration. If you don’t live here, see what’s going on in your community. And if you can’t get involved there directly, support them with your funds and volunteerism.

And above all, pray for the oppressed.

May Allah protect me from being oppressed and becoming an oppressor. Ameen.