By Ahmed Shaikh

May/June 2023

In 2021, the Khalil Center, Maristan Muslim and other mental health organizations publicized a statement in the Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry (JAMA; 2021 Sep; 78(9): 1041–1044.) that Muslims are far more suicidal than non-Muslims or atheists. They then spread this claim throughout much of the media to raise money, especially zakat.

Upon closer inspection, this deeply unethical claim came about due to conflicts of interest and cooking numbers to get a contrived result, followed by outright fraud.

An Opinion Poll

The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) annual “American Muslim Poll” selects a small sample to arrive at generalized conclusions. As with all polls, there is a margin of error.

In 2019, part of the process involved the Institute of Muslim Mental Health (Dr. Hamada Altalib), the Stanford Muslim Mental Health & Islamic Psychology Lab (Dr. Rania Awaad) and the Khalil Center (Dr. Hooman Keshavarzi), who purchased questions on suicide from ISPU to be included in the survey, which focuses on Jews, Muslims and the “general population.”

They found that 7.9% of Muslims, 5.1% of Protestants, 6.1% of Catholics and 3.6% of Jews reported trying to kill themselves at some point. While this is not twice as many Muslims attempting suicide as others, it does look like Muslims in the sample attempted suicide at a higher rate. However, according to ISPU, these numbers are meaningless because the margins of error were quite large. So, comparing the groups with the largest gaps, Jews and Muslims, is actually something not worth discussing. The margin of error for the Muslim survey was ±4.9%, while for Jews it was a whopping ±7.6%.

Indeed, when ISPU first announced the results of their 2019 Muslim poll, they did not mention suicide at all, as doing so would have been pointless.

The authors of the JAMA article used another method to compare religion and suicide attempts. They compared a reference group — Protestants — to Muslims, calculating an “odds ratio.” The authors found that the numbers had a statistically insignificant p-value of 0.1. So, unless they had another way to calculate the rate of suicide among members of different religions, they were out of luck. As it happens, though, they devised a way to adjust the numbers and get headline-grabbing results.

Adjusting for Unknown Demographic Factors

The claim that Muslims were twice as likely as others to attempt suicide was the result of “adjusting for demographic factors” for which the authors had no data. They used “regression analysis” — a technique to adjust for race. This technique found that Muslims are twice as likely to attempt suicide as are non-Muslims.

In a comment and a long-form analysis, Dr. Osman Umarji (statistician and scholar, the Yaqeen Institute) made two important criticisms: (1) Since the authors started with nothing, it was inappropriate for them to perform a “regression analysis” and (2) they were doing regression analysis for non-existent variables. One of the biggest problems here was considering “Arab” as a race — a race assumed to be exclusively Muslim, which is not the case. The ISPU data that the authors worked with contained no non-Muslim Arabs, which caused a “correlation” between the groups “Muslim” and “Arab” (Dr. Umarji’s full reanalysis can be found at tinyurl.com/4n2j6buk).

Regression analysis isn’t designed to work with data that is incomplete in a way that causes a correlation. Statisticians call this effect, which is a little bit like stacking the deck, a “suppressor effect.”

Attack in Public, Agree in Private

Umarji was attacked vigorously online by the study’s authors — Awaad accused him of peddling “disinformation” and Altalib accused him of lying. The authors claimed they had three unnamed statisticians from top institutions look at the numbers, all of whom reportedly deemed the “suppressor effect” found by Umarji “baseless.”

The problem was that before the authors accused Umarji, they had privately written a response to JAMA and conceded that he did have a point about the suppressor effect: “In this sample, being Arab may be a confounder and serve as a suppressor variable. However, as we argue above, it is critical to include race in the model so that readers can see the potential effect. Our intent of publishing this Research Letter is to draw attention to an under-recognized issue and promote further discourse on suicide across communities” (emphasis added).

Elsewhere, the authors claim that a “suppressor” may be a good thing for reasons that appear hypothetical and not grounded in fact. So, they contrived a “fact” that Muslims were twice as likely as others to attempt suicide to “promote further discourse.” One would hope that the envisioned discourse would be based on facts and not fiction.

If you run an organization that advocates for the view that Muslim mental health is in horrible shape and your organization happens to offer a solution — if we send you more money — that may very well color what your research results will look like. A Muslim mental health advocacy group is unlikely to herald a study finding that Muslims attempt suicide at the same rates as everyone else or that they ran the numbers and have no idea about anything either way (leaving aside the question of who would publish such a thing).

The Incredible Shrinking P-Value

One area where the authors did push back both privately and publicly (in a public comment to the JAMA article) was the notion that it was improper for them to do a regression analysis in the first place when they started with nothing.

They claimed that they had in fact started with something — the odds ratios I told you about earlier. The odds ratios had a p-value (for probability) of 0.1 with the reference group, Protestants. Thus, the authors had only statistical noise. However, apparently to bolster their argument while attacking Umarji, they brazenly changed the p-value to 0.05 with no explanation for why an already published number was changed. In other words, they were defending their work with a fake number.

From the JAMA article with the “unadjusted odds ratio.” I point to the critical p-value, which shows no statistical significance.

“Changing the ‘p-value’ here appears to be an attempt to defend doing ‘regression analysis.’ Without the numbers needed to create something that could be published in a medical journal, they ‘tortured’ the data to make it happen. If you torture the data enough, it’ll tell you whatever you want to hear.”

Driven by Conflicts of Interest

Here is the claim (from the JAMA article) that funders had no role:

Dr. Keshavarzi and Dr. Awaad failed to disclose the obvious conflicts of interest (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2712191). Both belong to organizations that stood to benefit from their claims.

The authors also claimed that the funders — the organizations headed by the authors themselves — of the study had no role in the “design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review or approval of the manuscript; and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.”

“Funding/Support: The Stanford Muslim Mental Health & Islamic Psychology Lab, the Khalil Center, and the Institute for Muslim Mental Health contributed funding to include mental health-related questions in the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding national survey. Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study: collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Additional Contributions: We would like to thank the support of the Institute of Muslim Mental Health, the Stanford Muslim Mental Health & Islamic Psychology Lab, and the Khalil Center.”

All three funding organizations were headed by article’s authors. In the same article, it’s clear that the authors were involved with all aspects of the study:

“Author Contributions: Dr Awaad had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Concept and design: Awaad, Keshavarzi, Mogahed, Altalib. Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Awaad, El-Gabalawy, Jackson-Shaheed, Zia, Altalib. Drafting of the manuscript: Awaad, El-Gabalawy, Jackson-Shaheed, Zia, Keshavarzi. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Awaad, El-Gabalawy, Zia, Mogahed, Altalib. Statistical analysis: El-Gabalawy, Jackson-Shaheed, Zia. Obtained funding: Awaad, Altalib. Administrative, technical, or material support: Awaad, El-Gabalawy, Keshavarzi, Mogahed. Supervision: Awaad, Altalib.”

Virtually nothing about this study looks right. The claim was contrived, and much of the Muslim mental health sector comes out looking bad here.

What about Mental Health?

Awaad and the other JAMA Psychiatry paper authors produced a conclusion about Muslim Americans they could not legitimately support and then lied to support it. There should be no confusion about this.

The authors hyped this in the media and raised money, including zakat. They took full advantage of their obvious conflicts of interest, which they did not bother to disclose, slandered a Muslim scholar when they knew he was telling the truth and privately admitted as much. They then doctored the results of a p-value to make themselves look good. Our community needs to know about this, even if it means that the public will have less confidence in Muslim mental health professionals.

When we discuss the stigma surrounding mental health, it doesn’t mean that Muslims fail to seek mental health because they are ignorant. Rather, it’s because of a long history of mental health professionals using mental health as a cover for nefarious purposes, including episodes in recent history like torturing Muslims (www.nytimes.com, May 1, 2015) and Countering Violent Extremism (https://muslimjusticeleague.org/for-health-care-professionals/). Stigma comes from dishonest efforts like the Muslim suicide study.

Unfortunately, too many Muslim donors, especially zakat donors, as well as imams have been taken in by this sham.

Muslim mental health professionals can be a benefit to society. This is more likely to happen without lying and cheating.

Ahmed Shaikh is an estate planning attorney in Southern California and the co-author of “Estate Planning for the Muslim Client” (ABA Publishing, 2019). This article is adapted from his newsletter on Muslim nonprofits and leadership, which is available at ehsan.substack.com.

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By Mohammad Abdullah

May/June 2023

As of last Jan. 1,  “GMO” labels on grocery store food and beverage products were replaced with round green USDA-created label saying “bioengineered” or “derived from bioengineering” or providing a phone number to call, text for more information or a QR code that takes you to an online disclosure. These changes are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new rules on controversial genetically modified organisms (GMOs), crops and ingredients. The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS), published by the Federal Registered (December 2018), requires that products containing GMOs be labeled by 2022 (www.foodbusinessnews.net).

Currently 65 or so countries, including the U.S., require labeling of genetically modified foods, although the laws may vary widely (www.justlabelit.org). This new law, directed at grocery products, requires food manufacturers, including manufactures of dietary supplements, importers and retailers, to disclose whether foods are bioengineered or contain bioengineered ingredients.

However, it only requires labeling bioengineered foods intended for human consumption that contain more than 5% of GMO ingredients. Under the new rule, a food does not contain genetic material if it cannot be detected. If one or more ingredients come from a modified plant, but the ingredients themselves contain that plant’s DNA, a voluntary label may carry a “derived from bioengineering” disclosure. The problem here is that starches, oils and sweeteners made from bioengineered plants are so highly processed that no DNA remains. Therefore, they aren’t likely to be labeled. 

Another loophole — the new disclosure rules don’t cover products that list meat, poultry or eggs as their first or second ingredient after water, stock or broth. Thus, meat lasagna, chicken burritos and many other prepared foods may contain modified ingredients without disclosure. The milk from a cow that ate bioengineered alfalfa isn’t considered a bioengineered food. Moreover, according to The Washington Post (Jan. 1, 2022), it ignores more than 100 million Americans who have no access to smartphones or cell service, because companies are allowed to rely on smartphone-based scannable QR codes to share information with consumers. 

The USDA’s Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified labeling will be allowed. Food sold by restaurants, food trucks and delicatessens or served by airlines aren’t required to carry bioengineered food labels even if they are produced with GMOs. This is true for companies whose annual sales are less than $2.5 million (www.specialityfood.com). 

The Center for Food Safety Consumer and other advocacy groups say that there are too many loopholes and that the rules will leave most genetically modified foods unlabeled. They maintain that all genetically engineered foods should be labeled, regardless of whether the GMO material is detectable, and that disclosure statements should be made through labels with clear understandable terms (www.ota.com).

What is a Bioengineered Food?

A bioengineered plant or animal has a new gene inserted into it to give it a useful trait, such as making it resistant to a pest or disease or enhancing its nutritional value. Many GMO crops are used to make ingredients found in cornstarch, corn syrup, corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil and granulated sugar. Few fresh fruits and vegetables in GMO varieties include potatoes, summer squash, apples and papayas (www.fda.gov).

A host of animals are being researched for genetic modification. Researchers behind many of the projects want to breed more efficient, nutritious animals for human consumption, such as goats whose milk can prevent children from contracting diarrhea, a potentially deadly disease in some parts of the world (www.medicalnewstoday.com).

Researchers are also using gene-editing technology to create pigs that could provide organs to save human lives. Early this year, history was made when a team that included Dr. Mohammad Mohiuddin, a graduate from the Dow Medical College, Karachi (now a U.S. citizen) transplanted a pig’s heart into a human. It demonstrated for the first time the feasibility of a pig-to-human heart transplant, a field made possible by new gene editing tools (www.nytimes.com).

Genetic Engineering 

The use of microorganisms to make cheese, yogurt, bread, beer and wine, as well as selective breeding and crossbreeding to breed plants and animals with more desirable traits, has been ongoing for centuries. Early farmers developed crossbreeding methods to grow corn with a range of colors and sizes. But changing plants and animals through traditional breeding can take a long time, and it’s difficult to make specific changes. By developing genetic engineering in the 1970s, scientists could make similar changes in a more specific way and in a shorter amount of time by inserting DNA from one organism into another. The first genetically engineered product for human use was insulin, which the FDA approved in 1982. However, genetically modified food only received FDA approval in 1994, when a GMO tomato became the first to go commercial.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), “GMO” (genetically modified organism) has become the common term for foods created through genetic engineering, such as corn and soybeans. Genetically modified (GM) foods are derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally (e.g., by introducing a gene from another organism). The technology is called “gene technology,” “recombinant DNA technology” or “genetic engineering” (www.who.int).

The processes for creating a GMO plant, animal or microorganism may be different. For example, to create a GMO plant scientists must first identify the desired trait (e.g., resistance to drought), find an organism (e.g., plant, animal or microorganism) whose genes contain that trait and copy it and then use tools to insert the gene into the plant’s DNA. Scientists are developing new varieties of crops and animals via “genome editing,” which can make it easier and quicker to make changes that were previously done through traditional breeding (www.fda.gov).

It’s quite likely that you’ve eaten GMO food recently without even knowing it. GMO-derived ingredients are prevalent in processed foods, such as lecithin and emulsifiers from soybeans and high-fructose corn syrup, which is found in everything from soft drinks to bread, cereal, frozen meals and sweetened yogurt. GMO soy can be found in infant formula, protein drinks, tofu, canned tuna and salad dressing. GMO grains, especially corn, soybeans and alfalfa, are fed to most of the livestock used in the meat and dairy industries. 

GMO foods are also marketed as healthy vegan alternatives to meat, such as the popular brand of Impossible Burgers. These plant-based burgers contain GMO soy protein and heme, the molecule responsible for replicating the beef-like taste and appearance. This molecule is genetically engineered by combining soybean DNA with yeast. It’s said that unless an item is sold under an organic label or considered a whole food, it likely contains GMOs (www.ecowatch.com). Also, consumers are being blindsided by the pricing mantra that because they can save on resources, food producers can also charge lower prices for GMO foods. In some cases, the costs of foods like corn, beets, and soybeans may be cut by 15% to 30%.

What Are GMOs

WHO, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and several other major science organizations across the globe that reviewed available data on GE foods found no evidence that they are harmful. A NAS report says there is no difference in potential or adverse health effects in GMO crops compared to non-GMOs, which means that GMO crops are just as safe to eat as their non-GMO counterparts (medlineplus.gov). 

However, according to another report, some consumers feel that GM foods are unnatural, immoral and unsafe, which is ironic because some 70% of processed foods in the U.S. already contain GMOs (www.ama.org).

Concerns about GE foods 

According to one report, GMO is a concern because it could escape and introduce engineered genes into wild populations, the gene’s persistence after the GMO has been harvested and the susceptibility of non-target organisms (e.g., insects that aren’t pests) to the gene product (www.who.int). Another report says consumers are mainly concerned about the biotech-crops’ long-term human health effects (e.g., antibiotic resistance, allergenicity, unnatural nutritional changes and toxicity) (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). 

In short, biotechnology offers potentially enormous benefits but also risks. It utilizes living cells and cellular materials to create pharmaceuticals, vaccines, diagnostic, agricultural, environmental and other beneficial products. Genetic engineering can create pest-resistant crops that can fight drought, improve yield and help fight world hunger. While not the only answer for food security, GMOs can play an important role in this regard because the global population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050. 

However, although the FDA considers GMOs safe, their long-term effects are still being studied — but only on animals. This may be why several countries ban them either partially or completely. Given that many questions remain unanswered, biotech companies must proceed cautiously and avoid causing unintended harm to human health and the environment.

The USDA needs to understand that enforcing the new rules requires that consumers understand them well enough to be able to ask relevant questions. Meanwhile, consumers should read labels and become knowledgeable so they can choose the best product for themselves. They can also choose organic food by buying from local farmers.

Dr. Mohammad Abdullah, who retired after serving 29 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, the agency that regulates the meat industry, is the author of “A Closer Look at Halal Meat from Farm to Fork” (2016)

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By Luke Peterson

May/June 2023

During the last week of March, widespread public demonstrations coupled with a general labor strike brought Israel to a grinding halt. Schools, universities and banks were closed, along with two major ports and Tel Aviv-Jaffa’s Ben Gurion International Airport. Roads and bridges were blocked in dozens of areas, and public transportation was brought to a standstill. Hospitals across the country even began canceling non-urgent procedures. 

The total number of protestors is difficult to pinpoint, but witnesses say that hundreds of thousands took to the streets in one form or another in what has been called the nation’s largest-ever collective demonstration. Given that Israel has a population of 9 million, these demonstrations should be considered a mass movement, the collective will of the people rising up in one voice in protest of their government’s policies.

The catalyst for this unprecedented collective action was a move by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longtime hawk and fixture of the militant Israeli right, to establish a naked dictatorship. Netanyahu, who was sworn in for his most recent term as prime minister last December, heads a vocal ethno-nationalist and conservative Jewish political coalition. At the start of his term and with his coalition’s support, he moved quickly to strip the judiciary of its responsibilities to conduct executive oversight. If this move had succeeded, the ruling party (his rightist Likud, as it happens), would be legally entitled to ignore Supreme Court rulings. 

The inevitable consequence of this new policy would be a dictatorship of the right. It seems that Netanyahu wants to head an ethno-state in which Judaism and Zionism coalesce to dominate Israel’s neo-Spartan society even more thoroughly than his party does now. The ongoing protests, public demonstrations and labor strikes are an attempt to stop this party putsch. 

So far, these wide-ranging demonstrations appear to have been successful. On March 27, Netanyahu backed down while reserving the right to reintroduce the policy in a later session of the Knesset. This half-measure was enough to end the general strike, although protests and clashes between demonstrators and police continued through March 28 and show no sign of abating at the time of this writing.

One reason the protests continue is Netanyahu’s new concession to his party’s extreme right. In a speech responding to the protests on March 26, he agreed to place his proposed erasure of judicial oversight on the backburner, thereby tabling it for future discussion. In the same speech, he also announced the creation of a new wing of the Israeli National Guard to be placed under the control of Itamar Ben Gvir for reasons of “national security.” Ben Gvir, a public darling of the right, has been convicted for racist incitement and his public support of Jewish terrorist groups among the “settler” (read colonist) community. 

He’s also fond of publicly praising Baruch Goldstein, the American Israeli settler who massacred 29 Palestinians at prayer in Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque on February 4, 1994. [Editor’s note: Wikipedia states, “Goldstein’s gravesite became a pilgrimage site for Jewish extremists. The following words are inscribed on the tomb: “He gave his life for the people of Israel, its Torah and land.”] Such a macabre resume would condemn a public figure to the absolute fringe of political participation in all functioning democracies. But not in Israel. In fact, it won Ben Gvir the post of minister of national security. And now it has garnered him a private militia. 

These facets of the Israeli political system point to the obvious conclusion that, despite repeated assertions from protesters who claim to be fighting for their country’s lifeblood of democracy, Israel is no democracy at all. It was built on top of and against the express wishes of the land’s indigenous people through an organized ethnic cleansing that denuded the land of more than half of its indigenous population while destroying 400+ Palestinian towns and villages. 

Today, the descendants of those Palestinians who resisted and remained between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea live as second-class citizens, either segregated within Israel as the nation’s largest minority (around 1.5 million of the total population) or subjected to cruel and capricious military rule in Gaza or the occupied West Bank. Palestinian citizens can vote in Israeli elections and hold office but are, nevertheless, an oppressed minority seen as a fifth-column element by average Israelis. 

So, while hundreds of thousands protested the blurring of checks and balances within their political system, few of them carried signs expressly condemning Ben Gvir, Ayelet Shaked (Zionist Spirit Party), Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) or other Israeli officials for their continued advocacy of the ongoing settler-colonial project in Palestine. Fewer still were prepared to acknowledge the patent hypocrisy inherent in protests to support an Israeli democracy. 

One wonders if they ever question why their country continues to occupy and sequester 5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and deny them the legal right to participate in its political system. And during the last week of March 2023, even fewer Israelis protested the crimes of ethnic cleansing and forced removal carried out during 1948-49, when at least 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes.

While Palestinian citizens of Israel can at least vote, residents of Gaza and the occupied West Bank are only allowed to vote in elections held for the Palestinian Authority, an increasingly desiccated and toothless political body that primarily facilitates Israel’s full civil and military control of the region. As such, the regulation of border crossings, air space, all water resources and even the remodeling of homes in Palestinian neighborhoods — all elements of life and society in Palestine — are exclusively controlled by Tel Aviv. 

No Palestinian West Bank or Gaza resident, a mixed Muslim and Christian population, can vote in Israel, hold office inside its political system, or participate in national politics in any way. Israeli democracy, indeed! 

Israel, a nuclear power that will celebrate its 75th year of existence this May, reserves its unapologetic identity as a Jewish democratic state. Then as now, there appears to be no semblance of awareness, either officially or publicly, of the obvious incompatibility of democracy and ethno/religio-nationalism. As such, claims from the droves of Israeli protesters this week paying lip service to internationally cherished concepts like equality before the law and equal rights within electoral politics should be received, both regionally and abroad, with only the most intense skepticism. 

In reality, Israel has never practiced electoral equality or political transparency because such ideals — paramount for a functioning democracy — are in absolute conflict with the ongoing occupation and deliberate confiscation of the land of Palestine. 

Given this reality, Israel refuses to adopt an official state constitution, wherein the rights of citizens under its charge are articulated and guaranteed, and official borders identifying its territorial claims in the region. This convenient loophole allows figures like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to give speeches in front of homespun maps that, in addition to Israel and all of the Palestinian territories, include the sovereign nation of Jordan, as he did on March 19 of this year. 

Further, because it has no constitution, Israel has no official mechanisms in place to prevent power grabs like Netanyahu’s latest maneuver. In the absence of official state channels, the vox populi has flooded the gap, rising to the fore to express its disapproval of the corrupt Netanyahu’s more sinister machinations. While meddling with the political system, let’s not forget that the Israeli prime minister was under indictment by the courts in November 2019 for breach of public trust and accepting bribes, likely another reason why he’s taking aim at the judiciary. This active and animated Israeli mass movement has had a tangible impact upon the progress of Israeli politics. 

But where is this mass movement and historic public demonstration when it comes to the rights that Israel has denied most of the Palestinians ever since its founding as a “democratic” state? 

Luke Peterson (PhD, Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge) is author of the forthcoming “The U.S. Military in the Print News Media: Service and Sacrifice in Contemporary Discourse.”

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By Misbahuddin Mirza

May/June 2023

In June 2020 a large group of people gathered at the statue of King Louis IX atop Art Hill in Forest Park, St. Louis, Mo., demanding its removal. The Associated Press reported, “‘The lines are clear,’” said Umar Lee, one of the protest leaders, who converted to Islam at 17. ‘We have one side calling for the removal of this hateful man to create a city of love.’ Lee said he started a petition drive to remove the statue and rename the city. Meanwhile, Catholics have been praying at the park every night this week, hoping the statue stays put.”

Why the demand for its removal?

King Louis IX of France (r. 1226-70) was canonized for leading the seventh (1248-54) and eighth crusades (1270-91) — the only French monarch to enjoy such status. This veneration also led to the naming of several cities in lands then under French rule, after him, including St. Louis. 

One Vatican criteria that must be satisfied before a deceased person can be placed on the path to sainthood is the verification of two miracles performed by the individual. Louis IX didn’t meet these criteria, yet in 1297 Pope Boniface VIII canonized him for leading these two failed crusades. Why did this Pope bend canonic law for someone one who led his armies into wholesale slaughter, got captured, had a hole cut in his breeches and marched in the rear of the army because of his own dysentery — an illness that killed him when he landed on the African coast? 

Awarding Catholicism’s highest honor to a person who learned nothing from the Fifth Crusade, which resulted in the massacre of his own armies, makes no sense. To fully understand the disaster this “saint” brought upon France, we need to revisit the Seventh Crusade.

At that time, Louis IX was the only European monarch eager to embark upon a new crusade. This, along with the efforts of the papal legate Odo of Chateauroux, caused a massive enrollment in his army. His three brothers — Robert of Artois, Alphonse of Poitiers and Charles of Anjou — all joined. Selecting Cyprus as his staging base, Louis spent two years stockpiling so much food and wine that these vast storage piles looked like hills from far off. Aigues-Mortes, located on France’s south coast, was the expedition’s European base of operations.

France’s annual revenue was less than 250,000 livres tournois (weight of the gold “pounds” used in Tours). During the preparation’s first two years, Louis spent 2 million livres tournois and the Pope granted him one-tenth of all ecclesial revenues in France for three years. Other crusaders were also encouraged to raise their own funds.

On June 12, 1248, Louis set off from Aigues-Mortes with an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 men, including 2,800 knights, 5,600 mounted sergeants and 10,000 infantries. An additional 5,000 crossbowmen, using technologically advanced and accurate bows, signed up, as did the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, the Teutonic Knights and the Kingdom of Navarre. 

After a few months in Cyprus, Louis’ armies set sail to attack Egypt with a mighty fleet of around 120 large galleys and about 1,000 smaller vessels. Joinville described this as “it seemed as if all the sea, as far as the eye could behold, was covered with the canvas of the ships’ sails” (Thomas Asbridge; “The Crusades,” 2010, p.585).

In his letter to al-Salih Ayyub (r. 1240 & 1245-9 CE), the sultan of Egypt, Louis confidently expresses his intention to both take back Jerusalem and conquer Egypt and the Levant. “I will assault your territory, and even were you to swear allegiance to the cross, my mind would not be changed. The armies that obey me cover mountains and plains, they are as numerous as the pebbles of the earth, and they march upon you grasping the swords of fate” (Maalouf, p.227; worldhistory.org).

Once Louis’ forces landed on the beach, the Egyptian garrison vacated Damietta, a decision that caused the sultan to have them swiftly executed. A few months later, Louis moved south toward Mansourah, the sultan’s city. The vanguard, led by his brother Robert of Artois, stormed into the city. The legendary Mamluk soldiers of the ferocious Kipchak Turkic group, known then as Dawlat al-Turk and led by the celebrated general and future sultan Baibars, closed the city gates behind the Crusaders’ vanguard and set about killing Artois and the entire vanguard of Louis’ army. 

Louis could have fallen back across the Tanis River with his remaining army — tantamount to admitting defeat and returning home with the bulk of his army intact. Instead, he decided to stay put. The Mamluks then initiated massive and sustained dawn-to-dusk onslaughts on his forces, the ferocity and persistence of which terrified the Crusaders. He later wrote that the Mamluks’ attacked “so persistently, horribly, and dreadfully” and they had never seen such a bold and violent assault (Asbridge, p.600).

Muaazzam Turanshah, the heir apparent of Egypt, arrived from Syria and blocked Louis’ food supplies from Damietta. A Latin observer described the situation of Louis’ army in the following terms, “Everyone expected to die, no one supposed he could escape. It would have been hard to find one man in all that great host who was not mourning a dead friend, or a single tent or shelter without its sick or dead” (Asbridge, p.601). 

Finally, on April 4, 1250, the Crusaders were ordered to retreat under cover of darkness. However, the Mamluks, in no mood to show clemency, learned about it. King Louis, the mighty king of France, got separated from most of his army and was so ill with dysentery that he had to have a hole cut in his breeches and hide in a small village. He was captured while hiding inside a filthy hut, cowering in fear.

Megan Cassidy-Welsh, writing on Louis IX’s imprisonment during the Seventh Crusade, quotes partially from a 13th-century text, “Who can tell this story or recall it without tears, when such noble, such elegant, such prominent Franks were massacred, trodden down, or like thieves seized by base men and dragged off to imprisonment, subjected to the judgment and the grinning mockery of God’s enemies? Here the oriflamme was torn to pieces, the beauséant trampled underfoot, a sight nobody remembers having ever beheld. Over there the standards of magnates, since ancient times an object of dread to the infidel, were bespattered with the blood of men and horses and, spurned under the heels of a triumphant enemy who blasphemed against Christ and ridiculed our men, were most vilely destroyed and treated with contempt” (A Templar, c. 1250, in Matthew Paris, Chronica Majora, vol.6, Additamenta, pp.191-97, in Peter Jackson, ed., The Seventh Crusade, 1244–1254: Sources and Documents (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007, p.102).

In her “Jean De Joinville and his Biography of Saint Louis on the Seventh Crusade,” Katherine Blakeney writes, “Interestingly, his compassionate descriptions are not confined to commoners and soldiers only. He gives a moving and very human account of the pregnant queen’s fear and suffering at Damietta. Three days before the child’s birth, she develops an obsession with the idea that Saracens will barge into her room and capture her and the infant. To protect herself from this horror she convinces an old knight to ‘lie down beside her bed and hold her by the hand.’ She also requests that he swear that ‘if the Saracens take this city, you will cut off my head before they can also take me.’ Joinville does not see her as a lifeless political symbol, but rather as a frightened young woman, thrust by circumstances into an unfamiliar land when she is in a fragile and vulnerable state.”

A Muslim witness wrote, “A tally was made of the number of captives, and there were more than 20,000; those who had drowned or been killed numbered 7,000. I saw the dead, and they covered the face of the earth in their profusion … It was a day of the kind the Muslims had never seen; nor had they heard of its like” (Asbridge, p.605). 

Asbridge, who teaches history at the Queen Mary University of London, holds Louis IX responsible for this disaster. “Louis was largely responsible for this ruinous state of affairs. In mid-February, he had failed to make a realistic strategic assessment of the risks and possible rewards involved in maintaining the crusaders’ southern camp, holding on to the forlorn hope of Ayyubid disintegration. He also grossly underestimated the vulnerability of his Nile supply line and the number of troops needed to overcome the Egyptian army at Mansourah. Some of these errors might have been mitigated had the king now acted with decisive resolution — recognizing that his position was utterly untenable” (_{Asbridge, pp 602}).

To date, the Vatican has removed 93 saints from its list. Louis IX doesn’t meet the requirement for a verifiable miracle for canonization. In fact, he couldn’t even cure his own recurring dysentery, which eventually claimed his life. In addition to emptying French coffers to pay his astronomical ransom, Louis brought indescribable pain, suffering, illness and death to thousands of Christians. Bending the canonic law to make embarking on two violent crusades to kill Muslims a criterion for attaining sainthood is a great affront to the world’s 2 billion Muslims. It’s time for the Vatican to correct its mistake by decanonizing Louis IX. 

Misbahuddin Mirza, M.S., P.E., is a licensed professional engineer, registered in the States of New York and New Jersey. He served as the regional quality control engineer for the New York State Department of Transportation’s New York City Region. He is the author of the iBook Illustrated “Muslim Travel Guide to Jerusalem.” He has written for major U.S. and Indian publications.

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By Suhail Hashim

May/June 2023

The dawn of Covid-19 vaccines opened new challenges. Countries had to decide how to distribute it equitably among their various populations. The need to recruit more skilled health care workers became more relevant than ever, as they were needed to administer the vaccines. 

Canada swiftly prioritized its vulnerable populations — the elderly and health care workers. There was also a push to prioritize First Nations communities.

For one who has always been inquisitive about the diverse communities of places where I have lived and visited, as well as their histories and cultures, being a health care professional enabled me to learn so much about them from my clients and patients. 

During summer 2022, I worked with the Covid-19 Vaccine Resource Team of Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA), which provides health care services to remote communities in northern Ontario living along the eastern James Bay and Hudson Bay coasts. Most of these regions’ residents share the Cree lineage.

The “First Nations,” which is preferred over “Indian” in Canada, is used interchangeably with “Aboriginal,” “Indigenous” and “Native.” Prior to contact with Europeans, estimates suggest that North America contained 1.2 to 2.6 million First Nations’ people. The Europeans not only reaped riches by establishing trading posts like the Hudson Bay Company, but also by stealing tribal lands via deceptive treaties. They also tried to erase Indigenous traditions and cultures by coercing Indigenous children to become Catholics by setting up brutal residential schools and other systems. Regardless of this dark history, I was excited about my upcoming firsthand experience with the First Nations. 

My first stop from Toronto Airport is in Timmins, a city that meets nature. Like all small Ontario cities, it has a proper infrastructure, roads and other amenities. Multiple Indigenous reserves are located around Timmins, and some notice boards are in their native language — Cree. 

From Timmins, the first stop made by aircraft is Moosonee. Small airports in these remote towns just have the essentials like a runway, a check-in counter and a toilet. There are no security checks to board flights, and sometimes no boarding passes are given to passengers. Adjacent to Moosonee, across the Moose River, is a tiny island called Moose Factory. These are the last towns where one can still connect via the mobile networks available to us in Southern Ontario. To access networks in remote northern towns, one has to purchase a SIM card from the local operators, which are usually hard to find and expensive. 

There are daily weekday flights from Moosonee Airport to even remoter towns along the James Bay coast: Fort Albany First Nation, Kashechewan First Nation, Attawapiskat First Nation and Peawanuck First Nation. One flight usually takes passengers to all these locations and returns the same day. 

The Indigenous reserves in these remote parts have no roads, which means that only trucks, vans, SUVs and similar heavy vehicles are found there. Some of the residents use buggies. Most of them speak English, but there are elders who only understand Cree. The Northern College has branches in each town. I visited and spent some time at the branch in Moosonee, whose college magazine is appropriately titled “The Feather.” This prominent symbol in Indigenous culture represents power, wisdom, high honor, trust, strength and freedom. It’s often seen in this region’s administrative offices and people’s houses, as well as on bracelets and other art forms. 

For Indigenous communities, land and animals are very important. There are land-based healing programs like walking together — a symbol of the holistic approach to healing in Cree culture. Otherwise known as “Pimi Pici Wak,” this 10-day program seeks to help those with substance abuse and other mental health challenges by encouraging them to find power in the sense of community and connect with nature’s resources. 

One main grocery store, Northern, serves as these towns’ main market. Prices are at least two or three times higher than they are in the Greater Toronto Area. One can also see how less healthy options like chips and cookies are priced lower than natural produce. Surprisingly, prices of alcoholic beverages at the government-run Liquor Control Board of Ontario outlet in Moosonee are more affordable than fresh produce. 

A resident of a senior living home told me of how before the colonizers came, the Indigenous tradition was to help those in need. “One has to share what they have with others and that’s how you keep yourself mentally sane. When the settlers came to this land, they not only stole our resources, but took away more priced traditions like these,” he said. There are stories of continuing drug abuse and addictions, and parents of children who complain about the individuals who supply illegal drugs, but no respite has been provided. 

The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, which serves this region’s First Nation communities, cannot act against such drug offenders due to the bureaucracy’s politics and lack of strong evidence. 

The roughly 2,000-member Attawapiskat First Nation has recently been in the news for their mountain of troubles. In 2016, the Attawapiskat Council declared a state of emergency due to the increase in suicides attempts. In 2012, then-chief Theresa Spence went on a six-week-long hunger strike to call attention to Canada’s treatment of the First Nations.

Attawapiskat is also known for its housing and water crises and the government’s ongoing neglect of establishing safe educational facilities for its students. A house contains up to 10 family members. After Covid hit, it became extremely difficult for the public health team to ask residents to self-isolate when an individual showed symptoms or tested positive. 

When my team visited in July 2022, we were asked not to drink tap water (even after boiling) or to bathe or shower for more than 10 minutes, for the water was contaminated with harmful chemicals like trihalomethanes (THMs). The town had only two water plants, from which we were expected to collect water for drinking and cooking. 

In 2007, the young local activist Shannen Koostachin launched an “Education is a Human Right” campaign to lobby the government for better educational facilities for First Nation youth. Shannen died in a car accident in 2010, but her dream lives on — in 2014 a new elementary school opened.

To the north of Attawapiskat, close to Polar Bear Provincial Park, is the Peawanuck First Nation; the northernmost town served by WAHA. With a population of close to 300, it doesn’t have a hospital, only a nursing station/health center run by two community nurses who can arrange teleconferencing with doctors or airlifting if needed. 

This community had to relocate due to a flood. There is a sense of pride and determination among its residents — which I felt was missing in the other communities. Also, relative to other remote communities, addictions and substance abuse are significantly lower. The distant northern location and sense of determination might have contributed to this.

While flying between Indigenous reserves, usually at a lower altitude than commercial planes, I pondered on these small communities living among the wildlife and wilderness, on the river meeting the sea or the lake meeting the river. I thought about how they thrived and are still thriving with their attachment to the nature and animals of these lands. 

Every time my flight prepares to land in Toronto and I see how blessed we are with well-developed roads, tall structures and other amenities, I am reminded of these remote Indigenous communities weighed down with a lot of public health crises and other challenges. There is a heightened need to teach our younger generations to learn and connect with this land’s First Nations. Mere recognition of the Indigenous communities and land acknowledgments before an official program is nothing but a meager effort.

Suhail Hashim, a Registered Nurse currently working at Toronto Western Hospital, is also a public health professional. He has worked with various public health projects in Ontario, Canada and Southern California.

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By The ISNA Green Initiative Team

May/June 2023

We all deserve to breathe clean air, for it’s one of life’s basic needs.

Few things are more frightening than being unable to get enough air. However, because of persistent indoor and outdoor air pollution, people all over the world suffer daily from acute respiratory health problems.

This May, we celebrate Clean Air Month. Clean air is critical to human and ecosystem health. Poor air quality affects people of all ages, especially those who have asthma or heart conditions, work and exercise outdoors, as well as elders and children.

Clean Air Month started as a week-long event in 1972 and evolved into a month-long one in 1994. Its awareness campaigns seek to educate everyone about the impact of air pollutants and encourage people to take steps to improve air quality, both locally and globally.

We can’t always see or smell toxic air pollutants, but their health impacts are very real. Air pollution is responsible for over 100,000 deaths in the U.S. each year and leads to heart disease, lung cancer, asthma, stroke, low birth weight, premature birth and other problems.

The Clean Air Act (CAA), passed in 1970, was the first comprehensive federal law designed to crack down on polluting air emissions from stationary and mobile sources. Among other things, it authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and welfare and to regulate other hazardous air pollutants. 

Air Pollution Does Discriminate

According to a 2021 EPA study, people of color are more exposed to harmful particulate air pollution than white people, with racial disparities persisting regardless of income. Much of this is related to where people live and which communities bear the brunt of air pollution. People of color are more likely to live near power plants, major roadways and manufacturing plants and thus face a higher risk of premature death from air pollution.

Truck pollution is another huge problem that harms everyone, especially those who live closes to highways, ports, freight hubs and other high-traffic areas. Toxic diesel truck fumes contribute to lethal particulate and ozone pollution, thereby threatening the health of millions. Heavy-duty vehicles also spew dangerous nitrogen oxides and other pollution, harming respiratory health, especially in marginalized communities located near freight routes. 

Toxic soot hurts millions and puts predominately black and brown communities at a greater health risk than any other population. It’s time to fight back against big polluters who want a free pass to release toxic soot pollution from dirty fossil fuel-fired power plants and other industrial sources. 

• Soot pollution, also known as particulate matter or PM_2.5, poses a special danger for children, seniors and people with chronic illnesses. 

• These particles, about 1/36th the size of a grain of sand, can be inhaled and delivered directly to our bloodstream. Exposure to soot has been linked to asthma, heart disease, COPD, Parkinson’s, dementia, low birth weight, greater risk of preterm birth and higher rates of infant mortality health risks and chronic conditions.

• According to the American Lung Association, 63 million Americans are exposed to repeated short-term spikes in soot pollution each year, and many, including more than 20 million Americans suffer dangerous levels of soot pollution on a year-round basis. 

The current standards for soot pollution, which haven’t been updated since 2012, are insufficient to protect our health or the environment. Stronger updated limits (i.e., no higher than 8 mcg/m³ annual and 25 mcg/m³ daily) can save nearly 20,000 lives each year. An even stronger soot standard is expected in black and brown communities, which are often overburdened by pollution, to at least partially end some of the well-known racial disparities in health outcomes. Finally, tightening soot protections will also reduce other dangerous pollution from these sources. The EPA must take bold action if we are to meet President Biden’s stated commitments to cut dangerous pollution and protect our health and environment.

Biden promised to address the climate crisis by cutting climate pollution in half by 2030 and delivering strong public health protections for all communities. Even with the historic investments in climate and clean energy, the Inflation Reduction Act doesn’t get us all the way to this goal.  

The ISNA Green Initiative Team calls on the Biden administration to carry out its responsibilities under our nation’s bedrock environmental laws, like the Clean Air Act, by advancing protections across federal agencies that will help the president to keep his promise. 

We need him to use every authority he has to meet this commitment. That means that the EPA, the Department of Energy and other federal agencies must set strong standards to clean up power plants, transportation and other sources of pollution. Implementing strong solutions will protect our health and environment, advance environmental justice and promote clean energy sources like wind and solar to power the U.S. into the future. 

These solutions to pollution will help advance the president’s public health and environmental justice goals, accelerate the transition to clean energy and create new economic opportunities for all. That’s why we call out to President Biden and EPA Administrator Michael Regan, “Please don’t leave our communities behind. Let us breathe clean air.”  

The ISNA Green Initiative Team comprises Huda Alkaff, Saffet Catovic, Nana Firman, Uzma Mirza and Saiyid Masroor Shah (chair)

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By Karim Hakim

May/June 2023

Karim Hakim talked with Jamila Southwind of the Keeseekoose Tribe, mostly located in Kamsack, Saskatchewan, Canada, on behalf of Islamic Horizons. 

You will be hard pressed to find a lot of Native Muslim accounts of the hajj experience. 

As the years have gone on, Muslims of all backgrounds have found that hajj, and umra for that matter, has become increasingly difficult to perform. Challenges such as spiraling costs, visa issues and required vacation time make it difficult for Native Muslims to attend. 

Those whom Allah blesses to perform to hajj should jump at the opportunity. And for those who can help a fellow Muslin make the journey, they should consider sponsoring an Indigenous Muslim who may not have the opportunity otherwise. Once back home, the new hajji and can use the experience to benefit his/her fellow community and have an eternal ripple effect of goodness. 

Southwind related: Every day of my life, the fact that I’m an Indigenous person has mattered. I’ve been harassed, appreciated, ignored and even interviewed on TV. Sometimes it’s positive, sometimes it’s negative. Other times I’m not sure what to feel. Even on my own Native Reservation I stick out because of being Muslim. It’s been a life of standing out. And it can wear a person down. 

But when I stepped foot in Makka, for the first time in my life I shared a single identity with everyone around me. Over a million of them! Being in Makka felt like I was home — a place I had never been to before, and yet it felt so familiar. Everyone came with the same purpose, so focused that nothing else mattered.

Maybe people did express racism toward me. Maybe I did get dirty looks like back home. But I can’t tell you for sure, because I was too focused on doing my pilgrimage for Allah. It was like a dream come true. Sometimes we’d be walking without shoes, other times falling asleep beside a mosque pillar after completing many beautiful rituals. There was something so simple but deep in everything we did.

It would be dishonest to say every experience I had during my pilgrimage was positive, because there were some experiences that required patience and were negative. But I was so happy to be answering the divine call that such things didn’t matter. Normally being in a giant crowd of people can be annoying and hard to get around. But during hajj it was like a giant family. So even if it seemed overcrowded, it was still a good feeling. 

In fact, the first time I went to hajj was before the infrastructure was updated. I really recommend people look at the infrastructural changes done throughout the years. You can feel more of the different pilgrims’ experience throughout the years and the history of our umma.

One thing I can never forget is how powerful the feeling was when I arrived at the Haram. Even before entering I felt such a strong feeling inside me as I prayed to Allah. Even though that was just the beginning of the hajj, I was already changing as a person and feeling an inner strength I’d never had before.

That feeling is so amazing and so great that I can’t even describe it in words. It was my life’s most beautiful and wonderful experience. And you really do realize that out of so many people in this world, God chose you for this.

It was also a test of patience at times if people pushed you during tawaaf, walking around the Kaaba. But I convinced myself that I didn’t want to get angry. I was there for God, and I wanted to behave myself and be respectful. I think this is the part of hajj that we don’t realize is for our improvement — to be patient and well behaved for His sake even when others are pushing you or not being as respectful. 

Drinking Zamzam water was another beautiful experience. I’ve never drunk something so delicious and so fulfilling. I’ve tried so many things from nature because of my Indigenous background. Alhamdulillah, I spent much of my life learning how to live off the land and take food and drink from nature and the great outdoors. I’ve had many beautiful experiences like this in my life and have shared and taught them to others as a Native. 

But this didn’t compare to my experience at hajj with the Well of Zamzam and its blessed water! I experienced this from my own special lens because of my own background, and I think everyone has their own special ways of seeing this journey and finding their favorite parts of it.

On hajj, I never had to go buy food. My hosts would just set it out for us. It was very delicious, too. And I saw Muslims from all over the world. I remember thinking, “I wish I could see another Native! That would be so amazing!” I kept thinking about that. I had to explain my background to so many people and especially take time explaining it. I remember many of them didn’t get it at first, but after I explained they would say, “Ooh you are Ahmar Hind” (“Red Indian” in Arabic). 

After learning my background, people were very respectful and told me they really respected my people, knew about Natives and that we were strong and warriors. They appreciated our background and said they really feel bad about what had happened to us and that they have a high respect for us for we kept fighting even after our land was stolen.

After hajj I met more people who, when they found out that I was a Native, showered me with so many beautiful gifts. It was like the opposite of so many of the experiences I’ve had my entire life. Many of us Natives are treated like we are second class or trash in our own lands. We struggle and are looked down upon by many. We have struggled against this our entire lives. To be treated with dignity and have our culture appreciated changed for me in Makka. Islam and hajj showed me how we should really be treated. To this day I am so grateful to The Creator for blessing me with this journey. 

I really hope more of my Native brothers and sisters can make this amazing journey. Hajj changes your life no matter where you are from. As Natives we are used to traveling. We can be barefoot, sleep out in nature, walk longer distances, climb. We have prepared our whole lives for journeys like hajj. When I arrived in Makka, I can certainly tell you that your heart and body feel like they are home. And you never want to leave. It’s like deep in your heart. You become so peaceful and happy. And after you complete hajj, you become a new person like a newborn baby and are ready to start your life off in a better way. 

Karim Hakim, a Los Angeles native, has contributed to Muslim Vibe, OnEarth Magazine, SalaamCal, The Highlander, Fight! Magazine and more. In addition to being Southern California’s Helping Hand for Relief and Development representative, he is co-founder of Bros and Arrows and a performer of #SpokenFlows. bio

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By Suheir Kafri

May/June 2023

When I first started my job at the ADAMS (All-Dulles Area Muslim Society) mosque, I was very elated that I would be working with my own beloved community in Islam.

I had recently graduated with a degree in social work. However, in between graduating and getting a job, I went through an immense bout of depression, anxiety and grief. In May 2013, I sat among my fellow George Mason University graduates, waiting for my moment to walk across the stage and receive my diploma. Although I had waited for this pivotal and important moment for six years, another parallel moment held even more significance in my heart — my mother and children were in the stands, cheering me on as I started walking. She proudly held up a sign that said, “That’s my daughter!” 

I had married young and had my children. After my youngest got on the school bus, I enrolled in college. By the time I was a senior, my eldest daughter was freshman at the same college. It was a time of joy and such accomplishment. My support system included my mother, my biggest cheerleader. I would call her before every exam and ask her to pray for me.

A dialysis patient for 13 years, my mother went to her treatment center four times a week. I watched her endure her own depression after realizing what the future held for her as she waited for a kidney donor to match. Unfortunately, she never received a transplant. The doctors initially told us that without a donated kidney, she would live only another year because of other preexisting conditions. By the grace of God, she survived for longer than that.

The summer after graduation, I traveled. I made umra and visited my home country to see family and three months later, in August 2013, came back to the U.S. to begin job hunting. Six days after arriving, my mother went into cardiac arrest and returned to her Creator. I’ll never forget the grief that overtook me and the collapse of everything that was light in life. It felt as if someone had turned the lights off and I was in bleak darkness, unable to see forward or to process and function. If I didn’t have my children to care for, I think I would’ve been in a state of nonexistence and trying to hide from the world, for grief and depression had set in.

After six months, I woke up and prayed that God would remove me from this darkness. I looked for a job. The first one I saw was for a social worker at a mosque. After a few interviews, I was hired and told myself that day, “This will be my turning point! I’ll begin to utilize my skills to empower and enhance the lives of others.”

On my first day, I was instructed that some people would be asking for zakat assistance. But to my surprise, my first phone call was from a woman seeking help in reaching out to the community to get a donated kidney for her father, who had gone into kidney failure. I was immediately triggered and taken aback, because now I would have to re-enter the despair I had just recovered from. I took it as a sign that I was where God intended me to be. I promised to hold this community close to my heart, as my own pain was speaking to me through this woman. 

Determined to look deeper into my community’s issues, I greeted each client and listened to their stories. I helped them complete their applications for assistance and reveal how their hardships had begun. Knowing that I’d have to advocate for them, I began writing down my assessments of what resources they would need. 

Some of them were caretakers of their family, so earning a living and having a regular job everyday was nearly impossible. Others said they were taking care of family members with various mental health illnesses — schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and suicidal ideation — and that leaving their loved ones without daily supervision posed a safety risk. I’d hear them clients say, “If I leave my loved one alone for the day, I’m afraid of what will happen to them while I’m working.” 

Many said they had tried to work; however, they’d lose their jobs because they had to take so much time off. This scenario was very present in the community. I’d listen to the families and caregivers saying that they felt so helpless that they’d started developing anxiety and depression. After expressing my concern about their own well-being and suggesting therapy so they’d have a safe space to process what they were experiencing, I was often surprised by their replies.

After suggesting therapy as part of a holistic wellness approach, they’d reply, “No, I’m not sick, I don’t need a therapist” or “No, I can’t see a therapist because people will say that I’m crazy.” One of the most heartbreaking comments came from a woman who’d endured depression for an extended period of time. When I suggested therapy, she said, “No, I cannot go see a therapist, although I want to, because my husband will divorce me and tell his family. They’ll think I’m crazy.”

I had to think of other ways to convince them to get the help they needed. I advised them to share the symptoms — all mental health related — they were experiencing with their primary care doctor. I thought perhaps this would lead them to seek help. But many refused this option as well.

I felt helpless. How could I help my community beat the stigma associated with mental health?

I began thinking about how I could convince them to see mental health care in a new light. One evening as I reviewed the events of my workday, it came to me. I would bring the needed care to them. I’d enable them to seek help within a familiar sanctuary: their mosque. I created a Mosque Mental Health Model and, together with the imams, collaborated on ensuring that it would incorporate spirituality and the clinical aspect of care. 

Once the model was satisfactory, I asked the local Muslim mental health professionals to contract with the mosque and take the referrals I would send. I was so humbled by all of the therapists, professional counselors, social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists who agreed to help me destigmatize mental illness and treat the community, many of whom had been struggling alone for years.

As this model went into effect in 2015, the community slowly became more comfortable with this arrangement. I watched as client after client said “Yes.” Not only did mental health professionals treat them for depression and other mental health issues, but they also treated victims of domestic violence and various traumas.

As the number of professionals grew, our work continued with specialists who could shed light on those adverse childhood experiences that lead to mental health illnesses. We continued to educate the community through seminars and workshops on such topics as depression and PTSD, especially in terms of refugees, addiction and domestic violence. Our imams played a most supportive role by speaking about mental health in their Friday sermons and expressing the importance of seeking treatment for all such ailments while utilizing spirituality and the help of mental health clinicians.

Seeking to improve our model even more, in 2018 our mosque opened its first counseling office utilizing the living room model, an approach that makes clients feel like they’re sitting in their own living room. We have coffee, tea and snacks, and they can come to the mosque and see an onsite therapist.

By 2020, as Covid took a toll on the world, our dedicated team of mental health professionals addressed the rise in depression and isolation by switching over to a telehealth model of therapy via face-to-face Zoom meetings or phone calls. Many clients told me that this continuation of service was lifesaving, as the initial pre-therapy problem was their inability to seek support within their homes.

Although the effects of Covid linger on and many families have lost loved ones, their ensuing grief and depression would have become unbearable without the mosque’s mental health professionals who reached out and kept their clients on the path to healing.

Combining spirituality and mental health treatment provides hope, and this invaluable resource should be available for every Muslim struggling with mental illness. When you enter the mosque to speak with your imam about your troubles, you should be able to walk into the next office and receive mental health care. I would say that we, as Muslims, are getting stronger in this cause. We will continue striving to destigmatize mental illness and create a better quality of life for those who reach out.

In my mosque, mental health is as important as physical and spiritual health. There is no wellness without mental wellness. “Verily, with hardship comes ease” (94:5).

Suheir Kafri, BSW, QMHP-T, is social worker at the All-Dulles Area Muslim Society, Sterling, Va. bio

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By Khalid Iqbal

May/June 2023

A few weeks ago, I woke up in a daze realizing that I had just fainted. According to my doctors, my neck muscles were too stiff to protect my head and neck. I couldn’t move, turn or rest. 

During my first night home, I realized that I’d have to sleep while sitting in a chair. As this was a recipe for sleeplessness, I soon became lost in my thoughts and allowed depression to take control of my mind — thinking negatively about my past and my future, lost opportunities, my health and life after death. 

Time passed very slowly. I was anxiously waiting for fajr and then sunrise. But it was only 2:15 a.m. — more than three hours until fajr. The night crawled by so slowly, and the sound of the clock’s second hand grew louder as everyone else fell asleep. 

Sometimes I dosed off, but as my neck tilted sideways I woke up crying with pain. The neck brace didn’t help, for the pain was so severe. The doctors gave me strong pain relievers and muscle relaxants, but it seemed that every medication had more adverse side effects. Thinking that it has to be divine punishment for my sins, I tried to remember them and ask for His mercy and blessings.

I noticed that as time passed, I began to be changing. For example, I didn’t have the energy to do anything and was always thinking negatively about myself, the future, life and others. I didn’t enjoy anything anymore, even when my wife made my favorite dishes — I took a few bites and then stopped eating. I felt tired all the time, took a long time to decide what to wear or make simple decisions. I felt worthless and guilty for my non-participation at home and and the masjid, angry and agitated. Every night I thought about death, despite my fear of it, and how my being gone would affect my family. 

Only after I told my doctor did I learn that these are signs of depression and that I needed to see a specialist. By this time, my family had realized what was happening to me. They would listen to me non-judgmentally, even for long periods of time so I could get all my thoughts and concerns off my chest, trying to reassure me and get me to have a positive outlook. This was when my wife pushed me to find a mental health professional and get proper treatment. I’m lucky that my family was always there, engaging me in positive activities. 

The World Health Organization defines mental health as a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his/her ability to cope with stress, can work productively and contribute positively to his/her community

I went to a Virginia senior home to do some political campaigning for a candidate. I met two female residents. The first one, an Indian in her 80s who sews clothes for others to make some extra money, was extremely happy to see me. She asked me to stay a bit longer so we could converse in Punjabi. She told me that she was waiting for her son and grandchildren to visit. When I asked when they had last visited her, she couldn’t remember. She showed the date in her diary — they had visited two years ago.

Although Muslims get a lot of solace from praying and connecting with God to seek His guidance and mercy, our community isn’t immune to mental health issues. Family and marriage issues top the list, along with the death of a loved one, financial difficulties, loneliness, old age and materialism. Our youth are subjected to pressure through social media, Islamophobia, peer pressure, parental divorce, social pressure to excel in their studies, wear fashion and designer clothing and so on. 

Unfortunately, most curable mental health cases go undetected because of certain ill-formed myths and misconceptions, such as people with real mental health issues are violent. Research, however, shows that these people are no more violent than the general public. Another myth is that mental health disorders are signs of weakness and personality flaws 

Labeling people with a mental health issue only causes them to hide it and allow it to worsen. I remember a 15-year-old boy with severe undetected — and therefore unaddressed — depression. His parents only realized its severity after he committed suicide. 

The second lady wanted me to take some money she had saved and put it in the mosque’s zakat box. She had put the money in a pile of plastic shopping bags, along with other stuff, so no one could break in and take it while she was sleeping or when she was out. Being over 80, it took her 5 to 15 minutes to open each bag, most of which only had $5 inside; the rest was trash. 

My wife and I visited these ladies several times. They are getting frail and losing their vision and memory. Now they no longer recognize me. One of them passed away recently. I saw her son and grandchildren at the funeral. I hope they had visited her during her lifetime. 

I related my struggle and recovery to a friend, who referred me to a course on “Mental Health First Aid” offered by Loudoun County. While attending it, I recalled my emotional struggle and negative thoughts. Every bit was true — severe anxiety and depression while struggling to sleep sitting on that chair night after night.

My family, although not trained in mental health first aid, helped me every step of the way. My wife, especially, spent so much time talking with me about positive things, giving me hope and encouraging me to talk to my primary physician. We met, and right away he referred me to a specialist. 

My recovery taught me that dealing with a mental health issue is a deeply personal process of regaining physical, spiritual, mental and emotional balance. My brother and his wife came from Pakistan to visit me. Their presence had a very positive effect on my health, especially my thinking. Our ensuing discussions inspired me to learn how to cope with my situation. We would exercise together or talk about family or other matters. They were supportive and gave me hope, recognized and highlighted my strengths, encouraged me to use them to think positively from a strength-based perspective and helped me develop my self-esteem and coping skills.

The peer support they provided was the best aspect of my recovery. Instead of thinking negatively each night, I started to sleep most of the night and began thinking about positive things. I’d look forward to getting up for tahajjud and ask God for His blessing and mercy. My wife, my brother and his wife would get up and pray together with me. That was such a serene and beautiful environment. 

After the mental health first aid course, I realized that it’s important to become familiar with and how to cope with the various aspects of mental health. We need to learn how to recognize if someone has an issue and talk with them about it in a non-judgmental way, to encourage them to seek professional help and to be there for them throughout their ordeal. This is especially important for parents of young children who sometimes have mood swings, anxiety or depression. Parents must be there for them, to talk with them nicely with love and mercy, to understand their mood(s). 

Just like knowing first aid, mental health first aid will also help support and save lives, especially of those who are depressed and commit suicide or hurt themselves. Our centers and mosques should begin conducting this type of training. 

Khalid Iqbal is founder of Rahmaa Institute, which focuses on issues related to marriage, conflict resolution, divorce, domestic violence and anger prevention. He is an author (“Anger and Domestic Violence Prevention Guide for the Muslim Community”) and speaker who has developed and teaches a comprehensive eight-hour premarital counseling course. He has been married for 50 years and has three wonderful children and ten grandchildren.

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By A. Rahman Champa

May/June 2023

In the beginning, Covid-19 struck many countries very hard — but, surprisingly, not Vietnam. According to Huong Le Thu’s blog post of April 30, 2020, the nation adopted a “unite to fight, talking about COVID-19 like a battle. Within Vietnam, it has become a matter of patriotism to wash one’s hands and stay home”. Moreover, Vietnam, having learned from the 2003 SARS outbreak, quickly imposed travel restrictions, lockdowns, testing and tracing. According to Max Walden, writing for www.abc.net.au/ on Sept. 22, 2020, Vietnam stopped the virus in its tracks — for a second time! 

The pandemic has left many Cham and Vietnamese people in a difficult situation. In Tay Ninh province, one of Vietnam’s four major Cham Muslim populations, a Cham friend remembers walking through the streets of his neighborhood and seeing the signs of funerals everywhere — Vietnamese hold funerals at home, instead of trying to conceal death. Vietnamese friends who live in the same area told me that the vaccine was available — for US$800! When people lose their jobs because the government closes their places of employment for weeks, who has such a vast sum? When they are ordered to stay home or face arrest by patrolling soldiers, who can get vaccinated? When one family member is infected, the entire family and sometimes even the nearby neighbors were removed to an isolated quarantine camp. People died.

 Today we can look back and remember the images of ambulances coming to take people to quarantine centers, seeing the sorrow and pain of those who weren’t allowed to comfort their dying loved ones or even say “Goodbye, my beloved” for the final time. Everything was heartbreaking, an individual and family tragedy.

Many Cham families who were already struggling lost their savings and other things that they will never be able to recover. Thus, they are forced to rely on the government and the kindness of strangers. But the government, as seems to be the case in so many lands, may have other priorities.

I used to receive their pleas for help, “Baby, please help me, brother help me, uncle help me. Just save me this one time, uncle, son. Uncle, I’ll be grateful to you, grateful to you, grateful to you until I die.” This is what they texted to me, pleading for help to survive their personal ordeals. 

Surely, none of us can turn away from such distress, even if it’s someone we’re not very close to. Most people are proud of being able to take care of their family. Imagine their shame at being forced to beg. My three friends in Tay Ninh province told me so many times, “Please don’t look down on us because we are poor. Please don’t tell your friends about us. Please don’t forget us.”

I can stop drinking coffee for a month during Ramadan. I can give up a meal so I can share a meal with people who are hungry, no matter who they are. After all, the Quran reminds us that all of us are brothers and sisters, all human beings made of flesh and blood.

As for me, I can only do so much to help. I can only contribute a very small amount of money, equal to no more than a grain of sand, along with other people to help them. I called on my brothers and sisters three times in 2021 to help our hometown’s Cham community.

This year we collected enough money to feed 150 families of our Cham relatives and friends during Ramadan. We sent them rice, sauce, instant noodles and a little money to meet their needs. As a Vietnamese proverb states, “One piece when hungry is equal to one pack when full.” We can have a meal, a morning coffee or a small snack for suhur to get us through the day, never realizing how many days our fellow Cham can stretch that which we take for granted during Ramadan.  

I have tried to do what I can to help my people. I pray for this accursed Covid-19 to end so they can resume their normal lives, their health and their jobs. I look forward to the day when they will no longer have to bow their heads in shame and beg.

I wish everyone good health. I wish that Muslims could actually put their differences aside and help their fellow brothers and sisters get through these difficult times. I wish that we would remember that a charity lunch box in difficult times is worth more than a million dollars.

I cannot say anything more. I can only share these few words with you. As another Vietnamese proverb says, “Hearing a hundred times is not equal to seeing once.” 

A. Rahman Champa lives in the U.S.

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