Law | Affad Shaikh

Archive for the ‘Law’ Category

At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington DC

Posted: February 1, 2013 in Affad Shaikh, American Muslim, Democrat, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, History, identity, Justice, Law, leadership, Politics, race in america, racism, Republican, Social
Tags: 1960 election, 2012 election, Abraham Lincoln, Atlanta, black history month, Blue Bomb, Chris Matthews, civil rights activists, current-events, discrimination, Elusive Hero, emancipation proclamation, I have a dream speech, january 1 1863, John F. Kennedy, Magnolia Room, martin luther king jr i have a dream, Martin Luther King Jr., reverend king, Richard Nixon, segregation

Last years movie Lincoln was pushed through right in time of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation in 2013. A hundred years after that Proclamation on August 28, 1963, hundreds of thousands of Americans marched to the memorial of Abraham Lincoln, where they listened to one of the most famous speeches in world history, orated by Martin Luther King, Jr.- “I Have a Dream” speech.

On January 1, 1863, the President Lincoln issued the wartime measure known as the Emancipation Proclamation which freed relatively few slaves, but it fueled the fire of the enslaved to strike for their freedom. Similarly, Reverend King Jr. issued a challenge to the United States in order to move the Federal government to take drastic steps to end segregation between Blacks and Whites across the nation.

Personally I found that a good way to share and reflect on our Civil Rights history was an event I learned more about through the lens of the John F. Kennedy campaign for the 1960 Presidential election. Going into October a group of Black civil rights activists sat at the counter for food service at the Magnolia Room in Rich’s, an Atlanta department store. Chris Matthew’s book John F. Kennedy: An Elusive Hero presents what led up to what was called the Democratic Blue Bomb prior to the November election:

The lunch counters at drugstores and other downtown businesses were strictly whites-only. Corretta King described how it was int hose days: “There was hardly a place outside our own neighborhoods where a Negro could even get a soda except by going to the side door and having it handed it out.” Among those arrested and charged with trespassing at Rich’s that great day was the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. While the other sit-in demonstrators soon were released, a judge denied King bail, sentencing the civili rights leader to six months at hard labor in Reidsville State Prison. The defendant, he said, had violated probation on an earlier charge of driving in Georgia with an Alabama license. (Can you imagine being charged with a felony for this? Wonder if it only applied to Blacks.)

Coretta, pregnant at the time, was naturally horrified- and very frightened- when she learned her husband had been roughly awakened at night, placed in handcuffs and leg chains, hurried into a car, and driven two hundred miles into rural Georgia.

Through a mutual friend of Corretta’s, a campaign aide encouraged then Democratic Presidential nominee Kennedy to call Corretta:

“Why don’t you telephone Mrs. King and give her your sympathy,” Shriver suggested to Jack. ”Negroes don’t expect everything will change tomorrow no matter who’s elected, but they do want to know whether you care. If you telephone Mrs. King, they’ll know that you understand and will help. You will reach their hearts and give support to a pregnant woman who is afraid her husband will be killed.”

“Thats a good idea,” Kennedy said. ”Why not? Do you have her number? Get her on the phone.” Mrs. King would later recount to Wofford what Jack had said. ”I want to express my concer about your husband. I know this must be very hard on you. I understand you are expecting a baby, and I just wanted you to know that I was thinking about you and Dr. King. If there is anything I can do to help, please feel free to call me.”

In what was described as being an off the record conversation, the media would soon pick up on the conversation from Mrs. King who said “It certainly made me feel god that he called me personally and let me know how he felt. I had the feeling that if he was that much concerned, he would do what he could so that Dr. King was let out of jail. I have heard nothing from the vice president or anyone on his staff. Mr. Nixon has been very quiet.” But this would forever switch the Blacks from the Republican party of President Abraham Lincoln (Emancipation Proclamation) to the party of President John F. Kennedy, read the following excerpt from Matthews on how this happened:

Up at Kennedy headquarters in Washington, Wofford and Louis Martin were about to make history. Collecting all the appreciateive and admiring comments pouring in from black leaders and others praising the Kennedy’s’ efforts on behalf of the Kings, they found a pari of Philadelphia ministers willing to sponsor a publication of a pamphlet, “The Case of Martin Luther King,” which laid out the story of the Kennedy-King episode in bold language.

“No-Comment Nixon versus a Candidate with a Heart: Senator Kennedy,” one caption read. ”I earnestly and sincerely feel taht it is time for all of us to take off our Nixon buttons,” the Reverend Ralph Abernathy, a King ally, was quoted in the document. ”Since Mr. Nixon has been silent through all this, I am going to return his silence when I go into the voting booth.”

The pamphlet, two million copies of which were printed on light blue paper and delivered to black churches the Sunday before the election, would be dubbed “the blue bomb.” Though it never stirred even the mildest alarm among conservative white voters, who’d remain loyal to the national Democratic ticket, it moved black America overnight to the Democratic side of the ballot, from the party of Lincoln to that of the Kennedys. Martin Luther King, Jr., summing up the episodes meaning, was eloquent: “There are moments when the politically expedient can be morally wise.”

Here we are with the 2012 election and the Black community voting something like 93% for the Democratic ticket. Insane. The consequence that keeps repeating itself is that the Republican party just plays for the short term thereby continuously closing itself off to new potential voters in every generation. Back in the late 1950′s it was the Blacks who had up until then blindly supported the Republican party due to its association with President Abraham Lincoln, and presently Female and Latino voters.

How is that politicians always know the answers?

Posted: December 2, 2012 in Activism, Affad Shaikh, American Muslim, Islam, Law, Politics, professional, Progressive
Tags: answers, current-events, Imam Malik, politics, religion, responsibility, society

Ever wonder how a politician could possibly know everything? Can it be omnipresence? When I was younger I just was in awe at how politicians could answer all the questions being asked of them, how they must have amazing memories but also a voracious appetite for information. To me that put a politician in a special breed of humans, one that I knew I couldn’t possibly be part of because my ability to remember things was near zilch (though my ability to take complex things and break them down was pretty awesome).

Then came President Bush, the second, and the whole notion of politicians knowing everything was squashed, but also a new reality dawned on me, maybe politicians were amazing BS spitters, like me. Whats fascinating though is that we have made politicians this way.

Politicians are the special breed of animals they are because of our expectations of them. Imagine if a natural disaster happens and a politicians responds to a reporters answer that “they don’t know”. A slew of follow up questions follow. The storm builds if its found that the politician not only doesn’t know but has no idea how to find out the answer to the question.

In that way I feel the old saying about how politicians are a reflection of the society is so apt. Not only does our society expect that from politicians but it rewards, cheers on in fact, those who vigorously push a partisan idea. This same behavior is dispersed throughout society from academia to boardrooms. There simply is no way to gracefully say that “I don’t know the answer” or that “there are places where your point seems plausible.”

I find this all incredibly relevant today as I sit back to read, listen and watch a Congressionally manufactured economic crisis called the fiscal cliff.

Our politics is so messed up that our politicians, in order to accomplish something meaningful for the country, have to manufacture crisis that could plunge the country into deeper trouble then were they able to put aside their egos and partisan pet ideology to comprise a solution that is for the greater good of the American people.

I am reminded of Islamic history, in particular an incident with Imam Malik, where a man travelled a long distance to ask him about a particular hadith. Imam Malik was a scholar of scholars, the very fountain of the knowledge that held the faithful together. When this man asked his question, Imam Malik simply said “I don’t know.”

Can you imagine in a time where transportation wasn’t easy being told by the greatest scholar at the time that he doesnt know the answer to your question. You traveled there not for business, let alone pleasure, but to get answers to a list of questions and are told that there were no answers. I once heard a khateebh, don’t remember who to attribute the quote to, say that saying “I don’t know” was half the process of gaining knowledge.

In the end I don’t think our politicians will change anytime soon. However, I am a firm believer in change starting with ourselves. When we change, those around us notice and respond accordingly. What we can practice in our lives is to be careful in making statements because we will be held accountable for them, and to hold ourselves accountable when we do speak. Granted my perspective of politicians is a bit generalized and there are politicians that will say they don’t have the answers but will get them, however, there are too few of those around these days. Therefore, being an activist is not just about going out to stomp the ground for positive change, rather, its also about being a force of change within yourself. I believe that being a progressive requires this type of change.

Picture is from Allison Nazarian’s blog, in particular this post about realizing the power of saying “I don’t know.”

Ann Coulter says Immigration is not a civil rights issue, 5 historical reasons why it is

Posted: September 24, 2012 in Activism, Affad Shaikh, American Muslim, Asian American, Law, Politics, race in america, racism, Republican, Social
Tags: ann coulter, immigration

Jews menaced by a Cowboy in this 19th century anti-semitic drawing. Image: Bancroft Library, Berkeley, CA

I dont know how anyone takes Ann Coulter seriously, let alone as a right wing conservative pundit. She is bat shit crazy, but lets assume that she has some degree of sanity in order to evaluate her recent comments on ABC’s ”This Week” with George Stephanoploulous.

She argues that “We owe black people something. We have a legacy of slavery.” She further affirms that “civil right are for blacks.”- Obviously she has not read the Bill of Rights.

But what gets insane about her whole line of reasoning is that she goes on to say “What have we done to the immigrants?…IMMIGRANTS HAVEN’T EVEN BEEN IN THIS COUNTRY.”

I don’t think Coulter understands what she is saying. Obviously this is the part where Coulters conservative history lessons tuned out immigrant rights issues, but we should be counting our blessings that at least the Conservative values filter left Jim Crow and slavery in the lesson plans. Right.

So for the Coulter-gap-in-history-lessons lets point out 5 Things that “have [been] done to immigrants” who have from the beginning made up the foundation of our country:

The first travesty that can be counted amongst the immigration right that required protecting in the USA surprisingly begins with where Coulters elementary school history lessons ended- Slavery. Yes, slavery was a forced migration of people for the purpose of economically benefiting from their forced labor. Surprisingly enough when it comes to immigration rights issues, this remains the core of why immigrants rights should matter to all Americans- labor abuse of immigrants who are vulnerable and often times forced into modern day slavery, yes that exists here in the US.
The next travesty that occurred to our immigration policy was the racist 1790 act that limited naturalization to “free white persons”. See that would benefit people like Coulter who would not ever face discriminatory immigration policies and could sit from her place of privilege and play stupid when it comes to protecting the dignity and humanity of others, others who happen to not be “free white persons.” It was only in the 1860′s the citizenship was granted to Blacks and not until the 1950′s when my people- Asians- were granted citizenship! So without the CIVIL RIGHTS movement incorporating my peoples struggle, I couldn’t have become an American citizen, but then again, for Coulter’s racist and narrow-minded view that is perfectly fine- I mean Black people just joined the party and that takes time to get used to, right?
The Know Nothings- is probably a GREAT way to describe Coulter. If she lived during that time she would be competing with Robert T. Conrad, these were vicious group of xenophobic baboons that co-opted, much like today’s Tea Party, the Republican party. For them the “undesirable” were Catholics, Jews, Italians, Poles and Irish especially. ”Irishmen need not apply” was common form of discrimination and racist policies targeting immigrants, but of coarse for Coulter this was not a civil rights issues. For Coulter the proper place for the 6 million Jews would have been Europe, where during Nazi German times they would be annihilated, obviously in her insane world perspective this equation doesn’t sum up- Jews white people right?
In 1875, the United States began to understand that there needed to be some controls placed on immigration, rightly so, a sovereign nation requires controlling who comes into the country, so the Page Act was passed, becoming the country’s first Immigration legislative act. What the law targeted specifically was to categorize from the onset was that Asian contract laborers were undesirable, Asian women were undesirable because they promoted prostitution (Orientalism at its best!). The Republican Horace F. Page who introduced the legislation in Congress stated the legislation was to ”end the danger of cheap Chinese labor and immoral Chinese women” (sound familiar….?).
The list goes one, 5 is not a short list, its the beginning of the list of long discriminatory and racist immigration polices that squarely place immigration rights within the realm of civil rights. But looking at the Coulter prism I would point out the fact that even after successful and legal immigration, immigrant communities faced massive discriminatory and racist polices both under the government and by private institutions. Jews were prevented from attending universities, Blacks couldn’t attend law school, women weren’t allowed to go to schools, minorities were prevented from buying land (businesses…how does that square with Coulter-business-above-all-menatlity), Asian men werent allowed to marry white women (Blacks and Whites couldnt marry in many states.) Before 1970′s segregationists used restrictive covenants to keep out certain races (Jews and Blacks in particular) from purchasing homes in certain neighborhoods (South Central vs. Beverly Hills ever wonder why one is the ghetto the other is the most expensive zip code in the world?) The Fair Housing Act of 1968- the civil rights movement- destroyed these segregationists attempts at keeping our nation in the dark ages of equality by making housing discrimination on the basis of race or color, including racially restrictive covenants, illegal.

The list goes on. Ann Coulter’s interview can be watched at the HuffPost. Thanks for joining me on a stroll through discriminatory and racist immigration policy’s in the USA!

Bullying in Public Schools isn’t just limited to a students sexuality

Posted: September 20, 2012 in 9/11, Activism, Affad Shaikh, American Muslim, CAIR, Education, freedom of religion, high school, identity, Islam, Justice, Law, Masjid, race in america, racism, Social
Tags: anti-discrimination laws, bullying, civil rights act 1964, climate, religion

The past couple of years there have been screaming headlines about student suicides resulting from bullying, specifically for students that are Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Bisexual identified. However, bullying as an issue is not limited to just sexuality, in fact, Federal law as well as California State law along with the Education Board, school districts and individual schools all define bullying in clear terms as the targeting of students over their color/ethnicity/race, nationality, gender, RELIGION and sexuality. (Sexuality was just recently identified as a protected category in California in 2003, though not federally).

One of the least recognized areas of bullying, in my view, is that based on a persons religion, specifically for American Muslim and Sikh students. While we have seen schools take swift actions on anti-Semitism the same has not been done for Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bullying. There are multiple reasons why I believe this is the case among them I believe is that Muslim parents themselves don’t know how to handle the situation, students dont tell their parents (for many reasons among them being the prevalent perception in the community that this is the “burden of being American Muslim in a post-9/11) world.

None of the reasons however are acceptable. Our laws clearly state that a Public School must provide for the safety and well being of ALL children during the course of their instruction and presence at ALL school sponsored events, and even, in some cases, while coming to and going from school. This is all part of the Federal Anti-Discrimination laws that were passed in 1964- yeah, those laws that Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X died for.. equality, justice, “I have a dream of a day where my child…”- and have since been strengthened to ensure the public safety, security, well-being and equality of students in our schools.

What struck me about working on bullying cases while I was at CAIR was that most of the cases came to our offices when it was too late- students who were the victims were getting expelled, parents removed the child from the school, students graduated and left the problem for other students to face. The worse were the anecdotal telling of what children faced in the schools, “Oh well Muhammad was called a terrorist on numerous occasions by his teachers (and he went from being a “B” student to getting “C’s” though at the time no casual connection was made as to why that was happening). I struggled to figure out how to address this problem and I left CAIR knowing that I hadn’t done enough. So over the summer I came back to CAIR as a contracted Project Consultant to help get a campaign off the ground to address School Bullying, its called “Building an Inclusive School Environment”.

The aim of the first phase of this project is simple- its time to be counted. To really address school bullying an organization like CAIR needs statistics. It might just turn out that at the end of the fact finding phase CAIR discovers that school bullying is not as rampant as the anecdotal evidence has suggested, that fine, it means the organization can now devout its limited resources towards more pressing issues and justify its decisions to donors who felt otherwise. The thing is being able to have hard statistics is a way to empower yourself, your community and give your issues a voice. So I turn to you now to help me help CAIR California gather these important statistics. From CAIR Calfornia:

“CAIR-California wants to hear from our American Muslim youth. We have created a survey to learn more about how our community’s youth feel about their school environment and what issues they face on a regular basis. CAIR-California aims to create, based on the responses we receive, specially tailored advocacy resources and tools for our youth to help create a more inclusive school atmosphere. If you are a Muslim student between the ages of 11 – 18 and are attending a public school, please take our survey here: bit.ly/muslimyouth. Please also help us spread the word by sharing the survey with other youth you may know.”

If you are a youth group leader, Imam of your masjid, community leader, MSA activist, Masjid board member who understand the importance of this, CAIR California needs your help. You can get CAIR into your community to do this survey and to follow up by presenting a “Know Your Rights- School Bullying” workshop. Contact your local CAIR chapter, tell them I sent you!

None of the information on this blog post is legal advice. If you are, or someone you know, is faced with a incident, please contact your local CAIR office or an attorney for legal advice. I am not affiliated with CAIR in any form except as a concerned activist that sees this project as being critical to the protection of rights granted to all Americans under the Constitution (and that education is a critical national security issues, lack of equal access is a threat to our future national security). With that being said I have worked at CAIR LA for six years and speak from my experience there, limited to only that experience and nothing more.

MYLP: The Undie-years- Navigating the undergraduate years toward your profession, career and mission in life

Posted: July 10, 2012 in Activism, Affad Shaikh, American Muslim, CAIR, career, CSU, Education, freshman year, high school, identity, Islam, Junior year, Justice, Law, leadership, Muslim Youth Leadership Program, Orange County, Politics, private university, profession, Progressive, public education, senior year, Social, Social Media, Strategy, team work, UC, undergraduate
Tags: boxer briefs, butt huggers, humanities and social sciences, intern experience, undies

Tighty wighties or boxers, or do you go for the boxer briefs? How about the European butt huggers? Undergraduate years are like experimenting with the pair of drawers that your going to be most comfortable with (I limit this to the Brothers, analogizing for sisters on this point seems highly inappropriate, even for me!)

If you went off to college then you should be focusing on your grades. Make sure you understand your learning style (see Academic counseling or places like UCSD’s OASIS) so you can make the most of your learning experience. You want to do good in your classes, so you get more free time and also get opportunities to intern (experience based learning is the reality of our economy today). I say this bit of advice to all my mentee’s- don’t worry about CHOOSING A MAJOR the first year and half you are at college. If you went to community college or to a four year institution, plan your first two years around the general education courses you need to take along with the transfer classes needed to go from a junior college to a university. (if this is not making sense go read my post on Senioritis)

The planning you do at this juncture is critical and as always be proactive by making these plans in consultation with your parents, counselors and if you are blessed with a mentor, use that person for input and advice. Impress your parents at your maturity and desire to involve them in the process. Regardless your transition from high school might be rough, so I always say play it safe and take the bare minimum of courses needed to be a full time student. In the end you will want to socialize and do things that are new/fun and its best to manage all of that in a way that doesn’t affect your grades.

If you are a science major, than you need more “well rounding”- if your in the humanities and social sciences, well so is like 60% of the folks at your school and most of them are unemployed or struggling or worse competing for very limited Masters and Ph.D. programs. You will need to be “well rounded” regardless what your focus is. Unless your absolutely brilliant or are majoring in the four careers that isn’t faced with unemployment- best you work with what your good at and build up some exceptional skills and experience.

This is where you need to find consistency, discipline and a passion toward an arch of activities that will

a) help you get transferable skills

b) provide life experiences and

c) help you gain an edge over your competitors.

Pre-med folks, honestly, everyone goes to volunteer at a “hospital”, so get smart and think about something unique. Here is a hypothetical “pre-med student” to help you understand my point:

You like swimming- might of swam on your high school team maybe?- and you are pre-med, looking to stand out? Go be a lifeguard, get advance first aid training and teach kids how to swim in your spare time. That, right there is an arch that brings together your personal passion, your career aspirations and your academic work. You get transferable skills, you showcase leadership skills, you indicate your ability to empathize and work with what you will find to be challenging experiences and if you’re lucky some European guy wearing a speedo will need mouth to mouth resuscitation and you, you my friend, will be the one to give it to him. BAM! You saved a person life and now can speak to that experience in your medical school application. If you got your academics in order and you achieved decent success on your MCAT your a shoe in, hopefully, to an American Medical school.

What the hell am I talking about? Well to really draw it down to simple, basically I have provided you with- an amazing resume, a means to keep your grades decent, showcase your ability to have consistency, discipline, focus and growth (its not like you will become a swimming instructor over night…); you get an amazing personal statement (While serving as a life guard I learned that my passion for swimming allowed me to save a persons life. It is with this passion that I am applying to your EXTRAORDINARILY EXPENSIVE MEDICAL SCHOOL because you offer me the best opportunity toward my professional dreams of becoming a UNDER PAID AND SEVERELY UPSET PEDIATRIC SURGEON); you get a good source of “alternative, but strong” recommendation letters, you diversify your life experiences as long as you have some of the traditional stuff but all of this is grounded on your passion, that thing that really makes you happy in life.

So as college students dont fall into the trap of doing what Muhammad X and Fatima Y gone done, find an arch in your life that you can develop separately but bring neatly together toward your professional aspirations. Also challenge yourself to do things that you might not initially feel like you are going to like, those make some of the best personal statements. Don’t get peer pressured into cookie cutter learning styles and plans, go at your own pace and make it worthwhile- taking five years instead of four and doing a study abroad program is WORTHWHILE. You working in a science lab playing with flies? Well so are so many others, so you better work on trying to get published or do your own unique research. If your pre-med consider not doing the hum drum Biology major, go into Economics if you like money and business and development.

Also, by January you need to figure out what you’re doing in the summer besides taking summer school. You need to build your resume and resume opportunities fill up fast. The first two years should be of planned-controlled exploring, but you should hone in on your major by the end of that period and more importantly have internship opportunities lined up that are going to help you in that major and toward a career goal. Also always be flexible with your plans- shit happens, say Alhumdulillah and suck in some air and figure out how to move along.

You will want to socialize, you will face drama due to that experience. The experience will put your morality to the test, along with your values and principles. You will question everything in life eventually. *****looking for yourself, feeling lost, confused, etc***** You will feel like a zombie (trust me, being an Undie is nothing like being in graduate school so don’t over emphasize your experience, the world will not cry for you). You will most likely behave at your worst. Your world might just utterly stop making sense. You will talk fast all the time or will take a back seat, when you do talk you might always say the wrong things. You will find new sense of pride in your culture, nationality, heritage or you will run screaming to the hills from all that. Its to be expected- but you should find a way to manage this-finding-yourself-process or else you will loose yourself in it, but I do admit, its probably the best part of a college experience.

You need God. You’re now in a place where all you have are the principles and values you were raised with. All around you are different lifestyles, different norms and values that will challenge the core upon which you are built on. You will either reject and create a bubble, reject and embrace this new world; stumble awkwardly through the mess or find a way to thrive while embracing your core values- that choice is also yours.

Take refuge in God, stay God conscience, be cognizant of peer pressure and anytime you feel like doing something you will regret don’t struggle with yourself, I say run to God and seek refuge with God. Don’t ask for patience or perseverance or determination to overcome the tests and trials and temptations, ask God to grant you the grace to see yourself through the test, provide you with the Mercy of his refuge, acknowledge your desire (for X) so that you can ask God to provide you with what is better for your eternal life (REMEMBER THAT PART, this whole life thing isn’t about you being here, but rather it is for you to do your mission, God entrusted you with it, those things that count toward your afterlife).

Finally surround yourself with people who will bring the good out from you and encourage you to do the right things, you can’t shelter yourself, in fact, I highly recommend not doing that because when you get to working full time, you’re going to be in for a real surprise, but definitely don’t throw yourself out into the deep end of the lake when there are dangers you just are not aware of.

Disclaimer about the MSA- I just told you to hang out with Muslims, and part of college Muslim life is the Muslim Student Association (MSA). I am an MSA-head, guilty of being a former vice president at my school and all sorts of other MSA activities-for-the-greater-good-of-the-Ummah. While the MSA is amazing and necessary and critical, there are limits and there are just down right things that are more important than the MSA. You should go to the MSA because its a community (you get great advice on classes, notes, tests, books…the company of good people); Ramadan and prayers on campus. Halaqahs and other social events. The MSA will enrich your life, will add drama to your life, will provide you with some of your best friends for life. You will want to help out, eventually some of you will want to run for leadership positions- which is wonderful. (I am speaking to the MYLP Alumni)

But all of you MYLP kids have a degree of activism that I believe should outgrow the MSA within the first two years of being there. Do your thing and move on to other leadership positions outside of the “Muslim bubble”- dont get stuck there, make friends with other folks, be leaders in other causes, leave leadership of the MSA for the non-MYLP folks.

For those stumbling onto my blog who are Muslim, know this about the MSA: you need to figure out what the MSA means to you, what you have to offer the MSA, but more importantly what the MSA has to offer you. If the equation does not equal out you should be asking yourself why are you involved in its activism and if the answer to that question is that “its fee’sabilillah brother” then I can’t help you. You need to help yourself, nothing here or anywhere else will be of use to you because the blind answer to my question is not one that understands themselves very well.

Robert Frost has this oft repeated and very much cliched poem, I want you not to just know it, I want you to live it, experience it, embody it. If you don’t want to be mediocre then I am telling you to be one with the poem. If you want to survive, indeed, thrive in the new economy and the globalized world then you need to hustle, what I present to you above is your hustler manual. Go forth and learn not to get by, but rather how to challenge yourself to become a better person, overcome those challenges (or learn from the failure) so that you can ultimately thrive as leaders.

Go back to the main MYLP blog post.

…and the Dhol Bhajaa continues at the after party

Posted: May 24, 2012 in 1L, 9/11, Activism, Affad Shaikh, American Muslim, Asian American, identity, Justice, law school, Politics, Progressive, race in america, Social, Social Media

(Dhol is Urdu for drum; Bhajaa is Urdu for horn)

I haven’t been as prolifically bloggertastic these past five months but that doesn’t mean that the interweb is not moving forward. While I was experiencing the throes of my second semester at law school, processing all my misgivings about being a law student and becoming a practicing attorney, I didn’t have much time to process a pretty significant event taking place on the digital platform but now its time to reflect and put to rest a very good thing that happened to me through its discovery. This is a goodbye and thank you to Sepia Mutiny, a blog for South Asian politics, culture and discussion that ceased its html contribution back in April after 8 years of amazingness.

I was saddened by the news but also compelled to add a few pixels by code to express my sadness a month on. When a blog shutters its doors very little is heard except for frantic tapping on the plastic tabs of the key board, and then there is forever of silence, except those that relied on it, like me, in whom the blog continues to shape and express itself. In my frantic typing to catch up with the events that transpired there is a great degree of significance of the gratitude and appreciation I am publicly offering to Sepia Mutiny and the Mutineers.

As a silent observer I was very much in awe of the very existence of a “South Asian American” community, let alone one that shared my progressive world view. To understand this, please bare with me on my jaunt through my own South Asian identity awakening. I am a Pakistani, born in Karachi, that knows very little of Pakistan or experience being a Karachiate. My Pakistani experience was instilled into me by my parents because I was two (maybe three) years old when I came to the United States. I have known only America and “Pakistan” was a parental experience, a familial relation that was colored by the British Raj experience of my Grandparents. Luknow and Pune, India were my roots; Karachi, Pakistan was my transplanted experience- the complexity and diaspora of the Partition of India were very much my contextual basis of understanding who I was as a child. I never quite fit into this South Asian identity growing up in America and by the time I got to High School I was very much American.

I kept a distance from “Brown” people because I just didn’t find myself fitting in, maybe because I didn’t feel a shared experience; my parents weren’t very “Pakistani”. It was easier to identify as an American until 9/11. Suffice it to say experience, politics and life choices lead me to embrace Islam and reconcile that religious identity with being an “American” “Muslim” with “progressive values”. I felt at ease and complete having gone through years of this process. That was until I lost my Grandmother (Nani, my Mom’s mother) and a few months later my Grandfather (Dada, my Dad’s father). Around that time I also met Taz.

Taz introduced me to the Sepia Mutiny world and ya’all plunged me into a whole new aspect of my identity. I saw the light! I couldn’t reject the history- rich, vibrant and complex; the culture- spicy, wonderful and brilliant; because it represented universal struggles and sacrifices of my parents, my grandparents generation and a BILLION people who had the same sufferings and triumphs I had. Sepia was the gateway for me to discover that part of me, begin a new course and seek out knowledge from a civilization that represented the cornerstone of humanity.

What a splendid mutiny it has been! Incredible because i found people that showed me the potential of a dormant part of me and the place I have in this larger community. A mutiny is a bold risk, borne on the shoulders of honor, duty and values of high moral principles; or its simply a treacherous deed wrought in the deepest most inner ego of greed, desire and selfishness. This Mutiny has been both and oh so skillfully, like a masterful and dutiful surgeon wielding a blade, balanced between these two sides of the mutiny all these years. As sad as it will be to say Goodbye, new adventures always begin with endings of some sort. And furiously on some flickering screen and keyboard a new adventure is forming, a new mutiny is conspiring, inspired by this bold endeavor to mutiny. South Asian Americans are whispering, clamoring amongst themselves about the rights, honor and empowerment owed to them; about the injustice requiring justice, the dignity requiring a voice, but most importantly for a piece of that damned American Pie that belongs to us. These are the things yearning to once again be let loose into a unified voice on the web. i am certain some familiar characters will pop up bringing along new conspirators in this new tale. As long as things fare progressive, you will find a friend, supporter and fellow mutineer in me!

Good luck to all you industrious mutineers, you “whitish brown” people and may your future rabble rousing be as successful, wonderful, joyous, inspiring and appreciated as this one.

United States of America: Racism, Pastor Terry Jones and Christianity

Posted: February 21, 2012 in Activism, Affad Shaikh, American Muslim, Asian American, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, identity, Politics, race in america, racism, Republican, Social, Tea Party
Tags: affirmative action, anti-muslim, bigotry, bullying, dove church, dovesspks, high school, homophobia, human decency, immigrants, islamophobia, jeremy lin, prophet muhammad, quran burning, racial history, Racism, terry jones

You would think after this racist video, and this one, where these two girls said stuff like:

“Why can’t they f—–g talk right? I hate that. We are talking normal. We talk with very eligible — is that the right word? I meant, I meant, we are talking with, what is the f—-g word… You can understand what we are saying. Our accents, we use actual words.”

As opposed to Black people who were the center of their video’s attack. After watching what happened to all these people, we hope others would have learned that speech while free, also carries an inherent responsibility. What we say carry’s a degree of weight and we are held responsible for it- it is our speech, on one end of the spectrum, that will qualify as being “criminal” in context (you don’t walk into a theater and yell “Fire” without being held accountable nor can you incite violence against a person, especially due to their race, religion, gender, nationality or sexual orientation) or on the other end, at the least speech will result in marginalization because you failed to meet the requirements of our society that believes holds citizens to a certain level of human decency and civility (you also would understand that given this country’s racial history, race is a sensitive issue and that its carried a bitter history for millions of Americans- the KKK is not accepted as a mainstream organization or ideology for a reason).

But no, this particular student- Dovespks- did no learn a little something about civility nor respect? This high schools student from Gainsville High School decides to go on the defense of his two racists classmates- who have since withdrawn from the high school and also issued apologies for their video.

Dovespks decides to defend his two racists friends from Gainsville High School with his own video based on their freedom of speech and than- surprise surprise- launches in to a tirade bashing Islam, Muslims and the Prophet Muhammad, all the while espousing the peaceful and love infused teachings of Jesus Christ- does the irony not seem evident to him?

In another video they talk about how the “boys (Muslim/Afghan) are taught to blow themselves up” (while they innocently learn to play ball?- but at least in this video the kid doesn’t hide his face). These kids are not self-prescribed haters, they were taught how to hate, they attend Dove Church (a la Koran burning pastor, you think he’s not teaching hate?) His hatred doesn’t end there he put son his yellow ski mask for his anti-gay video here using the terms “faggot” using the Bible to justify his hate.

For someone who believes in their right to speech and their ideals so passionately, I wonder why he’s ashamed about hiding his message behind a ski mask. Obviously he fears for his life, but you would think that if you feel that your message will get you such strong response, why would you feel that its okay to spew it? He suggests that he learned as a child about “consequences for you actions” and I sure hope that he faces some of those consequences now.

America does not have just have a class problem, a health care crisis, obesity epidemic, education meltdown, economic recession, identity crisis- it has a problem with people who feel threatened by the world, whose hate and ignorance mingled with blind patriotism makes them a threat to the very ideals they cherish- and it just might be that a good number of these folks are “White” are “Christian” and feeling threatened about a lot of things, but whoever these folks are, instead of looking at what’s wrong with themselves and how the could constructively benefit society (Remember JFK- “Ask not what your country can do for you…?), they project absolute contradiction for what they believe they are defending. I mean Dovespks defends free speech but then goes on an attack of peoples freedom to practice religion, really?

And we wonder why bullying is such a big issue in our schools? Racism, bigotry and hatred are alive and thriving in Ameirca- Jeremy Lin (Asians in the library), immigrants…list goes on. So it is under these circumstances that the Supreme Court will be evaluating college affirmative action case from Texas.

Two Ducks and a Tortoise: Stupid Humble Pie, You Don’t Taste so Sweet After All

Posted: February 1, 2012 in Affad Shaikh, American Muslim, Islam, law school
Tags: aesops fables, humble pie, humility, instant gratification, self righteousness

Growing up I remember reading verses from the Quran that referred to “turning to your Lord in humility” and “those who humble themselves in prayer.” I heard lectures, sermons and got lots of parental advice on being humble. Aesops fable about the Two ducks and the Tortoise or the Horse and the Ass helped drive the concept of humility hom. A simple life is a humble life was a maxim I could relate to.

Up until now I wasn’t sure what “humility” felt like, but after a semester of law school, the understanding I thought I had, seems foreign- and fake- to me. I think like most people my age there is a large dose of self righteousness, self importance, unbridled sense of privilege and entitlement that is unaccounted for. We live in a world of instant gratification and when we don’t get the immediate text message response, or the fast internet access or the whatever, we feel as though we live in a “third world country.” I am certainly guilty of that. I feel like AT&T has the worst false advertisement campaign out there- largest wireless network my rear hair covered brown butt. (yes cringe because thats how I feel about AT&T) Our live styles make the concept of humility foreign, but worse, being humble is portrayed as a weakness a sure way of not making it in the world today. Neither of those are an excuse, nor should they be accepted as norms, because humility is not a concept that is at odds with the world today, in fact, its the loss of humility that makes modern life such a drudge- we’re so full of ourselves that we don’t understand the fall out that results from our behavior.

Did you know that the Latin translation for “humility” incorporates the meaning “from the Earth” and “low” or “grounded.” Which is really interesting because the Latin word presents the Quranic Arabic concept really well. When you find God talking about “humility” most likely its in relation to “prayer” and for Muslims that concept of prayer incorporates the physical as well as the spiritual. The height of prayer is the moment where a Muslim is in prostration- their forehead lowered to the ground touching the dirt- “grounded”, “low” and “earth.”

But the problem is that its all fine and dandy that we get the theoretical presentation of “humility” but like I mentioned earlier what does HUMILITY feel like, what does it mean to be “humble”- because I don’t think we can talk or appreciate the idea without truly feeling IT. What is it? Is there a way to experience humility? How do I know that I am turning to God in humility?

I have all these things, all these material and psychological comforts that insulate me and from which I derive happiness and self worth, whether I mean to or not. The question is what if it all disappeared, is that a means of understanding what it means to be humble? To be in ones shoes and not your own is probably the best way to put aside your preconceived notions of the world, becoming humbled by the experience. The concept becomes a verb- to be humbled, is that feeling humility when in fact we spend our daily lives doing our thing and not reflecting on how other people might live.

I think that encapsulates the idea of the intrinsic nature of how you see yourself and the concept of humility but it doesn’t necessarily present the feeling I am talking about because its so fleeting. Once we are done reflecting on others- if we do that all- the humbleness disappears because we engage once again with ourselves. The reality is that the more you see yourself distanced from a sense of loss the further away you are from feeling that vulnerability and in turn humility. How does one realistically maintain that though?

Catholicism defines humility, as presented by St. Barnard as “”A virtue by which a man knowing himself as he truly is, abases himself.” The image of Jesus, in Christian perspective the son of God, washing the feet of his disciples. The concept is not limited to Christianity, in all the worlds religions and philosophical thoughts, humility is viewed as a central virtue. Mahatma Ghandi said that you couldn’t sustain truth without humility, without humility, Ghandi believed, you have truth in the form of an arrogant caricature.

Which then informs my earlier question about what does humility feel like. We have a concept central in Islam and yet we have a lifestyle, many American Muslims, filled with privilege and entitlement. The cruel tension results in what I would term one’s “false sense of humility”- this idea of behaving humble, acting humble by self deprecating one’s skills, wealth, talents, gifts, intellect. This idea of humility seems so one dimensional when you consider Jesus washing the feet of his disciples or the nobility of truth being enshrouded by the virtue of humility, or more importantly God asking Muslims in the Quran ”Has not the time arrived for the believers, that their hearts in all humility, should engage in the remembrance of Allah and of the Truth which has been revealed to them.” (Al-Hadid 57:16) Are we just pretending to be humble? Where is the distinction between imitating what we believe is the feeling and quality of humbleness with the essence and true reality of it- being sincerely humble?

In my short life I believe that our unfortunate circumstances present the possibility of understanding the concept of humility its its fullest. As humans we are creatures of experience, often times incapable of comprehending complex notions like humility until we get the opportunity to come face to face with it. Being able to understand the feeling of humility then is a result of not only knowing the concept, but also experience- a cognitive interaction of concept and practice.

To that end I would say that I am experiencing that elusive concept of humility first hand. Its been a while since my last post because I had to hunker don and figure out how to process my feelings of vulnerability and address some self doubts that arose after I got my first semester grades. Law school is my humble pie- while it tastes bitter, I am learning a lot about myself and my relationship with God. With one semester down I find myself reflecting on how much I thought I knew about about myself but truly didn’t comprehend until now. So I am going to put together some thoughts on how I am using my experience of extreme vulnerability for the long run to keep up humility, but until then please share your thoughts.

Chronicles of an Esquire- Just Cram

Posted: December 5, 2011 in 1L, Affad Shaikh, American Muslim, esquire in training, Law, law school
Tags: cram, fail, final, study

God. Its been a very very very long time. My apologies, I just had this realization that I was not comfortable with my law school studying. It got to a point where I loved the fact that I was in law school but I wasn’t sure what exactly I was learning and that my finals were coming up and I didn’t really know what precisely I was being tested on.

Do you feel like that currently as you get ready to take your finals, for many folks its like tomorrow. My first final is in 9 hours and all I know is that I have 9 hours to really get down what I need for the final. I got no time for study breaks, but I wanted to wish everyone of my 1L friends and readers good luck and motivate you all to just CRAM!

I promise I will be back with a vengeance next semester because I have figured out where I went wrong this semester. I plan on jumping out of a plane some 12,000 feet above San Diego to immortalize the feeling I have right now about the lessons I learned this past semester, so not to worry will be posting much more regularly when I get out of finals mode and into the new semester. Until then, enjoy NYU Law students wonderful music video- Just Cram!

C.A. Esquire- The ‘thing’ is coming!

Posted: October 28, 2011 in 1L, Affad Shaikh, esquire in training, Law, law school

I feel that I am constantly looking for something besides the “thing” because the “thing” at the end seems so far off. But the video below points to another major problem, the sole focus for the “thing” at the end and never any desire to look at all the things between the place you start and the place you want to end- the end where that “thing” awaits for you.

https://www.youtube.com/v/ERbvKrH-GC4?version=3&hl=en_US

This American Muslim

Follow Blog via Email

Archive for the ‘Law’ Category

Rate this:

Shaikh the world:

Like this:

Rate this:

Shaikh the world:

Like this:

Rate this:

Shaikh the world:

Like this:

Rate this:

Shaikh the world:

Like this:

Rate this:

Shaikh the world:

Like this:

Rate this:

Shaikh the world:

Like this:

Rate this:

Shaikh the world:

Like this:

Rate this:

Shaikh the world:

Like this:

Rate this:

Shaikh the world:

Like this:

Rate this:

Shaikh the world:

Like this: