When I say I work in an Arab neighborhood, I mean an Arab neighborhood - where mosque loudspeakers announce Jummah prayers, where shopkeepers close early on Fridays, where the guy at the 99 cent store insists on speaking to you in Arabic even though you have repeatedly told him that your Arabic is a disgrace to the race, where there is a fish market and a shisha cafe (sometimes in one) on every corner, where the local Chinese food joint has a sign outside that says “No Pork. No Wine” with a photo of the flames of Hell printed behind it. Do you get what I mean?

If you’ve ever struggled to pick through the complimentary breakfast at a British hotel (boy, do those Brits love pig for breakfast!), you might appreciate this new website. Halaltrip.com offers hotel reviews and travel ideas for a Muslim-friendly vacation, honeymoon or business trip. It’s a pretty neat idea even if you don’t keep halal but just want a family-friendly vacation free of drunk backpackers. (I once woke up at a hostel to find a drunken Irishman sniffing my hair and mumbling about how he used to be a driver for the IRA - trust me, I really can appreciate the idea behind this website). 

Amidst the flurry of news reports yesterday that a group of American “extremists” were plotting terrorism on American soil, I felt that familiar rise of fear (of what might happen if such a group is not caught), disbelief (that such groups still abound), and shame (that the group would likely be made up of Muslims). That perfect storm of emotions was partially quelled by the unexpected mixture of (secret) relief: the terrorists were not Muslim. They were Christian. 

Last weekend, I attended the “March for America” rally for immigration reform on the National Mall. I traveled to Washington, DC with a group of Arab and Muslim Americans from Brooklyn. The sixty of us joined more than 200,000 others marching for a path to citizenship, an end to deportations and the breaking up of families, and an insistence that all people, no matter their legal status, be treated like human beings. We walked with Latino and Mexican groups, West African immigrants, and even an organization of Polish Americans. 

The Coexistence Trust, in partnership with Islamic Circles, organized an evening full of inspiration with Sister Dalia Mogahed at the House of Commons in London last week. As the Executive Director of the Center of Muslim studies at Gallup USA, Mogahed has been working and travelling extensively to study public opinion about Muslim communities. She is also a member of The White House Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood partnership. 

Apparently, a Minnesota Church recently bought an advertisement in the St. Cloud Times to bring attention to the “Moslem Threat” in America. In it, Pastor Dennis Campbell does his best to scare the Obama-hating crucifixes off his Christian constituency by outlining the preferred ‘Moslem’ method of takeover. 

Dubai, home of its eponymous film festival, fashion week, and cutting-edge architecture (including the tallest building in the world), is clearly the Islamic world’s leader in cultural exhibition. Continuing in this spirit was last week’s 4th annual Art Dubai expo, a large, multicultural contemporary art fair repping 70 galleries from every corner of the earth, including Sydney, Madrid, Paris, Mumbai, Istanbul, Beirut, Berlin, Budapest, and of course Dubai itself.

During one of the most polarized times in Washington DC, and with not even one Republican vote, President Obama was able to pass this week’s historic healthcare bill.  Yet on the heels of his victory, we of course need a party pooper. Enter the Harris Poll, which sheds some light on why the Republican party may be apprehensive to support the current president.

Last week, I interviewed Brooklyn-based activist Linda Sarsour for elan. Sarsour has dedicated her personal and professional life to fighting for issues such as women’s empowerment and immigrant rights. As would be expected in the right-wing and xenophobic environment we are currently living in, she faces more than her fair share of criticism for it.

Mixed messages, plenty of innuendo and a secret conspiracy ending in a bloody coupe...and I’m not even close to talking about a Shakespearean play. Rather I’m talking about a street-style shakedown over at Islam Online (IOL), gangsta’ style, which has sent the most popular Islamic website in the world into a tailspin of uncertainty...a similar kind of treachery that left Julius Caesar lying in a bloody clump on the floor.