| A few weeks ago, a long time friend Imam Muhsin Hendricks was assassinated in broad daylight in South Africa. He was a soft spoken man with the sensibility of a Bollywood actor who promoted a theology of love, compassion, and human dignity. He lived authentically, honestly, and transparently as the first openly gay imam, and for that, he was killed. Some Muslims cheered his killing, a disturbing fact noted in a statement from the colleagues of Imam Muhsin at the Center for Contemporary Islam at University of Cape Town, which explicitly called out the dehumanizing language condoning Imam Hendricks’ killing and made the poignant observation that this dehumanizing language is not dissimilar to the language we see used to speak of Palestinians. Meanwhile, here in Los Angeles, I received an email encouraging us to drop our pro-LGBTQ+ stance and stick to supporting Palestinian rights, as if these two issues aren’t interconnected. We cannot pick and choose whose human dignity is more important. According to MPV’s principles, we are all spiritually equal and to neglect the human rights of one individual is to neglect the human rights of all individuals. It is heartening though that this singular email was buried in my inbox amidst the many requests for a workshop on Progressive Islam theology from Muslims and non-Muslims who want to learn about an Islam from the prism of social justice cradled by love and compassion for all. Find out more about the workshop and sign up here! As we read about the thousands of layoffs by DOGE, thanks to President Trump’s (i.e. Musk) 's agenda to cripple the federal government, I’ve read how Trump voters themselves are getting fired. What I find most appalling is a quote from a woman whose husband, a federal worker, was fired “We support the effort to shrink our government but we didn’t think it would affect our family!” On March 1, MPV is having an in person Board retreat in Los Angeles, followed by the first iftar of Ramadan at my home. As Ramadan is a month of spiritual retreat, we are also of the mind that spirituality requires us to reflect on our values. Are we truly anchored in love and compassion for others? How do we overcome our human tendencies of selfishness? Because we cannot claim to be a people of faith and spirituality if we hold our self interest above that of others. On that note, we wish you a blessed Ramadan, and if you plan on donating your zakat during this month, please consider donating to MPV this Ramadan. We could use it. Onward and upward…no matter how hard it is! Ani Zonneveld Founder, President Muslims for Progressive Values |
