Muslim WakeUp!
Encyclopedia
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Their website was cofounded by Ahmed Nassef and Jawad Ali in January 2003. It published articles contributed from affiliated collumnists as well as guests on its main page as well as opinions on its blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
. It also organized special events and served as a discussion forum.
Both Muslim WakeUp! and the associated website of the Progressive Muslim Union of North America were inactive as of 2009.
History
Although the web presence of Muslim WakeUp! began in 2003, the organization has its roots in social movements in the late 1980s in Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. The group, which included founder Ahmed Nassef, organized events and demonstrations protesting against oppression, bigotry, and racism, especially when such ills affected Muslims. The group also began challenging Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
leadership in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to make their voice heard on justice issues domestically and abroad. The collective successfully took part in a first-of-its-kind three-day radio broadcast celebrating Muslim peoples and cultures.
Mission
Although its editors are primarily from the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, '"Muslim WakeUp!' has a universal mission to bring together people of different faiths and from different regions of the world. This universalism comes from the idea that Islam is first and foremost a monotheistic religion, and that all who believe in one God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and one humanity
Human Race
Human Race refers to the Human species.Human race may also refer to:*The Human Race, 79th episode of YuYu Hakusho* Human Race Theatre Company of Dayton Ohio* Human Race Machine, a computer graphics device...
should be free to exchange ideas and learn from each other. The group’s mission is to celebrate cultural and spiritual diversity, tolerance, and understanding. They take part in online and offline events: sponsoring speakers, publishing articles and pamphlets, creating a forum for discussion, disseminating information about events, etc. They see themselves as Muslim opponents of intimidation, authoritarianism, dogmatism, oppression
Oppression
Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. It can also be defined as an act or instance of oppressing, the state of being oppressed, and the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, and...
, bigotry
Bigotry
A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs...
, sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, and racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. In this, they are noted for reaching out to minority groups within Islam such as the Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
s and gay and lesbian
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
Muslims.
Universalism
The site has a "Hug A Jew" section, which shows solidarity with Jewish individuals sympathetic to Muslim concerns. The contributors have written about Sunni-Shi'ah relations, and are critical of figures who in the name of Islam condemn other peoples, be they other religions, groups within Islam, or nationalities and cultures.Ahmed Nassef
Co-founder Ahmed Nassef came to prominence as a spokesman for progressive Muslims in general. He was interviewed on C-SpanC-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
, Fox News, and NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, as well as published by the Christian Science Monitor, and was featured in articles by the LA Times and the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
. Nassef was educated at UCLA, and later resided in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He also co-founded and is co-chairman of the Progressive Muslim Union of North America (PMUNA).
Friday prayers led by Amina Wadud
The website along with close affiliate, the Progressive Muslim UnionProgressive Muslim Union
The Progressive Muslim Union of North America was a liberal Islamic organization. The group officially launched on November 15, 2004 in Manhattan but was disbanded in December 2006...
of North America, helped sponsor a Friday Jumu'ah
Jumu'ah
Jumu'ah is a congregational prayer that Muslims hold every Friday, just after noon in lieu of dhuhr...
prayer service in New York City led by a female imam, Dr. Amina Wadud
Amina Wadud
Amina Wadud is an American scholar of Islam with a progressive focus on Qur'an exegesis . As an Islamic feminist, she has addressed mixed-sex congregations, giving a sermon in South Africa in 1994, and leading Friday prayers in the United States in 2005...
on March 18, 2005. Dr. Wadud, who is professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968...
, spoke largely about the history of Muslim women
Islamic feminism
Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework...
who held power, prestige, and were well educated. The event was originally to be held in a Mosque, but after that location and a backup art gallery received bomb threats, the prayer was moved to the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine. This activity sparked intense debate; it was condemned as well as applauded by Muslim groups and individuals throughout the world.
On July 1, 2005, Progressive Muslim Union co-chair Pamela Taylor led a similar Jumu'ah at United Muslim Association Mosque in Etobicoke, a suburb of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. The Union has created a listing of major proponents of women led prayer, which includes Sheikhs from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Spain. They also have a listing of other instances of women led prayer.
Controversy
The website's "Sex and the Ummah" section offended some readers with its sexually explicit articles (mostly fiction), as well as articles expressing support for same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
.
Some have accused Muslim WakeUp! of serving as a front for American neoconservatives, or at least of having harmed the progressive Muslim movement in North America. After MWU! co-founder Ahmed Nassaf announced the founding of the Progressive Muslim Union (North America) in November 2004, progressive Muslims who had refused to serve on the PMUNA board of directors published a statement describing their concerns "that this venture is a Trojan horse
Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside...
for 'religion-building' along the lines of 'nation-building' now being witnessed in Afghanistan and Iraq where people with no organic links to Islam, to the Muslim community or to the progressive movement become instruments of 'humanizing' the so-called primitive Muslims."
In December 2004, MWU! was relabelled "Murtad WakeUp!" by hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
s calling themselves the "Islamic 0xChallenge Brigades".