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Portugal’s Forgotten Islamic History

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During my recent visit to Portugal, I struggled to see any evidence that Muslims had lived in, governed, and expanded the country. This rich history was painted over with several coats and labelled as “medieval”.  The Spanish and Portuguese called them Moors; they were in fact Muslims from North Africa who crossed over the Mediterranean and settled in Al-Andalusia (Iberian Peninsula). They left us significant elements that we cherish today, including the Al-Hambra and the grand mosques of Cordoba and Seville. They also left things we use every day but don’t recall their origin: medicine, baths, architecture, science, and art. Muslims governed for over 500 years; they built, wrote, irrigated, walled, created knowledge, and ruled until they were expelled in 1249. The Jews were expelled two centuries later.  Sintra I started in Sintra, 30km (19 miles) from Lisbon. Sintra has a highly effective and unique micro-climate. Several old palaces dot the landscape, many featured in movie...
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Meaningless Land Acknowledgments?

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I never parroted the obligatory land acknowledgments. Everyone opened with one: teachers, presenters, even meeting participants doing introductions. I didn’t get the point. I always wanted to ask, “That’s nice. So… are you giving the land back?” But I held my tongue. Instead, I’m unpacking these statements through the WITAWOPS lens: What I Think About What Other People Say. Let me know if this resonates — or just makes you uncomfortable. Image by Freepix My Disclaimer (or Bias, if you prefer) I grew up in Kenya — on land taken by white settlers and later sold to brown Indian-Kenyans like my family. Now, I live just outside Seattle — on land taken by white settlers and sold to brown Indian-Americans like... also my family. In both cases, the land wasn’t bought from the pre-colonial residents. So yes, I’m complicit. And no, I’m not pretending otherwise. Let’s get into it. What Do I Think: Let’s start in Indiana — my first U.S. home. From Indiana University Indianapolis : “IU Indianapolis...
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Obituary. USAID (1961-2025). An Introspection and Prediction

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I mourn USAID the way we knew it. The agency that I worked for a decade has essentially disappeared, with only a fraction of it reincarnated and subsumed into the State Department. I empathize with all my former USAID colleagues, contractors, grantees, sub-grantees, recipients, project beneficiaries, vendors, and suppliers in the United States and around the world. All of you are economically and emotionally harmed. The battle will ensue in the Courts and in the end, Congress will have no choice but to act (see my January 4 post explaining this locus of power). The next incarnation of US Foreign Assistance will be skinny, laser-focused, more intertwined with U.S. Peace and Security, and obviously A.I.-driven. Disclaimer: the views expressed in this post are solely my own, published under my first amendment rights, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government or any of its current or former federal agencies. What Other People Say Designed by  Freepik “Aft...
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Should Muslims have a Christmas Tree?

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“Galeeb, with your background in Islamic Studies, please explain to my spouse why we, as Muslims, should not be putting up a Christmas tree and celebrating Xmas.”  What Do I Think I used to inwardly wince when I saw decorated Christmas trees in the homes of my western Muslim friends or family. Sure, to each their own—but can you explain why you are bringing a core symbol of a Christian religious holiday into your home? Do you also celebrate the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday ? Is your tree reflecting your religious beliefs, or is it driven by social, cultural, national, or capitalist norms? I am a firm believer in intentionality. Act and speak with explicit intention—understand “what” and “why” behind your actions, articulate your reasoning to yourself and others, and remain steadfast in your beliefs. Thus, when someone asked me to explain why a Christmas tree should not belong in a Muslim household, I had to pause. My gut reaction would not suffice; I needed to validate it with logic...
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My US military encounters with women of Djibouti

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  Djibouti is not a country commonly known to the average person—unless they, or someone close to them, is a United States military service member. Nestled in the Horn of Africa, this small nation left a lasting imprint on my heart when I deployed there in September 2023. A Glimpse into Djibouti A former French colony, Djibouti has a population of approximately 994,974 people. The nation is 94% Sunni Muslim, with minorities practicing Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. Its ethnic composition includes 60% Somali, 35% Afar, and 5% other groups, such as Yemeni Arabs, French, Ethiopians, and Italians. While the Afar people speak Saho-Afar, a Cushitic language, Djibouti’s official languages are French and Arabic. As of 2024, women comprised 50.39% of the population and the men comprise 45.30%. During my deployment, I was eager to understand Djibouti’s society and culture. As a Muslim woman, deeply invested in supporting and educating women worldwide, I longed to learn about ...
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Federal Workers Are People Too

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I was released from the federal workforce twice in the past 2 months. How did this happen? Thoughts and musings from a federal employee who technically doesn't have a job. DISCLAIMER: This is the experience and views of myself alone, published under my first amendment rights. It does not reflect the beliefs or views of any one federal agency nor the United States Government as a whole.  What Other People Say " A majority (56%) say government is “almost always wasteful and inefficient,” while 46% say it often does a better job than people give it credit for"- Pew Research Center, January 7, 2025 "The employees who have so far survived the Trump administration's federal defenestration project are morose. For some, the new workload is untenable. For others, chaos reigns. Scientists have been unable to purchase mice for research, while human-tissue samples have sat on dry ice, unsent, thanks to worker layoffs. Lawyers at the Education Department are racing though a ...
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Consider invisible disabilities before judging others

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“Why is your husband rude, aloof, and anti-social? I called out to him at our community center and he ignored me”. What Do I Think?  I often feel antisocial, aloof, and alone in noisy, crowded spaces. It’s not by choice—I have a disability that makes these situations incredibly difficult. For a long time, I thought I was the only one until I discovered a Facebook group of 5,400 others with the same condition: Single-Sided Deafness (SSD) . For many of us, this condition came on suddenly and without explanation. My right ear stopped functioning between 2 and 4 a.m. on July 1, 2012. The cause? Idiopathic—medical jargon for “we have no clue.” One member of the Facebook group summarized our shared struggles perfectly: “No one can see the fact that I have no idea who is talking to me or where any sound is coming from. No one can see how hard my brain is working to make sense of what I hear. No one can see how exhausted I am.” Single-Sided Deafness often comes with a cruel two-for-one sp...
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It’s Over. Now can we get to really know each other

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Breathe. It’s over. We have a new president-elect. As I reflect on the campaigns, the rhetoric, personalities, attitudes, and language, certain words linger in my mind—words that resonate with my background, interests, and beliefs. Words like African, Indian, civil servant, immigrant, garbage, environmentalist, climate change believer, Muslim, migrant, brown, Ivy League. They’re just some of the many times I heard myself being called out during the campaign. What I Think To move this country forward, we all have to make a genuine effort to learn about, understand, and embrace the other. Why does that person think the way they do? What influences their beliefs? In what ways are we similar and different? The Qur’an, according to Muslims like myself, is the word of God as revealed to Prophet Muhammad. In Sura (Chapter) 4, Ayat (Verse) 1, God reminds us that we were all created from a single being or soul. (If you're curious, you can find several translations of this verse here , keepi...
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America Just Did The Right Thing (as I asked for in December)

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On December 9, 2024, I published this post that was really focused on whether or not America would do the right thing and allow Syria to reboot. This week, I am excited and proud to acknowledge that America set off in the direction I was hoping for. We have begun the complex process of lifting four decades of sanctions and gulf states have offered to pay off some of Syria's debt. Image designed by freepik.com What I said in December: Title: Mistakes: Can we correct, repent, offer reparations, and remember? Today I explore whether we can and do forgive past leaders for their mistakes. “ The American administration made many mistakes against other peoples. Will every American citizen, every American soldier be asked: “Why were you with them? Why were you with them?” He will respond, saying that there was an administration, and there were inherent circumstances unique to this time and place that imposed on me to be here. Administrations are making bad decisions. The American people ca...
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A World in Crisis: Losing Sight of the Human Bond

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The world feels like it's in crisis. We live in an age marked by deep anxiety and disorientation, where it often seems that everyone is out for themselves. The moral lessons we were taught in childhood—that kindness matters, that community is sacred, that we are all connected—now feel hopelessly idealistic, even quaint. At worst, they seem like relics of a fairy tale no one believes in anymore. As adults, we find ourselves in a society that doesn't seem especially caring or communal. We are measured and judged as isolated individuals—through exams we sit alone, performance reviews that magnify our personal wins and failures, and a culture where the most self-interested often rise the highest. It's as if we know, deep down, what an ideal society could look like—but it remains just out of reach, elusive in practice. A Philosopher’s Answer: Nasir Khusraw and the Universal Soul At this juncture, I’ve found unexpected solace in the writings of the 11th-century philosopher-poet N...
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Analyzing Bob Marley’s 'Buffalo Soldier'

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In my opinion, the infamous Bob Marley, singer extraordinaire, sent us astray with this song Buffalo Soldier.   “Said he was a Buffalo Soldier - Win the war for America - Buffalo Soldier, dreadlock Rasta -Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival” -- Bob Marley, Buffalo Soldier, posthumous release, 1983 What Do I Think? What is the “stench” he refers to, and why do we often overlook its devastating irony?  As with his other songs—War, Exodus, Zimbabwe, Get Up-Stand Up, and Africa Unite—Marley calls attention to the struggles of Africans, urging post-colonial unity. Buffalo Soldier, narrows down on the African American regiments of the U.S. Army. These regiments, created by Congress in 1866, served across the Western U.S., Hawaii, and even Alaska. I think Marley’s lyrics speak directly to the soldiers and their descendants, lambasting them to understand their past. "If you know your history,  Then you would know where you coming from,  Then you wouldn't have to ...
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State Department slams its own Ambassador to Kenya

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This post presents verbatim excerpts of a Department of State Office of Inspector General Inspection Report on Kenya in 2012. I did not make them up. Please visit the page https://www.stateoig.gov/reports , enter Kenya in the first field (Keyword of Phrase), select “inspection” in the Category drop down, and open the August 2012 ISP-I-12-38A report (not the 2018 report). Enjoy. The Ambassador has lost the respect and confidence of the staff to lead the mission. Of more than 80 chiefs of mission inspected in recent cycles, the Ambassador ranked last for interpersonal relations, next to last on both managerial skill and attention to morale, and third from last in his overall scores from surveys of mission members. The inspectors found no reason to question these assessments; the Ambassador’s leadership to date has been divisive and ineffective. The Ambassador has damaged the cohesion of Embassy Nairobi’s country team by underscoring differences between offices working directly with Kenya...
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