naeem mohaiemen

i saw a very interesting interview with naeem mohaiemen on now, a pbs newsmagazine. naeem is the director of shobak.org, a human rights organization based in new york. i do not remember his quotes exactly. . . to this effect, he said, "there are human rights violations in guantanamo. yes, and there are human rights violations in bangladesh. we need to take care of all of them." he said, "i am not for islam before i am for america. i am not for america before i am for islam. i am for human rights."

you can view sections of his recent documentary, "muslims or heretics?"

the movie profiles an alternative muslim sect in south asia. it's incredibly interesting to learn more about diverse traditions and diverse voices in islam. reza aslan's recent book, "no god but god", also details the complex history of islam. he contends that today's violence and terrorism is the outgrowth of an internal islamic reformation. an increasingly radicalized fundamentalism is at war with . . . islam.

are there root connections to modern reformations of judaism and christianity? are there connections even to contemporary readings of judaism and christianity? to buddhism or hinduism?

in the film, an ahmadiya leader explains that hatred and violence is the consequence of "religion in politics." where politics has privilege, there are clear cultural connections between bengali, between ahmadiya, sunna and shi'a. when there are strong cultural connections, there are consistent protections for diverse voices. however, when religion has privilege above politics, there is violence. he says, "we cannot allow wahabism and talibanism to take root in bangladesh. that is my very humble request."

it's so interesting to learn from these voices.