Guest, Author at Milwaukee Independent

The Muslim Mind: Hate groups change tactics to fill Milwaukee with fear

Posted by Guest | Sep 10, 2017

This essay is part of a series that explores the Muslim community in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Independent previously published an extensive interview with Janan Najeeb. It was an effort to help our readers better understand the people of Islamic faith who live in the city, and address questions that were not the usual fear-based reactions to news events. As a result of the positive impact and popularity of Najeeb’s profile, the Milwaukee Independent invited her to offer a continuing editorial voice about our Muslim neighbors and their shared stories from the community. On September 9, a hate group had...

Eid al-Adha brings prayers and support for victims of Hurricane Harvey

Posted by Guest | Sep 4, 2017 |

As thousands of Milwaukee Muslims gathered for prayer at the Wisconsin Center on September 1, their most important religious holiday of the year became a call to action. Eid al-Adha commemorates Prophet Abraham’s spirit of sacrifice and his intense devotion to God. With images of Hurricane Harvey victims weighing heavily on the nation, the Islamic Society of Milwaukee called on attendees to donate generously of their time and their money to help the thousands of displaced families in Texas, reminding everyone that serving people was an act of faith. The collected funds will be sent to the Islamic Society...

The Muslim Mind: An Interfaith Prayer at Wisconsin State Assembly

Posted by Guest | Sep 1, 2017

On August 17, the Wisconsin Assembly voted unanimously on a resolution that condemned the violence during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12. Milwaukee native and president of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition, Janan Najeeb, was invited to participate with a collection of interfaith leaders to offer prayers before lawmakers took a vote on the resolution. Wisconsin Eye filmed the presentation of prayers, and the entire legislative session. That footage has been edited to present Najeeb’s segment, which is included with the text of her prayer. The material is published here in an effort to express...

New meditation room at Mitchell Airport to offer moment of solitude for travelers

Posted by Guest | Jul 26, 2017

Approximately sixty years ago, the first airport chapel in the United States was built in Boston’s Logan International Airport. According to the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains report, there are 150 world-wide chapels with at least 40 in the United States. Eight years ago when it had been decided that St. Stephen, a small parish next to the airport, first built in 1847, would be demolished and a larger Church would be built in Oak Creek, the idea of an airport meditation room was launched. Suzanne Mckinney, one of St. Stephen’s parisheners and a nurse, began her research...

Postcard campaign seeks safer streets for kids and pedestrians

Posted by Guest | Jul 12, 2017 |

“People of color in Wisconsin are almost twice as likely to be a victim of a crash while crossing the street, the 10th highest disparity in the United States. The failure of people driving to yield to those walking is a major contributor, 28% of pedestrian fatalities in Wisconsin from 2011 to 2013 involved a driver not yielding to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.” – Jessica Wineberg, Wisconsin Bike Fed Kids and parents delivered over 250 Street Safety Postcards and Bike/Walk District Reports to Common Council Alders at City Hall, as part of Kidical Lobby Day on June 29. The...

Milwaukee Muslims celebrate end of Ramadan with Eid al-Fitr

Posted by Guest | Jun 29, 2017

For 1.5 billion Muslims around the world, including the thousands in the Greater Milwaukee area, Saturday evening at sunset on June 24 marked the end of the month of Ramadan. In Mosques, gatherings, and homes around the city, men, women, and children followed the tradition of Prophet Muhammad to “decorate your holidays with the glorification of God.” Voices in Milwaukee joined voices around the world in glorification: “God is Greater (than anything), God is Greater, God is Greater, there is no God except the One God! God is Greater, God is Greater, God is Greater, all Praise and thanks...