Ankle Monitors, Shootings, and The Three Lions

And Remembering Yahya Emerick

This past Jummah I rushed into the mosque late and sat at the very back. There is a certain geography to the musala which is common in US mosques where those who are advanced in age. overweight, or seeking more comfort line up against the walls while sitting on the floor. Others may choose to sit in chairs if they’re available. The back of the musalla is also akin to the back of the bus. It’s a favorite destination both for latecomers and those who wanna engage in bad behavior outside of the view of the bus driver or the imam. These days that bad behavior in a mosque is most often phone usage and talking.

I don’t talk or text during Jummah even if I’m bored more often than not, but as an aging and overweight guy, whose knees are often as bad as those of Conor McGregor, I do try to find a nice piece of the wall to rest against. Because I was late and, in the back corner, I could see everyone in the crowd and the arriving latecomers. In front of me I noticed a young man wearing a track suit with an ankle monitor attached. For readers unfamiliar with ankle monitors these are devices placed on people who are going through criminal court proceedings or are still under court supervision. I noticed that the young man struggled praying his two Sunnah rakats and seemed to not know how to properly pray. I made it a point to talk to him after Jummah and direct him towards some online prayer tutorials and other resources and I then lost him in the crowd because I couldn’t remember where I’d placed my shoes. This was a reminder to me, that if you take away immigration and births, one of the few places where Islam is still vibrant and growing in the US is in prison. People will make fun of the prison Muslim and question their sincerity and I’ve done so myself. There are varying degrees of commitment, often a mixture of a street/criminal mentality with Muslim concepts, and a lack of observance once released. That cat is out of the bag, thanks Druski. Given all of those issues people are often skeptical when they see such young men, and many don’t have the time or energy. Yet some of our greatest US Muslims, Christian evangelists, artists, and community leaders served time in prison. If we turn our backs on these men and women, we may be turning our backs on our own future. This is why it’s important to support the efforts of organizations like Link Outside which work on Islamic education for prisoners and with their release plans and readjustment to society. If you don’t have the patience they do.

Being a Muslim, a Christian, an Orthodox Jew, or part of modern American religious movements such as the DSA and MAGA, doesn’t immunize anyone from the problems of life. I was reminded of this as I left the musalla and spoke with a young Muslim man who had just been involved in a shootout with robbers in which there was multiple fatalities. This is a young brother known for his charity and commitment to the community and is well-liked but also involved in a business that is questionable from a Muslim perspective and in a very high crime neighborhood. He was shot six times in the altercation, was able to shoot back and wound his robbers, and survived. The brother answered a key question in life. When something serious goes down will you run and hide? Panic? Get scared? Or will you have the courage and clear mind to engage your attackers? The brother successfully passed his test, and I would want him on my side in conflict. But, as I told him, take this as a lesson to change your friends, business, and surroundings. He may not be so fortunate in the next shoutout.

Not that one has to be doing anything wrong to get shot and lose their life in St. Louis. Life can be very cheap here. My mother was asleep in her home in Meacham Park when she lost her life. This past week a local man named Rashad Rice was on a Metrobus on St. Charles Rock Road in north St. Louis County. Rashad was minding his own business and coming home from work. Didn’t matter. There was a disturbance, guns started going off, and Rashad lost his life (along with one other person). It just so happens that Rashad was a good friend of my brother and friend Anthony (who is in our local brotherhood class). The family is collecting donations.

When I left Jummah I headed to a bar. You can think of it as going from the Halal to the Haram, but I prefer to think of it as going from one place of community gathering to another. Beffa’s has been open since 1898 and was founded by an immigrant from Switzerland. In those days St. Louis was a very attractive place in the US to land. The city was booming and among the most important places in America. We would host the World’s Fair and Olympics a few years later in 1904. Perhaps St. Louis was akin to what Dallas or Atlanta are today in terms of the national consciousness. What I know is that if we don’t support local businesses, they will disappear. What will replace them? Vacancy, a dog park, an overpriced luxury apartment building, or a chain restaurant? Beffas has touted itself as one of the places to watch World Cup games locally and I sat next to a family from Japan (on their way to KC for Argentina-Switzerland) for the beginning of Spain beating Belgium. Of course, that experience was minor compared to the absolutely raucous crowd I was with on Saturday to witness England (the team I always root for) defeat Norway and fan-favorite Erling Haaland. Halftime Pub and Grill in St. Peters is one of a handful of local establishments dedicated to watching soccer and is serving as a hub for England fans. Most of the crowd appeared to be from England based on their accents. Why the St. Louis Metro has so many people here from England, I have no idea, but watching the Three Lions roar to victory along with them was a blast.

We are not having as much fun in St. Louis as our friends in Kansas City who have actually hosted matches at Arrowhead Stadium, but we are having our share of it and even getting some tourists on road trips. Many of us are also visiting KC for the festivities. Friends of mine actually went to KC this past weekend to strictly watch from the FIFA Fanfest and ended up scoring cheap tickets and were able to watch Argentina defeat Switzerland. This was a father taking his son and a memory was created that will never be forgotten. A blessed memory that billions would’ve loved to have had for themselves, but only so many people can fit into a stadium. The weekend was not as great for others. A longtime Unites States Senator passed away. I’m old school, and I don’t speak ill of the dead, nor do a heap false praise and accolades over someone I wasn’t fond of, so I’ll leave it at that. I do find the joking and snarky humor towards this death to be very distasteful, and a further example of the cultural problems urban progressives have at coming off as likeable and trustworthy outside of their bubble. Who did leave a positive record that I can speak highly of is Yahya Emerick. I didn’t know him personally and only knew of him through his writings and translations. I do know that he greatly contributed to the availability of readable and accessible English language literature for those seeking to study Islam. Brother Yahya passed away and was buried yesterday in New York. إِنَّا لِلّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

Etc.

My reading and film viewing has really slowed down during the World Cup. My America 250 reading has transitioned to Japanese and Southeast Asian history and literature, but I did watch the 1969 comedy Putney Swope yesterday which was hilarious. The film even contained an utterance of the shahadah in Arabic which had to be one of the first times in American film.