Ramadan, No Other Land Wins an Oscar, Trump's Joint Address & More!
It is time to take action.
But before we get into all of that, Ramadan Mubarak!
Ramadan 101: Explainer & Video
In case you didn’t know, Ramadan, the holy month of fasting in Islam, began the evening of Friday, February 28 and runs until the evening of Friday, March 29.
As a subscriber of this newsletter, you know that there is a lot of misinformation, bias and propaganda out there about Muslims. My writing and social media content is my personal effort to show the beauty of my faith and to combat the lies.
Check out this explainer I wrote that gives an overview of both Ramadan and the fundamentals of Islam at a high-level for anyone interested in learning more about their Muslim friends, colleagues, and neighbors. The explainer is also available as a video on YouTube.
Additionally, I am sharing videos about Ramadan, being Muslim, and general information about Islam and vlogs about my days as a Muslim actively fasting and practicing during Ramadan. You can follow on TikTok and YouTube.
Here are the vlogs I’ve created thus far:
Ramadan Day 1: Suhoor, In Between, Iftar
Ramadan Day 2: Suhoor, In Between, Iftar
Ramadan Day 3: Suhoor, In Between, Iftar
Ramadan Day 4: Suhoor, In Between, Iftar
Ramadan Day 5: Update
I’m also doing a 30-day content series on facts about Ramadan and Islam. You can follow that via Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Ramadan Day 1: The Significance of Ramadan
Ramadan Day 2: Ramadan Greetings
Ramadan Day 3: What Does a Day of Fasting Look Like?
Ramadan Day 4: Ramadan 101 Explainer Resource
Finally, if you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, check out my latest SWANA SF newsletter for Ramadan events in and around the Bay Area.
Reaction: Trump’s Joint Address to Congress
Yesterday evening’s speech was unhinged and nationalistic propaganda. If you missed it, you did yourself a favor.
Of all of the insane things Trump said and claimed, I found it particularly alarming how much time he dedicated to attacking the Trans community which is approximately one percent of the population of the United States. We really need to focus on protecting our Trans siblings at this moment.
And disappointingly, for the most part, Democrats just sat there and took it with the exception of Congressmember Al Green from Houston, Texas who was removed from the chamber in quite the performance by Speaker Mike Johnson for repeatedly interrupting Trump as he spoke. And Senator Elissa Slotkin from Michigan delivered an underwhelming centrist/center-right response to Trump on behalf of the Democrats. Relatedly, Slotkin was the AIPAC-backed candidate in the Senate primary for the seat she went on to win.
Palestinian Film “No Other Land” Wins Best Documentary at the Oscar Awards in Hollywood
In a massive win for breaking the topic of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine into the mainstream, a film documenting the ethnic cleansing of Masaffer Yatta, a Palestinian village in occupied Palestine by the Israeli state won the Academy Award for Best Documentary this weekend. Due to the film’s honest subject matter of the realities of Israel’s occupation of Palestine, the film has been blocked by Zionists in the U.S. and, as a result, has been unable to find a distributor.
Although the win was celebrated by organizations such as the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) and ADC National, Palestinians have also voiced concerns over both what Israeli co-director, Yuval Abraham, said in his award speech to appeal to Zionist narratives, and have expressed disappointment that a film by a Palestinian director about the ethnic cleansing of Palestine is only considered Oscar-worthy by including an Israeli co-director to validate the project.
Palestinian stories should be able to stand on their own throughout the world, including in the United States. These are some videos of diverse opinions on the subject: Janan Matari, Subhi, Salma Shawa, and Sim Kern.
Support the film by watching No Other Land as it self-releases in over 100 theaters across America this weekend. From CAIR National: “With film studios refusing to distribute or stream the film, this is your chance to see it! Let’s make sure its success forces distributors to take notice.
The American people must be able to see the crimes Israel is committing against Palestinians using our taxpayer dollars.
Watch it in theaters: http://tinyurl.com/mvxndnvd
Access it online: http://tinyurl.com/3mkmwa8k”
Take Action Now
National: Tuesday, March 11th at 3 PM ET: Tune in to learn from researchers at CAIR and international Islamophobia experts at Georgetown's The Bridge Initiative discuss the troubling findings from CAIR's new 2025 Civil Rights Report.
National: The House and Senate will vote on blocking weapons to Israel as Gaza rebuilds and tanks roll into the West Bank. Email Congress to block weapons to Israel.
National: Israel is currently blocking all aid into Gaza (a war crime) during the holy month of Ramadan and collectively punishing the Gazans by starving them again. Send letters to Congress to condemn Israel’s genocidal ban on all aid to Gaza during Ramadan.
Californians: Take action against AB 1468, a deeply problematic bill designed to gut ethnic studies in California by erasing Palestine & censoring what is taught about the root causes of anti-Arab racism + Islamophobia in California public schools by sending a letter to your Assemblymember now.
What I am Reading, Watching & Consuming:
CAIR National released a new report analyzing the erosion of free speech on California’s campuses.
Related: it was recently reported that UCLA spent $12.3 million to suppress pro-Palestinian protests; state repression isn’t cheap.
The Arab League adopted Egypt’s plan for Gaza which focuses on the reconstruction of Gaza and keeping the Palestinians on their land. This plan was swiftly rejected by both Israel and the U.S., accepted by Hamas.
Related, the Trump admin is currently in secret talks with Hamas over U.S. hostages, an unprecedented move for the U.S.
In case it’s not clear, Trump’s track record on Palestine has been horrendous over just the last two months in office.
Report: How Western Media Has Manufactured Consent for Atrocities from Iraq to Gaza
Gaza’s life expectancy cut in half to 40 years of age by the genocide.
Report: New York Governor Hochul orders the removal of a Palestinian Studies job posting at CUNY.
POLL: Support for Israel is cratering among Democrats.
U.S. Senators have introduced a bill to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism which includes criticism of Israel as antisemitism.
My other newsletters:
SWANA SF: A weekly round up of SWANA (South + West Asian & North African) community events in San Francisco and the wider Bay Area — sign up here.
Rahman Social: A 1-2x monthly digest of how to’s and recommendations for how to use your social media to become a digital thought leader - sign up here.