Program Particulars
*Times indicated refer to web version of audio

(02:15–04:15) Music
"The Multiples of One" from Awakening, performed by Joseph Curiale

(02:30) American Figures of Islam
Malcolm X — whose life and thought are currently the subject of an exhibit at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in the heart of Harlem — and Muhammad Ali are two well-known figures who were born into Christian households, joined the Nation of Islam under the guidance of Elijah Muhammad, and were dismissed from the Nation of Islam. Two interesting popular depictions of these African-American figures who converted to Islam are Spike Lee's 1992 film, Malcolm X, and the Academy Award-winning documentary on the 1974 heavyweight championship boxing match in Zaire between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, When We Were Kings.

(03:24) Muslims in America
Of the six million Muslims residing in the United States today, African Americans compose over one-third of the Islamic population. To gain a greater understanding of these Americans, Project MAPS: Muslims in American Public Square commissioned the American Muslim Poll (PDF 139KB). The report was published in December 2001 and conducted by Zogby International, which covers the areas of demographics, religious practices, social and political issues, and September 11th and its aftermath.

(07:02) Muslims in the Military
As of March 2005, the Deparment of Defense estimates that over 4,000 Muslims are serving in the U.S. armed forces: 2,860 are on active duty and 1,776 are serving in the Reserves or the National Guard. But a former Marine Corps gunnery sergeant who leads the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council in Washington, D.C., Qaseem Uqdah, believes these numbers are conservative. Uqdah believes 15,000 enlisted men and women are currently serving in the military. See a chart that shows the breakdown of the religious affiliation of active duty personnel in the U.S. Armed Forces.

And, according to the Chief of Chaplains personnnel office, the Army has 1,300 chaplains in the active Army: 1,243 are Protestant, 113 are Catholic, 6 are Orthodox Christian, and 6 are Islamic. An equal number of chaplains serve in the Reserves and National Guard. All Army chaplains are commissioned officers who are recommended, or "endorsed," as chaplains by their faith group. The Department of Defense Chaplain's Board approves these endorsees, but applications are made individually to the service the chaplain candidate wishes to join. All military chaplains accompany troops into battle and hazardous situations and agree to minister to people of any or no faith. Policy forbids military chaplains from proseletyzing.

(10:56–12:00) Music
"Saraab" from Blue Flame, performed by Simon Shaheen

(12:40) Reference to Walter Reed
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. was first established in 1909 to provide care for soldiers and retired veterans. The center now serves as a hospital, research institution, and learning facility.

(14:42–15:34) Music
"Desert Capriccio" from Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet, performed by Yo-Yo Ma & The Silk Road Ensemble

(16:13) The Five Pillars of Islam
The five basic tenets of Islam are:

• Shahada: the profession of faith in God, wherein a suppliant declares, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger."
• Salat: the ritual practice of facing Mecca and praying five times per day
• Sawm: the observation of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan
• Zakat: the mandatory paying of alms, which equates to about 2.5 percent of one's income, which is distributed among the poor
• Hajj: the compulsory pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim should do once during his or her lifetime

(20:36–24:07) Music
"Saraab" from Blue Flame, performed by Simon Shaheen

(21:07) Reading from Fatwa
The fatwa, a legal opinion concerning Islamic law, was issued by Muhammad's religious endorser, Taha Jabir Alwani, an Islamic scholar at the School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Leesburg, Virginia — an academy that certifies the religious credentials of those applying to be Muslim chaplains in the armed forces. Read the September 27, 2001 fatwa [English ¦ Arabic] written by prominent scholars from Egypt, Syria, the United States, and Qatar — including a noted critic of U.S. military operations in the Middle East, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Grand Islamic Scholar and Chairman of the Sunna and Sira Council in Qatar. Here is a translated excerpt from that edict:

The Muslim (soldier) must perform his duty in this fight despite the feeling of uneasiness of "fighting without discriminating." His intention (niyya) must be to fight for enjoining of the truth and defeating falsehood. It's to prevent aggression on the innocents, or to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice. It's not his concern what other consequences of the fighting that might result in his personal discomfort, since he alone can neither control it nor prevent it. Furthermore, all deeds are accounted (by God) according to the intentions. God (the Most High) does not burden any soul except what it can bear. In addition, Muslim jurists have ruled that what a Muslim cannot control he cannot be held accountable for, as God (the Most High) says: "And keep your duty to God as much as you can." 64:16. The prophet (prayer and peace be upon him) said: "when I ask of you to do something, do it as much as you can." The Muslim here is a part of a whole, if he absconds, his departure will result in a greater harm, not only for him but also for the Muslim community in his country — and here there are many millions of them. Moreover, even if fighting causes him discomfort spiritually or psychologically, this personal hardship must be endured for the greater public good, as the jurisprudence (fiqhi) rule states.

To sum up, it's acceptable — God willing — for the Muslim American military

The Mosque of the Believers in Taji, Iraq after renovation. (Photo: DVIDS)

personnel to partake in the fighting in the upcoming battles, against whomever, their country decides, has perpetrated terrorism against them. Keeping in mind to have the proper intention as explained earlier, so no doubts would be cast about their loyalty to their country, or to prevent harm to befall them as might be expected. This is in accordance with the Islamic jurisprudence rules which state that necessities dictate exceptions, as well as the rule that says one may endure a small harm to avoid a much greater harm.

(24:48–28:14) Music
"M-U-S-L-I-M" from For The Cause of Allah, performed by Native Deen

(33:57–34:50) Music
"For the Cause of Allah" from For The Cause of Allah, performed by Native Deen

(35:50) Mosque in Taji
On June 17, 2004 in the the town of Taji in Iraq, the Masjid Al-Mu'Mineen or the "Mosque of the Believers" was rededicated after three months of renovation by soldiers from the U.S. Army and local citizens. Of Iraq's 25 million people, approximately 97 percent are Muslim. Sunnis account for 90 percent of the world's Muslim population, but in Iraq the opposite is true: Sunni Arabs comprise only about 15–20 percent of the population and Sunni Kurds total just under 20 percent, while the Iraqi Shiites are the majority, having over 60 percent of the population.

(36:55) Reference to Eid al-Adha
Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, is the most important feast of the Muslim calendar and commences upon the tenth day of the Hajj at the completion of the pilgrimage to Mecca. Eid al-Adha lasts for three days, commemorating Ibrahim's (Abraham) obedience to God through the willing sacrifice of his son Ishmael (not Isaac, as is believed by Jews and Christians) when the voice of God stopped him and required Ibrahim to sacrifice a ram instead. The feast reenacts this scene by sacrificing a cow or a ram. The family eats a portion of the animal and donates the rest to the poor.

(39:16) The Red Crescent Emblem
The American military designates a Muslim chaplain with an emblem of a crescent attached to his uniform. In many parts of the world, a red crescent denotes affiliation with a medical organization. Under the accords of the Geneva Convention, countries employing the red crescent, red cross, or the red lion and sun are protected from military attack in much the same way as organizations using the red cross.

(39:37–40:15) Music
"Semai" from Sufi Music of Turkey, performed by Kudsi and Suleyman Erguner

(40:06) Making the Hajj
The television network CNN presents an online version of the pilgrimage, The Hajj: Islam's Journey of Faith and National Geographic also produced a documentary on the hajj, "Inside Mecca." Also, the PBS program Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet features a step-by-step virtual journey through the five phases of the hajj.

(41:21–43:57) Music
"Going to Mecca" from Malcolm X [Original Score], by Terence Blanchard

(41:29) Reading of The Autobiography of Malcolm X

In this edited passage from his April 1964 "Letter from Mecca," Malcolm X describes his profound change of heart about the nature of Islam and the problem of racism in the United States after his pilgrimage to Mecca:

Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this Ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other Prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors.

There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white.

America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered "white"—but the "white" attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their color.

You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced me to re-arrange much of my thought-patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions. This was not too difficult for me. Despite my firm convictions, I have always been a man who tries to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience and new knowledge unfolds it. I have always kept an open mind, which is necessary to the flexibility that must go hand in hand with every form of intelligent search for truth.

During the past eleven days here in the Muslim world, I have eaten from the same plate, drunk from the same glass, and slept in the same bed (or on the same rug)—while praying to the same God—with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond, and whose skin was the whitest of white. And in the words and in the actions in the deeds of the "white" Muslims, I felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black African Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan, and Ghana.

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds.

Sincerely,

El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz
(Malcolm X)

(44:35) Reference to Qurbani and Zakat
The offering of sacrificial animals in thanks and praise to Allah, qurbani, is often done during the two major festivals of the Muslim year celebrating the holy month of Ramadan and the Hajj ritual. Qurbani is prescribed as a compulsory duty to offer thanks in the name of Allah, and is considered a form of zakat because it is an obligatory paying of alms and not the voluntary charity of sadaqah

(46:19) Use of Phrase "Prayers and Peace Be Upon All the Prophets"
You may have noticed that Chaplain Muhammad used the phrase "Prayers and Peace Be Upon All the Prophets." This phrase, or salawat, is a variation of common Arabic expression Alaihis Salam, or "Peace Be Upon Him." The phrase is seen as a sign of respect and is commonly used when the name of a prophet is spoken. When writing in English, the abbreviation PBUH or SAW is used.

(48:54–50:42) Music
"Listen" from The Intercontinentals, performed by Bill Frisell

(50:36–53:11) Music
"Waving Sands" from Blue Flame, performed by Simon Shaheen