tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61858143269701637922012-02-16T18:22:34.073-07:00the musings and rantings of an american muslim (happily) stuck in the rocky mountainsThe Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.comBlogger151100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-72789567155952518102010-10-25T17:00:00.002-06:002010-10-25T17:01:38.869-06:00

Written By Taj AshaheedMuch of what characterizes the issue of the “Park51” community center or the commonly referred "Ground Zero Mosque" is misunderstood or unexamined context. From the start of the controversy, it was clear as the community center was generalized in the media as a mosque and touted as being built at Ground Zero (as opposed to its actual location) that opponents of the center

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-754666659278115162010-10-25T16:56:00.001-06:002010-10-25T16:59:18.792-06:00

Posted: 09/02/2010 01:00:00 AM MDTAs Muslims near the end of Ramadan, I among many find this annual practice of fasting a refuge.Since last Ramadan, the Colorado community has been marked with media notoriety linked to terrorist activity. In February, Denver resident Najibullah Zazi pleaded guilty in a suicide bomb plot. In March, Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, from Leadville, was arrested in connection

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-72919958944726108682009-01-22T11:22:00.002-07:002009-01-22T11:27:33.531-07:00

When Barack started his campaign, I had the pleasure of managing the operations of a good portion of his market research. He took on a great and experienced team of strategist including colleagues and friends Joel Benenson and Carl Rossow. We were optomistic (we ran Clinton in 06) but cautious, but as time went on we saw the chance for history upon history. For me the inauguration is just a

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-79023678007222278272008-10-10T12:31:00.002-06:002008-10-10T12:45:54.671-06:00

I am so sick of the stupid-ass excuse I keep hearing that we (Black people) use the word "nigga" in order to take the sting and/or hatred out of it.Bullsh**.Why? Because, as much as we use it, as soon as we hear a White person use it, that sting is still there and still painful as hell.Quite simply, we use the word because of the same reasons we used to conk our hair and why we still straighten

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-20314762293022930122008-07-21T01:54:00.003-06:002008-08-28T00:02:22.416-06:00

So I am at work at my wonderful new job with my old market research firm and we are talking about crazy websites - so I mention "hotghettomess.com" to my co-worker Julie - telling her it's one of the craziest in terms of crazy pics of people's absurd "ghetto-fab" imagery. You know, baby pictures with infants with big gold chains, cars with Louis Vutton paint jobs, etc.As Julie pulled up the site

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-87682980739351169612008-06-18T02:29:00.001-06:002008-06-18T02:30:01.386-06:00

Man...I have had a million and one ideas that I need to write about...and for some reason, I can't seem to sit long enough to write...Ugh

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-46632029759108443562008-03-19T22:13:00.000-06:002008-03-19T22:14:18.590-06:00

This past February, our Community hosted Imam Siraj Wahaj, a prolific Muslim activist and Imam from New York. It was a good time for me personally, because I know Siraj and have been able to hang out with him a bit whenever he comes to town. Whenever I go to New York I visit his masjid and always catch him in town for Jumuah Salat and or to be kidnapped by him for a few hours to chew the fat,

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-45519592042138902692008-03-18T23:44:00.003-06:002008-03-18T23:59:26.263-06:00

On Saturday (3/15) I competed in the Pancrase World Submission Wrestling Championship held in lovely Broomfield Colorado. I have been training pretty steady since my last tourney (where I gold medaled in the Masters beginners division) and really wanted to do good since I was moving up a division and in a big time tourney. I went in feeling great and even better knowing that one of my jiu-jitsu

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-19619739185285971492008-03-18T23:40:00.002-06:002008-03-18T23:43:39.740-06:00

Wow...time really flies don't it?I have been busy with work - working as a polling director for the Obama campaign (read: busy as heck)...training for a submission grappling/jiu jitsu and boxing tournament in March...taking over operations of my company after a promotion...so...not a lotta time for writing (ugh)

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-74060039928444857582007-12-23T03:54:00.001-07:002007-12-23T03:56:01.406-07:00

I promise that I will post/update my blog more regularly...lol

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-51345806710312522702007-10-12T01:58:00.000-06:002007-10-12T02:03:53.912-06:00

A talk with The RevBy Taj AshaheedThe Denver Post - May 2006 I called my grandfather in Florida a couple weeks ago, just after his 90th birthday. I told him I would be down to see him soon. "Great!" he said, "And we can have that talk."I chuckled in agreement, despite the silent "Uh-oh" in my mind. "That talk" has been promised for quite some time. It is going to be about religion; more

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-11313686470567184582006-08-03T16:19:00.000-06:002007-10-15T16:20:16.156-06:00

By Taj AshaheedAugust, 2006“Know your rights”. I can’t count the times I’ve heard this mantra time and time again, in context to either my race or my religion. On a hot night two weeks ago, an encounter I had with members of the Denver Police Department brought that lesson to life.I was returning to work late on a Thursday (by “late”, I mean just after 2 am). Since I happen to work next door to

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-51300334836391202082006-06-06T16:18:00.000-06:002007-10-15T16:18:37.083-06:00

By Taj AshaheedJune, 2006In an ever-tightening market, a job seeker in Colorado faces stiff competition from over 100,000 other people looking for jobs. As someone who helped employ over a thousand people and having turned away many from interviews, it often seems that the stiffest competition many job seekers face is from themselves.It is pretty much a given that people want to work, and given

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-16411676604313839942006-05-31T12:00:00.000-06:002007-10-15T16:17:05.627-06:00

You might remember Lionel - at 13 he was sentenced to life in prison for the death of 6 year-old Tiffany Eunick that occurred in 1999. While Lionel’s notorious conviction was overturned, his path to trouble seemed inevitable. On May 18th of this year, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for gun possession, the latest (and saddest) chapter in this youth’s troubled life. Observing this sad story

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185814326970163792.post-12342805254904528532005-11-08T16:10:00.000-07:002007-10-15T16:14:39.953-06:00

By Taj AshaheedMountain States Islamic AssociationSpirituality, or faith, is a central concept in Islam, and is taught as a major responsibility. While spirituality is inherent to all human beings, for the Muslim, spirituality is something that demands attention and maintenance. The time and effort spent to this end is what constitutes the idea of devotion and practice.The Quran acts as the

The Tajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14602974655159307057noreply@blogger.com0