Thanks, Noha, for bringing attention to this grave injustice, the work of this incredible man who is no longer with us, and for helping us to understand something important about the Muslim faith.
Diana I thought I sent my comment and it seemed to disappear into the ether. What I wrote last time was about how much I appreciate you, always standing for justice and consistently speaking out. Truly, it helps me to remember kindred spirits like you when I am feeling hopeless.
Hi Noha, I know that happens sometimes. I so appreciate your words. It feels really good to know that what I do that is so therapeutic for me also helps you and others.
It's a travesty. More of the American hubris in capital punishment. Ridiculous. Embarrassing. Too many Black men have met painful ends at the hands of a justice system that doesn't treat them equitably. And Noha, I think the words, in whatever faith each of us wields, aren't as integral as the love we have for our fellow human beings. If you forget the words, don't worry. How you loved, is already marked in time. :)
Oh Frank that made me cry... I don't think I got into it in the piece because it felt too tactical, but yes, it's not the actual words. Our teachings tell us that anyone whose heart is already there will be able to say the words at their death. My worry is my heart. I feel like my heart is not where I want it to be. I pray for many long years to get it to that point.
Black men in America are treated in the most abhorrent way. We see it again and again and it's atrocious. Have you heard about Ta-nehisi Coates' new interview in New York Magazine? I think he has been connecting the dots between the way Black people are treated by the state domestically and the way Palestinians have been treated by the state in a foreign policy sense. It's all connected.
It most certainly is. The tribal ruling class across the world has committed many generations of genocide upon Black and Brown peoples, one by one, village by village, nation-state by nation-state. It must end. Your heart is already strong, Noha, it's obvious from your writing, which I adore.
I wish I hadn't too, Deirdre. I hate how many of us are broken, and how many people have mobilized for this and for other massive travesties, only to be ignored by the powers that be.
It’s called 13th and has to do with the 13th amendment. Slavery was abolished, but not as punishment for criminals…. in California more money is spent on prisons than on public education. It’s an industry with deep and clear connection to slavery.
This was one of the most powerful documentaries I've ever watched. As someone who homeschooled her children for many years, I also understand the insidious reach of control through that system. Hard not to feel like we're all part of a big version of The Hunger Games.
I work with the families of clients who were killed or injured by the police every day, and as horrible as that is, it’s nowhere near as bad and formidable to change as the US prison system. Ignorance and racism are at the core of most horrific things going on in the world right now, and those things are hard to change because they are so ingrained. But every little thing to expose, it is important.
I notice that in your writing and I appreciate it so deeply. I cannot imagine the emotional toll of working in that environment, day in and day out. And then to consider that the prison system is even worse!!
I’m trying to remember the name of the Ava Duvernay documentary about how the prison system was basically put in place to replace slavery. Like you said, these things are so ingrained. It’s rotten to its very core and we are all functioning within that rottenness.
I have been following Marcellus’s story with growing dread as it became clear the petitions and protests were going to be ignored. It’s one of the most blatant shows of the callousness of the US systems of power against human life.
I hope his faith gave him comfort where our society has failed so painfully.
For him and everyone else realizing what that means for their own lives and the lives of their children. Like Israeli Americans getting evacuated by the state and Lebanese Americans being told they can catch a commercial flight if they want to. It’s gross.
Yup. We just have to walk around with the knowledge that our lives are not valued, and then any anger we have about this is "off-putting" and "uncivil".
Oh Noha, I wish that I could reach out to you in more ways than the internet could provide. I feel as though we are wounds filled with salt saying Alhamdulillah until voices fade and our lips can no longer form the words.
I would love to hug and cry and hug and cry. It is so cathartic. I take this in the absence of that physical connection.
I try to remember to say Alhamdulillah, and then to really internalize it, but I don't think I'm anywhere near the level of contentment and serenity that Marcellus reached. I do it anyway, because I feel like the repetition might get me closer, if not all the way there.
What a testament. Bearing witness to the witness. What extraordinary dignity he possessed—I’m glad I know how grounded he was in his faith when he was killed. Another piece I know you didn’t want to write, but I’m grateful you did.
Little spurs anger in me like feelings of powerlessness, and I feel that so deeply for Marcellus and his family, for the people of Palestine, for victims of racial bias and sexual assault, for the incarcerated. Grateful to you for calling our attention to these injustices. Brokenhearted for all of us that it feels as though nothing has improved. Reassured by the faith of those like Marcellus. Certain your heart will know the way and be known when the time comes
I am the same way, it is utterly enraging how some are able to continue to kill, to dismiss suffering, to steel people’s lives and their futures and the rest of us are supposed to … what? do nothing? Look away and hope the machine doesn’t turn its attention to us?
It is inhuman and it doesn’t work anyway. We are all the same. If one person is suffering injustice, we all are.
This is beautiful, Noha, and heart wrenching. I love listening to the Arabic. And like Deirdre said simply, I wish you didn’t have to write this. Devastating. The US prison system is a shameful travesty. And the loss of Marcellus Williams should be felt by all of us.
It's a disaster. Ours in Canada is not great either, although it is the Indigenous population that bears the brunt of it, but also the Black population. We have a dear friend (I shared his post above - Yasin Dwyer) who was a Muslim pastor who was allowed to visit the inmates in the prisons here and he had so many stories it would make your blood boil.
'I’m hurting, but I still trust you, God. ‘ What a strong testament of faith.
Thank you for highlighting this case for us. We believe Allah is the ultimate judge. Marcellus may not receive justice in this world, but nothing escapes His sight in the akhira.
Thank you Noha, for making Islam more accessible and unifying for all of us readers. I am so grateful. May peace and blessings be upon Marcellus Khalifah Williams ♥️
Thank you, my love. This one feels a lot like mining the deepest of my insecurities. People like Marcellus show me how to be real, and then I realize how far off I am, how much I’m still just begging the world to like me, instead of forgetting about the world and focusing on the truth.
Horrors! I did not hear about this. Unacceptable injustice.
The death penalty alone is unjustified -- I write about this in a short story in my collection _The Woman Who Never Cooked_ --the story is entitled "Proof" and is layered with other things.
Oh Mary, I'm so glad you wrote about something similar.
This man - there was absolutely no reason for his murder. I mean, there is obviously no reason for anyone's murder, but the details of this man's case will make your blood boil at the rage and injustice.
Beautiful Noha. When I read his statement I cried in sadness but also awe because he passed his test. He remained faithful. It’s the same for our brothers and sisters enduring oppression worldwide. They say Alhamdulillah because they know that’s all we really have in this life. I keep thinking about the saying, “die before your death.” We have so much fear and attachment. What does it mean to let go and really trust Allah? It may mean extreme hardship as we see on our phones but also the perplexing smiles and joys as our brother Marcellus Khalifah recognized.
He did. I'm shook because it's in the here and now, not a story I can point to 1400 years ago. Him, and all our brothers and sisters all over the world. I get frustrated at the stupidest things. Just this morning I got frustrated with a landscaper fixing the paver stones on our front port. Paver stones!!! And then I think of Marcellus Khalifa and I shake my head in disbelief at the smallness of my patience and the outsized ridiculousness of my ego. Paver stones.
"Die before your death." It reminds me of something that's either a poem or a hadeeth. I think it's a hadeeth, or a saying of one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad pbuh. "3ish ka'innaka mayyit" -- live with the absolute certainty that your death is coming.
It's so hard to do in our society. Death is hidden away from us. YOLO. Play hard. All these ridiculous statements that sound completely innocuous, but really just keep us in ghafla. I recognize them, intellectually, but I do so little to actually change my heart state to overcome them.
I resonate with this, the little frustrations and then remembering the big injustices all over the world. And I absolutely agree that when death is “hidden away” as you say, when every product sold is to make you fear death and try to extend youth - as if it is not the most beautiful and noble thing to age and wisen well - we are lost. May we remember, remember, remember compassion and faith at every step.
Thanks, Noha, for bringing attention to this grave injustice, the work of this incredible man who is no longer with us, and for helping us to understand something important about the Muslim faith.
Diana I thought I sent my comment and it seemed to disappear into the ether. What I wrote last time was about how much I appreciate you, always standing for justice and consistently speaking out. Truly, it helps me to remember kindred spirits like you when I am feeling hopeless.
Hi Noha, I know that happens sometimes. I so appreciate your words. It feels really good to know that what I do that is so therapeutic for me also helps you and others.
I so appreciate kindred spirits like you.
It's a travesty. More of the American hubris in capital punishment. Ridiculous. Embarrassing. Too many Black men have met painful ends at the hands of a justice system that doesn't treat them equitably. And Noha, I think the words, in whatever faith each of us wields, aren't as integral as the love we have for our fellow human beings. If you forget the words, don't worry. How you loved, is already marked in time. :)
Oh Frank that made me cry... I don't think I got into it in the piece because it felt too tactical, but yes, it's not the actual words. Our teachings tell us that anyone whose heart is already there will be able to say the words at their death. My worry is my heart. I feel like my heart is not where I want it to be. I pray for many long years to get it to that point.
Black men in America are treated in the most abhorrent way. We see it again and again and it's atrocious. Have you heard about Ta-nehisi Coates' new interview in New York Magazine? I think he has been connecting the dots between the way Black people are treated by the state domestically and the way Palestinians have been treated by the state in a foreign policy sense. It's all connected.
It most certainly is. The tribal ruling class across the world has committed many generations of genocide upon Black and Brown peoples, one by one, village by village, nation-state by nation-state. It must end. Your heart is already strong, Noha, it's obvious from your writing, which I adore.
Thank you... You're so kind.
This. ❤️
Thank you, Noha for writing this, I only wish with all my heart you didn’t have to.
I wish I hadn't too, Deirdre. I hate how many of us are broken, and how many people have mobilized for this and for other massive travesties, only to be ignored by the powers that be.
It’s called 13th and has to do with the 13th amendment. Slavery was abolished, but not as punishment for criminals…. in California more money is spent on prisons than on public education. It’s an industry with deep and clear connection to slavery.
Yes! That's exactly it.
This was one of the most powerful documentaries I've ever watched. As someone who homeschooled her children for many years, I also understand the insidious reach of control through that system. Hard not to feel like we're all part of a big version of The Hunger Games.
It really is brilliant. And most people have no idea… The Hunger Games and those stories resonate because there are kernels of truth there.
I work with the families of clients who were killed or injured by the police every day, and as horrible as that is, it’s nowhere near as bad and formidable to change as the US prison system. Ignorance and racism are at the core of most horrific things going on in the world right now, and those things are hard to change because they are so ingrained. But every little thing to expose, it is important.
I notice that in your writing and I appreciate it so deeply. I cannot imagine the emotional toll of working in that environment, day in and day out. And then to consider that the prison system is even worse!!
I’m trying to remember the name of the Ava Duvernay documentary about how the prison system was basically put in place to replace slavery. Like you said, these things are so ingrained. It’s rotten to its very core and we are all functioning within that rottenness.
This is beautiful.
I have been following Marcellus’s story with growing dread as it became clear the petitions and protests were going to be ignored. It’s one of the most blatant shows of the callousness of the US systems of power against human life.
I hope his faith gave him comfort where our society has failed so painfully.
It is stunningly obvious and completely unnecessary. I am so glad he had his faith and so furious for him regardless.
For him and everyone else realizing what that means for their own lives and the lives of their children. Like Israeli Americans getting evacuated by the state and Lebanese Americans being told they can catch a commercial flight if they want to. It’s gross.
Yup. We just have to walk around with the knowledge that our lives are not valued, and then any anger we have about this is "off-putting" and "uncivil".
Oh Noha, I wish that I could reach out to you in more ways than the internet could provide. I feel as though we are wounds filled with salt saying Alhamdulillah until voices fade and our lips can no longer form the words.
I would love to hug and cry and hug and cry. It is so cathartic. I take this in the absence of that physical connection.
I try to remember to say Alhamdulillah, and then to really internalize it, but I don't think I'm anywhere near the level of contentment and serenity that Marcellus reached. I do it anyway, because I feel like the repetition might get me closer, if not all the way there.
You found the words. 🫂
Yes... Our friend Marc pushed me. So grateful for all your friendship.
Beautifully, heartbreakingly written. Thank you, Noha <3
Thank you so much, my friend.
What a testament. Bearing witness to the witness. What extraordinary dignity he possessed—I’m glad I know how grounded he was in his faith when he was killed. Another piece I know you didn’t want to write, but I’m grateful you did.
His dignity utterly astounds me. I feel so utterly unprepared to meet the moment when I see the way he handled it.
Little spurs anger in me like feelings of powerlessness, and I feel that so deeply for Marcellus and his family, for the people of Palestine, for victims of racial bias and sexual assault, for the incarcerated. Grateful to you for calling our attention to these injustices. Brokenhearted for all of us that it feels as though nothing has improved. Reassured by the faith of those like Marcellus. Certain your heart will know the way and be known when the time comes
I am the same way, it is utterly enraging how some are able to continue to kill, to dismiss suffering, to steel people’s lives and their futures and the rest of us are supposed to … what? do nothing? Look away and hope the machine doesn’t turn its attention to us?
It is inhuman and it doesn’t work anyway. We are all the same. If one person is suffering injustice, we all are.
This is beautiful, Noha, and heart wrenching. I love listening to the Arabic. And like Deirdre said simply, I wish you didn’t have to write this. Devastating. The US prison system is a shameful travesty. And the loss of Marcellus Williams should be felt by all of us.
It's a disaster. Ours in Canada is not great either, although it is the Indigenous population that bears the brunt of it, but also the Black population. We have a dear friend (I shared his post above - Yasin Dwyer) who was a Muslim pastor who was allowed to visit the inmates in the prisons here and he had so many stories it would make your blood boil.
'I’m hurting, but I still trust you, God. ‘ What a strong testament of faith.
Thank you for highlighting this case for us. We believe Allah is the ultimate judge. Marcellus may not receive justice in this world, but nothing escapes His sight in the akhira.
Absolutely. This is the cold comfort I rely on.
Thank you Noha, for making Islam more accessible and unifying for all of us readers. I am so grateful. May peace and blessings be upon Marcellus Khalifah Williams ♥️
You’re welcome and amen amen amen
That ending was the mic drop of my life. Thank you for being goddamn brave and amazing in every way
Thank you, my love. This one feels a lot like mining the deepest of my insecurities. People like Marcellus show me how to be real, and then I realize how far off I am, how much I’m still just begging the world to like me, instead of forgetting about the world and focusing on the truth.
Horrors! I did not hear about this. Unacceptable injustice.
The death penalty alone is unjustified -- I write about this in a short story in my collection _The Woman Who Never Cooked_ --the story is entitled "Proof" and is layered with other things.
Oh Mary, I'm so glad you wrote about something similar.
This man - there was absolutely no reason for his murder. I mean, there is obviously no reason for anyone's murder, but the details of this man's case will make your blood boil at the rage and injustice.
Agree!
Thank you Noha for the wealth of faith, wisdom, and love.
Thank you so much for receiving my words and my thoughts, Gary.
Beautiful Noha. When I read his statement I cried in sadness but also awe because he passed his test. He remained faithful. It’s the same for our brothers and sisters enduring oppression worldwide. They say Alhamdulillah because they know that’s all we really have in this life. I keep thinking about the saying, “die before your death.” We have so much fear and attachment. What does it mean to let go and really trust Allah? It may mean extreme hardship as we see on our phones but also the perplexing smiles and joys as our brother Marcellus Khalifah recognized.
He did. I'm shook because it's in the here and now, not a story I can point to 1400 years ago. Him, and all our brothers and sisters all over the world. I get frustrated at the stupidest things. Just this morning I got frustrated with a landscaper fixing the paver stones on our front port. Paver stones!!! And then I think of Marcellus Khalifa and I shake my head in disbelief at the smallness of my patience and the outsized ridiculousness of my ego. Paver stones.
"Die before your death." It reminds me of something that's either a poem or a hadeeth. I think it's a hadeeth, or a saying of one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad pbuh. "3ish ka'innaka mayyit" -- live with the absolute certainty that your death is coming.
It's so hard to do in our society. Death is hidden away from us. YOLO. Play hard. All these ridiculous statements that sound completely innocuous, but really just keep us in ghafla. I recognize them, intellectually, but I do so little to actually change my heart state to overcome them.
I resonate with this, the little frustrations and then remembering the big injustices all over the world. And I absolutely agree that when death is “hidden away” as you say, when every product sold is to make you fear death and try to extend youth - as if it is not the most beautiful and noble thing to age and wisen well - we are lost. May we remember, remember, remember compassion and faith at every step.
Yes yes yes - there’s a reason the ancient cultures revered the elders. They had a much healthier relationship with death