I see so many people I like and admire making pledges that they will register as Muslim when the Trump administration tries to implement their campaign promises.
But this declaration, while well-intentioned, is meaningless. There is no reason to have a registry in the world we live in today. Our world is not like 1930s Germany. In our world, Target will know that you are pregnant before you have told your family, because of algorithms that track our searches and clicks to build comprehensive databases of our consumer habits. So instead of waiting for you to announce your pregnancy, these programs are geared to notice that you googled “diaper cake”, “unique baby names” and “maternity pants”. In our world, the registry has already been built out of your choices over time. So we have to be smarter.
But continue making those pledges too, with awareness of why they matter: they represent an opportunity to tell your community that you recognize and disapprove of government systems that identify and track citizens based on their beliefs. That is your chance to reach out to your Aunt Mildred and talk to her about how disturbing the idea is. And that is worth something. But if you also want to interfere with the ability of the government to actually track Muslims, you need to alter your own habits. You will need to start creating a pattern in your day that will be picked up by the programs that are trained to sniff out your interests.
Every day, take a moment to look up something related to Islam. Not a news story, but things in your community. Check in at your local mosque. Look up when Eid is. Buy a copy of the Koran, or at least put one in your Amazon cart. Get yourself on those lists. These are going to be the registries.
Today is the first day of December. Today, I helped my children open their Advent calendars. And today, I am starting the Trump Advent Calendar. Because if there is one thing Jesus would understand about the year 2016, it would be the fear felt by children all over the country, who are afraid of a powerful man who has openly threatened their families. He was born in a world where a king slaughtered babies because he heard one of them would take his throne. He was born in a world where his parents were turned away from every shelter, save a lowly stable. And he grew up in a world where powerful religious interests colluded with the state to root out dissidents.
Please join me. Every day I will have a new action, with the previous actions appearing below. Don’t feel like you need to do them all in order, and please, feel free to make suggestions.
(Edit in 2017: Please feel free to do these in any order! It’s probably more effective )
Today: Day 1:
Day 2: find a positive Islamic blog to follow. Here are some suggestions…
Day 3: find your favorite Rumi verse to share with a friend
Day 4: check out some cool hijab tutorials
Day 5: download an app that calculates prayer times.
Day 6: Yelp a mosque
Day 7: watch an “All About the Base” parody about hummus
Day 8: Go to Amazon.com and put a copy of the Quran in your cart
Day 9: Browse and follow this beautiful board on Pinterest
https://www.pinterest.com/themuslimsquad/muslims-of-kidlit/
Day 10: Google “recipes for iftar”
Day 11: Send a friend a favorite Khalil Gibran quote. This one is mine, “Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”
Day 12: Listen to a few of the musicians featured here:
Day 13:
Day 14: Browse the front page of TIM
Day 15: Aleppo, then and now:
Day 16: learn to call the stars by their Arabic names
Day 17: Go back to Amazon. Put another Quran in your cart.
Day 18: Find the nearest halal market and visit it
Day 19: Watch this delightful video
Day 20: Check out Refugee Radio
