by Vee Hua 華婷婷
by Ruba Ayub
On Jan. 23, along with concerned community members and activists from King County, I protested at the Tukwila City Hall to demand the defunding of the Tukwila Police Department. We collectively demanded an end to the over-policing of Black and Brown people in our neighborhood. Our demands were crystal clear: Redirect these funds towards vital community-based services, such as affordable housing, youth programs, real restorative justice initiatives, and mental health services.
As we protested, heartbreaking news emerged regarding the tragic killing of Jaahnavi Kandula, a 23-year-old student from Uttar Pradesh, India. Kandula was struck by Seattle police officer Kevin Dave as she was crossing the street in South Lake Union.
Continue reading OPINION | Not Just a Bad Apple, A Rotten Tree: Jaahnavi Kandula’s Death Calls for Defunding our Corrupt Justice Systemby Nura Ahmed
Essam Muhammad, a Seattle-based performing artist and songwriter, has been telling the stories of the South End ever since he was a little kid. Art has been his first love since he was 9 years old. “I was exposed to the hip-hop scene from a young age,” Muhammad began.
Recently, Muhammad was able to bring those stories onto the big screen for the first time, acting in a starring role for the feature film, Purple Don’t Cry. Directed by Mamoun Hassan and written by Boonaa Mohammed, the film will be premiering at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) on June 1.
Continue reading Muslim Performing Artist Essam Muhammad Stars in Break-Out Role in ‘Purple Don’t Cry’by Daniel Hart
The Seattle Globalist was a daily online publication that covered the connections between local and global issues in Seattle. The Emerald is keeping alive its legacy of highlighting our city’s diverse voices by regularly publishing and re-publishing stories aligned with the Globalist’s mission.
At his lowest point, journalist Hadi Ebrahimi found himself hiding from the Taliban in a pitch-black cemetery in Kabul, Afghanistan.
In August 2021, as U.S. forces withdrew, the Taliban swiftly retook control of the country. They banned the 28-year-old’s radio station, which had advocated for democracy and challenged their ideology. One day, Ebrahimi’s brother called to warn him the Taliban were searching the neighborhood where he was hiding. Ebrahimi left the house and started running. After nightfall, he waited in a cemetery for his brother to pick him up.
Continue reading Facing Parole Expiration, Many Afghan Refugees Lack Guarantee of a Future in the U.S.by Lauryn Bray
At 1 p.m. on Jan. 12, beloved family man and father of five, Muslim community leader, and ride-share driver Mahamadou Kabba, 35, was shot in Renton during a string of shootings that later killed him and seriously wounded two other men. Kabba and Sami G. Mebrahtu, 30, were both shot multiple times and subsequently taken to the Harborview Medical Center, where they both underwent surgery. A third victim, Leonard Walker, sustained gunshot wounds to his right thigh, right hip, left hip, and right wrist, but did not require extensive treatment. The shooter, Mamadou Aliou “Lee” Diallo, 32, was arrested in Tacoma and booked into the King County Correctional Facility at 2:40 p.m. With these acts of violence, Diallo had ripped apart the lives of several unsuspecting families.
Continue reading ‘Our Community Has a Hole’: Family and Friends Mourn the Loss of Mahamadou Kabba, Man Slain in Renton Shootingby Nura Ahmed
This year, Ramadan starts March 23 and ends April 22, depending on when the crescent moon first appears. Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar, which reckons time by the moon. It is a part of the five pillars of Islam, a series of obligations that every Muslim needs to abide by. During the month, Muslims fast from sunup to sundown, keeping up with their prayers and working towards purifying their hearts and actions.
Continue reading A Guide to Ramadan Events in 2023by Beverly Aarons
The Seattle Globalist was a daily online publication that covered the connections between local and global issues in Seattle. The Emerald is keeping alive its legacy of highlighting our city’s diverse voices by regularly publishing and re-publishing stories aligned with the Globalist’s mission.
On Sept. 11, 2001, the twin towers fell, and the face of terrorism became Muslim, Sikh, and South Asians of all religious persuasions. Xenophobia burned through the American landscape, unmasking deep-rooted racism hidden just beneath a thin foliage of inclusivity. Many people who were perceived as foreign were harassed. Rita Meher, the cofounder of Tasveer, was told “go back to your country” only weeks after she became a citizen. The experience shook her. She began to doubt her decision to immigrate. Was America really the land of inclusivity and opportunity she had imagined it to be? But out of the embers of her disillusionment the seeds of a new vision began to sprout — Tasveer, an arts organization, festival, and platform to showcase South Asian film, literature, and storytelling.
“It’s never so straightforward that this happens and then we do this,” said Meher during an interview with the South Seattle Emerald. Her journey to cofounding Tasveer with Farah Nousheen in March 2002 was filled with many twists, turns, and surprise destinations. But if one had to highlight an important waypoint, it might be Meher’s first film, Citizenship 101, an autobiographical account of what life was like for South Asians in the shadow of 9/11. Nousheen, who Meher said is an activist and a friend, encouraged her to make the film and helped cultivate Tasveer into a social-justice-centered organization.
“Our existence hasn’t been weaved into the community yet,” Meher said of the South Asian community, “but as you see in Seattle or greater Seattle, our population is huge.” She wants South Asian characters to go from sidekick to center stage. Tasveer has begun achieving that goal by funding films like Coming Out With The Help Of A Time Machine, which opened the Tasveer Festival Oct. 1, 2021, and introducing audiences to filmmakers like Aizzah Fatima and Iman Zawahry, the producers of Americanish, a romantic comedy about Muslim immigrant women navigating love, career, and family. Americanish will screen at the festival’s closing night on Oct. 24, 2021.
Continue reading Born in the Aftermath of 9/11, Tasveer Festival Centers South Asian Stories
