By
Umme Thara
closeAuthor: Umme Thara
Name: Umme Thara
Email: umme@lifeafterhate.org
Site:
About: Born to Guyanese and Pashtun Parents, Umme Thara was in and out of foster care as a six month-old child till 1 and a half years due to the violent situations at home.
Eventually becoming the care and custody of her step-uncle, for 15 years she suffered physical, mental and sexual abuse by family members. After attempted suicide, she finally decided to report the perpetrators – but the case was dropped due to insufficient evidence. In foster care again, left in schools with no proper qualifications, she was married off at the age of 16 years.
At the age of 19, she was convinced of working towards an ‘Islamic State’ via through talks organised by Hizb ut Tahrir based at the local college she attended. Angry with the world, (moreso the judicial system), she was convinced that the world needed a change – it needed Khilafah where her perpetrators could be brought to justice. Both Umme Thara and her husband were determined to join a more active ‘cult’ Al Muhajiroun in 1997. In 1997, Umme Thara and her husband were the first recruits in West London to join a political party that called for the whole of Muslims to work towards the Khilafah – the Islamic State. Umme Thara was actively seeking new recruits to a utopian ideology adamant that it would replace Capitalist ideology. She was proactive in setting up culturing sessions for women, participated in missionary stalls, attended demonstrations—but moreso, disrupting and even hijacking other functions to promote the Islamic ideology. At the same time, she had to cut off from friends/family who either weren’t Islamic/or were considered too mainstream—all due to the fact that the exodus was about to take place, leading us to the Khilafah, be it in Pakistan, Afghanistan, or the Middle East. Both Umme Thara and her husband then travelled to Mauritius to become proactive and began setting up groups, and even culturing contacts.
In 1999, she organised a Self defence training for women, deluded by the fact that another possible genocide could take place in Britain (as it did before in Bosnia) and therefore women had to be prepared to defend themselves.
After the ‘seed of doubt’ began to sink in, the puzzles of the religious text (that were manipulated) began to unravel. The finale of her decision to renounce violence came about when her best friend provided her with the following reflective point ‘whenever anything affects your Iman (faith), be sure it’s not from Islam’. The turning point for her to leave meant the party’s demise moreso to the women’s wing.
During her time with Al Muhajiroun, mainstream education was totally prohibited by a ruling declared by the Cleric Sheikh Omar Bakri. By leaving the group, she returned to mainstream education. With no formal qualifications she took a daytime job as a cleaner in the local bed and breakfast, then attended night schools. It was a starting point to reconnect with the world and the life she had missed out on.
Post 9/11, after a backlash against the Muslim Community and the greater divide it was causing, she then established a new group called the Muslim Women’s Forum, where she liaised with a Spiritual Counsellor to run a 6 months healing workshop for those who were experiencing depression, isolation, or were victims of abuse. This was a crucial step to protect those who were vulnerable to the extremist ideology, and to provide adequate help to those in need to moral support.
In 2004 – 2006, she designed and coordinated shows for a community-based radio ‘Radio Reality’ discussing some of the socio dilemmas faced by the Muslim Community.
Since post 7/7 attacks she has been heavily involved in youth-based projects such as M.Y Voice and to ensure violent ideologies/narratives are challenged by inviting specialist organisations to deliver effective workshops and volunteering opportunities to enhance in employment/future careers.
On March 2008 she appeared in Channel 4’s ‘Dispatches: Iraq the Betrayal’.
She became the co-founder of MAWAH September 2008 (Muslim Active Women Around Hounslow) and has worked to deliver interfaith projects – Know Thy Neighbour and Interfaith Cafes. She bases her vision to ‘Educate, Empower and Engage’ women to become proactive citizens in their communities.
She has worked with the local government as a Beacon Coordinator from 2009 – 2010 to disseminate good practice to build ‘Cohesive & Resilient Communities’, both on a local and national level. In her work she mentored Slough, Kingston, Ealing in to delivering strategies in the remit of Community Cohesion and the Prevent Agenda Delivered a conference ‘Empowering Our Youths for Change’ where invited key speakers to deliver insight to extremism from a broad prospective, gang culture, far-right and other violent extremists' methods of recruitment.
She is currently pursuing a Joint Honours BA Degree in Sociology/Criminology at Kingston University. Her focus is now to work with grassroots organisations like WLI to help steer young people away from extremist ideologies and to work on projects based around peace such as developing ‘Critical Thinking’, ‘Emotional Intelligence’ and ‘Social Enterprise ’.
She recently facilitated a joint conference with the U.S Officials and Representatives from UK Specialist Consultants ‘ H.Y Talks – Question Time ‘UK & US Relations and US). Following the death of Osama Bin Laden, she liaised with the Foreign Commonwealth Office to facilitate a ‘Question Time’ event in a local Secondary Schools between pupils and the British High Commissioner’s to Islamabad - Adam Thompson
She has recently participated on the Summit Against Violence Extremism 2011 hosted by Google in Dublin where she met some real movers and shakers of the community. It was a life changing experience for her where she witnessed healing, compassion, and the value of forgiveness… A definitely new life after hate!See Authors Posts (1) ⋅ December 28, 2011
⋅ Post a commentAn eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth. An act that has embraced its gloom A spark that had so many enlightened higher spirits, has died now, unlit, releases inner demons. What are we now? Who are we now? The notion lies within the hands of the masses Their stares reveals [...]
By
Carlos Eduardo de Oliveira Ramalho
closeAuthor: Carlos Eduardo de Oliveira Ramalho
Name:
Email: ceoramalho@yahoo.com.br
Site: http://www.ceoramalho.blogspot.com/
About: I grew up in a small town in northern São Paulo state, far from big cities and having books as my best friends since I was 4. I was raised Catholic in an common Middle Class family and had quite an ordinary childhood and adolescence, except for the fact that learning and reading were amazing for me. I read everything and started changing letters with people abroad to know about other cultures. When I was 16 I started learning English by myself and at the age of 18 I joined São Paulo State University to become 4 years later a teacher of French and Portuguese. I have worked as a Human Rights activist in NGO's in Brazil and other countries and I have a strong belief in peace, love and freedom. I call myself a dreamer and I like this description ... dream land is sometimes a nice place to be when we can't find a peaceful place to be in a busy day! Ah! I am fascinated by all kinds of Art and I can't see myself without it.See Authors Posts (5) ⋅ December 23, 2011
⋅ 6 comments(English · português )Al hablar sobre la Navidad, no estoy intentando imponer ninguna verdad religiosa, pues dejo claro desde el inicio que aún que haya crecido católico en una familia ítalo-brasileña, no tengo ninguna religión, o podría decir que tengo todas, pues me abro a la posibilidad de aprender con todas ellas.
By
Angela King
closeAuthor: Angela King
Name: Angela King
Email: angelaking@lifeafterhate.org
Site:
About: Growing up in South Florida, Angela King struggled with her identity. She became confused about the messages she received from her church and family on issues like sexual identity and racial stereotypes. Disenfranchised, Angela began acting out and felt welcomed for the first time by a group of racist Skinheads: "They were angry and hated everyone. They made me feel like part of a family." Entrenched in the racist underground, crime became an increasingly important part of Angela's life. Though the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing made Angela reconsider her beliefs, she knew that abandoning her Skinhead affiliates would result in retaliation.
Angela was arrested in 1998 and sentenced to six years in prison for her part in an armed robbery of a Jewish-owned store. Angela was released from prison three years early, in 2001, for good behavior and cooperation with the authorities. She has since graduated from the University of Central Florida with an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies. Angela routinely works as a keynote speaker, consultant, correspondent, and character educator in schools, communities, religious centers and elsewhere. She has been interviewed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, National Public Radio, and the National Resource Center for Racial Healing, among others, and has received several recognitions and awards for her dedication and support of Prejudice Reduction, Building Communities of Justice, as well as Holocaust education.
Some of Angela's recent activities and work include: delegate and panelist at the Google Summit Against Violent Extremism, held in Dublin, Ireland, in June 2011; panelist at a 9/11 related commemoration event sponsored by the Department of Homeland Securities' Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism program, held in Washington D.C. in September 2011; correspondent and character educator for LifeAfterHate.org, a non-profit dedicated to promoting basic human goodness via outreach, character education, and an online magazine; and is currently writing a memoir vis-á-vis her time inside and out of the racist underground.See Authors Posts (7) ⋅ December 11, 2011
⋅ 5 commentsOver the course of the past seven years, I can’t count the number of survivors and liberators who have passed-on—individuals who are my heroes and inspiration. My friends who granted me the gift of forgiveness. Although death is a reality of life, it’s difficult knowing that these brave, resilient individuals are the last of their generation. They are the last with the ability to share their first-hand knowledge of the Holocaust.
(originally published in Capital Dharma) A friend recently told me about the stories she tells herself about other people, like the lady with the $3,000 handbag and the perfect hair and nails, the lady that smokes in front of her baby, the right-wing-wackos that drive her nuts, fat people, skinny people, poorly dressed people, smokers, [...]
By
Pam Nanet
closeAuthor: Pam Nanet
Name: Pam Nanet
Email: pam@pamnanet.com
Site: http://pamnanet.com
About: Pam Nanet was born in Mexico City and raised in New York City. As a city girl, she has always been drawn to the variety of signage, fashion, colors, and types of people roaming around big cities. Never bored and always curious she began to trace the letters on the sidewalks, or the old tags and scribbles people often got to engrave on the pavements while it was still wet. While visiting Mexico later in life, she fell in love with the typography most business owners hand paint onto their awnings and stands. It was not until she moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin her junior year of high school, that she fell in love with print. Pam learned to work an offset press and soon after, she was making improvements to her teachers techniques to make production faster and easier. She often states that the way the plate released the ink on the paper, and the smell of the ink that was hard to wash off made her fall in love and wanted to learn more. Pretty soon, she mastered book binding, silk screening and Illustrator 6. By 2005, she was attending the Fashion Institute of Technology as a Communication Design major.
Today, Pam is a freelance graphic designer and occupies herself by looking for work and printmaking. She etches, silk screens, paints, draws and more. Mostly mixing medium and typographical elements. While most people are oblivious to the constant bombardment of advertisements and commercialism, she tries to engage her audience with simple and bold typographySee Authors Posts (3) ⋅ December 2, 2011
⋅ Post a commentI had to fight to get into honors classes even though I came from El Paso with good grades. Once I got into the “honors track group” I was underestimated and made fun of for my accent, my background and my way of relating to class discussions. Despite my idealist mind and family values of treating everyone equally and being diplomatic, I could not deny that Whites and Latinos were pitted against each other in sports, academics and other school events. Although we NEVER talked about it, there was no denying that day laborers lined the streets of this suburb and that my neighborhood “el Barrio” was not only majority Mexican, but considered “dirty and dangerous”.
Frank Meeink—Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead
TJ Leyden—Skinhead Confessions
Arno Michaels—My Life After Hate
Wizard Fingaz & Soul Sathe embarked on a collaborative project known as Tribal Sorcery · deep conscious hip-hop
