An Engaged Kind of With-ness: Maytha Alhassen

CTZN

English - July 11, 2019 14:00 - 1 hour - 101 MB - ★★★★★ - 105 ratings
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Dr. Maytha Alhassen is a Syrian-American journalist, poet and scholar, working to bridge the worlds of social justice, academic research, popular culture and healing arts. And on this episode of CTZN Podcast, she schools us on the history of immigration and white domination in America.

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To be an ally is to testify and bear witness. Dr. @maythaalhassen schools us on the history of #immigration and white domination in America on this ep of #CTZN Podcast. Check it out: ctznwell.org/ctznpodcast @kkellyyoga @ctznwell

More about this episode:

When talking about Muslim bans or immigration issues, Dr. Maytha Alhassen - Syrian journalist, poet, scholar and healer - says that it’s not about whether immigrants are welcome or not. It's about white supremacy.

Trump’s travel ban was not the beginning but a continuation of a legacy of immigration restrictions and bans in America. And it began with the Naturalization Act of 1790 which said only free white people could be citizens of this country.

What we are witnessing right now - with travel bans and family separation and caged children and overflowing, unsafe, unsanitary concentrations camps - was built on that legacy. And witnessing is exactly what we need to do. Not the kind of empathy that centers our feelings of others pain and just sits there. But the kind that takes action because of what has been witnessed.

The word in Arabic is Shahada - which translates directly to “act of witness and testimony.” May calls it a kind of engaged “with-ness,” one that is interdependent, active and engaged. One that understands that we all have a stake in transforming systems of oppression because we are all connected.

And she leaves us with the critical question and contemplation: Who is witnessing what is going on all around us? And what will we do about it? This conversation is real-time and essential. Take a listen.

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