Eid al-Adha

I visited the Islamic Center in Washington, DC on Dec 30, Saudi-mandated Eid. The Center, located on Massachusetts Avenue in the Embassy District, is unusual in that its constituency includes a great many diplomats, and others affiliated with NGOs and government agencies. The police presence was much more muted than previously, with only an officer or two circulating about the courtyard and joking with administration members and other friends. Yet the iron bars surrounding the Center invoke a gated community. Symbolically, outside the iron gates of the Center where Washington’s most affluent pray, three beggars, toting small brown paper bags, waited to collect money.

After the prayer, I stood alongside the beggars, distributing fliers entitled "Boycott Major Supporters of Zionism.” Unlike New York, where I've conducted similar actions and encountered many more bleeding hearts trying to help out a begga woman (they assume that's what I'm doing--why else would a sista in her right mind be standing in front of a mosque distributing pieces of paper), only one person--an Arab woman who did not understand English--came to offer me charity. I thanked her anyway, and indicated that I was not in need. The overall mood of the worshippers seemed somewhat subdued, with less bantering and laughter than observed at many Eid gatherings. Oddly, although there appeared to be no prohibition on leafleting, no one else distributed anything--not even the usual "Eid bazaar" or “Eid picnic” literature, and certainly nothing on the Eid-day execution of the President of an independent sovereign Arab nation, under the auspices of the U.S. occupying power. Most of the worshippers accepted the fliers, but rejection came primarily at the hands of Arab men in expensive-looking djalabias and Pakistani men in voguish suits.

An Afrikan brother requested extra copies of the flier. An Iranian brother donated $20 towards its distribution. The flier displays the logos of various businesses (e.g., McDonalds, Disney, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks) with strong ties to Israel. A Pakistani brother asked if the businesses were Israeli. I told him, "No, but they might as well be. For example, the CEO of McDonald's is an honorary director of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, and the Chairman of Starbucks has received awards for his services to Israel." In all, I handed out 240 "Boycott Israel" fliers to the Eid gathering.