Speaking Up for Muslim Political Prisoners

In the era of pandemic isolation, religious leaders have had to be creative to minister in ways that gave their congregations some sense of normalcy and community -- most famously over Zoom, but including outdoor shofar blasts, squirt-gun holy water blessings and other socially distanced rituals. As an imam, I had already become used to these kinds of dislocations. Earlier this year I was asked to perform the wedding of the son of Ghassan Elashi, a former leader of the Holy Land Foundation who is serving what amounts to a life sentence for the supposed crime of sending humanitarian aid to Palestinians.