IIA – Teaching Islam

On the occasion of the anniversary of 9/11, and in honor of the end of Ramadan, four New York Muslims reflect on piety and patriotism, on sharing classrooms and rituals of community life, on the courage and goodness of New Yorkers, and on the horrific event that has shaped a generation of American Muslim life. via www.religiondispatches.org

A few new books added to our sidebar items. One is on mystical poetry and symbolism in Islamic literatures, by Annemarie Schimmel. Another is a theoretical framework for understanding some of the issues plaguing Muslim majority societies. It covers a wide-range of disciplines including religion, economics and history. The newest one is a discussion of the stories of Joseph/Yusuf found in the Hebrew Bible and in the Qur’an.

Mother Jones has a great write-up on what we can look forward to in four more years of a Bush presidency. I really hope “our” Muslim organizations tell us to vote for him soon, otherwise we might to start to think he’s no good for us. [goes off to get sarcasm remover.]