Building Islam in Detroit

Perhaps the greatest American Muslim thinker of the 20th century was Malcolm X. Even when he was with the NOI, his speeches that did not attempt to define himself negatively – i.e. against others – were brilliant. After his Hajj experience, what he offered American Muslims resonates today. His letters were almost lost, but thankfully, they were saved.

Newfound Riches Come With Spiritual Costs for Turkey’s Religious Merchants – NYTimes.com. There are some choice examples in this article of the rich religious. My favorite is the sofa that lifts up off of the ground during prayer time. I wonder how far they had to dig to find people who saw a strong dichotomy between being wealthy and being religious. I think this quote "The businessmen describe themselves as Muslims with a Protestant work ethic, and say hard work deepens faith," is rather telling. How many Turks are thinking of the Protestant work ethic? The class differentials in Turkish society seem to be the real story. The conflict between the material and the spiritual world seems to be a reach that they shoe-horned into the article.

Recently I had the chance to visit, after a 7 year gap, one of my favourite cities in the world, Istanbul.  The city is a perfect melange of East and West.  For some reason it feels like home to me even though I am not from there or live there,  It physicaly represents both my Western and Muslim identities.  Its very modern and cosmopolitan, yet steeped in history and tradition. Its been over 5 years since I have actually visited a Muslim-majority city and something did not feel right for the first few days.  Then it occurred to me that…