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The new Mecca

Education, and the resultant intellectual engagement with the world around us, is one of the tenets of faith in the Islamic tradition. By turning our back on our intellect, we are turning our back on the trust (amânâ) that God has given us; by turning our back on understanding God’s creation, we are turning our back to God; by claiming we can know God, we deny God. What role does America play in keeping the Islamic tradition alive?

Mine’s bigger than yours

I saw this article on the murder of Shi’ah in Karachi a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t want to do another article on Muslim-on-Muslim violence; they weren’t anything new. Last night, I had a conversation with a friend and something occurred to me: Pakistan is a Muslim country, at least 99% of the population is Muslim. There are some Christians, and the Ahmadis (different post) were declared non-Muslim, otherwise the assumption is that everyone in Pakistan is a Muslim. The Ahmadiyya situation indicates that the Sunni majority could work to legally have the Shi’ah declared non-Muslim, like in Saudi…

MLT – Discuss the Undiscussable

Four questions were posed to us in small groups. The questions are below, with my thoughts in brackets. Couldn’t capture everyone’s ideas, but feel free to answer in comments on your own. Topic: Integration of Islam and the West What frustrates/angers/annoys/etc. most about the topic? [The question. As long we see a dichotomy between Islam and the West, others will as well. For the most part, I have to say, at least in the US the integration question seems to be coming more from the Muslim community. Those who want to reach out to us already accept religious identity and…