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A story

Rabia al-Adawiyya (aka Rabia al-Basri) was running through the streets of town, Basra, one day with a pail of water in one hand and a burning torch in the other. When asked what she was doing, she responded, “I want to put out the fires of Hell, and burn down the rewards of Paradise.” She was then asked why, to which she responded, “They block the way to God. I do not want to worship from fear of punishment or for the promise of reward, but simply for the love of God.”

Sen. Kerry Says #Nowruz Mubarak

United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations WASHINGTON, DC FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    March 19, 2010 Contact: Frederick Jones, Communications Director, 202-224-3468 Chairman Kerry Marks The Celebration Of Nowruz, The Iranian New Year Washington, DC– Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) released the following statement today in celebration of Nowruz: “Tomorrow marks the onset of Nowruz, the beginning of spring and the first day of the Iranian New Year. It’s an ancient tradition dating back over 3,000 years, celebrated by people throughout Iran, Central Asia, South Asia, Caucasus, Crimea, the Balkans, and here in the United States. I…

My God Hates More Than Your God

My friend Eboo Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, has a blog over at Newsweek, and I’ve been meaning to plug it for a while now. What’s prompted me to do so now is his most recent posting Discrimination Against Muslims, which has forced me to pen some thoughts that I’ve been kicking around for awhile now. Aziz, too, has a piece on people’s understanding of the West and Islam, which highlights some of the issues I’ve been thinking about. For me, Eboo’s key quote is: Read how the commentators insist on highlighting only the dark sides of Islam,…