Current Affairs

Muslim Americans are no different than Jews, Italians and Polish Immigrants

If a Jinn asked me what wish I would like to be granted – I would ask that historical amnesia be erased from all peoples.  Alon Levy does a great job reminding us of how other immigrants were viewed by Americans.  A couple of grafs to whet your appetite: Islam and Christianity are so similar that they are almost, but not quite, the same religion. They’re both monotheistic, with all the cultural implications this carries. They both have a progressive view of the world, in which good works and proselytization will create an increasingly better world. Their eschatologies are remarkably…

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Current Affairs

Harpers Index

Sorry to be out of touch for a while. I am preparing to move to Europe this month and things are getting both hectic and stressful. Just got back from Morocco, namely Rabat and Fes. Rabat is very pleasant, and Fes is amazing. The old medina is beautiful, the food is delicious, and the people warm. In the next three weeks I will be in Damascus, Dhaka, and Marrakech. It is good to get back to Muslim countries, if only to realise that people are the same were ever you go. The only difference being that Muslims will blow you…

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Science

Revelation vs Investigation

"He told of a time, more than a millennium ago, when Baghdad reigned as the intellectual center of the world, a history fossilized in the night sky. The names of the constellations are Greek and Roman, Dr. Tyson said, but two-thirds of the stars have Arabic names. The words “algebra” and “algorithm” are Arabic. But sometime around 1100, a dark age descended. Mathematics became seen as the work of the devil, as Dr. Tyson put it. “Revelation replaced investigation,” he said, and the intellectual foundation collapsed." Fascinating article in NYT about scientists trying to grapple with religion. IQRA!

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Politics

VOTE. PLEASE.

I have been following this election season for well over the past six months. I cannot believe that anyone with half a brain would want to return the Republican majority back to Congress. I am not an ideologue and choose candidates based on their policies and character. However, this current Congress has proven to be broken and in need of putting down. From Jack Abrahmoff to gift wrapping the Constitution for the Executive branch to blow their noses on, the Republican party has shown that fear and corruption are their raison d’etre. Rolling Stone has a great article “THE LOW…

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Current Affairs

Global Centre for Pluralism

The Aga Khan Development Network is one of the largest private development networks in the world. It focuses on health, education, rural development, institution-building and the promotion of economic development. It is dedicated to improving living conditions and opportunities for the poor, without regard to their faith, origin or gender. Last week, His Highness the Aga Khan annouced a funding agreement with the Goverment of Canada to establish a Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa. The Global Centre for Pluralism is a major new international centre for research, education and exchange about the values, practices and policies that underpin pluralist…

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Current Affairs

L’affaire Burqa – in the West

I have always been uncomfortable around Muslim women wearing the full veil or Burqa.  Growing up in Karachi,  I only knew one woman who wore a full veil – "Apaa" my Urdu and Quran teacher.  I just never encountered in my 12 years there many women who wore a veil.  Thus, now, it is so surprising for me to see Muslim women veiled in Western countries. On the one hand – the feminist in me wants to shake them up and say: "Why? Oh Why? are you doing this?" – but then the other feminist says: "Its a free world…

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Politics

Tempting Faith

For those of you haven’t heard yet, a new book is coming out Monday called Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction. Written by David Kuo, who was a well-placed person in the Office of Faith Based initiatives, it details how the Bush administration used faith to further a political agenda. Via Street Prophets, I found this interview hosted on Crooks and Liars. To me the most pertinent passage is: One official who rated grant applications told Kuo, “ when I saw one of those non-Christian groups in the set I was reviewing, I just stopped looking at them…

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Politics

Religion Baiting

Nice piece over at TPMCafe on the new Muslim baiting happening in American politics. I don’t think it’s so new as we got a taste of some of this with Hillary Clinton’s first Senate campaign, and her “associates” were scrutinized for colored and/or non-Christian. Technorati Tags: Muslim baiting

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