istanbul – Ashura procession

Quran on Cloth Originally uploaded by Swamibu. Click through and read the description. You won’t believe that amount of work that went into this.

One of the favorite topics of conversation amongst my friends and I is whether certain foods are haram (forbidden, like pork) or makruh (discouraged). Our case study is usually lobster, but it seems God hates shrimp. Glad to see we’re not the only ones contending with this issue. Like I said before, we can’t see the Muslim the community in a vacuum.

I’m placing this here because I think it has strong resonances with the Muslim thinking on the concept of charity. I’ll post a similar one for Muslims shortly. Eight Rungs of the Giving Ladder: The concept of giving anonymously without knowing the recipient can be traced back to ancient Israel. Beggars would regularly congregate next to a wall of a courtyard and donors, being aware of this, would face the opposite direction and toss coins over the shoulders in the direction of the wall. Therefore, the recipients of the charity would not feel ashamed or indebted to the giver. Maimonides,…