Month: July 2007

Books Religion

Harry Potter in Afghanistan – Predictions

islamoyankee

According to Brian you can pre-order the last Harry Potter book in Afghanistan. My prediction for the last book is that that Harry we know must die. He will either die a physical death, or he will wake-up from a dream, à la “Wizard of Oz,” and discover he’s never had any magic. Why you ask? Because the magic must be kept alive. If Harry lives, and is totally victorious, the magic becomes a tool. It is no longer wondrous. Once the magical becomes ordinary, or is made ordinary, we forget our relationship to it. For Harry, the magic must…

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Books Reading Lists

Book Monger

islamoyankee

One of the joys of being an academic is that you know lots of people who publish books. Sometimes you even get comped a copy. (If getting excited about a free academic book is not a sure sign I’m in the right field, I don’t know what is.) I don’t normally plug them here because they tend to be quite specific, and so I don’t think right for a general audience. However, my friend Eboo Patel, whom I’ve mentioned before, has a new book out, and I’m going to promote it here for several reasons: It’s a good book on…

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Poetry Shi'ism

On Ali

islamoyankee

Prophet Muhammad said: Those whose master I am, for those too is their master Ali Said Prophet Muhammad: I am the city of knowledge, and the gate is Ali From the heavens above Uhud, came the booming voice of Gabriel: “There is no sword but Dhulfiqar, and there is no hero but Ali.” The radiant daughter of the beloved Prophet, our Fatimah To whom could she be married if not the King of Men, Ali. The Lion of God, tearing down the walls of Khaybar, at the time of need Call out, O Prophet, for the remover of difficulties, call…

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Charity Intra-faith

Islam, business, Aga Khan

islamoyankee

I am a Nizari Ismaili, and hold that the Aga Khan is the direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through his daughter Fatima (PBUH) and his cousin/son-in-law Ali (PBUH). The New York Times ran a decent story yesterday on the Aga Khan and his humanitarian efforts. I don’t call it philanthropy, because according to the Imam: I am fascinated and somewhat frustrated when representatives of the western world — especially the western media — try to describe the work of our Aga Khan Development Network in fields like education, health, the economy, media, and the building of social infrastructure.…

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Inter-faith

Israel/Palestine: Talking about the Issue

islamoyankee

Two different takes: A child An adult To believe as a child again. I grew up in Queens, NY. Jew, Arabs, Iranians, Arab Jews, Iranian Jews (it’s where I bought my comics from), Italians (but not Jews), Muslims, Hindus, even the occasional “All-American,” blonde-haired, blue-eyed WASP. We knew we were different, but it didn’t matter, in the way our hair color didn’t matter, but we knew about it. We all came to together and agreed I would be picked last for kickball (far more damaging than being called Saddam lover later in life). Not to sound utopian, but really, why…

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