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Last Night I Cried

Last night was Laylat ul-Qadr, the night of power, the night Qur’anic revelation began. “Read in the name of your Lord Who created you from a clot of blood God the most bountiful who taught you by the pen taught what you did not know.” Read is the first command. During a dhikr tasbih last night, I was terribly moved. Group prayer is such a wonderful experience and the loud recitation, late at night, is a good way to feel the presence of the Divine. It was a lovely and indescribable. Just wanted to share. Back to the first command.…

NYT on Bosnian Islam

Islamic Revival Tests Bosnia’s Secular Cast – NYTimes.com It seems that there are several issues at stake here. 1. In a republic where one can exercise religion more freely than one has been able to do so in almost two generations, what is the line between expressing religion and reactionary religion? Or, more critically, what is the relationship between the state and religion? 2. There is the the usual undercurrent that devout Muslims are dangerous Muslims. Bars are the signifiers of a truly open society. I think as a metric, it’s a bit bizarre, but it’s the lens of the…