Happy New Years

I’ve been trying to avoid talking about the Democratic primaries, but Gov. Howard Dean really got Muslimed. Often times, we, as Muslims, talk about how the media portrays us negatively, and that means much of the richness of Muslim civilizations are muted. Therefore, the negative press becomes self-fulfilling. I won’t get into the victim mentality behind such an approach, but clearly there is a kernel of truth to it. Now it seems that Gov. Dean got the same treatment. The only difference is, some outlets are owning up to it. Gov. Dean got Muslimed.

December 25 marks the day we commonly celebrate the birth of Prophet Isa (a.s.), known in English as Jesus. It’s a wonderful occasion to spend time with family, and to think about the commonalities amongst all the Abrahamic faiths. I have to theological objection to celebrating the birth of a prophet of Islam, after all I celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Imam Ali (a.s.). However, since we don’t recognize Jesus as the Christ, I felt we as Muslims needed to recognize both our commonalities and differences with other faiths, hence Eid ul-Isa. If you like it, please…

Islamoyankee gave me the opening by speaking of urbanism, so I am going to commence by walking through the door of architecture. It is probably apparent to those who have read my previous postings that I am not a scholar of Islam. I am infact an architect by training and an project administrator by profession. It is through my affiliation with architecture that my understanding of the problems that afflict and affect the Muslim world are framed. I would like to share with you some readings on architecture that may also help the reader understand the current crisis in the…