Related Posts

On Being a Conservative-Liberal Muslim (or why the progressive label is bad)

Several things began to come together in my thinking at the MLT Conference in Copenhagen. To be clear, it was not a result of the planning of the MLT, but a series of amorphous thoughts that started to click from meeting people at the conference. With the Progressive Faith Blog Con coming straight after, these ideas began gaining more clarity. Coincidentally, both the good folks at Progressive Islam (1, 2, 3) and Von Aurum published pieces that further moved my thoughts forward. I had been planning on this post for some time, but as the adage goes “Man proposes, God…

PFBC – Muslim Worship

Introduction to adhān (call to prayer) and the Fatihah (The Opening; first surah/chapter of the Qur’an, used to begin prayers and activities). Zikr/dhikr explained. Remembrance of God. Phrases we used below: Bismillah ir-Raḥmān ir-Raḥīm – In the name of God the most Compassionate, the most Merciful lā illāh ilā allāh – there is not deity but God shukrun līllah wa al-ḥamdulīllāh – all thanks and praise are due to God yā raḥmān yā raḥīm – O Compassionate; O Merciful Walked through one cycle of prayer in English to demonstrate positions and structure. CDs used: Ocean of Remembrance (The CD is…

Are the Arts Essential?

Are the Arts Essential?. Specialists will take the customary deliberations about arts and culture into new, substantive, and shaping discussion. Beyond “leisure” or “entertainment,” beyond art’s personal impacts, beyond contributions to tourism, community building, or the classroom, do the arts and culture power progress? This convening will ask if (and how) the arts provide structures and strategies for social change, how they help define peoples and nations, how they deal with actual matters of life and death. Are the arts essential in ways that economics and medicine and politics are? If so, how is this manifest? What are the theoretical…