February 2009 – islamicate

Politics

More on Engaging the Muslim World

islamoyankeeFebruary 25, 2009

In light of Sen. Kerry’s upcoming Senate hearings, I thought I would link to some recent reports on the topic that might provide some useful background. Islamic Peacemaking Since 9/11 Changing Course: A New Direction for U.S. Relations with the Muslim World (Change the Story is the result of this report) The Doha Compact – New Directions: America and the Muslim World Mightier than the Sword: Arts and Culture in the U.S.-Muslim World Relationship Strengthening America: The Civic and Political Integration of Muslim Americans A Strategic Look at U.S.-Muslim World Relations

Politics Web/Tech

Herdict is Live

islamoyankeeFebruary 25, 2009

Herdict is live. What is Herdict you ask? Why, it is the verdict of the herd! It’s a crowd sourced tool for determining if a site is being censored. Their official statement is: Have you ever come across a web site that you could not access and wondered,”Am I the only one?” Herdict Web aggregates reports of inaccessible sites, allowing users to compare data to see if inaccessibility is a shared problem. By crowdsourcing data from around the world, we can document accessibility for any web site, anywhere. Check out the site. If you are a Firefox user, download the…

Politics

Sen. John Kerry – Engaging the Muslim World

islamoyankeeFebruary 25, 2009

Tomorrow, Thursday, February 26, 2009, Sen. John Kerry, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will be hosting a hearing entitled “Engaging with Muslim Communities around the World.” He should be applauded for his efforts, and for bringing together a great group of people to talk about the issue. One of the panelists is former Sec. of State Madeline Albright, who is involved with Change the Story. Please drop Sen. Kerry a line and thank him for taking world affairs seriously. — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 25, 2009 CONTACT: Frederick Jones, (202) 224–4651 ***Media Advisory*** Senate Foreign Relations Committee To…

Intra-faith

Khutbahs Against Domestic Violence: Press Release

islamoyankeeFebruary 19, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 18, 2009 Media contact: Wajahat Ali, 510-909-7506, wajahatmali@gmail.com American Muslims Call for Swift Action Against Domestic Violence Murder of Buffalo resident Aasiya Zubair spurs American Muslims to forcefully address domestic abuse and violence against women; call on imams to address DV in Friday sermons SAN FRANCISCO – A coalition of Muslim organizations, journalists, community leaders, imams, and other concerned citizens are calling for immediate action by American Muslim leaders and religious figures to address domestic abuse and violence in America, including that found in the American Muslim community, on Friday, February 20, 2009. In response to…

Intra-faith

Aasiya Zubair [Updated]

islamoyankeeFebruary 18, 2009

OK, go read MMW. They are doing a better job of collecting all the updates. Aasiya Zubair was brutally murdered last week. There is a FaceBook group dedicated to her and to stopping domestic violence, as well as group that is calling on all imams to offer khutbas (sermons) against DV this Friday. My piece. Aziz. Arsalan. Asma. Razib. (the discussion is really good) Updated 2/18: Wajahat

Intra-faith Weblogs

You Should be reading

islamoyankeeFebruary 17, 2009

Talk Islam and Muslimah Media Watch. Both are group blogs and both do a bang-up job of covering some of the more neglected issues relating to Muslims in the MSM. (I cross-post at TI.) TI’s posts tend to be shorter, but the discussions are really where the juice of the site is. You really see the diversity of the community in play. MMW deals with issues relating to women, and they have some great analytic minds at work. Next revision of islamicate will have their feeds on display.

Conferences Inter-faith

Forensic Scriptures Conference

islamoyankeeFebruary 17, 2009

I’ll be speaking at a conference in May 2009 at Riverside Church in NY. The event is called “Forensic Scriptures: What the Qur’an Reveals about the Bible.” If you are in the area and would like to attend, you can enter “Friend of Hussein Rashid” under the “position” field to receive a $100 discount on the registration page. Make sure you also check the “affiliate” price.

Inter-faith Politics

Quote: Religion in the American Public Sphere

islamoyankeeFebruary 17, 2009

What would happen if religious ideas were subjected to such a debate? I want to conclude with some speculations. A robust, critical discussion of religious ideas might encourage popular faiths more consistent with modern standards of plausibility, more conscious of the historicity of all faiths, and more resistant to the manipulation of politicians belonging to any party. The long moratorium on sustained, public scrutiny of religious ideas has created a vacuum in which easy god-talk flourishes. Religion has no monopoly on foolishness and ignorance, but our convention of giving religious ideas a “pass” has made religion a privileged domain for wackiness…

Video

New Hajj Documentary

islamoyankeeFebruary 17, 2009

The NYT tells me so. Seems very good, but is currently unavailable for purchase. Teaser from the NYT is “The Long, Dusty Trek Toward Tolerance.” This is true. Non-Muslims have a long way to go. Good for the Times for noting the problem here.

Video

No Pay, No Pray

islamoyankeeFebruary 10, 2009

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