Month: July 2010

Inter-faith

The Burqa is a Sign of Extremism…Amongst Jews?

islamoyankee

I really don’t know what to make of this story. Jewish women want to wear the burqa for modesty and the religious authorities say to be modest is a sign of sexual deviancy. I am so confused on so many levels with this story. h/t Talk Islam Israeli rabbis clamp down on burka – Telegraph. “At first, I just wore a wig,” one burka-wearing woman told the Haaretz newspaper. “Now when I see a woman with a wig, I pray to God to forgive her for wearing that thing on her head.”

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Weblogs

Closing with Gospel in Morocco

islamoyankee

My piece on the Fes Festival of Music at RD. Closing with Gospel in Morocco | Culture | Religion Dispatches. I recently returned from Fes, Morocco, where I attended the 16th Annual Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. Almost a decade ago, I fell in love with a recording of some of the concerts from an earlier festival. The CD, B’ismillah, had performers from various religious traditions, and I remember thinking it was a wonderful way to showcase the things that people have in common. Although I have become more cynical about the power of simply listening to music in…

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Web/Tech

Ahmadi Muslim Community Doesn’t Speak For All Muslims | Religion Dispatches

islamoyankee

My latest at RD. Ahmadi Muslim Community Doesn’t Speak For All Muslims | Religion Dispatches. The Muslim-American community is represented by a wide variety of organizations that speak to various interests. Large umbrella organizations, like the Islamic Society of North America, have not had much luck in covering the community because the diversity is nearly uncontainable. Each of these groups speaks with a voice that represents its own constituency. However, the Ahmadi community now seems to be making a serious push to become the central voice that represents Muslim-Americans.

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Media

The Problem of Equating Shari’ah with Law « The Revealer

islamoyankee

My first piece up at The Revealer. The Problem of Equating Shari’ah with Law « The Revealer. Every time I hear someone on TV mention “shari’ah,” I think of the movie The Princess Bride and the line “I do not think it means what you think it means.” I am amused that shari’ah has come to mean “law” as a canonical system for how Muslims are to behave and act. Weak states use the term shari’ah in lieu of “law,” un-inquisitive press use the term the same way, and Muslims ignorant of their own history adopt that understanding, reinforcing the…

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Politics

CTC report: 85% of AQ’s victims are Muslim « All Things Counter Terrorism

islamoyankee

CTC report: 85% of AQ’s victims are Muslim « All Things Counter Terrorism. Since the inception of al‐Qa’ida, the organization has claimed to represent Muslim interests around the world declaring itself the vanguard of true Islam, and the defender of Muslim people. Unfortunately for al‐Qa’ida, their actions speak louder than their words. The fact is that the vast majority of al‐Qa’ida’s victims are Muslims: the analysis here shows that only 15% of the fatalities resulting from al‐Qa’ida attacks between 2004 and 2008 were Westerners.

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Inter-faith

Voices: 99 Most Beautiful Names

islamoyankee

Stunning piece of art. Click through the links. Voices: 99 Most Beautiful Names – A sculptural presentation of the Names for God from the Qur’an « Simerg « Ismailimail. Andrew Kosorok is an LDS Christian whose upbringing was rather non-traditional. Taught that God expected him to learn as much as he could, the events following 9/11 made his determination to learn about Islam even stronger and he turned to the Holy Qur’an. His goal as an artist was to seek constructive resolution and not confrontation.

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Inter-faith

Good Argument for American Religious Freedom

islamoyankee

Unfortunately, I think the title is misleading. At least the author says he knows nothing about Park51. Most of us don’t, and that’s why I am ambivalent. However, it is a good discussion about the need for religious freedom. The Faith Divide: An evangelical supports mosque near Ground Zero – On Faith at washingtonpost.com. You might think I’m a liberal or mainline Christian. Not at all. I’m an Evangelical, a conservative Evangelical at that, and an Evangelistic Evangelical to top it all off – that means I tell everyone I can in a polite way about Jesus. I believe Jesus…

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Uncategorized

This August 15th, Make Your Iftar Fight Domestic Violence

islamoyankee

For women and children affected by domestic violence, sometimes Turning Point is their only resource. For years, we have offered services to the most vulnerable members of our community, providing counseling, guidance, and empowerment. This Ramadan, come to our Annual Fundraising Dinner to show your support for ending domestic violence and bringing hope to its victims.A delicious iftar (fast-breaking) dinner will be followed by a comedy show by Palestinian comic Maysoon, and a wonderful live performance by The Starts Youth Dabka Group. via avari.typepad.com

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Books Inter-faith Intra-faith Politics

Excerpt from “Butterfly Mosque” by @g_willow

islamoyankee

Very excited that G. Willow Wilson has made the Prologue of her excellent book, Butterfly Mosque, available. I think, once you read it, you get a flavor of the character in the story. [I am of the opinion that even in memoir, the protagonist is the creation of the writer. The question is that creation recognizable as the writer.] —- PROLOGUE In the upper reaches of the Zagros Mountains, the air changed. The high altitude opened it, cleared it of the dust of the valleys, and made it sing a little in the lungs; low atmospheric pressure. It was a…

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Inter-faith

Muslim Victims of Terrorist Attack, September 11, 2001

islamoyankee

I don’t know how I missed the existence of this site. I found it via comment on this post. Muslim Victims of Terrorist Attack, September 11, 2001. Or consider Rahma Salie, a passenger on American Airlines #11 that crashed into the North Tower.  Rahma, a Muslim of Sri Lankan origin, was traveling with her husband Michael (a convert to Islam) to attend a friend’s wedding in California.  Rahma was 7 months pregnant with their first child.  According to the Independent UK (October 11, 2001), Rahma’s name was initially put on an FBI watch list, because her “Muslim-sounding” name was on…

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