Day: July 30, 2010

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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