Month: September 2010

Religion

Pres. Obama on Eid ul-Fitr 2010/1431

islamoyankee

Statement by the President on the Occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr As Ramadan comes to an end, Michelle and I extend our best wishes to Muslims in the United States and around the world on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. For Muslims all over the world, Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of a holy month of fasting and prayer. It is a time of self-reflection focusing on the values that Muslims and people of all faiths share – charity, community, cooperation and compassion. This year’s Eid is also an occasion to reflect on the importance of religious tolerance and to recognize the positive…

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Politics

Press Release: A Dutch Appeal to All New Yorkers

islamoyankee

This comes via a friend, and I thought the sentiment was quite nice. Please click on the PDF links. The images are funny. — Thursday, September 9th PRESS RELEASE REAL World Citizens A Dutch appeal to all New Yorkers to keep leading by example as the World’s center of diversity. In May 2010 a new initiative, REAL Dutch, was launched in anticipation of the controversial participation of Geert Wilder’s right-wing PVV party in parliamentary elections. A series of posters was spread on the streets and in the media to show how muslimas are just as much Dutch as any other…

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Politics

Jeff Goldberg Defends Marty Peretz — But Not That Bigot, Helen Thomas

islamoyankee

So what's the difference? It is this. Some expressions of bigotry are permissible in this country and some aren't. One had best keep your anti-black racism to yourself — or pretend it's just about Obama as the Limbaughs and right-wingers do. Same with Jews, where, as the Thomas case demonstrates, expressing disdain for Israel, let alone Jews, can be a career killer. But it's still okay to express open prejudice towards gays and lesbians, Latino immigrants (legal or illegal) and, above all, Muslims and Arabs. [From Jeff Goldberg Defends Marty Peretz — But Not That Bigot, Helen Thomas] islamophobia, anti-Muslim

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Inter-faith

The Meaning of the Koran – NYTimes.com

islamoyankee

Someone who has actually read the Qur’an and figured out like all scripture, it is full of contradiction. The Meaning of the Koran – NYTimes.com. But I should concede that I haven’t told the whole story. Even while calling Jesus the word of God — and “the Messiah” — the Koran denies that he was the son of God or was himself divine. And, though the Koran does call the Jews God’s chosen people, and sings the praises of Moses, and says that Jews and Muslims worship the same God, it also has anti-Jewish, and for that matter anti-Christian, passages.

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Inter-faith

The true history of the Koran in America – The Boston Globe

islamoyankee

The true history of the Koran in America – The Boston Globe. For most Americans, the Koran remains a deeply foreign book, full of strange invocations. Few non-Muslims read it, and most of us carry assumptions about a work of scripture that we assume to be hostile, though it affirms many of the earlier traditions of Christianity and Judaism. Like all works of scripture, it is complex and sometimes contradictory, full of soothing as well as frightening passages. But for those willing to make a genuine effort, there are important areas of overlap, waiting to be found.

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