Month: October 2010

Inter-faith

Growing up Muslim-American in an age of Islamophobia | Pop and Politics

islamoyankee

Growing up Muslim-American in an age of Islamophobia | Pop and Politics. But passions over Islam in America became truly inflamed when Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center threatened to burn copies of the Koran to commemorate the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Pop and Politics crew arrived in Gainesville, Florida on September 10th, a day before the the planned burning. In the midst of the worldwide media maelstrom, we met the Qamar family, moderate Muslims trying to convince their fellow Americans that being Muslim does not equal being a terrorist.

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Politics

Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

islamoyankee

Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear | tennessean.com | The Tennessean. Leaders of the so-called “anti-jihad” movement portray themselves as patriots, defending America against radical Islam. And they’ve found an eager audience in ultra-conservative Christians and mosque opponents in Middle Tennessee. One national consultant testified in an ongoing lawsuit aimed at stopping a new Murfreesboro mosque.

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Media

Guest Voices: Should we fear Islam? – On Faith at washingtonpost.com

islamoyankee

Guest Voices: Should we fear Islam? – On Faith at washingtonpost.com. At a time when our nation is seeing a rise in intolerant behavior, crossing every cultural line, whether based on race, religion or sexual orientation, we seem simultaneously stuck with a national news media that is preoccupied with conflict and controversy when we desperately need one that weighs facts and reports fairly. A recent national news program reinforced these concerns. Let me explain what I mean.

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Politics

The man who said no

islamoyankee

The man who said no. The day commemorates his defiance of Executive Order 9066, the government directive that incarcerated more than 110,000 of his fellow Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II. Korematsu’s decision to resist an unconstitutional edict led to his arrest, conviction and disgrace — and then, three decades later, set the stage for a personal vindication and the establishment of a historical precedent whose implications are more relevant today than ever.

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Books

My Thoughts on “God Is Not One” at Patheos

islamoyankee

Patheos was kind enough to let me into their book club on God is not One, by Stephen Prothero. An excerpt is below. Please go to Patheos to read the whole, and submissions by other authors. Prothero takes the time to respond to all of us. Muslim Blogger Hussein Rashid on “God Is Not One” | {Take & Read}. Stephen Prothero’s new book, God is not One, expands on the themes of earlier book Religious Literacy. In particular, as the title suggests, he attacks the notion that all religions are one as being “a lovely sentiment but it is dangerous,…

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Art

24 Beautiful Mosques Around The World (PHOTOS)

islamoyankee

Please click through the link and see the photos. You really get a sense of the diversity of the Muslim world. 24 Beautiful Mosques Around The World (PHOTOS). We love places of worship – their grandeur, their peacefulness, their architectural beauty. We especially admire mosques. Here’s our pick of 24 beautiful mosques, from Morocco to Malaysia, which reflect the great cultural diversity of the Muslim world. There are countless more, of course, that we could not include – your contributions are welcome!

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Intra-faith

The Hijab Alternative | KABOBfest

islamoyankee

The Hijab Alternative | KABOBfest. Perhaps, instead of covering every part of a woman’s body less her eyes, it would be more effective to just cover the man’s eyes. That would really solve the problem once and for all. Chastise the man who removes his blindfold in public, then no woman would ever be called a disobedient whore for stepping a foot outside her house. Here is a novel idea: How about the ultra-religious start teaching their kids that it is not OK to be publicly perverted, instead of teaching them that women who walk around without a head cover…

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Media

Why I Don’t Watch Fox News « Et cetera

islamoyankee

It’s a good, basic criticism of associational strategies in new stories. I do, however, take exception to the fact that Fox is the only guilty of this. They may be the most inelegant, but they are not alone. Why I Don’t Watch Fox News « Et cetera. I don’t try to assess whether or not news channels and newspaper companies are biased, because there is no question that they are all biased towards one thing or another. It is virtually impossible to be completely objective in any kind of news story. It is not, however, virtually impossible to provide good…

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Inter-faith

Park51: Sermons and Essential Observations

islamoyankee

The good folks at Jews on First were kind enough to include an essay I wrote at Religion Dispatches as part of their resource kit. Park51: Sermons and Essential Observations. Broad attacks have been launched against the validity of Islam as a religion and the situation of Muslim-Americans has been made more precarious in ways that many Jews have found to be all too familiar. In the course of our research on the issue, we have found many articles and sermons to be very helpful in charting the course of the controversy and in articulating principles that can help guide…

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