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Tell #NYC Mayor Bloomberg he Rocks

Mayor Bloomberg has strongly supported the the Islamic Center being planned near Ground Zero and has also strongly criticized those who have used anti-Islamic rhetoric and justifications for opposing the proposed center. See here for an article re his support: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/08/03/mayor_bloomberg_on_mosque. I think that this is an important step from the Mayor, who has not always taken sympathetic positions vis a vis his Muslim constituents. He is certainly receiving a lot of criticism and negative feedback for taking this step. As a result, it is important that his office also receive positive feedback from each and every person who agreed…

Interview on NPR on Riyaaz Qawwali

I was recently interviewed on NPR about Riyaaz Qawwali, a group out of Austin, TX. Hussein Rashid, a professor of religion at Hofstra University, says that many qawwaliartists working in South Asia today have limited themselves. He believes this American group is bringing the music back to its roots.  “You know, I think there’s been so much concern about what is Islam, and what isn’t, politically speaking and artistically speaking,” Rashid says, “that there’s been a push in modern qawwali to actually sanitize it and make it very sterile — and almost rule-bound — rather than ecstatic and devotional. For me, I think…

Lakhdar Boumediene Starts Anew in France After Years at Guantánamo – NYTimes.com

Lakhdar Boumediene Starts Anew in France After Years at Guantánamo – NYTimes.com. The United States government has never acknowledged any error in detaining Mr. Boumediene, though a federal judge ordered his release, for lack of evidence, in 2008. The government did not appeal, a Defense Department spokesman noted, though he declined to answer further questions about Mr. Boumediene’s case. A State Department representative declined to discuss the case as well, except to point to a Justice Department statement announcing Mr. Boumediene’s transfer to France, in 2009.