Month: April 2011

Inter-faith

US Mosque Hosts Passover Seder | USA | English

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US Mosque Hosts Passover Seder | USA | English. Andrea Barron is performing an annual ritual: lighting two candles for a Passover Seder, the ceremonial retelling of the ancient Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. The traditional elements are all in place – including the Seder plate which holds unleavened bread, green vegetables, bitter herbs and a shank bone.  However, what is unusual about the evening’s Seder is that it is taking place in the basement of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS), a mosque outside of Washington, D.C.

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Art

LUMA Loyola University Museum of Art

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LUMA Loyola University Museum of Art. Saturday, May 21  Everyday Art: The Islamic Impact on American Arts  3:00 p.m.  Free with museum admission  American popular culture reflects the cultural diversity of the American people and helps to shape the way Americans understand themselves. Perhaps the least understood of these influences is the cultural impact of the various Muslim communities that have settled in the United States. The tapestry of influences that converge in popular music, architecture, and literature-the arts we engage with every day-bears witness to the presence of Muslims in America. In this richly illustrated talk, Dr. Hussein Rashid…

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Art

Islamic traditions influence American architecture, culture, says speaker – Daily Campus – News

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Islamic traditions influence American architecture, culture, says speaker – Daily Campus – News. Although it seems that Arab presence in America is recent, Dr. Hussein Rashid would argue to the contrary. In his lecture, “Everyday Art: the Islamic Contribution on American Arts,” Rashid argues that America has a long tradition of Islamic influence in art and culture.

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Politics

Understanding Sharia Law

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Wajahat Ali: Understanding Sharia Law. The “sharia threat” argument is based on an extreme type of scripturalism where one pulls out verses from a sacred text and argues that believers will behave according to that text. But this argument ignores how believers themselves understand and interpret that text over time.  The equivalent would be saying that Jews stone disobedient sons to death (Deut. 21:18- 21) or that Christians slay all non-Christians (Luke 19:27). In a more secular context it is similar to arguing that the use of printed money in America is unconstitutional — ignoring the interpretative process of the…

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Charity Current Affairs

Greg Mortenson and the Business of Redemption

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Readers who may not know much about the political situation in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, still know, based on images they see on television, that the situation of women is disastrous. Three Cups of Tea reaffirmed that message, and provided a savior in the form of Mortenson. But what about women’s organizations in Pakistan and Afghanistan? Why are they not part of this picture of empowerment of women? These questions are not directly addressed in these kinds of discussions, because, by definition it seems, Afghan and Pakistani women are victims, and not actors in their own lives; they…

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Politics

The Stain Of Gitmo

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This we were told by the war criminals in the Bush administration were “the worst of the worst.” Some were. Most were nothing of the kind. As with the debt, the war, and the economy, we are still trying to emerge from the Bush-Cheney wreckage. The damage they did to their own country and the world will live on for the rest of our lives. [From The Stain Of Gitmo] torture

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Women

Unveiling the Truth: Why 32 Women Wear the Full-Face Veil in France

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Unveiling the Truth: Why 32 Women Wear the Full-Face Veil in France | At Home in Europe Project | Open Society Foundations. This report from the At Home in Europe Project aims to distinguish myths and misrepresentations surrounding women who wear the full-face veil from the actual experiences and testimonies of the women themselves, by reporting on the women’s backgrounds, their decisions to wear the veil, their daily experiences in public, and their views on the legislation.

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