Month: May 2011

Women

On the Need to be Ethically Committed to being an American Muslim Woman « Ify Okoye

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On the Need to be Ethically Committed to being an American Muslim Woman « Ify Okoye. I find it challenging to reconcile between my belief in my faith as one that within limits is both progressive and pragmatic with one that bears no relation to my lived reality. The Islam I believe in respects and encourages women to be full participating members of society. It’s not one, which seeks to restrict women to their houses and limits their opportunities for spiritual growth and development simply due to their gender. That I believe in the equality of the sexes does not detract from an…

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Media

Explaining Islam to the public « The Immanent Frame

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Explaining Islam to the public « The Immanent Frame. The expectation that Islamic studies scholars were prepared to “cover” the Islamic tradition and speak to its beliefs and practices on a normative, global basis was stressful for many of us. The idea that we could speak with authority about the practices of 1.4 billion people who speak dozens of languages and have inhabited the planet for the last 1400 years is absurd, of course. Like other academics, Islamic studies scholars are trained in certain fields of knowledge; in the best of programs, they are trained to be exceedingly careful about…

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Intra-faith

Remember @omar_ahmad

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My friend Omar Ahmad passed away today. God rest his soul, forgive his sins, and make it easy for his friends and family. Please take a moment to remember him if you knew him, or to get to know him if you didn’t. If you are Muslim, please read Ya Sin for him tonight. Below is a video from his TED talk.

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Politics

Bin Laden’s theology a radical break with traditional Islam

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Bin Laden’s theology a radical break with traditional Islam – CNN Belief Blog – CNN.com Blogs. Osama bin Laden wore the mantle of a religious leader. He looked the part and talked a good game, but his theology was a radical departure from traditional orthodox Islam.  The pitch to join al Qaeda did not start with an invitation to put on a suicide vest but, like other religious splinter groups and cults, took advantage of disenfranchisement and poverty.  Bin Laden had no official religious training but developed his own theology of Islam.

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Charity

Charity: Out of Darkness

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A friend of mine is doing an overnight walk to raise funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I do not think we take mental health seriously enough, and especially not in the Muslim-American community. I would love to generate some more awareness of this important issue by supporting Gareth’s work. Please see the site here.

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Uncategorized

American Muslim Students React to Osama bin Laden’s Death

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ABC News on Campus reporter Reshma Kirpalani blogs: via blogs.abcnews.com Hussein Rashid, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, recognizes this sentiment of bin Laden as a larger than life threat among Muslim-American youth — similar to his generation’s experience during the Cold War. “We’re now getting a group of young adults whose first conscious memory was formed by Osama bin Laden. Their biggest enemy has always been Al Qaeda and bin Laden,” Rashid said.

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Inter-faith

The Seeker: Let Muhammad Ali, not bin Laden, represent Islam in America

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The Seeker: Let Muhammad Ali, not bin Laden, represent Islam in America. Osama bin Laden was an absolute embarrassment to all decent Muslims. Unlike the proud warrior known as the Prophet Muhammad, bin Laden was a cowardly killer of unarmed women and children. People like Muhammad Ali (a great warrior during his time) promote Islam as a respectable religion of peace. This was a common representation before the atrocities of 9/11. Since then blood, savagery and ignorance has tarnished the image.

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