islam doesn't speak, muslims do | "the ink of the scholar is worth more than the blood of the martyr" – Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Stephen Shashoua: Artists of the World, Unite. We need to demonstrate – in word and deed – how much social capital we can unlock when everyone contributes and communal boundaries are no longer an issue. I believe that to do this we need to create a culture that encourages collaboration and participation in the civic space, where all communities are encouraged to bring their own talents and perspectives to the table.
Reviews « Love, InshAllah. Love Inshallah is unbelievable in its audacity. Not all of our authors find love, and God and God’s Will are just as often felt by their absence as by their presence. The brutal honesty that these women portray is refreshing and frightening. Nearly every story reveals another aspect of the human condition, and makes you appreciate that even among people who share the same faith, love can mean something very different. Pre-order Love, InshAllah
The Power of Pop Culture. The following is a guest post from Dr. Hussein Rashid, a member of the Our Shared Future Advisory Board. Dr. Rashid took part in our recent panel discussion, “Across the Atlantic: Islam, the West and the Repercussions of 9/11.”
The reality of the ‘All-American Muslim’ reality TV show | Wajahat Ali | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk. The portrayal of Muslims living their daily lives is not only a welcome relief from the usual tawdry caricatures of Muslims as terrorists, extremists and taxi cab drivers, but it also helps defuse the deep-seated fears and bias that unfairly lumps 1.5 billion members of a faith in with the perverse criminal actions of a few.
Careers – The Globe and Mail. The study (titled “Why do some employers prefer to interview Matthew, but not Samir?”) found that English-speaking employers in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver – who should have an awareness of the diversity of talent in the work force, given their city’s multicultural populations – are about 40 per cent more likely to choose to interview a job applicant with an English-sounding name than someone with an ethnic name, even if both candidates have identical education, skills and work histories.
American Muslim Women Unveil, And Explain Why : NPR. There are about 1 million Muslim women in America; 43 percent of them wear headscarves all the time, according to the Pew Research Center. About 48 percent — or half a million women — don't cover their hair, the survey found. The split between women who've covered and women who've never done so has existed for decades. But now a generation of women is taking off the headscarf, or hijab. See also: http://www.npr.org/2011/04/21/135413427/lifting-the-veil
An Interview with Haroon Moghul, Author, Academic, and Associate Editor at Religion Dispatches « The Future of Islam In the Age of New Media. “My name is Haroon Moghul and I’m the Executive Director of The Maydan Institute. I think that the Internet is going to be a very destabilizing force among Muslim communities worldwide. The reason I say that is because in the Muslim world right now, the biggest problem we have, and I’m speaking of the Muslim world in terms of communities in every part of the planet—the problem we have, is an absence of voices that are…
Intersections of Gender and Sexuality: LGBT Muslims in the U.S. » Muslimah Media Watch. The chronicle of this project, detailed and explained in the report, revealed reoccurring discursive themes, the most prevalent of them being the parallels between Muslim women’s struggle for gender equality and the LGBT community’s struggle for justice and inclusion. The report affirms that Muslim women and LGBT Muslims aren’t necessarily separate categories, but distinguishes them according to how the two are framed, rather than implying that the category of “Muslim women” excludes LGBT Muslims or vice versa.
Son’s Muslim faith divides one black family – The Washington Post. Joshua Blackwell finally visited his mother in North Carolina this summer and they talked about his conversion to Islam. The conversation didn’t go well.
INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL POLICY AND UNDERSTANDING. . Join the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, the British Council's Our Shared Future Project, and the Johns Hopkins University's Center for Transatlantic Relations for a panel discussion on the impact of 9/11 on Britain, Europe, and the United States. H.A. Hellyer, Senior Analyst at the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center and ISPU Fellow, will discuss his latest ISPU policy brief, "Across the Atlantic: Islam, Europe, and the Repercussions of the Attacks" with Jocelyne Cesari Director of the Islam in the West Program, Harvard and JHU University, and Hussein Rashid of Hofstra University. Their…