Art

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

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

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

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

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

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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Events

Speaking Event: SMU and UT-Arlington Apr. 21

UT-Arlington Press Release The University of Texas at Arlington’s College of Liberal Arts and School of Architecture will welcome Hussein Rashid, visiting Professor at Virginia Theological Seminary, to the campus next week for a discussion on “Everyday Art: Islamic Contribution to American Arts.” Rashid will explore the Islamic impact on American popular culture using examples from multiple communities and time periods throughout American history. SMU Press Release Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University welcomes Dr. Hussein Rashid, visiting Professor at Virginia Theological Seminary, for an Islamic Art and Culture Forum on Thursday, April 21, at 1:30 p.m. “Everyday…

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Current Affairs

InvisiblePeople.tv

You must visit this site. It’s not the people are invisible, but we are blind. “Have they not traveled over the land so that they may have hearts by which they may apply reason, or ears by which they may hear? Indeed it is not the eyes that turn blind, but the hearts turn blind —those that are in the breasts!” (22:46) About | InvisiblePeople.tv. I once heard a story about a homeless man on Hollywood Blvd who really thought he was invisible. But one day a kid handed the man a Christian pamphlet. The homeless guy was shocked and…

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