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Desecration

CNN is reporting on the desecration – after the murder – of US soldiers in Iraq. The Shi’ah condemn Yazid for his treatment of Imam Husayn in a similar fashion. In the Qur’an the word for hypocrites is munafiq, arguably a worst sin than shirk. For the Shi’ah responsible, damn you to hell. The Sunni base their actions solely on the traditions of the blessed Prophet Muhammad. If any of them dare to say he did such a thing, they are besmirching the name of beloved of God. They are apostates; damn them to hell. To kill in the name…

Power and Trust (or lack thereof)

I haven’t really read the news for the last few days, party because I’ve been travelling and partly because I’m just really annoyed at the way the administration is doing things. I know, I know . . . that’s not news. However, the issue for me has progressed beyond general annoyance and crystallized around two central issues – power and trust. We live in the free world and President Bush seems to have made freedom his mantra, but his behavior seems to more closely resemble an “elected” dictatorship. I know this is naive, but aren’t there any mainstream politicians who…

Reclaiming our tradition

It would be nice if when we did things for our faith that made sense, we were seen as reclaiming the inclusive and intellectual aspects of our traditions rather than trying to reform them. So many groups that live and die by a narrow interpretation of Islam use the past to justify their actions. It’s heartwarming to see the past being invoked for good things as well. Here’s an article about a group that I believe is doing just that in Canada. As a side question – if forced to live in under a fundamentalist regime, would you rather it…