Intra-faith

Terrorists hate Muslims

islamoyankeeJuly 19, 2005

As has been pointed out in several places (1, 2, 3), one of the London bombs went off in a predominately Muslim area. There is a war occurring within the Muslim community; there are those who would throw out 1400 hundred years of intellectual history and development and who would bomb the ummah back to the time before the Prophet (PBUH) verse those who believe Islam is a religion that matures by the grace of God, and struggles with His majesty and revelation every day. I’ve commented before (1, 2, 3) on Muslim-on-Muslim violence. In this instance, I think it’s…

Reading the Qur’an – part 1 – Interpretation

islamoyankeeJuly 19, 2005

The Qur’an (also Quran, Koran) is the Muslim holy book, believed to have been revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) – through the angel Jibra’il (Gabriel) – over the span of 23 years. The Arabic language of the time was a nascent language of literature, used mostly as a mnemonic guide in its written form; because of the close association of Semitic Languages (including Hebrew, Aramaic, and Syriac) the turn of Arabic into a literary language was not unprecedented. The script did not (and still does not) mark short vowels, punctuation, differentiate amongst different letters, and depending on the scribe,…

Inter-faith Intra-faith

Make Friends

islamoyankeeJuly 15, 2005

Different Religions Week is next week. Go visit the worship space of a different religion and make friends. Details here. Via here. Technorati Tags: Inter-religious dialogue

Current Affairs Inter-faith Intra-faith Religion

Out of Context

islamoyankeeJuly 10, 2005

One of the things that happens after a terrorist bombing committed by those who claim to be Muslim is that Islamophobes start quoting the Qur’an out of context saying that Islam is a violent religion dedicated to taking over the world and enslaving everyone else (yes, it is the Protocols of the Elders of Zion revisited). I’m waiting for the day when some Islamophobe says the proof that Islam is Judeophobic is that Muslims revere a prophet named Isa who entered a synagogue and flipped over tables and drove people out claiming that they were practicing a false religion. It…

Intra-faith Shi'ism

Cairo Park as Art

islamoyankeeMay 21, 2005

Yes, I am still mentioning Cairo Park (1, 2) because I think it is such an amazing piece of public/private partnership towards reclaiming and rebuilding what a community can and should be. Here’s a conversation with the Aga Khan about the park. Technorati Tags: Aga Khan, Cairo Park

Inter-faith Intra-faith Shi'ism

On Talking About Traditions

islamoyankeeMay 19, 2005

Via Faith Gambler, I found this interesting piece on talking about Jesus to Muslims. It seems like a good way to recognize and talk about difference while remaining true to one’s own beliefs. This conversation wasn’t about conversion, and it wasn’t about watering down the traditions to make them palatable. Rather, it was a respectful discourse on a serious point of contention between the two traditions. Much respect. Rachel has a post about a missing dot and Jerusalem. One of the joys about writing is that one can always ignore authorial intent, which pretty clearly laid out her post, and…

Intra-faith

Islam and the New Pope

islamoyankeeMay 18, 2005

A wife of a cinnamon peeler wonders about the new Pope and his thoughts on Islam. I found this site on Ratzinger’s views on Islam, via discussion over here.

Current Affairs Intra-faith

(Un)Created(?) – Quran Desecration, part 2

islamoyankeeMay 16, 2005

A question for the Muslim community: why we are offended when the Qur’an is desecrated? (See previous post for details.) Echoing the grand debate most associated with the Mutazilah, the Qur’an is either created, or uncreated. If it is uncreated, then that means the Qur’an is co-eternal with God, meaning that something else exists with God. So, as a second “eternal,” I can understand why Muslims would be upset; of course, it also means that they are only superficially believers in tawhid. To be offended, is to deny what it means to be Muslim. If you argue that the Qur’an…

Inter-faith Intra-faith Religion

Faith [updated]

islamoyankeeMay 11, 2005

Please answer the questions yourself, here, at American Street, or on your own blog. From American Street: Are you a religioius/ spiritual person? Were you born into your faith or did you come to it later? Was there a particular event in your life that changed your religious/ spiritual philososphy? Do you share your faith with others? 1. I am deeply religious. I would like to think that also means I am spiritual, but I know the two are not linked causally. Nor does saying something necessarily make it true. There is deity but God, Muhammad is the messenger of…

Books Inter-faith Intra-faith

Muslims and the Book (of the comic and graphic variety)

islamoyankeeMay 11, 2005

Oh so many moons ago, I read a post on Dove’s Eye View on a new series of comic books coming out Egypt. There are more details on her site, but the salient point is that the author/illustrator has Muslims fighting for the City of All Faiths; religious harmony is still an aspiration in the Arab Middle East. He grew up reading DC comics, and my personal take is that Marvel was always better at allegory and moral ambiguity (see, for example, these descriptions of the X-Men graphic novel, “God Love, Man Kills”), and DC better at black/white, right/wrong stories.…