Category: Intra-faith
Music and Islam
Yusuf that is. Yusuf Islam decides that music and Islam are not incompatible. Welcome to 1400 hundred years of history and tradition. Hopefully this will signal a change and maturation in Mr. Islam’s faith. I’m still working on my long post on Islam and music. I’m sure I’ll get to it soon. Link via Maryam.
WikiCity on Ismaili
I know we got a lot of people interested in Shi’ism, specifically Isma’ili Shi’ism, coming through this site. Myself, and several others, have an interest in this group, but don’t want to make the blog about one particular interpretation. However, I have found WikiCities, and thought that might be a good place to continue a conversation on the topic. I can’t run it by myself and would like to hear if others, Isma’ili or not, would be willing to help start something up before letting the Wiki have its way. You can leave notes in comments or email me at…
PAMF
Stands for Punk A$$ Mo Fo. I think a better term than hoodlums in this case. Martijn always has such interesting posts. However, on the issue of counter-identity, isn’t that essentially OBL’s point? He hates women, so he’s a man. He hates the “West,” so he’s an Arab. He hates Christians and Jews, so he’s a “Muslim.” A little more seriously, hasn’t he simply adopted Islam as an oppositional identity? Isn’t he more aligned with Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam than with the Hanbali school? For OBL, it seems Islam is what others are not, and his association with Taliban,…
He doesn’t get it
The article starts out so very promising on the varieties of interpretation that we call shari’ah. Then it so quickly devolves into conflating constitutional law with religious law, without really explaining how such conflations take place. The article also talks about the religious Shi’ah and the secular Kurds and Sunnis. What about the secular Shi’ah and the religious Kurds and Sunnis? There are huge varieties of interpretation even within the traditions. Finally, page 2 is mostly about cultural practices that the author makes sound like shari’ah. This is a blog, I can say things and pre-suppose knowledge, and get into…
F You!
The fatwa has arrived. Of course, such condemnations are not new. However, as long as things like this keep getting in the news, it’s good. More Muslims are forced to confront that there can be no horror at the actions, while having sympathy for the cause. Al-Qaeda is a disease, the disease of ignorance. The pestilence has run through the Muslim community for hundreds of years, and rather than confront it, beat back the major carrier, we condemn the symptoms and leave the disease untreated because we have become so used to it, we can’t imagine life with it. AQ…
Murder is better than divorce?
So thinketh the Dumass. Considering one of the Ten Commandment is “Thou shalt not kill,” I would have thought murder would be a bigger sin. Perhaps it’s what happens when you de-sacralize the word of God and simply make it a monument that has no religious meaning. BTW, did you know that Muslim women have the right to divorce? I did. Most Muslim women don’t. It’s a shame. I wonder if homicide rates in the Muslim world would go up if women knew their rights?
Action Alert: Iranian Blogger
Click here for details and to join a campaign to have him freed. via TPM. From Human Rights First: Iranian blogger and human rights activist Arash Sigarchi was sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of “espionage and insulting the country’s leaders.” His harsh sentence, given by a Revolutionary Court on February 22, 2005, sends a stark message to other bloggers and independent government critics in Iran. Arash Sigarchi is editor of a daily newspaper in the province of Gilan and has run a social and political blog for the past three years. His blog has from time to…
Muslims and the 10 commandments
Over at veiled4allah, there is an excerpt from the 10 Commandments case being argued in front of the Supreme Court. The question is about whether Muslims believe in the 10 Commandments. Al-Muhajabah’s comments are spot on, but I have an issue with CAIR’s response. CAIR argues that there are many things in the Qur’an that agree with the big 10, a statement I agree with. However, the way it is worded implies that Muslims view the Hebrew Bible as outside of the Muslim tradition. Traditionally, the Torah (Torah), Zabur (Psalms), and Injil (Gospels) are considered revelation – hence the term…