Category: Intra-faith

Why Are Some Muslims Calling to Replace GMT with Mecca Time? | Culture | Religion Dispatches. This summer, the world’s largest clock began its first official duty: marking time during Ramadan in Mecca—Islam’s holiest city. This colossal clock bears a striking resemblance to Big Ben, and the tower that hosts it (courtesy of the Canadian-based Fairmont hotel operation) is six times taller than the British landmark, making it the second tallest building in the world, visible for 16 miles.  All well and good. One can marvel at human ingenuity and move on. However, what makes this case interesting is the…

LGBT and Muslim? A New Report Busts Stereotypes | (A)theologies | Religion Dispatches. LGBT Muslims, the report notes, are dealing with many of the same kinds of questions that LGBT Christians have been dealing with for decades—such as the authority and interpretation of scripture. In addition, conversations within Islam in America are complicated by a virulent Islamophobia that has flourished in the decade since the 9/11 attacks. As scholar Hussein Rashid, an RD associate editor, observes: “The intersection of sexual, religious, racial, and immigrant identities entail multiple types of marginalization.”

The Changing World. What does it mean to be a Muslim in the U.S. in the post-9/11 world, and why are so many new converts to Islam – women?

My Faith: Rep. Keith Ellison, from Catholic to Muslim – CNN Belief Blog – CNN.com Blogs. Though Ellison's status as the first Muslim elected to Congress is widely known, fewer are aware that he was born into a Catholic family in Detroit and was brought up attending Catholic schools.

L.I.-Bred Muslim Convert Challenges Stereotypes – NYTimes.com. Peter Casey, or AbdulMalik as he is known online, often rides a skateboard to the mosque and rarely thinks twice about performing his prostrations at a Starbucks. Mr. Casey, a 23-year-old recent Queens College graduate, does not do it out of a rebellious impulse to defy Muslim orthodoxy. Rather, he says he seeks to “challenge stereotypes and misconceptions” others have about his faith.  As a convert to Islam with a suburban upbringing and a Judeo-Christian background, Mr. Casey is in a rare position to do so. His boyish looks, clear blue eyes and…

Three Questions for American Muslims: Hussein Rashid | Muslimah Next Door. The Muslim Portal at Patheos  is hosting the “Three Questions” project for the month of September in conjunction with the tenth anniversary of the terrorist acts of 9/11.  We are asking American Muslims from across the nation three simple but important questions. Click here to learn more about the project.  Hussein Rashid, an adjunct professor at Hofstra University and a writer, media personality, and consultant, offers his answers to the three questions:

Jenice Armstrong: Philadelphia locals adopt Muslim-inspired menswear | Philadelphia Daily News. But when it comes to Muslim-inspired menswear, well, that's another story. Regardless of their religious affiliations, certain Philadelphia men, mainly African-Americans, have adopted the style of wearing long, old-world-style beards, sometimes pairing them with calf-length trousers and long shirts – all looks inspired by traditional Muslim attire.

Coming Out Twice: Sexuality and Gender in Islam | (A)theologies | Religion Dispatches. As scholar Scott Kugle knows well, to be both Muslim and gay means the possibility of having to “come out twice”—with the likely chance of encountering either homophobia or Islamophobia (or both), depending on the context.

Lawyer/humorist Wajahat Ali tackles the serious topic of 'Islamophobia' – San Jose Mercury News. Playwright, lawyer and humorist Wajahat Ali is known to fellow Fremont residents as a man of many projects. As we meet for an interview downtown, a passer-by interrupts to ask Ali, in Urdu, "What are you working on now?" One answer is scripting an HBO pilot, with novelist Dave Eggers, about a Muslim cop in San Francisco. Ali, 30, has made a career of writing about ordinary Muslim Americans with humor and candor. Another project marks Ali's first big dive into political advocacy, with a report…

A Ramadan Roadtrip Around The US – The Takeaway. Two men are spending Ramadan in 30 different mosques in 30 different states for all 30 days of the month of fasting. They’re traveling 13,000 miles, from Alaska to New York City, and are speaking with us today from South Carolina, where they’re a little more than halfway through their trip. What they’ve found is that generations of American Muslims have lived in small pockets of the U.S. since the 1800s.