Category: Religion

Inter-faith Politics Religion

Event: Interfaith Vigil for Victims & Survivors of Torture June 26th‏

islamoyankee

TWO KEY EVENTS SPONSORED BY Metro NY Religious Campaign Against Torture (MNYRCAT), Amnesty International and other organizations ARE HAPPENING ON JUNE 26th – U.N. Day in Remembrance of the Victims and Survivors of Torture June 26th – 6 p.m. – Dag Hammarskjold Plaza – Interfaith Press Conference in Which Denominational Leaders will Announce Their Denomination’s Opposition to Torture followed by a procession to: June 26th – 7 p.m. – U.N. Chapel – Interfaith Prayer Service in Remembrance of the Victims & Survivors of Torture. (Dag Hammarskjold Plaza is at 47th and First Avenue. U.N. Chapel is across from the U.N.…

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Politics Religion

Religion and the Legacy of Slavery

islamoyankee

This is an older post that never got posted for some reason. ————————- You won’t hear the word “nigger” on broadcast TV anymore. It means you won’t hear “sand nigger” or “kike” or “gook” either. The lack of degrading names is the great victory of “liberal” media. The reality is that race, and constructions of racial power, constitute one of the most important subtexts in American public discourse. Racist language persists in most parts of mainstream media, but it is now heavily coded. Dave Neiwert does an admirable job of trying to decode that language on his blog Orcinus (read…

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Current Affairs Religion

Torturing America

islamoyankee

Via Juan Cole, it seems that we’ve been holding innocent people and torturing them for fun. CNN is reporting from a different source that torture is being carried out by us. I say “we” because we are all complicit in this act. As Americans we should be holding ourselves to a higher standard, and demand that our representatives hold themselves to an even higher standard than that. Everywhere we turn we see how deep the wrong-doing done in our name has spread. We deny the truth, just as our representatives do. Every time one of these people is flogged, our…

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Religion

Islamic History Month

islamoyankee

The Canadians have declared October “Islamic History Month.” I don’t know how I feel about this. No other religion gets this treatment, and I don’t think they should. I would argue against a similar move here in the US because I think it would further emphasize that Muslims are different. Multiculturalism in Canada is an odd duck, so maybe it makes more sense there.

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Intra-faith Religion

Islam and the Earth

islamoyankee

The Qur’an says that God is the light of the heavens and the earth. If you believe you see all of creation as being illuminated by a Divine light, than part of the trust that we, as the most noble of creation, have been given is the care and protection of the Earth. This type of thinking is not new to Muslims. We have shaped the world to reflect our belief in Heaven. Gardens are created to mirror the vision of Heaven with water and split into 4 quarters. Mecca, the center of our religious life, is the gateway to…

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Politics Religion

Obama, Race, Religion, and Slavery

islamoyankee

I had been toying with the idea of writing a piece on Obama, his religion, and the legacy of slavery for some time. Recent questions about his attendance to the church of Rev. Wright appear to have brought the first two issues to boil for Obama as well, and delivered a masterful speech this week on race in America. In terms of content, I have no problems with his comments. However, I think he still misses something important in his approach. Over a year ago when the question of Sen. Obama’s faith became an issue, I felt he inadequately addressed…

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