Category: Religion
I confess, I was amused
A friend was insulted, but doesn’t read the blog on a (semi-)regular basis. I think the real criticism is the hypocrisy of the Republicans, but you decide.
Feed your mind
Approaching the Ramadan fast for the first time. (Link courtesy of The Velveteen Rabbi.)
Fund Free Mammograms
This site operates like the Hunger Site, but for mammograms…. Both programs are actually hosted on the same site, as are several other charitable causes.
Ramadan Mubarak
Fasting, of course, is not simply about the physical abstention from food, but also of controlling one’s lower self, whether in thought or deed. I am desperate need of that sort of re-centering as I hear that the US is considering outsourcing torture; that we are treating our troops with more and more disregard; that people are actively being disenfranchised, and no one seems to care.
Cairo has a Garden
It’s good to know Muslims can still create, not just destroy. What’s great about this endeavor is that it’s Muslims creating for Muslims, not Muslims outsourcing.
Muslims in NY Conference
The Muslims in NY Project out of Columbia is having a conference next week. I know many of the panelists and have heard some of the presentations. If you have a chance to check it out, you should. Details here.
Curbing
May God rest the souls of Jack Armstrong and Jack Hensley, the two Americans recently beheaded by Zarqawi, the slave of Satan. May give God give succor to the families of the two men. What constitutes the proper response to such violence? My first response was that Abd us-Shaytan and his men need to be curbed – in both senses of the word. However, the perennial question is does violence stop violence? For a very brief moment, I thought perhaps I was becoming like them, they have taken something from me – my religion – and I am powerless to…
Religious Pop Art
Yousuf Saeed has posted a web page of his work on Islamic[ate] pop art in South Asia. He’s got a really good write-up with fantastic examples. Spend some time poke around. It’s an interesting discussion about the localization of universal aspects of Islam to a new cultural reality. From the site: Although most Muslim posters available in India portray the shrines at Mecca and Medina or the Quranic verses in calligraphy, one can also find the portraits of local saints, their tombs, and the miracles, represented as vividly as in a typical Hindu mythological scene. It is important to explore…