Category: Religion

Religion Women

Boldly Modest Declaration of Faith

islamoyankee

From the Washington Post: Last year when she made this walk to the bus stop on the first day of school, she was wearing black skinny jeans and a short-sleeved T-shirt; her hair was in braids. But this year she’s a different Smar. In addition to looser, more modest clothing, her hair is completely hidden under a head scarf. It is a look that not only sets her apart from most girls at her Reston middle school but also proclaims her as a Muslim, a religious minority in a country that sometimes associates her faith with terrorism and acts of…

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Inter-faith Religion

AdBusters on #Ramadan

islamoyankee

Was just referred to this campaign by a friend. I am late on it, but very good. Deprive yourself of a comfort you take granted or a vice that drives you, even for one day. Whether it’s food, your car or the internet, nourish your spirit by going without. It will make you stronger, grow your self-discipline and help disconnect you from worldly activities in these days of selfish decadence and gluttony.

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Politics Religion

Iraqi Voices

islamoyankee

Maybe instead of talking about them, we should be listening to them. This is a great project by a great group, and some really wonderful people whom I am privileged to know. Part of what happens when you bring a group of artists to speak to refugees (or really to speak to anyone), is that the subject of art comes up. When people hear that we are artists, they tend to start telling us about the art that they know and love. There stories begin to be told on the level of music and dance, picture and sound.

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Religion

Quote about the #Quran

islamoyankee

Any point in the text might serve equally well as the beginning or the end, because in a sense the Qur’an is always complete. Whatever God has to say in response to a situation is never left unsaid; God is never at a loss for words. If there is more to come, it is not so much because God is only part way through displaying an already completed text, but rather because further situation will arise that call for direct divine address. The Qur’an presents itself not so much as a corpus completed in the past, but as the voice…

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Politics Religion

Note from near Urumqi – #Uyghur

islamoyankee

Following email was received from a friend. Edited to remove identifying information. Initial email received on July 7, 2009. people who live in xinjiang province feel panic, riot just happened there, they are afraid where and when the riot will happpened again, the matter is really seriou, at the beginning i also heard the news from TV news, then I called my family and friends, but all phone numbers are baring, and was told this number does not exist. I even can not contact anybody and get any news from xinjiang except CCTV news. some calls is not easy to…

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Current Affairs Religion

Letter Supporting Uyghurs

islamoyankee

Open Letter on the Uyghurs For the last several weeks the Uyghurs of Xinjiang have been the subject of increasing harassment of the central Chinese government. A background of key issues can be found at http://bit.ly/uyghur-primer. The death of over 160 people during a short period of time highlights a pattern of abuse against these people that we deplore in the modern period. We demand the following rights for the Uyghurs be recognized: The right to self-determination The citizens of Xinjiang have a right to determine whether they wish to remain as part of China. If so, they are to…

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Current Affairs Music Religion

Michael Jackson is Dead, so is Neda [update]

islamoyankee

Yesterday, June 25, 2009. Michael Jackson died; God rest his soul. I was not going to blog about his passing. He is an artist, a celebrity, why is his death more important than any other? He was an artistic genius, of that there can be no doubt. What he did for music and dance in pop is unparalleled. However, he was still a human being. He had an impact on my childhood, but I did not know him. In many respects, because of his fame, he was unreal. He was no closer to me than Rumi, whose poetry speaks to…

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Current Affairs Politics Religion

My Thoughts on the #IranElection

islamoyankee

inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un – We are from God and to God we return The unrest in Iran has been going on for almost two weeks, and I have posted nothing here for several reasons: The story is unfolding in internet time, and the updates are coming fast and furious on Twitter. I am geared for academic time and television time, both of which move significantly slower than internet time. Because of the speed at which things are moving, people with deeper knowledge and/or better resources are better positioned to give real knowledge on the situation. I do…

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Politics Religion

Onward Christian Soldiers [update]

islamoyankee

From TPM. If you haven’t heard, Donald Rumsfeld was using Bible quotations to justify what was going on in Iraq. No doubt, the big story starting off the week. In GQ, Robert Draper does a first look back at Don Rumsfeld’s tenure at the DOD, with a focus on internal briefing documents which wrapped the day’s military events out of Iraq with smoteful biblical quotations about the righteous conquering the wicked and the infidel. Here’s the slideshow. [From Onward Christian Soldiers] Dan Varisco from Tabsir shares his thoughts as well: The Bible is a big book with plenty of quotations…

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