Religion Shi'ism

Poem for Milad un-Nabi

The Prophet’s Legacy Listen, O brothers! In the ocean of faith, the Qur’an is the most precious pearl of Muhammad. Just as every king keeps his treasure concealed, the Qur’an is the hidden treasure of Muhammad. Observer well, who do you see as the custodian of this treasure and the trustee of Muhammad? Just as you leave your treasure to your children, there is a legacy for the children of Muhammad. Do you not see that the pearls of faith cannot come from anyone except the children of Muhammad? This treasure was entrusted to one person only, worthy of being…

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Intra-faith Shi'ism

On the Caliphate

Tony had mentioned something about the Caliphate in the comments of an earlier post. And it got me thinking about the whole issue of what a call to a “Caliphate” could mean to OBL. Chapati Mystery has a really good post about the contemporary meanings of that term, and it really is a must read. My take was, and is, going to be slightly more historical. However, since they have filled in some of the contemporary background, my post will be abbreviated. [Just one criticism on the line “ some linear descendan[t] of the Fatimids found in a derelict bookstore…

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Intra-faith Shi'ism

Cairo Park as Art

Yes, I am still mentioning Cairo Park (1, 2) because I think it is such an amazing piece of public/private partnership towards reclaiming and rebuilding what a community can and should be. Here’s a conversation with the Aga Khan about the park. Technorati Tags: Aga Khan, Cairo Park

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Inter-faith Intra-faith Shi'ism

On Talking About Traditions

Via Faith Gambler, I found this interesting piece on talking about Jesus to Muslims. It seems like a good way to recognize and talk about difference while remaining true to one’s own beliefs. This conversation wasn’t about conversion, and it wasn’t about watering down the traditions to make them palatable. Rather, it was a respectful discourse on a serious point of contention between the two traditions. Much respect. Rachel has a post about a missing dot and Jerusalem. One of the joys about writing is that one can always ignore authorial intent, which pretty clearly laid out her post, and…

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