A very timely report from the trenches of the War on Terror. Al-Qaeda's most insidious plot yet: the peaceful decoy Muslims! The Onion News: "Al Qaeda Populating U.S. With Peaceful 'Decoy Muslims'" The sad thing is that this is barely...
Muslim
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Most Topular Stories
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Beware the peaceful decoy Muslims!
Akram's Razor - Reflections on Islam, Muslims & America24 Jan 2012 | 11:46 pm -
Birmingham Buzz: “Faith in the City”
Bigmouth Strikes Again16 Dec 2011 | 6:31 pmThis week I’ve been lucky to have quite a bit of coverage afforded to me by Buzz magazine. As part of a double page spread, Buzz covered the “Faith in the City” event that I facilitated in November at the Green Lane Masjid. You can download a free copy of Buzz to read the article … Continue reading » -
Wilders' party helps critic to top European job
Islamophobia Watch27 Jan 2012 | 4:33 amGeert Wilders' populist Freedom Party (PVV) this week helped ensure one of its fiercest international critics got a top European job. The PVV was so determined to block the appointment of Dutch Labour MP Frans Timmermans as human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe that it inadvertently helped Latvia's Nils Muiznieks get the post. Mr Timmermans is a vociferous opponent of the PVV, but Mr Muiznieks is also no friend to the anti-Islam party. He has gone on record fiercely criticising the PVV for being Islamophobic and using racist and xenophobic language. Peter van Dijk, the PVV's… -
Hajj Photo makes the Instagram Popular list
IslamCrunch5 Nov 2011 | 1:37 pmOne of today’s popular photos on Instagram is a photo of the pilgrims during the Hajj. Photo by doganm. Here is the original Instagram link: http://instagr.am/p/S2NY4/ Like it! And keep it on the popular list. @doganm has had a few popular photos, check them out here. @doganm’s photo | Webstagram – Instagram Web Viewer. -
Top 5 ways to support Muslim women writers today!
Rickshaw Diaries4 Jan 2012 | 5:03 pmLove, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women hits the shelves in just three weeks! It’s a moving and provocative non-fiction anthology featuring 25 American Muslim women speaking openly for the first time about their search for love. Here are the top five ways you can help amplify Muslim women’s voices right now: [...]
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AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)
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'Call to arms' as Syria violence escalates
28 Jan 2012 | 7:48 amFree Syrian Army and security forces continue to clash as UN prepares to discuss draft resolution against government. -
Sudan looks to soothe oil dispute with South
28 Jan 2012 | 7:44 amKhartoum says it will release detained tankers in goodwill effort to end spat with South Sudan over oil payments. -
Twitter users urge boycott over censorship
28 Jan 2012 | 7:07 amBlackout of microblogging site proposed after firm says it will block tweets on geo-specific basis if legally necessary. -
Nigerian sect storms police station in Kano
28 Jan 2012 | 7:07 amNorthern state shaken by more than hour of gun battles after suspected armed members of Boko Haram attack police. -
Germany seeks EU control over Greek finances
28 Jan 2012 | 6:07 amIn talks on second rescue package, debt-stricken country advised to cede control of its fiscal policy to European Union.
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IslamCrunch
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Risalatul Haq – A Discussion About Old Age and Death
13 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pmRisalatul Haq: A Discussion About Old Age and Death is a short thesis written by Habib Ali bin Isa bin Abdulkader Alhadad in the 1970s. Now translated for the first time in English and available in USA and South East Asia. Edited by Habib Ali’s son, Abdulkader Alhadad (editor and publisher of Treatise on Discipline in the Path of The Seeker (Risalatul Murid). From the Foreword by Habib Ali’s son: “A Muslim should not wait for the time when one is considered old to think that death is near. Whilst only Allah, the Exalted, knows when a person’s time is due, knowing the… -
Seeking The Knowledge of God by Habib Ahmad Mashhur Al-Haddad
9 Jan 2012 | 5:42 amAllahumma Yaa Nuurus samaa waati wal ardi “O Allah! O (You Who is) the Light of the heaven and the earth” Saali ‘alaa man khalaq ta-hu min nuuri ka “I ask Your blessings (and salutations) upon He (Muhammad) whom You have created from Your Light” Waghfirlii dhanbi “And forgive me my sins” Wa nau wir qalbi bi an waari ma’rifa tik, wa ma’rifa ti hibik “And enlighten my heart with the Light of Knowing You and with the Knowledge from You.” Wa ‘alaa aalihi wa sahbihi wasallim “And upon his Household and Companions with peace!” Ameen! Habib… -
5 Basic Islamic Principles – Sidi Ahmad Zarruq
1 Jan 2012 | 6:11 pm1. Having Godfearingness privately and publicly, 2. Adherence to the sunnah in word and deed, 3. Indifference to others’ acceptance or rejection, 4. Satisfaction with Allah Most High in scarcity and plenty, 5. Returning to Allah in happiness or affliction. From Sidi Ahmad Zarruq. Also noted in Al-Maqasid: Nawawi’s Manual of Islam, page 96. -
Hajj Photo makes the Instagram Popular list
5 Nov 2011 | 1:37 pmOne of today’s popular photos on Instagram is a photo of the pilgrims during the Hajj. Photo by doganm. Here is the original Instagram link: http://instagr.am/p/S2NY4/ Like it! And keep it on the popular list. @doganm has had a few popular photos, check them out here. @doganm’s photo | Webstagram – Instagram Web Viewer. -
Hajj Live Broadcast on Youtube. Islam comes to your computer & mobile device.
5 Nov 2011 | 2:48 amYouTube will broadcast live coverage of the Islamic ritual of Hajj for the first time this Saturday, according to the company’s blog. Hajj, which is the largest pilgrimage in the world, is a demonstration of the solidarity of Muslim people and a submission to Allah. It represents one of the five pillars of Islam and is a religious duty that every able-bodied Muslim must carry out at least once in their lifetime. This year’s Hajj—an event that is likely to attract close to 2.5 million worshippers—will be live on the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information’s YouTube channel. The…
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altmuslim
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Transitions: Altmuslim joins Patheos
27 Jan 2012 | 5:21 amBrace yourself for some good change: altmuslim is joining the Patheos family. Before Illume, before Islamicity added news and essays to its site, before Beliefnet and later Patheos and Huffington Post Religion created robust Islam sections and/or expanded their coverage of Muslims, there was altmuslim, the cutting-edge website created by Halalfire Network founder Shahed Amanullah. The website was developed to be “an introspective voice that helps promote a critical (and self-critical) analysis of issues regarding the Muslim world.” In its 11 years of existence, it has done just that. From… -
Confronting extremism: Mind over jihad
19 Jan 2012 | 8:40 pmThe US has taken an initiative to spread the counter-extremist message across Pakistan to prevent the breeding of extremism and to deradicalize militants who were completely taken by the jihadist ideology, which is a tough battle because Pakistan is, perhaps, the only country where the state, with funding from U.S. and Saudi Arabia, financed and trained jihadis to fight Soviet Russia and did nothing to deprogram the mujahideen after the war was over. The one-of-its-kind three-person unit, whose aim is to support grassroots groups and moderate religious leaders to counter extremist ideology,… -
Remembering MLK: Why my daughter should have MLK day off
15 Jan 2012 | 7:37 amThe fact that my daughter's Islamic school does not take MLK day off bothers me. All Islamic schools, except perhaps those established by African-American Muslims, have been built by Muslims who have immigrated to this country from abroad. They, even more than many African-Americans themselves, have benefited from the struggles of the civil rights movement. But for brave Americans like Dr. Martin Luther King, Rev. Jessie Jackson, Rosa Parks, and countless others, immigrant Muslims would not have been able to come to this country, establish themselves economically, live in peace and security,… -
Social change in 2012: After the revolution
8 Jan 2012 | 6:45 pmThe temperatures plummeted to sub-zero in Anchorage, Alaska, in November 2011, but that did not deter the protesters who had gathered to occupy Town Square. They stayed, rotating shifts to ensure that their encampment was never left unoccupied. In the city of Fairbanks, members of the Occupy movement who stayed stalwart even as temperatures dipped to minus 40 insisted that they had to remain to show their solidarity with other protesters around the US. These brave souls in Alaska were not alone. As the editors of Time Magazine were happy to reiterate, 2011 was undoubtedly the year of the… -
Year in review: The top ten good news stories of 2011
29 Dec 2011 | 9:35 pmSometimes it seems Muslims can’t get a break, and 2011 was no exception. The "creeping sharia" paranoia in the US continued unabated (despite any evidence that there is any real threat of sharia law supplanting the Constitution) with the passage and/or introduction of anti-sharia legislation in over 20 states, and alleged threats posed by Muslim Americans were brought up at nearly every Republican debate this year. But step back a bit and you’ll see that Muslims in America as generally feeling more hopeful than ever, and the wave of people power that washed over the Middle East has…
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Rickshaw Diaries
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NYT article: “In ‘Love, InshAllah,’ American Muslim Women Reveal Lives”
23 Jan 2012 | 6:50 pmEditors Ayesha Mattu and Nura Maznavi Remember how when you’re young they tell you to follow your passion and pursue your dreams? Later, all that gets lost as practical considerations intervene and guide our lives. I took this year off to focus on my twin passions – my son and my book – and the [...] -
Sexy Muslim women bring the trolls to the blog
5 Jan 2012 | 6:21 pmIt’s been a crazy three days. On Tuesday, our article headlined at HuffPo Comedy and brought the nation together in our shared love for Jon Stewart. Yesterday, our amazing friends and families rallied in support and our book climbed to #8 on the Amazon women’s studies bestseller list. Today, a light-hearted excerpt from our anthology was [...] -
Top 5 ways to support Muslim women writers today!
4 Jan 2012 | 5:03 pmLove, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women hits the shelves in just three weeks! It’s a moving and provocative non-fiction anthology featuring 25 American Muslim women speaking openly for the first time about their search for love. Here are the top five ways you can help amplify Muslim women’s voices right now: [...] -
Why Muslim women find Jon Stewart irresistible
3 Jan 2012 | 1:53 pmOur latest piece, “Muslim Women for Jon Stewart 2012,” is up on The Huffington Post: Buried in the “controversy” over Bradley Cooper’s selection as People magazine’s most recent Sexiest Man Alive is a little known fact: If you had polled American Muslim women the winner would have been — wait for it — Jon Stewart. Read [...] -
Call of the wild
2 Jan 2012 | 3:17 pmBean is almost 22-months-old and in the past month has started singing, reciting memorized portions of storybooks, and jumping off of every object he can climb (as he says, “Big Jumped!”). He dances to birdsong, waves, wind chimes, jazz, and even Arabic recitations of the Qur’an. For him, this wondrous world inspires some serious grooving. [...]
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Islam in China
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Introducing a New Contributor: Brendan Newlon
15 Jan 2012 | 4:53 pmI would like to welcome a new contributor to this project, to the blog and the website, Brendan Newlon whose area focus is on the study of Buddhism and Islam in China. He is in the MA/PhD program at the UCSB Religious Studies department. I would like to very enthusiastically welcome Brendan and I think his contributions would help make this a more comprehensive project and a better place for both public as well as academic discourse. -
Earlist Copy of the Complete Translation of the Quran Discovered
31 Dec 2011 | 9:06 pmSource: Asian Age ‘Earliest’ Quran in Chinese, from 1912, found Dec 18, 2011 – K.J.M. Varma | PTI | Beijing Researchers in China’s north-western Gansu prov-ince have found a hand-written copy of the Quran completed in 1912, which is said to be the earliest Chinese language version of the Muslim holy book. The Quran, found among old archives by researchers with the Muslim Culture Institute of Lanzhou University, is believed to have been translated into Chinese by Sha Zhong and Ma Fulu, two noted imams and Arabic calligraphers in Lanzhou, Ding Shiren, head of the institute said. Sha… -
Eid Mubarak, Vote for Islam in China and the Future
7 Nov 2011 | 10:32 am(Image Source: http://www.coolfreeimages.net/eid_mubarak_10.php) First of all Eid Mubrak from Wang Daiyu. Secondly, I would like to thank all the loyal readers of this blog. It would not have been the success that it is without your support. Today is the last day to vote for the Brass Crescent Awards, just in case you have not already voted, be sure to vote for Islam in China in the Best Blog and the Best Regional Blog category: http://brasscrescent.org/ Thirdly, over the last year or so the pace of posts on this blog has changed because of my schedule. That is mainly because I am in the last… -
Islam in China at the Brass Crescent Awards
13 Oct 2011 | 10:15 amVoting for the 8th Annual Brass Crescent Awards has started and as is the case for the last 3 years the Islam in China Blog has been nominated again. This year the blog has been nominated in the Best Blog as well as the Best Blog category. I would like to thank all the readers who have made this blog a success and for their continued support and words of encouragement. Thanks to everyone who nominated the blog. The task is however far from over. Be sure to vote for the blog in both the categories at the following URL: http://www.brasscrescent.org/ -
The Descendants of Grandmaster Wang Ziping
9 Sep 2011 | 3:15 pm(Image: Master Wu Xiaoping with her grandfather Grandmaster Wang Ziping) I have talked about the legendary Muslim Martial Artist Grandmaster Wang Ziping a few times before. The grandchildren of Grandmaster Wang Ziping have carried on the family tradition. The website Wu Yi Jie He Family System of Chinese Healing and Martial Arts has some information about members of his family who have carried on the tradition. Interestingly enough they have now dispersed to other parts of the globe so that some of the family members now reside in Canada and the US. In fact Master Wang Ziping’s…
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An Indian Muslim's Blog: News, Views & Urdu Poetry Website
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Of fanatic 'liberals', free speech flag-bearers, false journalism and Indian Muslims' restraint during Jaipur Literary Festival
23 Jan 2012 | 3:45 pm1. Firstly, not a single person among India's nearly 200 million Muslims had issued any threat in case Salman Rushdie arrived here but a section of media portrayed it as if Muslims were hounding him and ready to teach him a lesson. 2. Just Deoband and one or two other groups had urged the government that he shouldn't be allowed to enter India. This is a pure democratic right, a demand. Forget fatwas, no organisation had issued any warning or hinted of violent protest. Even government didn't say that it will stop him from coming here. A Muslim minister, Salman Khurshid, had gone ahead to say… -
Delhi's egoist poetic voice falls silent: Urdu poet Shuja Khawar passes away
22 Jan 2012 | 1:54 pmShujaa' Khawar Shuja Khawar, who was probably the most distinct poetic voice in Urdu to have come up from Delhi in the post-independence era, bid final adieu to his admirers and poetry lovers. A master of Dehlvi Urdu idiom and the famed 'Taksaali zabaan', he hadn't penned poetry for the last 16 years due to a paralytic stroke that had rendered him bed-ridden. Then, for many years, he couldn't recognise his own writings, let alone compose poetry. No wonder TV channels and newspapers seemed oblivious to the extent of loss for literary world. But in recent years, Shuja had recovered to an… -
Rediff's report on 'Deoband' fatwas: Wrong facts, irresponsible journalism
20 Jan 2012 | 4:54 amRediff article that links Deoband to Surya Namaskar fatwa It is perfectly understandable if a religious institution is criticised for issuing frivolous or controversial fatwas, just like a post written on this blog sometime back, but it is unfair if you criticise someone by attributing decrees which they didn't issue at all. One of the most popular sites, Rediff.com surprisingly posted an article that surprisingly has not just factual error but also wrongly accuses Deoband for fatwas which they didn't at all issue. Strangely, even after it was brought to their notice, they didn't bother to… -
Saffronisation in Madhya Pradesh: Isn't it BJP's appeasement of the majority community?
13 Jan 2012 | 8:38 amTowards a Saffron state! We hear the BJP make so much noise about appeasement of minorities, particularly Muslims. But does anyone use the term 'Majority [or Hindu] appeasement' when the party goes all out to ensure Saffronisation in a state. In Madhya Pradesh, BJP seems to have steadily taken the RSS agenda quite far without a whimper. As a commentator in a national newspaper recently remarked that by keeping a low-profile BJP leaders in MP have silently pushed the Hindutva plan ahead. But in the last few months, people have begun to see the design. Either it is the stringent… -
No cartoons, No comics: Urdu newspapers, magazines neglecting children
4 Jan 2012 | 4:29 amKhilauna published foreign comic strips Despite fears about survival of Urdu in the decades after independence, the language continues to thrive in India, 64 years after independence. But it's surprising how Urdu newspapers and even magazines continue to neglect children. Surprisingly, even the kids' magazines have few cartoons. It is this segment--the kids--that will grow up to read the papers and if circulations fall in future, the reason would be lack of any effort to draw the young generation towards the language. In fact, most of the Urdu papers have no concept of cartoons or comic…
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Popular islam Bookmarks on Delicious
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The best place to be a Muslim
28 Jan 2012 | 7:44 am -
Harun Yahya - Deep Thinking: Bagaimana Seorang Muslim Berfikir - Bab 5
28 Jan 2012 | 7:31 am -
Apostazja w islamie
28 Jan 2012 | 7:28 am -
ユダヤ教の十戒とキリスト教の十戒は微妙に違う(おまけにイスラム教もね) - Comments by Dr Marks
28 Jan 2012 | 6:25 am -
Website Offline Rumaysho.com (CHM File)
28 Jan 2012 | 6:03 am
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Spirit21
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British Museum exhibit offers visitors a chance to experience Muslim pilgrimage
25 Jan 2012 | 3:39 amThis article was published yesterday by Common Ground News Service. London – Qaisra Khan and I are standing in the Round Reading Room of the world-renowned British Museum in London. Around us people are busy installing historic artefacts from the Muslim world relating to the haj, the pilgrimage to Mecca – a principal religious obligation of adult Muslims. Khan is one of the curators of the exhibit “Hajj: Journey to the heart of Islam”, which will open on the 26th of January at the British Museum. She is visibly excited that those who are not Muslim will finally get to vicariously… -
It’s not women who need preaching about “corruption” and “social responsibility”
7 Jan 2012 | 3:38 amHere’s my weekly column from The National. Men are poor helpless creatures who can’t control their feelings or libidos, or so it seems they want society to think. I’m a believer in the general goodness of most men, but baffled by the attitude that they are helpless in the face of womanly charms and must therefore refer to themselves in derogatory and weak ways. Take this comment – a mild one compared to many – I came across while reading about a new line of Islamic fashion: “If a girl attracts other males even unintentionally, it will end up to be a sin… -
Getting ready for 2012: from money to the meaning of life
4 Jan 2012 | 7:22 amHere is this week’s National column published on new year’s eve. As the year comes to a close, one of my perennial resolutions rears its head and commands me: take better control of the household budget. The talk at a global scale of bankruptcy, poor credit and downgrading has made the resolution ever more urgent. Where are my slippery and elusive pennies going? Don’t tell my Dad about this confession, he will give me a stern look and tell me that he taught me better, that money doesn’t grow on trees, that a man one penny in the red is a poor man, and a penny in the… -
How we create the stories that shape the lives and futures of our babies
29 Dec 2011 | 3:39 pmAnother column I’m posting a little belatedly from my weekly ‘Her Say‘ column in The National. On the top shelf of an old cupboard in my parents’ spare room is a collection of aged, fraying bags that hold the memories of our family. I have to stand on a stool and stretch into the cupboard’s dark corners, feeling my way with my fingertips to grasp the tatty plastic filled with decades of old photographs. As the winter holidays approach, nostalgia percolates the family conversations, and inevitably someone will wonder about a distant relative, a half-forgotten baby… -
High heels tell us more about economics and politics than fashion
28 Dec 2011 | 2:39 pmThis is one of my weekly columns for The National, posted here a little belatedly, but written the week the Turkish president came to the UK. First the feet emerged, covered in light grey leather ankle boots, with heels as long and thin as needles. Then the legs draped in a grey skirt. And eventually she came into view, towering above the pavement in her unexpected stilettos. This wasn’t Angelina Jolie, nor a Bond girl, but the wife of the president of Turkey, on a visit to the UK with her husband, to meet Her Majesty. The Queen, ever the symbol of restraint and decorum in a world that has…
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Bigmouth Strikes Again
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Times Literary Supplement: Review of “Islamophobia”
20 Jan 2012 | 4:39 amToday’s Times Literary Supplement features a review of recent books about Islamophobia, one of which is my own. To read the review, click here. Alternatively, part of the review is reproduced below: …One of the most intriguing contributions to the debate about Islamophobia has been by the anthropologist Pnina Werbner, who argues that it is … Continue reading » -
New Article: Teaching Islamophobia as a Higher Education subject
18 Dec 2011 | 5:30 pmI’m really pleased to have published an article on the teaching of Islamophobia as a higher education subject. I’m led to believe that this is a first of its kind. There’s articles about Islamophobia and education – and Islamophobia in education – but not specifically within the higher education setting. Published in the Islamic Studies … Continue reading » -
Birmingham Buzz: “Faith in the City”
16 Dec 2011 | 6:31 pmThis week I’ve been lucky to have quite a bit of coverage afforded to me by Buzz magazine. As part of a double page spread, Buzz covered the “Faith in the City” event that I facilitated in November at the Green Lane Masjid. You can download a free copy of Buzz to read the article … Continue reading » -
New Report: “Building the capacity of housing providers and refugee communities”
14 Dec 2011 | 5:43 pmHACT today published a new report that myself and Jenny Phillimore produced for them. The report is an evaluation of the first three waves of HACT’s ‘Reach In’ programme, which facilitated 80 volunteer placements for refugees within housing providers to improve refugee employment prospects, address the skills gap within housing and enable housing providers to … Continue reading » -
Nine recommendations to the APPG on Islamophobia
21 Nov 2011 | 3:46 amFollowing on from the news last week that I was invited to present evidence to the AGM of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Islamophobia, I thought that I would share the nine initial recommendations I made. These are very basic but I think that the enquiry into Islamophobia is still at a very … Continue reading »
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Islamophobia Watch
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Bigot to keep job with Swedish Migration Board
28 Jan 2012 | 6:41 amA worker at the Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket) who told a family of Iraqi asylum seekers that their newborn baby looked like Saddam Hussein will not lose his job over the incident, the agency's disciplinary committee has ruled. The man, who has worked at the agency for more than 30 years, was under investigation not only for the insulting comparison, but also for physically assaulting a female colleague and making derogatory remarks about a woman wearing a headscarf. After a colleague of his assisted a veil-wearing woman, the man went up and asked his co-worker, "How does it feel… -
Protest against EDL racists and fascists: Leicester, Saturday 4 February
27 Jan 2012 | 5:58 pmAntiracists will take to the streets to show their opposition to the racists and fascists of the English Defence League on Saturday 4 February. The EDL thugs want to stir up racism and division among the city's diverse community. But people in Leicester have already shown the EDL is not wanted in Leicester – thousands turned out to show their opposition to the EDL and in October 2010. Now black, white and Asian people are set to show their unity against the EDL again at a 'Love Leicester, Hate Racism' demonstration organised by UAF in the city centre on 4 February. The protest against… -
Dutch government moves step closer to banning veil
27 Jan 2012 | 10:50 amSeptember 2010: Verhagen and Wilders shake hands on their political dealThe Dutch Cabinet moved a step closer Friday to banning the burqa, making good on an election promise that is largely symbolic but has broad public support. Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Verhagen said the Cabinet agreed on plans to ban the head-to-toe Islamic gown along with other forms of face-covering clothing including ski masks. The legislation must still be approved by both houses of the Dutch Parliament, a process that could take months. "We are confident we have a majority," Interior Minister Liesbeth Spies said. -
Longview resident welcomes mosque
27 Jan 2012 | 9:39 amA Longview resident said Thursday he is disappointed by the negative reaction from a portion of the Longview community toward a mosque being built on Amy Street. "Quite frankly it was very disheartening to me to see that type of discussion taking place here in our community," Vik Verma said during public comment at a Longview City Council meeting. "I believe it's strongly unwarranted. The Islamic community of Longview is merely wanting to have a house of worship just like any other faith in Longview, in Gregg County, in Texas and in the United States. I think this is a value that our… -
Wilders' party helps critic to top European job
27 Jan 2012 | 4:33 amGeert Wilders' populist Freedom Party (PVV) this week helped ensure one of its fiercest international critics got a top European job. The PVV was so determined to block the appointment of Dutch Labour MP Frans Timmermans as human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe that it inadvertently helped Latvia's Nils Muiznieks get the post. Mr Timmermans is a vociferous opponent of the PVV, but Mr Muiznieks is also no friend to the anti-Islam party. He has gone on record fiercely criticising the PVV for being Islamophobic and using racist and xenophobic language. Peter van Dijk, the PVV's…
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Indian Muslims
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Patriotic Music in India and the Muslim Contribution
25 Jan 2012 | 12:02 pmAs we celebrate our 63rd Republic Day, let’s take a look at some Muslim contribution to patriotic songs in India over the years. The list is not exhaustive and considers only the more popular... -
Qawwali muqabila
31 Dec 2011 | 10:02 pmQawwali originated in dargahs and remains closely associated with it but there is a whole world of Qawwali that exists outside the dargahs, no I am not talking about Bollywood Qawwalis. Qawwali... -
Asrar-ul-Haq Majaz – A Journey of Love, Hope and Nationalism
12 Dec 2011 | 6:38 amTHE year was 1935. The union hall of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was brimming with students and the atmosphere was electric. A young man in sherwani stands up. He runs his hand through his long... -
Ganga-Jamni tahzeeb
15 Nov 2011 | 3:15 pmUstad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan signing “Hari Om Tatsat” Shakar-Shambhu signing “Man Kunto Maula” Photo by http://blog.soulcocina.com -
Reading Iqbal
9 Nov 2011 | 6:35 amGrowing up as a Muslim in India I had ambivalent feelings about Iqbal. One wants to sing ‘saare jahaan se accha…” from the top of his lung but then how do I reconcile the fact he was the first person...
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Planet Grenada
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we're #47! we're #47 (this is not a good thing)
26 Jan 2012 | 1:00 pmMostly due to crackdowns against journalists during the Occupy protests,the United States has dropped from 20th place to 47th place in the press freedom index of Reporters Without Borders. Guantanamo is still open. Indefinite detention is the law of the land. This is not a good look.Huffington Post: Press Freedom Index: Occupy Wall Street Journalist Arrests Cost U.S. Dearly In Latest Survey -
haiku for etta james by jessica care moore
20 Jan 2012 | 9:57 pmHaiku for etta jamesit ain't like we don'tlike loving. we die for bluescuz we born with it-jcm -
more of the meme (part 3)
16 Jan 2012 | 12:32 pmSh*t "Conscious" Black People Say and DoIt is interesting to me how extensively this S*t Girls Say meme has morphed. As far as I can tell there seem to be 3 major variations 1) misogynist drag show (e.g. the original Sh*t Girls Say) 2) anti-racist criticism (e.g. Sh*t White Girls Say to Black Girls) and 3) self-effacing mini-ethnography (e.g. Sh*t Hijabis Say) -
the meme has mutated (part 2)
16 Jan 2012 | 11:51 amStuff Muslim Women Say Part 1Sh*t Muslims SaySh*t People Say... to ArabsSh*t White Girls Say... to Brown (Desi/Indian) GirlsFor those who speak Urdu there is Sh*t Pakistani Girls Say -
the meme has mutated
14 Jan 2012 | 12:39 pmHere are 3 different Arab/Muslim variants of the Sh*t [fill in the blank] Girls Say meme. I'm actually a little surprised that I could find three. The meme is apparently much more widespread than I realized at first. Many of the clips out there seem to have an intrinsic sexist current (by definition delegitimizing what girls say) which at times is counter-balanced by anti-racism (by criticizing prevailing stereotypes)Shit White Girls Say...to Arab GirlsStuff Hijabis SayAnd also from zikrayat on tumblr:Sh*t White Girls Say to Muslim GirlsI definitely was inspired by the Shit White Girls…
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Akram's Razor - Reflections on Islam, Muslims & America
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Beware the peaceful decoy Muslims!
24 Jan 2012 | 11:46 pmA very timely report from the trenches of the War on Terror. Al-Qaeda's most insidious plot yet: the peaceful decoy Muslims! The Onion News: "Al Qaeda Populating U.S. With Peaceful 'Decoy Muslims'" The sad thing is that this is barely... -
Old folks "occupy" CA bank
8 Jan 2012 | 5:52 pmThis sight surely scared the bank manager more than a sprinting horde of "Brains!"-chanting zombies would have. [HT: SF Weekly] ‘Wild Old Women’ Close San Francisco Bank Of America Branch (CBS San Francisco, January 5, 2012): SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) –... -
The Ta'leef Collective
31 Dec 2011 | 1:51 amFollowed a link from someone's Facebook page to the Taleef Collective website and watched some of their videos. Judging by the brief interviews there, the Taleef Collective looks like an innovative community initiative that strives to create a social space... -
On the likelihood of mistaking a pile of kale for a chicken sandwich
5 Dec 2011 | 1:40 pmA disturbing example of a small business getting sued by a corporate giant over ridiculous trademark infringement claims, and by a company that prides itself on being in touch with family town values. They cease operations on the Sabbath--Chick-fil-A proudly... -
Muslim leaders need to put the lot religious minorities high on the agenda before it's too late
20 Nov 2011 | 11:07 pmThe rapid decline in the security of Christian communities in the Middle East in recent years pains and alarms me beyond measure. For just one example--and from what I understand yet worse trends are being seen in Iraq--consider this heart-breaking...
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fish tales
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Baby Nap Circuit Training
27 Jan 2012 | 10:08 amThe moment I successfully tiptoe out of LittleGorilla's room, asleep in his crib and covered by a light blanket, the race is supposed to begin. Usually my mind has already begun planning as he falls asleep. How urgent is the laundry today? Dishes? Is there anything to eat? Have I had breakfast yet? What does this hallway need to brighten up?Out the door, I may zone out for the duration of his nap. That's ok. That usually happens when I'm just over my limit. It's good to pull back and just rest like a tired-out zombie, sometimes.Other times I may actually get a few things done. At my peak I've… -
9 Jan 2012 | 9:45 pm
9 Jan 2012 | 9:45 pmStanding in the kitchen drinking water and reading a poorly pixelated printout "Basic Concepts in the Methodology of the Social Sciences" to teach my students tomorrow, I can hear the baby monitor: static, distant singing, the periodic click of the rocking chair coming to rest on the ground, occasional squeaks from the floorboards. Babygorilla sleeps better in his own crib, but when he wakes up he wants to get into our bed, between us. Once there, he'll flop violently onto his side, so completely asleep mid-flop it's like a switch has turned off. He'll lie comatose, the end of one limb… -
29 Dec 2011 | 9:45 am
29 Dec 2011 | 9:45 amBaby-gorilla, held in his father's arms, stares open-mouthed at me as I towel my wet hair. Something looks different to him; something has struck him. His wide eyes slowly wander over my face with a complex expression: his eyes are soft yet glued to my face, his expression a few shades gentler than shock. He is absorbing something, but what? The steam clouds the air around us; his hair and skin are damp. He has seen me like this before. A smile plays over his face, he comes close to me, but not just to jump into my arms; he needs to continue looking into my face, his eyes luminous with… -
24 Nov 2011 | 2:16 pm
24 Nov 2011 | 2:16 pmTeetering between babyhood and toddlerhood, littlegorilla sits on my lap breastfeeding, in the wooden rocking chair on which each cousin fed in turn. He sucks, eyes wandering, feet kicking against the slats, then disengages and sits up. He arches his back to slide down my lap and takes a few directionless steps on his thin blue and red wool carpet. Turning back to me, he steps his way beside and then behind the rocking chair, into the corner of the room. Each lurch forward is a trick, a funny game. He laughs at his own joke in going someplace he hasn't been before and that is obviously not… -
12 Nov 2011 | 7:55 pm
12 Nov 2011 | 7:55 pmBabygorilla blows bubbles on my belly.He bites my knee. He opens his jaw as widely as he can and bears down on my face—biting, sucking—leaving my nose, my mouth, my cheek sopping wet. He pulls my hair. He smacks my cheek. He reaches out for and fingers my earring, pushing my face to the side so he can examine it more closely. He pushes his fingers into my eyeball over my closed eyelid, rolling it over and over again, back and forth. He runs his finger along my eyelashes, pushing up the closed eyelid. He hangs onto my nose, staring up at me. And he feeds. He feeds, he feeds, he feeds, he…
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From Clay
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Embarrassingly Bad
9 Jan 2012 | 7:52 amInteresting piece in the London Review of Books.Embarrassingly Bad -
About Libya and Italy
28 Jun 2011 | 9:01 amWhen things really start to heat up in Libya, Qaddafi accused the Libyan rebels of being high on drugs or on Al Jazeera. When NATO started to become involved, Qaddafi tried to call upon all the Arabs to rise up against what he called a colonial aggression. Qaddafi seems to have been calling to a generation of Arabs that no longer exists in a time that has long gone by. The greatest threat that the current generation of young Arabs perceives is precisely the current "Arab" leadership, of which Qaddafi is a member.But if anyone is interested in some context about the Libyan experience with… -
Douthat's Two Minds
17 Aug 2010 | 3:59 amIf you have an ounce of sincerity, it's difficult to write a thousand words without tipping off some of your intentions. An overrated opinion writer for the New York Times wrote yesterday a column ("Islam in Two Americas") in which he starts out surprisingly well, but then the dark spirits take over. Essentially, as Joan Walsh of Salon remarks correctly, "Not surprisingly, Douthat made his astonishingly ignorant remarks in a column defending prejudice against the so-called 'ground zero mosque,' which, again, isn't a mosque, and isn't at ground zero. The controversy, ginned up by Republican… -
What did Orwell really do?
30 Jul 2010 | 7:30 amWhat did George Orwell's prognostications ultimately do? Like many people, I like to cite him and even leave Orwellian quotes at the end of an email and stuff. But what did his "big brother" warnings and tales of the seductive relationship between power and corruption (among once subjugated talking animals) really achieve? Seriously. The last time I checked, big brother ignored Orwell—not even bothering to slow down to show the man contempt. Without much resistance, Brother's cameras, listening devices, search engines, tweets, legal cover, and public complacency are all over the place. The… -
More Amish
21 Jul 2010 | 7:19 amApparently the population of Amish communities and, in fact, the number of Amish settlements have increased in recent years. I read this in a year-old National Geographic magazine as I was waiting at a doctor's office with ailments that are almost certainly stress induced and happily supported by habits of modern requirements of earning. Later that week, I visited a friend in far western Wisconsin, where Amish folks have been thriving for generations. To be honest, when I see the Amish, I almost envy their way of life. I know that they toil hard, working the land and taking care of routine…
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Technology of the Heart
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Allahu Shahidi, Allahu Naziri, Allahu Ma'i - three statements of truth that transformed Sahl al-Tustari into a master of knowers
28 Jan 2012 | 1:58 am1. "Allah is the qibla of intention; intention is the qibla of the heart; the heart is the qibla of the body; the body is the qibla of the limbs; and the limbs are the qibla of dunya." - saying of Shaykh Sahl al-Tustari Asked "What is food?" Tustari replied: "Food is contemplation of the Living One: al-Hayy." Sahl al-Tustari was one of the great servant of God, a profoundly deep mystic and aref-billah, knower of God (gnostic). He was born in the southwestern Iran and lived between 818 - 896 AD. His full name was Abu Muhammed Sahl ibn 'Abd Allah. He founded the Salimiyah Muslim theological… -
Book Review: Sufism for Western Seekers by Dr. Stewart Bitkoff
25 Jan 2012 | 1:57 am1. The Book The Sufi work is foremost the quest for gnosis (ma'rifah) - the state of opening or illumination in union with God. Sufism undeniably exists as a living esoteric tradition of human transformation and as such is a valuable resource for the Western seeker. - The Sufi Conundrum, Jay Kinney Sufism for Western Seekers: Path of the Spiritual Traveler in Everyday Life is Dr. Stewart Bitkoff's first hand account of spiritual learning in two modern Sufi mystical schools. The message is intended for western spiritual travelers and to help this transmission the author has successfully… -
A Sufi Parable of Sea
23 Jan 2012 | 10:55 pmPainting by Edward Mitchell Bannister, Boat on Sea Our Master, the great servant of God, may Allah be pleased with his servitude one day was by the Sea. This was his time for public discourse before his sunset prayer. Now today a great multitude of people gathered other than his inner circle of disciples to hear his words of wisdom that gives life to the heart. So he bade the boatman nearby and got up into the boat and asked the boat to be anchored near to the shore. He instructed the boat to be placed at such a distance that everyone in the crowd could behold his face as he spoke. Even the… -
The Chapter of Jonah, First Ten Verses
21 Jan 2012 | 11:30 amIn the Name of Allah, the Universally Merciful, the Singularly Compassionate ALIF, LAAAM, RA. These are the Signs of the Book of Wisdom. Are mankind amazed that We have revealed to a human being from amongst them, "Warn all the people and give good news to those who believe, that they will arrive at their Lord in truth?" Those who cover up (the Truth) say, "Surely this is nothing but magic!" Truly your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, then assumed the Seat of Authority governing all that exists. There is no intercessor except with His Permission. That is… -
This Path | Shaykh Ebrahim Schuitema
18 Jan 2012 | 12:39 amI am not with the capable, nor the exemplary I am with my brothers, who like me are destitute, morally exhausted sick of it all, our own mediocrity and the endless treadmill of anxiety of how we appear. To dismiss us would be a loss. Under this mud of anonymity lies a secret that permits all things to stand out and all things are magnificent, delightful, intoxicating. - Shaykh Ebrahim Schuitema[+] Please visit MysticSaint.Info For full multimedia experience and enjoy special music. Blessings, Sadiq
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islamicate
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The Dolphin and the Monkey and NYPD's Disappointing Tactics
27 Jan 2012 | 12:29 pmWe need to hold the NYPD accountable for their misdeeds. Sarah's piece is spot on.Sarah Sayeed, Ph.D.: The Dolphin and the Monkey and NYPD's Disappointing Tactics. Aesop's story might be a good one to teach at New York Police Department trainings, instead of infecting unsuspecting officers with a pernicious fear of Islam and Muslims. The active participation of Police Commissioner Kelly and his Public Affairs Officer Paul Browne in the creation and promotion of an anti-Muslim film has led Muslim New Yorkers to deep disappointment, skepticism and mistrust. They are now calling for the two to… -
Civic Pride Makes People Happier Than Ethnic Pride - News - GOOD
27 Jan 2012 | 11:04 amCivic Pride Makes People Happier Than Ethnic Pride - News - GOOD. Patriotism looks different depending on how you spin it. It can create a fascist, racist monster, or it can be a symbol of justice and independence. The difference, according to a new global study published in Psychological Science, is the source of the pride in question. The study found that people who love their country for its laws and institutions, rather than its lineage, are happier. -
The big tent: Jews, Muslims, Christians celebrate spirituality in a shared sacred space | Cover Story | Jewish Journal
26 Jan 2012 | 9:15 amThe big tent: Jews, Muslims, Christians celebrate spirituality in a shared sacred space | Cover Story | Jewish Journal. Whirling Dervishes, an elaborate feast and a lecture by a prominent Muslim scholar – Musallah Tauhid’s joyous celebration of its move to a new home in 2008 heralded good times ahead for the Sufi Muslim worship group. As a friendly gesture, the group invited its new neighbors for the occasion: members of both Village Lutheran Church, whose Brentwood facility Musallah Tauhid would now be sharing, and Ahavat Torah, a small Jewish congregation that also holds its services… -
Anti-Loons of 2011: Profiles in Courage | loonwatch.com
25 Jan 2012 | 9:17 amDoesn't matter if it's late, it's a great list of people, including my friend, Haroon Moghul. Anti-Loons of 2011: Profiles in Courage | loonwatch.com. That time where we recount and reflect upon the events and happenings of the past year is upon us. A review of 2011 is due in short order, but before we post that piece we will consider the anti-Loons of the year. This time around it would only be fair to allow loonwatchers to vote for the Anti-Loon of the Year. As we can’t create a poll, we present those we found deserving of such a consideration. -
Welcome to ShaykhaFest
24 Jan 2012 | 2:23 pmWelcome to ShaykhaFest. Did you know that some of the greatest Islamic scholars such as Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Imam Ibn al-Jawzi, Shaykh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, Imam al-Dhahabi, Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali and many other great Imams and scholars had female teachers? Even though it is not widely known, thousands of female scholars have enriched the Islamic tradition through out history. Shaykha Fest is intended to honor the legacy of female Islamic scholarship and draw attention to contemporary female scholars. At Shaykha Fest we will embark on an exciting journey into the past…
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Muslim Thought
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Some questions about Islamic belief?
28 Jan 2012 | 6:15 amSome questions about Islamic belief? How was the world created according to Islamic belief? Does belief solve the problem of sin and suffering, how to live in harmony with others? Best answer: Answer by TGod is creator. They believe ... Read moreThe Original Post is Located Here: Some questions about Islamic belief? Related posts: Examples Of Thought Provoking Questions From Islamic History? Muslim Questions What is the name of the belief in the Islamic religion called that speaks of this……..? -
after i read what others wrote about their belief thank ALLAH i am muslim !?
27 Jan 2012 | 12:39 pmafter i read what others wrote about their belief thank ALLAH i am muslim !? [49:17] They deem it to be a favour to you that they have submitted. Say: ‘Do not deem your submission to be a favour to ... Read moreThe Original Post is Located Here: after i read what others wrote about their belief thank ALLAH i am muslim !? Related posts: OK, if God peered out of the sky and said he was Allah, and the Muslim belief is true, would you convert? Beauties of Islam-The Belief of a Muslim about Allah The Everything Understanding Islam Book: A Complete and Easy to Read Guide to Muslim Beliefs,… -
The Deen Show: The Top 5 reasons why Jesus is not the begotten son of God
26 Jan 2012 | 2:39 pmDoes God Beget? Is Jesus the Begotten Son Of God? Can God have a son? Is the trinity biblical? Dr. Laurence Brown is our guest on today’s show; A product of Christian-American ancestry dating back to the year 1677, up ... Read moreThe Original Post is Located Here: The Deen Show: The Top 5 reasons why Jesus is not the begotten son of God Related posts: Are Muslim kids who practice Islam Radical The Deen show The John Ankerberg Show: The Case for Jesus’ Resurrection: Questions Surrounding the Resurrection Islamic System – Deen -
Q&A: why is that cristian belief and muslim’s belief are about the same?
25 Jan 2012 | 4:40 pmwhy is that cristian belief and muslim’s belief are about the same? why can’t penguins fly? Best answer: Answer by Ready blueWho said they are? If they were ‘about the same then they would 9/10 agree with who Jesus ... Read moreThe Original Post is Located Here: Q&A: why is that cristian belief and muslim’s belief are about the same? Related posts: Why are most Muslims selective about their faith when it comes to Islamic belief? What are the ramifications of the Muslim belief that kafirs (non-muslims) are beneath them? Belief of the Muslims- Islamic Chant -
From Atheism to Belief: A Journey to Islam in North America by Dr. Jeffrey Lang (Part 13/17,Q&A1)
25 Jan 2012 | 4:44 amFrom Atheism to Belief: A Journey to Islam in North America. This was the topic of a lecture delivered by Dr. Jeffrey Lang at McGill University on October 27, 2007. Dr. Jeffrey Lang was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1954. ... Read moreThe Original Post is Located Here: From Atheism to Belief: A Journey to Islam in North America by Dr. Jeffrey Lang (Part 13/17,Q&A1) Related posts: From Atheism to Belief: A Journey to Islam in North America by Dr. Jeffrey Lang (Part 10/17) From Atheism to Belief: A Journey to Islam in North America by Dr. Jeffrey Lang (Part 2/17) From Atheism to…
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Laila Lalami
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Mental Health Break
17 Jan 2012 | 10:30 amI’ve just returned from Death Valley, where I went to decompress a bit after a particularly rough writing week. There’s something about the landscape there that resonates with me—it’s topographically diverse and incredibly peaceful. If you stand still for a moment, you can hear complete silence. Here is a picture of Titus Canyon early in the morning. Farther down the trail in Titus Canyon: Then there are the salt flats at Badwater Basin: A cottonwood tree in Grapevine Canyon: Ubehebe Crater: And, lastly, Mustard Canyon: Share/Bookmark -
Quotable: Junot Díaz
10 Jan 2012 | 10:30 amYesterday was the start of the winter quarter at UC, and, as a warm-up exercise for my first class, I used this writing prompt: “an affair has been discovered.” The point is to get students to think about who is telling the story (the cheater? the cheated-upon, the cheated-with?), the details of the discovery (how was the affair revealed? a nosey neighbor? a jealous husband?), the purpose of the story (is it a simple confession? a plea for forgiveness? a justification? a piece of gossip one character shares with another?), and its intended recipient (a priest? a divorce lawyer? -
On Sexual Harassment
6 Jan 2012 | 1:00 pmIt’s strange how a memory comes back to haunt you when you least expect it. Last month, I heard about the death of an independence activist and labor-rights advocate in Morocco, and, while everyone I knew was mourning his passing and praising his legacy, I could only think about my encounter with him in an office in Casablanca, years ago. At the time, I was working as a correspondent for a local newspaper and I had gone into the office to do some paperwork. I ran into a friend and we struck up a conversation; this famous man joined us, and eventually my friend left and I was left alone… -
Refund UC
27 Nov 2011 | 7:00 pmThe last few weeks have been difficult but also instructive for me, both as an educator and as a citizen. I’m a professor at the University of California—the best public university system in the nation— and have of course been following news of its funding crisis. I’ve written about it here and here, and for The Nation here. Throughout all this, I’ve wanted to believe that, though we had different ideas and opinions, the administration, the faculty, the staff, and the students essentially had a common goal: refunding the university, so that it can fulfill its… -
Dichotomy
20 Nov 2011 | 1:00 pmThere is a passage in John Cheever’s “Goodbye, My Brother” that has always haunted me. (The story, which originally appeared in The New Yorker, can be found in The Stories of John Cheever. It’s narrated by a middle-aged high school teacher, an optimistic and unreflecting man. The setting is a family home on the shore of a Massachusetts island, where the narrator’s mother and siblings get together for a summer holiday. Three of the siblings get along reasonably well, but the fourth, Lawrence, is disliked by everyone because of his pessimism. The siblings refer to…
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Tariq Nelson - Blog
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sugar daddy review
17 Jan 2012 | 1:06 pmSugarDaddie.com is one of the best sugar daddy sites you want to choose when looking for a quality dating site. Off the bat, when arriving to the website, you see a clean and cut home page with no meaningless advertisements or links to external pages. As you can find in this SugarDaddie.com review, it is one that could compete with other top-notch dating websites like eHarmony and Match.com. This website isn’t exactly like those two previous ones I had mentioned. It’s more aimed towards Attractive, Wealthy, and Desirable people. The screening process is very selective and it seems… -
Best Diving Sites
10 Jan 2012 | 4:57 amFushi Kandu in Maldives is one of the best diving sites. This is a spectacular Maldives scuba diving site spanning a one kilometer wide channel containing five separate thilas. The thilas are mainly very narrow and long, initiating from a sandy bottom of around 20m – 25m. Once inside the main channel, the depth drops to over 30 meters, with the outside ledge decreasing steeply from 30 meters. These thilas attract many schools of fish to Fushi Kandu dive site, along with moray eels, eagle rays and even sharks. The main location to spot sharks would be along the outside drop off, whereas… -
Best Dive Sites in the World
7 Jan 2012 | 6:54 amThis picturesque dive location, one of the best dive sites in the world contains a plethora of marine life, such as batfish, napoleon, oriental sweetlips, snapper fish and others. The aquatic landscape is similarly on par, featuring majestic caves and brilliant coral outcrops. Dolphin Corner is also a protruding reef at Filitheyo Kandu dive site, shaped like a finger reaching into the channel from the southern side. Experts advise divers to initiate their expedition on the steeper outside reef and drift towards the corner where the reef plateau flattens out. Along the route you can spot… -
Best Dive Sites
4 Jan 2012 | 5:52 amBroken Rock may be amongst the best dive sites. Apart from Kudarah Thila, Broken Rock is most probably one of the the most well-known dive sites in the South Ari Atoll. This Thila is literally a broken rock with a 2-metre wide canyon that splits the small Thila in two parts, from the west to east, giving the reef its name. This canyon is the main attraction on this wonderful submerged reef. Broken Rock dive site is covered in soft corals and only one diver can enter the canyon at a time. On the north side at a depth of around 25-30m, there are two big coral blocks with overhangs and beautiful… -
Dive Sites
1 Jan 2012 | 5:29 pmThe dive sites on the top of the thila is like untouched reef with stunning table corals. These layered coral formations offer plenty of protection for the Maldivian marine life such as the morays and shy reef fish. There are cleaner wrasse stations peppered all around the reef and it is not uncommon to spot large schools of fish or mantas congregating in the area. More often than not you will catch sight of black snapper fish, blue-dash fusilier, yellow-black fusilier, and aggregations of the oriental sweetlip, cruising around these depths. The rapid currents that stream through the channel…
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askMuslims.com
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Anonymous I guess you didn't read the beginnin...
27 Jan 2012 | 5:05 pmAnonymous I guess you didn't read the beginning of the article or didn't read it with open mind because the first two lines answer the question in simple and straight forward way. May I ask you which religion do you follow. -
That's when i liar changing a name and saying ...
19 Jan 2012 | 7:23 amThat's when i liar changing a name and saying things. Stop fooling yourself and if you don't agree with us let us come to your site and discuss but you are afraid to do so because you know your christian friends will find out the truth. -
The information is readily available. If you care...
18 Jan 2012 | 1:52 pmThe information is readily available. If you care to look, you will. -
Bleh...more than 5.7 billion ppl on this planet ea...
12 Jan 2012 | 3:42 amBleh...more than 5.7 billion ppl on this planet eat pork..why are they not suffering from diseases and plague?..all the chinese , americans and latinos are not suffering due to pork...i've seen doctor oppose smoking, alcohol drugs but not pork...so to claim medical reasons for not having pork is wrong..try some other reason to defend your stand..Atheist -
Even media got lost in the thick of things. Beware...
1 Jan 2012 | 7:50 pmEven media got lost in the thick of things. Beware of false information and inaccurate information in such times.
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City of Brass
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@altmuslim joins @patheos
27 Jan 2012 | 7:45 amWow! AltMuslim is joining Patheos: With the blessing and support of Shahed, the site has joined Patheos, the premiere religion news and blog site on the web, as part of its Muslim Portal. With about five million monthly unique visitors, comprehensive coverage of ten faith communities (and counting), a robust faith and family portal as well as an upcoming religion news and politics portal, Patheos is committed to a global...Read the full post here » -
Liam Neeson is (not) converting to Islam
25 Jan 2012 | 11:01 pmYes, it's true that famed Irish (and Catholic) actor Liam Neeson said the following while filming a movie in Istanbul: The Call to Prayer happens five times a day and for the first week it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thing... There are 4,000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim. However,...Read the full post here » -
#Tahrir Square on #Jan25Two in pictures
25 Jan 2012 | 3:19 pmToday is the one-year anniversary of the uprising in Egypt's Tahrir Square, the heart of the Arab world and the pulse of the Arab Spring. Thousands and thousands of people are thronging the square. Below are some images from the past 24 hours in Tahrir. I was privileged to go to Cairo this fall and see Tahrir Square for myself, and the scale of it is vast. Keep in mind that this is not a small area but a gigantic open space, and it is full of Egyptians today demonstrating that the people are...Read the full post here » -
Letter from a Birmingham Jail – Martin Luther King, Jr.
16 Jan 2012 | 7:39 amThe Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this letter while incarcerated on a charge of parading without a permit. It was in response to prominent white religious leaders of the Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Roman Catholic churches, and Reform Judaism, who were against his protest marches, fearing violence. In this letter, MLK draws upon theologians from each of the clergymen's own traditions, including the Catholic Saint Thomas Aquinas, the 20th-century Protestant theologian Paul...Read the full post here » -
Gordon Hirabayashi and the legacy of (indefensible) internment
5 Jan 2012 | 10:23 amGordon Hirabayashi died a few days ago. Mr. Hirabayashi was one of just a handful of Japanese-Americans who refused to comply with the detention order during World War II, and served time in prison for his principled stand. There are some amazing aspects to his story, not least of which that it took 50 years for him to be vindicated and...Read the full post here »
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Darvish
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Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women – A Book Review
23 Jan 2012 | 10:30 amSalaam and Greetings of Peace: Deeply touching and intimate, the 25 stories in Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women, reveal the elegance and universality of love and faith. Written by American Muslim women of all ages, races and nationalities, many of them first generation Americans struggling to bridge the cultural gap, they tell of love found and love lost, of arranged marriages that work and those that do not, of coming out and staying in the closet; the full range of human experience for women of every country and religion, and no doubt shocking for more… -
Happy 70th Birthday, Muhammed Ali – and a Lesson on Modesty
17 Jan 2012 | 8:38 amSalaam and Greetings of Peace: Happy 70th Birthday to Muhammed Ali, the greatest boxer of my generation, and also a role model for character and honor as a Muslim. In his honor, therefore, I am repeating this post from several years ago. The following true incident took place years ago, when former Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammed Ali was visited by his daughters, who arrived at his home wearing clothes that were immodest. Here is the story as told by one of his daughters: “When we arrived, the chauffer escorted my youngest sister, Laila, and me to my father’s suite. As usual, he… -
In Memorium – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
15 Jan 2012 | 11:08 pmSalaam and Greetings of Peace: Today in the United States is the National Holiday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, (which falls every year on the first Monday after his birthday, January 15, 1929). I do not have the words to do justice to his life and work, and so I will quote only two paragraphs that may help explain why he is one of this nation’s heroes. “The gospel at its best deals with the whole man, not only his soul but his body, not only his spiritual well-being, but his material well being. Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is… -
Happy 83rd Birthday, Dr. King!
14 Jan 2012 | 11:04 pmSalaam and Greetings of Peace: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Happy 83rd Birthday, Dr. King! May God bless your soul. Amen. Ya Haqq! Filed under: Books & writing, Commentary, Current Affairs, Islam, Islamic Artists, Religion, Spirituality & Religion, Sufi, Sufism, Uncategorized Tagged: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Happy 83rd Birthday Dr. King -
10 Methods of the Heavenly Dragon – Book Review!
9 Jan 2012 | 9:10 amSalaam and Greetings of Peace: A truly remarkable book, Ten Methods of the Heavenly Dragon is profound and deeply moving! This first person account of a lifelong seeker Robert Sheaffer’s apprenticeship with Shun Yuan, a gentle, Western-born Adept of the Tao and Taiji martial arts, enthralls the reader both as a teaching story and an introduction to as remarkable a man as any hero out of fiction. In the end, though I did not want it to end, I was left with a sublime sense of inevitability and peace. A truly amazing achievement! The unfolding of the 10 Methods of the Heavenly Dragon are…
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nicolecunningham.ch
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Almost got pickpocketed in the train
18 Jan 2012 | 6:56 pmToday I was in the train going from Zurich to Lausanne and I fell asleep holding my purse with a death grip (New Orleans in me), but next to me in the aisle seat I had my lunch bag (only my bento and my phone charger). I woke up in between Fribourg and Lausanne to someone slamming down in the seat next to me where my bento should have been and two other guys in the aisle. I said to him “you’re sitting on my bag” and he said “no, I put it across from you.” This train was empty, he had no reason to sit next to me when he could sit across from me. He had tried to do… -
Does anyone not yet know how awesome Pablito is?
14 Jan 2012 | 3:32 pmAfter a long four months of crying every time I left him and crying when I couldn’t see him and crying when I saw him for the first time after a few days, aka A LOT OF CRYING Pablito finally moved up to Zurich with me. For the occasion he got a nifty new carrier with a shoulder strap, so I had him close to me the whole time, so he was warm and toasty. That beast is heavy though, even with the diet, 7 kilos of cat on my shoulder was PAINFUL, especially schlepping through Piripoumesdorf. One of the things that made me wait so long is that I’m still not really settled up here. A lot… -
Some musings on kids and divorce in the Muslim community
8 Jan 2012 | 11:29 pmDivorced Muslim women get treated like damaged goods. Divorced converts get treated worse than dogs. How many of us have stories from the masjid about how, because we are now outlet mall sloppy seconds we are only good in our masajid for being married off to the ex-con, drug addict/mental case, or the dude who needs papers and doesn’t even speak English? Of course, if we say something about how unfair this all this, at best we get a “beggars can’t be choosy” remark, or at worst we get some platitudes about chaste virgins. Since the dudes are so picky with me, I am… -
Did y’all know I’m looking for a job?
1 Dec 2011 | 1:20 pmSo I moved to Zurich for a job. I don’t have that job any more. I’m still here, though. I have an apartment in Zurich and my center of interests has shifted to this part of Switzerland, so I’m not ready to hightail it back to Lausanne permanently because of one job that didn’t work out. Unless, of course, my dream job was in Lausanne. What is my profile? I’m a legal assistant with a strong background in accounting. I’m lucky that I have worked in a lot of different fields of the law for players at all levels. I’ve worked the longest in litigation and intellectual property,… -
Everyday Islamophobia
12 Nov 2011 | 3:34 amSome people buried a dead pig and some pig heads on the land of a mosque being built in Solothurn. Oh, and I forgot the 120 liters pig blood they poured on it for good measure. They justified their actions saying they were worried about the “rampant Islamization” of Switzerland. For a short English article from Swissinfo on the topic, click here. It’s a slippery slope from every day Islamophobia like “Well *we* can’t have churches in Saudi Arabia” and “Minarets are against the Swiss way of life” to burying dead pigs on mosque grounds. I’m…
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Dunner's
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Apocalypse Later, Surf Now
17 Jan 2012 | 10:00 amThis is pretty awesome, a must-watch! -
President Obama Asks to See Betty White's Long Form Birth Certificate
17 Jan 2012 | 9:20 amPresident Obama at least has a sense of humor. ;)Dear Betty,You look so fantastic and full of energy. I can't believe you're 90 years old. In fact, I don't believe it. That's why I'm writing to ask if you will be willing to produce a copy of your long form birth certificate. Thanks, and Happy Birthday, no matter how old you are. -
The Joy of Books
16 Jan 2012 | 9:16 pmLet's see your silly e-readers do this! :) -
James Balog: Time-lapse Proof of Global Warming
15 Jan 2012 | 10:00 amLet the global warming deniers refute the evidence!This first video is a TED talk by nature photographer James Balog, who has set up a project called the Extreme Ice Survey to record, through time-lapse photography, just how much (and fast) glaciers are retreating in various parts of the world.This second video is a promotional video EIS created showing how the project is being done. -
The Water
8 Jan 2012 | 9:03 amThis is a rather beautiful and peaceful video to watch of land and water in western Norway. The music is Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Enjoy!The Water from TSO Photography on Vimeo.
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Indigo Jo Blogs
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“If Rod Liddle really wants M.E., he can have mine”
27 Jan 2012 | 3:42 pmYesterday, Rod Liddle had a venomous article printed in the Sun newspaper on page 13, which suggested that he might like to become disabled so that he could claim money off the state and use disabled parking places (“you park where you want. Right in front of the cashpoint for example”) and toilets. In his opening paragraph, he said that his disability might be “nothing too serious, maybe just a bit of a bad back or one of those newly invented illnesses which make you a bit peaky for decades – fibromyalgia, or M.E.”. The article is no longer on the Sun’s website,… -
Holby City’s ridiculous bone marrow transplant story
25 Jan 2012 | 12:12 pmLast night BBC1’s Holby City aired a quite ridiculous storyline in which a 16-year-old girl with the skin condition Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) received a bone-marrow transplant from her sister, which is supposed to cure the condition. I had always thought EB was incurable (and if it could be cured this way, the EB charity Debra would say this on their website as there would be a great deal of interest), so I tweeted a friend who has the condition, and she told me the storyline was nonsense, that the treatment on display had killed babies with EB in the USA, and that she was refusing to… -
Minimum wage undermined by fake self-employment
23 Jan 2012 | 4:20 pmSelf-employed business opportunity? No thanks | John Harris | Comment is free | The Guardian This article exposes something I have had personal experience of in the past year, which is proper jobs (usually minimum wage jobs) being replaced by “self-employment opportunities”, in which the worker is paid directly and expected to look after his own taxes and National Insurance contributions, and commonly they are paid less than the minimum wage, which is quite legal as he is not actually an employee but a contractor. The Daily Mirror has been running a campaign, “Gizza Proper… -
PIP won’t cut the disability budget
20 Jan 2012 | 6:18 pmLast Tuesday, BBC 5 Live’s morning discussion presenter Victoria Derbyshire hosted an interview with Maria Miller, the minister responsible for disabled people in the UK, and various disability activists including Kaliya Franklin of Spartacus Report fame, and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, a former Paralympic athlete who is now a cross-bench peer (that is, a member of the House of Lords who is not a member of a party, either government or opposition). You can listen to it on YouTube here — the discussion goes on for just over 30 minutes. What stuck out for me was the bit where… -
Are Muslim women being left up on the shelf?
19 Jan 2012 | 10:57 amWhy British Muslim women struggle to find a marriage partner | Syma Mohammed | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Syma Mohammed is claiming that Muslim women find it significantly more difficult than men to find a partner, as evidenced (she says) by the disproportionate number of women to men at various Muslim marriage events in the UK. She offers a number of explanations, including the fact that Muslim men can marry “people of the book” but women can’t (they must marry Muslims), and that Muslim men are likely to be able to get a wife from “back home”, while women…
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The Laughing Muslim
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Fart Away
15 Jan 2012 | 3:15 pm -
Ramadhan
16 Oct 2011 | 9:22 am -
Hummus dance
14 Sep 2011 | 5:31 pm -
MIDDLE EASTERN RAMADAN
10 Sep 2011 | 6:17 am -
EID Mubarak
31 Aug 2011 | 8:54 pmEid Mubarak
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MasudBlog
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Support Greensville Trust in building Felicity House
15 Jan 2012 | 3:33 pmNo related posts. -
Haikus for the Hujjaj
5 Nov 2011 | 6:50 amI went on Hajj in 2007 and every year around the time of Yawm al-Arafah I have a real visceral feeling and a deep yearning to return, all the memories of my trip resurface. This year, I decided to channel to give those feelings an outlet and composed Related posts:Hajj: The Yearning Made Clear The Hajj – Departure PIC: Imam Zaid Shakir at the GPU event -
Question: Is An Islamic State Just a Form of Muslim Zionism?
2 Nov 2011 | 7:31 amAn excellent and timely answer by Dr. Khalid Blankinship. The Question: Question: Assalamu alaykum Dr. Blankinship. I was watching a lecture by you titled “The Life of the Prophet Muhammad,” and towards the end of it there was a discussion Related posts:“Did We not exalt your fame?”reflections on the name “Muhammad” The Moral Vacuum by Aftab Malik Muslim T-Shirt slogans -
Mars Chocolate Red Dot symbol in Egypt
1 Nov 2011 | 7:55 amJust saw a Facebook post about a little red dot symbol on Mars chocolate bars sold in Egypt. The post stated: "Be aware of the Red dot inside a red square symbol which shown on chocolate bars like : Bounty Chocolate bar / Mars/ sneakers ... it's sho Related posts:Bread controversy – Animal Enzymes? Coke and Pepsi Use Pork Extract? Walkers Crisp Flavouring Alcohol Confusion -
Photo: Masjid Quba, Medina.
25 Sep 2011 | 11:51 pmThis was a photo I took when I was in Medina back in 2007 when I first went on Hajj. Related posts:Masjid Nabi, Medina Review of Jewel of Medina Hajj: I’m back
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Naeem's Blog
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Obama, Imran Khan, and the Materialistic Worldview
21 Jan 2012 | 1:08 amWhen most of us hear the term Materialism we probably imagine fancy cars, expensive vacations, and credit cards maxed to the limit. Or the more philosophical amongst us will immediately think of the dictionary definition which states that reality is based only upon matter. But the materialistic outlook on life isn’t merely limited to worldly indulgences and matter-based philosophies. It’s much more insidious when the materialistic worldview seeps into our subconsious. More specifically, I’m referring to entire cause-and-effect mindset and how the entire human race has effectively… -
Moving Beyond Our Spiritual Jihad
18 Dec 2011 | 9:35 amLampost Productions recently posted an excerpt from Imam Zaid Shakir’s latest book, "Scattered Pictures-Reflections of an American Muslim“. In the excerpt*, Imam Zaid highlights the misguided ways of the “Muslim Zionists”. The term refers to those Muslims who have made the establishment of the Muslim Khilafa, by any means necessary, into their life-long goal. The term Zionist is used pejoratively as a reference to the Jews who sacrificed all their Judaic principles and values in order to create the Zionist state of Israel. So we find these Muslim Zionists casting… -
Ideal Picnic Weather in Saudi Arabia
30 Nov 2011 | 6:03 pmYou all know the perfect picnic weather, right? Bright, sunny day with a cool, gentle breeze. Not too warm, not too cold. Colorful flowers dotting the landscape with an occasional fluffy, white cloud dotting the blue sky. And if dark, gray clouds accompanied by a bitter, misty gust come rumbling across the sky, everyone packs up and goes scurrying for cover. Well, not everyone. Here in Saudi, where the scorching sun shines over the desert land for most of the year, a gloomy, dreary forecast – which most of the world despises - cheers up the locals and has them rushing out to the… -
My Girls
23 Nov 2011 | 9:46 pmMeet my two younger daughters, Ayah (left) and Sarah. One will attempt to win you over with her charm. The other will simply try to run you over. Guess which one is which. :-) -
Dangers of (H)Over-Parenting
10 Nov 2011 | 11:58 pmEver since ever, I’ve been a strong advocate of old-school parenting – where the child is taught that the world does not revolve around him. I strongly believe that a child ought to be taught to serve her elders, as a means of nipping in the bud any form of self-absorption or sense of entitlement. And I’ve always considered it acceptable to allow a child to fall down and pick himself up on his own. That’s why I absolutely love this article. I’m learning that parenting is a fine balance between expressing unconditional love for the child while simultaneously maintaining a…
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Organica
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Grain Free Cooking
22 Jan 2012 | 10:29 am -
Unconventional Muslim Marriage: 4 Case Studies
8 Jan 2012 | 10:42 pmUnconventional marriage within the Muslim American community has been a growing concern as the Muslim American narrative expands. Intercultural marriages have become somewhat of a norm within many Muslim communities around the U.S. The lines of culture have been blurred and many families have dropped traditional expectations to stay within one's culture or region from "back home." Indeed intercultural marriage is only one of many unconventional forms of marriage within the Muslim community.Unconventional marriages include a Muslim native marrying a convert Muslim or someone outside their… -
An Open Letter to Luqman
20 Dec 2011 | 10:15 pmLuqman:You might find it odd that I am writing to you on this platform in front of 100s of people from all over the world. For our purposes, may we consider this letter the equivalent of someone wanting to scream to the world they love someone. Don't worry, this isn't a letter where I profess my love and ask you to leave your husband for me. I am no home-wrecker, and I'd probably try it with Ryan Gosling first just in case. Be happy, you are second best choice! Don't worry I won't tell the world that we both adore Twilight secretly and sometimes have… -
Finding a Voice: LGBTIQ Muslims Speak (Part 1)
15 Dec 2011 | 8:08 pmIn the following page you will find 6 interviews with Muslims/potential Muslims who identify as homosexual/bisexual. Although traditionally - throughout Islamic history - Muslims with homoerotic desires and practices have had to keep a low profile or employ a "don't ask, don't tell" prerogative. Muslim homosexuals and bisexuals exist and have for centuries. There is also evidence of such relationships embedded within Islamic literature and poetry.This post will not serve as justification for arguments either way. Although for many mainstream Muslims the argument is clear… -
The Angelic Curse: Marital Rape
9 Dec 2011 | 11:08 pmA true story. Her husband went to bed, yet she lay awake trying hard not to think of what just happened. What he did - or rather didn't. She wondered how many Angels cursed her as she hugged herself feeling like she had no one but God on her side. Yet, was He? After all, she was a bad wife for rejecting her husband's sexual advances. Tonight her husband, her abuser, her so-called protector had changed the meaning of intimacy forever. It was a God-given right; it was her obligation even if she didn't consent. She was sleeping soundly when she felt his weight on her. He…
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Outlines
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Air by G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker
27 Jan 2012 | 11:19 pmContains some spoilers. I first came across Willow’s writing when she had a blog several years ago. Then some time after that, I read Cairo, her first graphic novel, with same illustrator as Air. I read Cairo in one sitting (as I love to do). The plot was brilliant, the illustrations evocative…but the dialogue, ugh! Word that serviced the plot, rather then sounding like something anyone would actually say. So I approached Air with mixed feelings (yucky cliche, there’s a reason why I’m no paid writer). The good news is that the dialogue is much more naturalistic. The… -
Check 1, 2
25 Jan 2012 | 7:29 pmBetween forgetting my blog password and then never deciding on what to write, it’s been I while. Well, Insha Allah, 2012 is the year I resurrect this place. Part of that plan is putting wp on my phone so I can update whenever. I’ll start with a little cheat. Here is a great post talking about accountability in the Feminist blogosphere and I’ve written a bit in the comments so: http://lubiddu.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/open-letter-to-jill-filopovic/ I find it amusing (sort of) that as a hijab-wearing, Muslim woman, there are many who would happily ex communicate me from the… -
Un Momento
30 Oct 2011 | 9:04 pmNine months?! I cannot believe it as been that long since writing anything here. It’s not even that I did not want to write anything, I would mean to, but then the moment would pass. Repeatedly. Alhamdulilah for everything is pretty much the unofficial motto of this blog and so it has been through this year, which has swung between highs and lows with equal vigour. But the good moments, the good memories and the joy you hold inside your head, as well as the people around you are what helps you through the bad times. Earlier this year, when I was briefly but painfully in hospital, what… -
The sunshine fills my hair and dreams hang in the air: Convert Truths Carnival
26 Jan 2011 | 8:30 pmThis is not a negative post. I am very happy that I am Muslim. Alhamdulilah. I make no apologies for that because I do not have to justify my Islam to other people, whatever shade or disposition of Muslim or Non-Muslim they are. Oh, I’ve been called a bad Muslim by plenty, but then I realised that being a Muslim is about me and Allah, hence their opinion was of as much weight as candy floss on the sun. Having been on the blogging scene for a while, I know that Muslim-related blogging can often seem monochromatic. Either Muslim life is wonderful, with prose interspersed with hadiths and… -
Protected: Don’t You Think Now Is Time We Should Be Feeling?
11 Oct 2010 | 8:09 pmThis post is password protected. You must visit the website and enter the password to continue reading.
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Sister Aishah's Islamic Journey
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Aishah's Birthday Cake ─ January 18, 2012
18 Jan 2012 | 4:21 pmJoin me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/aishahschwartz.activist [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
U.S. Activist Aishah Schwartz Supports Jan. 18 Wikipedia Blackout in Opposition to SOPA/PIPA
18 Jan 2012 | 11:18 amJoin me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/aishahschwartz.activist [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Join me in signing the petition to save the internet!
18 Jan 2012 | 1:25 amImagine a world without free knowledge!Join me in signing the petition to save the internet! Join me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/aishahschwartz.activist [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Aishah Schwartz Supports Wikipedia-EN Blackout in Protest of SOPA & PIPA
18 Jan 2012 | 12:14 amTAKE ACTION! CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR: http://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml LEARN MORE: English Wikipedia anti-SOPA... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Aishah Schwartz's Challenge to the Women of Gaza!
5 Jan 2012 | 2:48 pmThis is an internal awareness campaign that does not require international intervention. The women of Gaza can fix this simply by uniting. Click on image to view full size. Join me on... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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tabsir.net
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Azan in a Cathedral
27 Jan 2012 | 3:42 amThere is a beautiful recording on Youtube of an azan given at an interfaith gathering at a cathedral by Algerian Ben Youcef -
Revolution in Their Eyes: Activist Photography from Yemen’s Revolution
26 Jan 2012 | 5:43 amRevolution in Their Eyes: Activist Photography from Yemen’s Revolution - Opening Friday, January 27, 2012, 6.30 to 8.30 pm The Exhibition The images in this show are the work of several activist-photographers. They provide a glimpse of the reality—both brutal and beautiful—of daily life inside Change Square, the heart of the revolution in Yemen’s capital, San’a. The Revolution Since February 2011, hundreds of thousands of citizens from every walk of life have taken to the streets of Yemen’s cities and towns to demand the ouster of President ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Saleh’s regime,… -
Vienna Conference on History and Anthropology
25 Jan 2012 | 12:42 am -
In Tahrir Square in your Living Room
24 Jan 2012 | 8:36 am -
Adeni Film
23 Jan 2012 | 2:18 amA new film called Bughda, said to be the first in Adeni dialect, has recently been released. This is produced by the Adeni filmmakers at Jadaria. The trailer is on Youtube.
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Knocking From Inside
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Cold weather
27 Jan 2012 | 4:43 pmIt ain't over.Last year the first camellias in our yard broke bud in December; right at solstice, which fell on the 23d. This year, not a sign of red yet.Collection available! Knocking from Inside -
At Latourelle Falls
27 Jan 2012 | 10:26 amthe plunge pool's thunder is blinding.The whiteness of the foamrings in my ears. The cold sprayis metal in my mouth, cleansmell of fir foresttingles my skin. Every windowof my body opens wideand the world dancesthrough them all. What I hearI see. What I feel, I taste.My body is all windowsand all are open.My body is windowswithout glasswithout framesthe world winds through them like a silver ribbonthrough needle's eyesthrough opennesswithout frameswindows without glassopenCollection available! Knocking from Inside -
Relative Motion
26 Jan 2012 | 2:50 pmThe Red Queen thinksyou can keep up with the world. She thinksif you run fast enough, it's justlike standing still.Breath is lifeonly when in motion. Motionis relative. Hold your breathtoo long, and die. Stay in one placetoo long-- The world lives onlywhen changing.The secret is to invite, not commandto be open, not to clutchto breathe, not hold breath.Let the world turn.Collection available! Knocking from Inside -
Acacias
24 Jan 2012 | 8:22 pmRain, rain, rain; rain soaks the soil, runs down the streets, overflows the gutters. Rain soaks through my skin and saturates my tissues. I've grown soft and water-plump as the worms that crawl the sidewalks, flooded out of their dark homes.Men dying in the desert hallucinate from thirst; I hallucinate from water-intoxication. I see acacia branches scribbling thorny blackness against the swift furious dawn. There is no dew. In an hour, the dust will be hot enough to smell and the resting lions will search for shade. The ground will burn my feet under the leafless trees.Collection available! -
Sacred and Profane
23 Jan 2012 | 5:58 pmThese lines in sand, these rings of sidewalk chalksupposed to set off sacred and profane,separate the holy? I maintainthat all such boundaries are only talk.All things are God's: bright bird and rotting mold, towering pine, dull dirt and shining sea, carrion maggot and glittering gold. My tender flesh is kin to solid stone.The sisters of the sap in every treeare blood and breath that flow through living bone.Come down the beach and read our history wherea broken wave reshapes the rocky land.Salt water merges into golden sandand at the edge, a popeyed fish gulps air.Collection available!
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Yarns Of My Life
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Watching Little House On The Prairie. Am I a dork or what lol
26 Jan 2012 | 7:02 pm -
Black & White Scarf Set
22 Jan 2012 | 5:49 amA scarf set I made for my friend, that's her modeling the arm warmers :D -
Off to the post office. yippy, can't you just feel my enthusiasm lol, but it must be done, these things don't mail themselves lol. But then off to the yarn shop to buy yarn I really don't need lol, well I kind of do, making scarf sets for my inlaws and the colors they want I don't have. So yes I NEED to go buy yarn for them, not to mention how wonderful it feels to shop and buy new yarn, only my fellow crafters may understand this lol. I need yarn therapy lol :D :D Happy Happy Joy Joy :D
17 Jan 2012 | 12:25 pm -
Christians flee attacks in Nigeria
7 Jan 2012 | 11:12 amThis is so sad and no the Islam I know. It's not what our Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) taught us and not what the Quran teaches us. I don't know how they can do these things, especially to our fellow brothers and sisters of the book(Christians) and say this is Islam, it's not, it's far from it, Makes me so sick to my stomach, subhanAllah. Ya Allah!!!! -
Squirrels were doing the nasty on my balcony lol, and right up against the door. The kids are like mom what are they doing... I said they were playing, I mean how do I explain squirrel love?
29 Dec 2011 | 3:58 pm
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AMEinfo.com Latest News
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Etihad Airways launches a new reciprocal codeshare agreement with Air Seychelles
28 Jan 2012 | 7:30 amEtihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, launched a new reciprocal codeshare agreement with Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of the Seychelles. -
New wastewater project in Kuwait officially launched
28 Jan 2012 | 6:54 amThe Partnerships Technical Bureau (PTB) in Kuwait has officially launched the Umm Al Hayman Wastewater Project, issuing a request for expressions of interest from the private sector for the development of a new waste water treatment plant. -
The Saudi Metal Artwork company expands its operations through launching a new group of factories in Bahra
28 Jan 2012 | 6:51 amThe Saudi Metal Artwork Company (MASCO), a subsidiary of Roots Group Arabia, has announced the launch of its new group of factories in Bahra - the westernregion. Through this business development step, the company aims for further business expansion in the region and increasing its market share by 30% to meet the Saudimarket's demand and growth. -
Global Village breaks a new record in visitors number
28 Jan 2012 | 6:42 amGlobal Village, a member of TECOM Investments and the first family entertainment destination in the Middle East witnessed a new record on Friday with the arrival of more than 120 thousand visitors since two o'clock noon especially from neighboring Gulf states, and who thought that the Global Village opens since early morning, where large numbers of delegations gathered at all gates, where the use of an additional number of organizers and staff was needed to regulate the entry of visitors. -
Middle East Telecommunications Company and Ciena launch new standards in telecommunication solutions
28 Jan 2012 | 6:27 amMETCO and Ciena have announced that an advanced and unprecedented workshop in the field of telecommunications was held in Kuwait on the 9th and 10th of January, 2012.
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Jahane Rumi
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Marta Franceschini: H Nizamuddin Auliya’s devotee
25 Jan 2012 | 5:30 amThis message cheered me up. Amazing that some of us have never met yet there is a bond we share – the calm space in Delhi where a 13th century mystic is buried. I am posting Marta’s letter with her permission below: Hi Raza Rumi, I wonder if you remember me. Some years back I [...] -
‘Greater rights’ abuses will ensue unless Pakistan’s elected institutions assert themselves’
24 Jan 2012 | 3:34 amAn interview of – Ali Dayan Hasan (Director, Human Rights Watch) taken by me, published in TFT December 30 – January 05, 2012 – Vol. XXIII, No. 46 Q. HRW has consistently commented on civil-military relations in Pakistan. Why is this aspect of Pakistan’s politics so important for human rights? Since 2008, Pakistan has made yet another [...] -
“Living in today’s Pakistan” – an interview for WPKN
23 Jan 2012 | 3:33 amFrom Tidings Blog featuring my interview which was broadcast on WPKN radio last year. Yes I have been a little lazy in posting all the stuff here. Hazel Kahan has summarised some of the key points below and but those who can put up with my rants should click here - In our wide-ranging interview, Raza spoke eloquently and [...] -
A universe with four moons
20 Jan 2012 | 2:00 amBy Raza Rumi Neelam Ahmad Basheer is best known as a short story writer with a new voice in Urdu fiction. She has been writing all her life but established herself after she moved back to Pakistan from the United States during the 1980s. She spent a “lifetime” in the US married to a doctor [...] -
Coups are not easy anymore
19 Jan 2012 | 3:34 amBy Raza Rumi: A situationer that was written last week.. Published: January 12, 2012 If there is one phrase that would summarise the events of Wednesday it would be ‘media frenzy’ caused by the new players in Pakistani politics: The ubiquitous news channels, hyper-imaginative TV anchors and the social media. By early evening, rumours of [...]
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MuslimMatters.org
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Nouman Ali Khan | Shield of Honor
26 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pmBy IlmNotes Click here to view the embedded video. Please note this transcript has been edited for readability purposes. The raw and unedited transcript can be downloaded here. I wanted to dedicate this one session to what I feel is one of the most pressing issues in the lives of Muslim youth and one that I have come to experience myself personally at one point in my life. As I’ve had the opportunity to travel more recently and interact with many young people across the country, I’m noticing it’s not a problem localized to one community or limited to one specific kind of person,… -
Haleh Banani | Where Psychology Meets Islam | Giving Advice Part 1
26 Jan 2012 | 9:30 amHaleh Banani will help you to heal, grow and prosper by combining the principles of psychology with the light of the Qurʾān and Sunnah. Fortnightly, we will be featuring an episode from her weekly TV program that she hosts on Al-Fajr called “With Haleh.” Get ready to be EMPOWERED! Click here to see all of Haleh’s videos on MM Haleh is now on Facebook & Twitter. Be sure to follow her! Today’s Episode: Giving Advice Part 1/2 Learn critical methodology in giving advice such as: building rapport, asking questions, taking your time and making du‘ā’. Click… -
Masjid Parking Syndrome
24 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pmDr. O blogs at Muslim Medicine, a site that strives to serve only the freshest grade-A certified abiah ḥalāl comedy. Contact your local ḥalāl butcher for more details.. Back in the olden days, it was a much simpler time. Every Friday morning would be a bright and wondrous journey to the local masjid for Muslims, all of whom would strap on their worn-out footwear and proudly travel by foot – and with every step they’d take, such a profound blessing would be levied upon them. As communities grew and expanded outward, Muslims found themselves too far from the masjid to… -
Islamic Art Feature: Pick of the Month, 1/12
21 Jan 2012 | 9:05 amWelcome to the another edition of MuslimMatters.org’s regular Islamic Art feature. If you want to see your work on MM, then either email us your images to art[@]muslimmatters[.]org or submit them to our Flickr group. Click on the images below to view the original. Help, by LamZity Blessings from Above, By Knahadeem Prayer at Dawn, by Muhammad Rehan. The pleasure in the obedience of Allah is greater than the pleasure in his disobedience. Visit the MuslimMatters Flickr group to view the other entries… — Note: all the images presented in our Islamic Art feature are copyrighted to the… -
Abdul Nasir Jangda | Salah in Focus
19 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pmLecture by Abdul Nasir Jangda | Transcribed by Sameera [The following is the video and transcript of Shaykh Abdul Nasir's lecture "Salah in Focus." The transcript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity.] The title of the lecture is ṣalāh in focus – creating some focus in regards to ṣalāh. Let’s go back to a time in the history of our ummah when the focus of ṣalāh was solidified. The most important period in our history is the life of the Prophet . To understand the focus ṣalāh has in our dīn (religion) and in the life of the…
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Talk Islam
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In response to the story that the NYPD…
27 Jan 2012 | 7:59 amIn response to the story that the NYPD screened “The Third Jihad” to over a thousand police offers, @ICNA is calling for the resignation of the police commissioner. This post: "In response to the story that the NYPD…" was originally posted at Talk Islam - a crescent waxing eloquent. The RSS feed may not be used at other sites without permission. You can subscribe to this RSS feed for Talk Islam at http://talkislam.info/feed/ Content at this blog is licensed by Aziz Poonawalla under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. -
Muqtedar Khan talks about Islamophobia and US Presidential…
27 Jan 2012 | 7:54 amMuqtedar Khan talks about Islamophobia and US Presidential elections: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKkoj5AU4Rw This post: "Muqtedar Khan talks about Islamophobia and US Presidential…" was originally posted at Talk Islam - a crescent waxing eloquent. The RSS feed may not be used at other sites without permission. You can subscribe to this RSS feed for Talk Islam at http://talkislam.info/feed/ Content at this blog is licensed by Aziz Poonawalla under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. -
Call for papers South Asia by the…
27 Jan 2012 | 7:53 amCall for papers: “South Asia by the Bay” conference at Stanford, May 9-12 2012. See http://southasia.stanford.edu/ for more information! This post: "Call for papers South Asia by the…" was originally posted at Talk Islam - a crescent waxing eloquent. The RSS feed may not be used at other sites without permission. You can subscribe to this RSS feed for Talk Islam at http://talkislam.info/feed/ Content at this blog is licensed by Aziz Poonawalla under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. -
@altmuslim has joined @patheos with Dilshad Ali as…
27 Jan 2012 | 7:48 am@altmuslim has joined @patheos, with Dilshad Ali as Editor in Chief! great news: http://blog.beliefnet.com/cityofbrass/2012/01/altmuslim-joins-patheos.html This post: "@altmuslim has joined @patheos with Dilshad Ali as…" was originally posted at Talk Islam - a crescent waxing eloquent. The RSS feed may not be used at other sites without permission. You can subscribe to this RSS feed for Talk Islam at http://talkislam.info/feed/ Content at this blog is licensed by Aziz Poonawalla under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. -
Liam Neeson isn’t a cryptomuslim but Jack Sparrow…
25 Jan 2012 | 11:02 pmLiam Neeson isn’t a cryptomuslim – but Jack Sparrow, on the other hand… http://blog.beliefnet.com/cityofbrass/2012/01/liam-neeson-is-not-converting-to-islam.html This post: "Liam Neeson isn’t a cryptomuslim but Jack Sparrow…" was originally posted at Talk Islam - a crescent waxing eloquent. The RSS feed may not be used at other sites without permission. You can subscribe to this RSS feed for Talk Islam at http://talkislam.info/feed/ Content at this blog is licensed by Aziz Poonawalla under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0…
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ArabCrunch
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ArabCrunch Team Member Received Death and Rape Threats
5 Jan 2012 | 4:35 pmOne of ArabCrunch team members received verbal death and rape threats against him and other team members. The threats came in light of ArabCrunch posting parts of CIA, Zionists and their Arab secret police allies conspiracy against ArabCrunch and free press. The people who delivered the threats are members of certain Arab intelligence agency. One of the conversations was recorded but then wiped out. Some suspicious people would accuse us of being mentally ill, delusional and crazy. But there is an evidence of such threats against ArabCrunch and its founder “Gaith Saqer” via a… -
Saudi Hacker Post Personal Information of 400,000 Israelis
3 Jan 2012 | 11:55 amSaudi Hacker claiming to be a member of hacking group named GroupXP claimed to post personal information of 400,000 Israelis after hacking into an “Israeli” sports site One.co.il. The hacker said the information including credit card details, personal addresses, names, phone numbers and ID numbers of individuals listed on the website. According to Israeli newspaper Haaretsz, Israeli credit card companies said Monday that the list is repetitive and only includes 14,000 Israelis. The website on Monday were redirected to a page on pastebay.com, where a message by a hacker who… -
ArabCrunch Announces Weal Ghonim, Anonymous Hacker Group and Bradley Manning As Person of the Year 2011
25 Dec 2011 | 3:47 pmArabCrunch World’s only independent and most popular English tech news site focused on Arab tech, startups and social media has announced its selection of the person of the year 2011. Starting 2010, each December, ArabCrunch selects Person of the Year featuring and profiling a person, group, idea, place, or machine that has done the most to influence the events of the year in technology, internet, entrepreneurship or in using technology. Last year we selected Julian Assang founder of Wikileaks, to celebrate the distinguished efforts by the Wikileaks in pushing transparency worldwide and… -
Facebook and Yahoo Using Google’s Adwords to Advertise in the Arab world
25 Dec 2011 | 2:48 pmFacebook is going away from its traditional zero cost marketing efforts to boost membership to its social network and counter its upcoming rival Google+. Historically Facebook relayed on viral marketing to push current members to invite their friends. But recently several Facebook ads has been popping in the Arab world at Google’s AdWords on its partnership program with third party websites “Adsense.” for example one facebook ad, titled: “chat with friends Facebook: lookup for your friends on Facebook and chat with them signup for Facebook today. The text ad link leads… -
Details of Obama’s Programs To Support Entrepreneurship & Innovation in the Muslim World – 2010
19 Dec 2011 | 10:02 amIn his “famous” Cairo speech in 2010, US president Obama made a promise for a new beginning with Muslims. While many observers call it a new conspiracy or decoy under the banner of “help,” others call it a genuine one for a new beginning. Among the pillars of his promise is to help foster entrepreneurship and tech innovation in the Muslim world. We had contacted the US embassy in Amman, to get some details of the plans programs and partnerships and today we are publishing them unedited the way they were sent. Though this plan and programs date back to mid of 2010, they…
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Inside Islam
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The Future of Egypt
27 Jan 2012 | 5:32 pmEgyptian Women display their inked fingers after voting at a Cairo polling station. Image: Bela Szandelszky/AP/Press Association Images Our recent Inside Islam radio show with Oxford University Professor Tariq Ramadan was a good history lesson for me. Ramadan talked about how both the western media and many of Egypt’s politicians are missing the boat: the role of Islam in future structures of Egyptian government is a relevant and important question, but there are much more pressing issues that need to be discussed. The western media has been especially interested in highlighting the… -
Important Figures: Fatima Al-Zahra
25 Jan 2012 | 6:08 pmFatima Al-Zahra in Arabic Many Muslims choose to name their daughters Fatima after the youngest daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. Fatima is revered by all Muslims because she was very close to the Prophet. Moreover, she is the only one of his children to give him descendants. Fatima is most often referred to as Fatima Al-Zahra (the Resplendent One) and is the focus of this post, the seventh in a series on important men and women in Islam’s history. Fatima was the fourth daughter of Khadijah and the Prophet Muhammad. Most sources agree that she was born around 605 C.E. Fatima grew up at… -
Inside Islam Radio Show: Tariq Ramadan on the Muslim Brotherhood
25 Jan 2012 | 10:47 amSaad al-Katatni, member of the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, and newly elected head of the Egyptian Parliament Photo: AP Today at 3 PM CST (GMT+4), Jean will speak with Tariq Ramadan about the Muslim Brotherhood, and what its near control of the Egyptian Parliament means for Egyptian society. Ramadan, a Swiss academic, poet, and writer, holds a unique position, as he is the grandson of the founder of the Brotherhood, and also a harsh critic of many Islamic interpretations and notionally Islamic governments. As tens of thousands gather in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to commemorate… -
Can Someone “Convert” to Islam?
24 Jan 2012 | 3:08 pmBritish professor, artist, and barber, Faisal Abdu'Allah is a revert to Islam. Photo: triennial.ee In past posts, Reem and I have discussed men and women who have embraced Islam later on in their lives. As I mentioned in a recent piece, by some estimates, as many as one fourth of all Muslim Americans identify as Muslims not by birth. This awkward word arrangement, “Muslims not by birth” is usually shortened to “convert,” however not everyone agrees. Others prefer to use the word “revert.” Depending on whom you ask and what you’re looking to find… -
Important Figures: Sumayyah bint Khayyat
23 Jan 2012 | 12:05 pmWomen have played an important role in the history of Islam from its beginnings. One woman who is well known by Muslims but does not always receive that much attention is Sumayyah bint Khayyat. Sumayyah was the first martyr of Islam and will be the focus of this post, the sixth in a series on important figures. There is little known about Sumayyah before she became Muslim other than that she was a slave. She then married Yasir ibn Amir and they had a son, Ammar. All three were among the earliest converts to Islam. Yasir, like Sumayyah, was also killed. Ammar went on to be one of the…
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Indian American Muslim Council
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Narendra Modi’s fast in Godhra an exercise in political chicanery, says Indian American group
26 Jan 2012 | 8:15 pmCategories: Press releaseTags: Gujarat riots, Modi's connivance in mass pogrom, Modi's Fast, Narendra Modi, Shabnam Hashmi, social activistsThursday, January 26th, 2012 Indian American Muslim Council (http://www.iamc.com) an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos has decried Mr. Narendra Modi’s attempts to project himself as a champion of peace and harmony, while being complicit in the mass murder and displacement of thousands during the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, and engaging [...]( -
IAMC President Shaheen Khateeb Republic Day Message.
25 Jan 2012 | 2:58 pmCategories: Press releaseTags: Constitution, India, Republic Day, Republic Day of India, Social IssuesAssalam Alaikum. Peace be upon you. It gives me immense pleasure to extend my warmest greetings to you on the occasion of the 63rd Republic Day of India. For over 6 decades, India has been a democratic Republic. As Indian Americans, we are truly proud of this accomplishment. While our freedom struggle continues to inspire [...](Read more...) -
IAMC Weekly News Roundup – January 23rd, 2012
23 Jan 2012 | 10:00 pmCategories: News DigestTags: Advani, Babri Masjid, BSF, Dalit gangrape, Dowr, Dowry, Jaipur Literature Festival, Lokayukta, Narendra Modi, NRHM scam, Sadbhavana, Salman RushdieIn this issue of IAMC News Roundup News Headlines Narendra Modi fails to evoke ‘sadbhavana’ in Godhra Gujarat HC indicts ‘spiteful’ Modi, upholds governor’s lokayukta Jaipur Literature Festival: Banned writers not heroes, hurt Muslims, says Chetan Bhagat Final hearing on conspiracy charge against Advani in Babri case on March 27 Harassment of a Bihar family [...](Read more...) -
IAMC Weekly News Roundup – January 16th, 2012
16 Jan 2012 | 10:20 pmCategories: News DigestTags: Amit Shah, Batla House Encounter, Gujarat, IAMC News Roundup, Lokpal, Mecca Masjid, Narendra Modi, Rushdie, Sanjiv BhattIn this issue of IAMC News Roundup News Headlines Gujarat CM, HM culpable in 2002 riots: Ex-DGP Amid bouts of amnesia, Zadaphia puts Modi in dock CBI grills Amit Shah for 8 hrs in Tulsi case Justice eludes victims falsely arrested in Mecca Masjid blast case Batla House encounter returns to haunt Congress Surya Namaskar [...](Read more...) -
IAMC-NJ invites for India’s Republic Day Celebration 2012 on Jan 29th.
16 Jan 2012 | 4:50 pmCategories: New JerseyTags: Democracy, India, New Jersey Chapter, Republic DayIndian American Muslim Council – New Jersey Chapter invites you and your family to join us for an exciting India Republic Day 2012 Celebrations Date : Sunday January 29th 2012 Time : 11 am – 3 pm Location : Elk Lodge, 128 Baldwin Ave, Hasbrouk Heights, NJ. Celebrating Republic Day!!! The Constitution of India came [...](
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TwoCircles.net - Muslim World News
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France to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in 2013
28 Jan 2012 | 3:20 amBy IANS, Paris: France plans to withdraw its military contingent from Afghanistan in 2013, French President Nicholas Sarkozy has said. "We have decided in a common accord with President Karzai to ask NATO to consider a total handing of NATO combat missions to the Afghan army over the course of 2013," Sarkozy told reporters here Friday at a joint news conference with his Afghan counterpart. The date is one year ahead of US schedule of total troop withdrawal for France, the fourth-largest contributor of troops in Afghanistan. France said it suspends combat support and training of Afghan troops… -
Maldives learns from Indian democracy: President Nasheed
28 Jan 2012 | 3:18 amBy IANS, Male: Maldives has learnt its "lessons from the Indian experience", said President Mohamed Nasheed as the Indian envoy here described the country as "perhaps one of India's closest partners". President Nasheed said his country would "continue to get aspirations and lessons from the Indian experience". He said consolidation of democracy, including establishing a rule of law and an independent judiciary, is "our biggest and most important project". Addressing a gathering, the president lauded the Indian "people, its government and its institutions for the very necessary and good… -
Pakistan mulls panel to probe fake drugs deaths
28 Jan 2012 | 2:07 amBy IANS, Islamabad: Pakistan may set up a judicial panel to probe over 100 deaths due to spurious drugs in its Punjab province. Interior Minister Rehman Malik Friday hinted at setting up the judicial commission to probe the spurious drugs case, which claimed lives of around 104 people in Punjab. "I will discuss the matter with the top leadership and suggest to set up a judicial commission to bring the real culprits to task. I will recommend to include a representative of media as member in the commission," Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Malik as saying. He said that directives have been… -
Iran seeks to halt EU oil exports
28 Jan 2012 | 1:54 amBy IANS, Tehran: Iran's parliament is to discuss a bill Sunday that seeks to halt its oil exports to the European Union (EU). The bill calls for a ban of oil exports to the EU as early as next week, Hossein Ebrahimi, deputy head of the Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said. The development comes after the Eropean Union Monday announced to embargo Iran's oil. The embargo will come into force July 1. Ebrahimi has called the sanctions a "psychological war", Xinhua quoted the Press TV as saying Friday. Tehran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key… -
22 killed in Iraq car bombing
27 Jan 2012 | 9:19 amBy IANS, Baghdad: At least 22 people were killed and 35 others injured in a suicide car bombing that rocked Baghdad Friday, Xinhua reported. An interior ministry official said the attack took place near a funeral site outside a hospital in the Iraqi capital's al-Zafraniya district. The toll could rise as many of the injured were in serious condition, the official said. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
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Muslim Youth Musings
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Where is Home?
27 Jan 2012 | 7:44 amHome. Where is home? I thought of this and only then was I faced with the inevitable. “We’re going to move by the end of the year.” My father’s sudden words temporarily silenced me. I paused for a moment, unsure of what to say or how to feel. “Do I have a choice?” I asked, afraid of what I knew he was going to say. “No,” he said quietly. He sensed my pain. He’s seen this look on my face before. But he too, had no choice. I tried to comfort myself, but the recurring thought of moving over 1,400 miles away from my closest friends and family wasn’t helping. I reminisced on… -
Colors of the Wind
21 Jan 2012 | 1:15 amBecome one with the earth. Lay upon the dirt from which you came. Sinking, melting, Streaming down the crevices Cracks, slipping further. We return to the earth, don’t we? Go, return to your Lord. Creator. Guardian. Let the sun wash over your skin. Bask in the beams of mercy, A gift from your Lord Calling to you Pray Beg Bathe in the sheets of noor Filling every pore, hole, void, With longing To glide along the bridges threading from sky to earth. Crystal droplets, dancing Sloshing, swishing Flowing down the banks Bubbling, gurgling Rushing foam A gift to your parched throat. -
Servant Thievery
12 Jan 2012 | 2:37 amShe was dragged mercilessly to the balcony, clutching her black plastic trash bag close to her side as if her life depended on it. The dusty, mosquito-infested balcony was perhaps two feet wide, five feet long. She stared aimlessly into the crowded and polluted city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, a woman in her early twenties. The balcony door was slammed shut and locked. Tears rolled down her face as she tightened her scarf insecurely, her hands shaking. The little ones banged the balcony door, taunting and jeering. Earlier that day, she was expecting to depart to her home village, from where she was… -
Send Me to the Planetarium
1 Jan 2012 | 7:30 amAs a young girl, I developed an overzealous fascination with outer space. The balance of the blazing stars astounded me – especially as they contrasted against the composed and appeasing moon. When I was ten years old, my mother gifted me with a miniature telescope which I treasured whole-heartedly. I loved everything about it: its fluorescent yellow coloring and accented lines of charcoal grey, its accompanying encyclopedia containing pages and pages decorated with the images of constellations that I one day hoped to locate, but most of all that each time I would peer through the… -
The Birth of Death
31 Dec 2011 | 4:19 pmI had just dropped my sisters off at madrassah – the mosque school – and was heading home. The sun was finally calling it a day, decorating the sky with a glorious mix of orange and pink. It was raining lightly, my windscreen wipers wiping tiny specks of water away as I drove on. I watched as young children walked towards the madrassah, dressed in small abayas and thobes, carrying their bags and clutching Qur’ans tightly to their chests. For them it was another evening to understand God’s message. Another evening of embracing this beautiful gift of Islam. It made me smile.
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Muslim Gaming Community @ The Muslim Gamer
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Unearthed: Trail of Ibn Battuta to Support 18 Languages
12 Jan 2012 | 10:54 pmThe devs over at Semaphore have recently released a new trailer for their upcoming title “Unearthed: Trail of Ibn Battuta”. Unfortunately there isnt much in the way of information int he new video as it is more about the supported languages, which it has many. While there will be 18 languages int he game for subtitles, voiceovers themselves will be in Arabic and English only, we will keep you updated as more information comes through. -
Ethics and Addiction in Games – Develop Conference
12 Jan 2012 | 9:07 pmIn my first article from the Develop conference I spoke about the WMD portal and how the gaming community can get involved in the development and investment of games rather than just being a consumer. In the second article of this series Ill take a look at “Ethics and Designing Addiction in games”. Article 1: World Of Mass Development Article 2: Ethics and Designing Addiction in Games Article 3: Whales, True Fans and the Ethics of Free-to-Play Article 4: Where is the Fun: Measuring Social Interaction, Production Article 5: Convergence is Change and Change is Good! Article 6: Strategies… -
NCsoft and Paragon Studios announce City of Heroes Issue 22: Death Incarnate
12 Jan 2012 | 7:59 pmNCsoft and Paragon Studios have just announced the upcoming launch of City of Heroes Issue 22: Death Incarnate. As the first major free update to City of Heroes Freedom since launching as a successful Free-To-Play title, Issue 22: Death Incarnate introduces a massive amount of new content including new powers, costumes, VIP-member content and endgame trials. For those Heroes or Villains enthralled by death’s embrace, Paragon Studios continues their tradition of top quality content with Issue 22: Death Incarnate. City of Heroes A few features of Death Incarnate: Dark Astoria Incarnate Zone:… -
Trine 2 Is finally here! Looking Even Better Than Expected!
9 Dec 2011 | 1:14 pmFrozenbyte have finally released Trine 2 to the world! Available now on for PC/Mac (Steam) the team have released a newt trailer to go with the launch. We will have a review up after we spend the weekedn playing the game too. While the game is now available for PC and Mac the console dates are a little behind. Probably due to the time PS and MS take to validate the games and get them up on the network. December 7 – PC & Mac (Steam) December 20 – North American PSN December 21 – Xbox Live Arcade (worldwide) European PSN TBD (hopefully around the same time though!) The… -
3 New Updates For City Of Heroes
9 Dec 2011 | 12:52 pmNCsoft and Paragon Studios have just launched 3 new updates to City of Heroes. The Signature Story Arc 4, Issue 21.5 Media Blitz and the Titan Weapon Set. We have a few details and a few screenshots for you below. So the story goes, After learning Emperor Cole’s secret from Desdemona at the end of the Underground Incarnate Trail, you realize that you should broadcast this revealing information to the people of Praetoria to rally them to the cause of deposing Cole. The TPN Campus is your obvious next target. You find it reinforced by the Emperor’s elite soldiers from both the DUST…
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the a la menthe
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The Fire This Time
19 Jan 2012 | 11:06 pmThe New York Times and others report that five Moroccan men set themselves on fire this week in protest over unemployment. Modern technology did not fail to capture the moment, at once amplifying its impact and intensifying its ghoulish character. What depth of despair can drive a person to an act that can only be viewed with horror and its perpetrator with pity? Despair is too tame a word; such acts indicate a mind that is beyond despair. Can we not lift our brethren up before they conclude there is no alternative but to torch themselves? -
Marrakesh by Design
14 Jan 2012 | 3:24 pmMaryam Montague's much anticipated new book Marrakesh by Design is now available for advance orders at Amazon.com. Montague is the author of the award-winning design blog My Marrakesh, and the book promises to offer a fresh look at Morocco's combination of spare furnishings with rich patterns and vibrant colors. -
Simple Gifts
31 Dec 2011 | 10:43 amMy brother gave me a "Good Card" from the Network for Good for Christmas. I used it to make last minute donations for 2011 to two worthy causes: the High Atlas Foundation and the Tangier American Legation Museum Society. -
Counting Our Blessings
31 Dec 2011 | 10:01 amIn our culture we say one thing about the American nation: You live your heaven on Earth in the States. -
Moroccan American Law Personality of the Year
31 Dec 2011 | 9:41 amMorocco World News has recognized Washington lawyer Leila Hanafi as Moroccan American Law Personality of the Year. Hanafi, currently pursuing a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree at George Washington University Law School, has been a leader in advocating for international human rights and particularly rights for Moroccan women.

