Okay, i’m not usually one for apologistic explanations of why muslim practices are actually good for you, BUT, i did come across this fascinating new research on how intermittent fasting may improve brain health.
Updates from auseem RSS
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Andrea Useem
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Andrea Useem
Hey you bloggers and writers out there: Do you worry that writing about your faith in public in any way jeopardizes your faith? I do worry about that. I interviewed columnist and blogger Rod Dreher, who left Catholicism after reporting on the abuse scandal. He had some sobering words — that you should beware of spiritual danger when reporting on your own religion. Just wondering what you other “professional Muslims” out there think….
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Andrea Useem
My take on Jewel of Medina over at Slate: Jones is just doing what Spellberg herself writes about: how muslims have always refashioned aisha in their own image.
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Andrea Useem
Just wondering if there is any history of Muslims using hallucinogens as a way of entering mystical states…maybe some Sufis somehwere?
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Andrea Useem
Okay, this is not a memoir about converting to Islam, but this 30-something woman’s story about embracing Jewish law really brought up a lot of questions for me about a modern woman’s relationship to traditional religious law.
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Andrea Useem
My Ramadan stress. Anyone else feeling it?
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Andrea Useem
Calling all Ramadan memories…. not sure what this project is exactly, but it looks interesting. Crowdsourced celebrations.
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Andrea Useem
Can there possibly be anything interesting to say about hijab anymore? I think not, yet I was coaxed into telling my own tale. With apologies to Willow for my use of “hijabi.” (And I’ll note the ingenious phrase “dejab” was coined by my awesome editor, Dilshad Ali.)
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Andrea Useem
On the making of Muslim women leaders. I had the pleasure of spending two days with KARAMAH’s summer law and leadership program: some seriously amazing leaders-in-the-making
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Andrea Useem
Thanks Aziz. On a totally different note, you might be interested to see how one of the most prominent Muslim CEOs in the US is persevering through the subprime mortgage meltdown.
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Andrea Useem
Is it wrong for a Muslim to get plastic surgery for purely cosmetic reasons? One prof says scholars usually allow it for therapeutic reasons (eg after auto accident or mastectomy.) But he also added that most Muslims facing that choice would probably consult only with their doctors, not religious leaders. Do you know of any Muslims who’ve had cosmetic surgery?
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Andrea Useem
While writing a post on why forgiveness is good for you, I got thinking about Muslim traditions about forgiveness. I’m wondering: Do you think hadiths and teachings about forgiveness are not emphasized enough by Muslim leaders? Should we be talking about forgiving, say, Muslim-haters?
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Andrea Useem
Is there an increase in stress-related illness for American Muslims (and others who are mistaken for Muslims)? I set out to answer this question, but didn’t find any hard data, to my surprise. Wondering about your own anecdotal impressions.
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Andrea Useem
Remember Hijabman’s great commentary on High Fructose Masjids? Muslims aren’t the only one with a problem. A prof at Purdue finds members of Southern Baptist churches are more likely than others to be obese. But a bunch of churches are kicking their congregants in the rear, promoting health and fitness. Any masjids out there doing the same? How about Muslim yoga?
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Andrea Useem
How a non-Muslim hospital chaplain helped me out. The part I left out of the story was that I first requested a Muslim chaplain, and a salafi couple showed up in the hospital room, grilled me about my religious observance and encouraged me to take Arabic classes at their mosque. Just what you need when your four-week-old son is in the hospital! I’m sure there are better Muslim chaplains out there. Know of any?
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Andrea Useem
Why does Hajj make people more tolerant? (In this study, “people” = Pakistanis.) The study authors, all economist, say it’s probably because of all the social interaction with fellow Muslims with different customs, a la Malcolm X. But I wonder: maybe it’s about the religious experience itself? Having contact with God gives you a warm fuzzy feeling toward fellow man? Or that the rules of hajj encourage — maybe even force — you to be patient with others.
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Andrea Useem
Time to consider making it okay for Muslim women to even consider marrying a non-Muslim guy. This InFocus article, A Few Good Men, raises some important issues (even if the journalistic standards are not high.) but doesn’t mention the fiqh question — how muslim men can marry “out” but muslim women can’t — and how that contributes to the current “marriage crisis.” Question for you: Is it better for a Muslim woman to remain unmarried her whole life, or to find a non-Muslim man and have a chance at a happy married life?
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Andrea Useem
Why Harvard University wasn’t right in granting Muslim women “women-only” gym hours.
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Andrea Useem
A sad story here about Salafi burnout (thanks to the tip from blogger Tariq Nelson).
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Andrea Useem
Check out Britian’s “Make Me Muslim” reality show … it’s like Spurlock’s 30 days, but in this case, you won’t be so excited about the Muslim leaders they choose. See episode one, where the man wearing the shalwar khameez tells the gay Briton that he doesn’t dress manly enough.
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Andrea Useem
Thinking about American civil religion… can American Muslims learn to speak this language the way Barack Obama does?
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Andrea Useem
Tiny URL advice needed. I added the Firefox plug in, but can’t really get it to work… advice?
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Andrea Useem
Salat and brain physiology? New research from neuroscientist Andrew Newberg shows how different forms of prayer and worship affect the brain. Too bad he didn’t study salat. But it got me thinking about the topic:
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Andrea Useem
would you call this site a “muslim metafilter”?
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Andrea Useem
The case for barring Olympic teams that bar women from competing — hello Muslim world!
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Andrea Useem
Emergent Islam? I was wondering yesterday if the spirit of the emerging church — tech-savvy, anti-traditionalist, relationship-based — might have relevance for our generation of Muslims. And: why are mosque websites so bad?
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Andrea Useem
Salaams folks, here’s a story I have wanted to write forever, and Slate finally gave me a chance: It’s about loving and leaving Hijab:
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Andrea Useem
Is it exceptional to find a Muslim who both accepts a mainstream theological outlook on Islam and pushes for change — without being bitter?
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Andrea Useem
Okay, not sure if all will like it, but here’s what I have to say about “Fitna:”
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Andrea Useem
Thinking about how to help someone in Kenya find a job: