In keeping up with our fascination with all things Taqwacore, I want mention my roundtable with the Kominas and interview with Michael Muhammad Knight are both up are Religion Dispatches.
Updates from islamoyankee RSS
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islamoyankee
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islamoyankee
Over at my blog I have a video regarding Muslim American views on violence against their neighbors. I did not want to embed it here because I was not sure of the etiquette around Flash movies on the front page.
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islamoyankee
My thoughts on Ft. Hood over at Religion Dispatches.
It’s quite possible that Hasan is mentally ill and chose to use Islam to express that illness the way a Christian may believe he’s hearing the voice of Jesus. In both cases they are turning to comfortable cultural idioms to express the confusion in their heads.
The following paragraph was cut from the final version, a decision I do agree with. However, I am thinking of picking up the thread and am curious to hear your thoughts.
One concrete action we can take is to reach out to Hasan’s student, Duane Reasoner, who believes ““In the Koran, you’re not supposed to have alliances with Jews or Christian or others, and if you are killed in the military fighting against Muslims, you will go to hell.”” He is clearly misguided in his understanding of the Qur’an. The first part he is referring to is verse 5:52, which refers to Christians and Jews who broke a treaty with Muhammad in Medina. The second is verse 4:92, which states a believer shall not kill a believer. According to the Constitution of Medina, a believer can include Jews and Christians. However, even if one accepts Reasoner’s understanding that the verse only refers to Muslims, he still has a problem. The greatest killer of Muslims in the 21st century has been the Taliban and Al-Qa’ida. The Sunni-Shi’ah conflict in Iraq is another violation of the Qur’an. Reasoner must either put himself in the position of deciding who is Muslim, or accept that as problematic as US intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan has been, it has probably also saved a large number of Muslim lives. Reasoner needs help, and he needs it now.
I do want to make it clear that the above is not meant as a defense of the invasion of Iraq; the quote is slightly out of context. So please focus on the main point of reaching out to Reasoner.
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islamoyankee
My anti-torture statement for the ACLU is here.
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islamoyankee
March tomorrow, June 11, 2009, in front of the White House as a Religious Witness Against Torture. In the “credit where credit is due” department, ISNA is participating.
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islamoyankee
Juan Cole will be speaking at Columbia on June 11, 2009 at 7PM. Event is free, but RSVP is needed.
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islamoyankee
Iranians suggest Masturbation for Allergies
Not an April Fool’s Day joke.
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islamoyankee
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islamoyankee
US State Dept. is expanding digital presence.
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islamoyankee
Shuruq Event (NYU): Iran, Palestine, & the U.S.: Re-Shaping Foreign Policy in the Middle East
Monday, March 30th -Panel Discussion : Iran, Palestine, & the U.S.: Re-Shaping Foreign Policy in the Middle East
7:00pm – 10:00pm
Kimmel Center Eisner and Lubin Auditorium , 60 Washington Square South, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10012Panelists:
Dr. Hatem Bazian
Dr. Richard BullietThe goal for the event is to outline the underlying issues facing the United States in the Middle East and greater Muslim world in a post-Bush era. Do Middle Eastern leaders feel President Obama is a viable leader and ally in establishing diplomatic relations in the region, or will he carry on the status quo of US foreign policy from the previous presidency? Can President Obama effectively influence leaders to manage internal strife (Iraq, Israel and Palestine, etc.)?
The event will be held on Monday March 30, 2009, from 6:30PM to 9PM at the Kimmel Center of Student Life. Both speakers will have speak individually and then attendees will be able to ask questions in a Q&A session. This event is co-sponsored by the United Muslims Association and Shuruq 2009
Co-sponsored by the United Muslims Association, The Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, Arab Students United and Shuruq 2009
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For seven years now, Shuruq (Arabic for Sunrise) has been a celebration of Islam’s rich diversity. Shuruq raises awareness of Islam and Muslims in an experiential way, through emphasis on lived realities and artistic expressions, working to build an attitude of harmony and mutual understanding within the New York City community. For two weeks every year, Shuruq puts together a series of increasingly popular events on NYU’s campus to highlight the breadth of culture, music, literature, religion and politics throughout the Muslim world — including America’s millions of Muslims.Shuruq 2009 will host a number of events across campus in the next two weeks, bringing to the University and to the City a chance to hear from, learn and engage with noted activists, academics, performers and American Muslims leaders. This represents for many New Yorkers an excellent opportunity to understand American Islam, where it has come from and where it is going.
For a complete listing of this year’s events, please visit the Shuruq 2009 homepage
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islamoyankee
Osama and Orientalism, my latest over at Religion Dispatches.
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islamoyankee
Tabsir points out an article about New Age Islam, a site that challenges ideologic interpretations of Islam.
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islamoyankee
Aasiya Zubair was brutally murdered last week. There is a FaceBook group dedicated to her and to stopping domestic violence, as well as group that is calling on all imams to offer khutbas (sermons) against DV this Friday.
Aziz.
Asma.
Razib. (the discussion is really good)
(cross-posted from islamicate)
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islamoyankee
I’ll be speaking at a conference in May 2009 at Riverside Church in NY. The event is called “Forensic Scriptures: What the Qur’an Reveals about the Bible.” If you are in the area and would like to attend, you can enter “Friend of Hussein Rashid” under the “position” field to receive a $100 discount on the registration page. Make sure you also check the “affiliate” price.
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islamoyankee
The folks over at Muslims for Progressive Values have a petition up regarding domestic violence. Take a look. Sign if you are so inclined. Spread the word if it strikes you. No pun intended.
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islamoyankee
Over at islamicate I have the details for call for proposals for the upcoming Parliament of World’s Religions. Deadline is Feb. 28.
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islamoyankee
Wajahat Ali has written up a nice piece on the special session of the Doha Debates held during the recent Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow Conference. He has quoted me and given me permission to post the original questions and my responses, which are at islamicate.
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islamoyankee
After the Battle of Uhud, it is narrated that the Angel Jibrail came down and gave the well-known declaration: “There is no hero but Ali, there is no sword but Dhulfiqar.”
In light of that, and to turn to the stories of the sahaba, rather than modern thought or the intellect God gave us, I thought of these two stories. The first is from Rumi (although surviving the Mongol invasion may make him a bit of an effete faqih):
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islamoyankee
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islamoyankee
Aziz was kind enough to open up City of Brass to me for a quick visit. I wrote a post on Ashura.
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islamoyankee
I am updating with resources on the Gaza crisis at islamicate.
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islamoyankee
I just want to mention Change the Story. It’s a project that I think needs some more publicity.
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islamoyankee
Salaam alaykum to all. I have recently been given the keys to a fiefdom in the kingdom, and wanted to take a moment to introduce myself.
I blog under “islamoyankee,” but was born Hussein Rashid. My normal blog is islamicate, and recently at The Devil’s Advocate. Although I anticipate most of my regular blogging will continue at those two sites, I look forward to relying on this community to help my own understanding of Islam and Muslims. I am really enjoying the Salafi/Wahhabi discussion and the rather engrossing Progressive Islam discussion.
Many thanks again for having me, and I look forward to being part of this community.