Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow

Irshad Manji in the News

MLT Irshad Manji recently appeared in the New York Times talking about her approach to Islam.

MLT, Irshad Manji

Muslims and Good Governance

It goes back to the beginning. Why do non-Muslims get this, but Muslims don't?

Yemen, Shi'ism

Muslim Woman Ruler

A Muslim woman ruler before the 20th century. It's amazing how much we've regressed.

Shi'ism, Yemen

Islam, business, Aga Khan

I am a Nizari Ismaili, and hold that the Aga Khan is the direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through his daughter Fatima (PBUH) and his cousin/son-in-law Ali (PBUH).

The New York Times ran a decent story yesterday on the Aga Khan and his humanitarian efforts. I don't call it philanthropy, because according to the Imam:

I am fascinated and somewhat frustrated when representatives of the western world -- especially the western media -- try to describe the work of our Aga Khan Development Network in fields like education, health, the economy, media, and the building of social infrastructure.

Reflecting a certain historical tendency of the West to separate the secular from the religious, they often describe it either as philanthropy or entrepreneurship. What is not understood is that this work is for us a part of our institutional responsibility -- it flows from the mandate of the office of Imam to improve the quality of worldly life for the concerned communities.

It's also nice to see another understanding of Islam being forward, instead of the usual violent imagery.

Technorati Tags: Aga Khan, Ismailis

Milad an-Nabi

The birthday of Prophet Muhammad, our most blessed role model. From Nasir Khusraw:

Of Muhammad
I chose the Qur’an
and the faith of Muhammad,
for that is the choice
that was made by Muhammad.
I’m certain by faithfully
following these,
my certitude will
be like that of Muhammad.
My key for the heavens,
my guide to delight,
my fortified castle:
the faith of Muhammad!
Muhammad is sent as
God’s prophet to us:
thus is the imprint
of the seal of Muhammad.
The faith, the Qur’an
they are fixed in my heart
just as they were fixed
in the heart of Muhammad.
My hope is to be
by the grace of the Lord
the lowliest one
in the folk of Muhammad.
In the ocean of faith
you see, the Qur’an
is the most precious pearl
in the hand of Muhammad.
As every king
has a treasure concealed,
thus is the Qur’an:
treasure trove of Muhammad!
Now look at the jewel
that sits on this treasure!
Whom do you consider
the trustee of Muhammad?
His followers find
yonder jewel of faith
from nobody else
but the sons of Muhammad.
Muhammad entrusted
his treasure and goods
to one person, worthy
and close to Muhammad.
Who was such a close
friend? He whose dear wife
was none but the darling
black-eyed, of Muhammad.
From this darling child
and that cousin appeared
Hasan and Husayn,
letters close to Muhammad.
I know certainly this:
Hasan and Husayn
are jasmine and rose
in both worlds, of Muhammad.
Where could such a rose
and such a jasmine appear
in both worlds but out
of the soil of Muhammad!
I don’t dare select
any one among men
above these two sons,
lovely sons of Muhammad;
I don’t dare select
anyone above them
I would be ashamed
of the frown of Muhammad!
The sword of pure Haydar,
the mighty Qur’an
are cornerstones of
the strong faith of Muhammad,
for he stood as master
and with Dhu’l-fiqar
in every fight
to the right of Muhammad.
Since Ali’s sword helped
the mighty Qur’an;
Ali was the helper,
no doubt, for Muhammad.
As Aaron to Moses,
so was Ali in rank
A partner in faith
and close to Muhammad.
On Doomsday both Moses
and Aaron will kiss
the mantle of Ali,
the hem of Muhammad.
Muhammad’s religion
resembled a thicket:
The lion: Ali,
in the woods of Muhammad.
Muhammad said: ‘Go,
and seek wisdom in China!’
I went to that China,
the land of Muhammad.
I heard from the heir
of the Prophet such words
which were like the honey,
so sweet, of Muhammad!

Nasir Khusraw
from Make a Shield from Wisdom
translated by Annemarie Schimmel

cross-posted from islamicate

Technorati Tags: Milad an-Nabi

Muslims and the Cross

via one of my favorite Texans, I saw this on Street Prophets.

A. This is a huge violation of church and state in my opinion. Public schools should not be holding services in any religious space. Period.

B. The kid is a moron. It's not about him being Muslim. Let's not get stupid with him.

To the best of my knowledge there is no legal tradition that prevents Muslims from entering house of worship of other faiths. There are reservations (and prohibitions) about joint worship, but not actually entering the space. The closest I've heard about this religious image issue is from an Orthodox Jewish friend of mine who would not set foot in a church because of the cross. Of course, as commentators on the SP thread note, where are the limits of this ban? What of museum pieces? Churches turned into museum, a la Hagia Sophia? Clearly the intent and use of such iconography must be taken into account.

I have delivered talks in churches, but would not enter one of those churches during my graduation with my master's in theology because it was a religious service. I have no problem with inter-faith worship, but I shouldn't be forced to worship, either in my own faith tradition, or any others. However, in that context, the cross was a powerful religious symbol that marginalized me and my faith. My decision was not based on a systematic legal ruling, but a personal decision made for my particular context. There was no reason to make a public issue it, other than to discuss it with administrators so they were aware.

I feel bad for the boy, but he can't make his Islam my Islam, and he shouldn't minimize our faith and personalize an issue that is bigger than him.

cross-posted from islamicate

Technorati Tags: freedom of religion, muslims doing stupid things

Reading List: Intro to Islam

What would an introductory reading list on Islam look like? Not for an academic audience, but for the educated lay reader? My suggestions:

General:

Abou El Fadl, Khaled. Conference of the Books: The Search for Beauty in Islam. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2001.

Algar, Hamid. Wahhabism: A Critical Essay. 1st ed. Oneonta, NY: Islamic Publications International, 2001.

Bulliet, Richard W. The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.

Ernst, Carl W. Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World. Islamic Civilization & Muslim Networks. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003.

Firestone, Reuven. Jihad : The Origin of Holy War in Islam. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Lawrence, Bruce B. New Faiths, Old Fears: Muslims and Other Asian Immigrants in American Religious Life. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002.

Safi, Omid. Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender and Pluralism. Oxford: Oneworld, 2003.

Sells, Michael Anthony. Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations. 1st ed. Ashland, OR: White Cloud Press, 1999.

Wallace-Murphy, Tim. What Islam Did for Us: Understanding Islam's Contribution to Western Civilization. Watkins, 2006.

North America:

Abdo, Geneive. Mecca and Main Street: Muslim Life in America After 9/11. Oxford University Press, USA, 2006.

Abdul-Ghafur, Saleemah. Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak. Boston: Beacon Press, 2005.

Afzal-Khan, Fawzia. Shattering the Stereotypes: Muslim Women Speak Out. New York: Olive Branch Press, 2005.

Ahmed, Leila. A Border Passage: From Cairo to America--a Woman's Journey. 1st ed. New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux, 1999.

Bullock, Katherine. Muslim Women Activists in North America : Speaking for Ourselves. 1st ed. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2005.

Cone, James H. Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream Or a Nightmare. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1991.

Webb, Gisela. Windows of Faith: Muslim Women Scholar-Activists in North America. 1st ed. Women and Gender in North American Religions. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2000.

X, Malcolm, and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. 2nd Ballantine Books hardcover ed. New York: Ballantine Books, 1999.

Iran and Iraq:

Alavi, Nasrin. We Are Iran. Brooklyn NY: Soft Skull Press, 2005.

Riverbend. Baghdad Burning Ii : More Girl Blog From Iraq.1st Feminist Press ed ed. New York: Feminist Press, 2006.

Riverbend. Baghdad Burning : Girl Blog From Iraq. 1st Feminist Press ed. New York: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2005.

Political Science:

Abou El Fadl, Khaled, Joshua Cohen, and Deborah Chasman. Islam and the Challenge of Democracy: A Boston Review Book. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2004.

Abou El Fadl, Khaled, Joshua Cohen, and Ian Lague. The Place of Tolerance in Islam. Boston: Beacon Press, 2002.

Devji, Faisal. Landscapes of the Jihad: Militancy, Morality, Modernity. Crises in World Politics. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2005.

Dreyfuss, Robert. Devil's Game : How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam. 1st ed ed. Vol. American empire project, New York: Metropolitan Books, 2005.

Gerges, Fawaz A. America and Political Islam : Clash of Cultures Or Clash of Interests. Cambridge, UK ; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

Kepel, Gilles. Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002.

Kepel, Gilles. The War for Muslim Minds: Islam and the West. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 2004.

Little, Douglas. American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East Since 1945. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002.

Mamdani, Mahmood. Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror. 1st ed. New York: Pantheon Books, 2004.

Roy, Olivier. Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Ummah. The Ceri Series in Comparative Politics and International Studies. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.

Interfaith:

'Ashur, Radwá, and William Granara. Granada : A Novel. 1st ed ed. Vol. Middle East literature in translation, Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse University Press, 2003.

Bill, James A., and John Alden Williams. Roman Catholics and Shii Muslims: Prayer, Passion, and Politics. Chapel Hill [N.C.]; London: University of North Carolina Press, 2002.

Kaltner, John. Inquiring of Joseph: Getting to Know a Biblical Character Through the Quran. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2003.

Khalidi, Tarif. The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature. Convergences. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001.

Mahfuz, Najib, and Peter Theroux. Children of the Alley. 1st Anchor Books ed. New York: Anchor Books, 1996.

Menocal, Maria Rosa. The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain. 1st Back Bay paperback ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 2002.

Not on CNN Islam:

Daftary, Farhad. A Short History of the Ismailis: Traditions of a Muslim Community. Islamic Surveys. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998.

Ernst, Carl W. The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. 1st ed. Boston, Mass.: Shambhala, 1997.

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003.

Hyder, Syed Akbar. Reliving Karbala : Martyrdom in South Asian Memory. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Jalal al-Din, Rumi, and Coleman Barks. The Essential Rumi. San Francisco, CA: Harper, 1995.

Roberts, Allen F., Mary Nooter Roberts, Gassia Armenian, and Ousmane Guáeye. A Saint in the City: Sufi Arts of Urban Senegal. Los Angeles, Calif.: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 2003.

Shah-Kazemi, Reza. Justice and Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam Ali. Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2006.

Subhani, Ja'far, Reza Shah-Kazemi. Doctrines of Shi'i Islam : A Compendium of Imami Beliefs and Practices. London ; New York London: I.B. Tauris Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2001.

DVD:

Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet

Islam: Empire of Faith

Inside Mecca

Frontline: Muslims

13th Warrior

Three Kings

Malcolm X

Kingdom of Heaven

The Crusades - Crescent and the Cross

The Crusades

Nazrah

Technorati Tags: books, inter-faith, intra-faith, reading lists, teaching islam

Eid(s) Mubarak

Eid-e Ghadir Mubarak. Previous post here. Image here:

Technorati Tags: Eid

Aga Khan on Muslims

NPR has a nice piece from the Aga Khan, leader of the Shi'ah Imami Nizari Isma'ili Muslim community, on how Muslims are understood in the world. It's worth listening to.

Technorati Tags: Aga Khan, inter-faith, intra-faith

Ramadan Mubarak

Ramadan Mubarak! For all Muslims, the blessed month of Ramadan begin this weekend (for a good introductory explanation of why Muslims noted different dates for the start of Ramadan, please see this post).

This year is the second of three years during which major religious observances from various faith traditions will fall during the same Gregorian month. You can read more about the confluence here (hat tip to the Velveteen Rabbi).

Technorati Tags: inter-faith, intra-faith, Tishri, Ramadan