Ramadan began two weeks ago, and across the world, Muslims who are observing the month abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset for thirty days. For those of us who fast, readiness is a layered concept. For some of us, it’s the physical component that is difficult to prepare ourselves for. Denying yourself food and drink during the daytime hours is difficult. It’s … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Honor 9/11 Without Being Islamophobic
The anniversary of the September 11th attacks is always a precarious time. Because this tragedy is wrapped up in nationalist sentiments, the memorializing of our national grief easily gets caught up in anti-Islamic sentiments. Grief and pain and nationalism all seems to get conflated and simplified during this time. Anniversary times feels like a time of … [Read more...]
You Don’t Owe Disrespectful People Your Respect: George Carlin, Islam and the Freedom of Choice
One of my favorite old George Carlin bits was his close-reading/rewriting of the Ten Commandments. The whole routine is widely available as both text and video online but in particular, he says something about the instruction to “Honor thy Father and Mother” which I’ve always appreciated as simply a truth of life that is rarely taught: Obedience, respect for authority. Just … [Read more...]
