Is Arabic a Holy Language?



Over time, Arabic became the “default” language of Muslims, assuming such a close link with Islam itself that it became regarded as divine. But how did this process happen?

Scalia Joins Saudi Supreme Court in Wake of Sodomy Dissent



In a development that has rocked the legal world, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah announced today the appointment of US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to the Saudi Permanent Council for Scientific Research and Legal Opinions (CRLO), Saudi Arabia's equivalent of the US Supreme Court.

God's Whores



But let me ask all you mullahs and mullettes this. Why do prostitutes exist? Why is there a plentiful supply of sex-on-tap? Simply because there is plentiful demand. And who are the clients? Usually the respectable people, the judges and politicians and businessmen and lawyers and doctors. And priests and rabbis and maulanas also.

McCarthyism Ashcroft-Style: Post 9/11 Immigration Policies



Since these new policies have been implemented more than one year has passed, and thousands have been detained and deported, but only four have been arrested upon connection to terrorism. The overwhelming majority of immigrants were detained, as time would show, for no other reason than they were Muslim and held citizenship in a Muslim country.

Howard Dean: Sharon's Man?



Although often portrayed as progressive, former Vermont governor and Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean falls short on several issues important to progressives, with the Middle East being one of the more glaring.

Jum'a with the Punks: An Excerpt from The Taqwacores



"...back then she didn’t have patches on it or anything. Back then we prayed together, and we did it right. Right times, right ways. That was before Rabeya started demanding to lead salat, and before all these haram influences came in--khamr, zina, before all these parties.” More or less, Umar was saying before Jehangir Tabari. “Even me,” he said to my surprise. “Even me, brother.”

Rescue Us from This Town: Confronting the Oppression of Women in Muslim Society



There are too many unfortunate realities in Muslim communities and countries. It’s time to overcome our fear of facing those realities, and it’s time to work to change those realities. That work isn't only about getting poor men jobs and getting people to pray and fast more. A lot of that work is very uncomfortable work, which entails us feeling guilty, angry, and ashamed about our larger Muslim family.

Rachel Corrie Spotted with Che and Mumia



It came to me as no surprise that a freshly painted Rachel Corrie had joined the ranks of Caesar Chavez and Malcolm X as the young hero of the downtrodden. In this mural she is seen lending her strength and beauty to the struggles of Che Guevara and Mumia Abu Jamal and a host of others.

Road Map to Where?



The recent events in the Middle East are eerily familiar. Palestinians rise up in an Intifada. After some time, a man named “Bush” declares war on the weakened country of Iraq. Subsequently, he declares a victory. Soon thereafter, Palestinians and Israelis are in the midst of “peace accords” that are supported more from exhaustion than from a desire for real peace. We could be talking about the Oslo Accords or the current road map.

El Halim, Most Kind



View larger image God will not call you to account for thoughtlessness in your oaths, but for the intention in your hearts, and (S)He is Most Forgiving, Most Kind. (Qur'an 2:225) By Ümit Akdemir, 6/6/03 Ümit Akdemir is an...

Can Muslims Handle the Truth? Amina Wadud Talks About Islam, AIDS, and Tolerance



Islam has the capacity to respond to a wide variety of things. There can be an Islamic response to HIV and AIDS that is compassionate, tolerant, supportive, and inclusive. But what is considered an Islamic response now is unacceptable to me. Others are making more viable responses, and Muslims are sitting on the sideline. Meanwhile, AIDS continues to grow in our community. We need to step up to the plate as Muslims.

Vulnerabilities: HIV and AIDS



If HIV/AIDS was merely the result of immoral or un-Islamic behavior then non-Muslim countries should have a higher percentage of cases. However, highly industrialized countries like the United States have more active measures to curtail the spread of the disease perhaps because they do not resort to such an equation. When the emphasis is on reducing the spread of AIDS and not on taking a moral high ground, then more effective means for its reduction has resulted.

Muslims, Islam, and AIDS: Thoughts on the 2nd International Muslim Religious Leaders Consultation on HIV/AIDS



Amina Wadud (left) greeting conference participants By Farid Esack All narratives are influenced by the narrator. To a large extent my own account of the Second International Muslim Religious Leaders Consultation on HIV/AIDS, held in Kuala Lumpur May 19-23, and...

Nur



The Waterwheel Stay together, friends. Don't scatter and sleep. Our friendship is made of being awake. (Jelaluddin Rumi) Photo by E. Aton, 5/94 Hagia Sofia (Ayasofya) Interior, Istanbul...

The View from Lahore: What Pakistanis Think of Iraq's Liberation



“But war is not some kind of harmless video game,” insists Mohsin, a computer science student (and an enthusiastic video game player himself). Referring to General William Wallace’s statement early in the war-‘The enemy we are fighting is different from the one we had war gamed against’- he says, “Personally I would have liked George Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney to be embedded with journalists in the front lines to get a taste of what it feels like to be on the receiving of an artillery barrage rather than miles away in the comfort of the White House enjoying live television coverage”.

When the music stops: Extremists Disrupt Muslim HIV/AIDS Conference



The 2nd International Muslim Leaders Consultation on HIV/AIDS, held in Kuala Lumpur from the 19th-23rd of May 2003, was proof enough that religious zealots will stop at nothing to make people submit to their own agendas. The participants at the consultation were all shocked when a bunch of extremists stood up and verbally terrorized one of the speakers, Dr. Amina Wadud, after she presented her paper.

The Jewish Bin Ladens?
Ultra-Orthodox Jews and the State of Israel



What Shall I Do With This People? Jews and the Fractious Politics of JudaismBy Milton Viorst, Simon and Schuster, 2002, 287 pp. Review by Pat McDonnell Twair “After 2,000 years of strenuous survival in exile, it would be a...

Philosophy Majors Can Have Pretty Pakistani Wives (and Husbands) Too



Every time I meet a new a Muslim, I hear virtually the same thing every time – “I’m majoring in Mechanical Engineering” or “I’m studying medicine” or “I’m majoring in Computer Science…I didn’t really want to, but you know how it is…” or my favorite – “Shadi, I need a nice, pretty Pakistani wife from a good family, so I gotta be a doctor.”