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May 28, 2017 |Ramadan: A Time of Renewal and Reducing Our Carbon Footprint!
Attaining “Taqwa” is the purpose given in the Qur’an for fasting the month of Ramadan. The Arabic term “Taqwa” or the root basis of it, is very difficult to translate into a single word in English but among the possibilities are: Protection, Shield, Fear of God and Consciousness of God. In this essay, I will…
Islam Islamic Thought Muslim History -
May 16, 2017 |Refugees and Education: The Key to Sustainable Development!
In the 1980s while I was an undergraduate student at San Francisco State University, I had the opportunity to meet and talk to refugees from El Salvador, Columbia and Nicaragua, who were part of the campus community. At the time, the civil wars and Cold War proxy regional conflicts had led many civilians to flee…
Colonialism Muslim History Politics Race/Racism -
April 21, 2017 |Kashmir: The Forgotten Cause!
The image of Farooq Ahmad Dar, a Kashmiri shawl weaver, bound as a human shield on the bumper of an Indian military jeep is an atrocious display of an army that has become well-accustomed to human rights violations. On April 9, Mr. Dar was detained for no cause whatsoever while on his way to a…
Colonialism Islamic Politics Islamophobia Muslim History -
January 13, 2017 |Islam’s Metaphysical Economy: “Trade Based on Contentment”
In a number of verses, the Qur’an uses the term, “trade based or established on contentment of the parties involved in the transaction.” The term “contentment” appears in various places in the Qur’an and overall imparts a positive outlook. Here, I am interested in the specific framing and association of trade and contentment in the…
Islamic Education Islamic Law Islamic Politics Islamic Thought Muslim History -
January 5, 2017 |Islam Vs. Islam: What is the way forward?
Any observer of unfolding events in the Muslim world will have to conclude that a major conflict is afoot, pitting one interpretation of Islam against another with each claiming to “defend” the true tradition. The intensity of the conflict is getting bloodier by the day and no end is in sight to this calamitous period….
Islam Islamic Politics Islamic Thought Muslim History -
September 4, 2016 |Does Europe Have an Inquisition Problem?
Switzerland banned the construction of minarets; Spain and Italy have placed heavy restrictions on permits for building new mosques; Austria adopted a law to redefine the status of Islam and Muslims in the country; France has layered bans on the Hijab, Niqab and now Burkini; and the continent-wide massive surveillance of Muslims raises an important question: Will Europe forever have…
Colonialism Muslim History Politics Race/Racism -
August 17, 2016 |
The Age of the Perplexed!
A statement by Prophet Muhammad spoke of a future time that would cause the wise, sagacious and learned to be totally perplexed by unfolding events to an extent that they couldn’t make any sense of it. From the earliest post-prophetic period, the notion of the age of the perplexed has existed in Islamic literature with…
Muslim History Politics -
June 29, 2016 |Bosnian Genocide and Islamophobia: Marking and Unmarking History
History is an open-ended book, constantly edited and re-edited by multiple authors and divergent interests. As academics, we are trained to examine history from multiple vantage points and pursue all available sources before a conclusive judgement is reached on a given topic or issue. In this sense, history presents the ultimate challenge since the engagement…
Islamophobia Muslim History -
June 20, 2016 |El-Sissi: Israel’s Man in Cairo
“El-Sissi leading a Churchillian fight against Hamas,” was The Times of Israel front-page headlines of March 1, 2015, which is an accurate and on point assessment of the declaration of war against the Gaza enclave and its current leadership, and illustrative of the changes under way in Egypt since the 2013 coup. In the article,…
Colonialism Muslim History Palestine Politics -
June 9, 2016 |Remembering Muhammad Ali: “Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee.”
Oct. 29, 1974: Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman; “The Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match was my distant connection to the champ, the greatest. The match was a much-awaited event for the neighborhood and almost everyone crammed into the few houses that had a TV set to watch the fight. Every household had 40 or…
Muslim History Muslims in America Race/Racism
الدكتور حاتم بازيان
