There are two very important aspects to the holy month of Ramadhan:

First, it was during this month that God revealed the opening of the Qur’an to a simple merchant in 7th century Arabia. Muhammad was given the prophet-hood and the religion of Islam was born setting off a chain of events that changed the world forever. This month is holy to us because it reminds us of the most precious gift of the Qur’an and the thrilling story of the birth of our ummah.

But the other important aspect of Ramadhan has to do with social justice. An orphan himself, Muhammad was sensitive to the needs of those who didn’t have all the advantages of pre-Islamic Arabian society. After he established a community of Muslims, it was decreed that this holy month would be one of fasting and charity. Thus, we are reminded during Ramadan that the very foundation of our religion is intimately tied to our ability to empathize with and relieve the distress of the less fortunate among us.

This is important for all Muslims to realize, because the disparity between the rich and the poor in the world today is something we cannot in good faith ignore. A very small percentage of the planet holds the majority of its wealth (and if you are reading this it is almost certain that you are among them).

Giving charity isn’t just about writing a check to your favorite non-profit organization in order to “increase your rewards” during the holy month. It’s not about sponsoring an iftaar at the masjid. It’s not about handing out alms to panhandlers. It isn’t about sleeping through the day to gorge yourself on rich food at night, or throwing lavish parties for your friends. True charity is about looking after the well-being of the disadvantaged throughout the year, and making sure they have the tools they need to improve their situation when they need them.

We fast each day during the month in order to remind ourselves that this state of discomfort is a way of life for many. But if the discipline of fasting doesn’t inspire us to long-lasting action, what good is it? While Ramadhan is a time to renew our focus on charity and social justice, it cannot be the beginning and end of our efforts. Charity and good stewardship is a year-round obligation.

The old saying, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life,” illustrates this idea. Our efforts toward charity should not just be about making sure the poor have good meal during Ramadhan or new clothes to wear on Eid, but in creating institutions and programs for the poor which will empower, educate and inspire them forever.

Rabbi Michael Lerner has helped lead a growing chorus of American rabbis who are voicing their support for the Park51 Islamic community center (often mislabeled the “Ground Zero Mosque”) in Lower Manhattan. His video of support, featured here, is a call for people of all traditions to recognize the holiness in each other. It also touches on the singular hope that Americans have of honoring each other’s freedoms and affirming each other’s beliefs.

Please join Rabbi Lerner in doing the same! Whether you are a rabbi or a nun, a lay leader or proud humanist, the need to protect religious freedom in America has never been more important. Religious Freedom USA, the organization that first featured Rabbi Lerner’s video, is quickly becoming an interfaith movement to support of Park51 as a praiseworthy center that must be protected as an expression of religious freedom.

Religious Freedom USA, of which I am proud to be a founding member, has started a petition in support of Park51. It affirms,

Since the first pilgrims reached the shores of Plymouth, America has shone as a beacon of religious freedom, illuminating the path to liberty for the oppressed from every land, in every generation. Extreme criticism of the proposed Muslim community center in lower Manhattan is an affront to the religious freedom that our Founding Fathers fought to secure. We stand by our belief in freedom of worship and freedom of expression and consider the Park51 community center to be an expression of both. We are proud to unite behind it as a symbol of religious freedom.

Join the movement. Religious freedom is either guaranteed to all or safe for none. It is a cause vital to the entire Tikkun community, as Rabbi Lerner has made so tremendously clear.

[To learn more about this topic, check out Rabbi Lerner's post on the ADL's opposition to the mosque and Josh Stanton's previous post on the controversy.]

Ustad Ghulam Farid Nizami has released a new album entitled Flowers of the Heart, offering western ears a small window into the heart and soul of the subcontinent.

Having left Islamabad two years ago to teach at the University of Texas on a Fullbright Scholarship, he was able to gain asylum in the U.S. for himself and his family just this year. Now living in Austin, Texas he is in the process of establishing a school of music.

Nizami is a 17th generation musician and has mastered the sitar, tabla, harmonium and his own exquisitely flexible voice. On Flowers of the Heart, Nizami presents a variety of songs ranging from traditional rags, Rajasthani folk songs, and even a track containing instructional tabla variations.

Nizami’s music is deeply rooted in his Sufi beliefs. Mesmerizing, passionate, and spiritually ecstatic, the songs on this disc will reverberate with your soul even if you’ve never experienced this type of music before.

Nizami is available for performances in communities around the U.S. You may hear samplings from Flowers of the Heart on his official website, and can buy the album at cdbaby or digstation.

Because that’s really what this is all about, isn’t it? Publicity. Let’s face it, burning books has never been an effective way to quell the public’s thirst for knowledge, nor has it been an effective means to destroy ideas you don’t agree with. But that isn’t stopping the feisty folks at the Dove World Outreach Center from declaring 9/11 Official Koran Burning Day. (They even offer “Islam is of the Devil” T-shirts on their website that you can wear to your local book-burning event!)

The “Christians” who run and support this “church” aren’t really concerned with religious dialogue or spreading the Word of God as much as they are getting publicity. Lest we Muslims feel picked on, we must remember that Dove World Outreach Center has also engaged in this same kind of…uh…outreach with other groups including homosexuals and pro-choice advocates. Apparently, their idea of ministry involves condemnation, destruction and name-calling. (I’m not even going to go in to the [alleged] for-profit ventures and practices regarding unpaid labor by church members.)

Anyone who has had the benefit of knowing Christians who actually practice the tenets of the Bible knows that this group’s actions are about as close to Jesus’ teachings as the rabid Mullahs overseas preaching violent hate are to the peaceful message of Islam. Which is not at all.

Look, as a Muslim I’d love to get all riled up over this flagrant disrespect for our holy book. I’d love to be incensed that the Dove World Outreach Center is calling us and our noble faith tradition evil. But I can’t even manage a little bit of indignation. Because it’s stupid. It’s not even an eloquent argument or informed protest. It’s just some angry people having a spiteful little tantrum.

The Qur’an is a marvelous gift to humanity. But if you choose to burn it rather than read it, it really is your loss. God is a lot bigger than a book and has assured us that He has his own way of dealing with people who choose to disrespect His Message. I have faith that He can handle it.

In the meantime, if you are interested in actually reading a Qur’an, I’m pleased to be able to offer you the following links:

The Message of the Qur’an by Muhammad Asad – Qur’anic text, translation and commentary.

This is my personal favorite translation in print.

The Qur’an Online In Three English Translations (Pickthal, Yusufali, Shakir)

An excellent compilation from the University of Southern California’s Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement.

Listen to Qur’an Online

An online tool that lets you listen to the Qur’an being recited in Arabic. You get to choose between three different reciters and can read along in your language’s translation in subtitles.

Share a Qur’an Everyday

A Facebook page set up in response to the negative “Burn a Koran on 9/11″ page. When you subscribe to this page you’ll get to read inspiring surahs from the Qur’an each day.

Islam has a great tradition of appreciating and revering the earth. More than 700 verses in the Qur’an extort Muslims to reflect on the miracle of creation and make it clear that Allah views the earth as its own entity with the right to be protected and cared for. It even goes so far to say “Greater indeed than the creation of man is the creation of the heavens and the earth.” (40:57)

As Muslims, we understand that our submission to God is intrinsically tied to the way we treat His gift of life on this planet.  A peaceful, gentle reverence for plants, animals and landscapes are part of the fabric of our religion and translate beautifully through Islam’s strong foundation of social justice and activism.

Therefore, the environmental movement is one area where Muslims can make a huge contribution to society at large, and to productive interfaith dialogue.

For example, this month I contributed to a joint interfaith statement about Chemical Regulation Reform:

Interfaith Groups Speak Out on National Chemical Regulatory Reform

Amanda Quraishi, a member of Austin’s Muslim Community, said, “I think it is an ethical and moral imperative for average consumers to be informed on what we are buying and putting into our bodies. As a parent I feel an even greater responsibility to choose healthy foods and products for my children. I tend to support and buy from companies that identify, classify, and test their products for personal and environmental safety. Ideally, this kind of transparency would be the norm.”

Most concerned citizens would happily make a statement like this to voice their worries over the undisclosed exposure to unnatural chemical compounds that we are subjected to on a daily basis. But it is a great privileged to be able to make this statement as a Muslim because it lets me present the tenets of my faith in a positive, constructive and practical way. I am certain that my neighbors feel the same way, and the mutual respect and admiration that is created as we work together to protect the earth within our own faith traditions is miraculous in itself.

I had the chance to talk to Amanda Robinson, Coordinator of Texas Interfaith Power and Light, an environmental program of Texas Impact. When I asked her about her experience engaging various faith groups in environmental activism she told me, “What I see is that different communities are in different places on environmental issues – some have been very engaged and active for a long time, while others are just beginning to connect teachings from their religious tradition to concerns about the environment. Increasingly, people of all faiths are realizing that their tradition, whatever it is, has important things to say about care for the earth and care for other people, and that these concerns are interrelated.”

She continued, “There are many areas where teachings from different religious traditions converge in a shared concern, and environmental issues are one of these areas. The world’s great religious traditions all speak of care for the earth and its creatures. In the Abrahamic traditions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – there is a call to guardianship and care of creation. In the Eastern traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism, there is a profound sense of the interconnectedness of all life on earth. Although our traditions use different terms, the message on this subject is the same – it is a unified call for humans to care for the environment. On environmental issues, then, there is a lot of room for people of different faith traditions to work together in common cause.”

Learn more about Texas Interfaith Power and Light on the main website, or check out their Facebook page for current events and news about the organization. You can also email info@txipl.org.

When most people think of Texas they probably don’t think of Muslims.  But here in the land of BBQ and bluebonnets, where the official state religion is football, is where I discovered Islam.

It’s been ten years since I’ve declared the Shahada and in that time I’ve watched the Muslim commmunity in Austin grow and flourish.  We have one of the most diverse and progressive activist Muslim communities in the country with almost a hundred nationalities represented.  There are seven Muslim houses of worship which include the Sunni, Shia, and Sufi traditions within a radius of forty miles.

Austin boasts two private Islamic elementary schools, two Sunday schools, one of the largest and most active MYNA (Muslim Youth of North America) chapters, and several other community organizations dedicated specifically to the social needs of Muslims in the area.

We also have a robust interfaith scene and the Muslim community is extremely active participating in events that promote understanding among people of various religions.  I’m proud to have been involved with such exciting events as the Annual Muslim-Jewish Hands on Housing event through Austin Area Interreligious Ministries.

From the time I became a Muslim I was intensely aware that there was a need for outreach by common everyday-Muslims to offer a real glimpse into the way we live, work and worship.  That need became even more urgent after September 11, 2001.  It has been my pleasure to work with  the Muslim community, as well as the greater community of Austin, Texas to foster understanding and goodwill.

I was extremely honored to be approached by the editors of Tikkun to contribute to Tikkun Daily blog.  In addition to my knowledge and practice of Islam and interfaith dialogue, I bring a progressive political outlook, an interest in feminism and GLBT rights, as well as a deep appreciation for the arts.

Here’s to getting to know your neighbors!

My family was spared the worst of 9/11/01 – but it felt like a close call. My brother was midair on a trip back from Europe, set to land in John F. Kennedy Airport later that day. My father was waiting for him in Manhattan, and my mother and I were in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. waiting for both to come home. Every year, I am reminded that my brother came back safely – and how incredibly lucky our family was. For many New Yorkers, however, the anniversary of 9/11 reopens much deeper wounds.

Although 10% of the victims of 9/11 were Muslims, for nine years since, the American Muslim community has been under tremendous pressure to educate, speak up, organize, and act on the behalf of our city and our country. It seems that a significant step forward is on the horizon – one that may answer in full these calls to action.

Just in case someone asks (in person, on the radio, or on some news program on TV) “Where are the Muslim voices condemning the attempted bombing in New York?” you can let them know that some of them are right here. First a video from CAIR and then a transcript from a statement by Naseem Mahdi, national vice president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the U.S.

Sometimes as a Muslim I feel suspect that the simplest, most effective way to begin to answer the many burning questions Westerners have about Islam and Muslims isn’t to give them a Quran or even the most erudite and engaging book on Islam. For many living in our postmodern world, such a discussion needs to start far closer to home, with a crash course in Western religious history and the basic ideas of the Judeo-Christian Tradition. Not only is that often a necessary remedial measure, but in this day of –to borrow an inspired metaphor once applied to U.S.-Iranian relations–“mutual Satanization” I think it is for many probably the only way to begin this critical conversation.

As an undergrad studying French in the early 1990s, I took a class on the Francophone literature of Quebec. Until recently in most Western societies literature was riddled with references to and assumptions of familiarity with the Bible, and this was especially true of Quebec’s literary output thanks to the province’s tradition of being *plus catholique que le pape*.

I was the only non-Christian in the class and my knowledge of the Bible is anything but encyclopedic, yet it sometimes seemed that I was the only student with even a rudimentary familiarity with the famous biblical narratives, events and turns of phrase that were mined at every turn by our Quebecois authors and film makers. During one class room discussion of the wonderful 1989 world cinema classic “Jesus of Montreal”, after painfully obvious Gospel allusion after painfully obvious Gospel allusion had appeared to be zoom over most people’s heads, I remember thinking, “My God, if these guys are so ignorant of their own tradition, what hope is there of explaining the yet more unfamiliar worldview of Muslims?” (For more on this trend, see Stephen Prothero’s stimulating Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know–And Doesn’t.)

In such a backdrop of abject religious illiteracy, the most effective introduction to Islam for the average American may not be a book on Islam at all, but rather an discussion of the parallels of Islam’s supposedly peculiar doctrines and practices that are to be found in one’s own culturo-religious heritage.

Classroom in Afghanistan where boys and girls would learn together, with a curriculum emphasizing peacemaking

One of my favorite things to do is wander around a school and see how teachers and students have decorated their classrooms. Beyond the basic academic stuff like maps, history charts, word drills, homework assignments, art projects, etc… many classrooms also have posters talking about how everyone should treat each other, character messages, encouragement to work hard and reach out when help is needed. The picture on the left is from my visit to Afghanistan. It was an amazing school that had a central theme of peacemaking in its curriculum. On Saturday March 20th 2010, I got to poke around inside a Muslim children’s school much closer to home in Santa Clara California and was thrilled with what I saw there.

interView with Rabbi Dr. Burton Visotzky

Response By Hafsa Kanjwal

An important point that Rabbi Visotzky raises is the role that religious leaders and activists involved in international interreligious dialogue often end up playing in second tier diplomacy. For me, the use of inter-religious understanding to promote certain political or policy agendas can be and has been fraught with complications. Especially given the global context surrounding the politics of Islam, Muslims have been unable to truly engage the deeper issues in interreligious dialogue without a strong eye towards improving Islam’s image. In addition, significant programming led by governments or foundations relating to Muslims in inter-religious dialogue takes on a counter-terrorism narrative.

I agree with Rabbi Visotzky that it is important to begin locally. In response to Rabbi Visotzky’s question on what we are seeking to accomplish when we do inter-religious dialogue, I believe that a priority must be to build relationships that promote the common good, rather than serve narrow political or policy interests. While the translation of dialogue to diplomacy or policy is sometimes inevitable, it must be met with a critical analysis on the part of those who seek to promote mutual understanding and cooperation.

Even as a Jew in New York, I know of what it is like to be Muslim in France.

While studying abroad in the French city of Strasbourg in 2007, I decided to grow a bushy beard. Little did I know that in France only traditional Jewish and Muslim men don anything but the most finely trimmed moustache or goatee. Since I did not wear a yarmulke or other head covering, people who saw me on the street assumed that I was Muslim.

I felt that police officers and passersby treated me with suspicion, and even on the crowded rush hour bus few chose to sit next to me if they could avoid it. On one occasion someone followed me home and tried to start a fight, only to find I was a bewildered American, not a French Muslim.

Never before, and never since, have I experienced disdain of this sort. On a daily basis, I was made to feel badly because of my appearance — and what was presumed to be my corresponding religious affiliation. So when I read of the impending effort by parliamentary leader Jean-François Copé and his supporters to criminalise the burqa (and other garments that fully cover a woman’s body, head and face) in France, I understood it to be far more than a measure to protect women’s rights or preserve the concept of a secular society, on which the modern French state is built.

In my opinion, it is easy to see how the “burqa ban” might be misused as a part of a broader effort to stigmatise a religious population, one that already perceives itself to be on the margins of society.

Books? Videos? Whichever you like (most likely both), there are two new releases that are important for those who are interested in human rights — Abdulaziz Sachedina’s Islam and the Challenge of Human Rights, and a short documentary video on the use of white phosphorus in Gaza by Human Rights Watch.

When a couple gets married, they traditionally have a wedding. When a child is born, people usually throw some kind of celebration. When a ship sets out on its maiden voyage, it is customary to break a champagne bottle against its bow.

A position as a blogger is, of course, nothing compared to those things. What are the opinions of one pundit, compared to a marriage, a new human life, or the ocean-crossing journeys of a ship? Nevertheless, all traditions teach us that origins are important, and that we should try to begin our first ventures as well as possible–even such humble ventures as this.

So, where to begin? Why not start with the most famous of all accounts of origins, the creation of humankind? But Genesis, by its very nature, covers so many things, so I shall cite just one aspect: its account of the spiritual reasons for human communication.

Genesis portrays the beginnings of communication with the existential need of human beings to be in union with other persons. We can have the whole of inanimate and animal creation brought before us. But we need to engage in the back-and-forth of linguistic communication (whether verbally or in body language) with another person. And the most profound kind of inter-personal communication is that of intimate love between two people.

We know the need for something from its lack. Genesis shows communication as a divine gift to overcome the pain of loneliness. The late Pope John Paul II spoke about this in his lectures on “The Theology of the Body.” Judaism and Islam have their own “theologies of the bodies,” which predate this development in Christianity. As a Muslim who loves poetry, both Eastern and Western, I have decided to give a poetical interpretation of the loneliness of Adam, as described in Genesis, from the standpoint of Sufism (or Islamic metaphysics).

Washington, DC – In the immediate aftermath of the 5 November Fort Hood killings, some media commentators, alerted by gunman Major Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan’s Muslim name, immediately described the murders as a manifestation of his religious beliefs, reinforcing many Americans’ fears about Islam. In a moment like this one, the topic of religious freedom might be one we wish to avoid, but protecting it is essential to preventing another such tragedy. All Americans — both Muslims and non-Muslims — now have a role to play in ensuring that the country moves forward productively and peacefully.

Soon after the attack, Muslim American individuals and organisations, such as Dr. Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), responded by unequivocally condemning the murders as reprehensible and outside the domain of Islam.

According to CAIR, “No political or religious ideology could ever justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminate violence. The attack was particularly heinous in that it targeted the all-volunteer army that protects our nation. We Muslim Americans stand with our fellow citizens in offering both prayers for the victims and sincere condolences to the families of those killed or injured.”

The attack has spurred Muslim organisations to urge non-Muslims to refrain from viewing the incident through the prism of religion.

This article was originally featured on the On Faith blog of the Washington Post and Newsweek but is the original work of the author of this blog post.

When Bernie Madoff was arrested in December, 2008 the blogosphere filled with hate. Anti-Semitic remarks of the sort not seen in a generation surfaced, as Madoff fulfilled all of the worst possible stereotypes about Jews. One crooked investor who preyed on his coreligionists’ charitable contributions made anti-Semitism seem trendy.

Last week, when a mentally unstable major in the army shot up a meeting space at Fort Hood in Texas, the blogosphere was again overflowing with hate, this time aimed against Muslims. Even as top military brass made clear that the incident was a military – not religious – matter, bloggers framed Nidal Hasan as a terrorist, inspired to kill in the name of his religion.

The hate must stop. But even as Jewish organizations denounce Madoff and Muslim organizations condemn Hasan, their voices cannot alone silence the din of the blogosphere. They desperately need for institutions outside their own religious communities to join in the chorus against hate and reframe the discourse. This mutual need may in fact provide an unprecedented opportunity for collaboration between the two religious communities.

New at The Immanent Frame: Talal Asad and Abdullahi An-Na’im both stand at the forefront of the challenging and constructive exchange taking place today between European and Islamic traditions of political, legal, and religious thought. At a recent event organized by Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, the two scholars traded questions and criticisms concerning the concept of human rights. Moderated by José Casanova, the discussion addressed the intrinsic limitations and historical failures of the language of human rights, as well as its formidable capacity to challenge autocratic and state-centric distributions of power, creating openings for democratic contestation and political self-determination. A short excerpt of the exchange has been posted at The Immanent Frame and a complete transcript is available for download here (pdf). You can also watch video from this event at here & there.

Subject: Body Of The Goddess

Dear Friends,

Today is Vijaya Dashami, the Day of Victory that completes the 9-day Hindu Navaratri celebration of the Goddess in all her aspects and manifestations. In mythology, Vijaya Dashami marks the final triumph of the Goddess, after nine days of battle, over the demon Mahishasur. It also marks the start of the harvest season, and invokes the Divine Mother as all the powers of fertility and the life-giving gifts of the earth.

I stand firmly, fiercely, and unequivocally against the global rise of Hindu fundamentalism, and its appropriation of Hindu traditions for its fascist agenda. And at the same time, I reclaim my Hindu spiritual and cultural heritage as a feminist scholar, radical activist, and artist.

Here’s a poem that Shailja sent to illustrate her opposition to Hindu fundamentalism:

Asra Nomani’s recent piece in Marie Claire, “My Big Fat Muslim Wedding,” underscored everything that is wrong with Marie Claire’s coverage of Islam and Muslim women. Nomani’s piece was a confused narrative at best, conflating culture with religion and individual bad experiences with larger truths about entire faiths. A story that should have been about Nomani’s conflicted path to love somehow became a treatise on Islam and love generally, suggesting that all Muslim men and women follow similarly conflicted, contradictory paths. Western ways of premarital intercourse and freedom to marry without regard to religious frameworks are presented as the higher moral ground.

A similar sort of paternalism is rampant throughout Marie Claire’s treatment of Muslim women. Time and again, the image we see emerging from this magazine is that of Muslim women as sequestered, brainwashed, and victimized if by no one else than their own naïve, unknowing selves. Almost all of Marie Claire’s stories dealing with Islam or Muslims have to do with Muslim women either oppressed by or complicit in terrorism and extremism. Women who choose to embrace Islam are belittled, and Islam, in the process, is portrayed as attractive to only lost and desperate souls. On the flip side, Malika, the female jihadist in “Love in the Time of Terror” reflects the danger of Muslim female strength, while purportedly more respectable brands of strong females have spurned Islam to some degree or another (think Ayaan Hirsi Ali).

Consider, for example, Paul Cruickshank’s piece, “I Married a Terrorist,” the story of Maureen, a Belgian woman who met a non-practicing Muslim man at a bar and started dating him, their affair a whirlwind of partying. Somewhere amidst all the clubbing, Maureen began feeling empty, overwhelmed by her crazy ways. Her emptiness prompted curiosity about religion, and she began asking her boyfriend, Rachid, about Islam, of which he himself was ignorant.

This is where the story about Maureen begins to reveal its anti-Islamic and sexist undertones;

This post was written by Zehra Rizavi and Yusif Akhund for altmuslimah.com. I think it helps non-Muslims understand the Ramadan experience from an insider’s perspective, while also raising questions of how different interpretations of gender roles may change each couple’s experience of Ramadan.

When my husband finally makes his way down the stairs, my frustration abates and he and I sit across from each other and share our early morning meal. We speak intermittently and keep one eye trained on the clock to ensure we finish our food by the time dawn prayers begin. Despite the sparse conversation and the hurried meal, I enjoy the feeling that we are both beginning our obligatory fasts together, as a unit.

Continue reading on Altmuslimah