A poisonous debate has erupted since Nazi Paikidze, a 22-year-old American champion chess player, announced her decision to boycott next year’s World Chess Championship competition in Iran. A…
Source: Iran, chess, and the psychological bullying of non-hijabi defiant women | Nervana
The next major ponderable impossibility would be for them — as well as their parents — to have been given enough accurate information about “why” he decided to jump off the friendly choo choo and align himself to what seems today to be an alien and anti-Western religion, hell-bent on the destruction of civilization as we know it. How can we solve this paradox as we observe the increasingly frightful and blood-chilling news connected to the name of the faith he adopted as his own — Yusuf Islam?
Although the new Prime minister of Canada Mr. Justin Trudeau sent a
special video message of welcome and support to the event, there was hardly any other blip on the radar of media consciousness. Shame. Maybe that was because there was no bomb threat, no chaotic scenes or bloodshed; so it passed most people by like a snowflake floating in the breeze without even a whimper.
Why do beautiful things have such a hard time being noticed? And here’s the point: If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon. Can’t we try a bit harder to get back on that “Peace Train” again? To recall some lyrics in that anthem, “Why must we go on hating, why can’t we live in bliss?”
It was truly refreshing listening to some of the inspiring testaments and speeches of the heart-centered scholars of this religion, reminding us of our common humanity and the links to wisdoms so often forgotten in the flattened landscape of modern reporting these days. The metaphysical mountain of knowledge and wisdom of the scholars of the heart are hardly seen or heard.
One of the illuminated (Western) Muslim scholars of the convention, Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah reminded us of the universal essence in the axis of all being: “Truth is necessarily coherent; it’s in your DNA, in your teeth, the dragonfly, the colorful fish of the reef — it’s in the Golden Mean of geometry.”
He pointed out that the major problem with “science” today is its separation from metaphysics. How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?
Another problem is how little people know or are informed about the core commonalities between roots of Islam and Christianity and Judaism. As a British Muslim and artist and musician, born and bred in the heartlands of modern Western culture and civilization, it’s still disheartening. That’s why, when lecturing in public to mainly English-speaking audiences, I personally make sure to remind them that Islam embraces an unshakable belief in Jesus, Moses, Abraham and most prophets and messengers of the One true God mentioned in the Bible.
“How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?”
“If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon.”After having reached the peaceful state of submission to God, emptying his ego and bowing his head, learning to pray and fast, it was only one year after his conversion when the Iranian Revolution suddenly shook the planet. This was followed soon after by the war in Afghanistan, the Palestinian Intifada, the Iran-Iraq War, The Satanic Verses publication, the Bosnian Genocide, the list of tragedies rolled on through to 9/11 and all that followed up to the crisis we are facing in the world today with the arrival of ISIS and the ubiquitous war of-and-on terror which has invaded and affected all of us.
Now for the good news: Having recently attended the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention in Toronto over the Christmas period, it was perhaps one of the most exhilarating reminders of the wonderful faith I (first-person) had discovered and embraced before the dark clouds appeared and negative storm of propaganda against Islam began to hail down upon us.
Unfortunately, very few people know or have access to the enlightening and spiritual teachings of this faith as so much time and attention is paid to the more radicalized elements of the Muslim community. Nobody is saying such deviants do not exist, but they are unrepresentative (approx. 0.01 percent) and they receive an unfair percentage of the media’s valuable and influential space, which should be more fairly distributed to cover the real positive representations of the faith and its ethical principles.
Although the new Prime minister of Canada Mr. Justin Trudeau sent aspecial video message of welcome and support to the event, there was hardly any other blip on the radar of media consciousness. Shame. Maybe that was because there was no bomb threat, no chaotic scenes or bloodshed; so it passed most people by like a snowflake floating in the breeze without even a whimper.
Why do beautiful things have such a hard time being noticed? And here’s the point: If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon. Can’t we try a bit harder to get back on that “Peace Train” again? To recall some lyrics in that anthem, “Why must we go on hating, why can’t we live in bliss?”
It was truly refreshing listening to some of the inspiring testaments and speeches of the heart-centered scholars of this religion, reminding us of our common humanity and the links to wisdoms so often forgotten in the flattened landscape of modern reporting these days. The metaphysical mountain of knowledge and wisdom of the scholars of the heart are hardly seen or heard.
One of the illuminated (Western) Muslim scholars of the convention, Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah reminded us of the universal essence in the axis of all being: “Truth is necessarily coherent; it’s in your DNA, in your teeth, the dragonfly, the colorful fish of the reef — it’s in the Golden Mean of geometry.”
He pointed out that the major problem with “science” today is its separation from metaphysics. How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?
Another problem is how little people know or are informed about the core commonalities between roots of Islam and Christianity and Judaism. As a British Muslim and artist and musician, born and bred in the heartlands of modern Western culture and civilization, it’s still disheartening. That’s why, when lecturing in public to mainly English-speaking audiences, I personally make sure to remind them that Islam embraces an unshakable belief in Jesus, Moses, Abraham and most prophets and messengers of the One true God mentioned in the Bible.
“How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?”
“If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon.”After having reached the peaceful state of submission to God, emptying his ego and bowing his head, learning to pray and fast, it was only one year after his conversion when the Iranian Revolution suddenly shook the planet. This was followed soon after by the war in Afghanistan, the Palestinian Intifada, the Iran-Iraq War, The Satanic Verses publication, the Bosnian Genocide, the list of tragedies rolled on through to 9/11 and all that followed up to the crisis we are facing in the world today with the arrival of ISIS and the ubiquitous war of-and-on terror which has invaded and affected all of us.
Now for the good news: Having recently attended the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention in Toronto over the Christmas period, it was perhaps one of the most exhilarating reminders of the wonderful faith I (first-person) had discovered and embraced before the dark clouds appeared and negative storm of propaganda against Islam began to hail down upon us.
Unfortunately, very few people know or have access to the enlightening and spiritual teachings of this faith as so much time and attention is paid to the more radicalized elements of the Muslim community. Nobody is saying such deviants do not exist, but they are unrepresentative (approx. 0.01 percent) and they receive an unfair percentage of the media’s valuable and influential space, which should be more fairly distributed to cover the real positive representations of the faith and its ethical principles.
Although the new Prime minister of Canada Mr. Justin Trudeau sent aspecial video message of welcome and support to the event, there was hardly any other blip on the radar of media consciousness. Shame. Maybe that was because there was no bomb threat, no chaotic scenes or bloodshed; so it passed most people by like a snowflake floating in the breeze without even a whimper.
Why do beautiful things have such a hard time being noticed? And here’s the point: If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon. Can’t we try a bit harder to get back on that “Peace Train” again? To recall some lyrics in that anthem, “Why must we go on hating, why can’t we live in bliss?”
It was truly refreshing listening to some of the inspiring testaments and speeches of the heart-centered scholars of this religion, reminding us of our common humanity and the links to wisdoms so often forgotten in the flattened landscape of modern reporting these days. The metaphysical mountain of knowledge and wisdom of the scholars of the heart are hardly seen or heard.
One of the illuminated (Western) Muslim scholars of the convention, Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah reminded us of the universal essence in the axis of all being: “Truth is necessarily coherent; it’s in your DNA, in your teeth, the dragonfly, the colorful fish of the reef — it’s in the Golden Mean of geometry.”
He pointed out that the major problem with “science” today is its separation from metaphysics. How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?
Another problem is how little people know or are informed about the core commonalities between roots of Islam and Christianity and Judaism. As a British Muslim and artist and musician, born and bred in the heartlands of modern Western culture and civilization, it’s still disheartening. That’s why, when lecturing in public to mainly English-speaking audiences, I personally make sure to remind them that Islam embraces an unshakable belief in Jesus, Moses, Abraham and most prophets and messengers of the One true God mentioned in the Bible.
“How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?”
“If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon.”After having reached the peaceful state of submission to God, emptying his ego and bowing his head, learning to pray and fast, it was only one year after his conversion when the Iranian Revolution suddenly shook the planet. This was followed soon after by the war in Afghanistan, the Palestinian Intifada, the Iran-Iraq War, The Satanic Verses publication, the Bosnian Genocide, the list of tragedies rolled on through to 9/11 and all that followed up to the crisis we are facing in the world today with the arrival of ISIS and the ubiquitous war of-and-on terror which has invaded and affected all of us.
Now for the good news: Having recently attended the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention in Toronto over the Christmas period, it was perhaps one of the most exhilarating reminders of the wonderful faith I (first-person) had discovered and embraced before the dark clouds appeared and negative storm of propaganda against Islam began to hail down upon us.
Unfortunately, very few people know or have access to the enlightening and spiritual teachings of this faith as so much time and attention is paid to the more radicalized elements of the Muslim community. Nobody is saying such deviants do not exist, but they are unrepresentative (approx. 0.01 percent) and they receive an unfair percentage of the media’s valuable and influential space, which should be more fairly distributed to cover the real positive representations of the faith and its ethical principles.
Although the new Prime minister of Canada Mr. Justin Trudeau sent aspecial video message of welcome and support to the event, there was hardly any other blip on the radar of media consciousness. Shame. Maybe that was because there was no bomb threat, no chaotic scenes or bloodshed; so it passed most people by like a snowflake floating in the breeze without even a whimper.
Why do beautiful things have such a hard time being noticed? And here’s the point: If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon. Can’t we try a bit harder to get back on that “Peace Train” again? To recall some lyrics in that anthem, “Why must we go on hating, why can’t we live in bliss?”
It was truly refreshing listening to some of the inspiring testaments and speeches of the heart-centered scholars of this religion, reminding us of our common humanity and the links to wisdoms so often forgotten in the flattened landscape of modern reporting these days. The metaphysical mountain of knowledge and wisdom of the scholars of the heart are hardly seen or heard.
One of the illuminated (Western) Muslim scholars of the convention, Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah reminded us of the universal essence in the axis of all being: “Truth is necessarily coherent; it’s in your DNA, in your teeth, the dragonfly, the colorful fish of the reef — it’s in the Golden Mean of geometry.”
He pointed out that the major problem with “science” today is its separation from metaphysics. How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?
Another problem is how little people know or are informed about the core commonalities between roots of Islam and Christianity and Judaism. As a British Muslim and artist and musician, born and bred in the heartlands of modern Western culture and civilization, it’s still disheartening. That’s why, when lecturing in public to mainly English-speaking audiences, I personally make sure to remind them that Islam embraces an unshakable belief in Jesus, Moses, Abraham and most prophets and messengers of the One true God mentioned in the Bible.
“How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?”
“If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon.”After having reached the peaceful state of submission to God, emptying his ego and bowing his head, learning to pray and fast, it was only one year after his conversion when the Iranian Revolution suddenly shook the planet. This was followed soon after by the war in Afghanistan, the Palestinian Intifada, the Iran-Iraq War, The Satanic Verses publication, the Bosnian Genocide, the list of tragedies rolled on through to 9/11 and all that followed up to the crisis we are facing in the world today with the arrival of ISIS and the ubiquitous war of-and-on terror which has invaded and affected all of us.
Now for the good news: Having recently attended the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention in Toronto over the Christmas period, it was perhaps one of the most exhilarating reminders of the wonderful faith I (first-person) had discovered and embraced before the dark clouds appeared and negative storm of propaganda against Islam began to hail down upon us.
Unfortunately, very few people know or have access to the enlightening and spiritual teachings of this faith as so much time and attention is paid to the more radicalized elements of the Muslim community. Nobody is saying such deviants do not exist, but they are unrepresentative (approx. 0.01 percent) and they receive an unfair percentage of the media’s valuable and influential space, which should be more fairly distributed to cover the real positive representations of the faith and its ethical principles.
Although the new Prime minister of Canada Mr. Justin Trudeau sent aspecial video message of welcome and support to the event, there was hardly any other blip on the radar of media consciousness. Shame. Maybe that was because there was no bomb threat, no chaotic scenes or bloodshed; so it passed most people by like a snowflake floating in the breeze without even a whimper.
Why do beautiful things have such a hard time being noticed? And here’s the point: If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon. Can’t we try a bit harder to get back on that “Peace Train” again? To recall some lyrics in that anthem, “Why must we go on hating, why can’t we live in bliss?”
It was truly refreshing listening to some of the inspiring testaments and speeches of the heart-centered scholars of this religion, reminding us of our common humanity and the links to wisdoms so often forgotten in the flattened landscape of modern reporting these days. The metaphysical mountain of knowledge and wisdom of the scholars of the heart are hardly seen or heard.
One of the illuminated (Western) Muslim scholars of the convention, Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah reminded us of the universal essence in the axis of all being: “Truth is necessarily coherent; it’s in your DNA, in your teeth, the dragonfly, the colorful fish of the reef — it’s in the Golden Mean of geometry.”
He pointed out that the major problem with “science” today is its separation from metaphysics. How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?
Another problem is how little people know or are informed about the core commonalities between roots of Islam and Christianity and Judaism. As a British Muslim and artist and musician, born and bred in the heartlands of modern Western culture and civilization, it’s still disheartening. That’s why, when lecturing in public to mainly English-speaking audiences, I personally make sure to remind them that Islam embraces an unshakable belief in Jesus, Moses, Abraham and most prophets and messengers of the One true God mentioned in the Bible.
“How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?”
“If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon.”After having reached the peaceful state of submission to God, emptying his ego and bowing his head, learning to pray and fast, it was only one year after his conversion when the Iranian Revolution suddenly shook the planet. This was followed soon after by the war in Afghanistan, the Palestinian Intifada, the Iran-Iraq War, The Satanic Verses publication, the Bosnian Genocide, the list of tragedies rolled on through to 9/11 and all that followed up to the crisis we are facing in the world today with the arrival of ISIS and the ubiquitous war of-and-on terror which has invaded and affected all of us.
Now for the good news: Having recently attended the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention in Toronto over the Christmas period, it was perhaps one of the most exhilarating reminders of the wonderful faith I (first-person) had discovered and embraced before the dark clouds appeared and negative storm of propaganda against Islam began to hail down upon us.
Unfortunately, very few people know or have access to the enlightening and spiritual teachings of this faith as so much time and attention is paid to the more radicalized elements of the Muslim community. Nobody is saying such deviants do not exist, but they are unrepresentative (approx. 0.01 percent) and they receive an unfair percentage of the media’s valuable and influential space, which should be more fairly distributed to cover the real positive representations of the faith and its ethical principles.
Although the new Prime minister of Canada Mr. Justin Trudeau sent aspecial video message of welcome and support to the event, there was hardly any other blip on the radar of media consciousness. Shame. Maybe that was because there was no bomb threat, no chaotic scenes or bloodshed; so it passed most people by like a snowflake floating in the breeze without even a whimper.
Why do beautiful things have such a hard time being noticed? And here’s the point: If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon. Can’t we try a bit harder to get back on that “Peace Train” again? To recall some lyrics in that anthem, “Why must we go on hating, why can’t we live in bliss?”
It was truly refreshing listening to some of the inspiring testaments and speeches of the heart-centered scholars of this religion, reminding us of our common humanity and the links to wisdoms so often forgotten in the flattened landscape of modern reporting these days. The metaphysical mountain of knowledge and wisdom of the scholars of the heart are hardly seen or heard.
One of the illuminated (Western) Muslim scholars of the convention, Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah reminded us of the universal essence in the axis of all being: “Truth is necessarily coherent; it’s in your DNA, in your teeth, the dragonfly, the colorful fish of the reef — it’s in the Golden Mean of geometry.”
He pointed out that the major problem with “science” today is its separation from metaphysics. How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?
Another problem is how little people know or are informed about the core commonalities between roots of Islam and Christianity and Judaism. As a British Muslim and artist and musician, born and bred in the heartlands of modern Western culture and civilization, it’s still disheartening. That’s why, when lecturing in public to mainly English-speaking audiences, I personally make sure to remind them that Islam embraces an unshakable belief in Jesus, Moses, Abraham and most prophets and messengers of the One true God mentioned in the Bible.
“How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?”THE BLOG
‘Alliance of Virtue (or Get Your Bags Together)’
Jan 29, 2016 | Updated Jan 29, 2016
Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens Musician, Artist, Writer, Producer and Philanthropist
CAT STEVENS
As we settle down into the grip of another New Year, the past slips further away into obscurity and I am soberly having to grapple with the fact that many youngsters’ ears have never even heard the Beatles song, “Yesterday.” It’s an ominous sign of age creeping up and tapping you on the shoulder like a policeman halting you for driving too fast, dangling a rusty bucket in hand and reminding you of your own inescapable mortality.
If that’s the case, how much hope can we bank on to imagine they would know that there once really was a guy called Cat Stevens who dreamed of transporting his generation to a better world with a song called “Peace Train”? The chance of these young’uns ever hearing anything more about this old “Cat” becomes even more remote when you realize that he decided to embrace Islam and become a Muslim in 1977, almost 40 years ago, when none of these kids (and some of their parents) were even born.The next major ponderable impossibility would be for them — as well as their parents — to have been given enough accurate information about “why” he decided to jump off the friendly choo choo and align himself to what seems today to be an alien and anti-Western religion, hell-bent on the destruction of civilization as we know it. How can we solve this paradox as we observe the increasingly frightful and blood-chilling news connected to the name of the faith he adopted as his own — Yusuf Islam?
Listening more closely to the “Cat” and his songs of the ‘70s might have partially solved the puzzle. When he stunned the music world by walking away from fame and money, all you had to do was to listen to “Father & Son” to hear the last words of the song say, “There’s a way and I know, that I have to go — away…” But that still doesn’t really explain “why.”
Therein lies the riddle — and here comes the explanation: What people don’t know is that the actual station, at which the earnest peace-seeking singer alighted, was in fact hundreds of light years away from the (wild) world that sprouted around him following his entrance to Islam.
“If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon.”After having reached the peaceful state of submission to God, emptying his ego and bowing his head, learning to pray and fast, it was only one year after his conversion when the Iranian Revolution suddenly shook the planet. This was followed soon after by the war in Afghanistan, the Palestinian Intifada, the Iran-Iraq War, The Satanic Verses publication, the Bosnian Genocide, the list of tragedies rolled on through to 9/11 and all that followed up to the crisis we are facing in the world today with the arrival of ISIS and the ubiquitous war of-and-on terror which has invaded and affected all of us.
Now for the good news: Having recently attended the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention in Toronto over the Christmas period, it was perhaps one of the most exhilarating reminders of the wonderful faith I (first-person) had discovered and embraced before the dark clouds appeared and negative storm of propaganda against Islam began to hail down upon us.
Unfortunately, very few people know or have access to the enlightening and spiritual teachings of this faith as so much time and attention is paid to the more radicalized elements of the Muslim community. Nobody is saying such deviants do not exist, but they are unrepresentative (approx. 0.01 percent) and they receive an unfair percentage of the media’s valuable and influential space, which should be more fairly distributed to cover the real positive representations of the faith and its ethical principles.
Although the new Prime minister of Canada Mr. Justin Trudeau sent aspecial video message of welcome and support to the event, there was hardly any other blip on the radar of media consciousness. Shame. Maybe that was because there was no bomb threat, no chaotic scenes or bloodshed; so it passed most people by like a snowflake floating in the breeze without even a whimper.
Why do beautiful things have such a hard time being noticed? And here’s the point: If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon. Can’t we try a bit harder to get back on that “Peace Train” again? To recall some lyrics in that anthem, “Why must we go on hating, why can’t we live in bliss?”
It was truly refreshing listening to some of the inspiring testaments and speeches of the heart-centered scholars of this religion, reminding us of our common humanity and the links to wisdoms so often forgotten in the flattened landscape of modern reporting these days. The metaphysical mountain of knowledge and wisdom of the scholars of the heart are hardly seen or heard.
One of the illuminated (Western) Muslim scholars of the convention, Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah reminded us of the universal essence in the axis of all being: “Truth is necessarily coherent; it’s in your DNA, in your teeth, the dragonfly, the colorful fish of the reef — it’s in the Golden Mean of geometry.”
He pointed out that the major problem with “science” today is its separation from metaphysics. How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?
Another problem is how little people know or are informed about the core commonalities between roots of Islam and Christianity and Judaism. As a British Muslim and artist and musician, born and bred in the heartlands of modern Western culture and civilization, it’s still disheartening. That’s why, when lecturing in public to mainly English-speaking audiences, I personally make sure to remind them that Islam embraces an unshakable belief in Jesus, Moses, Abraham and most prophets and messengers of the One true God mentioned in the Bible.
“How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?”Like most things, the trouble lies is in the narrowness of our perception, as well as where we first obtain our information about such increasingly politicized subjects. The meaning of belief in God ultimately should lead a person to be the most humane and charitable, exemplified by the true teachers of faith, the chosen missionaries of God. The Last Prophet Muhammad said, “He is not a believer who goes to sleep while his belly is full while his neighbor goes hungry.”
He also prophesized that there would arise extremists of faith who’s “words go no further than their throats.” The name given to radicals in Muslim history has always been the same: outsiders (al-khawarij). The Prophet maintained that the best of affairs lies in the “middlemost” of it, calling for justice, balance and moderation. And this was exactly what the convention was inviting to; the necessity of an “Alliance of Virtue.”
It is high time the good people of the world, from all faiths and denominations work together to benefit mankind, through knowledge and good actions. The center is where we can all meet; a place where we can stand high above the sloganizing and chaos caused by religious radicals and soldiers of self-immolation and destruction. One of the memorable sayings of a famous Muslim mystic, Rumi, comes to mind here: “Out beyond the ideas of wrong and right there is a field… I’ll meet you there.” In that spirit, the words of my old song “Peace Train” also resonate:
THE BLOG‘Alliance of Virtue (or Get Your Bags Together)’
Jan 29, 2016 | Updated Jan 29, 2016
Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens Musician, Artist, Writer, Producer and Philanthropist
CAT STEVENS
As we settle down into the grip of another New Year, the past slips further away into obscurity and I am soberly having to grapple with the fact that many youngsters’ ears have never even heard the Beatles song, “Yesterday.” It’s an ominous sign of age creeping up and tapping you on the shoulder like a policeman halting you for driving too fast, dangling a rusty bucket in hand and reminding you of your own inescapable mortality.
If that’s the case, how much hope can we bank on to imagine they would know that there once really was a guy called Cat Stevens who dreamed of transporting his generation to a better world with a song called “Peace Train”? The chance of these young’uns ever hearing anything more about this old “Cat” becomes even more remote when you realize that he decided to embrace Islam and become a Muslim in 1977, almost 40 years ago, when none of these kids (and some of their parents) were even born.The next major ponderable impossibility would be for them — as well as their parents — to have been given enough accurate information about “why” he decided to jump off the friendly choo choo and align himself to what seems today to be an alien and anti-Western religion, hell-bent on the destruction of civilization as we know it. How can we solve this paradox as we observe the increasingly frightful and blood-chilling news connected to the name of the faith he adopted as his own — Yusuf Islam?
Listening more closely to the “Cat” and his songs of the ‘70s might have partially solved the puzzle. When he stunned the music world by walking away from fame and money, all you had to do was to listen to “Father & Son” to hear the last words of the song say, “There’s a way and I know, that I have to go — away…” But that still doesn’t really explain “why.”
Therein lies the riddle — and here comes the explanation: What people don’t know is that the actual station, at which the earnest peace-seeking singer alighted, was in fact hundreds of light years away from the (wild) world that sprouted around him following his entrance to Islam.
“If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon.”
Now for the good news: Having recently attended the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention in Toronto over the Christmas period, it was perhaps one of the most exhilarating reminders of the wonderful faith I (first-person) had discovered and embraced before the dark clouds appeared and negative storm of propaganda against Islam began to hail down upon us.
Unfortunately, very few people know or have access to the enlightening and spiritual teachings of this faith as so much time and attention is paid to the more radicalized elements of the Muslim community. Nobody is saying such deviants do not exist, but they are unrepresentative (approx. 0.01 percent) and they receive an unfair percentage of the media’s valuable and influential space, which should be more fairly distributed to cover the real positive representations of the faith and its ethical principles.
If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon. Can’t we try a bit harder to get back on that “Peace Train” again? To recall some lyrics in that anthem, “Why must we go on hating, why can’t we live in bliss?”
It was truly refreshing listening to some of the inspiring testaments and speeches of the heart-centered scholars of this religion, reminding us of our common humanity and the links to wisdoms so often forgotten in the flattened landscape of modern reporting these days. The metaphysical mountain of knowledge and wisdom of the scholars of the heart are hardly seen or heard.
One of the illuminated (Western) Muslim scholars of the convention, Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah reminded us of the universal essence in the axis of all being: “Truth is necessarily coherent; it’s in your DNA, in your teeth, the dragonfly, the colorful fish of the reef — it’s in the Golden Mean of geometry.”
He pointed out that the major problem with “science” today is its separation from metaphysics. How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?
Another problem is how little people know or are informed about the core commonalities between roots of Islam and Christianity and Judaism. As a British Muslim and artist and musician, born and bred in the heartlands of modern Western culture and civilization, it’s still disheartening. That’s why, when lecturing in public to mainly English-speaking audiences, I personally make sure to remind them that Islam embraces an unshakable belief in Jesus, Moses, Abraham and most prophets and messengers of the One true God mentioned in the Bible.
“How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?”Like most things, the trouble lies is in the narrowness of our perception, as well as where we first obtain our information about such increasingly politicized subjects. The meaning of belief in God ultimately should lead a person to be the most humane and charitable, exemplified by the true teachers of faith, the chosen missionaries of God. The Last Prophet Muhammad said, “He is not a believer who goes to sleep while his belly is full while his neighbor goes hungry.”
He also prophesized that there would arise extremists of faith who’s “words go no further than their throats.” The name given to radicals in Muslim history has always been the same: outsiders (al-khawarij). The Prophet maintained that the best of affairs lies in the “middlemost” of it, calling for justice, balance and moderation. And this was exactly what the convention was inviting to; the necessity of an “Alliance of Virtue.”
It is high time the good people of the world, from all faiths and denominations work together to benefit mankind, through knowledge and good actions. The center is where we can all meet; a place where we can stand high above the sloganizing and chaos caused by religious radicals and soldiers of self-immolation and destruction. One of the memorable sayings of a famous Muslim mystic, Rumi, comes to mind here: “Out beyond the ideas of wrong and right there is a field… I’ll meet you there.” In that spirit, the words of my old song “Peace Train” also resonate:
Get your bags together,Go bring your good friends, too
‘Cause it’s getting nearer
It soon will be with you
Call me Cat or Yusuf, I am an optimist — and a believer cannot be anything else. Until that great train arrives, I hope that the expanding year will truly be one in which we can resolutely commit to our common humanity, and practice the heavenly teachings of true teachers and guides, many of whom I was honored to meet at the Convention in Toronto.
Peace be with you
Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens)
For further information about the Revival of Islamic Spirit Convention please go to: risconvention.com.
More: Canada Justin Trudeau Community Mysticism Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens Musician, Artist, Writer, Producer and Philanthropist
The next major ponderable impossibility would be for them — as well as their parents — to have been given enough accurate information about “why” he decided to jump off the friendly choo choo and align himself to what seems today to be an alien and anti-Western religion, hell-bent on the destruction of civilization as we know it. How can we solve this paradox as we observe the increasingly frightful and blood-chilling news connected to the name of the faith he adopted as his own — Yusuf Islam?
Listening more closely to the “Cat” and his songs of the ‘70s might have partially solved the puzzle. When he stunned the music world by walking away from fame and money, all you had to do was to listen to “Father & Son” to hear the last words of the song say, “There’s a way and I know, that I have to go — away…” But that still doesn’t really explain “why.”
Therein lies the riddle — and here comes the explanation: What people don’t know is that the actual station, at which the earnest peace-seeking singer alighted, was in fact hundreds of light years away from the (wild) world that sprouted around him following his entrance to Islam.
“If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon.”After having reached the peaceful state of submission to God, emptying his ego and bowing his head, learning to pray and fast, it was only one year after his conversion when the Iranian Revolution suddenly shook the planet. This was followed soon after by the war in Afghanistan, the Palestinian Intifada, the Iran-Iraq War, The Satanic Verses publication, the Bosnian Genocide, the list of tragedies rolled on through to 9/11 and all that followed up to the crisis we are facing in the world today with the arrival of ISIS and the ubiquitous war of-and-on terror which has invaded and affected all of us.
Now for the good news: Having recently attended the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention in Toronto over the Christmas period, it was perhaps one of the most exhilarating reminders of the wonderful faith I (first-person) had discovered and embraced before the dark clouds appeared and negative storm of propaganda against Islam began to hail down upon us.
Unfortunately, very few people know or have access to the enlightening and spiritual teachings of this faith as so much time and attention is paid to the more radicalized elements of the Muslim community. Nobody is saying such deviants do not exist, but they are unrepresentative (approx. 0.01 percent) and they receive an unfair percentage of the media’s valuable and influential space, which should be more fairly distributed to cover the real positive representations of the faith and its ethical principles.
Although the new Prime minister of Canada Mr. Justin Trudeau sent aspecial video message of welcome and support to the event, there was hardly any other blip on the radar of media consciousness. Shame. Maybe that was because there was no bomb threat, no chaotic scenes or bloodshed; so it passed most people by like a snowflake floating in the breeze without even a whimper.
Why do beautiful things have such a hard time being noticed? And here’s the point: If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon. Can’t we try a bit harder to get back on that “Peace Train” again? To recall some lyrics in that anthem, “Why must we go on hating, why can’t we live in bliss?”
It was truly refreshing listening to some of the inspiring testaments and speeches of the heart-centered scholars of this religion, reminding us of our common humanity and the links to wisdoms so often forgotten in the flattened landscape of modern reporting these days. The metaphysical mountain of knowledge and wisdom of the scholars of the heart are hardly seen or heard.
One of the illuminated (Western) Muslim scholars of the convention, Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah reminded us of the universal essence in the axis of all being: “Truth is necessarily coherent; it’s in your DNA, in your teeth, the dragonfly, the colorful fish of the reef — it’s in the Golden Mean of geometry.”
He pointed out that the major problem with “science” today is its separation from metaphysics. How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?
Another problem is how little people know or are informed about the core commonalities between roots of Islam and Christianity and Judaism. As a British Muslim and artist and musician, born and bred in the heartlands of modern Western culture and civilization, it’s still disheartening. That’s why, when lecturing in public to mainly English-speaking audiences, I personally make sure to remind them that Islam embraces an unshakable belief in Jesus, Moses, Abraham and most prophets and messengers of the One true God mentioned in the Bible.
“How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?”Like most things, the trouble lies is in the narrowness of our perception, as well as where we first obtain our information about such increasingly politicized subjects. The meaning of belief in God ultimately should lead a person to be the most humane and charitable, exemplified by the true teachers of faith, the chosen missionaries of God. The Last Prophet Muhammad said, “He is not a believer who goes to sleep while his belly is full while his neighbor goes hungry.”
He also prophesized that there would arise extremists of faith who’s “words go no further than their throats.” The name given to radicals in Muslim history has always been the same: outsiders (al-khawarij). The Prophet maintained that the best of affairs lies in the “middlemost” of it, calling for justice, balance and moderation. And this was exactly what the convention was inviting to; the necessity of an “Alliance of Virtue.”
It is high time the good people of the world, from all faiths and denominations work together to benefit mankind, through knowledge and good actions. The center is where we can all meet; a place where we can stand high above the sloganizing and chaos caused by religious radicals and soldiers of self-immolation and destruction. One of the memorable sayings of a famous Muslim mystic, Rumi, comes to mind here: “Out beyond the ideas of wrong and right there is a field… I’ll meet you there.” In that spirit, the words of my old song “Peace Train” also resonate:
Get your bags together,Go bring your good friends, too
‘Cause it’s getting nearer
It soon will be with you
Call me Cat or Yusuf, I am an optimist — and a believer cannot be anything else. Until that great train arrives, I hope that the expanding year will truly be one in which we can resolutely commit to our common humanity, and practice the heavenly teachings of true teachers and guides, many of whom I was honored to meet at the Convention in Toronto.
Peace be with you
Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens)
For further information about the Revival of Islamic Spirit Convention please go to: risconvention.com.
More: Canada Justin Trudeau Community Mysticism Cat Stevens
THE BLOG
‘Alliance of Virtue (or Get Your Bags Together)’
Jan 29, 2016 | Updated Jan 29, 2016
Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens Musician, Artist, Writer, Producer and Philanthropist
CAT STEVENS
As we settle down into the grip of another New Year, the past slips further away into obscurity and I am soberly having to grapple with the fact that many youngsters’ ears have never even heard the Beatles song, “Yesterday.” It’s an ominous sign of age creeping up and tapping you on the shoulder like a policeman halting you for driving too fast, dangling a rusty bucket in hand and reminding you of your own inescapable mortality.
If that’s the case, how much hope can we bank on to imagine they would know that there once really was a guy called Cat Stevens who dreamed of transporting his generation to a better world with a song called “Peace Train”? The chance of these young’uns ever hearing anything more about this old “Cat” becomes even more remote when you realize that he decided to embrace Islam and become a Muslim in 1977, almost 40 years ago, when none of these kids (and some of their parents) were even born.The next major ponderable impossibility would be for them — as well as their parents — to have been given enough accurate information about “why” he decided to jump off the friendly choo choo and align himself to what seems today to be an alien and anti-Western religion, hell-bent on the destruction of civilization as we know it. How can we solve this paradox as we observe the increasingly frightful and blood-chilling news connected to the name of the faith he adopted as his own — Yusuf Islam?
Listening more closely to the “Cat” and his songs of the ‘70s might have partially solved the puzzle. When he stunned the music world by walking away from fame and money, all you had to do was to listen to “Father & Son” to hear the last words of the song say, “There’s a way and I know, that I have to go — away…” But that still doesn’t really explain “why.”
Therein lies the riddle — and here comes the explanation: What people don’t know is that the actual station, at which the earnest peace-seeking singer alighted, was in fact hundreds of light years away from the (wild) world that sprouted around him following his entrance to Islam.
“If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon.”After having reached the peaceful state of submission to God, emptying his ego and bowing his head, learning to pray and fast, it was only one year after his conversion when the Iranian Revolution suddenly shook the planet. This was followed soon after by the war in Afghanistan, the Palestinian Intifada, the Iran-Iraq War, The Satanic Verses publication, the Bosnian Genocide, the list of tragedies rolled on through to 9/11 and all that followed up to the crisis we are facing in the world today with the arrival of ISIS and the ubiquitous war of-and-on terror which has invaded and affected all of us.
Now for the good news: Having recently attended the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention in Toronto over the Christmas period, it was perhaps one of the most exhilarating reminders of the wonderful faith I (first-person) had discovered and embraced before the dark clouds appeared and negative storm of propaganda against Islam began to hail down upon us.
Unfortunately, very few people know or have access to the enlightening and spiritual teachings of this faith as so much time and attention is paid to the more radicalized elements of the Muslim community. Nobody is saying such deviants do not exist, but they are unrepresentative (approx. 0.01 percent) and they receive an unfair percentage of the media’s valuable and influential space, which should be more fairly distributed to cover the real positive representations of the faith and its ethical principles.
Although the new Prime minister of Canada Mr. Justin Trudeau sent a
Another problem is how little people know or are informed about the core commonalities between roots of Islam and Christianity and Judaism. As a British Muslim and artist and musician, born and bred in the heartlands of modern Western culture and civilization, it’s still disheartening. That’s why, when lecturing in public to mainly English-speaking audiences, I personally make sure to remind them that Islam embraces an unshakable belief in Jesus, Moses, Abraham and most prophets and messengers of the One true God mentioned in the Bible.
“How can you study the beauties of the intricately unified geometric patterns of the cosmos and not recognize the awesome intellect and artist behind its existence?”Like most things, the trouble lies is in the narrowness of our perception, as well as where we first obtain our information about such increasingly politicized subjects. The meaning of belief in God ultimately should lead a person to be the most humane and charitable, exemplified by the true teachers of faith, the chosen missionaries of God. The Last Prophet Muhammad said, “He is not a believer who goes to sleep while his belly is full while his neighbor goes hungry.”
He also prophesized that there would arise extremists of faith who’s “words go no further than their throats.” The name given to radicals in Muslim history has always been the same: outsiders (al-khawarij). The Prophet maintained that the best of affairs lies in the “middlemost” of it, calling for justice, balance and moderation. And this was exactly what the convention was inviting to; the necessity of an “Alliance of Virtue.”
It is high time the good people of the world, from all faiths and denominations work together to benefit mankind, through knowledge and good actions. The center is where we can all meet; a place where we can stand high above the sloganizing and chaos caused by religious radicals and soldiers of self-immolation and destruction. One of the memorable sayings of a famous Muslim mystic, Rumi, comes to mind here: “Out beyond the ideas of wrong and right there is a field… I’ll meet you there.” In that spirit, the words of my old song “Peace Train” also resonate:
Get your bags together,Go bring your good friends, too
‘Cause it’s getting nearer
It soon will be with you
Call me Cat or Yusuf, I am an optimist — and a believer cannot be anything else. Until that great train arrives, I hope that the expanding year will truly be one in which we can resolutely commit to our common humanity, and practice the heavenly teachings of true teachers and guides, many of whom I was honored to meet at the Convention in Toronto.
Peace be with you
Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens)
For further information about the Revival of Islamic Spirit Convention please go to: risconvention.com.
More: Canada Justin Trudeau Community Mysticism Cat Stevens
Get your bags together,
Go bring your good friends, too
‘Cause it’s getting nearer
It soon will be with you
Call me Cat or Yusuf, I am an optimist — and a believer cannot be anything else. Until that great train arrives, I hope that the expanding year will truly be one in which we can resolutely commit to our common humanity, and practice the heavenly teachings of true teachers and guides, many of whom I was honored to meet at the Convention in Toronto.
Peace be with you
Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens)
For further information about the Revival of Islamic Spirit Convention please go to: risconvention.com.Like most things, the trouble lies is in the narrowness of our perception, as well as where we first obtain our information about such increasingly politicized subjects. The meaning of belief in God ultimately should lead a person to be the most humane and charitable, exemplified by the true teachers of faith, the chosen missionaries of God. The Last Prophet Muhammad said, “He is not a believer who goes to sleep while his belly is full while his neighbor goes hungry.”
He also prophesized that there would arise extremists of faith who’s “words go no further than their throats.” The name given to radicals in Muslim history has always been the same: outsiders (al-khawarij). The Prophet maintained that the best of affairs lies in the “middlemost” of it, calling for justice, balance and moderation. And this was exactly what the convention was inviting to; the necessity of an “Alliance of Virtue.”
It is high time the good people of the world, from all faiths and denominations work together to benefit mankind, through knowledge and good actions. The center is where we can all meet; a place where we can stand high above the sloganizing and chaos caused by religious radicals and soldiers of self-immolation and destruction. One of the memorable sayings of a famous Muslim mystic, Rumi, comes to mind here: “Out beyond the ideas of wrong and right there is a field… I’ll meet you there.” In that spirit, the words of my old song “Peace Train” also resonate:
Get your bags together,Go bring your good friends, too
‘Cause it’s getting nearer
It soon will be with you
Call me Cat or Yusuf, I am an optimist — and a believer cannot be anything else. Until that great train arrives, I hope that the expanding year will truly be one in which we can resolutely commit to our common humanity, and practice the heavenly teachings of true teachers and guides, many of whom I was honored to meet at the Convention in Toronto.
Peace be with you
Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens)
For further information about the Revival of Islamic Spirit Convention please go to: risconvention.com.
Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens
Soon after Cat received a copy of the Koran and in 1977 he embraced Islam.
He loved the name Joseph and took its Arabic equivalent as his new name, becoming Yusuf Islam. Then he amazed the world by walking away from fame and his career as a music star, to start a family and immerse himself in charity work and education.
“I wasn’t too worried about what people thought, people would get to understand, gradually, I said to myself. After all, everybody knew I was ‘on the road to findout.”
After marrying and having children, Yusuf became involved with education and humanitarian relief. After years of ceaseless campaigning, Yusuf received the news in 1998 whilst on the road to Sarajevo that the primary school he had founded in 1983 had been awarded grant–maintained status, an historic first for the country.
In the late nineties, Yusuf along with his wife, Fawziah, established the aid charity, Small Kindness, initially to help orphans, needy families and widows in the Balkans following the recent war and conflicts there.
If Mr Zuckerberg Encountering a Lifeguard on a Beach Said : HEY MAN!!!! You’ve Rescued Too Many Today Throw Some Refugees Back or You are Blocked from MY RESCUE FEATURE !!!! What Then?
IF YOU MEET THE BUDDHA ON THE ROAD KILL HIM SPAKE BUDDHAH
My question is this: when does imposing our perception of rights onto someone turn into xenopohbia. It’s a topic I myself have struggled with throughout the years. This is a video of two feminist from the group Femen who protest at an Islamic conference, which was allegedly discussing the the rights over a husband to […]
https://ikeonwubuya.wordpress.com/2016/04/16/xenophobia-and-feminism/
Source: Gulf News Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz said he has no problem with the official religious authority on the issue of women driving. The prince told Bloomberg the problem he’s “working to resolve is with those who distort the facts of the religious establishment so that women […]
http://themuslimtimes.info/2016/04/22/riyadh-moving-against-distortion-of-religion/
vanguard ninja @INTJutsu Iran bars female politician from parliament for ‘shaking a man’s hand’ #PJNET #tcot . http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/15/iran-bars-female-mp-for-shaking-hands-with-unrelated-man … . .
https://boudica2015.wordpress.com/2016/04/21/irans-evolution/
Mullahs Fashion Institute of Technology, QomMore countries restrict women’s ability to wear religious symbols or attire than require women to dress a certain way
In many countries around the world, women’s choices about their attire and appearance are restricted to some degree by government laws, policies or regulations. In recent years, most of these countries have had laws or policies that ban women from wearing religious attire in public places or limit their ability to do so in some circumstances. By comparison, far fewer countries require women to wear particular types of attire (such as headscarves or long dresses) for religious reasons.
As part of its annual study on government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion, Pew Research Center tracks the number of countries where some level of government – national, provincial or local – regulates “the wearing of religious symbols, such as head coverings for women and facial hair for men.”1 Looking at only those laws, policies or regulations that apply specifically to women, the Center finds that 50 of the 198 countries and territories included in the study had at least one law or policy regulating women’s religious attire in 2012 and 2013, the two most recent years for which data are available. About three-quarters of those countries (39 of the 50, or 78%) had a law or policy limiting women’s ability to wear religious attire, while about a quarter (12 of the 50, or 24%) had at least one law or policy requiring women to wear particular attire. Some of these laws or policies applied nationwide, while others were imposed at the provincial, state or local level. One country – Russia – had policies forbidding women from wearing religious attire (in the territory of Stavropol, where Muslim headscarves, or hijabs, were banned in public schools) as well as policies requiring women to wear religious attire (in Chechnya, where women were required to wear hijabs in all public buildings).
How do people in Muslim countries prefer women to dress in public? This question was raised by a recent, much-discussed survey from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, apparently as part of a comprehensive study on post-Arab Spring attitudes toward America and democratic values.
The survey was conducted in seven countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey), which aren’t all Arab or Muslim. Lebanon is not a Muslim country, and Turkey and Pakistan are not Arab countries.
The results, as outlined on the Pew Research Center’s FactTank, find that most people in the countries studied prefer that a woman completely cover her hair, but not necessarily her face. Only in Turkey and Lebanon do more than one in four think it is appropriate for a woman to not cover her head at all in public.The second key question was: Should women be able to choose their own clothing?
I’m a little leery of this type of dichotomy in research questions, where you are given only two options — yes or no — especially when the question concerns a complicated social value, such as Muslim women’s freedom to chose their own dress. The study surveyed both male and female, but didn’t break the answers down by gender.
In a nutshell, the study found that only 14 percent in Egypt think women should choose their own dress, as opposed to 47 percent in Saudi Arabia.
That means that 86 percent of respondents in Egypt, where women relatively have more latitude in their fashion selections, want someone else to influence their choices, while in Saudi Arabia, where women are forced to consult with only one fashion designer, the Islamic dress code, 47 percent think they could make a better choice themselves.
This kind of study doesn’t really measure Muslim attitudes toward women’s clothing so much as it reflects the Western attitude toward Muslim women and Muslim people.
Just imagine, for the sake of argument, someone asking the same two questions in America, where the fashion industry spends as much money trying to control women’s bodies as the military spent invading Iraq.
The fashion industry tells American women how to dress — not necessarily how much hair they should cover in public, but how much skin they should reveal.
And how would Minnesota women answer the question: “What style of dress is appropriate for women in public?” Never mind how men would answer. In the recent frigid weather, where some parts of the state reached 40 below, I’d bet lots of women wouldn’t mind style No. 1 that much.
Contributor: Ahmed Tharwat is a public speaker and hosts the Arab-American show “Belahdan” at 10:30 p.m. Mondays on Twin Cities Public Television. He blogs at http://www.ahmediatv.com
Source: Pew Research Center
More countries restrict women’s ability to wear religious symbols or attire than require women to dress a certain way
In many countries around the world, women’s choices about their attire and appearance are restricted to some degree by government laws, policies or regulations. In recent years, most of these countries have had laws or policies that ban women from wearing religious attire in public places or limit their ability to do so in some circumstances. By comparison, far fewer countries require women to wear particular types of attire (such as headscarves or long dresses) for religious reasons.
As part of its annual study on government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion, Pew Research Center tracks the number of countries where some level of government – national, provincial or local – regulates “the wearing of religious symbols, such as head coverings for women and facial…
View original post 538 more words
The British Library’s oldest Qur’an manuscript has been put online. “The British Library’s oldest Qur’ān manuscript, Or.2165, dating from the eighth century, has now been fully digitised and is available on the British Library’s Digitised Manuscripts site. Among the most ancient copies of the Qurʼān, it comprises 121 folios containing over two-thirds of the complete […]
http://rbfirehose.com/2016/04/08/8th-century-quran-document-digitized-and-put-online/
From Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art: The artist and the fundamentalist arise from societies at differing stages of development. The artist is the advanced model. His culture possesses affluence, stability, enough excess of resource to permit the luxury of self-examination. The artist is grounded in freedom. He is not afraid of it. He is […]
http://regressiveanalysis.com/2016/04/04/pulling-people-off-a-lifeboat-onto-a-sinking-ship/
My review of Mona Siddiqui’s absorbing book appears in this month’s Third Way magazine. Amid an escalating refugee crisis, a tangle of wars in the Middle East and the presence of Muslims in Europe called into question, a clear, humane study of hospitality and Islam by Professor Mona Siddiqui has arrived as if to order. […]
http://catrionarobertson.org/2016/04/03/hospitality-islam-mona-siddiqui/
Mark Geoffrey Kirshner 