Some Muslims are scared to acknowledge cultural traditions other than their own for fear that they will lose their Muslim identity. Well, I’ve got news for you: there’s a difference between culture and religion.
Dec 292012
Oct 102012
October brings with it another problem for Muslims: Is it all right for us to celebrate Halloween? On the blog GOATMILK, as part of its ongoing series of debates, a guest blogger recently wrote an article about why Muslims should be allowed to practice Halloween. (See article here.) Basically her reasoning went like this: Other cultural practices lack an Islamic origin or a pure history, but have permeated into the fabric of our lives, and [...]
Aug 132012
During Ramadan, we often pat ourselves on the back for fasting, or think obsessively about the food we can’t eat, or stuff ourselves when we break the fast. But what about those who have no choice, who have no food, who have no one to help them? What are we doing to combat real hunger in this world?
Jul 202012
Muslims don’t make it easy to learn about Islam. That’s because they have a schizophrenic attitude toward knowledge.
The Individual and the Ummah
Five Pillars, Personal Accountability, Personal Growth, The Ummah
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Jul 052012
Muslims are constantly talking about the ummah, which means “community,” specifically the community of all believers. We’re proud of being a part of this community, but in actual practice we do little to foster a feeling of fellowship among its members. Sure, we all pray “together” five times a day and fast at the same time during the month of Ramadan. And there are mosques where we can gather for prayer and other events. But [...]
Dec 272011
I saw a post on Facebook the other day that said that when we say “Merry Christmas” we are essentially agreeing that Jesus was born on December 25th and because that’s not actual fact, we are committing shirk when we say it.
What Christmas Means to Me
Belief, Society and Politics
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Dec 232011
The Christmas season is a bittersweet time for me as an American Muslim convert. I cherish my memories of Christmases past. I haven’t forgotten the excitement about Santa’s yearly visit: the letters I mailed to him (usually without stamps), the pictures my mom had taken of me on Santa’s knee, the selection and decoration of the tree, the visits to Secret Santa’s Gift Shop at Lazarus (the forerunner to Macy’s) to buy gifts for my [...]