IslamAmerica

Submission to God

host — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 11:38:00 GMT

Former Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic describes submission to the will of God as "the strength of the soul to face the times."

The Unfolding Legacy of Islam

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 14:09:00 GMT

A report from a recent Nawawi Foundation conference that took on the question, "What is the Islamic Tradition?" In attendance were Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf.

Muslim Scholars Respond to Pope Benedict

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:51:00 GMT

An overview of the recent letter dismantling some of the Pope's recent misrepresentations of Islam.

Islam: Religion or Ideology?

host — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 09:45:00 GMT

Imam Zaid Shakir responds to the tendency of Muslim ideologues to use Islam to justify political needs.

True Jihad

host — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:04:00 GMT

Dr. Elizabeth Debold speaks to the stark reality of the arrogance of the ego-self, which seeks separation and individual recognition. The ability to name the evil that lurks within the individual self empowers us, she explains, to address the evils of terrorism, violence and oppression; and indeed, the fact that the pursuit of our ego and selfish desires can only end in our own individual destruction as well.

Money Should Work For Us, Not the Other Way Around

host — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:00:00 GMT

More than 1400 years ago, God informed us in the Qur'an -- the revealed scripture of Islam -- that interest-based money (riba or usury) was off limits. In the article below, a respected international finance expert, Belgian International Finance Professor Bernard Lietaer, argues that global interest-based money is the root of destructive problems such as the wealth gap, environmental devastation and sustainability issues. He proposes that we re-introduce, on a larger scale than currently in practice, complementary money systems based on the system of barter in order to foster long-term financial cooperation rather than avaricious competition over money that inevitably remains scarce in an interest-based economy.

Why Do Muslims Fast?

host — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 13:26:00 GMT

Noted Islamic scholar and George Washington University professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr comments on the meaning of the Muslim fast (sawm). This excerpt from a larger work of Dr. Nasr is a reminder of Islam's ascetic character and the necessity of spiritual poverty (faqr) before God.

Women, Shari'a and Oppression -- Where are the Voices of Conservative Muslims?

host — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:17:00 GMT

American convert to Islam, Siraji Umm Zaid, wonders at the reluctance of conservative Muslim leadership to speak against honor killings, female genital mutilation or the denial of education to women. The basis for condemning such behavior is within Islam itself, but when Muslims are silent, the rights of Muslim women become championed by those who might bear animosity towards Muslims

Some Responsibilities of the Husband and Rights of the Wife in Islam

host — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:22:00 GMT

Prominent Muslim scholar Dr. G.F. Haddad responds to the concern that explanations of marital rights and responsibilities most often give rights to men and duties to women.

Opinion on the Afghani Demolition of Ancient Religious Symbols

host — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 07:49:00 GMT

According to the Washington Post, the Taliban announced the beginning of a campaign to destroy all statutes in Afghanistan, including the historical statues of Bamiyan, in the name of Islam.

Finding the Prophet in his People

host — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:30:00 GMT

Noted American Muslim intellectual and activist Dr. Ingrid Mattson characterizes the Muslim's embodiment of the Prophetic behavioral ideal (Sunnah) as the realization of a sacred art form.

In the Spirit of Tradition

host — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:15:00 GMT

This essay by Nazim Baksh articulates the sense in which the word "tradition" may be used in describing the mainstream practice of the Muslims throughout history. Rather than being a label, it is a broad area of practice of al-din that provides a time-tested means of determining which applications of our tradition may be said to be "authentic."

Islam, Irigaray, and the Retrieval of Gender

host — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 21:56:00 GMT

Sexual difference not only creates a predisposition to be interested in certain kinds of issues, but fundamentally affects every way in which we handle concepts.

What Is the Koran?

host — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 21:50:00 GMT

The main issue in "What Is the Ko-ran?," by Toby Lester (January Atlantic), is not how one looks at the Koran as a so-called historical text and analyzes it according to the principles of textual or biblical criticism but, rather, how one conceives the very notion of revelation.

fiqh al-aqaliyaat (Fiqh Related to Muslims Living as Minorities)

host — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:36:00 GMT

An edited transcription of a talk given by Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah on July 31, 1999 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California.

Literalism and the Attributes of Allah

host — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:26:00 GMT

We shall see that literalism was a school of thought in Islamic jurisprudence, though not considered a very strong one by traditional scholars. But in tenets of faith, and particularly in interpreting the relation of the mutashabihat to the attributes of Allah, literalism has never been accepted as an Islamic school of thought, neither among the Salaf or early Muslims, nor those who came later.

The 'Aqidah (Islamic Belief) of Imam Tahawi

host — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:20:00 GMT

Imam Tahawi's al-'Aqidah, representative of the viewpoint of ahl-al- Sunnah wa-al-Jama'a, has long been the most widely acclaimed, and indeed indispensable, reference work on Muslim beliefs, of which this is an edited English translation.

How Do We Deal With Differences of Opinions?

host — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:02:00 GMT

Difference of opinion between people is natural and inherent due to their characters, ways of thinking and understanding. These affect people's perception and judgment of things.