A primary concern says the Rev. Jenne’ Gilchrist, vice president of the Virginia Council of Churches, is the expansion of Medicaid to about 400,000 low-income Virginians.
“We don’t see this as a religious issue so much as a common decency and compassion issue,” Gilchrist says. “It may be reflective in the doctrines we upheld in our varied beliefs, but overall it’s not even a partisan issue rather than a humanitarian issue.”
"Spirituality is not to forget the world and become closer to Him. It is to be in and a part of this world and remember Him."
— Tariq Ramadan, Reviving the Islamic Spirit (via storyseldomtold)
(via tariqramadan)
"To the true servant of God every place is the right place and every time is the right time."
— Catherine of Siena
(Source: sojo.net)
With rising anti-Muslim sentiment across the country, an untold story is raising greater awareness about the Muslim faith and the teachings of the Quran. That awareness comes from an unlikely source: a small Jewish congregation in Creve Coeur.
Temple Emanuel is premiering a groundbreaking exhibit of photos that reveals Albanian Muslims who saved 2,000 Jews during World War II.
It’s a story you’ve likely never heard. It is a story told through the faces of Albanian Muslims who risked their own lives to live by a code of faith and honor called Besa.“They were among the people who at great personal risk sheltered Jews and protected them in their homes and did so out of a religious obligation,” said Rabbi Justin Kerber, Temple Emanuel.
"Never think that you need to protect God. Because anytime you think you need to protect God, you can be sure that you are worshipping an idol."
—
Stanley Hauerwas
This is mad deep. Many people of faith may sometimes feel a reflexive need to defend their religion from perceived attacks. These reflexes often lead to an overreaction to the perceived attacks. Reminding ourselves about how quickly we can create idols out of our faiths is a sobering thought.
(Source: sojo.net)
"Strategy is better than strength"
—
Nigerian proverb
Having a plan to improve your life will more than compensate for any disadvantages/challenges you think you have. This is what comes to mind when God says in the Quran:
“And We charge no soul except [with that within] its capacity, and with Us is a record which speaks with truth; and they will not be wronged.” (Quran 23:62)
“…if people don’t speak up for the moral principles they believe in, then the decisions will simply be made without them.”
writes Marco Grimaldo, CEO of the Va Interfaith Center for Public Policy. Great op/ed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
"We discovered that faith is not expecting that the Lord will miraculously give us whatever we ask, or feeling that we will not be killed and that everything will turn out as we want. We learned that faith is putting ourselves in [God’s] hands, whatever happens, good or bad. [God] will help us somehow."
— Felipe and Mary Barreda from, Common Prayer - A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
(Source: sojo.net)
Continuing the discussion of Islam & Culture, Mustafa Akyol has a great TEDtalk about how many Islamic practices may have cultural origins rooted in tradition. He covers several important topics including honor killings, female circumcision, authoritarian politics and terrorism.
Below is a quote from his talk:
In the 19th century, when Muslims were looking at Europe as an example, they were independent; they were more self-confident. In the early 20th century, with the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the whole Middle East was colonized. And when you have colonization what do you have? You have anti-colonization. So Europe is not just an example now to emulate; it’s an enemy to fight and to resist. So there’s a very sharp decline in liberal ideas in the Muslim world, and what you see is more of a defensive, rigid, reactionary strain, which led to Arab socialism, Arab nationalism and ultimately to the Islamist ideology. And when the colonial period ended, what you had in place of that was, generally, secular dictators, which say they’re a country, but did not bring democracy to the country, and established their own dictatorship. And I think the West, at least some powers in the West, particularly the United States, made the mistake of supporting those secular dictators, thinking that they were more helpful for their interests. But the fact that those dictators suppressed democracy in their country and suppressed Islamic groups in their country actually made the Islamists much more strident.
So in the 20th century, you had this vicious cycle in the Arab world where you have a dictatorship suppressing its own people including the Islamic-pious, and they’re reacting in reactionary ways. There was one country, though, which was able to escape or stay away from that vicious cycle. And that’s the country where I come from; that’s Turkey.Turkey has never been colonized, so it remained as an independent nation after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. That’s one thing to remember. They did not share the same anti-colonial hype that you can find in some other countries in the region. Secondly, and most importantly, Turkey became a democracy earlier than any of the countries we are talking about. In 1950, Turkey had the first free and fair elections, which ended the more autocratic secular regime, which was the beginning of Turkey. And the pious Muslims in Turkey saw that they can change the political system by voting. And they realize that democracy is something that is compatible with Islam, compatible with their values, and they’ve been supportive of democracy. That’s an experience that not every other Muslim nation in the Middle East had until very recently.
One important point:
Changing some of the practices discussed means changing Islamic law which is more complicated than Mustafa makes it seem. Islamic law uses multiple sources such as Narrations of the Prophet Muhammad (hadith) and previous legal rulings in addition to the Quran.
Faith, Doubt & the Saudi government
The title sounds like a really bad mix and it is. Recent actions by the Saudi government are forcing people to be dishonest about their faith. Hamza Kashgari posted doubts about his faith online and is feeling the wrath of Saudi authority. Faith is like a muscle and must be tested. God himself mentions several times in the Quran that he tests people’s faith. This requires honesty, sincerity and openness. Without this, faith, like an abandoned muscle, withers away and dies.
Attitudes such as the one exhibited by the Saudi authorities, will cripple Islam and kill vibrant, spiritual faith. A living faith is faith that questions, challenges, discusses, wonders, speculates and ultimately— GROWS.
Muslims must be honest about their doubt so that their questions can be answered and their challenges addressed. Shaykh Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari wrote about faith and doubt:
“Having doubts in Allah Almighty is perfectly natural and one should avoid being too concerned about them. In fact, doubts and evil thoughts are a sign of one’s faith.”
When a Muslim approached him with doubts about Islam and the effectiveness of prayer, Sidi Abdulla Misra at Seeker’s Guidance begins his answer beautifully:
“I want to tell you that what you have done is very brave- trying to get help to clear your doubts about the Truth is something that is necessary for any Muslim to do. Many people live and suffer with the disease of doubt in silence for years while it takes a toll on their mental, spiritual and even their physical health.”
Recent actions by the Saudi government will only force Muslims with doubts to stay silent and this will destroy their spirituality and ultimately their faith. The great Muslim scholar Imam al-Ghazzali had a long and famous journey involving doubt. Imam al-Ghazzali began to question his beliefs and practices when faced with the diversity of religions and creeds:
He was struck by the diversity of religious and creeds, and by the fact that the followers of each religion cling stubbornly to their inherited beliefs. One consequence of his critical reflection upon this religious phenomenon was that he began to question uncritically inherited religious beliefs (taqlidat)….it was to lead him to the search for the inner reality of human nature, that is, mans primordial nature (fitrah), which on the earthly plane becomes the receptacle for the multiplicity of religious forms and expressions.
Everyone has doubts about their faith. That is exactly why preserving an open and honest forum for Muslims to ask about their doubts is essential. Only in this way can our faith become stronger. Doubts can sometimes push us to think harder and deeper into Islam, to find the truth, and to put more effort and time in working on our faith.
The following narration illustrates how the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) dealt with faith and doubt:
Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that once a group of people came to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and asked: “We experience such evil thoughts that it is impossible to bring them on our lips”. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Do you really experience these thoughts?” “Yes”, they replied. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “They are clear signs of faith” (Sahih Muslim).
