american islam

Let's party like it's 1431! Because it, you know, is.
What's with the no celebration of the new year thing? I've always wondered about that. The eidayn are great, really, but they lack the frivolity one needs to really have a good time. With the obligations, the recommended sunan, etc it's definitely more rite than party. And everyone needs a good party.

With the eidayn, one must rise and get all gussied up early in the morning. I don't know about you, but if I must be presentable before seven, I'm out cold by noon. Not exactly conducive to hitting the party circuit. And the whole eating sweets, making sure you've paid zakat-ul fitr, and mapping out different routes to and from the eidgah? I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but the only thing I want to map out for a party is the shortest route to the dance floor. And before you ask, Schenectady does dance with his mama.

Schenectady is doing OK as a mini-Muslim, but his duties aren't too complex, mostly consisting of not biting too often and not having a hissy fit while I pray. But he's not always going to be seven months old, which means some sort of Islamic upbringing will come into play. But which sort?
In terms of what I'd want for the Islamic aspect of his upbringing, it's been a forest of nots- not being taught to look down on women and non-Muslims, not coming to view Islam as simply a brand of politics, not using religion to be a douchebag, etc. But what should a progressive Islamic education actually contain?
It's not as if there's a progressive Muslim Sunday school or summer camp to put a kid in and let the staff do all the work; this will be quite the slog. Some things, like memorizing Qur'an, can often be assigned to tutors, but teaching a child about creation and God's role in daily life can't be delegated to a teacher- it's got to happen entirely at home. Where does one start?

This showed up in my inbox, and I thought it was worth a mention. More videos after the jump.

In a recent column for the Washington Post, Khaled Hosseini lays out an erudite and eloquent argument against the ugly ad hominem attacks in this Presidential Election.

The real affront is the lack of firm response from either McCain or Palin. Neither has had the moral courage, when taking the stage, to grasp the microphone, turn to the presenter and, right then and there, denounce the use of Obama's middle name as an insult. Instead, they have simply delivered their stump speeches, lacing into Obama as if nothing out-of-bounds had just happened. The McCain-Palin ticket has given toxic speeches accusing Obama of being a friend of terrorists, then released short, meek repudiations of some of the rough stuff, including McCain's call Friday to "be respectful." Back in February, the Arizona senator apologized for the "disparaging remarks" from a talk-radio host who sneered repeatedly about "Barack Hussein Obama" before a McCain rally. "We will have a respectful debate," McCain insisted afterward. But pretending to douse flames that you are busy fanning does not qualify as straight talk.

Read the article here. It's an excellent piece.

So, just what do you name a Progressive Muslim kid?

Comments after the jump:

Founding conference attracts diverse gathering resolved to create physical spaces for progressive Muslims

Bronxville, NY/Los Angeles, CA: The progressive Muslim movement in the United States took a significant step forward as a diverse collection of activists, organizers, and academics gathered at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, May 15-17, for the first conference of Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV, website: www.mpvusa.org). Coming together in fellowship, they joined in communal devotion, shared the various personal, intellectual, and spiritual journeys that brought them there, discussed how to formulate their positions on political, social, and cultural issues and how to interact with other progressives and other Muslims. They also elected an Executive Board to lead them for the next two years.

The origin of the banjo came up on Noble Savagery; I had to post a link to Muslim Roots, US Blues, and of course I had to post it here too.  That magazine, Saudi Aramco World, is pretty cool for an Islamophile like myself. I know it's funded by oil--and I know there's a lot more to Islam than what they present! But every issue looks nice, and satisfies my taste for the exotic.   Oh yeah--and it's free!

I disagree with the role of the secular Western university being the site of training imams.  I am aware that all the Ivy League schools in the United States were originally founded by the British crown as theological schools to train colonial clergymen.  I know that the modern secular university owes its roots and origins to the Christian monastery and cathedral schools of medieval, feudal Western Europe.  I acknowledge that graduation robes are derived from clerical vestments, however, should the secular university be the site of Muslim de facto seminaries?  Or should the

There are a number of interesting stories on Keith Ellison I would like to reprint here. 1st, Shahed Amanullah's piece on Ellison's use of the Jefferson Qur'an for his private oath of office. 2nd, the video of the oath. 3rd, an interview with Ellison. Then finally, 4th, Ellison's recent essay in Newsweek.

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