other|matters

In a way, this post is a sequel to the post Reactive Nation. The concern is yet again relevant in light of recent events.

It began long before 9/11, perhaps after the first WTC bombing in 1993.   Perhaps it began with the Salman Rushdie affair at the end of the 1980s.  Perhaps it began earlier.  But, over the course of the decades, we have developed a particular, problematic, tribalistic culture in our community.  We’ve developed a posture in the community of apologizing and ostracizing. (more…)

In response to his blog posting “Nidal Hassan Did the Right Thing.”  I would post this letter as a “comment” on that blog entry, but I do not trust that that blog is legitimately his.  Some of the blog postings are so shortsighted and simplistic that I do not expect that they are from Anwar al-Awlaki or any scholar in his/her right mind.  Compare the loose accusations in the Nidal Hassan entry with the careful comments in this National Geographic interview. (more…)

Sometimes, as we work through our daily canonical prayers, we might be relaxed through our standing and sitting, yet hurried through our prostrations.  (more…)

Sometimes, the struggles of life are those that demand that we persevere through them because we know that they are temporary.  You are hit with a temporary sickness, and you know that in all likelihood it is temporary; thus, we need only persevere through it.  (more…)

One of the greatest struggles of the young Muslim American is the struggle to be good to his/her parents.  It is such a challenge that perhaps everything else, everything else, is easier. (more…)