The Houston Chronicle published a story on "Muslims in American Society," a course that I guide at Rice University. I am thankful and blessed to work with students who roll with my unconventional approach to fostering understanding & knowledge. Here are a few comments from the promising students: 1). "I learned how similar Islam is to Christianity. They're both Abrahamic faiths. It helped me grow as a person - seeing our connections to other people." 2). "I saw similarities between Judaism and Islam. Seeing that commonality was really important to me." 3). "It's a topic I was relatively uneducated about. The only thing I knew about Muslims or Islam was anything I heard in the media or in my social sphere. I wasn't exposed to the actual experience of people who are Muslim." 4). "We were able to gain a better understanding of who they are as individuals, why they chose Islam and how Islam affected their lives." 5). "Even in our group of five, we can take steps in changing media relations for another community. Our projects are making real contributions. I'm not just learning about things, but I can also make a difference." Thank you to Lindsay Peyton for writing the piece, Pu Ying Huang for the pictures, and of course for the students enrolled in the course.
My journey from Needham High School in Massachusetts to 2019 is a surprising one, to say the least. My ignorance turned to curiosity which in-turn led to a love of knowledge and humanity. I described my path and lived experience yesterday with the bright students of @moravianacademy in Pennsylvania. The students provided a range of questions on freedom of religion, international politics, interfaith dialogue, Islamophobia, and US national identity. The individuals and communities represented in that room are the future cross-cultural navigators of the USA. I believe my home country is in good hands. May God watch over us all.
I had the privilege yesterday of conversing with some Turkish Muslim scholars about the history and state of Christian-Muslim relations. As we were sipping on our Turkish tea and nibbling over a plate of fresh treats, an imam pointed his finger over to a beautiful and huge copy of the Qur'an, which rested open on an easel. The imam said, "Look at what page the Qur'an is open to. I just noticed it." He then read out loud the following verse: "... when Jesus perceived unbelief on [the disciples'] part, he said: 'Who will be my helper in God's way?' The disciples then responded: 'We are helpers of God. We believe in God and bear witness that we are submitting to his will'" (Qur'an 3:52). With a big smile on his radiant face, the imam said, "The page is open for a reason." “The Qur'an is referring to you," he said. "You are a helper. You are the bridge between our faiths." The holy spirit swept across the room. It was one of those rare moments in time when the stars felt like they were aligned. It was meant to be.
*New Book Connects Vision of Prophet Muhammad and Founding Fathers* by Amy McCaig (Senior Media Relations Specialist at Rice University). Photo by Jeff Fitlow.
What did Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, think about freedom of religion and women’s rights? Did the likes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson imagine Muslims as future citizens of the United States? What is it really like to be a follower of the Islamic faith in the U.S.? A new, first-of-its-kind book from a Rice University sociologist answers these questions and more. “Islam in America: Exploring the Issues” (ABC-CLIO, 219 pages, $40) takes an honest and positive look at the Islamic faith and its followers living in the U.S. Craig Considine, a sociology lecturer at Rice and the book’s author, challenges the “clash of civilizations” theory by dispelling common misconceptions about Muhammad, the Islamic tradition and American Muslims. He focuses instead on the “dialogue among civilizations” to show the historical and present-day connections between the “Muslim world” and the U.S. “First and foremost, this book tries to synthesize American values and Islamic values,” Considine said. “It’s unfortunate that there are people in the U.S. who view Islamic values and civilization as polar opposites of our own, and it’s also not really true.” The book examines the rich diversity of Muslims living throughout the country — including Arab, European, Latin, African and Asian followers — and separates fact from fiction regarding Islamic traditions. Considine also tackles more controversial issues in the book, diving into apostasy, jihad, sharia and Islamophobia. “The entirety of the ummah, or the world’s Muslim population, is represented in the United States, a country that provides freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of conscience and equal rights as outlined in the U.S. Constitution,” Considine said. “Many people may be surprised to hear it, but Muhammad worked to protect these same human rights over 1,000 years before the United States even existed.”
“The ink of the scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr.” I came across this saying of Muhammad, the prophet, when I began my studies in 2005. In those early days I learned about the importance that he placed on ilm, the Arabic term for KNOWLEDGE. I still imagine Muhammad as a young man traveling on various caravan routes & interacting/speaking with a diverse range of people, all to incorporate their various perspectives into his worldview. I will be speaking in a few weeks on the importance of ilm & fostering environments of learning at @respect_gs in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The talk will also explore sociological concepts like empowerment, religious pluralism, & DEUCE. I hope to see you at this important event.
“And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous (46) And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed – then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient (47) (Quran- Almaedah)…
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Reblogged this on The Muslim Next Door.
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Once again Craig Considine uses the following quote from the Final Sermon to justify his claim that Mohammed was a pioneer in equality and anti-racism:
“An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab… a white person has no superiority over a black nor does a black have any superiority over white except by piety and good action.”
However, he knows full well that it is a modern invention because I have pointed it out here several times (what is in the Final Sermon is the more accurate indication of Mohammed’s views on equality, at least as far as women are concerned…”be good to women, they are as domestic animals with you”).
What you should ask yourself is this “Why is Craig Considine lying to us?”
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What I should ask myself is ‘Why is ECAW’s Blog lying to us’. What Craig quoted is known worldwide as the actual sermon. What you have quoted is something i have heard for the first time, which is clearly your own invention. In fact, dont know why i bothered given attention to liars such as yourself.
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You should look up how Zionists try to spread lies about Islam to try and get public support to invade the Middle East since Muslims do not believe in usury or debt slavery by fiat paper currencies which pose a threat to modern Western economics since their economics run on lying and cheating people out of their wealth, and if in competition with a Muslim country that doesn’t practice usury they will fail since the free market prefers non-usury based economics as opposed to Western fiat based currencies.
Like Qaddafi of Libya who wanted to create a gold currency called the Gold Dinar and unite all of Africa in a African Union, and all of NATO teamed up to kill him and stole all the gold that was going to be used to create it. Since this action alone would have completely crashed America and Europe’s economics back to the dark ages.
This is why people hate Islam, because Islam will not allow them to steal other people’s wealth. This is the sole reason of all the wars NATO wages in the Middle East and right now in Syria. Fortunately Putin also has ideas like Qaddafi did and so has China who are stock piling gold to create a gold based currency and both are countries that the Islamic world can rely on for protection against Zionist NATO imperialists.
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Fuzz82 – The reason the false version is known around the world is because it is quoted on innumerable dawah sites without a reference, just as Craig Considine does.
No need to trust me, look at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farewell_Sermon
Beneath the heading “Reports by historian Ibn Ishaq” you will see the primary source for the Final Sermon, Al-Tabari vol 9 pp 112-113. As you will see it has nothing about whites and blacks but does have the bit about domestic animals.
But here’s a surprise, just above that heading is what must be a recent addition attributing the passage in question to Ibn Hanbal’s Musnad (a non-sahih collection of 30,000 hadiths). I thought this will be a wild goose chase, and so it turned out. The reference given does provide that text in Arabic (oddly, Google Translate gives red rather than white) and what I assume is the hadith number 22978.
Googling “Final Sermon” and “Ibn Hanbal” I found 3 other references. no. 19774, vol 1 p 37 and vol 5 pp 230, 236, 342.
Only the first 3 volumes of Ibn Hanbal’s Musnad are available on the internet as far as I can find. The vol 1 reference is not about the Final Sermon and the other 3 references are handily beyond the reach of Islamophobes like me or the saps at Wikipedia. Well done to whoever smuggled it in there.
If you have access to the whole of the Musnad then perhaps we can settle the matter one way or the other.
On the other hand this is why I believe the passage to be a modern invention:
http://wikiislam.net/wiki/List_of_Fabricated_Hadith#cite_note-21
Admittedly, I haven’t read the book referred to by S.F.H. Faizi but really it is for those who quote this elusive passage as genuine to back up their claim don’t you?
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“No need to trust me, look at Wikipedia”. Really? Citing Wikipedia and WikiIslam? Who invited the amateur?
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If you have more professional sources for your claim let’s hear them. But you don’t do you?
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