Like many of you, I watched the Inauguration. The one thing that stood out most to me is the benediction, or blessing, after President Trump took the oath of office. A rabbi spoke first, followed by a reverend and then a bishop. Judaism was represented and Christianity too. These religious leaders talked about God, a…… Continue reading Trump’s Benediction Incomplete Without Islam
Chief Rabbi of Safed Shmuel Eliyahu of Israel recently called for the executions of Palestinians on his Facebook page. His argument: kill Palestinians in order to establish safety in Israel. “Israel army has to stop arresting Palestinians… it must execute them and leave no one alive.” Those are Eliyahu’s exact words. He sounds like Hitler,…… Continue reading Media Silence as Chief Rabbi of Israel Calls for Execution of Palestinians
David Norris, a member of Seanad Eireann (the Irish Senate), gave a powerful speech in which he condemns Israel’s latest attack on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. I had the pleasure of meeting Senator Norris in 2011 when he chaired the launch of the Trinity College Journal of Postgraduate Studies, which I had edited. His…… Continue reading Must Watch Speech by David Norris, Member of Seanad Éireann (Irish Senate), on Israel’s Attack on Gaza
The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World by Dr. John Andrew Morrow claims that although there are theological differences between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, Muslims are nonetheless advised by Muhammad to respect and embrace Christians and Jews. The covenants of the Prophet of Allah, as Morrow notes, paint a clear picture…… Continue reading The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad
Maimonides did not think it was healthy for the soul to have “unbounded desires” which “is never stated with pursuing passions.” Referencing Jewish Holy Scripture (Koheles 5:9) he argued in The Guide that a person who has a covetous soul “will not be sated with all the wealth of the world.” Maimonides’ thought mirrors Rumi,…… Continue reading Guiding Jewish/Muslim Relations Through the Life of Maimonides, the 12th Century Jewish Scholar
Excerpt from Mustafa Akyol’s article The Vatican, Christianity and Islam in Hurriyet Daily News (14/9/2013) In today’s super-dynamic and super-creative world, behind which we are already lagging, there is a risk for us, Muslims, if we go toward the other direction: The strict boundaries that supposedly protect our faith could turn into an obstacle to…… Continue reading Opening up Islamic spaces
If I missed a “golden rule” from another major religion, please leave it in the comment section so I can add it to the list. The picture above is Norman Rockwell’s “The Golden Rule,” which I also discussed in a post on a Pakistani Muslim friend of mine in Boston. Christianity: “All things whatsoever ye…… Continue reading “The Golden Rule” is Central to the Teachings of Many Religions
One of the best phrases in the human language: “Tikkun olam (Hebrew: תיקון עולם or תקון עולם[1]), meaning “to heal a fractured world.”
Had Islam not come along, Jewry in the west would have declined to disappearance and Jewry in the east would have become just another oriental cult, writes David J. Wasserstein for the Jewish Chronicle. Continue reading
We can gain a sense of young Benjamin Franklin’s thoughts on religion in A Witch Trial at Mount Holly, which raised the concern of his Puritan parents that he held ‘erroneous’ religious opinions. Franklin was not himself an emphatically religious man; while he believed in God, he did not subscribe to one particular creed. What we do…… Continue reading Benjamin Franklin’s Case for Pluralism
Ibn ʿArabī (Arabic: ابن عربي) (Murcia July 28, 1165 – Damascus November 10, 1240) was an Arab Andalusian Sufi mystic and philosopher. He is sometimes referred to as “the Son of Plato” (Ibn Aflatun) for his devotion to Plato. My heart has grown capable of taking on all forms It is a pasture for gazelles A table for the Torah A convent for Christians…… Continue reading A Poem of Ibn Arabi’s
Abraham makes the leap and thus secures his reputation for all time. The text is so matter-of-fact it almost masks the significance: ‘Abram went forth as the Lord had commanded him’. He does so silently, joining the covenant with his feet, not his words. The wandering man does what he does best, he walks. Only…… Continue reading Call to wander
Some thought-provoking questions which sprang from my reading of: The Politics of Multiculturalism in the New Europe by Tariq Modood and Pnina Werbner (1997). 1. What are the key features of ‘Islamophobia’? 2. How would you compare ‘Islamophobia’ to anti-Semitism? What about anti-Judaism? 3. To what extent would you agree that ‘Islamophobia’ is more a form…… Continue reading Study Questions to Guide Discussion on Islamophobia
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