Tag: Muslims

Outreach

How Muslims of the Ottoman Empire Helped Ireland During the Great Famine

Dr. Craig Considine2 Comments

By Mehedi Islam Source: http://archiveislam.com 160 years ago, during the Great Famine in Ireland, the Ottoman Empire sent £1,000 sterling (about $1,052,000 today) and 3 shiploads of food to Drogheda, Ireland. Ireland was ridden with famine and disease between 1845 and 1849. Also known as the Great Hunger, this famine had lasting effects: at least one…… Continue reading How Muslims of the Ottoman Empire Helped Ireland During the Great Famine

Religion

Pope Francis Building Bridges With Muslims Makes Top Ten Good News Muslim Stories of 2013

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Source: altmuslim.com Pope Francis is not the first pope to win the respect of Muslims – John Paul II was so loved around the Muslim world that even the Taliban mourned his passing – but his outreach to Muslims during the early days of his tenure has struck a deep chord in Muslim communities around…… Continue reading Pope Francis Building Bridges With Muslims Makes Top Ten Good News Muslim Stories of 2013

Religion

Islamic and American Constitutions Give Hope For Religious Freedom

Dr. Craig Considine3 Comments

A recent report from the Pew Research Center, a reputable American think tank, revealed some damning findings on the state of religious freedom around the world. According to the report, religious hostilities increased in 2012 in every major region of the world, with Muslims and Christians being oppressed in the largest number of countries. Pakistan,…… Continue reading Islamic and American Constitutions Give Hope For Religious Freedom

Religion

Pope Francis: Christians Must Build Bridges of Dialogue

Dr. Craig Considine4 Comments

During Mass today in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis reflected on an Old Testament reading from Samuel (1:24). In the passage, David had the chance to kill King Saul, but he chooses, as the Holy Father noted, “a different path: the path of dialogue, to make peace.” Francis’ message encourages Christians to build bridges of dialogue,…… Continue reading Pope Francis: Christians Must Build Bridges of Dialogue

Commentary · Interfaith

A Refutation of Robert Spencer’s Post on Professor Akbar Ahmed

Dr. Craig Considine22 Comments

Published on Loon Watch Robert Spencer, the administrator of the blog JihadWatch, is known for painting all Muslims as extremists. In a recent post titled “Akbar Ahmed, advocate of ‘dialogue,’ claims ‘Islamophobes’ are ‘linking Islam to violence, terrorism and intolerance,” Spencer argues that Professor Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University…… Continue reading A Refutation of Robert Spencer’s Post on Professor Akbar Ahmed

Religion

What Europe’s Far-Right Parties Can Learn From Islam

Dr. Craig Considine1 Comment

By Craig Considine Today’s far-right parties in Europe, such as the National Front in France and the Party for Freedom in Holland, are surging in popularity and calling for legal bans on veils, mosques, minarets, sha’ria, and even the outright expulsion of Muslims from the continent. In short, the far-right perceives Muslims as “inassimilable” and…… Continue reading What Europe’s Far-Right Parties Can Learn From Islam

Interfaith

Top Catholic American official calls Muslims “people of good-will”

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There’s a heart-warming story coming out of Rome about the head of a papal agency that gives help to Christians in the Middle East. According to Monsignor John E. Kozar, president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, “[t]he broad majority of Muslims are people of good-will.” Kozar claims that the…… Continue reading Top Catholic American official calls Muslims “people of good-will”

Film-work

Reflections on Arson Attack on Mosque in Tennessee

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A short documentary I shot and edited has been picked up by a website in Alabama. The title of the article is “Manchester, Tenn., meeting displays hatred of Muslims, malleability of masses.” Kay Campbell of AL.com writes: Last week, within shouting distance of the peace-love-music temporary village that will be Bonnaroo June 13-16, people packed…… Continue reading Reflections on Arson Attack on Mosque in Tennessee

Film-work · Religion

Finding Pluralism in Akbar the Great (A Short Documentary)

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Akbar the Great is an extraordinary figure in history. Who is he? What did he stand for and what can we learn from his legacy? These are some of the questions which are touched upon in this short documentary. *Feel free to watch/write a review in the comments section. Thank you.* Reviews: “I have tears of…… Continue reading Finding Pluralism in Akbar the Great (A Short Documentary)

Religion

U.S. President George Washington – A Friend of Muslims in His Midst

Dr. Craig Considine3 Comments

By Craig Considine George Washington’s birthday, celebrated annually on Febr. 22nd, is an opportunity to reflect upon his exemplary character and the example he set for future generations of Americans. While much is known about Washington’s military service and political career, less is known about his attitude towards religious freedom and his relationships with Muslims.…… Continue reading U.S. President George Washington – A Friend of Muslims in His Midst

Quoted

10 Great Non-Muslim Quotes on Islam

Dr. Craig Considine8 Comments

“I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind… I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity,…… Continue reading 10 Great Non-Muslim Quotes on Islam

Religion

An Anecdote to Negative Stereotypes of Islam

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Go on a journey into the heart of Islam’s mystical side – Sufism. Explore the roots of Sufi music, art, poetry, etc. Sufi music is particularly thrilling and attracted me to study more about Islam. I highly recommend this short piece from Channel 4. The presenter takes the audience to Sufi shrines of the Virgin…… Continue reading An Anecdote to Negative Stereotypes of Islam

Outreach

After bombings, Bostonians must remember its founding fathers’ “model of Christian charity”

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Boston’s anti-Muslim backlash, which I touched upon in the Huffington Post Religion, in the aftermath of the marathon bombings reminds me of John Winthrop, one of Boston’s founding fathers, and his famous sermon “A Model of Christian Charity.” Winthrop’s sermon, delivered in 1630 aboard the Arbella ship before English Puritans settled in what they called New…… Continue reading After bombings, Bostonians must remember its founding fathers’ “model of Christian charity”

Commentary

America is under threat from radical ignorance, not radical Islam

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By Qasim Rashid for Huffington Post Religion Muslims condemned 9/11, we condemned 7/7, we condemned the Fort Hood tragedy, we condemned the underwear bomber, we condemned the Times Square bomber, and now yet again we find ourselves condemning the Boston Bombers on the mere suspicion that they were “motivated by Islam.” And this is why…… Continue reading America is under threat from radical ignorance, not radical Islam

Film-work

What would America’s Founding Fathers say about Islam?

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I have started putting my research into video format on You Tube. These passages from Washington, Adams, Franklin and Jefferson have been taken from my Huffington Post article. I hope this message of peace and tolerance reaches more people around the world.

Work

Work: The American Muslim picks up One Film 9/11

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  Sheila Musaji, an activist in the Islamic and inter-faith communities, was kind enough (as editor) to promote One Film 9/11 in her online newspaper The American Muslim. The American Muslim has a large audience, so this is a good opportunity for One Film 9/11 to get more attention. Click here to read the article. I would…… Continue reading Work: The American Muslim picks up One Film 9/11

Religion

Politics: Culture of dependency between American Islamophobes and ultra-religious Muslims

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From Moustafa Bayoumi’s Men Behaving Badly: ‘The Islamophobes in the United States and the ultra-religious right in Muslim-majority countries need each other to survive. Each confirms to the other the need for his own existence. To the Islamophobes, all Muslims are extremists. The provocations Islamophobes produce are designed to elicit the very images we see.…… Continue reading Politics: Culture of dependency between American Islamophobes and ultra-religious Muslims

Religion

Religion: (Chart) Number of Muslim protestors from ‘Innocence of Muslims’ film

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Politics

Politics: What do you think of the Newsweek cover ‘Muslim rage’?

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Politics

Politics: ‘Sorry people of America …’

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Religion

Gandhi’s Views on the Prophet Muhammad

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Published in ‘Young India’ (1924):  ‘I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind… I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life.…… Continue reading Gandhi’s Views on the Prophet Muhammad

Work

Work: Launching my new initiative: One Film 9/11 and ‘Journey into America’ (2009) as the counter to hateful Terry Jones film

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Ladies and Gentlemen, The recent and unfortunate events in Benghazi, Libya and Cairo, Egypt were both sparked by ONE FILM. The film was created by Pastor Terry Jones and Co. Its message was disgusting. It painted Prophet Muhammad as a child rapist, among other absurdities. Annoyed that ONE FILM could have such destruction on human…… Continue reading Work: Launching my new initiative: One Film 9/11 and ‘Journey into America’ (2009) as the counter to hateful Terry Jones film

Film-work

A counter to the hateful Innocence of Muslims

Dr. Craig Considine1 Comment

By now many of you have heard of the propaganda film Innocence of Muslims which led to a tragedy in Benghazi and an almost-tragedy in Cairo.  For better or worse, these events proved that one film can make a huge difference, which is why I want to inform you about  Journey into America (2009) by Ambassador AKBAR AHMED and its subsequent…… Continue reading A counter to the hateful Innocence of Muslims

Work

Articles

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2014 The Problem With Banning the Burqa. Huffington Post Religion, March 12th. Revisiting the Connection Between Prophet Muhammad and George Washington. Huffington Post Religion, February 16th. Interview on Scholar’s Spiritual Journey Into Islam and the Life of Prophet Muhammad. Huffington Post Religion, February 11th. What Studying Muhammad Taught Me About Islam. Huffington Post Religion, January…… Continue reading Articles

Uncategorized

Commentary: Relativity and religious hostility

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This ‘study’ conducted by the Liberty Institute claims that there is rising hostility towards Christians in today’s United States. But last time I checked, Christian Americans were not seeing their churches burned to the ground. Last time I checked, non-Christian Americans were not going into churches and shooting people at random. Last time I checked, non-Christian…… Continue reading Commentary: Relativity and religious hostility

Outreach

How you can help the Muslims of Joplin, Missouri rebuild their mosque

Dr. Craig Considine1 Comment

The picture you see above is what remains of a mosque in Joplin, Missouri that was burned to the ground on the day after the Sikh Temple shooting.  The Joplin community has just launched a website and Facebook page to help realize their dream of replacing their mosque and moving forward with their lives. You can…… Continue reading How you can help the Muslims of Joplin, Missouri rebuild their mosque

Politics

Politics: Tea Party founder overlooked Muslims’ sacrifices for US

Dr. Craig Considine1 Comment

Check out the piece I just had published in the Arizona Capitol Times (the most read newspapers in Arizona for political affairs). I wrote in response to what a Tea Party leader had said about the loyalty of Muslim Americans. Read it here

Religion

Religion: A ‘modernist’ Muslim for all those who think they’ve never existed

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Saiyid Ahmad Khan was the founder of Islamic modernism, that is, the development in Islamic thought which bears comparison with the development of higher criticism and modernism in Christian thought. He was deeply concerned that Islam should make sense in the light of Western science; he was no less concerned that Muslims should be reconciled…… Continue reading Religion: A ‘modernist’ Muslim for all those who think they’ve never existed

Commentary

Response to Founder and Chairman of Original North Phoenix Tea Party

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Mr. Harris, I want to challenge your comment that Americans need to be concerned about the loyalty of Muslim Americans.  I want to do so through a story of my own experience. Throughout 2008 and 2009, I was conducting research under Professor Akbar Ahmed of American University with the hope of better understanding American identity…… Continue reading Response to Founder and Chairman of Original North Phoenix Tea Party

Film-work

Ramadan khutba on knowledge (ilm) by Professor Akbar Ahmed

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Filmed this at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids, Iowa in September 2008.

Personal · Religion

Benjamin Franklin’s Case for Pluralism

Dr. Craig Considine1 Comment

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

Film-work

Fieldwork: The beautiful call to prayer

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As part of Journey into America – September 2008 at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  I was lucky enough to film right up there.

Film-work

Can a Muslim Be a Good American?

Dr. Craig Considine2 Comments

The Twittersphere is overflowing with Tweeters that have dedicated what seems like their entire existence to ragging on Muslims in the U.S.  I want to hear what the jingoists think about a Muslim scholar who walks through Arlington National Cemetery with an American Colonel as they pay respect to fallen Muslim Americans.

Religion

Vital passage: Misunderstanding and understanding Islam

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… [T]here is so much misunderstanding of Islam.  The debate on Islam that is in full cry in the West since September 11 is too often little more than a parading of deep-rooted prejudices.  For example, the critics of Islam ask: ‘If there is such an emphasis on compassion and tolerance in Islam, why is…… Continue reading Vital passage: Misunderstanding and understanding Islam

Religion

The “free” in Murfreesboro bugs me

Dr. Craig Considine5 Comments

In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Muslims are hoping to celebrate Ramadan in the much-anticipated opening of their Islamic Center of Murfreesboro (ICM). While it seems they will be able to do so, a most unfortunate story is lurking in the shadow.  A group of non-Muslims who filed suit seeking a restraining order to end the Centre’s construction has…… Continue reading The “free” in Murfreesboro bugs me

Religion

An easy way to debunk a common myth (‘kill the infidel’) of Islam

Dr. Craig Considine1 Comment

Muslim Americans are often harassed and forced to defend themselves against controversial verses in their holy text – the Qur’an.  One of these verses is Surah 9:5 (the ‘kill the infidel’ verse).  I am not a Muslim, but I still have concerns over how ‘experts’ say Muslims kill because the Qur’an tells them to (Representative…… Continue reading An easy way to debunk a common myth (‘kill the infidel’) of Islam

Uncategorized

Politics: Speech on what makes America exceptional

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Perhaps I never gave him a chance (I do not really give politicians too many), but THIS… now THIS truly fantastic passage says a lot about John McCain and, I think, represents all that is holy about the US of A (if anything can be holy about it).  McCain is speaking in reference to (the…… Continue reading Politics: Speech on what makes America exceptional

Poems

A Poem of Ibn Arabi’s

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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

Religion

Boston Imam leading the charge to help Somali youth off the streets

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When Somali youth have made story-lines over the last few years, they have generally done so for the most unfortunate of reasons, mainly that some are going to Somalia to join and fight for Al-Shabaab.  A different perspective, however, appeared today in the Washington Post about the challenges Somali youth face while growing up in…… Continue reading Boston Imam leading the charge to help Somali youth off the streets

Commentary

Religion: Atheistic humanism in The Cube and the Cathedral

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Have you heard about the ‘European problem’?  To your likely surprise, the problem has nothing to do with debt, sovereignty, Brussels, or the devaluing euro. As George Weigel posits in The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America and Politics Without God, the ‘European problem’ is atheistic humanism or, as he often calls it in more academic…… Continue reading Religion: Atheistic humanism in The Cube and the Cathedral

Fieldwork · Religion

Thick and thin religion

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Kavirah (2010) argues that the growing religiosity in many parts of the world is quite different from our traditional understanding of religion (in his writing, he refers to rising Hindu identity and nationalism).  He argues that we need to distinguish between ‘thick and thin religion’.  Thick religion encompasses traditional rituals, practices, and beliefs, whereas thin…… Continue reading Thick and thin religion

Film-work

Speaking with Hamza Yusuf on American Identity

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Location: Hamza Yusuf’s home, California Date: November 2008 Topic: American identity and Muslims in the USA Project: Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam Principal investigator: Akbar Ahmed Filmed by: Craig Considine © Akbar Ahmed

Commentary

The “Fundamentalist” Folk Devil

Dr. Craig Considine1 Comment

I just finished reading an interesting article given to me by Ronit Lentin titled ‘Islamophobia: a very (Post)modern fear?’.  It was written by Pnina Werbner as a presented paper at the Closing Conference of Cost A2 in Brussels, December 7-9, 1995. One particular point of Werbner’s stuck out from the rest, which is, the concept…… Continue reading The “Fundamentalist” Folk Devil

Sociology

Fascinating and timely forthcoming book: ‘The Thistle and the Drone’ by Akbar Ahmed

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My intellectual/spiritual/academic mentor, Professor Akbar Ahmed, has done it again.  And it’s sheer brilliance! Brookings Institution Press has just released an e-mail highlighting their forthcoming Fall publications.  Showcased in this e-mail is Professor Ahmed’s latest book ‘The Thistle and the Drone: How America’s War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam’: The United…… Continue reading Fascinating and timely forthcoming book: ‘The Thistle and the Drone’ by Akbar Ahmed

Fieldwork

My diary: 1 year, 100 cities, 75 mosques, and one question…

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This archive documents my writings from the ‘Journey into America’ book and documentary project.  The writings here are my own personal opinions and don’t necessarily reflect the overall message of ‘Journey into America’.  Most of these entires are ‘notes in the field’, but you may also find published articles.  In addition, included here are short…… Continue reading My diary: 1 year, 100 cities, 75 mosques, and one question…

Work

My forthcoming publication in Metro Éireann

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I’m excited that Metro Éireann is publishing my article on the story of my Pakistani friend here in Dublin.  The article is set to be published on May 1st. Below is some information cut and pasted from Wikipedia. Metro Éireann is Ireland’s multicultural newspaper. It is published by Metro Publishing and Consultancy Limited. The tabloid-format paper was established by…… Continue reading My forthcoming publication in Metro Éireann