Berks County doctors drawing strength from Ramadan to fight coronavirus | Berks and Bey... - 0 views
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To comply with social distancing policies, spiritual leaders at the Islamic Center of Reading have closed the mosque and canceled the traditional Ramadan gathering.Beyond the spiritual aspect, Zaman said not being able to gather is a loss to the 40 or 50 physicians who worship at the Islamic Center.It was a time to meet with other physicians and discuss how they are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
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One of the most spiritual aspects of Ramadan is the Taraweeh, a ritual prayer performed at the conclusion of the daily after sunset gathering. Each night, the imam reads a portion of the Quran, which had 30 parts.The long passages, which can take an hour to read, are a time of deep spiritual reflection.“Praying in community is much different than praying alone,” Elmarzouky said. “There’s more energy, more spirituality, more incentive when you pray together.”
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Muslims from about 40 countries worship at the Islamic Center mosque in Reading
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The Rise of the "Westernists" - The American Interest - 0 views
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Globalization’s ideal, however, has been turned upside down. From annual debates over whether Americans should celebrate Christopher Columbus, to new veil bans in Austria, lightning rod identity controversies have come to dominate the headlines for weeks or months at a time. After the technocratic moment of the 1990s and 2000s, politics is returning to its natural state: answering the fundamental question of who we are, not what sorts of policies we support.
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both Islamists and the West’s conservative nationalists (whom we might term “Westernists”) place great importance on the communal dimension of human society. Both aim to privilege a certain set of beliefs and symbols at the local level, starting with the family, and both are inclined to prioritize the communities, regions, and nations in which they live. In this sense, both are also “supremacist” (we say this descriptively, not necessarily pejoratively). In our research studying Islamism across the Muslim world, we’ve written about how elevating Islamic law and morals in the public sphere forms a central motivation for its supporters. Though they view their aims as diametrically opposed, Islamists and Westernists mirror each other in their preoccupation—and even obsession—with collective identity and cultural integrity
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Though often simplistically portrayed as racists (and many of them surely are), many nationalists see Islam and Muslims not merely a security threat, but as a civilizational one as well. In a quickly deleted tweet that shocked his audience in the brief time it was up, alt-right darling Mike Cernovich wrote: “I say this without regard to what I want or wish were true…Islam is the future. Muslims have a vision and will. That is destiny.”
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How French Secularism Became Fundamentalist | Foreign Policy - 0 views
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In the end, Charlie Hebdo warns, the only defense against terrorism, the only defense against ending up in a France of veiled women and daily prayer, is a form of militant secularism: one that doesn’t flinch at making the leap from pious baker to radical bomb-maker
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Laïcité, the French term for secularism, today has acquired so much mystique as to be practically an ideology, a timeless norm that defines Frenchness.
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There was essentially no substantive difference between the style of secularism envisioned by the founders of laïcité and the framers of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As in the United States, French secularism initially sought to ensure religious pluralism in the public and private spheres — nothing more, nothing less.
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A Disorienting Sense of Déjà-Vu? Islamophobia and Secularism in French Public... - 0 views
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in February, Higher Education Minister Frédérique Vidal publicly called for an investigation into “Islamo-leftism” or Islamo-gauchisme in French universities. Vidal described “Islamo-leftism” as responsible for eroding academic freedoms and scholarly rigor on French university campuses where postcolonial, critical race, and intersectionality research is carried out
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the political personality of Emmanuel Macron and the brand of liberal authoritarianism which he has been developing
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It is likely that the RN will once again make it to the second round of the presidential elections in a political landscape that has seen the implosion of left-wing parties in the midst of their inability to offer a credible and alternative narrative about religious and cultural pluralism to the one being developed by the right and extreme right.
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Erdogan, Sultan of Jerusalem? - 0 views
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No one who has visited Jerusalem over the past few years will be surprised by the preponderance of red Turkish flags with their crescent and star, fluttering over the city’s eastern Palestinian neighborhoods. These flags are just one visible manifestation of a major effort by the Turkish government to establish a presence in the Israeli capital. Investigative reports in the press, conducted over the last few years, have revealed the scope of Turkish activity in Jerusalem, which includes the renovation of homes, restoration of mosques and efforts to expose the residents of East Jerusalem to Turkish culture, including cooking workshops and Turkish-language classes. These efforts also include increasing involvement in the affairs of Al-Aqsa Mosque, as described by Ben Caspit in July 2018.
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Israel has decided to put an end to this Turkish involvement in Jerusalem affairs
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Israel intends to revoke the head of TIKA’s diplomatic status in Jerusalem, effectively making his presence in Israel illegal. “The era of the Ottoman Empire is over. Turkey has no reason to be in Jerusalem,” said the Foreign Ministry in an especially bellicose statement. “[Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s declarations that Jerusalem belongs to all Muslims are absolutely baseless and ridiculous. Israel maintains sovereignty in Jerusalem, while ensuring freedom of worship for all religions. We will not allow anyone to interrupt this sovereignty.”
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Sonic controversy: "Hinduistic music" in Pakistan - The Immanent Frame - 0 views
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hostility toward Sufi music is increasingly visible across denominational lines in Pakistan’s religious discourse
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Spiritual music has long been a vital element of Islam in the region comprising areas of Pakistan and North India. What explains the growing antagonism toward mystical sound art in a country that has inherited a rich legacy of devotional music?
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shifting assumptions about “authentic Islam” have catalyzed the scandalization of mystical music in Pakistan. The emergence of Arabization, with its emphasis on rediscovering true Islam in Arab culture, has vilified local sonic genres in the Islamic republic.
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The 'Conscious Uncoupling' of Wahhabism and Saudi Arabia - New Lines Magazine - 0 views
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unprecedented statements and moves made by the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, involving the role of Wahhabism in the country, from restraining the clerics to announcing initiatives to revise and update religious texts
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Wahhabism’s decline as a movement has been many years in the making, and this has something to do with the political shift pushed by Bin Salman — but only to a certain degree. The decline preceded him and would have happened without these political changes, if not at the same speed or so quietly. This distinction matters, because it means that other factors contributed to the waning power of Wahhabism both in the kingdom and in the wider region, and it is this internal decay and the surrounding environment that make Wahhabism’s current troubles deep and permanent.
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the decline of Wahhabism was primarily an unintended (and ironic) consequence of the Saudi leadership’s fight against hostile Islamist and jihadist forces in the country
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Secret British 'black propaganda' campaign targeted cold war enemies | Cold war | The G... - 0 views
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The British government ran a secret “black propaganda” campaign for decades, targeting Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia with leaflets and reports from fake sources aimed at destabilising cold war enemies by encouraging racial tensions, sowing chaos, inciting violence and reinforcing anti-communist ideas, newly declassified documents have revealed.
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The campaign also sought to mobilise Muslims against Moscow, promoting greater religious conservatism and radical ideas. To appear authentic, documents encouraged hatred of Israel.
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The Information Research Department (IRD) was set up by the post-second world war Labour government to counter Soviet propaganda attacks on Britain. Its activities mirrored the CIA’s cold war propaganda operations and the extensive efforts of the USSR and its satellites.
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Islamophobia on the red carpet | SocialistWorker.org - 0 views
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two films and a television series that attempt to wrap Islamophobic stereotypes in a slick, sophisticated package for a liberal audience
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The Islamists who ultimately came to dominate Iran were on the right wing of the revolution--but such distinctions are totally beyond Argo, which treats almost every Iranian as a fanatic screaming in un-translated Farsi
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While the Muslim masses outside the embassy are depicted in mostly wide shots as an undifferentiated, unintelligible crowd, the moment we go inside the embassy and meet American characters, we get close-ups, humanity, individualized characters and dialogue we can understand.
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Muslim lesbian couple defy death threats to tie the knot in civil ceremony - Birmingham... - 0 views
Living on a prayer: in Istanbul's Gezi Park, protesters try to bridge the religious div... - 0 views
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a group of religious anti-capitalists led by the Islamic theologian, Ihsan Eliacik, prayed at the park in front of several thousand in honor of kandil, a Muslim celebration of the Prophet Mohammad’s ascension to heaven. Though a number of religious Muslims have been part of the demonstrations, the group’s prayer appeared to mark the largest presence of religious conservatives at the protests
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Eliacik has derided the government for installing what he calls a “looting regime,” referring to the construction boom that created a wealthy class of AKP supporters. “This shopping mall obsession, these concrete blocks — we reject this,”
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“[This diversity] has become confusing to many,” Eliacik said. “[But] respect is in the air. We respect people who wear miniskirts — that doesn’t mean that we approve of them. But it means that we see them as equals.” Other members of the group echoed his sentiments. “The socialists were the first to give us a hand when we mentioned the kandil celebration at the park,” said Kazım İnanç, a member of the religious group. “That says so much about the spirit here.”
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