Lordy, lordy, I haven’t laughed so hard in a while. In fact, when I first saw this a few weeks ago I worried such intense levity might have invalidated my fast. They’re both so talented. Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin routine is inevitably getting all the attention at the moment, but Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton really steals the show in this clip, I think. Warning to the pious: There’s smidgen of risque humor. P.S. I don’t think the parody... Read more
The Velveteen Rabbi blogged a few months ago about her visit to the West Bank as part of a progressive tour. It’s a sensitive and thoughtful report about the contradictions and dilemmas she encountered, and includes some striking pictures. She makes an interesting observation: Someone in our group asked him [a young Palestinian they encountered in a camp] what he thinks the future may hold, or what he hopes it may hold. “Palestinians today want a one-state solution,” he said... Read more
This is 2 weeks old, but I just got around to actually reading the piece. Check out George Will's extremely withering assessment of McCain's many, to put it mildly, unpresidential–and increasingly conspicuous, even to diehards on the Right–personality traits. George F. Will – McCain Loses His Head – washingtonpost.com Conservatives who insist that electing McCain is crucial usually start, and increasingly end, by saying he would make excellent judicial selections. But the more one sees of his impulsive, intensely personal... Read more
if you're not going to post eid information?!? Or answer the darn phone the day before the first possible day for Eid? This is a pet peeve of mine, complained about in 2006 and 2007, as well. Am in a different state now (Oklahoma), relying on a different college-town mosque. Once again I think I will need to drive down to my local mosque to find out what what's happening because nobody seems to be on the ball. Inni... Read more
There’s been an interesting debate over on HAhmed.com between Imam W.D. Mohammed’s defenders and his detractors. Below is a comment I left, in reaction to Swarth Moor’s harsh pronouncements (who also left a comment here, to which I intend to reply soon, insha’Allah). W.D. Mohammed: A Witness for True Islam | HAhmed.com I don’t at all agree with Swarth Moor’s conclusions, but I concede that these are understandable concerns for many given the gravity of the specifical [sic!] credal matters... Read more
As a commenter astutely noted, not all Black Muslims in this country looked to W.D. Mohammed for leadership. Many assimilated fully into mainstream, majority-immigrant mosques and institutions, in some cases going abroad for traditional training, as well. Dr. Sherman Jackson, one of the most important North American Muslim jurists, scholars and community leaders–not to mention the author of an extremely important book on American Islam –has penned a fascinating reflection (posted on the old faithful Manrilla Blog) about Imam W.D.... Read more
Via Austrolabe …SBS – Special Broadcasting Service Dave Zwolenski is 26 years old and likes girls and drinking beer. Raised a Catholic, these days he prefers to stay away from religion altogether. Sheik Hilaly is 66, born in Egypt and a devote Muslim. He likes praying and drinking ‘man tea’ (his own special blend). Together, Dave and the Sheik form an odd couple, but for the next few weeks they are going to be inseparable. What in the world… My... Read more
Islamic comedian (and, no, that's not an oxymoron, or at least shouldn't be) Azhar Usman wrote a powerful, soul-searching tribute to Imam W.D. Mohammed after attending the great man's funeral. It lays bare the indignities and neglect that African-American Muslims have all too often endured at the hands of upwardly mobile and status-conscious immigrant (and Caucasian–see below) Muslims in North America. Here is an excerpt from Br. Azhar's touching and much needed jeremiad against snobbery and ethnic chauvinism within the... Read more
Here are, in no particular order, some recent blog postings and articles in the MSM on the death and/or moving funeral of Imam W.D. Mohammed. (In a one or two cases, the post was very short, so I linked more for the comments.) Islamosphere: Zahed Amanullah. "The Imam Cares" (alt.muslim) Seeker's Digest: "Passing of Imam WD Mohammed – The Death of a Great Leader of Islam in the West" Islamicate: "Warith Dean Mohammed is Dead" SaqibSaab at Muslim Matters: "Thoughts... Read more
If you haven't heard, I'm sorry to inform you that a great American leader has left us. Imam Warith Deen Mohammed passed away yesterday. May Allah grant him paradise, give strength to his family and comfort the many who will be devastated by his departure from this plane. Imam Mohammed is best known outside the Muslim community for courageously repudiating the racialized theology of the original Nation of Islam and leading its community into Sunni Islam after he took over... Read more
Akram's Razor
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