This is Day 25 of the #30Days30Writers 2016 Ramadan series. By Kabir Helminski Ramadan has so many dimensions: purification, sacrifice, community, the still and subtle emptiness of the heart. It reorients us in so many ways. Ramadan is less something that we do, than a force field we enter and are transformed by. But it does take intention and effort on our part. If we can, we participate in the fast. Perhaps we also find other intentions, new aspects of... Read more
This is Day 24 of the #30Days30Writers 2016 Ramadan series. By Aisha Rahman Strangely, the most impactful Ramadan of my life was one that I did not live through. Several months ago a friend of mine shared an article with me about how pain, trauma and other strong emotions can be passed along from one generation to the next. While I cannot speak to the science behind it, the concept sits with me. For those who know me, I often... Read more
This is day 23 of the #30Days30Writers 2016 Ramadan series. By Muqtedar Khan And struggle for Allah with the struggle due to him (Quran 22:78). The Quran says that fasting has been commanded to Muslims as it was commanded to all other faith communities prior to them (2:183) in order that the believer becomes God-conscious. The purpose of fasting is to make the awareness of God and the relationship between the human self and the divine more acute and more... Read more
This is Day 22 of the #30Days30Writers 2016 Ramadan series. By Zahra Suratwala Ramadan is here! In fact it’s almost done! Which means everyone is focused on goals. It happens every year — people seize the month as an opportunity to focus inward and better themselves. And, the goals they make are substantial and noble and usually have something to do with reading Quran; memorizing Quran; praying namaz more slowly or mindfully or completely. So this year, I made a... Read more
This is Day 21 of the #30Days30Writers 2016 Ramadan series. By Umm Juwayriyah And We shall set up balances of justice on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything. And if there be the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it. And Sufficient are We as Reckoners. Quran, 21:47 The old adage goes, “A mother’s job is never done.” During Ramadan this saying couldn’t be more truer. From sun up to sun down... Read more
This is day 20 of the #30Day30Writers 2016 Ramadan series. By Al-Husein N. Madhany Like Harvey Milk, we as American Muslims must come out of the closet and get to know our neighbors. You can start by taking them out for a cup of coffee, maybe after you break your fast today. Or, do so after Ramadan. Go ahead. It’s on me. Al-Husein Madhany works at Facebook and serves as an advisor to Patheos.com. Read more
This is Day 19 of the #30Days30Writers 2016 Ramadan series. Please click through to see the entire gallery of beautiful Ramadan photos. By Sadaf Syed I am afraid my heart will explode. When I feel distress, I whisper to God throughout the day; I supplicate directly to Him in the middle of the night; my eyes well up out of worry for the future of our children, but my heart begins to feel lighter. We regularly see posts of death,... Read more
This is Day 18 of the #30Days30Writers 2016 Ramadan series. By Ali Asadullah Ramadan 1437 is shaping up to be one of THOSE Ramadans for me. You know the ones: They feel long and arduous; and for some reason you’re just not feeling it the way you’d like. Maybe it’s my recent long-haul flight just before the start of the month. Maybe it’s the hours and hours of driving through the cornfields of our great nation. Maybe it’s these dang... Read more
This is Day 17 of the #30Days30Writers 2016 Ramadan series. By Nia Malika Dixon Ramadan represents many things in our faith, and practices. Some people look forward to the individual spiritual rejuvenation, some love the community aspect of worshiping together. To me, Ramadan means a balance of both. It’s a personal rejuvenation, a spiritual reconnection and it is done together as a community. This is an annual reconnection that I look forward to every year. But, it wasn’t always that way.... Read more
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Why Gun Control Should Focus on Right-Wing Violence instead of ‘War on Terror’ and Muslims
By Dr. Maha Hilal and Darakshan Raja Last week 49 individuals were brutally murdered at the Pulse nightclub, which caters to queer and trans Latinx communities in Orlando. This mass shooting is one of the deadliest within the past year, and specifically targeted POC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer and Gender Non-Conforming (LGBTQGNC) communities. In the aftermath of this massacre, the media and policy narrative has de-centered the victims and focused more on the Muslim, Afghan and Pashtun background of... Read more