It’s no secret that I have my doubts about the validity of paper money. I just don’t see how a paper note printed by the Federal Reserve is any different from a paper note printed by Parker Brothers. This has an important effect on how I calculate my annual Zakat. Zakat is an annual charity given by Muslims, calculated as 2.5% of their surplus wealth, including certain commodities, like precious metals. The money should go to the poor, the hungry, the... Read more
There is a famous Quaker parable which consists of an exchange between William Penn, and George Fox. Penn is regarded as the father of Democracy in the United States. Thomas Jefferson called him “the greatest law giver the world has produced.” He was also a Quaker, a pacifist, and the founder of Pennsylvania in 1682. The principles of representative government, separation of church and state, and elimination of nobility in Pennsylvania were largely the inspiration for including those principles in... Read more
Last month I was invited to the Peace Convention hosted by the American Muslim Voice Foundation to appear on an interfaith panel on income inequality, and it has taken me about a month to collect my thoughts about what was said. I don’t think about economics I those terms, primarily because actual equality in income would require incredible violence to establish and would disappear the moment someone made a purchase. None the less, I prefer not to shy away from... Read more
9:5 “Fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war).” Sounds scary right? It’s known as “The Verse of the Sword”, and admittedly many Muslims have used this verse to justify their corrupt intentions. However, it does not establish a doctrine of perpetual violent jihad against all non-Muslims for all time, as the Anti-Muslim Brain Trust would have you believe. I will show this,... Read more
I was recently at an event. Not a Muslim event. It was actually more of a business networking type event. As a self employed person I found it hugely useful. The host was something of a motivational speaker, and the material was mostly about acknowledging your value so you don’t sell yourself short in a negotiation or business deal. The whole thing had a kind of self-help vibe, complete with some new age style emotional coddling. There were breathing exercises,... Read more
“There shall be no compulsion in religion: For Truth has become distinct from error, and whoever rejects falsehood and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy handhold, which never breaks. And God is Hearing and Knowing.” (Quran 2:256) The placement of this verse in the Quran remarkable. It immediately follows The Verse of the Thrown, which is the most read, most widely memorized, and most prolifically displayed verse in the Quran. The Verse of the Thrown is the John 3:16... Read more
In Fitra Part I we defined the Islamic concept of Original Virtue from the Arabic root fa-ta-ra. To review briefly, the word Fitra is derived from a verb which means, “to split, to cleave asunder, to knead or shape like dough.” It also connotes repetition. From the Islamic paradigm we are born with Original Virtue which includes both an instinct for right action and knowledge of God in preexistence. One of the Divine attributes of God is Al Fatir, meaning “The Originator” which is... Read more
During Prophet Muhammad’s night journey and ascension the Angel Gabriel brought him a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk and he was made to choose. He chose milk, to which Gabriel said, “You have chosen Fitra.” Common definitions of Fitra include, “innate predisposition” or “primordial nature.” This event occurred during the Meccan period before any prohibition of alcohol. So, we know that part of choosing Fitra is conformity to an inclination toward right action we have prior to instruction. It’s also interesting to note that milk is... Read more
Did you know that the common currency in most of Palestine is the Israeli shekel, controlled by interest rates from the Bank of Israel. Mortal enemies locked in a multi-generational blood feud that has produced that world’s largest open air prison and Palestinians still allow Israel to dictate their finances. Activists the world over advocate boycotts, divestment and sanctions against the Zionist occupying government, so why are Palestinians still using their money? Probably because there was no viable alternative… until now. Palestine... Read more
In Part I I talked about my political awakening, specifically how I became enamored with Ron Paul and political libertarianism. I also explained the definition of government accepted by most political scientists today, and its origins in German fascism. In Part II we examined the question, If we know that a monopoly is economically undesirable, and we know that violence is morally undesirable, why is a violent monopoly desirable at all? Today I want us to talk about condemning terrorism,... Read more
The Muslim Agorist
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In