Finding the Jesus of Islam in Early Christianities

From the woman quietly praying in a church, to the missionaries helping in a developing country, to the televangelist screaming about terrorists on television- a picture of modern Christianity is anything but uniform. Compare that to the muezzin performing the call to prayer, the children playing in the refugee camp, and the young extremist studying in a madrasa and an equally diverse group of people is seen among the followers of Islam. It is evident that over the many centuries since Ashama might have drawn that line in the sand, the gap between Muslims and Christians has grown quite a bit larger.

Oh the Irony! Pamela Geller and the Stealth Halal Turkeys

Pamela Geller, anti-Muslim blogger extraordinaire, sounded the alarm today over the latest “Islamization of America” outrage.  She discovered that Butterball whole turkeys are certified halal, and in this she sees

UCLA’s 23rd Annual MLK Oratorical Competition | Winning Speech by a Muslim Youth

By: Hafiz Sohaib Baig Transcript: بسـم الله الرحمن الرحيم   I will first start with a verse from the Qurʾān, which I will recite in Arabic and then read the

Bonnie: A story of a woman struggling with death and depression

Half of this story is truth and half of this has not yet happened.  Let me tell you the true part first. When the doorbell rang a few weeks ago

Short Story | In the Playground

Shirt tucked, hijab secured – I swing my legs up onto the playground bar and quiver into balance. Awkwardly perched on the peak, I look down before I let myself fall backwards. I circle around the bar. I feel my stomach swoop into my throat. One, two spins around. At the third I slip and fall to the ground, my face burning red with confusion. Am I really ready?

Home is where the Heart is: An American Muslim Mourns

She must have been glowing and happy when she boarded that American Flight 11; she was going to attend a friend’s wedding in Los Angeles. Rahma would not have wanted to be remembered as a victim; she was a positive, powerful woman. She used her talents to make her adopted country a better place to live. Her friends still miss her and mourn her, and many gathered together last weekend at the college campus where Rahma spent 4 years of her life. The lesson I learned from 9/11: never take a day for granted, for life is very fragile and very short.

My “Jewish Thoughts” by Lee Weismann: To the Heart of 9/11

By  Lee Weismann exclusive to MuslimMatters. Lee is a high school teacher in Irvine CA. He tweets inspirational words and reflections at JihadiJew and blogs here under the same interesting handle

MM Treasures | We Feed You for the Sake of Allah Alone – Humanitarian Day

You forget you are in the US when you enter the urine-drenched, graffiti covered streets of the homeless capital of the world… Sister Taswiyah Mutazz is the director of food programs for ILM. “A lot of us are a paycheck away from being on the other side of that line;” tears in her compassionate eyes, she recounts countless stories of challenges women and children face on these streets. This was the first year, I heard so many reports of homeless Muslims, men and women, too ashamed to walk into a masjid, without access to a place where their faith can help them recover.

How to make the most of Ramadan in School- tips for parents

Link to all Ramadan 2010 posts   This year Ramadan coincides with back to school for many families. Realizing that many of our Muslim brothers and sisters do choose the

What Drew Me to Islam

In college, I began to question and re-examine my religious-cultural background. Where did I stand as an individual? What kind of person would I choose to be? Would I follow that which I had always been taught, settle close to home and live the same life I had always lived? Would I become an atheist or an agnostic like my family feared I would? But why does being a rational, scientific, intellectually honest person mean I have to be an atheist or an agnostic? Who can use science to “debunk” God? “I want to be smart,” I said to myself, “and I also want to believe. So how is it that one can be too smart to believe?” The answer, I found, ten thousand questions and answers later, was: you cannot. This January, I embraced Islam, a decision that was informed in equal measure by my mind and my personal religious sensibilities. It was the culmination of a great emotional and intellectual battle to secure not just my faith in God but also my integrity as a thinking person, beleaguered as I was by the false fear that true faith may come only at the expense of intellect.