Uprisings in the Middle East are More Complex

Sep 28

Florida Times Union, September 19, 2012 Tallahassee Democrat, September 14, 2012 by Parvez Ahmed and Mark Schlakman* Brace yourselves. You may know that protests erupted outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and that mobs subsequently attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi this past Tuesday on the 11th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. Apparently this was at least in part...

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Appreciating Islam’s Contribution to Civilization

Jul 05

Huffington Post, July 5, 2012 Also on Patheos, July 5, 2012. Nearly 4 in 10 Americans hold an unfavorable view of Islam and Muslims. That number has remained steady since 9-11. Several factors contribute to this negative perception, certainly none greater than Muslims, albeit a few, committing terrorism in the name of Islam. The media exasperates this negativity, as...

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Protect Religious Freedom of All Americans

Feb 28

HUFFINGTON POST, Feb 27, 2012 As it was in 2008, the campaign for the Presidency of the United States has turned ugly over the question of religion. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has attacked President Obama over his “phony theology,” which he later said was in reference to President Obama’s “radical environmentalist” agenda....

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Religious Right and Politics – From Iowa to Cairo

Jan 30

ALTMUSLIM and HUFFINGTON POST Guess where in the world candidates for political office are pandering to religious conservatives, using religious imagery in political advertisement and participating in political forums in houses of worship? Where some voters are unwilling to support candidates because they do not belong to the majority faith, dismissing a candidate...

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Love Thy Neighbor

Jan 05

Question - I have an impression that Islam, like Judaism, is a bit legalistic.  Even though I consider myself a rationalist, I am convinced that Christianity is an emotional response to God and Christ.  Christ’s great teaching is “to love your lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and to love your neighbor as...

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