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“You’ve Never Met a Muslim”

…of political affiliation. That time when the Twin Towers still stood as a beacon in Lower Manhattan was also a time when those frightened by my faith were a relatively weak voice. Since that day in 2001, the coexistence of our piety and our patriotism has always been in question in the court of public opinion. I anticipate that it will continue to be this weekend when the 9/11 anniversary and our Eid celebrations converge. The convergence of these…

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We Were Here Before September 11th

…his is just to “show” that Americans are Muslims too (and here you should read, tongue in cheek: white American, because obviously African-Americans are Americans). In fact, the origin of Islam in America is through Muslim slaves brought over hundreds of years ago from Africa. Some estimates are that as many as one third of the slaves brought here from Africa were Muslims. The record is emphatic: royalty, scholars, businessmen, Africans from all w…

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Bachmann’s “Dangerous” Summit

…the presidential hopeful as saying that after becoming interested in the teachings of David Noebel, “I went on to serve on the board of directors with Summit Ministries.” Noebel, the Christian anti-communism crusader who until recently led Summit, teaches that the “Christian worldview” is superior to other “worldviews,” including secular humanism, Islam, and Marxism-Leninism, which are on a coliision course with Christianity.  Bachmann, however,…

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Rent-Free Religion in New York’s Public Schools

…a of concern. At my children’s public school in New York City, the religious group that has made the school its rent-free home for several years is now seeking other arrangements. They no longer meet up to four times a week at the school, and instead restrict their presence to Sunday evenings. By February 12, the deadline set by New York’s Department of Education, they will have to find another space. But the religious movement of which they are a…

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Back to School at The First Public School In the Country To Require a World Religions Course

…hange must begin in the schools. The establishment clause does not forbid teaching about religion from a non-devotional perspective and, in theory, students are already required to learn about world religions as part of world history. But whenever someone proposes a high school world religion course, naysayers chime in: “Conservative Christian parents will never allow it!,” “Students will convert to other religions!,” “Proselytizers will take over…

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Sharbat Gula’s Experience Exemplifies the ‘White Savior’ Lens Through Which Most Americans View Afghanistan

…her eyes convey intelligence, defiance, and a shyness that could also be read as wariness. The initial cover read, “Haunted eyes tell of an Afghan refugee’s fears.” However, this was not the fear of war, but of an unknown man—and of anger at being forced to take a photograph that violated the norms of her Pashtun culture. Sharbat Gula is a Pashtun with a fierce code of respect, honor, and modesty. The notion that women and girls should not share…

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Leper Messiah: A Jesus Freak’s Search for the Meaning of Bowie—A Critical Novella

…can be accessed here. We present them as whole below for easy printing or reading. As you please. — ed. (1) As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are…

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A Life After Death Double-Feature: Eastwood’s Hereafter and Noe’s Enter the Void

…th Sense or Ghost. Matt Damon’s character, a psychic who can speak to the dead, is deeply troubled by his visions, and doesn’t know any more about heaven and hell than we do. The characters in the film suffer. Yet ultimately, they are redeemed by the warm reassurance that all is well after we die; everything is lovely, and weightless, and good. Enter the Void’s world is far less easy. It tracks, religiously at times, The Tibetan Book of the Dead’s…

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Virginia Mollenkott: Warrior in the Battle for Evangelical Acceptance of Gays (1932-2020)

…prayers failed. She lived a long and healthy life, born in 1932 and dying peacefully on September 25 at her home in Pompton Plains, New Jersey. Today her 2001 book Omnigender: a Trans-Religious Approach (Pilgrim, 2001) continues to give hope to transsexual and transgender Christians such as Sister Paula Nielsen and David Weekley, the first openly transgender clergy serving the United Methodist Church. “S/he opened so many doors for so many people,…

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How Herbalife’s Gospel of Health and Wealth Fuels a Billion-Dollar Deception

…rates, and supplements, mostly focused on weight loss and muscle gain. Instead of marketing directly to customers, the company bundles its products and sells them to individual distributors, called Members, who then turn around and sell them to friends, relatives, strangers—whoever they can find. For the past couple years, Herbalife has been trying to convince the Federal Trade Commission that this is multi-level marketing—not a pyramid scheme. Dr…

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