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Hajj Journal:
This Cultural Hajj

By Amina Wadud

…t Muhammad (saw), when there were NO electrical lights, NO paved roads, NO phones. There was no way for anyone to know that a caravan had arrived until it was pretty near to its destination. Then a missionary was sent to alert the people of the town that that caravan had nearly arrived and was camped in the outskirts the night before their arrival. This allows for the townspeople to get ready to receive them. There is NOTHING sacred about Muzdhali…

LGBT Human Rights in UN Sustainable Development Negotiation; Swiss Bishop Says Speaking of ‘Family Diversity’ is ‘Attack on the Creator’; Canadian Food Bank’s Anti-Gay Dogma; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…so great and accepting despite what others say. I know God created me this way and He loves me just the way I am. I found the balance between religion and my sexuality, and I am still a proud Muslim and yet I’m gay. I may not be a practising Muslim, but I inherit all the beautiful things that my religion taught me and the most important thing that sadly many radicals seem to overlook is love and through love is what I will live. Spain: Bishop refu…

Christian Passover, Yes or No?: A Response to Rabbi Moffic

By David Greenspoon

…common, and celebrate what makes each tradition a unique voice in the chorus of a universal song of praise to the Creator of us all. Passover is indeed a wonderful opportunity to accomplish these holy goals. The challenge is to do so in a way that reflects and respects that Christianity and Judaism might in many ways be closely related and connected, but at the end of the day are not part and parcel of each other. Respecting the unique gifts each…

Take the Van Gogh Challenge: Doctor Who Part VII

By Gabriel Mckee

…e Doctor and… what? Time? The universe? Fate? Chaos? God? The Doctor has always been a rebel—he always pushes the “protest” button. Most of the time that rebelliousness works out for the best, and he becomes (as I described him earlier this season) an anarchist messiah. But when his attempts at salvation fail, the innocent can suffer. There was one thing about this episode that made me a bit uncomfortable. “Vincent and the Doctor” fictionalizes th…

Marriage Equality Coming To Taiwan In Spite of Religious Objectors?; Anti-Gay Ruling Sought By Indonesian Islamists Threatens Women & Poor Couples; LDS Church Launches New ‘Mormon and Gay’ Site; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…reinforces the correct way to deal with the things we disagree on. “I’ve always questioned the way some people deal with differences, especially regarding sexual orientation. What could justify a person spending their energy to verbally or physically attack someone who prefers different things? Maybe this person is not so confident about their own choices,” Renato Cavalher, creator of the film, wonders. “Obviously, we can disagree with other peopl…

Honoring and Renewing Dr. King’s Other, More Challenging, Dream — 55 Years Later

By Peter Laarman

…question, of course, is the one that Rev. Lawson raises in his distinctive way: Will white people who consider themselves “comfortable” awaken to the call? Can they see how the pathway to their own liberation lies in joining a mobilization for the whole human family? Everyone says it’s easier for the young to push for a total transformation—that they have “less to lose.” My thought is that anyone, of any age, who looks honestly at the way we live…

Will the Religious Side with Workers?

By Peter Laarman

…rm’s-Length Relationship? Explaining why most of American religion walked away from labor during recent decades is a complex matter. For space reasons, I offer some reasons by way of oversimplified bullet points: An unpleasant aftertaste: As noted above, today’s labor movement is tremendously diverse, both ethnically and racially. Women and people of color run some of the biggest unions. But many religious leaders of a certain age are more likely…

Innocent Until Proven Muslim — A Q&A with Dr. Maha Hilal

By Habiba Farh

…ouldn’t recognize if the umbrella [term] wasn’t there; otherwise, the many ways the War on Terror has been—and continues to be—enacted are treated as discrete and unrelated acts and policies. In many ways, it’s normalized violence. As we think about abolishing the War on Terror, I wanted to come up with a taxonomy of its violence because it’s so embedded now. This requires understanding the deeply rooted tentacles of normalized surveillance, indef…

The Morning After

By Amina Wadud

…ywhere. I could make note of the time (or hear the adhan) and then make my way to the prayer place. They always have a wash station for ablutions. They always have prayer scarves for women, some women only wear one when they pray. Even when I was just visiting friends or in private homes if I said I want to make salah, they would show me to a place to wash and offer the rug and the scarf. No one else needed to stop to pray. No one was prevented fr…

Like the Bible? You’ll Love a ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ T-shirt — How AI Marketing Shapes Identity

By Lauren Horn Griffin

…s. After all, it’s not only algorithms and computation, but especially the way people imagine and perceive algorithms and computation, that shape the way we think about ourselves and our communities. They also shape (and reshape) the way people think about “the media” itself, raising concerns about democracy in the digital age. In the original Facebook post, the evangelical pastor at first expressed dismay at why a Christian website would advertis…