Religion Dispatches
…end of a month of fasting.) This year, Eid ul-Fitr may be on September 9th, 10th, or 11th. Strangers in Our Own Lands It was worrying enough to think about how some people might misinterpret such a convergence, and that was before the rise in Islamophobic rhetoric. Every other day, I’m greeted with someone arguing that Muslims are all evil, that we shouldn’t have any more mosques in America, that we are a dastardly fifth column. The assumption her…
Read More
…with Ramadan. By the time I settle in after my mosque visit, it’s way past 11 and then I’m up by 4. It’s true with no work schedule I have the luxury of going back to sleep after reading Qur’an in the morning, but that is actually my favorite time of day to be awake and productive. I used to say, if I see that sun come over the horizon, I know the day is going to be good. Simple things like the sun or the absence of it, remind me then to be grate…
Read More…at cross purposes. My first thought was to kick myself for leaving my cell phone behind. This would have made a terrific picture. My second thought was to find a less obtrusive spot where I could watch to see how this excruciatingly slow drama would play out. But before I could move, my husband drifted up behind me in his kayak, took one look at the frog and snake and muttered, “I can’t take this.” Over my objections (“But it’s nature!”) Jeff stre…
Read More
…this, but as it stands, I have three different prayer time schedules: my iphone has one from the Ipray app; and I printed one off line from Islamicity; then collected one from my favorite mosque, when I went there for the tarawih prayer the night proceeding the first day of fasting. None of them have the same time on it. I therefore create a buffer to offset any slight disagreement a few minutes in the morning and a few at sunset. The rest I leav…
Read More…tch ride outside the gates of the estate where I can have bars for my cell phone and get in touch with them later today. Before the shaykh arrives, I continue with my Qur’an reading. I don’t use the tiny mp3 player anymore because this last juz’ includes most of the Qur’an that I have memorized myself, and this is more a review than a simple reflective read. Coming to the end of the Qur’an reading is also melancholy, and I forget why I felt I shou…
Read More
…g days at work. On Wednesday and Thursday he saw more than twice the usual number of patients at his abortion clinic, Aid For Women, in Kansas City, Kansas. But then, this has been an unusual few weeks. Since mid-June, Dr. Yeomans (and the other abortion providers in Kansas) have found themselves scrambling to see as many patients as possible before today; as of July 1, these facilities will not be able to offer abortion services until they show…
Read More…mportance to me for two reasons. 1) last year I had a serious accident with 12 stitches over my right eye. I lost consciousness, and that has never happened to me before. One minute I saw the motorbike coming at me and knew I would be hit, and the next minute some one was helping me to the curb. I thought then, well, at least I did regain consciousness. Because, just as quickly, I might not have. It could have been fatal and I really thought about…
Read More…down with the two Mormon candidates in the 2012 race, this is what I’d ask: 1. In 2008, LDS Church leaders solicited $25,000 donations from wealthy Church members for California’s “Yes on 8” anti-marriage-equality campaign. High-ranking Church leaders even scheduled phone calls with individual members to make the ask in person. Did Church leaders solicit an individual contribution from you to the Yes on 8 campaign or any other anti-marriage-equal…
Read More…ving into the narrative. While I have great friends who are Unitarian, Episcopal, or members of other mainline churches, and I’m very connected to the interfaith community, I feel it’s all so tribal. There’s a lot of culture wrapped up in these denominations; even the most progressive expressions of Christianity strike me as marketing and branding. Nor am I attracted to atheist churches like Sunday Assembly because I just don’t care for the format…
Read More
…Rev. Gary LaMoine of Assumption Church in Barnesville, Minnesota to prevent 17-year-old Lennon Cihak from receiving the sacrament of confirmation, a rite of passage usually administered to Catholic teenagers to “perfect the work of baptism” (the first of the sacraments, in Roman Catholic teaching) and mark their maturity as Catholic Christians. Likewise, the boy’s family members have been prevented from receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion at…
Read More