My Leap of Faith for You - Love and Faith Redefined

Albert Einstein not often cited for ideas outside the realm of science. But I recently came across an insightful statement formulated by him (the quotation above) that sparked a synapse some where in my mind about the relationship between religion and love.

If the laws of gravity do not apply to love, that is, if human beings are not attracted by mere earthbound love, then I am left with two questions: First, if it's not love that brings two people together, than what does? Second, if love alone, or at least the popular conception of it, does not attract two individuals, than what does love pair-up with to bring human beings into each other's intimate spheres? So the questions can be distilled to a single inquiry: How do people fall in love? Contrary to popular belief and Hollywood, falling in love does not happen spontaneously like a raging forest fire or something. How do I speak with such certainty when trashing the notion of romanticized love you say? Well, isn't it apparent? Look around you! When walking down the road, do you see people randomly bursting into passionate paroxysms? I mean, it's not like your taking the subway one day and you engage the person next to you just like that. It takes time to develop real love.

So what does taking time mean anyway? Well, it means that usually your feeling of deep love will not present itself the moment you first meet someone. No. Love needs to be given a chance to be cultivated and grown by an extended relationship, which is where marriage comes in as an active mechanism that allows such a seedling to germinate and eventually grow tall.

The truth of the matter is that something else is required to get love going. Like an engine or a chemical reaction, some kind of catalyst is needed to jumpstart the lifelong development that love requires. What is this enigmatic catalyst? Well, let's turn to the seventh verse of the forty-ninth surah of the Qur'an, Al-Hujurat (look at the first excerpt above).

From this verse and many similar ayahs in the Qur'an, we learn that Allah has integrated faith into our very hearts. Many people would interpret the idea of faith being "adorned" in our hearts as a kind of symbolic statement, but the fact of the matter is that our hearts are physically tuned to reverberate to the sounds of faith, the feeling of pure wholesomeness that belief brings with it. Establishing a loving relationship not only requires visceral attraction (an earthly desire), but also a huge input of faith, which answers our opening questions.

Perhaps this is too simplistic of an answer for you? Let's get a bit empirical, shall we? From my observation, as well as many other Muslims, it seems as though there is a huge contrast in marriage patterns between modern-day Muslims (you and I) and the early Muslims (570 CE / 632 H). I often find myself thinking, perhaps a little optimistically, of how relatively easy marriage was accomplished in early Muslim communities (think Madinah and afterwards Makkah). Men and women were often wedded at relatively young ages and decisions of whether to marry or not were likewise relatively brief and punctual.
For example, it wasn't really that long after Ah proposed to marry Fatimah that marital requirements were met and arrangements were finalized. And mind you, these weren't cold, hard arrangements met with corporate speed, nor were they swooning over one another in a fashion akin to Romeo and Juliet. No, this man and this woman made a mutual decision to love each other and that is a fact. They decided to put hands and hearts together in this earth and plant a seed there and nurture it to something large and beautiful, and that something bloomed into a blossom of love and tenderness into eternity.

And so from our more empirical discourse, we can start to make connections. We can begin to understand Einstein's statement about love not being contained by worldly constriction or law (gravity). No. Love is a heavenly attribute, a gift that God has saturated our hearts with. And mingling with love in the core of our hearts is faith. So what is faith but love, and what is love but faith. They both originate from the same pulsing locus, that miraculous muscle, for lack of a more transcending word, that sets into motion our bodies and our senses. They are one expression, even as their Originator is One.

And so we must ask ourselves the crucial question: How do we fall into real love? How do you find that true inamorato, if you are a Muslimah, or inamorata if you are a Muslim, in the modern, urban, and lonely landscape that you live in? Well, keep on looking sugar 'cause you aint gonna find nobody if you keep looking for the rest of your allotted time in life.

You cannot float through life with a belief that one day your one true love will come waltzing through your bedroom door. No. On the contrary, if you want to love someone, then you have to make that decision to defy mere dunya-related gravity. You have to grasp the fact that because faith and love are, so to say, a package deal, when you make an authentic decision to love someone, you are making a leap of faith.

There will be a point in your life's path that will tumble down into a deep ravine, and until you decide to put your faith in an individual human being and take that scary leap of faith, you will not continue to move in a positive direction. So think about fighting gravity, think about taking love and faith seriously.
Source: http://www.islamicity.com

CAIR: San Diego Muslims to Hold Youth Conference

Day-long event to focus on spirituality, education, activism, social concerns

(SAN DIEGO, CA, 7/23/10) -- On Saturday, July 24, the San Diego Muslim community will hold a day-long conference for American Muslim youth at the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD). The theme of the conference is “Muslim Youth in America: Seeking the Straight Path.”

WHAT: “Muslim Youth in America: Seeking the Straight Path” Conference
WHEN: Saturday, July 24th, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.; A Press Conference for the event will be held at 1 p.m. in the 2nd Floor Library, Islamic Center of San Diego.
WHERE: Multipurpose Room (1st Floor) Islamic Center of San Diego, 7050 Eckstrom Avenue, San Diego, CA 92111
CONTACT: CAIR San Diego Public Relations Director Edgar Hopida, 619-913-0719 or 858-278-4547, E-mail: ehopida@cair.com

The conference will feature dialogue-oriented sessions on the development of a good Muslim spiritual character and the importance of obtaining both religious and secular education. Other discussions will focus on “Radicalization of American Muslim Youth: Myth or Reality” and on social problems that are experienced by Muslim youth.

“The purpose of this conference is to provide Muslim youth a constructive environment in which to discuss issues of spirituality, education, activism, and social problems in order to help them pursue a path that will positively impact the broader society,” said CAIR-San Diego Public Relations Director Edgar Hopida.

The conference is sponsored by the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD), Masjidul Taqwa, the Council on American Islamic Relations - San Diego Chapter (CAIR-San Diego), Logan Islamic Community Center (LICC), and Muslim American Society (MAS) Youth San Diego.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties group. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
Sources: http://islamonline.com

The Islamic Center in Washington D.C.- A Place to Appreciate

The oldest Islamic house of worship in the city, the Islamic Center in Washington D.C. is a symbol of Islam in America. More than 6,000 people in the D.C. area from 75 different countries attend prayers there each Friday. When the Center was first opened in 1957, it was the largest Muslim place of worship in the Western Hemisphere. Since its beginnings, the Islamic Center has committed itself to promoting a better understanding of Islam in the United States. Serving as a source of guidance for Muslims, the Center offers Islamic literature and provides help to needy families. In addition, the Islamic Center offers: officiating marriage ceremonies, counseling those in need, providing a research center with an extensive library, and organizing language and religious classes for both children and adults.

Getting There

Located on Embassy Row, just east of the bridge over Rock Creek, the Islamic Center is in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, so if you're taking the Metro, you'll want the Dupont Circle Red Line. Its exact location is: 2551 Massachusetts Avenue. The Islamic Center is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Via CheapHotels.org, the leading hotel booking site for budget hotels, you can find cheap hotels in Washington D.C.

History of Islamic Center

The idea for the Islamic Center in Washington D.C. was initiated in November 1944 during a conversation between Mr. M. Abu Al Hawa, a Palestinian immigrant and businessman, and the former Ambassador of Egypt, Mr. Mahmood Hassan Pasha. Shortly after this important exchange of words, a few diplomats and American Muslims formed the Washington Mosque Foundation, which quickly grew to include membership from every Islamic nation in the world, as well as American citizens. The Foundation was able to raise enough money to buy the land where the Center currently resides and the cornerstone was laid on January 11, 1949. Like many other places of worship in Washington D.C., the building came to realization through gifts and monetary support-mostly from foreign governments. For example, Egypt sent the solid bronze chandelier; the Shah of Iran donated the Persian carpets; and the Turkish government gave the tiles which line the mosque walls. Not only did foreign governments offer monetary support, but they also sent workers to move the project along. Craftsmen from Egypt came to Washington D.C. to manifest the artwork of Quranic verses on the ceiling of the mosque. And, the Turkish government sent craftsmen to lay the tiles on the mosque walls. Designed by noted Italian architect Prof. Mario Rossi, the Center celebrated its opening on June 28, 1957.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower remarks of the Mosque and Islam

At the dedication ceremony, former United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower affirmed the Islamic world's "traditions of learning and rich culture" which have "for centuries contributed to the building of civilization." His closing remarks were: "As I stand beneath these graceful arches, surrounded on every side by friends from far and near, I am convinced that our common goals are both right and promising. Faithful to the demands of justice and of brotherhood, each working according to the lights of his own conscience, our world must advance along the paths of peace.
Source: http://www.islamicity.com/

Message to Muslims: I’m Sorry

That's reasonable advice, and as a moderate myself, I'm going to take it. (Throat clearing.) I hereby apologize to Muslims for the wave of bigotry and simple nuttiness that has lately been directed at you. The venom on the airwaves, equating Muslims with terrorists, should embarrass us more than you. Muslims are one of the last minorities in the United States that it is still possible to demean openly, and I apologize for the slurs.

I'm inspired by another journalistic apology. The Portland Press Herald in Maine published an innocuous front-page article and photo a week ago about 3,000 local Muslims praying together to mark the end of Ramadan. Readers were upset, because publication coincided with the ninth anniversary of 9/11, and they deluged the paper with protests.

So the newspaper published a groveling front-page apology for being too respectful of Muslims. "We sincerely apologize," wrote the editor and publisher, Richard Connor, and he added: "we erred by at least not offering balance to the story and its prominent position on the front page." As a blog by James Poniewozik of Time paraphrased it: "Sorry for Portraying Muslims as Human."

I called Mr. Connor, and he seems like a nice guy. Surely his front page isn't reserved for stories about Bad Muslims, with articles about Good Muslims going inside. Must coverage of law-abiding Muslims be "balanced" by a discussion of Muslim terrorists?

Ah, balance - who can be against that? But should reporting of Pope Benedict's trip to Britain be "balanced" by a discussion of Catholic terrorists in Ireland? And what about journalism itself?

I interrupt this discussion of peaceful journalism in Maine to provide some "balance." Journalists can also be terrorists, murderers and rapists. For example, radio journalists in Rwanda promoted genocide.

I apologize to Muslims for another reason. This isn't about them, but about us. I want to defend Muslims from intolerance, but I also want to defend America against extremists engineering a spasm of religious hatred.

Granted, the reason for the nastiness isn't hard to understand. Extremist Muslims have led to fear and repugnance toward Islam as a whole. Threats by Muslim crazies just in the last few days forced a Seattle cartoonist, Molly Norris, to go into hiding after she drew a cartoon about Muhammad that went viral.

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And then there's 9/11. When I recently compared today's prejudice toward Muslims to the historical bigotry toward Catholics, Mormons, Jews and Asian-Americans, many readers protested that it was a false parallel. As one, Carla, put it on my blog: "Catholics and Jews did not come here and kill thousands of people."

That's true, but Japanese did attack Pearl Harbor and in the end killed far more Americans than Al Qaeda ever did. Consumed by our fears, we lumped together anyone of Japanese ancestry and rounded them up in internment camps. The threat was real, but so were the hysteria and the overreaction.

Radicals tend to empower radicals, creating a gulf of mutual misunderstanding and anger. Many Americans believe that Osama bin Laden is representative of Muslims, and many Afghans believe that the Rev. Terry Jones (who talked about burning Korans) is representative of Christians.

Many Americans honestly believe that Muslims are prone to violence, but humans are too complicated and diverse to lump into groups that we form invidious conclusions about. We've mostly learned that about blacks, Jews and other groups that suffered historic discrimination, but it's still O.K. to make sweeping statements about "Muslims" as an undifferentiated mass.

In my travels, I've seen some of the worst of Islam: theocratic mullahs oppressing people in Iran; girls kept out of school in Afghanistan in the name of religion; girls subjected to genital mutilation in Africa in the name of Islam; warlords in Yemen and Sudan who wield AK-47s and claim to be doing God's bidding.

But I've also seen the exact opposite: Muslim aid workers in Afghanistan who risk their lives to educate girls; a Pakistani imam who shelters rape victims; Muslim leaders who campaign against female genital mutilation and note that it is not really an Islamic practice; Pakistani Muslims who stand up for oppressed Christians and Hindus; and above all, the innumerable Muslim aid workers in Congo, Darfur, Bangladesh and so many other parts of the world who are inspired by the Koran to risk their lives to help others. Those Muslims have helped keep me alive, and they set a standard of compassion, peacefulness and altruism that we should all emulate.

I'm sickened when I hear such gentle souls lumped in with Qaeda terrorists, and when I hear the faith they hold sacred excoriated and mocked. To them and to others smeared, I apologize.
Source: http://www.iviews.com

Eid ul-Fitr and 11 September

Maplewood, New Jersey - Every year Eid ul-Fitr, the celebration marking the end of Ramadan, happens on a different day, approximately 11 days earlier than the year before. This year, it arrived on Thursday in some parts of the world, but most of us celebrated on Friday, depending on which night the new moon was sighted by each particular community.

The uncertainty surrounding which day Eid will fall upon results from Islam’s lunar calendar. The months are dictated by the cycles of the moon and there are no extra days, no shortened months and no leap years, which in the Gregorian calendar ensure that April planting takes place in the spring, October harvest in the fall, and New Year’s Day falls on 1 January.

And strange as this calendar system may seem to some, and difficult as it is to fit into our linear American lifestyle, there are still spiritual qualities to appreciate. For example, one blessing Muslims share is: “May you see Ramadan in every season of the year.”

In the past dozen years, the Ramadan cycle has coincided with many major American events as well as civil and religious holidays: the Super Bowl, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, New Year’s Day, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Hanukkah, Advent, Thanksgiving, All Saints’ Day, Halloween, the High Jewish holy days of Yom Kippur and – this year – Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.

Last year and the year before, Muslim and Jewish groups made the most of the concurrent fasting holidays – Ramadan and the 24-hour Yom Kippur fast – to show solidarity by fasting and breaking bread together through interfaith events at synagogues, mosques and community centres.

Yet at the state level, beyond an annual fast-breaking iftar at the White House since 1996, there is little national recognition of this holiday, which is as significant to Muslims as Easter and Passover are to Christians and Jews.

A handful of American cities close schools in observance of Eid, because of the growing number of Muslim students in their districts, but in New Jersey, like many American cities, fewer than two per cent of public schools close for Muslim holy days. It is only because Eid comes at the same time as the Jewish New Year this year that schools will be closed in many American cities.

The U.S. State Department notes that Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the United States. As it grows, it is becoming increasingly important to consider the need to respect Muslim holy days in public life.

As the moon moves the months of the Islamic calendar 11 days earlier each year and Ramadan shifts into the summer, the coincidence with big American holidays comes to a close for a while. But in 2016 Eid ul-Fitr will take place around the Fourth of July, and by 2020 it will be closer to Memorial Day in May.

This year there’s another American day of remembrance that coincided with Eid ul-Fitr – one of grief, reflection, anger and fear: the anniversary of the events of 11 September 2001.

This year’s Eid celebrations overlapped with memorial services for those who died. And Muslim Americans were conscious of that. As Americans they grieve. As Muslims, by and large, they feel the weight of perceived stereotypes and all too often find themselves defending Islam.

Out of consideration for the solemnity of 11 September, many Muslims decided not to hold big public Eid celebrations on the second day of the three-day feast as they typically have done in the past. The annual Muslim Family Day merriment, often scheduled the second day of Eid at amusement parks or children’s museums in some cities in the United States, was postponed until 12 September. Ironically, the founder of Muslim Family Day, Tariq Amanullah, died in the Twin Towers on 9/11.

Muslims have been part of the fabric of American society since the days of slavery; they are insiders, not outsiders. Given the accusations of Muslim insensitivity surrounding a proposed Islamic community centre in lower Manhattan, I hope this small, symbolic gesture in delaying the celebration of a major religious holiday, and Muslim Americans’ high standard for respect and patriotism, will be noted.
Source: http://islamonline.com

Iran ‘halves jail terms’ for seven Bahai followers

PARIS (AFP) - Iran has cut jail terms imposed on seven leading members of the country's Bahai religious minority from 20 to 10 years, French members of the faith said on Saturday.

The seven, including two women, were arrested in May 2008 and put on trial in January this year on charges including spying for foreigners, spreading corruption, undermining Islam and cooperating with Israel.

They were sentenced on August 8 to 20 years imprisonment, but the French Bahai community said in a statement Saturday that their lawyers
had been told orally that the term had been halved.

"The Bahais of France, greatly concerned for their co-religionists, call on the authorities in Iran to take immediate steps to release them unconditionally," it added.

The defendants have been identified as two women, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet, and five men: Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm.

They "were all members of a national-level group that helped see to the minimum needs of Iran's 300,000-strong Bahai community, the country's largest non-Muslim religious minority," a statement by the French Bahais said in August.

"The trial of the seven consisted of six brief court appearances which began on 12 January this year after they had been incarcerated without charge for 20 months, during which time they were allowed barely one hour's access to their legal counsel. The trial ended on 14 June," it added.

The case brought condemnation from Washington, where US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the sentencing was "a violation of Iran's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."

Clinton was referring to the 1966 UN treaty on fundamental freedoms, which Iran ratified before the 1979 Islamic revolution overthrew the pro-Western shah.

"The United States is deeply concerned with the Iranian government's continued persecution of Bahais and other religious minority communities in Iran," she added in August.

"The United States is committed to defending religious freedom around the world, and we have not forgotten the Bahai community in Iran," she said.

"We will continue to speak out against injustice and call on the Iranian government to respect the fundamental rights of all its citizens in accordance with its international obligations."

Followers of the Bahai faith, which was founded in Iran in 1863, are regarded in the Islamic republic as infidels and suffered persecution both before and after the Islamic revolution.

The Bahais consider Bahaullah, born in 1817, to be the latest prophet sent by God and believe in the spiritual unity of all religions and all mankind.

The group now has seven million followers, including 300,000 in Iran -- where its members are barred from higher education and government posts -- and has a large temple in Haifa, in northern Israel.

"For Muslims, there can't be another prophet or divine messenger after Mohammed," Bahai follower Foad Saberan told AFP, explaining why the group has been dubbed "non-protected infidels" in Iran.

"So they consider Bahaullah an impostor and his followers heretics, whereas the Bahai faith has nothing to do with Islam and is an independent religion.

"And if the headquarters of the religion is in Haifa, it's because that's where Bahaullah ended up settling in 1868 after he was exiled to Baghdad then to Constantinople, long before the creation of the state of Israel."

Bahai leaders believe a total of 47 members of their religion are imprisoned in Iran simply for their beliefs.
Source: http://www.islamtribune.com