Thursday, June 17, 2010

Qur'anic Truth and the Meaning of 'Dhimma' by Abdal-Hakim Murad

Kalam Research & Media has just published a new essay by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - 'QUR’ANIC TRUTH AND THE MEANING OF ‘DHIMMA’ [with a foreword by Dr. Umar F. Abd-Allah]

This short essay is a concise and rich theological statement exploring the dynamic possibilities of an authentically Islamic universality for our age.... Whereas modern globalism tends to annihilate cultural diversity, authentic Islamic pluralism, as exemplified in the theological implications of dhimma, offers to each community the opportunity to develop its own sacred space and express its own uniqueness.

You can download the essay here:

http://www.kalamresearch.com/images/documents/dhimma_final.pdf

via Sohail Nakhooda. (Thanks Najeeb!)

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Neo-Conservatives Lead Charge Against Turkey

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51771

Stephen M. Walt: Turkey and the Neocons

http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/06/15/turkey_and_the_neocons

New article by Dr. Umar! Roots of Islam in America Turks, Moors, and Moriscos in Early America Turks, Moors, and Moriscos in Early America

This paper is the first installment of a new Nawawi Foundation series titled "Roots of Islam in America," bringing to light the largely unwritten but surprisingly rich history of Muslims in the Americas over the centuries. Turks, Moors, and Moriscos in Early America focuses on the first British colony in the New World, the so-called "lost colony" of Roanoke (1585-1590). Roanoke was established for the primary purpose of attacking Spanish ships bearing large amounts of gold and silver from Spain's American colonies to imperial Spain, which, at the time, constituted England's primary military, political, and religious rival. On his way to Roanoke in 1586, Sir Francis Drake led a large fleet of British privateers against the Spanish in the Atlantic and Caribbean and freed hundreds of Muslim galley slaves, who had been forced to serve in the Spanish navy. Historical sources identify these galley slaves as "Turks" and "Moors." But the galley slaves probably included Moriscos as well. The Moriscos were former Spanish and Portuguese Muslims (Moors) who had been forcefully converted to Christianity after the fall of Muslim Spain and often ran afoul of the Spanish Inquisition and were condemned to the galleys. As the article shows, Drake definitely had this large contingent of newly liberated Muslims with him when his ships came to the Roanoke colony in 1586. We know that many of the "Turks" were repatriated to the Ottoman Empire, which had friendly diplomatic relations with England at the time. What became of the hundreds of other former Muslim galley slaves remains an intriguing mystery. It is possible that some of them stayed or were left behind and became the ancestors of the Melungeons, Lumbees, and other enigmatic indigenous American populations who trace their origins to the Roanoke colony and have long claimed to have "Portuguese" and "Moorish" roots.
http://nawawi.org/courses/index_reading_room.html

via Ammar

Monday, June 14, 2010

Chris Hedges - A ‘Prophecy’ Worth Watching

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/a_prophecy_worth_watching_20100614/

New book by one of my professors :)

Democracy in Modern Iran: Islam, Culture, and Political Change by Ali Mirsepassi

http://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2010/05/03/democracy-in-modern-iran-maintains-democracy-possible-in-islamic-societies-.html

A conversation about the Warsaw Ghetto (with Norman Finkelstein)

http://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/a-conversation-about-the-warsaw-ghetto.html

via Omer and Professor Fadel

"Stealth Superpower: How Turkey Is Chasing China in Bid to Become the Next Big Thing"

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/stealth_superpower_how_turkey_is_chasing_china_20100613/

Press TV with Tariq Ramadan - Muslim Turks: Are Their Aspirations Directing the Country’s Politics?

http://www.tariqramadan.com/Muslim-Turks-Are-Their-Aspirations.html

Glen Greenwald on Chuck Schumer: Mainstream Democrat

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/06/12/schumer/index.html

via Omer