Category: Shorts
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Faith at the Frontiers of Cancer Care
Shaykh Amin Kholwadia at Crescent Oncology’s Jumuʿah at ASCO The American Society of Clinical Oncology—better known as ASCO—gathers tens of thousands of members of the oncology community for a conference in Chicago at the end of May and the start of June every year. The meeting has long since outgrown most convention centers, and in…
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Defying Big Brother: The Right to Be Unseen
Just as the new millennium set in, the dot-com bubble imploded. Silicon Valley’s t-shirt-wearing CEOs, high on the bravado of venture backing, fell sharply; the wind knocking the thin membrane of their vehemently advertisement-free companies. As the icy air of the ‘real’ world set in, a state of exception began and never lifted. In their…
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What the Haram Could Not Keep Out
The author explores the tension between capitalism and spirituality experienced during Ramadan in Madina.
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Villager or Consumer? The Marketplace of Community
This article explores the disconnect in modern social interactions, highlighting how people’s approach to community has become transactional and commodified. It emphasizes the need for genuine relationships built on love, service, and forgiveness, rather than evaluating connections based on personal benefit. Cultivating meaningful community requires commitment and mutual support.
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A Rejoinder to the Statement on Zakat by AMJA and FCNA
I am writing this article to advise the US Muslim community not to give credence to the “fatwā” issued by FCNA and AMJA. Darul Qasim’s Dār al-Iftāʾ will issue a more detailed rebuttal from a fiqh perspective. Acquiescence to a status quo is built upon defeatism and inertia. Over time, it breeds intellectual laziness, discourages…
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Tributaries of the Ocean: On the Necessity of Spiritual Mentorship for Muslims
My wife and I recently spent some quality time with religious mentors in our lives. As usual, we were struck by the ways in which they are a clarifying presence in our lives, which we often needlessly complicate. I was reminded of the dire need we have in our communities for people to have access…
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After Bondi, Taking Responsibility
Shortly after the Bondi attack, on the quiet street in Canberra on which I live, an Australian flag appeared in front of one of the houses. Under normal circumstances that would be completely innocuous. But circumstances are not normal. Anyone who has been following happenings elsewhere can surmise what the flag might mean. Perhaps, and…
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Between the Beloved and the Listener: Unraveling Khusrow’s Ghazal Nami Danaam
The ghazal begins with the lyric: “I wonder what was the place where I was last night.” There is a skillful use of epistrophe as well as apostrophe here, as the poet repeats the phrase “I wonder where I was last night” — with “man boodham” repeated multiple times — to lay emphasis. It is…
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Making England ‘Abdul Free’: Flags and the Far Right
England this last month has been a tale of two nations: a seething tide of fury and desperation splitting into two very different protesting crowds. The reactions that each have garnered tell the story of two Englands, the political systems and global power structures that coalesce into the lives of ordinary people and the opportunity…
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Nikos Kazantzakis and Imam Al-Ghazali: On Pursuit of the Self
Nikos Kazantzakis’s portrayal of Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ reflects a struggle between flesh and spirit, aimed at self-discovery and reaching God. His interpretation draws parallels to Imam Al-Ghazali’s exploration of self-realization, emphasizing the need to confront worldly desires and temptations in their quests for spiritual unity and meaning.