Common Ground News Service - Iqra.ca (Page 3)

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Common Ground News Service

A collection of 63 posts

Vulnerable Muslim youth: the challenge of counter-radicalisation

By Abbas Barzegar Many of us are still bewildered by the bizarre news of the 19-year-old Somali-born American citizen, Muhammad Osman Mohamud, arrested on 25 November for attempting to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon. Putting aside questions regarding the nature of the FBI’s involvement in

Canadian Muslims

Saudi Grand Mufti uses Haj sermon to condemn fanaticism and violence

By Muqtedar Khan The haj sermon this year – one of the highlights of the three-day pilgrimage that millions of Muslims make to Mecca every year – has received special attention in the media all over the Muslim world. Excerpts from the sermon, which condemns terrorism and extremism and advocates moderation, have

Canadian Muslims

We the People: restoring sanity in America

By Susan Koscis “Hug a Muslim Today” was the first hand-held sign I saw upon arriving at the Rally to Restore Sanity, which was recently held on a beautiful autumn afternoon on the National Mall in Washington, DC. That sign set the tone for what was to come. I’m

A global interfaith initiative to change the world

By Rahim Kanani More than two thirds of the world’s population – over four billion people – identify with one religion or another. Imagine the motivational energy of these four billion people used as a positive force for global social change. Whether tackling issues of poverty, disease, health, energy, education, gender

Interfaith dialogue for a globalised world

by Tareq Oubrou In these times, it is essential to engage in interfaith and intercultural dialogue, given the way our world is evolving. With post-modern globalisation there has been a decline in the belief in the philosophy of progress: the secular theory of salvation no longer has the answers to

Sweets of tolerance

By Carla Haibi On Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, between eateries fragrant with Middle Eastern scents, stands a small pastry store that’s been open since 1992: Sweet Arayssi. Rima Arayssi, 43, is the fifth generation of a family of Muslim confectioners operating since 1844 in Lebanon. Her achievement

Muslim Americans have a history before 9/11

By Mona Eltahawy I live in Harlem on a street that is home to three churches and a mosque. The mosque is next door to one of those churches and when male congregants mingle on the sidewalk, it’s impossible to tell who had just been in church and who

Agung Yudhawiranata

Ramadan around the world: Lebanon, Indonesia and Guinea

By Juliette Schmidt Last week I began a virtual tour of Ramadan around the world, inspired by the stories of my Moroccan, Pakistani and US-based colleagues at Search for Common Ground, a non-profit conflict transformation organisation. This week, as even Toronto buzzes with invitations to fast-breaking iftardinners, I look to

Disappointment - and hope - after Cairo

By Sheikh Ali Gomaa Last month marked the first anniversary of US President Barack Obama’s speech to the Muslim world in Cairo where he sought “a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect.” However, the hope that

A developing Islamic University in Rotterdam

By Jan Felix Engelhardt Tural Koç is feeling rather pleased with himself. The administrative head of the Islamic University of Rotterdam (IUR) has just taken a major step towards gaining state approval for his university. Following close consideration of content and formal requirements, the Dutch accreditation authority has now granted

Common Ground News Service

The Earth is a mosque

By Ibrahim Abdul-Matin Last Thursday, on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, I found myself thinking back to my first hiking trip to New York’s Bear Mountain. I was six years old. Having grown up in Brooklyn, New York, I thought the entire world was a sea of concrete

Afnan Al Zayani

Celebrating extraordinary Muslim women

By Salma Hasan Ali On 10 March, three Muslim women will be honoured alongside philanthropist Melinda French Gates and human rights activists Panmelo Castro from Brazil and Rebecca Lolosoli from Kenya, by Vital Voices Global Partnership, a Washington, DC-based organisation that works to empower women around the world. The need

A Jewish voice against the "burqa ban"

By Joshua M. Z. Stanton Even as a Jew in New York, I know what it is like to be Muslim in France. While studying abroad in the French city of Strasbourg in 2007, I decided to grow a bushy beard. Little did I know that in France only traditional