Reflections

A collection of 386 posts

Barack Obama

The Moral force of nonviolence

By Barack Obama An excerpt from the remarks by President Barack Obama on Egypt delivered on February 11, 2011 [http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/11/remarks-president-egypt] Egypt has played a pivotal role in human history for over 6,000 years.  But over the last few weeks, the wheel

Canadian Muslims

Hosni Mubarak, Father Scorpion; Omar Suleiman, Uncle Scorpion

By Sheila Musaji When I was a little girl, my grandfather told me a story about a scorpion who wanted to cross a river and asked a child to carry him across. The child recognized that this was a scorpion and dangerous and was afraid of being stung, but the

Canadian Muslims

Signs of hope in Egypt

By Laurna Strikwerda (February 8, 2011) –  Protestors in Egypt continue to fill Tahrir (Liberation) Square by the tens of thousands, building on two weeks of massive demonstrations calling for President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation. Though the protests have been mostly peaceful, the demonstrations have not been free from violence. Pro-government

Canadian Muslims

Why Egypt?

By Jeewan Chanicka (February 3, 2011) –  Lately many of you have been seeing my many posts on social media about what has been happening in Egypt. I am not Egyptian nor am I Arab. However, I lived there in Cairo for almost a year while I was in university. I

Canadian Muslims

A new youth-led dawn in the Middle East?

By Farah I. Abdel Sater (February 1, 2011) – “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day!” When Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse wrote their 1965 song “Feeling Good”, odds were pretty close to zero that the couple could imagine that this is what young Arab citizens 46 years

Canadian Muslims

Egypt: the voice of the people and history

By Tariq Ramadan [http://www.tariqramadan.com/Egypt-the-Voice-of-the-People-and.html] (January, 31, 2011) – [http://www.tariqramadan.com/?page=pdf&id_article=11496] [http://www.tariqramadan.com/spip.php?page=imprimer&id_article=11496] [http://www.tariqramadan.com/spip.php?page=sendfriend&id_article=11496]The Tunisian uprising has

blogging Lebanon

Social media connecting youth and politicians in the Arab world

By Hani Naim (January 30, 2011) – In December, the Online Collaborative Club of the American University of Beirut organised Blogging Lebanon, a conference for more than 150 Lebanese and Arab bloggers, e-activists, journalists, students, professors and others interested in social media. This convention demonstrated that social media is central to

CAM-D

Reflections of a second generation Muslim-Canadian

By Rabia Khedr (January 24, 2011) – Reflecting on the headline of the week [http://www.thestar.com/news/article/924865--muslim-charity-squandered-money-for-poor] and pondering the state of affairs of the Muslim community in the Greater Toronto Area, I’m obligated to put my words down for contemplation. I’m coming from a

IQRA.ca

Tunisia, a game changer in the Middle East

By Radwan Masmoudi There has been a democratic revolution in Tunisia over the past four weeks. This is a new and exciting era in Tunisian history, and an example for other countries of the Arab world. Unfortunately, however, it all started when a 26-year-old university graduate set himself on fire

IQRA.ca

Talking about a revolution

By Tariq Ramadan All honor and praise to the people of Tunisia! Their resistance and non-violent civic revolutionary action, their determination and sacrifice, has shaken the dictatorship to its foundations. President Ben Ali has fled—he and his close collaborators should have been put on trial—and the country’s

Al-Rashid

Canada’s first mosque a model for Canadian mosques today?

By Daood Hamdani Visitors to the history park in Edmonton, Canada often pause in front of a small, red brick building wondering about its identity. Its long and narrow rectangular shape and onion-like domes suggest that it might be an Eastern Orthodox church. While the minarets rising from either side

Al-Masry Al-Youm

Egypt’s Copts channeling anger into civic engagement

By Lina Attalah In April 2006, hundreds of Egypt’s Alexandrian Christians gathered to mourn the death of 78-year-old Nushi Girgis, a Christian who was stabbed at St. Mark and St. Peter’s Church during one of a series of attacks on churches in the city that year. As the

Canadian Muslims

Season for Jews, Christians and Muslims to look back at 2010

By Prince El Hassan bin Talal At the time of Eid ul-Adha, which marks the end of the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca; Hanukkah, when Jews commemorate the dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem; and Christmas, when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, we look back, yet again, on a

Canadian Muslims

Major concerns facing Canadian Muslims

By Yahya Abdul Rahman Many of the major concerns facing Canada’s Muslim community reflect the same concerns of Canada’s population at large including employment, health care, the rising cost of living and education These concerns include, but are not limited to: * The increasing right-wing positions of the Canadian

531

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

Being Read

By Tariq Ramadan Penguin recently published my latest book, The Quest for meaning: Developing a Philosophy of Pluralism. [http://www.amazon.ca/Quest-Meaning-Tariq-Ramadan/dp/1846141524] It is a work unlike anything I have written before, an attempt to examine and to synthesize the master narratives that inform the spiritual traditions,

Canadian Muslims

I am African – and I’m now proud of it

By Hussein Hamdani Growing up, when someone asked me where I am from (since no one assumed that I was Canadian), I would say that my family comes from Yemen. After being prodded, I’d admit that I was born in Kampala, Uganda, in East Africa. I never volunteered that

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

531

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

Canadian Muslims

Who speaks for Canadian Muslims?

By Yahya Abdul Rahman Any individual or group who appears on TV or writes an opinion piece in a newspaper promoting themselves as THE voice of Canadian Muslims should not be taken seriously. It is impossible for any one person or group to encapsulate the diversity of thought and opinion

Canadian Muslims

When it comes to the burqa debate, France should look to Canada

By Elsa Rizkallah As the burqa controversy continues to make headlines in France, it is worth examining what France could learn from Canada, which has worked to reconcile freedom of religion with national security and women rights. Bills banning the burqa – a garment that fully covers a woman’s body,

Canadian Muslims

Should we fear Islam?

By Keith Ellison At a time when our nation is seeing a rise in intolerant behaviour, crossing every cultural line, whether based on race, religion or sexual orientation, we seem simultaneously stuck with a national news media that is preoccupied with conflict and controversy when we desperately need one that

Canadian Muslims

Time to re-think community priorities

By Yahya Abdul Rahman In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, US President Barak Obama is quoted as making the following statement: “One of the things that you realize when you’re in my seat is that, typically, the issues that come to my desk — there are no simple answers

Canadian Muslims

Gandhi and human fraternity

By Tariq Ramadan Equality between men is an ideal. Religions, philosophies and political ideologies have made the equality of human beings the essence of their teachings, principles or systems. Individuals must be treated with equal dignity and fairness. And yet a journey through societies and nations is all it takes

Canadian Islamic Congress

My message to Canadians - if presentation was not cancelled by the Hon. Minister Peter MacKay

By Imam Dr. Zijad Delic, Executive Director – Canadian Islamic Congress Dear Fellow Canadians, In light of maintaining a transparent and open dialogue with my fellow Canadians, I am forthwith attaching a copy of my speech which is consistent with previous appearances across Canada and with other Government agencies. My intention