Islam is an uplifting, ancient religion, rooted in a search for justice on God's Earth. Diversity is both a Muslim's lived reality (Islam is home to everyone from African Americans to Indonesians to Yemenites) and a goal: "O Mankind!" reads the Quran, Sura 49:13, "We created you ... into nations and tribes, that you may know each other, not that you may despise each other.

...I, like the vast majority of my compatriots, find the nihilistic hatred preached by certain Muslims abhorrent and frightening. But as an American, I was raised to believe that we should judge people by the content of their characters, not the acts of others. I was raised to believe that in this country all are equal, everyone is innocent until proved guilty, and differences are to be respected, not despised.

[ Detroit Free Press ]

I truly appreciate my fellow Americans who can look past the vile hate mongering of the like who commented on this story. If Islam was even 1/2 as bad as the "Anti-Islam" crowd would have us believe, wouldn't we have been in a massive world war for over 1,000 years already? Isn't it more likely that the "problem Muslims" are a very small percentage of the Muslims in the world, just as the hate-filled peoples of other religions of the world?

Eid-al-Adha is expected to be on December 20, 2007 (Thursday) in Middle-East, most of Africa, South America, and North America.

[ Moonsighting.com ]

DC Eid committee has coordinated one big Eid Prayer for the DC area, which is cool, but they aren't so convinced about the date:

Wed Dec 19 or Thu Dec 20, 2007

[ Official DC EID Site ]

Guess we'll have to wait another week to see what they decide...

Update: The Fiqh Council of North America has a press release that addresses the confusion. Apparently Eid-al-fitr is clearly defined by the moon and in their opinion fully calculable. Eid-al-adha, however, is defined by hajj and the actions of the hajjaj in Saudi Arabia, so in their opinion Eid-al-adha is set by Saudi Arabia when they set the time for the hajj activities. And since this year Saudi Arabia announced that the 1st of Dhul-hajjah is December 10th on our calendar, it should follow that Eid will be on the 19th. DCEid website hasn't been updated yet, though.

Update: DC Eid committee has posted that prayers will be on Wed. Dec. 19th.

Update: IMAAM concurs.

Since I am under the impression that I have tons of free time, I'm starting a second blog:

Welcome to my blog about being Muslim and having a mobile life (or at least craving your resources wherever you go). Ever since accepting Islam some 13 or so years ago I have tried to figure out how to get my resources to go with me. I want to know the prayer times, hear the Athan, read my Qur'an, and so on. Finally today I decided if no one else was going to publish a guide, I might as well step up and do it.

[ Muslim To Go ]

Crazy, eh? Perhaps crazy to think I have the time, but I don't know too many people who are as obsessed with mobile devices as I am, and even fewer who are Muslim. And since I've had multiple people ask me how I got my phone to do the call to prayer, and now I'm obsessing over the Amazon.com Kindle device (and how great it would be to have a portable library including religious texts) I might as well blog about it and share the wealth. So if you know a Muslim who is always staring at his/her gadgets and asking "why can't this do more for me", send them my way...

Ramadan Yjm3na, originally uploaded by o0()^SmSm^()0o.

Welcome Ramadhan!

May this be a blessed, productive, and fulfilling Ramadhan for us all.

You are part of the problem. Apparently some news sources don't get it. When covering horrific acts of extremist fringe groups most if not all news outlets will not discuss or publish the goals of those groups, and for a good reason, to help them get their message out, or lend credence to their movement, would be a crime by assisting those who perpetrated the horrible acts. However US news outlets don't seem to understand that is exactly what the do when covering stories like the recent bombing in Hyderabad, India.

First a little background of the city:

Hyderabad is a unique cosmopolitan city and home to people practicing Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism. Hyderabadis have developed their own distinctive culture, which is a mixture of ancient Hindu traditions of Telugu people and the centuries old Islamic Culture.

...

The cities population is estimated at 3.6 million or more in 2006 while the population of the greater metropolitan area is estimated at over 6.1 million. Religiously and culturally, the city is united with Christians, Hindus and Muslims. The main languages spoken are Telugu, Hindi,Tamil,Urdu and Deccani.

[ Wikipedia ]

Basically Hyderabad is a true success story of a people of different cultures and religions working together for the common good, just the sort of thing that extremists who pretend to have an Islamic bent, just can't stand. How to deal with this "blemish" in their rhetoric of the "two worlds"? Simple, drive a wedge between the Muslims and their neighbors with a terror act. If people die, and it's determined that the "Muslims" did it, the other communities will trust them less and withdrawal from cross-cultural and cross-religious engagements where they can.

So then, what are the voices of reason to do to fight this? Don't highlight the cause of these extremists by labeling this a "Muslim" or "Islamic" act. If we treat these vile extremists as just that, and make sure to use labels that aren't divisive, we hopefully act against their desires and help to invalidate their actions, and at least we don't assist them with their evil intentions. So who can we rely on to just not "get it"?

But, you may say, some of these sources are just quoting Indian officials who are saying that themselves. It's a tricky game these militant extremists play and just because the Indian government has fallen for their trap, doesn't mean news organizations should follow. Does this act make any more sense to anyone by using the self proclaimed label of the organization responsible? And certainly does this act represent, in anyone's mind, what any self-respecting, honest, Muslim from the majority of Muslims ever consider acceptable behavior? This linkage of the words "Muslim" and "Islam" to acts like this is the goal of these organizations. They want you to believe that this is what Islam stands for so that you will distance yourself from the Muslims of the world. Then they will have a much easier time to recruit additional followers and create a larger and larger rift between the decent people of the world, and we're helping them.

And before you jump all over me for this rant, ask yourself why a story like this one on CNN.com doesn't refer to these bombers as "Christian Terrorists".

Note: my survey was very unscientific I simply picked the first story about the bombings in India that I found on each site. Oh, and I was very surprised by the Washington Post and Reuters.

...but I didn't know about Ben Franklin:

Ben Franklin, the founding father of many important institutions in Philadelphia, a key diplomat and a framer of the US Constitution, wrote in his Autobiography concerning a non-denominational place of public preaching he helped found "so that even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send a missionary to preach Mohammedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at his service."

[ History News Network ]

Interesting and well stated article, it would seem that much thought was put into freely accepting Muslims in the fabric of America even way back at the beginning.

Newsweek and the Washington Post have a little website thing called "On Faith" where they hope to provide some insight into the worlds religions, in an attempt to help us all better understand each other. This week has been all about clearing up some confusion when it comes to Islam and how the west might be confused about some aspects of it:

"On Faith" and Georgetown University asked dozens of the world's leading scholars to discuss Islam's view of violence, human rights and other religions in "Muslims Speak Out." The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life provided analysis of public opinion surveys.

[ On Faith: Muslims Speak Out ]

The good part is the commentary by Islamic scholars from around the globe. I find most of the experts to be on the mark with my understanding, and the understanding of any of my fellow Muslims that I've ever discussed these things with. If there are a good number of people who read this site, and take these opinions to heart, perhaps we can begin to mend the vast rift of misunderstanding between the communities of the world. However...

The bad part is the threaded discussions that allow any and all make comments, this clearly includes vile, evil, bigoted, hate mongers. It's rather hard for me to read the comment threads without getting quite upset. There appears to be a few people, so filled with hate, that they have nothing better to do than try and spread it through the comments. This was an honest set of questions answered by prominent scholars in an honest way only to have a torrent of hate tossed there way. There are a few who try and dispel this wave of hate, and who praise the scholars for their time and honesty, but I can only hope that those invited to share don't come back to read the comments for it truly shows the worst of us all.

Like Judaism and Christianity, Islam originated in the Middle East. As F.E. Peters shows in "The Children of Abraham," the commonalities can be striking. Muslims worship the God of Abraham, as do Christians and Jews. Islam was seen as a continuation of the Abrahamic faith tradition, not a totally new religion. Muslims recognize the biblical prophets and believe in the holiness of God's revelations to Moses (in the Torah) and Jesus (in the Gospels). Indeed, Musa (Moses), Issa (Jesus) and Mariam (Mary) are common Muslim names.

Muslims believe in Islam's five pillars, which are straightforward and simple. To become a Muslim, one need only offer the faith's basic credo, "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the prophet of God." This statement reflects the two main fundamentals of Islamic faith: belief in the one true God, which carries with it a refusal to worship anything else (not money, not career, not ego), and the crucial importance of Muhammad, God's messenger.

«snip»

The three next pillars of Islam are prayer, which is to be performed five times daily; giving alms, in the form of an annual wealth tax that helps support the poor; and fasting during daylight in the holy month of Ramadan. The fifth pillar requires that Muslims perform the pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca at least once.

We tend to equate Islam with the Arab world, but the largest Muslim communities are found in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Nigeria. Only about one in five of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims are Arabs. Islam is the second-largest religion in Europe and the third-largest in the United States.

[ Want to Understand Islam? Start Here. - washingtonpost.com ]

Muslims are taking over San Diego!

Here's what I'm confused about:

1. 7^th and 8^th grade in an elementary school? (Seems unlikely)
2. Is it a "period" an "hour" or "15 minutes"? Islamic prayer generally takes about 5 minutes, 1 hour seems a bit over the top.
3. The teacher claims "Ms. -" lead the prayer, but that isn't consistent with Islamic tradition, and she left before anything even began.
4. The American flag was "rolled up"? Why the would any Muslim do that?
5. Why is closing the blinds without direction so unnerving? If you do anything on a daily basis, wouldn't kids just do it?
6. Has anyone heard of any Muslim complaining about Catholics "doing" rosaries ever?
7. Assimilations? How is changing your religious practices "assimilation"? I wasn't aware that being American was a religion.
8. Doesn't everyone understand yet that Arab does not equal Muslim? And they can't remotely be interchanged?

I also see that the 2006 enrollment was 290 and they state in the story that there is "100 Muslim students" or more than 1/3 of the school, and according to their ethnic breakdown it seems impossible that those 100 Muslim students were "Arabic".

When did people stop learning the details before freaking out? I remember a day when it was considered good practice to check sources and site references, and I long for that day to return.

Update: Apparently in September a nearby "charter" school was merged with Carver and that charter school had an Arabic immersion program. Apparently it happened days before the school opened, and they had no chance to update the curriculum or syllabus. And apparently it is a predominately Somali (not Arab) student population [ San Diego Union-Tribune ]. Apparently the class is all female as well, so my points 1, 2, and 3 above are all cleared up and now make sense. It also seems that the student population has grown to 415 [ Union-Tribune ] due to this merger so we're talking about 1/4 of the school being Muslim.

Update: On the Religion Clause website there are a few comments that I find hard to believe, are there really places in this country where the students are forbidden to say "God" or "Jesus" or carry a bible? In my high-school in an English class we studied the language used in the bible by using bibles that the school owns. I can't imagine that my schooling experience was that radically different (though I have just moved back into Montgomery Country because of the excellent school system). I would recommend anyone who has their child arrested for carrying a bible to school move and move quickly.

Apparently a Muslim woman in the UK wore an all-over swimsuit to go swimming in Britain and received a bit of flack for it. I just need someone to explain this logic to me:

I'll tell you why you shouldn't go swimming like this in Britain; it's because women in this country are equal to men and are not obliged to cover themselves up when swimming - or indeed at any other time - because some men somewhere have decided that's how it has to be. Women in Britain fought for and died for the right to be equal. In this country we are able to dress, or undress, exactly as we see fit. If that's not your choice, poor you. But don't be surprised when people mock you and pass comment on your totally inappropriate clothing for swimming.

[ Comment by Linda Allan of Bath - The Guardian ]

This is the problem with "freedom" in the west, and likewise the issue I've always had with women's rights in the west. The freedom and choice were hard fought and won, and if you don't use that freedom to choose exactly the same as everyone else, then you are an affront to that freedom. But how is that freedom?

One of the things I've come to respect the most about my wife's country of Indonesia is their respect and reverence for the different traditions, ways, cultures, and practices of the peoples of their country and ultimately the world. They understand that each people have their own adat, and in order to be civilized there must be respect for each other.

Props to Islamophobia Watch.

The "Trivalley Herald" which I assume resides somewhere "inside the bay area" had a piece summarizing what Muslim Prayer is like in a basic sense. This is a good thing. Whenever I travel I am nervous about where and when to pray. It's not something most people are familiar with, and people seem to freak out at the sight of it. I am in the habit of finding the airport chapel, meditation room, or reflection area and praying there. Usually I will find the direction toward Mecca marked, some copies of the Quran, and a prayer rug for the weary traveler. Detroit has one of the finer areas for prayer in the US that I've seen.

In summary, this is how we do what we do:

Major steps of prayers include recitation of phrases and verses, holding hands at one's chest, reciting the opening chapter of the Quran, which translates:

"Praise be to [God], Lord of the worlds.

"The most gracious, the most merciful, master of the day of judgment.

"You (alone) we worship. You alone we ask for help. Show us the straight path, the path of those whom you have favored, not (the path) of those who earn your anger nor of those who stray. Amen."

This is followed by other verses from the Quran.

Putting hands on knees, in bowing posture, and praising more.

Bowing down all the way to the ground, with the forehead, nose, hands and knees touching the ground, the worshiper continues with more praises. At the end of the last unit of prayer, sitting down, resting hands on the thighs, the worshiper recites:

"All glorifications are for [God]. All acts of good deeds and worship are for him. Peace and the mercy and blessings of [God] be upon you, O prophet. Peace be upon us and all of [God]'s righteous servants. I bear witness that there is no god but [God], and I bear witness that Muhammad is his servant and messenger."

The second part of recitation in this position means:

"O' [God], exalt Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as you exalted Abraham and the family of Abraham. Verily, you are full of praise and majesty. O [God], bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as you blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham. Verily, you are full of praise and majesty."

[ Inside Bay Area - Understanding Muslim prayers will ease fear ]

I've taken the liberty of replacing the word Allah with God in the above piece. If you don't know what Muslim prayer looks like, you couldn't possibly have a good grasp of the word Allah. For those concerned about this crazy other god that Muslims worship, you should know that God has many, many names across the languages and faiths of the followers of Abraham, and that in Arabic bibles they use the word "Allah" for "God", so it's clearly the exact same concept.

Based on what I'd read, and the assertions of groups like ISNA, I've been saying for years that if you don't sight the moon, it just doesn't count. Apparently that's not the case any more:

The Fiqh Council of North America after careful research, deliberations and discussion has adopted a new position regarding the determination of the beginning of the Islamic lunar months

[ Read News: ISNA.net ]

In reality I've just followed the guidance of ISNA, and I guess if they've taken a new stance, then I'm all for it. This certainly helps for scheduling things. Maybe some day I'll be less busy and can investigate the jurisprudence behind this.

So, based on the new ruling, and fancy schmancy mathematical calculations:

According to the calculation criteria for determining the Islamic Lunar dates adopted by the Fiqh Council of North America, following are the dates for Ramadan and Eidul Fitr for the year 1427.

Ramadan 1427 - First of Fasting September 23, 2006
Eidul Fitr 1427 - First of Shawwal October 23, 2006

I'm rather certain I've blogged about this gem before:

Athan and recitation before the Athan even when the device is off. Also, This software contains Prayer table, Prayer schedule , Hijri Calendar and Hijri to Georgian conversion, Qibla according to your location and position of the sun. Furthermore, it contains lunar calendar, moon age and Islamic Holidays Added to your calendar. Finally, it support Today Screen plugging display to display the prayer time and date in Hijri and to control the Azan voice.

[ Pocket Islam Smartphone ]

For any gadget geek Muslim with a Windows Mobile device, this one is a must.

The Fiqh Council of North America, after consultation with Muslim astronomical consultants who evaluated credible moon sighting reports, declared Thursday, November 3 as the first day of Shawwal and Eid al Fitr.

[ ISNA ]

The first challenge for Caribou will be overcoming its Minnesota-ness. Caribou's coffeehouses (in Minnesota) account for about half of the company's stores and sales, and those stores have consistently been more profitable than coffeehouses outside the state.

[ Caribou Coffee off to bitter start ]

Let me say, as far as I am concerned, Caribou is just plain better than Starbucks. Sure, I like the 'bucks, but Caribou's drinks are much more reasonably priced. Caribou also has better drip, especially decaf, since they don't burn their beans like the Starbucks House Blend.

Interestingly, Caribou ends up even being a company I could invest in, as I am a bit strict about my investments:

Besides improving operations, Coles has his hands full addressing the public relations problems related to the 60 percent stake in Caribou owned by Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank, which was formerly known as First Islamic Investment Bank.

Arcapita ... operates the business in accordance with a body of Islamic principles known as Shariah.

Sure, we don't have Peet's in the DC area, so the only two national chains I am aware of are Starbucks and Caribou, but generally I prefer to do the 'bou.

Certainly this may not be news, but it's the first I've noticed. Looks like it runs a bit faster, likely due to the fact it has been compiled for the chip and OS I'm actually using and not running in some sort of legacy mode.

Make your Pocket PC The ultimate Islamic resource tool ... Arabic Holy Quran with tashkil, English translation and recitation ... Athan and recitation ... Hadith in Arabic, Prayer table, Prayer schedule , Hijri Calendar and Hijri to Georgian conversion, Qibla according to your location and position of the sun ... Today Screen [plug-in] to display the prayer time and date in Hijri and to control the Azan voice.

[ Pocket Islam PocketPC ]

This may even fix some of the issues I've noticed with scheduling on the device, reminders and adhan (azan) didn't always work, perhaps that's all worked out now.

When does Ramadan start?

The crescent moon signals the start of the monthlong holiday, and it will be up to the Plainfield headquarters of the Islamic Society of North America to formally determine for Muslims in this part of the world whether tonight's moon is the real deal.

[ Muslims turn eyes to sky to start Ramadan | IndyStar.com ]

ISNA and the Fiqh Council of North America should be discussing that exact topic this evening. Chances are, based on fancy math, that the Hilal (cresent moon) will not be seen tonight, and Ramadan will start at sunset tomorrow.

If you are itching to find out before everyone else on your block, check out:

• Islamic Society of North America
• Moonsighting.com
• Hilal-Sighting.com

Even more confused by when the days start? Heard that Ramadan starts Tuesday, but your co-worker didn't fast? Keep in mind that days on the Islamic calendar start at sunset, and not midnight. Curious about what is prohibited to a fasting Muslim during Ramadan? Wikipedia to the rescue.

Update: For Northern Virginia, it seems that all of the "big" mosques (or at least the ones with websites that are updated) agree, the first day of fasting is Wednesday:

• Dar Al Hijrah
• ADAMS center

I was a Boy Scout. Now I'm Muslim. Good to see that the two get along so well...

There are now all-Muslim scout packs and troops in at least 22 states, involving more than 2,000 scouts and leaders. They can be found in big cities like Chicago and Atlanta, centers of the Arab-American community such as Dearborn, Mich., and smaller towns like Pottsville, Pa., and Rochester, Minn.

[ TIME.com: Duty, Honor and Allah -- Aug. 29, 2005 ]

I do remember when working at Scout Camp, we had a Muslim troop come one year. They seemed to get along fine, just had some difficulties with the food service people and ensuring that all foods they were given were pork-free.

I wonder how long it will take before it opens?

A new museum of Islamic art and culture will open in December in downtown Baltimore as part of an effort by Maryland Muslims to promote greater understanding of their religion in the aftermath of attacks such as this month's bombing of the London subway.

[ Islamic art museum set to open in downtown - baltimoresun.com ]

So what is the war on terrorism really about?

The White House has approved a classified new strategy, dubbed Muslim World Outreach, that for the first time states that the United States has a national security interest in influencing what happens within Islam. Because America is, as one official put it, "radioactive" in the Islamic world, the plan calls for working through third parties--moderate Muslim nations, foundations, and reform groups--to promote shared values of democracy, women's rights, and tolerance.

[ USNews.com (4/25/05) ]

What I can't figure out is should I be happy? Sad? Indifferent? As an American shouldn't I be upset with state sponsored religion of any type? As a Muslim shouldn't I be upset with the US meddling?

Though, perhaps it's not the US using moderate Islam, but God using the US to fund Islam...

I'm rather curious to hear the opinions of my readership (small as it may be).

Interesting article by a hijab-wearing American Muslim.

During my senior year of high school, a teacher I had known for four years asked me off-hand where I had learned my English. He was so impressed that I managed to rid myself of all traces of an Arab accent. After an awkward pause, as it slowly dawned on me that no, he was not joking, and yes, he really thought I was an immigrant, I had to explain to him that I had been born 10 minutes away from the school building. The reason my English was so accent-less was because I really was an American, even with my hijab on.

[ The Harvard Crimson Online :: Opinion ]

Reminds me of when I was in Mecca, so many people asked where I was from. I said America. They looked puzzled, and would change the question: "where are your people from?", to which I'd say America. Usually more puzzled looks, sometimes the offering of "you mean Syria?". Basically the thought of an Irish American Muslim was just not conceivable.

Frequently I find Anisa Mehdi's editorials a bit too liberal, but this one is spot on:

Now that the elections in Iraq are over, the work of writing the Iraqi constitution can begin. A Shi'ite religious party will have the most representatives, raising some concerns that the constitution will be based on Islamic law. But commentator Anisa Mehdi says that basing the new constitution on the laws of Islam is a good idea.

[ NPR : Islamic Law and the Iraqi Constitution ]

Though I think pointing out terrorists justifications for obscene acts of violence has little to do with Islamic law.

When Dari got me hooked on this stuff, I had no idea:

Listen, if you haven't yet, to the great pop stars of Senegal: Youssou N'Dour, Cheikh Lo, Baaba Maal. You'll adore what you hear and discover what they have in common, like the hustle and ping of their sound, etched with koras and horns. The other is what they sing about: transfixing passion, not for earthly lovers but for the holy men, marabouts, the Sufi saints of Islam.

[ Caught Up in the Aura of a Senegalese Saint (New York Times, requires registration) ]

I don't know much about this West African Sufi movement, but my brothers in Senegal sure know how to play some great tunes. If you Rhapsody, or even Napster, I recommend at least sampling a few tunes. Come to think of it, Dari digs the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan too. Based on his recent post, perhaps I should check out the Sufi roots of Hall and Oates.

Apparently there is a large movement afoot:

"As adults we must each own our own beliefs," said Prof. Fidelma O'Leary, biology, St. Edward's University, to a packed auditorium in Goldwin Smith on Friday night. Her lecture, "An American Woman's Jihad," detailed her spiritual journey as an Irish-American Muslim.

[ The Cornell Daily Sun - An American Woman's Jihad ]

OK, maybe not, but the did put "Irish-American Muslim" in print. Maybe we should form a PAC so we can be heard on the hill.

Contrary to the opinion of some (possibly most in the US):

"Jihad" is one of the few Arabic words used in English. It means holy crusade[sic], but many Muslims have pointed out that "jihad" is almost always used in English in the context of terrorism, even though the actual meaning is broader. Commentator Anisa Mehdi would like to propose a word that could be used instead of "jihad."

[ Rethinking the Word 'Jihad' ]

My understanding is that jihad means something close to struggle for the sake of God. There are internal and external struggles. Ms. Mehdi makes a good point about how the struggles of those so quick to use the word aren't even struggles for the sake of God. I would also make the point that a physical struggle is actually the easiest of all levels of struggle. Think about when you are upset is it easier to alter your own behavior? To tell others that what they've done should be corrected? Or just hit them?

Very interesting Talk of the Nation. I don't think they truly had enough time to explore and appreciate all views here, though.

Many victims of the tsunami are left with tough questions about fate and natural disasters. Often, they're left with few answers, only their faith. We discuss how Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Christians reconcile religion and disaster.

[ NPR TotN ]

The caller “Fathima” who doesn't identify her religion is clearly a Muslim. Her point is valid, but perhaps too much of a tangent. I felt the Imam did bring up an important point about testing vs. punishment, but left off other important concepts like why it is better to be punished in this life than the next. More importantly, I think, one of the Muslims should have touched on the concept of punishment of a society for societal ills.

As for the non-Muslims, who's opinions I am not as familiar with, I'm not sure the “end of days” scenario of the Jewish gentleman was truly on topic, he seemed to be more concerned with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and to imply that disasters of this proportion didn't occur before that invasion is a bit out there.

I also found the information about Krakatoa to be very intriguing, and may have to purchase his book.

Until we knock down the notion that we are the enemy of Muslims everywhere, our war on terrorism will never end.

[ DallasNews.com | Local Columnists ]

Mr. Blow has a very good point. Those Americans who do feel that they are at war with Islam clearly don't understand the war. Mr. Blow also states:

Then get to know your Muslim neighbors. You have 7 million of them here. Build bridges of understanding. Seek justice. Fight prejudice.

Excellent advice. Some of us are American born and love the US. Some of us came here as an invitation by America or Americans, and you should treat your guests well, no? Others came here fleeing bad conditions or dreaming the American dream. So few Muslims came here with hate, and all of us would prefer if they hadn't.

However he also states:

And that brings me back to a column of a few weeks ago. I expressed my longing to see Muslim Americans rise up in a highly visible repudiation of terrorism – and as a sign to the world that the U.S. isn't hostile to Islam.

I guess that means all of our efforts so far haven't reached his ears. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has put together an online petition with over 600,000 signatures denouncing terrorism with rather strong language:

We, the undersigned Muslims, wish to state clearly that those who commit acts of terror, murder and cruelty in the name of Islam are not only destroying innocent lives, but are also betraying the values of the faith they claim to represent. No injustice done to Muslims can ever justify the massacre of innocent people, and no act of terror will ever serve the cause of Islam. We repudiate and dissociate ourselves from any Muslim group or individual who commits such brutal and un-Islamic acts.

[ Not in the Name of Islam Petition ]

And they've sent out press releases about it, I'm sure to Mr. Blow's paper. Unfortunately I don't have a syndicated newspaper column to use as soap box, I just have a crappy blog. I would love to know if there is a better way to communicate these feelings. If websites don't do it, and petitions don't do it, and press releases don't do it, and rallies don't do it, what will help the American Muslim community to communicate these feelings of disgust for the minority of “Muslims” who feel that the proper thing to do is resort to barbarism?

Apparently ISNA won't wait to see if the impossible might happen:

All astronomical data indicates that it will be impossible for the crescent to be sighted anywhere in the world on the evening of Friday, November 12. Therefore, Eid-al-Fitr in North America will be on Sunday, November 14, 2004, insha'Allah.

[ ISNA :: News and Press Releases ]

The Islamic Shura Council of North America has declared that: Based on reported Crescent Sighting in Austin Texas by two (2) witnesses, the Shura Council of North America declares tomorrow, Friday October 15, 2004 CE to be the first day of Ramadan 1425 AH. Ramadan Mubarak

[ Hilal-Sighting.Com ]

There was a little bit of confusion at first about weather the sighting was really the hilal, but apparently they called back, doubled checked, and agreed that the moon had been sighted.

Though I wish the language was better selected. Technical what they are saying is that the first of Ramadan started on Thursday night at sunset, and Friday is the first day of fasting.

Do you have any techniques for “dealing” during Ramadan, since you didn't grow up with it? Do you just have a huge pre-dawn breakfast?

[ davidkearns.com - Ramadan 1425 ]

This always seems to be a big question from my non-Muslim friends. Oddly, not eating is one of the easier things to accomplish. Ramadan is about a lot more than just not eating between dawn and sunset.

Not only do Muslims have to abstain from food and drink, but intake of anything orally (like smoke), intake of any sustenance (unless medically required, like an IV), bad deeds (like gossip), bad thoughts, fighting, and intercourse (not verbal, the other one). I find that after a few days of coffee withdrawal, my biggest problem is getting enough water. I have a bad habit of not drinking enough water anyway, but fasting usually compounds that a little.

It is Islamic tradition to have a pre-dawn meal to help with the days fasting, but usually at that time in the morning I have a hard time getting together much more than a few glasses of water and a power bar or something.

The other big issue I have is with my attitude, I tend to be sarcastic and sometimes a bit rude or abrupt; I try to correct this during Ramadan and be an all around good guy, helpful and friendly. This year the biggest thing that I'm concerned with is that my day (dawn to sunset again) overlaps on both ends with my wife's day (she's in Indonesia) so at any time at least one of us is fasting. I'm certain that this will change the nature of our communication, and is apt to make Ramadan seem a bit longer than usual.

Is that common, to use one large location for the Eid al Fitr prayer, and not at everyone's local mosques?

[ davidkearns.com - Ramadan 1425 ]

Yes, this is rather common. The practice goes all the way back to the time of the Prophet. More details on wikipedia. (I love the wikipedia!)

Not that this will stop the confusion that happens each year, but ISNA calls the shots for most US Muslims:

The available data indicates that the moon's conjunction will occur on Thursday, October 14, 2004, at 2:49 Universal Time i.e., Wednesday, October 13, 2004 at 10:49 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (7:49 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time). On October 14, the moon's age will be 22.4 hours at sunset on the West Coast of the US and still unlikely to be seen because it will be in the southern hemisphere, and will be very low on the horizon in the northern hemisphere. This moon will be thin and less bright than the background sunlight on the horizon. Therefore, it will not be visible. Accordingly, 30 days of Sha’ban have to be completed and Ramadan will start on the evening of October 15, making the first day of Ramadan in North America on Saturday, October 16, 2004, insha'Allah.

[ ISNA :: News and Press Releases ]

Looks like no matter what Eid will fall on a weekend, and in DC the big Eid prayer will be at the new DC Convention center. As of this post, though, no word on the actual times.

So, if anyone was planning on lunch with me, make it this week, or wait until late November.

Yes!

Prayer Times 2003 is a plug-in that integrates Islamic prayer times in Microsoft Outlook 2003.

Prayer Times enables you to generate appointments for the five main prayers as well as for Friday prayer in your personal Outlook calendar along with your other daily appointments.

[ Microsoft Products and Arabic Support ]

Microsoft actually originally released this unsupported with Outlook 97, it had been taken off their site years ago, and I was still installing the copy I had. They've now updated it a bit for Outlook 2003, and it's integrated a bit better. I expect the next update in 2009.

Thousands of women marched through Paris on Saturday to press for equal rights for women and show support for a law to ban Islamic head scarves in public schools.

[ Yahoo! News - Thousands March in Paris for Women ]

So equal rights means restricting religious freedoms? Am I the only one who finds this all together backwards? What's next, civil rights marches to reinstate slavery?

Update: I've figured out what's next. To help blur the class lines, the French will ban clothing for women. And if that still allows for some degree of individuality (read non-equalness) they'll ban hair shortly after that, and require all women to go bald.

This, in my humble opinion, is the best news I've heard in weeks:

Saudi Arabia's top cleric called on Muslims around the world Saturday to forsake terrorism, saying those who claim to be holy warriors were an affront to the faith.

[ Yahoo! News - Most Viewed ]

Now that the same message has come out of Cairo and at Mount Arafat during hajj, maybe the international Muslim community will wake up and stop listening to the murderers.

The National Islamic Shura Council and the Fiqh Council of North America decided for Eid ul Adha 1423 (February 2003) to follow the announcement in Makkah about the beginning of the month of Dhul Hijjah and the day of Eid ul Adha...

Therefore, according to Ummul-Qura calendar, Hajj date i.e. the Day of Arafat (9th Dhul-Hijjah) is expected to be January 31, 2004, and Eid-al-Adha (the day after the Day of Arafat) would be February 1, 2004, insha'Allah.

[ ISNA ]

The article on ISNA's site goes on to further explain some of the issues with determining these dates based on Islamic jurisprudence and such.

The committee in charge of Eid prayers and activities for the greater DC area (for the most part) has agreed:

Eid will be on Sunday February 1, 2004, inshaAllah

This is determined to be 10th of Dhul-Hijja. Based on decision of Shura Council of North America in conjunction with the Fiqh Council of North America

[ DC Eid ]

Muslims are converging on Mecca for the hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage that has been plagued by fires, stampedes and occasional riots. The risks are even greater this year, with Saudi authorities also worried about diseases and terrorism.

[Yahoo! News - Most Viewed ]

God willing it will go off without a hitch. I can attest to the amazing planning ability of the Saudi branch of the government that is in charge of Hajj and Umrah (the 2 types of pilgrimages). When I was in Saudi (just for the lesser pilgrimage, Umrah) I couldn't believe how many people were involved, yet how smoothly all operations went. The populations of Medina and Mecca aren't very large (891,000 and 1,335,000 for metro areas respectively according to libraryspot) but are able to host populations 5-10 times that size during Ramadan and Hajj.

Following up on comments from last weeks “Killer Saved from Sword by Victim's Family”:

I'm not sure that this is an exorbitant amount. I'm sure that many a business man has a life insurance policy that pays this amount. (Which I believe is not allowed by Islam).

It's not just law in Saudi, but any country or region that claims to live by Islamic Law. And rich people can't get away with it, unless the blood money is accepted by the deceased family.

I think I'll also argue that Reuters would like to be seen as a global news service, as would Yahoo!, and “our” (aka Western) culture shouldn't necessarily be the rule to judge all others by. Though I could just be subscribed the the US edition.

The “women can't drive” thing, however, I think is a good candidate for “odd”, and this fact would likely seem odd to 99% or more of the world (IMHO, no facts to back this one up).

And I'm rather sure that the penalty for breaking a Kosher law, according to the Torah, isn't jail time.

However I can see that I have a different view on this.

I'm sure my concern is more “isn't it rude to point and laugh” than anything else, which I guess I feel is a connotation of “odd”. Differences are a great thing to discuss and try to understand, but it's no wonder that there are so many bullies in the world, when people might be made to feel “odd”.

I really was hoping to get a bit more feedback, not that I expected to be anything but the minority on this one, just curious if anyone else even remotely would take “my side”. Though there is a good chance that the comments here represent 50% of my regular readership...

And one last thing, how is this practice different when countries do it?

I'm not sure how I feel about Reuters (or Yahoo!, if they made the call) categorizing the belief of 1 billion plus peoples around the world as “odd“.

Reuters - A convicted Saudi Arabian murderer was spared execution after tribal sheikhs persuaded his victim's father to accept five million riyals ($1.33 million) in return for his life, Saudi newspapers reported on Friday.

[Yahoo! News - Oddly Enough ]

What do you think?