American Muslims Celebrating Christmas. Photo courtesy: qz.com

When I was growing up, I always wanted a Christmas tree in our family home but unfortunately for me, this was an idea my parents staunchly resisted. Once, I even offered to make a homemade one but my parents wouldn’t entertain the idea because “we were Muslim.”

We weren’t very strict Muslims, but we were practicing, and a Christmas tree was seen as a contradiction to our religious values back then. I wasn’t alone either; most of my Muslim friends have a similar story to tell. Fast forward years later, and the same parents are now gifting Christmas presents to their grandchildren.

…Although the “Christmas spirit” can be everywhere, the origins are not in a department store or in snowy Lapland, Finland. The origins are in the Middle East, a place with an ongoing horror story in dire need of the world’s humanitarian assistance. Maybe if Christmas wasn’t so devoid of this identity then my own Muslim parents wouldn’t have seen it solely as a Western cultural celebration, as unrelated to their Muslim background.

Religious literacy of Quranic narratives can help reduce a blindness amongst Muslims around commonalities that we share with others. This can enhance an openness to positively share Islam in a way that is relevant and can bring a fresh perspective to interfaith dialogue and bridge building.

The Islamic narrative of Jesus’ birth can anchor the well-known Christian one and reminds us that the Quran places Jesus and Mary beneath a “Christmas tree.” They are described in the Quran as a “token” or a “sign” for all peoples, so perhaps their embodiment of love and peace for all are Christmas presents to the world.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Click here for full story on Huffington Post.

Also read: Muslims love Jesus, too: 6 things you didn’t know about Jesus in Islam.

Also read: The magic and solidarity of celebrating Christmas in a 95%-Muslim country.

Also read: Iraq's Muslims celebrate Christmas in solidarity with Christians

The post The Little-Known Story Of The Islamic ‘Christmas Tree’ appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The post (Ghazal) Udhar Islam Khatre Mein, Idhar Hain Ram Khatre Mein appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Singling out of individuals and creating a mass-frenzy against them using the medium of TV is a dangerous trend. Zee TV initiated this defamatory exercise in the case of the students of the JNU also, and these doctored videos have become the basis of arrest and harassment of Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban. They have not yet apologised for this highly irresponsible act. Despite their bluff being called, they have persisted.

That Zee News can continue to flout all ethical codes of journalistic conduct, and conduct this relentless tirade against Nivedita Menon and Gauhar Raza is criminal and unacceptable. We call upon the Press Council of India and the Broadcast Association to take note of this criminality and initiate necessary action against the channel. We also appeal to the governments of Delhi and the centre to initiate criminal proceeding against the channel for putting a citizen’s life under threat.

We strongly condemn this unethical and criminal act of the Zee news and demand an unconditional apology from them.

ABHA BHAIYA
ABHA DEV HABIB, DU
ABHIJIT A.M, LOKAYAT, PUNE
ACHIN VANAIK
ADITI MANGALDAS
ALKA ACHARYA
AMAR KANWAR
AMEET PARAMESWARAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, JNU
AMIT SENGUPTA, JOURNALIST
AMITABH PANDEY
AMMU JOSEPH, BANGALORE
ANAND PATWARDHAN
ANEESH PRADHAN
ANIL CHAUDHARY
APOORVANAND, DU
ARCHANA PRASAD, PROFESSOR, JNU
ARINDAM BANERJEE
ARJUN DEV
ARUN KARTHIK B., GRADUATE STUDENT – IIT KANPUR
ARUNA RODRIGUES, MHOW, M.P.
ARUNDHATI DHURU
ASAD ZAIDI
ASHEESH MAMGAIN
ASHISH KOTHARI, KALPAVRIKSH, PUNE
ASHOK BHOWMICK
ASHOK VAJPEYI
ATUL SOOD
AVINASH KUMAR, ACTIVIST
AYESHA KIDWAI, JNU
AZHAR KHAN, JALGOAN, MAHARASHTRA
BAVISKAR SHARAD, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, CENTRE FOR FRENCH AND FRANCOPHONE STUDIES
BHASHA SINGH, JOURNALIST AND WRITER
BHAVNA SHARMA
BRINDA SINGH
C.P. CHANDRASEKHAR
CHANDRAKANT N GAIKWAD
CHIRASHREE DAS GUPTA
CYNTHIA KUMAR
DEV DESAI, GUJARAT
DIKSHANT
DILIP SIMEON
DIPA SINHA
DR AJITA WSS DELHI
DR KAREN GABRIEL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DU
DR SHAMBHAVI PRAKASH, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY
DR. ANAND TELTUMBDE, PROFESSOR VGSOM, IIT, KHARAGPUR 721302
DUNU ROY
EHTASHAM KHAN, JOURNALIST
G. ARUNIMA
GAUTAM NAVLAKHA, PUDR
GAUTAM THAKER
GHANSHYAM SHAH (AHMEDABAD)
GITHA HARIHARAN
HAPPYMON JACOB
HARIDAS T
HARJINDER (LALTU) SINGH
HARSH KAPOOR
HARSH MANDER, WRITER, ACTIVIST
HESTER DU PLESSIS
HIMANSHU JOSHI, JOURNALIST
HIREN GANDHI, – DARSHAN, AHMEDABAD
IMRAN KHAN
INDU CHANDRASEKHAR
IQBAL AHMAD, JOURNOULIST
IRA PANDEY
JAINANDAN
JANAKI NAIR, PROFESSOR
JAVED ANAND
JAYATI GHOSH, JNU
JOHN DAYAL
JUHI JAIN
JYOTI PUNWANI
KALPANA KANNABIRAN
KALYANI MENON-SEN, FEMINIST LEARNING PARTNERSHIPS
AMMU JOSEPH, BANGALORE
KAMAL CHENOY
KAMAYANI BALI MAHABAL- FEMINIST, MUMBAI
KAMLESH SHAHARE
KAREN GABRIEL, DU
KARTHIK BITTU, HYDERABAD
KARUNA D W, RESEARCHER, CHENNAI
KAUSAR WIZARAT
KAVERI INDIRA
KAVITA KRISHNAN, SECRETARY AIPWA
KAVITA SHARMA, JMS, DELHI
KHUSHBOO JAIN
KIRTI SINGH
KM SHRIMALI
KN PANIKKAR
KUMAR SHIRALKAR
KUMAR SUNDARAM
LALIT KUMAR
LEENA DABIRU
M. DAVID AMALANADANE, PHARMACIST, KARAIKAL
MADAN GOPAL
MADHAVI KALE
MADHU PRASAD
MADHU SAHNI
MADHURESH KUMAR
MADHURI KRISHNASWAMY, JAGRIT ADIVASI DALIT SANGATHAN
MAHESH PANDYA, GUJARAT SOCIAL WATCH
MAHTAB ALAM, ACTIVIST AND WRITER
MANAN TRIVEDI, GUJARAT
MANASI THAPLIYAL
MANGALESH DABRAL
MANISHA GUPTE, WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVIST, PUNE
MANOJ KULKARNI
MANSI SHARMA
MARIEME HELIE LUCAS, SECULARISM IS A WOMEN’S ISSUE (SIAWI)
MARY E JOHN
MAYA PANDIT-NARKAR
MAYA VALECHA
MIHIR PANDYA
MILIND CHAVAN, PEOPLES’ UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES
MINAKSHI SINGH, SAMARPAN
MK RAINA
MOGGALLAN BHARTI
MOHAMMAD AMIR
MOHAN KUMAWAT, FILMMAKER
MOHAN RAO
MOUSHUMI BASU
MURLI MANOHAR PRASAD SINGH
N.D. JAYAPRAKASH
NANDINI RAO
NANDINI SUNDAR
NASEERUDDIN SHAH, ACTOR
NASIRUDDIN HAIDER KHAN, JOURNALIST
NAVAID HAMID, PRESIDENT, ALL INDIA MUSLIM MAJLIS E MUSHWARAT
NEELIMA SHARMA
NEERAJ JAIN, LOKAYAT AND SOCIALIST PARTY (INDIA)
NIRAJ THOMBARE
NISHA BISWAS, KOLKATA
NIVEDITA MENON
OVAIS SULTAN KHAN
PAMELA PHILIPOSE
PANKAJ BISHT
PANKAJ CHANDRA
PARIMAL MAYA SUDHAKAR, HEAD-ACADEMICS, MIT SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT, PUNE
PARUL MUKHERJI
PATHIK ARORA
PENDYALA MADHUSUDHANA CHARY,JOURNALIST, TELANGANA
PERVIN JEHANGIR
PRABHAT PATNAIK, JNU
PRADIP DATA, PROFESSOR, JNU
PRAKASH K RAY, EDITOR, BARGAD.ORG
PRASAD CHACKO, SOCIAL ACTIVIST, AHMEDABAD
PRASHANT BHUSHAN
PRATHAMA BANERJEE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR (CSDS)
PRATIKSHA BAXI
PRAVEEN JHA
PRITAM PAL
PROF. ADITYA MUKHERJEE
PROF. MAYA PANDIT
PROF. MRIDULA MUKHERJEE
PUNEET SHARMA
PURUSHOTTAM AGRAWAL
PYOLI SWATIJA, ADVOCATE, SUPREME COURT
R. RAMACHANDRAN, JOURNALIST, NEW DELHI.
RAJAT DATTA
RAJENDRA PRASAD
RAJENDRA SHARMA
RAJESH SINHA
RAJINDER CHAUDHARY, FORMER PROFESSOR, M. D. UNIVERSITY, ROHTAK
RAJIV KUMAR
RAKESH, GENERAL SECRETARY,IPTA
RAKHI SEHGAL
RAM PUNIYANI
RAMPRAKASH, JALES, MP
RAVI KUMAR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, SOUTH ASIAN UNIVERSITY
RITOO M. JERATH
ROHIT, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, CESP, JNU
RUNU CHAKRABORTY
S.P. SHUKLA
SABA AZAD
SABA DEWAN
SABA GREWAL
SADANAND MENON, WRITER/CRITIC
SADHNA ARYA
SAGOLSEM PAVEL
SAHBA FAROOQUI, AIDWA
SAHIR RAZA
SANIA HASHMI
SANJEEV KUMAR
SANJIV BHATT
SANKARA NARAYANAN
SARAH HASHMI
SAROOP DHRUV. – DARSHAN, AHMEDABAD
SATYA SIVARAMAN, JOURNALIST
SATYAM VARMA (JOURNALIST, ACTIVIST)
SEEMA MISRA, ADVOCATE
SHABNAM HASHMI, SOCIAL ACTIVIST
SHAKTI KAK
SHALINI GERA
SHAMA MAHAMED, DENTIST, PUNE
SHAMEERA ASHROFF
SHAMIM MODI, SHRAMIK ADIVASI SANGHATAN
SHAMSUL ISLAM, NISHANT NATYA MANCH
SHARANYA NAYAK, ODISHA
SHARMILA TAGORE
SHEBA ASLAM FEHMI
SHUBHA MENON
SHUBHA MUDGAL
SHWETA BHATT
SMITA GUPTA, ALL INDIA DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION
SOHAIL HASHMI
SUBHASH GATADE, NEW SOCIALIST INITIATIVE
SUBHASH KANE
SUBHASH, NEW SOCIALIST INITIATIVE
SUCHARITA SEN, PROFESSOR, JNU
SUDHA BHARADWAJ
SUDHIR DEVADAS
SUMAN BHATTACHARYYA
SUMIT SARKAR
SUNALINI KUMAR
SUPRIYA CHOTANI
SUPRIYA CHOTANI
SUPRIYA VARMA
SURESH PINGALE
SURJIT DABAS
SUSAN VISVANATHAN
SWATI DESAI
SYEDA HAMEED
TANIKA SARKAR
TEESTA SETALVAD
UDAYA KUMAR, PROFESSOR JNU
UJJWAL K HOWDHURY
UMA V CHANDRU, WSS, KARNATAKA
V. RAJENDRAN
V.G. ANTO, GANDHI NAGAR, THUMBAL P.O., SALEM – 636 114, TAMIL NADU
V.K. TRIPATHI, IIT DELHI
VAISHNA NARANG, PROFESSOR OF LINGUISTICS, JNU
Vijaya Venkataraman
VIKAS DUBEY
VIKAS RAWAL
VIMALBHAI, ENVIRONMENTALIST
VINEET TIWARI
VINOD KOSHTI, NEW DELHI
VISHNU NAGAR
WASI HAIDER
ZAKIA SOMAN

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Motto: God is beautiful and He loves Beauty

Mission Statement
Whereas in the contemporary world the values of individual freedom, human rights and gender equality, science and democracy are cherished universal ideals, yet Muslims and non-Muslim minorities espousing these ideals in countries that are member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation face abuse, persecution, and violence;  and

Whereas Muslims and people of all other faith traditions need to come together in opposing bigotry in the name of Islam as preached and practiced in the mainstream mosques in Canada and across the Muslim world;

Therefore,
Our mission is to reclaim Islam for, as the word itself means, securing Peace for all people, and to oppose extremism, fanaticism and violence in the name of religion; and

Our vision is to advance among Muslims the principle of individual rights and freedoms, and for Muslims to embrace the idea of openness, of relating to others as equal and deserving of equal respect, and of defending freedom of speech as the basis of all other freedoms enunciated in the constitutions of liberal democracies, such as ours in Canada; and, accordingly,

We consider our effort is consistent with the forward-looking reading of the principle enunciated in the Qur’an, “There is no compulsion in religion;” and

We believe our mission and vision are intimately bound with the struggle for Enlightenment among Muslims and Reform of Islam in the modern world; and

In order to succeed we are dedicated to nurturing harmonious coexistence among people of all faith traditions, to supporting open and free intellectual discourse about our history beset with problems that need to be publicly discussed, and to celebrating as Canadians our cultural diversity in all of its aspects.

 Vision: “God is beautiful and He loves beauty.”
These words are attributed to the Prophet. But one of Allah’s ninety-nine names is
“husn” and Allah is the Creator of all that is beautiful in the universe. In Sura 67,
“Al Mulk,” we find the following opening verses (in A.J. Arberry’s translation)

“…and He is
the All-mighty, the All-forgiving —
who created seven heavens one upon another.
Thou seest not in the creation
of the All-merciful any imperfection.
Return thy gaze; seest thou any fissure?
Then return thy gaze again, and again, and thy gaze comes
back to thee dazzled, aweary.”

If we distill the meaning of all of our efforts, to which we are committed, the essence is about restoring Beauty back into living and thinking Islam that has been effectively destroyed by Islamists over the past century and ruined in our lifetime.

In other words, our struggle or jihad is against the Ugliness that has taken over Islam, the Ugliness that has made a wasteland of our history and faith-tradition. Today people around the world associate all things Muslim with Ugliness, from suicide-bombings and terrorism to the clothes worn, the features on display, the forbidding of arts and music, the denial of everything beautiful on the grounds that beauty (woman’s hair, for instance, or unveiled face) is Satan’s temptation to deceive man.

Once this sense of beauty is lost, or suppressed, or violated, or forbidden, then man inwardly turns ugly and the rest follows, which is ugliness then gone to war with beauty.

Email:  info@muslimsfacingtomorrow.com

Alternate:    razzaz55@gmail.com

Website: http://muslimsfacingtomorrow.com/
 

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Motto:

Vision: To unearth and spread the Light and Love of Islam, which in its purest form is Universalist.

Mission: To spread egalitarian understandings of Islam, Muslims and universal human rights and connecting individuals and communities of many schools of thought to spread harmony and peace.

Goals: To create and connect communities to inclusive spaces; to hold congregational mixed gender prayers, led by any gender; to support family and the institution of marriage, including interfaith and same sex unions and connect community members to Muslim officiants; to build multi-faith communities with shared visions, such as the Ottawa Network of Spiritual Progressives and Hate to Hope; to lead and/or support the entitlement of women to self-determination everywhere; to stand in solidarity, shoulder to shoulder, with LGBTQI individuals inside and outside Muslim communities and nations; to respect animals and the earth, for us now and for future generations to come.  

Contact: universalistmuslims@gmail.com

Website: http://www.universalistmuslims.org/
 

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A British Army man loses his leg in Iraq but not his heart and mind

Chris Herbert, who served in the British Army in Basra, Iraq, lost his right leg when a bomb went off next to his Land Rover in 2007. One of his comrades, Private Luke Simpson, died in the attack, while two other soldiers were also injured.
He told those holding the entire Muslim faith responsible for terrorism to:

“Get a grip of your lives, hug your family and get back to work.”
“Yes. A Muslim man blew me up, and I lost my leg,” he wrote. “A Muslim man also lost his arm that day wearing a British Uniform.
“A Muslim medic was in the helicopter that took me from the field. A Muslim surgeon performed the surgery that saved my life.
“A Muslim Nurse was part of the team that helped me when I returned to the UK.
“A Muslim Healthcare Assistant was part of the team that sorted out my day to day needs in rehabilitation when I was learning to walk.
“A Muslim taxi driver gave me a free ride the first time I went for a beer with my Dad after I came home.
“A Muslim doctor offered my Dad comfort and advice in a pub, when he didn’t know how to deal with my medicines and side effects.”

One man’s voice and grateful heart can make a difference on this planet and Chris Herbert is demonstrating this. Herbert, who lives in Portsmouth, on the south coast of England, said he took the decision to speak out after an “Islamophobic group tried to recruit” him as a poster boy for their organization.
 

(Excerpted from an article, ‘Trump Represents the Ugly Face of American Politics’, published in Tikkun ezine; http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/25923)

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