Islam and Pluralism *Monday, Apr 06 2009* Beards, veils do not symbolise Talibanisation<http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1299>
…Jesus had a beard. The iconic prophets of the Old Testament certainly wore beards, … Not all prophets had beards; Solomon had one, but David seems to have shaved regularly. There is nothing specifically religious about a beard in Judaism, Christianity or Islam. A beard is not a Quranic injunction, or a fundamental commandment of the faith. But some Muslims wear it out of admiration for, and in imitation of, their prophet, whom they adore as the true exemplar of humanity. There are those who keep it as a mark of identity, or even an assertion. …. …the Virgin Mary, Jesus’ mother, would never have got admission in France’s state schools. There is no image, statue or painting, in which she does not have her head covered. The judgement opens up an interesting can of minority rights. A large number of madarsas in West Bengal have Hindu students. Would the maulvis in the madarsas be within their rights to demand that every girl come in a veil and every boy wear a beard? Should they make it compulsory for non-Muslim students to fast during Ramadan? I would hope not. Hindu children in Muslim-run institutions come for an education in the three R’s, reading, writing and arithmetic, not in the fourth R, religion. Does the Supreme Court verdict mean that a Sikh child can be forced to shave if he joins a Catholic school? --- *MJ Akbar* I do think that autonomous schools should be allowed to set their own rules without the pressure of religious diktat. But I didn’t think the court should have equated the desire for a beard with the vile fundamentalism of the Taliban. That observation clearly stretched the point. Yet, scratch the surface of the subject and there are no easy answers. -- *Barkha Dutt* 1 Comments More...<http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1299> Current affairs *The Story Of A Black Jew in America: Obama’s Rabbi <http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1302>* A black rabbi? Many American Jews regard the very concept as an oxymoron, or even, given the heterodoxies of much Black Jewish theology, some sort of heresy. Funnye has been trying for years to demonstrate that he and his fellow Black Jews belong in the Jewish mainstream. Mostly he has been ignored. But it is hard to ignore a man with a cousin in the White House. Tonight was payback for all those years of stupid jokes (“Funnye, you don’t look Jewish”), insulting questions and long, wondering stares. Funnye was finally being given the stage at a high-profile Jewish event. “My Broadway debut,” he said, without evident irony, as he prepared to go on. “Been a long time getting here, but I’m ready.” -- *ZEV CHAFETS* More...<http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1302> Islam, Women and Feminism *Islamic feminists distinguish Islam from Muslims <http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1301>* Those who study the Qur'an know that Islam elevated the rights of women beyond anything known in the pre-Islamic world. In fact, in the seventh century Muslim women were granted rights not granted to European women until the 19th century, such as property ownership, inheritance and divorce. That said, Muslims who codified the Qur'an and Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) into Islamic law did not succeed in expunging the patriarchy of the pre-Islamic world from their practices. This distinction between the faith and the various manifestations of its practice is a subtle but extremely important one. -- *Amal Mohammed Al-Malki* More...<http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1301> Islamic Ideology *Islamic Government” - An Oxymoron <http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1298>* Unlike the enforced, distorted Islam of tyrants and terrorists, faith chosen freely without coercion and without forced conformity is the genuine faith. In a world where faith freely chosen fills the heart, the true religious spirit may come alive vibrantly to establish the ideal society where all people may partake of that precious freedom called choice. Early Muslim history corroborates this fact. Muslims helped Jews to create their Golden Age and helped liberate Christians from the tyranny of the Roman church. Muslim philosophy and science promoted the Enlightenment and Renaissance of Europe. Muslims also developed experimental science. In those days, we educated anyone who came our way without force-feeding our faith. Now we have governments that have taken control of our body claiming to send our “meat and blood” to God while Muslims have to beg from non-Muslim societies for their daily bread to keep their body alive. Islam will remain a dream and a theory with no practical value until faith rules the hearts and liberal democracy with an accountable free press rules human “blood and meat.” like the enforced, distorted Islam of tyrants and terrorists, faith chosen freely without compulsion. -- *T.O. Shanavas, *M. D., Vice President, Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc. More..<http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1298> -- Syed M. Asadullah --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Dear Friends Check your inbox daily + delete your junk emails & keep your inbox empty! 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