Muslims and Jews finally come together — to defend circumcision, National Post

Jonathan Kay Jun 27, 2012 – National Post

Extract:
And so it has come to pass that after centuries of hate, Muslims and Jews finally have been brought together by the human penis — in particular, the shared desire to chop part of it off.

This week, a district court in the German city of Cologne ruled that male circumcision of newborn babies is illegal, except for medical reasons — because the practice causes “irreversible damage against the body” that cannot be excused on the basis of religious freedom. The primary effect will be felt among Germany’s Muslims, of whom there are about 4-million. But the country’s 100,000 Jews will be affected as well. Continue reading: Muslims and Jews finally come together

On the same shelf:

Circumcision in news

Three rules of religious understanding -- Thought for the day

Sharing religious insights with other traditions enriches our own faith, Dow Marmur, Toronto Star Apr 15 2012.

 Extract:

"The late Krister Stendahl, a famous Swedish bishop and for many years dean of Harvard Divinity School, formulated three rules of religious understanding that seem to have guided the editors of The Jewish Annotated New Testament:
 • When you are trying to understand another religion, you should ask the adherents of that religion and not its enemies.
 • Don’t compare your best with their worst.
 • Leave room for “holy envy,” i.e., recognize elements in other religious traditions that you admire and wish that, in some way, they could be reflected in your own.
I can think of no better way of turning the proximity of Easter and Passover into a motivation to celebrate these principles all year round."

How Muslims View Easter

New Yorker 2012-04-06:

Extract: With Easter on the way, I became curious about what the Koran has to say about the crucifixion. I called an imam I know, Ibrahim Sayar, and we got together over glasses of Turkish tea. Sayar does a lot of interfaith work, much of which involves getting people from different religions together to eat kebabs. In the company of Christians, he said, mentioning the status of Jesus in Islam can be a great icebreaker. “I always tell people, there are millions of Muslims named after Jesus and Mary—we call them Isa and Mariam,” he said. “Nobody names their children after someone they don’t like.” ... more »

On the same shelf:

• The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature (Convergences: Inventories of the Present)
  Tarif Khalidi
• Muslims, Christians, and Jesus: Gaining Understanding and Building Relationships
  Carl Medearis
• Jesus and the Muslim: An Exploration
  Kenneth Cragg
• Jesus in the Qur'an: His Reality Expounded in the Qur'an
  Hamid Algar
• The Islamic Jesus: The Portrait of Jesus in Islamic Literature and Tradition
  Daniel Deleanu
• Jesus and Muhammad: Profound Differences and Surprising Similarities, Mark A. Gabriel
  
• Five reasons to stop questioning the president’s faith, By Faheem Younus Washington Post -- 1. The president has answered the question, repeatedly; 2. If a bunch of loose correlations are enough to call Mr. Obama a Muslim, then you might as well declare Thomas Jefferson to be a Muslim too!; 3. The question is a dirty trick; a trick that does not work; 4. The question is an insult, not to the president or the Muslim faith, but to our Constitution; 5. We know the right question to ask.
  

Muslim Intra-faith Transactions at Facebook - A quick glimpse

A Muslim’s Guide to Facebook Arguments (and online ridiculousness in general)

March 19, 2012 by Dr. O
[Dr. O blogs at Muslim Medicine, a site that strives to serve only the freshest grade-A certified ẓabiḥah ḥalāl comedy.]
Extracts:

... It's a shame that such incredible tools of spreading knowledge and building enlightening discussions such as Islamic Forums, Message Boards, group E-mail threads, Twitter feeds, and YouTube comment threads instead descend into embarrassing hotbeds of heated fights and countless hours of wasted time. And of all these online mediums, the biggest culprit of all is Facebook.

1. THE INSTIGATOR
2. THE JUNIOR INTERNET SCHOLAR
3. THE DRAMA QUEEN GOSSIPER
4. THE CYNICAL CRITICIZER
5. THAT ONE JUDGMENTAL GUY    

Spotting trouble online early on and avoiding it, diffusing it, or negating it is only part of the solution, but it doesn't completely solve the disease we have as judgmental, gossipy, and argumentative folk. Espousing proper Islamic manners of disagreement, etiquette of mutual respect and understanding, and patience with those we don't see eye to eye with is a prophetic legacy that applies even to our online lives, just as much as it does to our dealings in person. 

continue reading: muslimmatters.org

• KNOW Islam WITH Understanding | Facebook 
  
• Promote Intra Islam Religious Tolerance | Facebook

PS. Chadhta Suraj Dheere Dheere - Kawwali - Aziz Nazan
-- See the original Urdu/Hindi lyrics, here. Translated in English, here

Hacking Religious Websites -- Media Update

This post is continuously updated. Last update on March 4th, 2012.

Anonymous Declares War On Religion, Attacks Church Sites
Calls religion a sickness to this world, By Zach Walton, Web Pro News and International Business Times

Anonymous attacks a lot of things that they find wrong with the world: corporations, governments and other groups that they feel threaten the freedom of the people. On Friday, they attacked what may be their most controversial target yet – religion.

The AnonymousIRC Twitter account announced on Friday three attacks so far on major church Web sites. These aren’t just regular attacks, however, as they have also defaced the Web sites with anti-religion rhetoric and even a video featuring Richard Dawkins set to auto-play so visitors are forced to see it.
Three Web sites that have been attacked so far are Bethel Outreach International Church, the Charlotte International Church, and Crossfire Ministries. All three religious organizations are based in and around Charlotte, North Carolina. /

Does Anonymous’s Friday Routine Make Hacking Seem Dull? By Joe Coscarelli N Y Times magazine

Anatomy of an Anonymous hack attack NICOLE PERLROTH and JOHN MARKOFF, Sydney Morning Herald

SAN FRANCISCO: The elusive hacker movement known as Anonymous has carried out internet attacks on well-known organisations like Sony and PBS. In August, the group went after its most prominent target yet: the Vatican.

Calgary street preacher claims church website attacked by Anonymous hacktivists
Posted by Emily Leedham, OpenFile

In Attack on Vatican Web Site, a Glimpse of Hackers' Tactics‎, New York Times,
"What set this attack apart from others is it had a clear timeline and evolution," said Amichai Shulman, Imperva's technology chief.
By NICOLE PERLROTH and JOHN MARKOFF

Anonymous Leaves Clues In Failed Vatican Attack‎, Information Week

Westboro Baptist Church websites attacked and shut down

That both The Jester and Anonymous attacked Anit-Gay Westboro Baptist Church websites ( www.godhatesfags.com/) this week represents a very strange convergence, and the prospect that two highly active hacktivist camps might find more common ground is tantalizing to say the least...

Inter-faith harmony between societies stressed

The Punjab University’s English Department (Language and Literature) on Sunday arranged a lecture on inter-faith harmony by world-acclaimed Pakistani-American novelist Nafisa Haji at the Prof Sirajuddin Library.
In her lecture, as part of promoting inter-faith harmony among cultures, Nafisa Haji highlighted the importance of inter-faith harmony between various religions, cultures and societies in the contemporary world. She based her discussion on her second novel, The Sweetness of Tears, which embraces inter-faith, intra-faith, inter-cultural, inter-generational and inter-continental dialogue at its finest.
Nafisa told the participants how her novel depicted Jo March, her protagonist, on an unlikely quest across boundaries of language and faith, through chasm of sectarian divides in the Muslim world, against the backdrop of the war on terror, from California to Chicago, Pakistan to Iraq. A large number of students attended the lecture -- Source: Daily Times; Nafisa Haji's website

On the same shelf:

Book reviews of Sweetness of Tears: Publishers Weekly 4/25/2011, Vol. 258 Issue 17, p113-114; Booklist June 1, 2011, v107:19-20, p38;

What others say: "The Sweetness of Tears is a character-driven novel that is structured as a series of interwoven life-stories..." by TChris @ Amazon.com; The overall message of The Sweetness of Tears is one of peace and compassion, by skrishna @ Amazon.com; "Haij does a wonderful job of creating this diverse family though which we see the effects being in the military has had on multiple generations, the effects of parents who are missing or absent and through one family the we are shown views of the middle east from those who lived there and left, those who remain and those who came there because of a war not fully aware of the connection they already with this region." by Rebecca @ Amazon.com

 Discussion-Based Teaching in the Religion Classroom