Some stories are just too sweet to pass over. I was at the Islamic Center of New York University for an iftar, preceded by a sermon.
Read moreWe Are Not a Monolith
We, as in Muslims. What if I were to pick up a tourist couple from Times Square and took them for an iftar?
Read moreShould Muslims Celebrate Christmas?
So why is it o.k. for Muslims to celebrate Christmas? For starters, Allah commands us to do so, in the Quran.
Read moreMay We Have Many More
If someone had walked into my home yesterday, she would have said, “Only in New York!” In a Muslim home, with Quranic calligraphy gracing the walls, a Jewish woman says the Hanukah prayer over the menorah and candles, while the soft sounds of Silent Night, Holy Night play from the replica of Nativity Scene, and the ladies munch over Santa chocolates wrapped in red and silver wrappers.
Read moreRamadan: Taking A Break From My Habits
I am taking a break from my habits; habits that uplift me and habits that pull me down. Where is that going to take me as I enter the mode of fasting.
Read moreDo All Muslims Have Good Knees?
Can you guess the context?
I have been asked many questions about Muslims, the Muslim faith, the Muslim whatever, but this had to be the sweetest and most endearing. If you haven’t already guessed, we were in a mosque, in a prayer hall, in the women’s section, settling down for Friday Jumma prayers. My Jewish friend Bernice and I had just sat down on the red prayer rug.
Is New Year Greeting Haram?
“Happy New Year,” said one person to another on one New Year morning, January 1, 2019.
Nothing unusual about that, right? Well, one of them didn’t think so. Actually, he took offense. I am not kidding. “It is not our new year. Our new year starts in Muharram. For one Muslim to greet another Muslim with a Happy New Year greeting on January 1 is haram,” …
My Blind Dates
I had never dated. Not once in my life. But that’s another story. If you want to know more about my date-less life, you will have to read my memoir. For the last two years, I have been back-to-back in blind dates. Sometimes I meet them for coffee, sometimes for dinner, and sometimes I meet up in their homes, staying overnight. Separate bedrooms.
My Muslim Christmas
Lets start with some Islamic trivia, which, by the way is not trivial. Not by a long shot. Here is the question: In the Quran, only one woman is mentioned by name. Who is it?
The answer: Mary. Mother of Jesus
Did you know that? Here is more: The 19th chapter of the Quran is titled: Maryam—Arabic for Mary
May I Borrow Your Faith
“What gifts does your faith tradition bring to the table, and what gifts in other faiths do you admire and would like to adopt?” the Bishop asked.
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