Valentine's Day in Iraq

From the Los Angeles Times  

See the world: Valentine's Day in Iraq

 Emily Alpert

Mon Feb 13 2012 9:45 PM

World Now is launching a new feature we're calling "See the world." Every day we'll highlight a remarkable shot from somewhere in the world.

Today our photo comes from the Muslim holy city of Karbala, Iraq, where Shiite Muslim women in black abayas are shopping for Valentine's Day. 

Iraq has embraced Valentine's Day this year, the Associated Press reports. Though conservative Muslims have frowned on the holiday as "an encouragement of perceived Western decadence and premarital sex" -- the BBC reports it was banned in Uzbekistan this year -- it has nonetheless become popular in Dubai, Beirut and cities in Iraq.

Teddy bears, silken nighties and lip-shaped pillows are appearing in Baghdad storefronts.

Article: Book Review: Love, InshAllah » Muslimah Media Watch

Book Review: Love, InshAllah » Muslimah Media Watch
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mmw/2012/02/book-review-love-inshallah/

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: Saudi Arabia: Writer Faces Apostasy Trial | Human Rights Watch

Saudi Arabia: Writer Faces Apostasy Trial | Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/13/saudi-arabia-writer-faces-apostasy-trial

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: History, Feminism and the Growing Gender Jihad

History, Feminism and the Growing Gender Jihad
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-graham-holm/history-feminism-and-the-_b_831789.html

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: Muslims Must Rally to Save Hamza Kashgari's Life

Muslims Must Rally to Save Hamza Kashgari's Life
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/shahla-khan-salter/hamza-kashgiri-deported_b_1272222.html?ref=tw

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: In new book, Muslim American women tell their own love (and sex) stories

In new book, Muslim American women tell their own love (and sex) stories
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-new-book-muslim-american-women-tell-their-own-love-and-sex-stories/2012/02/10/gIQAF4sT9Q_story.html

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: Hamza Kashgari, Saudi Writer, May Face Trial For Tweets On Prophet Mohammad

Hamza Kashgari, Saudi Writer, May Face Trial For Tweets On Prophet Mohammad
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/13/saudi-writer-mohammad_n_1273081.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Islam, interfaith marriage go hand in hand

February 12, 2012 - From USA Today.

By Qanta A. Ahmed

Valentine's Day puts many of us in mind of the romantic sentiments etched on candy hearts: Be Mine. Together Forever. Love Conquers All. Love even conquers ethnic and religious differences, or so we want to believe. 

As a nation, we have come to accept diverse relationships. According to the 2006 General Social Survey, 25% of U.S. households identified themselves as "interfaith," a rising trend in our increasingly diverse society. About 8% of American marriages are now between partners of different races, and a much higher proportion, 37%, are between individuals of different religions. Indeed, approximately one in four Jews and Catholics in the USA marry outside their faith.

Article continued.

Sweden first Muslim woman police in hijab | Muslim Women News

Sweden first Muslim woman police in hijab | Muslim Women News

December 9, 2011

"Sweden’s first veiled police recruit, Donna Eljammal, 26, does not regard her traditional Muslim hijab as a hindrance but rather an asset for her future career within the Swedish police force."

'via Blog this'

Eid: Being LGBT and Muslim - by El-Farouk Khaki

From the Huffington Post - 11/7/11

Eid: Being LGBT and Muslim - by El-Farouk Khaki

El-Farouk Khaki

Founder, Salaam Queer Community

Eid in Arabic means feast or festivity. Muslims celebrate two religious Eids: Eid ul-Fitri is the celebration at the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. It is the more festive celebration after a month of abstinence and self-control; children receive money (Eidi) or presents and new clothes, so do some adults. Everyone will wear his or her finery.

The Eid that we are celebrating now is the more somber festival and has multiple names including Eid al-Adha or Eid e-Qurban (both meaning Festival of Sacrifice) and Eid ul-Hajj (Festival of Hajj).

It celebrates the end of the Hajj or the pilgrimage to Mecca during which Muslims around the world celebrate along with the almost 3 million pilgrims in Mecca.

The story of Eid ul-Adha is mostly narrated as the story of the miracle of God replacing Abraham's son with a ram at the moment of intended sacrifice by Abraham of his son Ismail. The miracle is celebrated with the sacrifice of an animal and the distribution of the meat to family, community and the poor. It is a grand tale of patriarchy and submission.

What is often glossed over or even forgotten is the role of an African woman in that story and its remembrance in one of the five pillars of Islamic practice, the Hajj.

Article continued on the Huffington Post.