Comment by NYU assistant professor/faculty fellow Jeremy Walton on yesterday’s New York Times article, “Koran burning in NATO Error Incites Afghans,”  (February 21, 1:39 pm):

These comments are, on the whole, atrocious and disturbing, for two reasons. First, there seems to be absolutely no interest or concern on the part of most NYTimes readers to comprehend Muslim attitudes toward the Qur’an. As a professor of Islamic Studies, I begin every class on the Qur’an by emphasizing that it should not be understood as a mere ‘book’–it is both more and less. Less because Muslims don’t read the Qur’an cover-to-cover like a novel; more because it is, along with the exemplary conduct of the Prophet Muhammad, the authoritative source of wisdom about the universe and humanity’s place within it for Muslims. Qur’anic passages suffuse Muslim life and worship. The performance of salat, the five daily prayers, is an embodiment of the Qur’an, and Qur’anic verses saturate daily speech and life in most Muslim contexts. Muslims who cannot fully comprehend the linguistic meaning of the text due to illiteracy in Arabic respect the Qur’an no less because of this fact. Is it any surprise that some devout Afghani Muslims take umbrage to the disrespectful actions of their military occupiers? Of course, dismissal of religious attitudes is a secular privilege that we all share, but this brings me to my second objection to the bulk of the comments here: Even if you choose to denigrate the actions of some Afghani Muslims, do not make the vicious mistake of all prejudice and bigotry, the substitution of the actions of a few (the protesters) for the whole.

Our friend Justin Griffith recently contributed to an article about the US Army’s mandatory spiritual fitness test in the Pasadena Sun. However, what’s getting the most attention are the comments from Rev. Bryan Griem, who goes completely off the rails: … Continue reading →

Written by DIY contributor Katie Clemons of Making This Home. I can’t tell you the precise definition or location of “home”, but I can tell you this: home is whatever you make it. In my case, it’s been a progressive making and remaking since the day Martin (my German-born husband) and I met. We’ve been called [...]

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• Plan to Eat – meal planning made simple.
• The Justice Conference – Justice hangs by a thread.
• Lil’ Soak – Sewing hope with handmade goods.
• Treed – A simple, flexible, effective project planning tool.

Home Is What YOU Make It is a post from Simple Mom

© 2008-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved – This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Mom subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplemom.net to let us know. Thanks.

Observations from a few hours spent at the 136th Kennel Club Dog Show

By Ashley Baxstrom

We gathered, one week ago, like so many pilgrims flocking to a holy site.

Or rather, flocking to a site where the objects of our devotion gathered. Was it the idea of a place in which generations had come together for more than a century, first in 1877 at Gilmore’s Gardens (the Hippodrome), and now here? True, most of the time Madison Square Garden plays host to feats of athletic prowess or demonstrations of theatrical and musical creation. But for this weekend, it was ours. The bright screens overhead glowed with our insignia, our group’s name. Green felt track covered the arena, an ice rink no more (though betrayed by a distinct chill in the air). And everywhere you look, we, the worshippers, and they, the worshipped.

Because it’s not about the place. It’s about the puppies. We’re all here to admire them, gaze at them with love and devotion. Me, I’d like to pet them. I’m not a member of this congregation, just a brief visitor, and I came for puppies. I came because my friend’s boss had tickets and let us borrow them for the morning. It’s like borrowing a parishioner’s pew, sitting in their seat, but the parish is so big nobody knows you don’t belong. They smile and nod at you, because you’re one of them, we’re all in this devotion together.

Post written by Leo Babauta. A (slightly) older reader wrote to me recently, wanting to know how to change her bad habits ingrained after so many many years of doing them. She wanted to know, “Is it too late to change?” And I can understand the feeling. Doing bad habits for years makes them deeply [...]

Finally we’ll get to know whether He prefers underhand or overhand. Actually, I’d kinda like to know the contents of this sermon. There’s basically nothing in the Bible about this topic, unless you try to rope in poor Onan. My … Continue reading →

From Garry Wills’ article, Contraception’s Con Men Rick Santorum is a nice smiley fanatic. He does not believe in evolution or global warming or women in the workplace. He equates gay sex with bestiality (Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum). He … Continue reading →

One of the hardest things about the culture where I lived in the Middle East was the definition of cleanliness. See, no matter how clean I thought our home was (not that it was ever spotless, with two preschoolers underfoot), it paled in comparison to my average neighbor. See, my local friends—when they cleaned, they [...]

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• Plan to Eat – meal planning made simple.
• The Justice Conference – Justice hangs by a thread.
• Lil’ Soak – Sewing hope with handmade goods.
• Treed – A simple, flexible, effective project planning tool.

Just jump in is a post from Simple Mom

© 2008-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved – This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Mom subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplemom.net to let us know. Thanks.