Saturday, May 29, 2010

“Lecture fights misconceptions about Islamic law - Bristol Press” plus 2 more

“Lecture fights misconceptions about Islamic law - Bristol Press” plus 2 more

Lecture fights misconceptions about Islamic law - Bristol Press

Posted: 29 May 2010 06:39 PM PDT

By James Craven
Staff Writer

NEW BRITAIN — A lecture on Islamic law and its misconceptions in popular culture may have brought several dozen listeners with their own perceptions solidly in place, but that changed when speaker Professor Yahya Michot described his view of American culture.

"Oh, you wonderful, sweet people," a fully-bearded Michot said to those who had come to Kensington Congregational Church Tuesday evening.

"In Europe an immigrant is always a foreigner, but here, even after one day you are treated like you were born here," he said.

With a disarming manner and a clever way with words, Michot described for his listeners both the differences and the similarities between the three major Abrahamic religions: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. A deep understanding and lifetime of study, he said, had showed him how even many supposedly devout Muslims had misconstrued the message of the prophet Mohammad in the Qur'an.

"Islam is often associated with the 19 men who participated in the 9/11 attacks," he said. "But their understanding of the Qur'an and of the teaching of the prophet was wrong."

A resident of the United States for two years, Michot is the director of Hartford Seminary's International Ph.D. program and is a professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations.

Although the actions of misguided Muslims has led to an interpretation of the Qur'an by Americans as a violent and racist book masquerading as religious tract, Michot said the true interpretation of Islam's holy book is not the anti-western tract many believe. In fact, he told the audience, Muslim law allows for the interaction of different religions and cultural laws.

"It's not incompatible with American law," he said, adding that unlike some religions, Islam allows for differences interpretations — even by Muslims.

"If God wanted us to be part of one religious community, he would have made it so," he said. "It is God, not man, who is responsible for the diversity of religions."

The Rev. Olivia Robinson, pastor of Kensington Congregational Church, said the talk by Michot was part of the New Britain Area Interfaith Conference's push to bring understanding of different religions.

"We all have different ways of seeing the world and the best thing we can do is help people understand the differences," Robinson said.

It was a sentiment expressed by several times by Michot who started his lecture with a slideshow showing fully-bearded members of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"The long beards are how many people see the Taliban but if having a full beard actually meant anything then every goat in Afghanistan would be a leader," he said to chuckles from the audience as he used his wit to relax them.

As he fielded questions on what the term, "infidel" meant and how is it that so many Muslims misinterpret the Qur'an, Michot summarized and interpreted his historical analysis of Islam and how it and the West can work together.

"If you can not do it with a big mouth, then you must try to do it with a big heart," he said. "If that fails to bring about change, then perhaps a smile is the answer."

Although dubious at first, the listeners seemed to agree in the end.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Canada bestows honorary Canadian citizenship on the Aga ... - FOX News

Posted: 28 May 2010 01:11 PM PDT

TORONTO

TORONTO (AP) — Canada has granted honorary Canadian citizenship upon the Aga Khan, a billionaire philanthropist and spiritual leader of 20 million Muslims worldwide.

The Aga Khan was in Toronto on Friday to launch the development of a $285-million cultural center for Ismaili Muslims and the Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture.

The Aga Khan is the spiritual leader of Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, a branch of Shia Islam.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper bestowed the honors on the spiritual leader, saying that the center and museum will represent the country's pluralism and cultural diversity.

Almost half of Canada's 70,000 Ismailis live in Toronto.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Community board votes to support plans for mosque, cultural centre ... - Winnipeg Free Press

Posted: 25 May 2010 08:17 PM PDT

NEW YORK, N.Y. - A New York City community board has voted to support a plan to build a mosque and cultural centre near ground zero.

The vote late Tuesday was 29-1 in favour, with 10 abstentions. It came after hours of contentious public comment.

Supporters say the mosque will build bridges and foster interfaith dialogue.

Critics says the proposed lower Manhattan site is an insult to Sept. 11 victims. Tea Party Express chairman Mark Williams has called it a monument to the Sept. 11 attackers.

Some Sept. 11 victims' families say they're angry the mosque would be built so close to where their relatives died.

The organizations sponsoring the project say they're trying to meet a growing need for prayer space. They also want to provide a venue for mainstream Islam to counter extremism.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
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