She is living in Kouri (or Koury), on the road to Burkina Faso, now, and sounds very happy with the switch. She'll have lots to tell us next time she gets a chance.
sweet & sloppy saul kisses
13 years ago
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
what did you say that was incorrect about Ramadan??
i read past posts and did not see anything that was wrong
sincerely,
zahirah
Well, I had written that Ramadan is when it is in the calendar because of some relation to Mohammed's life, and then I got a comment that Ramadan predates Mohammed, which doesn't make sense to me, anyway, based on what I know about Ramadan. But - I listen to lectures on transport on my i-pod - I just listened to a very interesting lecture about sectarianism in Iraq in specific but about attitudes in the Islamic world in general, and the point kept being emphasized about how many different versions of Islam there are, and about how in the non-Muslim west we sometimes forget that and try to clump all Islam together into if not one, then at least neat little packets. Which is something that in one part of my head I knew, but still gives me pause and sets me to thinking. Because I've been reading a lot of books about Islam, and now I have to re-read them with the idea held foremost that this is only one person's take on one version. And I am so unfamiliar with any versions of Islam (I'm from Colorado) that it is hard for me to keep that idea in its place of importance. I guess, though, that every time I am reminded of it it helps a little bit.
thanks for your response. yes, it is true that islam does have different versions and diffences, and throughout history it has shifted and waivered and mixed with the culture. notably, since the fall of the Ottoman empire, here we can see roots of a radical islam. i am an american muslim, my parents are from Turkey (interesting history there) and my husband is from Mali. i myself am a secular muslim who believes all the great books and scriptures are full of allegory. i am not a literalist. to me literalizm and dogma is the problem with religion. i feel that reason should always overcome dogma. good book to read if you like history, 'The failure of political islam" by Roy Oliver
anyway, sorry to rant on, but thanks for reading my comment and replying, i enjoy your blog very much.
oh yeah, I am in Philadelphia, where there are hundreds of mosques, and no, they do not have the call to prayer on loud speaker, although many churches have their entire sermons on loud speakers. lol
thanks again,
Zahirah
Post a Comment