Posts Tagged ‘Islam’
Understanding the whirling dervishes
Whirling dervishes. The term is a familiar one to many people, but what exactly is a whirling dervish? That is, beyond some exotic Middle Eastern man who twirls round and round while dressed in a white robe and tall hat? Not many people know that the dance of a whirling dervish is actually a spiritual [...]
The (slowly) changing role of women in Saudi Arabia
National culture changes very slowly, but there is no doubt that it is something that constantly evolves. Sometimes in small ways over centuries, and sometimes in bigger ways over shorter periods of time. One example of this is the role of women in the Middle East, and particularly in the conservative nation of Saudi Arabia. [...]
How Muslim athletes deal with Ramadan
We’re currently in the midst of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month in which Muslims are expected to fast each day between dawn and sunset. This practice is supposed to increase spiritual self-discipline and help one to focus on non-worldly activities. Although people understandably get hungry during the day, the fast is practiced by most Muslims. [...]
Communicating with Muslims
People in various cultures perceive the world differently. This is one of the main causes of communication miscues between individuals from diverse regions of the world. If you want to see an excellent example of how the meaning of simple words can vary from one person to the next, check out this article in the Christian Science Monitor [...]
Sufi Muslims and Islam
Could the West gain a foothold in the battle against Islamic terrorism by working to strengthen Islam? Yes, under certain conditions, suggests this intriguing essay in the Boston Globe. According to the author, Philip Jenkins, the West has a natural ally in the Sufi Muslim movement, which is a more mystical branch of Islam that has [...]
Re-thinking Islamic banking
As the global financial system tries to right itself after staggering to the brink of collapse, one banking sector finds itself in somewhat better shape than most of the world. That would be the Islamic banking system, which credits its steadiness to practices that are unique to Islamic finance, such as banning interest and shying away from excessive [...]
Faith battles modernity in Dubai
There is a fascinating article in the NY Times about the culture of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. This city has become a contemporary melting pot of the Islamic world, where expatriates form a new identity and try to merge the choices of modernity with the traditions of their Islamic religion. In his old life [...]
Saudi gender relations: the female view
Yesterday, I had a post about gender relations in Saudi Arabia and the remarkable lengths that the society goes to in order to maintain separation between males and females of different families. I linked to a story in the International Herald Tribune in which young men were interviewed about their interactions with women. Today, we cover [...]
Saudi gender relations: the male view
It’s easy in the West for us to express shock or dismay at the state of gender relations in some Arab countries (the veiling of women, the separation of the sexes, etc.), and particularly in a very conservative culture such as Saudi Arabia’s. However, it’s also easy for us to forget that many people in those [...]
Redesigning the pilgrimage to Mecca
The annual Islamic pilgrimage to the Saudi cities of Mecca and Medina is a huge and often chaotic event. Several million Muslims from around the world make the annual pilgrimage, and the crush of people has resulted in numerous tragedies and thousands of deaths. So this year the government of Saudi Arabia hired a team [...]
Young televangelists promote a new Islam
There is an interesting story in the Washington Post about a new and younger group of Muslim televangelists who have not only been taking advantage of advances in technology to spread their message, but who have also been promoting a more contemporary and tolerant form of Islam. an excerpt: Muna el-Leboudy, a 22-year-old medical student, [...]
A risk-taking university for Saudi Arabia
There is an interesting educational effort underway in Saudi Arabia, where King Abdullah is putting his monarchy’s money and influence behind a new university that could change the way students learn in that famously conservative society. The International Herald Tribune reports: On a marshy peninsula 50 miles from this Red Sea port, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia [...]
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