View Point

Michael Wolfe Many may be surprised to learn that Muslims believe in Jesus' miracles. But this shared interest goes much further Jesus of Nazareth is the most widely revered religious figure in the world. Not only is he central to Christianity, the largest religion in the world, he is also venerated throughout Islam, the world's second largest faith. Christians may be surprised to learn that Muslims believe in the Virgin Birth and Jesus' miracles. But this shared interest in his message goes much further. In our scientific age, the miraculous side of Jesus' story has greatly obscured his role in the prophetic tradition. In this sense, there may be more important questions for Muslims and Christians than whether he walked on water or raised the dead. In the Muslim view, Jesus' essential work was not to replicate magic bread or to test our credulity, but to complement the legalism of the Torah with a leavening compassion rarely expressed in the older testament. His ac...

Michael Wolfe "I did not want to 'trade in' my culture. I wanted access to new meanings." - How an American writer born of a Jewish father and a Christian mother found spiritual fulfillment in Islam. After twenty-five years a writer in America, I wanted something to soften my cynicism. I was searching for new terms by which to see. The way one is raised establishes certain needs in this department. From a pluralist background, I naturally placed great stress on the matters of racism and freedom. Then, in my early twenties, I had gone to live in Africa for three years. During this time, which was formative for me, I did rubbed shoulders with blacks of many different tribes, with Arabs, Berbers, and even Europeans, who were Muslims. By and large these people did not share the Western obsession with race as a social category. In our encounters being oddly colored rarely mattered. I was welcomed first and judged on merit later. By contrast, Europeans and Americans, includ...

shihabudeen kunju 09 in some sense making the correction in the popular concepts is the duty of Media, or give the correct information to the public...but see one example...there are various answers for the question "who killed the swami in Orissa ?". But the predominant are... The Christians, Maoists... Now a new answer Christian Maoists...The sangh has been rescued very smartly from the whole allegation on their cruel attack on Christians ... Clarifications are not being made... see the cartoon.. interesting 09 LeT and IM has got Kerala link.... latest Breaking news in the newsroom... kerala police going to J&K and and J&K police going to Kerala ... After Azamgarh and Pune its now Kerala's turn to act in the great Indian play -written and directed by somebody from Gujarat- of nabbing terrorists from Muslim "Ghettos"... After Hyderabad, Ahmedabad , Mumbai , Bangalore, and Delhi, Trivandrum police is now rallying to the Modinet ... 09 Rat ...

Shah Abdul Halim Chairman of Islamic Information Bureau--Bangladesh Pluralism and Freedom Islam is mistakenly labeled intolerant by the West on the basis of the old ruling of the Muslims jurists that if a Muslim leaves Islam or converted to some other religion such person is beheaded for being murtad (leaving Islam). But eminent contemporary Islamic scholars hold different view on the basis of a renewed ijtihad , research and investigation. The West however continues to beat drum and propagate that Islam is against the freedom of conscience and Muslims do not believe in liberty, free will and choice. In fact there is not a single instance that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did treat apostasy as a prescribed offense under hudud (capital punishment) only for leaving Islam. The Prophet ( PBUH ) never put anyone to death for apostasy alone rather he let such person go unharmed. No one was sentenced to death solely for renunciation of faith unless accompanied by hostility and treason or was l...

Dr. Chandra Muzaffar When Malaysians ushered in 2006, the Moorthy ( Mohamed Abdullah ) episode was still reverberating in the air. As 2006 draws to a close, the Rayappan Anthony incident is still fresh in our memory. Many concerned Malaysians are now asking: will groups within the different religious communities continue to tussle over the dead? Will inter-community tensions rise again in the future when the religious identity of yet another forlorn corpse is subjected to yet another ugly dispute between contending elements? One of the most urgent tasks facing the nation in 2007 is to establish clear, unambiguous rules on the entry and exit of a person from a particular religion. When a person enters a religion, there should be incontrovertible documentary evidence of his decision. Likewise, when a person exits a religion he should have concrete proof of his action, acceptable to all parties concerned. These rules should apply to all religions and should be effectively enforced. In...

Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq Upper Iowa University April 2, 2007 [Compilation in Progress; farooqm59@yahoo.com] Freedom of faith is essential to Islam. Prophets and Messengers of Allah along with their communities had to struggle for their freedom of faith. That Islam is by choice is unambiguously stated in the Qur'an and reflected in the Prophetic legacy. However, throughout history, the issue has been clouded due to mixing the issue of apostasy with treason. Now one of the biggest tools of anti-Islam/anti-Muslim propaganda is based on the issue of apostasy, claiming that Islam does not uphold the freedom of faith. Even our own children are getting confused and many are quietly disavowing our wishy -washy position on as fundamental issue as freedom of faith/religion. Undeniably, the traditional position of Muslim scholars and jurists has been that apostasy [ riddah ] is punishable by death. The longstanding problem of the traditional position, as held by Classical jurists or scholars...

William Wordsworth WHAT heavenly smiles! O Lady mine Through my very heart they shine; And, if my brow gives back their light, Do thou look gladly on the sight; As the clear Moon with modest pride Beholds her own bright beams Reflected from the mountain's side And from the headlong streams.