Two-Year-Old Future Muezzin in Action

What a pleasure it is to come across a book or a song or a movie that feels like it was made expressly with you in mind. There have been a number of works lately that felt that way, well at least that I was among the intended audience. Narcissism, I’m sure, and yet what a feeling! You don’t get that from downloading the latest George Clooney vehicle, I’ll say that much. I recommend them all to you.
The Infidel: Comedy about a Pakistani-British Muslim who …

November means the end of the school year, and once again I have a child successfully completing her academic career and ready to move on to the next stage of her life: Elementary School. Yes, getting through three years of preschool is a momentous achievement, and so a grand ceremony to commemorate the event took place this last Saturday. The preschool, Taski ABIM, has grown and grown in Kuching over the years and this time there were over 390 kindergartners
walking the stage, preceded by speeches, skits, songs …

“But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are tastefully accoutered in raiment seamlessly blending East and West, that are contemporary yet timeless, daring yet refined, modest yet sophisticated, and i think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as sartorially fabulous, I get worried. I get nervous.” – Juan Williams, NPR Senior Political Commentator
No, that’s not what he said. He said our muslim garb makes him worried and nervous. A regrettable statement, …

Michigan, my home state, has a reputation for nurturing right-wing anti-government terrorists. The largest act of domestic terrorism prior to 9/11 was the Oklahoma City bombing that was planned in Michigan and executed in part by Michigan men. They tested their bombs on a farm not far from my parents’ farm in Lapeer County.
Even after that, militia groups continued to thrive in Michigan, which has more active militias than any state in the union but Texas. Now another terrorist cell is in the news, the …

By Abu Muhammad of Bahrus Shofah
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English Translation by Bin Gregory Productions
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Datuk Haji Abdul Kadir bin Hassan, may Allah have mercy on him, was born in Kampung Patingan (or Kampung No. 6), Kuching, Sarawak, on the 6th of August, 1928 (28th Safar 1347). His formal education began at SRK (Public School) Merpati Japang (my own school) until Standard 4 (10th grade), after which he attended the Madrasah Melayu (Malay Religious School, Kuching). While studying at school, he deepened his religious knowledge with local ulama (religious scholars), among them …

Eid Mubarak, Selamat Hari Raya Korban! The 6th Annual Brass Crescent Awards have been announced. Congratulations to all the winners. If you haven’t subscribed yet to Islam in China, Muslimah Media Watch and Seekers Guidance, you ought to do it right now. I’m very happy to be mentioned along with Folio, Al-Miskeenah, and the Manrilla, honorable people all. Keep your eyes on TalkIslam and AltMuslim to take part in the contest next time. Thanks to everybody who voted.

At first, you do it every day, sometimes even twice a day. As time goes by, it is less and less frequent until after many years, once or twice a month feels like a big accomplishment. Blogging! I’m talking about blogging of course. Although my blogging schedule has gotten more and more infrequent, I’ve never felt the urge to shut it down. In Malay, they have a saying that sums it up: “Hidup Segan, Mati Tak Mau”, roughly translated, “Too timid to live, but …

The azan can be heard all around Kuching from the suraus in most every neighborhood. Sometimes it takes a bit of work to find where it is coming from. Taking a shortcut through a secluded neighborhood on my way home late from work, I would often hear the azan called loudly nearby, see old uncles walking down the street in kain palikat and songkok, but never saw the mosque. I decided to explore one day on foot, and discovered the surau tucked away in a …

Brooke of Sheer Fluency has organized a Blog Carnival on White Privilege and the Ummah.
It’s a great topic, but it occurred to me that for plenty of us white folks, myself included, the first step is figuring out what white folks are in the first place. During my discussion with Umar about white Muslims and the comments from different people that followed, a common idea that came up was that white people are a distinct race of people with distinct culture and traits, and by distinct I …

Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama:
“Well the correct answer, he is not a Muslim. He’s a Christian, he’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is ‘what if he is?’ Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no, that’s not America.”
Thank you, Gen. Powell…

Mawlid season has come and gone once again and I’ve only now had the chance to put a little something together.
This time, I’ve got some fresh video clips, and new this year, an audio recording of our Kuching mawlid recital.