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On the road again: long-distance Muslim crosses Canada

This is  Syed Soharwardy, founder of Muslims Against Terrorism.  He has  set off on a cross-country walk against violence. “Walking will give me an opportunity to shake hands with people — to go to small towns, sit down with them, eat with them,” he said. “You can’t reach out to people in places of worship only.”  It's a long way.  This is the distance on googlemap.   The Muslims against Terrorism website is interesting, despite some rather odd messages posted. And does quote  Mohammed "A Muslim is that person from whose hands and tongue others are safe".  

Islam, apostasy and the death penalty

An interesting essay on the BBC site by Shiraz Maher about the 'death penalty' imposed by some Hadith writings (not the Quran itself) on those who leave the Muslim faith. He himself was "staggered" that it was not actually in the Quran and formerly, he says, would have actually agreed with it.  Now, it seems, attitudes are softening.  But one example of that softening is a family  in Turkey who rather than have their son killed, just disowned him. "They said 'go away, you're not our son.' They told people I died in an accident rather than having the shame of their son leaving Islam." Still medievally harsh, then.
           Meanwhile  also in Turkey we have reached the one-year mark of the slaughter of three Christians.  The impartiality of the judges in the case is called in doubt, and the young men on trial have now shifted the blame to one man. They were all found at the scene last April with butchers' knives, having entered the offices of a Christian publisher pretending they wanted to study Christianity. The assailants - two of them converts from Islam - were tied up, tortured and  their throats were slit.  “We did this for our country,”  said notes in their pockets. “They are attacking our religion.”

Mosque-goers set to outnumber Mass-goers

Joanna writes: The number of Muslims attending British mosques will outdo the number of Christians going to Mass by 2020 research shows.

If trends continue, in just over a decade's time 683,000 people will attend Friday prayers compared to 679,000 attending Catholic Mass each Sunday,  tipping the balance in favour of Muslim worshippers for the first time.

"Peter Brierley, a former Government statistician who edited the latest Religious Trends for Christian Research, said that the continuing growth of the Muslim population since the 2001 census would have significant implications for society."

The Church was quick to point out that a number of Anglicans now meet on alternative days meaning the statistical predictions wouldn't take them into account.

Islam in Iceland

Sounds unlikely.  But why should Muslims only live in hot countries?  Iceland Review reports that the  Theology Department of the University of Iceland in Reykjavik is having an open lecture entitled “Spiritualism in Islam” by the Imam Dr. Mohamad Bashar Arafat :  he has a downtown cafe lecture today too. Icelanders have had previous interest in building bridges with Islam, though the vast majority are Lutheran Christians; there are believed to be under 1000 Muslims there, and the Association of Muslims in Iceland has 352 members .

Islam, science and thought

No apologies for cross-blogging -  do read Peter Stothard's piece (and also notably the responses)  about Islam, science,  art, industrialization and the uses of superstition.  If only to find out why you shouldn't have an effigy of a Chinaman in bed in your bedroom. 

Turkish Islam and the headscarf

The struggle between secularism and Islam in Turkey continues;  now the Islamic-inclined government, which defeated the keenly secularist party in the election, plans to lift the ban on women covering their heads, Muslim-style, at universities (dating in spirit from Ataturk's secularism and in law from 1997). Under the changes only traditional scarves will be permitted in universities, tied loosely under the chin. No burqas, no chadors.  Even so there is a row about it, and the Prime Minister has stressed that this reform will be restricted to universities and that women civil servants and teachers will still be banned from covering their heads.
It is a tricky issue, because secular Turks fear the thin end of an Islamist wedge;  on the other hand polls suggest strong support for lifting the ban, and some devout women won't go to university because of it.

Afghan Islam and fortune tellers

Dilemma:  whose side to take?  Many of us feel the Islam of Afghan elders to be offensively brutal and bigoted (that journalism  student is still under death sentence pending appeal) but the same liberals may consider fortunetelling to be fraudulent and superstitious.  And now Reuters report that in Mazar-i-Sharif the said elders have ejected the fortunetellers from the Hazrat Ali shrine because  as Qari Mohammad Qasim puts it,  "Islam does not permit the practice of fleecing simple people" .    

St Anthony's Albanian Muslim brother

Nice report on the BBC site from Mark Mardell in Albania,  not long or deep but atmospheric,  contemplating the gentle "European Islam" of that country (familiar in tone to anyone who has travelled in Turkey.)  Most striking is the revelation that a revered Muslim holy man, Sari Saltik, had a brother who was the Christian St Anthony...

Muslim letter - Pope responds

After a long wait, the Muslim leaders who wrote the 'letter of peace" get a response from Pope Benedict.  Courteous and cautious,  he says that it is important not to ignore or downplay the difference between Christians and Muslims.  But  “We can and therefore should look to what unites us, namely, belief in the one God, the provident Creator and universal Judge....There is plenty of scope for acting together in the service of fundamental moral values".     Sudanese judiciary, please copy.

Muezzin calls to dreaming spires

In Oxford, there is a request from the mosque on the eastern edges to be allowed to broadcast a call to prayer.  Locals quoted in the Oxford Mail are cheerful enough about it. Erica Bingley, 26, would hear it loud and clear and thinks "it would add to the cosmopolitan ambience of Cowley Road." Another, an estate agent, says "Fine with me...they have to put up with our church bells ringing."