If I could yell a rave #Book review from the rooftops it would probably be about Roy Mottahedeh's "Mantle of the Prophet." It's both a personal biography of a #Mullah and a general history of #Iran ancient and modern.
I don't know how Mottahedeh achieved the intense level of detail in his physical descriptions. He himself did not grow up or spend a ton of time in Iran. And his primary biographical subject was speaking to him as a middle-aged man, with childhood memories decades in the past. But I believe he relayed the personal account honestly, without fabrication, and the same goes for his interview subjects.
I bought a copy nearly 40 years ago and my blinkered USian twentysomething brain couldn't get past go with it. This despite several Islamic history courses which I'd enjoyed immensely, including a seminar on #Persia.
58 year old me is relishing every word. Probably helps to be #Muslim.
"India has implemented a controversial citizenship law that has been widely criticized for excluding Muslims, a minority community whose concerns have heightened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government."
AP reports: "Critics argue that the law is further evidence that Modi’s government is trying to reshape the country into a Hindu state and marginalize its 200 million Muslims."
Another image widely shared by pro Israeli bots and accounts on #Twitter and #Instagram
This is so ridiculous that proves that almost everyone sharing this have never talked to a Muslim or seen a Muslim pray or even asked a Muslim about it before sharing it.
Wearing shoes and glasses when praying is just so ridiculously stupid that only an idiot would believe its authentic.
Today I arrived in #Granada centro just in time for the Big City Parade for "La #Toma" (the Taking). It's essentially a yearly celebration of a Roman #Catholic / #Imperialist ethnic cleansing campaign directed at #Muslims and #Jews.
In some ways I feel very comfortable and at home in #Spain, but as a new #Muslim, there are important ways the shoe does not fit. The omnipresence of #Pork and #Ham, the dog poop all over the sidewalks that makes any wear of street shoes in prayer areas highly sus, the unavailability of prayer spaces on public transit, and so on.
I will note that both #Mosques I frequent here are permitted to make #Adan (calls to prayer) that are audible from the street. That's unusual in the Western world. Certainly better than #France, for example.
Anyway: a UK-based friend and I were sharing thoughts on #Hijra (migration to a Muslim majority country) just this morning. And at that point, I wasn't even thinking about the Toma and what it represents.
Noor Inayat Khan was born on January 1, 1914 in Moscow to an Indian father and an American mother. She served in the Special Operations Executive using the pseudonym Nora Baker and code-name Madeleine. She was the first British female wireless operator sent to occupied France to assist the French Resistance. She is Britain’s first Muslim war heroine. (1/9)
She was a direct descendant of Tipu Sultan, the 18th century Muslim ruler of Mysore. Khan's father was a musician and Sufi teacher. He moved his family first to London and then to Paris, where Khan was educated and later worked writing childrens' stories. (2/9)
Germany invaded and defeated France in 1940. Khan fled to England and in November 1940 she joined the WAAF (Women's Auxiliary Air Force) where she trained as a radio operator. (3/9)
At age 29, she became the first female (and first Muslim) wireless operator infiltrated into occupied France. This was at a time when the average life expectancy of SOE wireless operators was 6 weeks. She arrived via Westland Lysander. (4/9)
I have gone from 0 #Keffiyeh in the closet to 2 just in the last 72 hours.
I was hesitating because of cultural appropriation fears, but I hear that the people of #Palestine are encouraging it. I’m #Muslim so it’s easy to see the potential #Baraka, but ofc you don’t have to be Muslim to wear one.
I have to give up a #Stim / habit that, if I do it during the #Muslim#Pilgrimage to #Mecca, will literally break the validity of my #Hajj . I might be able to fix that in prescribed ways if I wind up doing it, but this is a good opportunity to leave off, Insha Allah.
It’s not an attractive habit at all and I will have no regrets if I never go back to it, Insha Allah, but it ain’t easy. Why can’t I just rock or spin with the rest of my autie peeps?
And no I’m not describing it in detail. Too embarrassing.
Anyone else had to walk away (for good reasons) from a stim they’ve used for decades?
For #Hajj prep it's always good to consult accounts of people who did this before you. And some of these accounts come in the most delightful packages!
The online game "The Hajj Trail" features several characters and itineraries from #Ottoman times as factual bases for the game characters' journeys. Playing any of the characters, you can buy food and water along the way, risk water from wells and rivers, stop at religious sites, or hear the ney players at the local coffeehouse. BTW the bathhouses were the best rest stop by far.
I chose the Impoverished Widow as my avatar, and I'm trying to be as no-nonsense in my journey as I can. We'll see where that gets me. A lot of people died en route or didn't make it to #Mecca on time for Hajj.
The game was created by a couple of historians who wanted their students to understand the Ottoman and medieval #Muslim world better. So they learned to be part-time game developers on the side!
Just left the group chats for two social groups where I live.
I chronically feel "less than" when I attend, and I have a sneaking feeling there's been backbiting going on, too. There's strong circumstantial evidence of that: for example, workshops I've given have been poorly attended, in contrast to those given by other group members.
The groups are not supporting me in subtle ways, which usually means "don't let the door hit you in the can on the way out" to us #Autistic folks. Truth, Ruth.
Also, much of what goes on in group meetings has to do with Chatting Over Food-Laden Tables, which isn't a great place to be for folks with #EatingDisorders.
If Allah SWT wants me to have the typical kinds of #Social relationships that so many people seem to arrive at without much fuss, He will put that in my life. I'm tired of putting effort into it when it usually backfires on me. And now that I'm a #Muslim, I have plenty to do just learning and praying.
So, lots of reports of abuse and bias on Mastodon today stemming from the Middle East conflict. Perhaps this heightened level of hostility derives from the fact this platform skews left, but these issues divide the left. It's kind of new for us. Whatever the cause, hate speech, antisemitism, islamophobia, racism and personal attacks are never called for and will probably get you blocked or banned. Let's commit to zero tolerance for this garbage. We're better than this. Be kind to each other.
Publicly calling out iisraell for its Palestine #genocide campaign, its #HumanRights violations, its war #crimes is not antisemitism, it's a tactic used by iisraell and pro-iisraell groups to silence and #censor its crimes, violations, and embarrassment to the world.
#Obama publicly called out that what iisraell is doing to Palestine is illegal and breaking international #law. iisraell hit back remarking Obama is #Muslim. A typical tactic for iisraell, always making it a race issue. To me, iisraell is the true spreader of #racism and #hate.
#Jewish and #Muslim fundamentalists are not so different from each other after all, at least not when it comes to misogyny and perverting the fundamentals of their respective religion... Article mentions that not only does the idea that revealing clothes brought this disaster upon us trends on #SocialMedia, Israeli girls initiated it themselves.
'Alarming': 9-year-old girl attacked at school for 'not being Muslim' | WND | by Bob Unruh ( www.wnd.com )