Warped Galaxies: Interesting Thoughts on Outreach

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Interesting Thoughts on Outreach

Ok, quickie post. Burning Blue Soul has a very interesting entry on dawah (prosletyzing) and I have to say, I agree with a lot of what he (she?) says. A lot of converts come into Islam and get a HUGE shock when they find out how far most of the community is from the delightful theology they thought they were embracing. I know I did. What happened to the egalitarian, anti-racist, economic and social justice, compassion for your neighbors, kindness to all, mercy for mankind I thought would be the center of Islamic congregations?? What happened to Rumi's love Allah and His creation so well it makes you cry with joy? Instead I found the worst of what had turned me off of church life -- backbiting, lying, petty jealousy and rivalry. Bleh.

Anyway, read Blue Soul's post, it's spot on.

¶ 9:14 PM

Comments:

Salaams Pamela,

Basil is a very smart convert & he brings wonderful insights to Islam & the current state of the Ummah.

BTW, I'm reading "One Faith, Many Voices" & glad to find your website!

Warmly,
Baraka

# posted by

Baraka : 11:14 PM

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: Name: Pamela K Taylor; Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Progressive Muslim, feminist, mom, writer, mystic, lover of the universe and Doug Schmidt, cellist, theologian and imam.

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Cane River
An interesting exploration of the gradual whiting of a family through slavery to modern days.

To see an archive of all the books I've read (well the ones I've read and review since I started the blog) with comments, please click here

Causes Worth Supporting

This is just a short list -- a few of my favorites.

English Language Islamic Fiction. We need more of it. Lots more.
Pay a Teacher's Salary in Afghanistan. The Hunger site actually has a lot of worthwhile programs. You can find them all here .
Muslims for Progressive Values. My organization. We can always use donations, of time or money!
Human Rights Campaign for the glbt community
National Religious Campaign Against Torture
The ACLU I'm a card carrying member. Hope you'll become one too.
MoveOn.org. The organization that has done the most, as far as I can tell, to pull the countries progressive side together.
Network of Spiritual Progressives. Working to reclaim religion and morality for the religious left.

Blogs Worth Reading

Wanda Campbell also known as Nochipa A very gifted poet and a gentle, compassionate soul. Nochipa and I are on the same page on sooooo many things
Writeous Sister Aminah Hernandez, she's got some excellent latino pieces and always has good writing info on her blog.
Sister Scorpion aka Leila Montour - Leila is a fount of energy, quirky humor, and bad attitude. She's also a talented poet.
Muhajabah Very interesting commentary here. I don't always agree with her, but her pieces are always thought-provoking.
Georgie Dowdell Georgie is a great writer and a good friend.
Louise Marley Another great writer. I think Louise is one of the best sf writers exploring faith themes.
Ink in My Coffee Devon Ellington (who has numerous aliases) who is also the editor of Circadian Poems. A truly inspiring woman with a seemingly endless supply of energy.
Ethnically Incorrect With a name like that, isn't a given I'm going to enjoy this writer?
Freedom from the Mundane Colin Galbraith, another excellent writer, from Scotland.
The Scruffy Dog Review This is a new e-zine with an ecclectic mix of fiction, poetry, and non-fic, some really enjoyable pieces here.
Ramblings of a Suburban Soccer Mom Lara, another gentle soul, very thoughtful.
Circadian Poems A journal of poetry, new stuff up all the time.
Ye Olde Inkwell Michelle writes romance and is one of my writing buddies.
Muhammad Michael Knight The original punk Muslim writer. Like him or love him, Mike is always coming up with the unexpected.

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