tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75472969025327638342011-09-21T13:19:04.357-05:00One American Muslim with big hopes for all American MuslimsKhaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.comBlogger191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-54653589242300314472011-09-21T12:52:00.001-05:002011-09-21T13:19:04.367-05:00

The logic that clergy (regardless of religion) used to justify submission to oppressive rulers has not changed for centuries.  And clergy has ALWAYS been a useful tool for oppressors everywhere for centuries: from the Jewish establishment in Jesus time in Jerusalem  to Omayyad and Abbasid dynasties, to the Holy Roman empire in Europe, and all the way to slavery US and Apartheid South Africa,

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-30887113195619060362010-10-20T11:20:00.003-05:002010-12-18T22:44:00.406-06:00

In my previous posting Wanna b a bride, I talked about the problem facing Muslim women in many Muslim societies not finding Muslim husbands.  One of the comments mentioned polygamy in Islam asked about its impact of the problem discussed in the posting. I responded with enough material that may deserved its own 'mini' posting.  Also, re-posting my comment may lead to stimulating a

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-12461068221319071282010-10-20T11:17:00.003-05:002010-12-18T22:45:58.516-06:00

[This is part 2 of a sermon I gave in September to a local mosque.  Part 1 was posted before on this blog]A primer on anger management and conflict resolution, the Quranic way The tough times we face should teach many other lessons as well.  Lessons that have always been spelled out in the Quran, but that many of us may have not felt the need to put them to good use frequently. Hate against

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-32049299765343347862010-10-20T11:16:00.001-05:002010-12-18T22:46:29.264-06:00

[This is part 1 of a sermon (delivered on in September 2010), that I put together for a local mosque.  Part 2 will be posted soon and it is about what the Quran teaches us on anger management, and conflict resolution]These are very turbulent times for American Muslims.  We are reminded daily how many fellow Americans hate us.  But we are also blessed to see many Americans that do not hate

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-17722224659576617322009-02-10T01:28:00.005-06:002010-12-18T22:55:57.623-06:00

I remember one of my professors over 25 years ago saying: "put a little of your heart into what you do". That way, nothing is "just a job". What you do becomes part of you, becomes more enjoyable, and more likely also gets better done. If you cannot put a little of your self into you job, then you are in the wrong business. Charity work is also like a job. For some people it is 'just a job' they

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-2752754022890907742008-10-22T11:33:00.001-05:002010-12-18T23:00:20.676-06:00

Most Muslim know very well what Jihad means. We know that it is not about beheading 'infidels' - whatever 'infidels' mean. We know it is not about forcing the world into submission to an Islamic Caliphate. And above all, we know its meaning is more about deep and very personal struggle with one's own desires and inclinations than about war and bloodshed. That true Jihad is not the Jihad that the

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-84942836908732710502008-05-12T02:06:00.002-05:002010-07-23T03:05:15.950-05:00

By Khaled Hamid for St. Louis Post Dispatch Civil Religion blog Sunday was mother’s day. It is a day that is as popular in Muslim countries as it is in the USA and the West. In Egypt it is celebrated on the first day of spring as proposed by the first person to advocate setting up a day for that occasion in the 1950s. I believe many of the Arab countries adopted the same date. The symbolism

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-4243226541495180552008-04-28T02:12:00.003-05:002010-12-18T22:53:00.200-06:00

For the Post Dispatch Civil Religion Blog By Khaled Hamid 04/28/2008 6:38 pmThe icon of evangelical fundamentalist Christianity, Pat Robertson, would not waste a chance to restate that Muslims do not worship the same God that ‘Judeo-Christian’ believer’s do. I am not sure if most Jews agree with his Christian understanding of God, but that has never stopped him and

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-60167806054619969232008-04-22T02:14:00.003-05:002010-12-18T22:47:49.254-06:00

By Khaled Hamid 04/22/2008 11:52 pmThis posting started as a response to good comments made by 2 readers following my last postings. You can read their comments here and here. I responded to the first under the same posting here, but the second response (by GF) got so long that I preferred to post it as a main entry. Their comments was detailed, documented and

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-83479027507433446492008-04-20T02:17:00.003-05:002010-12-18T22:49:05.487-06:00

By Khaled Hamid for the St. Louis Post Dispatch Civil Religion Blog I believe that my role on this blog [the St. Louis Post Dispatch Civil Religion blog] is to try to present what an American Muslim sees in his religion and how it interacts and coexists with other religions and belief systems. I made it clear from the beginning that I expect it will to be difficult to stay away from politics. It

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-68932419445216839932008-04-19T02:20:00.002-05:002010-12-18T22:51:19.819-06:00

By Khaled Hamid for the St. Louis Post Dispatch Civil Religion Blog Digg Yahoo! Del.icio.us

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-90701174717129000162008-04-11T02:22:00.003-05:002010-12-18T22:50:32.246-06:00

This title reflects the first of 2 good questions posed by one of the readers (who named his/her Centrist) of my first blog posting about finding my Muslim voice. The part I am going to address in this post is quotes below (emphasis in the quote is mine).“I saw a woman in a West County grocery store the other day with traditional Muslim dress, not a burka, but the only part showing were her eyes

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-35245955389473281052008-01-11T22:26:00.000-06:002008-01-11T22:32:10.101-06:00

Click here for a PDF of referenced chapters & VersesThe essence of the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims, as individuals or as communities, is that of kindness and respectful coexistence (60:8). This friendship and kindness is, however, denied for those who actively engage in systematic effort to harm Muslims (60:9). Lack of friendship does not automatically mean engaging in war, and

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-63205464000388754892008-01-11T21:27:00.001-06:002008-04-15T22:57:51.720-05:00

Click here for a PDF of referenced chapters & VersesSocial Justice is has occupied a significant share of the Islamic conscience. Equality, and a sense of collective responsibility towards one another has been a hallmark of the early Muslim community, and has resulted in an influx of the poor, the underprivileged and slaves into Islam, escaping the brutal and rigidly hierarchical social

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-65649263247031192512007-11-28T12:33:00.001-06:002008-01-11T22:24:04.265-06:00

Click here for a PDF of referenced chapters & VersesIslam is an Arabic word used to name the religion based on the Quran, a document that Muslims believe was inspired by divine will to Muhammad, Prophet of Islam. The word Islam is most commonly used as a ‘proper noun’ when referring to the religion, but is more appropriately – from the linguistic and theological point of view- translated as the

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-32251165575529282092007-11-28T11:46:00.002-06:002008-04-20T22:06:39.976-05:00

I will be posting my comments on 3 questions I received from a non-Muslim college student collecting information for a class project. The answers I put together are not meant to be comprehensive, but rather to give an overview using primarily verses from the Quran. It is important from my point of view to 'let the Quran speak'. The richness of Islamic literature of the early centuries has

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-68661509301246537642007-08-20T01:07:00.000-05:002007-08-20T01:15:06.056-05:00

[This is a 1 page document that summarizes why I think a visibility campaign for Muslims is necessary. I wrote it in a formal way to communicate my thoughts to people other than my friends. There is some repetition of you read the earlier post but I prefer to leave this document unchanged, for reference] The logic of our thought process is as follows: 1- Events outside our control, as

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-57383537645863283682007-08-19T23:54:00.001-05:002007-08-20T00:51:13.065-05:00

This is the logo I came up with while trying to describe what I want in a logo for a campaign that may encourage American Muslims to be actively more visible in the society. Most Americans do not realize there are a lot of Muslims around them, in all places, and all professions. Many Americans think the only way for a Muslim to be, is the way they see on the news: angry, long bearded, dressed in

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547296902532763834.post-63063585052686810442007-08-19T23:49:00.001-05:002008-01-22T21:01:44.601-06:00

Well. Finally I took the plunge. This is possibly the worst time for me to start anything that may take more of my time, but it is too late now. I am hoping this blog may end up being a meeting place for many of my friends interested in discussing issues related to American Muslims and Muslims in general. We have these discussions any way all the time, so why not put it in a blog.I also have an

Khaledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10331670117235466721noreply@blogger.com