Politics

As I write this, a brave young woman sits in a hospital bed halfway across the world, recovering from a gunshot wound to the head that she received simply for speaking out, for using her young voice to bring about change on an issue that she felt demanded attention. The issue? The state of education for young girls and women in Swat, a conflict-ridden area in northern Pakistan beset with violence in the struggle between the right-wing Taliban and the more moderate-minded.

I’ll admit it. I have always been a big fan of Oprah Winfrey. Growing up, I remember faithfully watching
her show every day after school (after my cartoons ended, of course) and admiring the compassion she
showed her guests and the personal struggles she candidly shared with her loyal viewers. So when the
opportunity came to attend a taping of her “Lifeclass” show in Houston, I snagged it. The icing on the
cake? Pastor Rick Warren was her guest.

When women are depressed, they eat or go shopping. Men invade another country. It’s a whole different way of thinking. ~Elayne Boosler

For some, going to the mall with their friends and splurging on beautiful items is thrilling. Some go as far as calling it therapeutic or labeling the experience “retail therapy.” It feels good to buy a new cardigan or designer handbag and imagine yourself wearing it for a special occasion. Shopping can be a boost for the spirits for some individuals, but for others, it becomes an addiction that can lead to financial ruin both for the individual and the family.

Politics turn me off.
I am over political hashtags, know-it-all pundits, and 24-hour news channels. I am sick of nasty, misleading campaign ads that seize on snippets of information, take them out of context and use them to malign the opponent. And I am tired of meaningless campaign analysis about which voter bloc is important for which candidate and who will win the first presidential debate.
None of it interests me.

In the last few days we have seen one front page story after another on the death of U.S. ambassador Chris Stephens and on the riots in Libya and Egypt in response to a YouTube movie that disparages Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Anger. Shame. Sadness. The feelings are all too familiar; they were the same emotions elicited by The Satanic Verses, Infidel, and the Danish cartoon controversy. Much like the emotions, the reaction in each case follows the same pattern.

[Almost a week after] the 11th anniversary of 9/11, questions, conflicts and misunderstandings between faith groups persist. But something interesting is happening. Recently in Jerusalem, a group of serious-looking, exclusively male clergy from Islam, Christianity and Judaism came together to praise a woman – Mary, the mother of Jesus – and find shared meaning through her.

My husband asked me last night what if I was going to write something about the 11th “anniversary” of the tragedy of 9/11. I thought, what is there to say that hasn’t already been said before? Where are we now as a world community, 11 years after that awful, fateful day? Where am I and my family in our lives now?

The relationship between Muslim Americans and the U.S. government is oftentimes a distrustful one. This is reflected in the mainstream media’s well practiced theme of Muslims, terrorism, and security. Even in the wake of a bloody and senseless shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin last week, the media largely ignored the stories of the victims and the white supremacist assailant, choosing instead to explain how the Sikh faith is unlike Islam—as if to suggest that had the temple been a mosque, the shooting would be less of a tragedy.

We are nearing the end of another summer Ramadan with sixteen hour fasts, record high temperatures, and evening prayers (taraweeh) that finish close to midnight. I’ll be honest; it’s a struggle to remain patient and generous when my sleep-deprived brain is fogged and my calorie-deprived body is exhausted. Yet a hadith tells us that God has no need for us to leave our food and drink if we do not also refrain from uncharitable and unkind words and behavior.