Where can I get the Islamic equivalent of Jewish Literacy? [more inside]
posted on Jul 30, 2008 - 8 answers

Recently, I left a job. One of the responses I got to my "goodbye" email was a beautiful and touching message I received from one long-time colleague, an American-born Muslim. In his email, he said "May Allah (swt) bless you and your family. I will keep you guys in my prayers." In this context, what does the (swt) stand for? And, what would be a culturally-appropriate response? [more inside]
posted on Jul 18, 2008 - 10 answers

IslamFilter: I'm looking for examples of regional cultures/ethnic groups within the present-day Ummah that were bypassed by the expansion of Islam. For example, most of the people of the mountainous and hard to access Nuristan province of Afghanistan only converted to Islam ca. 1890. Prior to that it was known to everyone outside Nuristan as "Kaffirstan" (land of the unbelievers/infidels). [more inside]
posted on May 26, 2008 - 11 answers

Why would a Muslim man use henna to dye his beard orange? [more inside]
posted on Apr 6, 2008 - 15 answers

How easy is it for a Westerner to obtain and drink alcohol in Saudi Arabia? [more inside]
posted on Apr 4, 2008 - 7 answers

As a student of international relations, I'm trying to acquire a broad understanding of Islam and Middle-Eastern culture. I'm looking for a few books to read in my spare time that touch on these subjects. [more inside]
posted on Apr 2, 2008 - 14 answers

The Rowan Williams fiasco brought to mind a book that I read within the last year, but I cannot retrieve it now. In it, a Republican presidential candidate surprises everyone by calling for the adoption of sharia law in the United States. Can anyone help to identify it?
posted on Feb 19, 2008 - 1 answers

How would a typical Iraqi's activities on Friday differ from their activities on other days of the week? I understand that mosque attendance will be higher on Fridays, but would trips to markets, restaurants, or other places be more or less common on Friday? Are there major differences between Sunnis and Shiites in this regard? [more inside]
posted on Jan 31, 2008 - 7 answers

Help me convince the man I love that he doesn't have to marry someone else. [more inside]
posted on Jan 18, 2008 - 61 answers

Has there been higher criticism (such as the documentary hypothesis) or textual criticism of religions other than Christianity and Judaism?
posted on Jan 10, 2008 - 10 answers

Haj activities - open all year, 24/7? [more inside]
posted on Dec 21, 2007 - 13 answers

Can you refer me to sophisticated discussions of violence that is driven by hybrid forms of capitalism and religion? [more inside]
posted on Nov 16, 2007 - 2 answers

In Islamic discourse, how harsh a pejorative is the term "kafir"? Is it necessarily a pejorative at all?
posted on Aug 28, 2007 - 8 answers

What are the functional and modern differences between Sunni and Shi'a Islam? [more inside]
posted on Jul 26, 2007 - 7 answers

Where in the Koran is the prohibition against human representation? [more inside]
posted on May 11, 2007 - 10 answers

Do the majority of Muslim women in the world wear the hijab (head covering)? What percent do wear hijab?
posted on Apr 10, 2007 - 14 answers

How do they tell if you're a Muslim if you want to go on the hajj or umra to Mecca and Medina? [more inside]
posted on Apr 5, 2007 - 20 answers

Do shia look different than sunni? [more inside]
posted on Feb 12, 2007 - 15 answers

The Burquini thread got me to thinking about fetishes among Muslims. There is [more inside]
posted on Jan 12, 2007 - 35 answers

A happy Eid Al Adha? [more inside]
posted on Dec 31, 2006 - 7 answers

Can anyone help me locate a list of the 114 surahs that indicates from which period each dates? [more inside]
posted on Oct 31, 2006 - 6 answers

Is there a Mac program that converts Christian dates to Hijri dates? An editor in my office said he uses a program called "CALH" on his PC - is there a Mac equivalent?
posted on Oct 10, 2006 - 5 answers

Genuine question: Given that Mohammed was a succesful military leader who led armies to kill many thousands, at what point did he switch approach and promote peace? [more inside]
posted on Sep 16, 2006 - 10 answers

Why are my Indonesian bottled water and donut labeled "halal" when there don't seem to be any questionably non-halal/haram processes or ingredients involved in the making of either product? [more inside]
posted on Aug 11, 2006 - 15 answers

Brigitte Gabriel showed up in my inbox today. My links to the evangelical subculture have provided me with many icky moments but none more so than this. An acquaintance forwarded me (and 20 others) a cut and pasted article about a speech she made at Duke University almost two years ago outlining Muslim atrocities in Lebanon during the 70s and I'm curious about the woman. Obviously someone like this is a great spokesperson for those who think Islam is bent on world domination and the destruction of all infidels. And apparently she gets quite a few speaking engagements at universities as an "expert" on the Middle East. But who is she?

After a little googling, I see the same "speech" cut and pasted into dozens of conservative blogs. And her page on Wikipedia dates from just two weeks ago, with a bit of a revert war starting already. What's going on here?
posted on Aug 2, 2006 - 11 answers

My girlfriend's parents (future inlaws?) forward me a lot of those awful right-wing emails. The latest one is an anti-Islam rant (inside). [more inside]
posted on Jul 24, 2006 - 73 answers

Is it considered a breach of protocol or courtesy to wear a thobe if you're not an Arab?
posted on Jul 18, 2006 - 9 answers

Is God perfect? [more inside]
posted on Jun 25, 2006 - 32 answers

Why did the violence over the European cartoons of Mohammed erupt when it did? [more inside]
posted on Feb 6, 2006 - 13 answers

Some Danish & Norwegian embassies in Syria were just torched over some caricatures of Mohammed... [more inside]
posted on Feb 5, 2006 - 8 answers

What is the significance of the number 9 in Islamic culture? or perhaps, what is the significance of said number with relevance to "Radical Extremism" (dude! Extreme and Radical! This is in reference to 9 a.m. on 9-11 and 9 p.m., 11-9 and so on. . . [more inside]
posted on Nov 11, 2005 - 15 answers

When, specifically, and under what circumstances were non-Muslims first barred from Mecca? Is there a scriptural theological basis for this? When was the last time an interloper was caught, and what happened to him (or was it her)? What is the current offical penalty for non-compliance? Foot notes appreciated.
posted on Oct 5, 2005 - 17 answers

In the Nation of Gods & Earths (AKA 5 Percent Nation) there are 120 questions and answers you have to be able to answer on demand. I'm trying to lean them.... [more inside]
posted on Apr 17, 2005 - 9 answers

I once saw an alleged V.S. Naipaul quote to the effect that India owed much of its latter day poverty to Islam's incursions. Any notions where this comment might be found? Also, any other books on the history of Islam's spread into India (old, new, passionate, dispassionate, biased, unbiased- the more points of view the better) would be most welcome. Many thanks for your help in this matter
posted on Apr 14, 2005 - 9 answers

The Christmas holiday is fast approaching as we all know. My fiancee is Muslim, and we have always celebrated religious holidays separately. This year, I would like him to be a part of the family celebration. For my family it is more of a family bonding time (and become more of an American Tradition) than a religious event. If I'm correct, the celebration of Christmas is for the birth of Jesus. From what my fiancee has told me of Muslims, they believe in Jesus as a prophet, but have many differences in beliefs from Christians overall about who he was.

So would there be a debate between the two religions over the actual birth of Jesus (how he was conceived, is he the son of God....etc.) that would be conflicting for him to join us for dinner and this particular holiday itself? I want to be well informed when talking to him about it, and try to find a way to celebrate the holiday.
posted on Dec 8, 2004 - 20 answers

When Muslims pray, why do they hold their hands out before their faces like a book?
posted on Nov 23, 2004 - 13 answers

The Koran. I read it long ago. I found it confusing, odd, hard to understand, in dire need of unpacking. I'd like to try reading it again. Can anyone recommend a superlative translation, or perhaps even better, a great paraphrase. Or at the very least one with decent annotations. I'm not averse to a version that does intelligent re-arranging of the sequence, as I recall chapters on cows following stuff on love. There are a number of current translations so pointers to informed reviews of them would be welcomed too.
posted on Nov 15, 2004 - 11 answers