A letter written by Albert Einstein is sold in auction, describing belief in God as “childish superstition” and that Jews are not the chosen people. Meanwhile, the Vatican makes it OK for Catholics to believe in Aliens.
But by far, the most interesting news on religion this week has to be the unexpected Darth Vader attack […]

Last night I had the fortune of getting to watch Mahmoud Massad’s award-winning documentary, “Recycle”. To say that it was a full house would be the understatement of the year. I watched the film from the floor of an aisle, while others hovered around the door, standing. I think the oxygen in the theater depleted […]

Here’s a selection of my delicious pickings for this week:
Hilary Death Watch Update: Hilary drops from 12% to a 9% chance of winning the Democratic nomination on Slate’s Death Watch. From Barack endorsements and superdelegates lead, Slate boils down what went wrong for Hilary this past week.
USA 2008: The Great Depression: Food stamps are the […]

Let me put aside the obvious shocking factor of being utterly disgusted by the event (is there a way to be shocked and yet not surprised), but there is something that interests me here and that’s the international media’s reaction. Did anyone notice that this crime took place in August of 2007 and is only […]

While in Uganda to open a large mosque for the Muslim community…
Ugandan Church leaders have asked Christians to forgive Libya’s leader for suggesting the Bible was forged as it didn’t mention the Prophet Muhammad.
LOL!
Ugandan clerics pointed out the Bible was written before Muhammad was born.
ROFL!
At Kampala’s Christ the King Church, Monsignor Paul Ssemwogerere said: “Since […]

Folks, I know that those of us who are still sane have been massively affected by the “Messenger of Allah Unites Us” campaign in Jordan that is boycotting Danish products. Suddenly, Lurpak, our favorite butter is no longer sold in stores, and I know, I know, we were all shocked to our core when we […]

Now this is pretty interesting. Six hours a week can cause quite a ruckus, but I guess it’s more about the principle.
BOSTON - In a test of Harvard’s famed open-mindedness, the university has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours a week to accommodate Muslim women who say it offends […]

While everyone waits with bated breath the results of today’s deadly primaries in the US, here are a few del.icio.us pickings I’ve been reading these past couple of days:
- A Rose By Any Other Name: An Iranian court has ordered a man to give his wife the 124,000 roses that he promised in her dowry, […]

Following the 9/11 attacks, President Bush claimed that Muslims hate America for its freedoms. Since then, 50,000 Muslims in 35 countries were surveyed by Gallup, the largest poll of Muslims ever. The results represent over 6 years of study and are outlined in a new book by Dalia Mogahed and John L. Esposito entitled “Who […]

The snow is on its way out so I thought I’d shift gears here on the Black Iris. Transitioning back to reality isn’t easy when snow is still the talk of the town, so here’s a selection of my delicious picks these past few days you might find interesting. Only the first two are about […]

We’ve been playing Christmas carols for background music in the office lately. Bing Crosby. Frank Sinatra. I kind of miss the festivities back in Toronto. Ah well. Merry Christmas.

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Tomorrow is Eid Al-Adha so I wanted to wish all the readers of the Black Iris a Eid mubarak and to those fasting today, may Allah swt accept it. I hope everyone has a lovely time with family and friends over the long holiday, and don’t stay up too late tonight if you plan on […]

Snapped on my cell phone:

In light of a recent debate on the issue, I’ve started to wonder whether there is a fine line to be drawn between celebrating and commercializing. Can one be done without the other in a commercial atmosphere? Where do we draw the line?

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As we were driving around Amman the other night and the jolly Christmas lights and decorations glared from the balconies of apartments and doors of homes, my friend wondered out loud why there’s so much emphasis on Christmas but not on Eid Al-Adha. My initial response was not all that well thought out as I […]

I.
“What would you like?”
“Oh, no, that’s ok. I don’t drink.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t drink.”
“Why? Because of religion?”
“Pretty much.”
“I don’t understand.”
II.
“Here, have some.”
“Oh, no, that’s ok. Sa7tain. I’m fasting right now.”
“Why?”
“Um, I sometimes fast on Monday/Thursday.”
“Why? Is it a religious thing?”
“I hope so.”
I used to have these moments of dialog, these brief cultural exchanges, these […]

By now, everyone has heard of the Saudi girl of Qatif, who was gang raped by seven men who found her in a car with an unrelated male in 2006. By now, everyone has also heard that she was sentenced by the court to initially receive 90 lashes for being in the car in the […]