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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

A few of the stories I found interesting these past few days:
- UnIslamic Ringtones: A top Islamic body in Saudi Arabia has hosted a stormy debate on controversial issues, including the use of Koranic verses as mobile phone ringtones, newspapers reported Monday. “The scholars were divided on the use of verses from the Koran […]

Today I woke up for fajr prayer, while the world was still dark outside. With eyes more than half closed, I stumbled into the bathroom for wudu’ and with a turn of the faucet I was overcome with a nostalgic epiphany of sorts. It’s November. And I had forgotten how cold Jordan can be. For […]

What a skilled man can do with a hammer
The advanced pilgram can do with
Thought.
One builds their own seat in this world
Using God -
The only material
That is
E
v
e
r
y
w
h
e
r
e
.
- Hafiz

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DISCLAIMER: The following post is totally a rumor. I usually don’t believe in rumors, especially of Jordanian origin, but I’m inclined to believe this one for various reasons. This disclaimer is by way of asking you to please read at your own discretion.
A fellow Jordanian blogger pointed out a few days ago, the political […]