TAGS
ISLAM
RELIGIOUS LITERACY
It was the late 1860s. The plan was for a colossal neoclassical sculpture on the scale of the Colossus of Rhodes: 86 feet high on a 48-foot pedestal. It was to be called “Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia.” It was to depict a woman holding a torch and would serve as a a symbol of Egypt’s technological progress.
TOLERANCE
The answer to every problem that exists between people or groups is always, always more communication and attempts at understanding, no matter how challenging or even hopeless the odds of a true, productive dialogue seem.
RELIGIOUS LITERACY
Because of their common ancestry, the three Abrahamic religions share a deeper bond than many acknowledge. Islam’s earliest conflicts were with the idolaters. On this issue, the other monotheistic religions of the day—Judaism and Christianity—were its allies.
RELIGIOUS LITERACY
It was Ramadan and they instinctively wanted to share their good food with neighbors, just like they were used to doing back home.
RELIGIOUS LITERACY
What I saw was a recognition of the best kind of inclusion: a collection of movies, TV shows, and press coverage where Muslims are not necessarily the story (although in two of the films, they are) but who, in their portions of the stories, are depicted as they are: human beings—not necessarily perfect human beings, but real ones.
COMBATING BIGOTRY & HATE
No one deserves that. Yet the world is full of such conflicts. What can we do about it? Personal justice starts with each of us. It can span the gamut from resolving a playground fight between children with fairness to accommodation of religious beliefs in the workplace.
TOLERANCE
While there is no rote answer to that question, I believe that upholding free expression has two sides. One side, of course, is keeping it free. The other, perhaps not as obvious, is insisting that expression contribute positively to society or at least not weaken the social bonds that make freedom possible.
TOLERANCE
Perhaps it was reticence or a lack of confidence in my young self that John seized upon, but his reaction was instant. He jumped on my offer with the fervor of an offended politician.
COMBATING BIGOTRY & HATE
This is how it played out: At around midday on November 22, a passenger sitting in the train pulled out his phone to film an incident occurring in front of him. The footage (which immediately went viral) reveals a man reading passages from the Bible out loud to a young boy wearing a yarmulke, sitting beside him.
TOLERANCE
If we keep enforcing the “my religion is better than yours” game—if we keep squashing the religious freedom of another by insisting on the exclusivity of our own—we’re not going to make it.
