Putting the 'mam' in imam
By Erica Alini - Thursday, December 23, 2010 - 1 Comment
Beijing is encouraging the spread of female imams among its Muslims
Pierre Bessard/REA/Redux
Communism, which preaches the equality of men and women, has done nothing to redress China’s overweening cultural bias against baby girls, but it does seem to be helping women climb the social ladder in a rather unexpected place—the mosque. China, in fact, is the only country in the world with a tradition of female imams, a phenomenon that predates the advent of the People’s Republic, but which the country’s Communist government is helping to spread.
Women-only mosques and female preachers in China date back to the early 19th century, when they first appeared in the central provinces populated by the Hui, a Chinese Muslim group. Morocco also embraced the idea of female preachers in 2006, but the practice remains controversial in the Muslim world, and among many of China’s own 21 million Muslims. Chinese women’s mosques, though, found a helping hand in the government, which grants licences to practice Islam to both male and female imams through state-controlled bodies such as the Islamic Association of China. This kind of political backing is thought to be helping the spread of female-led mosques in areas of the country where women are still far from centre stage.
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Lingo 2010
By Patricia Treble - Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 11:20 AM - 0 Comments
Death grip, Gleek, Liberation procedure
Getty Images; Istock
Death grip: Holding an iPhone 4 by its edge resulted in signal interference and dropped calls, because that’s where Apple placed its antenna. Steve Jobs initially pooh-poohed complaints, ordering customers to hold the phone differently.
Gleek: A fan of Glee, the wildly popular TV show about a high school glee club.
Liberation procedure: An experimental technique developed by Dr. Paolo Zamboni to open up narrowed veins in the neck and chest of multiple sclerosis sufferers.
Flash crash: In May, American stock markets lost more than 1,000 points in an hour, and some stocks, like Procter & Gamble, lost virtually all of their value before recovering. Blame was pinned on high-frequency trading—supercomputers automatically sniff out bargains a fraction of a second before most investors see them.
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The American character at work in post-Katrina New Orleans
By John Parisella - Friday, August 27, 2010 at 6:29 PM - 0 Comments
It has been five years since the disastrous Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf of Mexico and the bordering states. Many reports this week are showing the incomplete but nonetheless significant resurgence of New Orleans. The citizens of the Gulf states, most recently affected by the BP oil spill, have endured much in the last few years. But they are examples of the American character in action—resilience and the ability to rebound have once again won the day.
What is it in the American character that promotes this capacity to recover, to reverse course when necessary and act in a way that brings progress? Some will argue that American history is full of examples where values and principles gave way to expediency. When slavery was abolished, segregation soon took its place. Yet today, America is governed by an African-American. It may take time, but it seems this most influential of all nations eventually gets it right.
The ongoing resurgence of New Orleans, the resistance to despondency by New Yorkers after the terrible events of 9/11, and the ability to revisit decisions like the one to go to war in Iraq speak to the nature of the American character. The mood in America has been decried of late as angry, with the rise of the Tea Party and the bitter debate over the Ground Zero mosque cited as evidence. This weekend Glenn Beck will deliver an angry address at the Lincoln Memorial, an attempt to simulate the Second Coming or his version of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Meanwhile, the upcoming election cycle has already been interpreted as a rejection of America’s current course of action. But somehow Americans will make it through this period of fierce polarization. The one consistent trait of this country is its character. Five years after Katrina, that much should be clear.
[John Parisella is currently serving as Quebec's Delegate General in New York City] -
Using a mosque to prey on U.S. fears
By Paul Wells - Friday, August 20, 2010 at 9:00 AM - 0 Comments
People like to hear they’re right to worry. There will always be politicians willing to tell them that.
Mark Peterson/Redux
There are, by one count, 23 mosques in Manhattan. Four are south of Canal Street, in Lower Manhattan. According to the New York Times, the two closest to the site of the former World Trade Center have become snug fits for their worshippers in recent years as Manhattan’s Muslim community grows. People who want to pray are routinely turned away.
So if we were talking about, say, sporting-goods stores, the case for a new one would be pretty clear. Such things are not unheard of in the neighbourhood. There is a demand for more of them. So make some more.
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The mosque at Ground Zero
By John Parisella - Sunday, August 8, 2010 at 11:46 AM - 0 Comments
Living in New York City provides a variety of experiences ranging from the cultural to the culinary to some of the great landmarks of the world. To say that there is never a dull moment in “the city that never sleeps” is an understatement. Politics, however, is not a sideshow; it very often goes to the heart of the character of the city and by extension, the country as a whole. The public debate on the building of a mosque two blocks away from Ground Zero is just one illustration of a local issue with national and international implications.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has endorsed the project to be built on private property. His statement, considering the emotional impact of such a development, was a leadership moment. Whether you agree with him or not, he justified in very unequivocal terms the decision as being based on the US constitution and American values such as religious tolerance and openness to diversity. He framed the issue as such, arguing that on 9-11, American Muslims were also victims and many of the first responders were of the Islamic faith. Bloomberg was firm and decisive; he clearly won the day.
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Where will P.E.I. Muslims go to pray?
By Katie Engelhart - Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 12:40 PM - 50 Comments
Muslims want the government to help fund a mosque for the Island
Call it Little Mosque on the Island. Last week, the CBC ran a news story about a Muslim doctor whose efforts to build the first mosque in P.E.I. have thus far come to naught. The “disappointed” doctor asked the province for financial assistance, only to be “turned down.”The CBC story also suggested that there was reason to believe the city might step in. It quoted Charlottetown Coun. David MacDonald as saying he would be willing to meet with Muslims and “see if the city can assist in building a mosque.” But when Maclean’s spoke to MacDonald, he said, “We wouldn’t give any assistance to a religious group any more than we would to anybody else. We don’t provide financial assistance to any kind of developer.” The meeting, MacDonald says, will be little more than an “information session.” Continue…
