Clipmarks | arifsali's 'religion' clips

108 Meditation Techniques

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 02:22:19 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

108 Meditation Techniques

This is our list of 108 different meditation techniques. The hyper-linked (underlined) meditation techniques are currently online, and we are always adding more in the Featured Technique section. In the near future, we hope to have all of the techniques online, but until then we appreciate your patience.

Tags: spirituality, meditation, religion

Exhibit aims to shatter US stereotypes of Islam

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:53:47 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - In the months following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Princess Wijdan Al Hashemi and her friend Aliki Moschis-Gauguet noticed that the only depictions they saw of Muslim women showed figures behind veils, oppressed by their cultures.

Moschis-Gauget said, "'Do you see what's going on the media?... Muslim women are being portrayed as women living behind long veils,'" said Al Hashemi, founder and director of the Royal Society of Fine Arts of Jordan. "She couldn't stand the way Muslim and Arab women were being portrayed."

Al Hashemi and Moschis-Gauguet, president of the Pan-Mediterranean Women Artists Network, turned to the world they knew best to find an answer: the world of art.

To combat what they saw as misperceptions about the Muslim world and Arab nations, the two women teamed up to create a traveling exhibit featuring female artists from Islamic countries.

The show "Breaking the Veils: Women Artists From the Islamic World"

Tags: art, culture, islam, religion, women

Religion Begets Prejudice

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:45:57 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: ....
Today it is from this same part of America, the most overtly religious part, that most of the hostility toward equality in the pursuit of justice for gay and lesbian people comes. The question that should be asked is: What is there about religion in general and Christianity in particular that continues to fuel the prejudices of our day?

Clip Source: newsweek.washingtonpost.com

Far from my religion tempering my prejudices, racial prejudice was actually instilled in me by my evangelical Christian church. I grew up in North Carolina in what we call the Bible Belt. My church taught me that segregation was the will of God and quoted the Bible to prove it. It taught me that men were by nature superior to woman and quoted the Bible to prove it. It taught me that it was o.k. to hate other religions, and especially the Jews, and quoted the Bible to prove it. It taught me that homosexual persons were either mentally sick or morally depraved and, of course, quoted the Bible to prove it. So the idea that being religious might make one less prejudiced is a fantasy. It appears to make people more prejudiced, or at the least, not to confront their prejudices.

Tags: religion

Islamic world should learn from Turkey court ruling

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:00:33 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: its relations with the United States have frayed over the past few years.

CNN: Why is that?

Zakaria: Mostly because of the Bush administration. The Pentagon never forgave Turkey for not allowing a second front (through Turkey) for the invasion of Iraq.

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

The battle threatened to throw the country into turmoil. Now, it seems that stability has been restored. The party won't be banned, but it will curtail some of its more overtly Islamic activism. (Which was not very Islamic, in my opinion, anyway.)

CNN: Is this important beyond Turkey?

Zakaria: Yes, Turkey is the only genuinely liberal democracy in the Muslim world. If it appeared that it could not strike a balance between religion and politics, it would send a terrible signal.

People around the Islamic world should now take a hard look at Turkey, where the AK Party, which is full of very religious Muslims, is also the most progressive party in the country, passing dozens of liberal, European-style reforms of the economy, legal and social system. Turkey under the AK Party shows the most inspiring combination of Islam and democracy in the world.

Tags: turkey, democracy, muslims

The Biggest Threat to the West Lies Within Itself, Not with Islam

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:32:52 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Simon Jenkins on threats to peace and democracy.

This defeatism led the American Congress to allow its president to authorise torture and detention without trial in what Senator Robert Byrd called “the slow unravelling of the people’s liberties”. It enabled a British Home Office to curb free speech and habeas corpus. It arms police, fortifies buildings and impedes the free movement of citizens. It makes every Christian suspicious of every Muslim.

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

The biggest threat to the West lies within itself, not with Islam

The chief threat to world security at present lies in the capacity of tiny groups of political Islamists to goad the West into a rolling military retaliation.

Extremists on each side feed off the others’ frenzied scenarios so as to garner money and political support for their respective armies of the night. Each sees the other as a cosmic menace and abandons communal tolerance and peaceful diplomacy to counter it.

To portray Islam as a whole as a concerted threat to western security, and to imply that the West’s democratic institutions and freedoms are not proof against that threat, is absurd and close to treason. Then to demand that western freedoms be dismantled and stored away for the duration of a “war on terror” is to wave the flag of surrender.

I believe in the robustness of the democracies created in the West over the past half-century. I am not sure that our leaders do.

Tags: terrorism, islam, christianity, religion, freedom, war, peace, democracy, west, torture

Sex brings Christian closer to God

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:51:50 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: communities.canada.com

Professor says the relationship between humans and spirituality is essentially erotic -- some Christians even have peak religious experiences while being sexual

WARNING: The content of this story may be offensive to some readers.

When people feel awkward saying the words, "sexual intercourse," many instead talk about how Jane and John have come "to know" each other (tee hee) "in the biblical sense."

They seem to believe Bible writers were so shy about sexuality they had to employ a euphemism, "to know," because they dare not write "sex" or something more graphic.

But B.C. psychologist Chuck MacKnee, a Christian, believes the Bible writers and translators were using "to know" in a surprisingly intimate way.

They were expressing how men and women through sexuality can deeply connect, truly "know each other," in the most holistic, ecstatic and divine way.

Many people, not only Christians, are afraid of sex, the "amazing, wonderful thing,"

That's why they deny it

Tags: sex, religion

The Brick Testament

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:40:41 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Addition to lego clips....and religion of course.

Clip Source: www.thebricktestament.com

The world's largest, most comprehensive illustrated Bible.

Clip Source: www.thebricktestament.com

The Brick Testament is the largest, most comprehensive illustrated Bible in the world with over 3,600 illustrations that retell more than 300 stories from The Bible.

Tags: religion, lego

Nation’s first mosque to go solar

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:41:07 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: newsblogs.chicagotribune.com

Members of the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview not only have seen the light, they will rely on it from now on when they pray inside their house of worship.

On Thursday, the Bridgeview mosque earned a distinction as the nation’s first mosque to go solar when leaders installed solar panels on the roof to help heat the building’s water.

The solar thermal system will tie into the existing water heater, powered by natural gas, to provide hot water for people as they wash their hands, face and feet before prayer.

"Islam teaches us to conserve and protect God’s wonderful creation," said Imam Jamal Said of the Mosque Foundation. "This solar hot water system helps us do just that. ... The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was quick to teach his companions: ‘Never waste water even if you have river flowing to your door.’ We will be mindful of his teaching as we wash for prayers with this water warmed by the sun."

Tags: environment, religion, islam, united states

Saudi king asks for religious reconcilliation

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:15:54 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: feeds.bignewsnetwork.com

At an interfaith conference, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has exhorted followers of the world's leading religions to shun extremism and embrace reconciliation.

King Abdullah's comments came at the start of a Saudi-sponsored gathering in Spain, that aims to bring Muslims, Christians and Jews closer together.

King Abdullah said that history's great conflicts were not caused by religion itself but by its misinterpretation.

He said: 'The tragedies we have experienced throughout history were not the fault of religion but because of the extremism that has been adopted by some followers of all the religions, and of all political systems.'

The Saudis have billed the gathering as strictly religious, with no political leanings.

Tags: religion, extremism

Chaplains Serve Soldiers

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:52:46 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Given that attitude they feel attacked by “the devil” when prayer and Bible readings are outlawed in public schools, when active proselytizing is stopped at the Air Force Academy and now when prayers are requested to be removed from mandatory meals at the Naval Academy. Each of these initiatives is, however, not only correct, but each brings practice into conformity with the Constitution. I rejoice in this decision.

Clip Source: newsweek.washingtonpost.com

Chaplains are in the military to serve the spiritual needs of our service men and women. They are not imposed on those who do not choose to avail themselves of their services. No one should have the religion of another imposed upon him or her involuntarily. Saying prayers at meals that are mandatory is an imposition. This would be especially true if the prayers assume a particular view of God, which all prayers seem to do. The ACLU is absolutely correct to make this request.

America was founded on the principle of religious liberty and the separation of church and state. Yet in many parts of America the majority religious viewpoint of the community was imposed upon the public schools and its symbols displayed in public places. Majority religious traditions are delusional in their understanding of imperialism regarding religious truth. That is how we get claims of inerrant scriptures and infallible popes.

Tags: united states, army, religion

Iran: Fashionistas Push Back Against Strict Dress Code

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:50:50 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.rferl.org

Ali Mohammadi -- or Ali M., as he likes to be called -- spends most of his salary on trendy clothes, haircuts, and expensive skincare products. He is just one of many Iranians for whom fashion -- besides being fun -- has become a form of protest against the country's strict Islamic dress code.

A woman in custody after being rounded up for a dress-code violation in Tehran in July

"I just got a new haircut and had my eyebrows shaped," Ali M. says over the phone from Tehran, jokingly but with a hint of pride in his voice.

In recent months, Iranian authorities have cracked down hard on Iranians who violate the dress code, which requires women to wear the head scarf and prohibits men from wearing short-sleeve shirts or ties. But that hasn't stopped legions of women and men from dressing as stylishly

Tags: iran, culture, religion

Teacher accused of burning cross on student's arm

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:38:50 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

(CNN) -- School administrators in Ohio voted Friday to begin the process of firing a middle school teacher accused of burning a cross into a student's arm and refusing to keep his religious beliefs out of the classroom.

The Mount Vernon School Board passed a resolution to terminate the employment of John Freshwater, an eighth-grade science teacher for the past 21 years.

Freshwater, according to an independent report, used an electrostatic device to mark a cross on the arm of one of his students, causing pain to the student the night of the incident and leaving a mark that lasted for approximately three weeks.

Freshwater was also reprimanded several times for refusing to move his Bible from his classroom desk and teaching creationism alongside evolution, according to the 15-page independent report.

Tags: church, state, religion, education

Islam and Hinduism's blurred lines

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:16:50 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Mr Singh is a member of the Kathat community in Rajasthan and follows what his community believes is a pledge undertaken by their forefathers.

Legend has it that the Mehrat, Kathat and Cheeta communities - with a combined total of one million people in four districts of central Rajasthan - are the descendants of the Hindu ruler of the warrior caste, Prithviraj Chauhan.

The three communities also have strong Islamic connections, because many centuries ago, their forefathers undertook a pledge to follow three Muslim practices.

These include the circumcision for the newborn male children in the community, eating halal meat and burying their dead.

That is the tradition many have followed, keeping the word of their ancestors. But it has also led to them facing something of a faith-based identity crisis.

A majority of them are poor and illiterate. They are people with a mixed Hindu-Muslim identity.

"We don't care about being Hindu or Muslim. It is sheer politics," he says.

Tags: islam, hinduism, india, culture, religion

The OTHER global religious leader visiting America

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:07:57 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Reza Aslan
Author, “No god but God”

Clip Source: ac360.blogs.cnn.com

The media spotlight on Pope Benedict’s first trip to the United States seems to have completely overshadowed the American tour of another global religious leader, the Aga Khan.

The Aga Khan is the spiritual leader of some 20 million Ismaili Muslims.

But don’t let the clothes and the fabulous riches fool you. The Aga Khan is not only a devout and transcendent man of deep religious faith, he is also one of the most generous philanthropists in the world.

His Aga Khan Development Network is a massive charitable fund dedicated almost entirely to caring for the poor. He runs nearly 200 hospitals. He funds thousands of schools, charities, arts programs, museums, and theaters.

For those of us who are sick and tired of media pundits always asking, “where are the moderate Muslim leaders,”

why there are no “Muslim Mandela’s” out there, the Aga Khan, and the millions of modernist, democratically minded, reformist, and pluralist Muslims who follow him, are the perfect answer.

Tags: religion, leadership, islam

Spiritual effects of hallucinogens persist, research

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:18:55 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

In a follow-up to research showing that psilocybin, a substance contained in "sacred mushrooms," produces substantial spiritual effects, a Johns Hopkins team reports that those beneficial effects appear to last more than a year.

Writing in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the Johns Hopkins researchers note that most of the 36 volunteer subjects given psilocybin, under controlled conditions in a Hopkins study published in 2006, continued to say 14 months later that the experience increased their sense of well-being or life satisfaction.

"Most of the volunteers looked back on their experience up to 14 months later and rated it as the most, or one of the five most, personally meaningful and spiritually significant of their lives," says lead investigator

Psilocybin, a plant alkaloid, exerts its influence on some of the same brain receptors that respond to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Mushrooms containing psilocybin have been used in some cultures for hundreds of years or more

Tags: science, religion