Shopping websites, magazines and blogs are catering to Muslim American women who want to look fashionable while dressing modestly and staying true to their faith.

by Yasmin Mogahed
I think there’s a place in the human mind where we hide when there’s nowhere left to go. And perhaps there’s a part of the human heart where we relive forever unthinkable tragedy. However, for the people in Palestine today, that tragedy is not just an image of the mind or heart; it [...]

Before you start throwing Oreo cookies at me, check this out, it’s on their UK corporate website. Not sure how well researched this is from Muslim scholars, but if anyone has more insight on this please share it.
It might specific to markets outside of U.S., anyways click on the following link to contact Nabisco/Oreo.

Since the conquest of Spain, Muslim empires have enriched the global architectural landscape, notably with mosques, shrines, and tombs. Now, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have ramped up building efforts, sharpening the cutting edge of functional design, pushing the boundaries of man-made structures to new heights, and new angles.

As the FIFA World Cup kicks off tomorrow, Algeria, which has been called by some the toughest team at this year’s games, is one country that is less likely to be on any lists of World Cup favorites. In Group C along with England, Slovenia and the United States, Algeria will be a heavy underdog to even make it out of there group. Still, as one of the few Muslim-majority countries participating in the tournament today, we are keeping an eye on them as a personal favorite.

It is completely natural and inherent in humans – a phenomenon recurring through history. We all want status; we all want to be recognized. Often we may yearn to be among the ranks of the great people that tread the Earth before us; people who made a difference and changed the world for the better. Sometimes we then focus on our bigger deeds, the deeds we feel will hold more weight with Allah `azza wa jal (mighty and majestic is He). The intention can be well placed; we simply want to benefit the most and do the best we possibly can with our time. So long as our intention is sincerely and purely for Allah `azza wa jal, in His service and not for status or recognition, this can be admirable; in fact, it is something we need as Muslims today.

While others around us set ‘examples’ of beauty in their own terms, it is upon us to be the ones with whom people are dazzled by their beauty in moral uprightness. The shine of good character blinds its beholders from all other faults, as they only see perfectness in the shining one, free from all blemishes.

When talking to those of my generation and younger from the Muslim American community, an oft-mentioned challenge is a disconnect from the Islam one knows and believes in and the messaging received in places of worship.

On the evening of May 10, there was a small explosion and fire outside a Jacksonville, FL mosque. According to a fire department investigation and officials of the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida, worshipers heard a loud noise outside the mosque, and there was a small fire that was extinguished. The damage was described as “very minimal” by a Jacksonville Fire and Rescue spokesperson. Thank God, no one was injured in the attack

Surah Al-Hadid (its title meaning, ‘the iron’) talks about the reality of the transient life of this world. Several descriptive words are used to reveal to us its true nature. After that, Allah warns us to remember that the life of this world is nothing but a ”deceptive enjoyment”.

اعْلَمُواأَنَّمَا الْحَيَوةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ وَزِينَةٌ وَتَفَاخُرٌ بَيْنَكُمْ وَتَكَاثُرٌ فِى الاٌّمْوَلِ وَالاٌّوْلْـدِ كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَعْجَبَ الْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَكُونُ حُطَامًا وَفِى الاٌّخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَنٌ وَمَا الْحَيَوةُ الدُّنْيَآ إِلاَّ مَتَـعُ الْغُرُورِ
“Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children, as the likeness of vegetation after rain, thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw. But in the Hereafter (there is) a severe torment (for the disbelievers, evil-doers), and (there is) Forgiveness from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure (for the believers, good-doers), whereas the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment“. [57:20]

In order to see the real picture being painted by our Creator as He details to us the reality of the life of this world, it would be beneficial to ponder on the root meanings of the several Arabic words He has used in the above verse.