by Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (Author), David B. Burrell (Translator) : Faith in Divine Unity and Trust in Divine Providence: The Revival of the Religious Sciences Book XXXV (The Revival of the Religious Sciences, Book 35)
Olive Tree Foundation has announced that it will provide grants to support innovative projects within the Canadian Muslim community - the MuslimFest 2008 Arts Exhibition and the Muslim Education Project at the University of Toronto/OISE.
"The Olive Tree Foundation is pleased to once again fund these leading edge projects," said Muneeb Nasir, President of the Foundation, in announcing the distribution of grants. "These initiatives are important for the development of the Muslim community."
“MuslimFest 2008 will benefit greatly from the support of the Olive Tree Foundation,” said Amer Meknas, Chairperson of MuslimFest.
The Arab League must do more to address the killings in Darfur according to an appeal issued today by an unprecedented coalition of Muslim groups.
The appeal comes as Arab League Foreign Ministers meet in Damascus and is contained in an open letter that was delivered to the Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa earlier this week.
Arzu Merali, Head of Research at the Islamic Human Rights Commission - one of the organisations in the coalition - said, 'Arab nations must take a stand to prove their claim that they are not taking 'ethnic sides' in the violence in Darfur. The voice of Arab populations that have deplored the 200,000 deaths of Darfurians needs to be heard by their governments and acted upon. Today we urge the Arab League to act urgently to address the crisis by contributing more aid, demanding an end to the obstruction of peacekeepers, supporting a real ceasefire and promoting the peace process.'
Muslims today are facing two fundamental problems: the first directly related to the founding texts themselves; the second, to differences in interpretation shaped by the societies in which they live. For Muslims, the Qur’an is the word of God; yet it is a word revealed over a period of 23 years in a specific socio-historical context. Several Qur’anic verses can be interpreted only in the light of that context. A literal, ahistorical reading has the effect of making the text rigid, and in turn of preventing us from grasping the objectives of Revelation. Only by carrying on the task of reinterpretation in the light of new geographical and historical contexts can Muslims to be faithful to the ethics and the finalities of the revealed message.
Historically, the interpretation of Islam has been largely a male endeavor. Although the first convert to Islam was a woman (Muhammad's first wife, Khadijah), and women played an important role in the transmission of hadith (the sayings and deeds of the prophet Muhammad) and the development of Sufism, women have generally been marginalized from the male centers of Islamic interpretation, including both scripture and law, and leadership roles in public worship. But this has changed in recent times. (READ MORE)
