I have been invited by the Canadian Muslim Union to officiate at a mixed-gender juma (the Muslim Friday congregational prayers) in celebration of International Woman's Day. This event is co-sponsored by the United Muslim Association of Toronto, who invited me to deliver the khutbah and lead the prayers at their mosque in Etobicoke in 2005.

Event Details:
DATE: Friday, March 9, 2007
TIME: 1:20 PM
PLACE: Steelworker’s Hall
25 Cecil Street, Toronto

For more information:
Visit muslimunion.ca or iwdtoronto.com
Email secretary@muslimunion.ca

I will also be speaking at the Univeristy of Toronto, Scarborough, Saturday March 10th. I'll be talking about how authoritarian/totalitarian trends in Muslim communities intersect with conservative/fundamentalist thought and the impact that intersection has upon Muslim women.

In my mosque, we don’t have a single imam, but rather the sermon is delivered by different people from week to week. I don’t go to the imam of the week and ask, “Are you Arab or Indian? Syrian or Lebanese? African American or Somali? Did your parents hail from Karachi, Kabul, or Kerala?”

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Public schools should not teach religion, but they should teach about it. They should not be in the business of inculcating children with religious creeds, tenets, beliefs, or values. But they should inform their students about religions and cultures that they are likely to encounter in their daily lives.

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Catholics often complain that Catholicism is one of the few “fair game” religions. In an era of PC caution, it’s still OK to take potshots at Catholic rites and iconography, the Pope, or butch nuns who teach at Catholic schools. As with Islam, certain Protestant sects vocally decry it as a “false” religion.

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Of course the earth isn’t going to last forever. Scientists currently estimate we’ve got about 5 billion years (give or take a couple billion) until the Sun wipes out our planet.

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The American media is falling down on the job when it comes to reporting on Muslim communities both here in North America or world wide.

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Today is the birthday of Prophet Muhammad and also the anniversary of his death. Muslims all over the world celebrated the day with remembrance of the Prophet, readings of the Qur'an, recitation of poetry, devotions to God, feasting and parades, distribution of charity and food to the needy. Shi'as, who celebrate the Mawlid five days later than Sunnis, will be having their celebrations the end of this week. In every Muslim country, except Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the day is a national holiday.

In honor of this occassion, I want to say a few words about what the Prophet Muhammad means to me.

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