TORONTO BOOK LAUNCH for "In the Light of a Blessed Tree"

Date: Friday October 7, 2011
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Auditorium, Noor Cultural Centre

Click HERE for more details plus scholarly endorsements of the book! 

STANDING TOGETHER AGAINST ANTI-SEMITISM

We categorically condemn the vandalism and hateful, antisemitic symbolism that sought to desecrate the Beth Tikvah Synagogue here in Toronto on August 4, 2011, and we are both shocked and appalled that the perpetrators seemed to have associated their hatred and desecration with the religion of Islam.  As Muslims we unequivocally reject such attribution, and we bear clear witness that such behavior has no place within the religion of Islam.  More, we applaud all those, including the Canadian Council of Imams (CCI), who immediately rose to stand with the victims against this criminal expression of ignorance and hate. To see the CCI statement, click here.

We further decry all those who seek to spread dissension, mistrust, fear, and hatred through the malicious misrepresentation of people belonging to any race or religion or gender or orientation, and we call upon all truly religious people to serve as conduits of the Divine light that dispels all darknesses.

May the Jewish community of Beth Tikvah take heart that they are not alone and that we stand with them, and may all maliciously maligned and oppressed people take heart. We are one human family, all, and we are all created in the Divine image.  Let us then raise the call for universal respect, for universal reverence, and let us together stand as we uphold and defend the dignity of every human being.

NEW BOOK IS (finally) OUT AND AVAILABLE!

With great delight, we can finally announce that

In the Light of a Blessed Tree: illuminations of Islamic belief, practice, history
was officially published on August 1, 2011 (1 Ramadan 1432) and can now be be purchased from its publisher, Wipf & Stock Publishers.  A specific link to the book can be found below.

This modest but special book presents an absolutely original, experientially textured introduction to Islamic belief, practice, and history for both the intrigued newcomer as well as for those who already possess some basic literacy in Islam. Slowly crafted over the years following the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, In the Light of a Blessed Tree speaks with scholarly integrity but in an everyday voice, full of real-life narratives that "illuminate" the beliefs, practices, and histories described. More, it brings the reader in touch with the psychological, social, and cultural forces that shape the way we come to the question of Islam in a wounded world, still grappling with the trauma of 9/11 and very much still in a state of war. For these and other reasons, it speaks to contemporary images and realities, even as it walks through the ancient origins of Islam.

 In the Light of A Blessed Tree thus serves thoughtful western readers (in North America and Europe, primarily) who are shopping for an accessible, concise, and reliable trade book covering the basics of Islam, and yet it can easily serve as an introductory text for university, community college, or even upper-level high school courses that include Islam and the religions of the Near East.

As an American-born professor of Islamic Studies, with degrees from both the US and Canada as well as many travel and study periods in the Arabic-speaking world and other parts of the world where Muslims predominate, I have visited and personally interacted with countless academic, religious, and general audiences since Sept. 11, 2001, and so this little book reflects the questions, concerns, and tenor of the many communities and individuals I have encountered.  In my experience, what people need, at least in the very beginning, is not something overly formal and long-winded but rather something simple, well-written and within their reach, something that can prepare them for a higher level of engagement if they have the time and the desire for more. That is truly all this book seeks to be and do.

Check it out, along with endorsements from highly-regarded Muslim, Christian, and Jewish scholars, on the publisher's website by clicking here!

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DISCUSSION: What is prayer to you?

I recently was asked to answer this question (in 250 words or less) in preparation for the 10th annual, Muslim-Christian "Building Bridges" seminar, sponsored by the Archbishop of Canterbury (Rowan Williams) in collaboration with Georgetown University.  Each participating scholar-practitioner was asked to answer this question for herself/himself, and the entire catalogue of responses can be found on the Building Bridges website (above).  My response can be found below.  Please feel encouraged to craft your own and post it here.

What is Prayer for Me?

Prayer for me is, of course, always changing shape and tone and texture, all of which arise from my own fluctuating condition and spiritual state.  Underlying all this, however, throbs a mystery of connectivity and reciprocal remembrance: my remembrance of God and God’s remembrance of me.  In one of the Divine, theopathic utterances attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (may God’s blessings and peace be ever upon him and all of the messengers), God is believed to say, “I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he remembers Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than that. If he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length; if he comes to Me walking, I rush to him.”  For me, then, prayer is the rope or cord that keeps me consciously connected to my source; remembering that, in Arabic, the word for God’s attribute of “mercy” derives from the word for “womb,” I see prayer is the spiritual umbilical cord that is never cut, always available, always ready to nourish and sustain us. 

Timothy J. Gianotti