avari | haroon moghul

Speaking on Islam and the Arab Spring in Los Angeles

I'll be speaking at MPAC's 11th Annual Conference on Saturday, December 17th.  

I'll be speaking at Plenary II, "Islamic Movements: Help or Hindrance" (4p-5:30p), which includes some great names. Check out the conference program here--it promises to be a very enlightening and broad program, including Cornel West, Yasir Qadhi, author Geneive Abdo and my man Wajahat Ali, among others.  

Where: Los Angeles Convention Center
When: Saturday, Dec 17th, 10am-9:30pm
How much: Here's where you can buy tickets

The Call, or, How I Snuck Into a Christian Prayer Rally to Convert Muslims and What It Was Like To Be There

For those of you who've been following me recently on Twitter or through Facebook, you know that for November 11th-12th, I was in Detroit, Michigan.  There to sneakily report on Lou Engle's The Call, an ostensibly Jesus-focused rally whose ulterior purpose was the encouragement of Jesus' invasion of my Muslim heart.  

In fact, all Muslim hearts:

I’m the one they’re after. I'm “the enemy,” the believer in the “false idol,” “the darkness” Jesus needs to cast out of America, the reason they’re spending all night in Detroit’s Ford Field, sending prayers over Michigan mosques “like sending special forces into Afghanistan.” And there are thousands of them, come because Pastor Lou Engle asked them to.

Founder of TheCall, Engle warns that an Islamic movement is rising in Dearborn, Michigan—“Ground Zero” for America’s spiritual future (and site of a new TLC reality show, All-American Muslim). When I heard the goals for TheCall Detroit—healing America in a time of crisis, accomplishing racial reconciliation, and (here’s where I come in) bringing Jesus to Muslim hearts—I figured a Muslim in the crowd could be a nice twist.

Engle's "The Call" proceeded, and managed to say a lot more about America, Christianity, and Islam, than he probably ever intended.  Here is my report: "Jesus, Carpet Bomb My Heart: An Undercover Muslim in Detroit," written for Religion Dispatches.  Check it out.  And share it widely, if you like it.  It was profoundly uncomfortable to be there, at times.  

But definitely worth it.

The Crisis of Authority in the Muslim World

Is the internet destabilizing the Muslim world?  What are we to make of the divide within Muslim societies, between authoritarian discourses and the underwhelming number of authoritative voices?  How is the internet going to change Islamic thought and practice?  

The link to the video is here, or watch below.  The interview was for the Islam in New Media series, which you should definitely check out.

What Muslims Think of Abraham

I hope everyone had a happy and wonderful Eid. I was thinking about the significance of yesterday's holiday, and started to write down some thoughts, which became a very short essay on Abraham's life (peace be upon him), his actions, and how they have resonated over time. I hope you find it of benefit:

Time and again, Abraham is asked to sacrifice like no normal person is, or could be. He is asked to abandon, or take the life of his child, and God in each case intervenes. God saves. God guides. The greatest destiny unfolds in that tiny, stunning, unbelievable gesture of faith in God against all common sense. Or, as Allama Iqbal put it, discussing Abraham elsewhere...

Read the full article here.