I love Islam and cream soda

Ten Years Later: From Forced Silence to Precedent — The Beard They Tried to Take, and the Voice They Couldn’t Ten years ago, I stood inside a Colorado prison intake facility and was told to do something that violated my faith, my dignity, and my humanity: shave my beard. It wasn’t about safety. It wasn’t about policy applied equally. It was about power — and the assumption that a man in custody has no voice, no rights, and no future. This month, after a decade-long legal fight, that assumption was proven wrong. I reached a settlement with the State of Colorado for $245,000 — not just compensation for what was done to me, but recognition that what happened was unlawful. More importantly, it sets a precedent for others who may face similar violations of religious freedom and human dignity. But this victory didn’t begin in a courtroom. It began with a long chain of injustice — and a refusal to be erased. The Road Back to Prison — and Back to Truth My original incarceration ste...

It is often reported that the "Al Aqsa" (arabic: "the farthest") mosque in Jerusalem is the "third holiest shrine" in Islam, due to its mention in the Quran and prophetic tradition. There's a bit of historical confusion here, which also gives fodder to islamophobic arguments about the Quran having a questionable origin, since the present mosque at the Jewish holy site was built AFTER Muhammad's death and not completed until 705 CE. Technically the "Al Aqsa" mosque - the third holiest Islamic site - is the actual site of the Jewish Temple II. The Quran itself mentions the mystical trip Muhammad took to the "farthest mosque", a reference to the temple site, in 621, which had no structure there since 70 CE. (In Islam, a mosque does not have to have a specific structure, and is technically any place a Muslim regularly prays/prostrates). One night, Muhammad was transported there by a mystical horse-like creature. There, he p...

#aSipOfIslam ...the Arabic word we generally use for prayer is " salat ", which at it's root has many different meanings, including "connection" (like how a hinge connects a door and a doorway) and "attention"... Salat therefore implies a connection between man and God whereby both turn attention to each other. Man seeks God's mercy, help, healing, forgiveness, etc. And God listens and responds. In Islam salat is a formal prayer ritual that is to be performed repeatedly and perpetually. Doing as such creates a constant connection between man and God and also instills a constant sense of paying attention to God. One of the worst things that we do, besides not actually praying, is when God gives us the things that we ask for, we become distracted buy those achievements/gifts and we forget to continue our connection and attention. Even though we get what we asked for we must continue to ask for the things that we need and or we must be sure...