Here is the video of the interview conducted on live television on May 12, 2008 at the Noor TV studios for the FALAH TV program. This is my abridged ‘conversion to Islam’ story.

To view the full interactive video, please click on the speech bubble icon next to the time code (00:21:49). You can add comments and tags at specific points on the video by mousing over the large white and gray circle. A green ‘plus’ icon will show, click on that to add your comments and tags. You can mouse over the small black and gray dots on the progress bar to see comments and tags from others.

Click here to see a larger version video: http://www.viddler.com/explore/islamcrunch/videos/1/

I would like to thank Sidi Feraidoon Mojadeddi for inviting me for the interview. I would also like to thank Sidi Fahim Mojadeddi for taking care of me during the interview. Most importantly, I would like to thank my wonderful Su for her support, patience, love and companionship.

For Bloggers Unite for Human Rights Day, we decided to give a little spin on the event. Here is our perspective on what we can do to be aware about Human Rights.

There is no doubt that we need to be concerned about others who are suffering and who are less fortunate than us. We should definitely educate ourselves and make ourselves aware of the human rights situation in Darfur, Guantanamo, China and elsewhere. We need to start with ourselves. Therefore, we would like to offer these suggestions:

1. Return to your original state (known as fitrah in Islam). Return to your state before there was greed, jealousy, hatred, anger, prejudice and malice. You did not come into this world with blackness in your heart. Somehow, somewhere, the little spots of blackness were introduced into your heart. By removing the blackness, we can learn to have concern for others, we can learn to care and love others regardless of status, race, religion, wealth, etc.

2. Follow your role model. If you are Muslim, follow the exemplary qualities of the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). Do not disregard the sunnah of the Prophet. Learn about his characteristics at home, at work, in the community and throughout society. Learn how he dealt with others from different faith communities. Be a reflection of the Best of Creation.

If you are a Christian, embody the qualities and characteristics of Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him). Coming from a Catholic background before I converted, I learned the qualities of Jesus. He was kind, gentle, patient and caring. He had concern for everyone in his environment. He worked hard for his parents, there was no Hallmark or purple roses to ’show’ his feelings. He didn’t hate. His parents did not avoid or exclude any of the 3 wise men who visited their baby (the 3 wise men were from different regions, thus of different races). 

If you are Jewish, look to Moses for inspiration. Look at how he withstood trials and tribulations. May you all live to 120.

And so forth. Whatever your belief system or lifestyle is, follow the true, beneficial teachings within that system. 

God taught us in the Quran:

O humankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other, not that you may despise (each other). Verily, the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things). 

Chapter 49, verse 13

We should compete to do righteous acts. We should all strive to help the people suffering. We should all do our part to raise awareness of human rights for everyone.

Check out our BlogCatalog profile here: http://www.blogcatalog.com/user/islamcrunch

Peace.

To supplement today’s announcement about Muslim scholars reaching out to the Pope, we would like to share a recent paper that was published. Titled “New Paths in Interfaith Dialog : Understanding Islam from the Light of Earliest Jewish Christianity“, this paper was presented at the Conference on Muslim Peace, Justice and Interfaith Dialog in Washington, DC in May 2007. The event was hosted by the Salam Institute and ISNA.

Author Rodney Cardoza writes:

“Recent developments in the study of earliest Christianity provide great opportunity for interfaith dialog, enabling us to see there is far more common ground between Islam and Christianity than has been previously assumed. New perspectives afforded by these developments are also opening a growing number of Christians to consider the prophethood of Muhammad in ways they never before imagined. Unfortunately, most Christians and Muslims are unfamiliar with these developments and their theological implications. Therefore, most Christians continue to believe medieval assessments of Muhammad and the Qur’an, thereby erecting enormous barriers to interfaith dialog and peacebuilding. Similarly, while the Qur’an certainly brings correction and warning to Christians who persist in excessive doctrines not taught by Christ, many Muslims believe that various titles of Jesus found in the Bible constitute clear evidence of its corruption, further complicating interfaith dialog and understanding. This paper will examine one significant development in the study of earliest Jewish Christianity, show how worldview and translation complicated later developments in Christian theology, then propose a cooperative effort between Muslim and Christian peacebuilders to gently and respectfully expose both Christians and Muslims to these matters in order to build genuine understanding and greater peace between these communities.”

To read the complete the whole article: New Paths in Interfaith Dialog (Scribd)

Cardoza is a cultural, theological and linguistic anthropologist. He has published ethnographic research on Muslim ritual and lectures internationally on Muslim-Christian dialog. He is presently working to form an international organization uniting Jews, Christians and Muslims to work together for peacebuilding, relief of extreme poverty, and sustainable development.

And presented here is the introductory paragraphs of the letter issued by more than 130 Muslim scholars from all over the world to many Christian leaders. To read the complete letter, click here: Muslim scholars reaching out to the Pope (PDF).

A Common Word between Us and You
(Summary and Abridgement)

Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population.
Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no
meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between
Muslims and Christians.

The basis for this peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very
foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour.
These principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and
Christianity. The Unity of God, the necessity of love for Him, and the necessity of love of the neighbour is thus the common ground between Islam and Christianity. The following are only a few examples:

Of God’s Unity, God says in the Holy Qur’an: Say: He is God, the One! / God, the Self-
Sufficient Besought of all! (Al-Ikhlas, 112:1-2). Of the necessity of love for God, God
says in the Holy Qur’an: So invoke the Name of thy Lord and devote thyself to Him with a complete devotion (Al-Muzzammil, 73:8).

Of the necessity of love for the neighbour, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)  said: “None of you has faith until you love for your neighbour what you love for yourself.”

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ (peace be with him) said: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. / And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)

In the Holy Qur’an, God Most High enjoins Muslims to issue the following call to
Christians (and Jews—the People of the Scripture):

Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word between us and
you: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no
partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside
God. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who
have surrendered (unto Him). (Aal ‘Imran 3:64)

The words: we shall ascribe no partner unto Him relate to the Unity of God, and
the words: worship none but God, relate to being totally devoted to God. Hence they all relate to the First and Greatest Commandment. According to one of the oldest and most authoritative commentaries on the Holy Qur’an the words: that none of us shall take others for lords beside God, mean ‘that none of us should obey the other in disobedience to what God has commanded’. This relates to the Second Commandment because justice and freedom of religion are a crucial part of love of the neighbour.
Thus in obedience to the Holy Qur’an, we as Muslims invite Christians to come
together with us on the basis of what is common to us, which is also what is most
essential to our faith and practice: the Two Commandments of love.

Credits: Thanks to Sidi Tariq Subhani for the BBC link and to the Sherfy family for the Interfaith article.

UPDATE:

A news article appeared in the UK media that has brought our religion under scrutiny (again). The article discusses an upcoming TV documentary that will portray Jesus through an Islamic perspective. The article was written by Riazat Butt, who also delivers the Islamophonic podcast for the Guardian.

“A forthcoming ITV documentary will portray Jesus as Muslims see him.

With the Koran as a main source and drawing on interviews with scholars and historians, the Muslim Jesus explores how Islam honours Christ as a prophet but not as the son of God.  

The director and producer, Irshad Ashraf, said the film was an attempt to shift the focus away from extremism to the spiritual side of Islam. “Jesus is loved and respected by Muslims and he’s one of the most important prophets in our religion.”

To read the complete article: TV airing for Islam’s story of Christ | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

The Higher Criticism blog makes a good point about the Prophet Jesus’ status as the Messiah (the correct Quranic reference should be Chapter 3, Verse 45 and Allah knows best) and the flaw in the news article.

To see Irshad Ashraf’s CV, click here: http://www.productionbase.co.uk/cv/irshadashraf. He has a diverse background, as you will see, with his references of Bollywood, Oxfam, Japan, rock bands and the Arabic language.

Related material:

Update: View the documentary on Muxlim.tv - http://beta.muxlim.tv/search?q=messiah+christ

A couple of months before the launch of IslamCrunch, Abdallah Chappelle sent us a copy of the Washingtonian with an article about him and his childhood friend, Rabbi Charlie Buckholtz. Our brother and mentor, Preacher Moss, had mentioned that he was going to introduce us, so we were ecstatic to have received a letter with the article from Brother Abdallah. For those of you who don’t know, Abdallah is Dave Chappelle’s elder brother. With the recent news of Dave’s involvement with the Allah Made Me Funny Comedy Movie, we thought we should share this endearing article.

“Both share a dream to go to Jerusalem together and walk among the holy sites.

Proof that Islam and humanity go hand-in-hand:

“Charlie’s friendship with Sedar* has given him knowledge he has used when a Jew makes a negative statement about Muslims. “I say I know for a fact that there are some strong Muslims who aren’t involved in this,” he says, “or that a certain act isn’t representative of Islam—that something is not true down the line.”

* Sedar = Abdallah’s birth name

Read the full article here: Faithful Friends (washingtonian.com)