Keeping in mind that Ramadan was not just a month of fasting, but also a month that emphasized charity, forbearance and compassion. Ramadan allowed us to refine our internal and external behavior. Here are some practical and easy ways to continue that spiritual growth we felt:

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-20339-San-Jose-Muslim-Examiner~y2009m9d22-Keeping-the-spirit-of-Ramadan-alive-throughout-the-year

I have joined BlogCritics (now part of Technorati) as a writer and my first article has been published here: Islam and Technology

I hope to branch out and do more writing on diverse topics there. Your support is greatly appreciated. Please tweet and/or post this article on your social networks.

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At a recent event, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf presented a new paper, titled “Climbing Mount Purgatorio: Reflections from the Seventh Cornice”. The event was The Social Costs of Pornography, a consultation organized by the Witherspoon Institute at Princeton University. This event was held in December 2008. Click here for more details about The Social Costs of Pornography event.

And click here to download Shaykh Hamza’s paper: “Climbing Mount Purgatorio”.

The consultation on The Social Costs of Pornography was organized by the Witherspoon Institute in conjunction with the Institute for the Psychological Sciences in Washington, DC and held at Princeton University, December 11 – 13, 2008. The consultation was hosted by Robert P. George, Senior Fellow of the Witherspoon Institute and McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University. This meeting assembled leading experts in the fields of psychiatry, psychology, neurophysiology, philosophy, sociology, law, and political theory to present a rigorously argued overview of the problem of pornography in our society and to make recommendations. The primary purpose of the meeting was to examine the real nature of pornography in its moral and social consequences.

It is essential to note the scholars who participated in this consultation represent a wide range of political perspectives, but share a common interest in addressing pornography’s devastating social cost. At the two-day-long consultation, ten scholars delivered papers on subject-specific aspects of pornography’s impact, and approximately twelve scholars served as discussants throughout the meeting. This format ensured that the papers will be energetically critiqued in order to promote a fair and in-depth assessment of the issues in question.