Farewell to a Blogger

Turkish Muslim woman (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The blogging world just lost an intriguing young female American Muslim blogger.

She's hung up her keyboard.

But before I comment about her work - a few words about where I stand on spiritual issues.

My personal belief is that we can't possibly understand the Creator/Creatrix.

But because we are human it helps us make sense of things by hanging human attributes onto the ineffable.

That which existed before time began.

Something first identified solely as female, then as male for perhaps the last 6,000 years.

 

Although a Christian, I love the pagan Goddess worship that is now emerging, especially among women.

To me it is part of the divine plan to right some historic wrongs.

Slow in coming maybe, but nevertheless change is afoot in western culture.

 

I have a harder time, although I know it is not fair, accepting religions that insist that the Spirit has only male characteristics. 

But I do follow some women who are traditional Christians and I was following the young woman who is a practising Muslim.

And truthfully, my hardest, most important lessons in compassion and understanding have come from those women.

So today I was saddened to learn that Cindy, who wrote the blog "Organica", is ending her blogging career.

Up until a few months ago her blog was on my sidebar but as she blogged less and less I tucked it back into my list of people I read infrequently.

 

She wrote about how important her faith is to her.

But she also wrote about intolerance.

And not just our western intolerance. 

She wrote candidly about Muslim intolerance - with us and with each other, particularly women.

I didn't always understand or even approve of her beliefs and practices but what she had to say led me to understand that Islam itself is not a stagnant religion.

Growth and beauty are happening from within and Muslim women are talking to each other about it.

 

But all women need to build bridges to each other.

Christians, Pagans, Atheists, Muslims, Jews, agnostics, Hindus etc. etc.

Our ability to change things may lie in our ability to connect by computers across physically inaccessible boundaries.

I'm sorry she's ended her blogging career but wish her the very best.

Doukhobours Want You Naked!

Doukhobours plan to take over Canada and force everybody into nudist colonies!

Preposterous? I agree and I think it’s just as preposterous as the e-mail I received this week telling me that Muslims are planning to take over Canada and impose Sharia Law across the land. The Muslim people I came across as a teacher in Niagara had no more interest in taking over the country than do the Doukhobours. They were gentle people interested in raising their families and practicing their faith in peace.

I am a fan of Doug Jamieson, AKA Geezeronline (twitter). His blogs are sometimes funny, sometimes thoughtful, whimsical, serious, thought provoking etc. In a recent blog he spoke about an e-mail he received recently. Although the scenario was different it was similar to the one I received in its anti-Muslim message. He writes so eloquently I am takng the liberty of quoting him here because I believe what he says is true.

“This kind of thinking is bred and spread among fearful people who move only among their own kind, feeling threatened by the "other." It is tribal, and flies in the face of Canada's desire to be a welcoming, multicultural, nation. It leads to division and, ultimately, to retaliation.” By Doug Jamieson/Geezeronline

I have one other thing to say this morning. A few weeks ago there was letter to the editor of the Standard from a woman, (I’m sorry I don’t remember her name), who asked why we are not hearing from the moderate Muslims in our communities. I have to agree with her. The woman who forwarded the worrisome e-mail to me is my friend, an educated, reasonable person, but as a new grandmother of a baby girl, she was frightened by its message.

Muslim Canadians must be more vocal. Tell us that you are as appalled by the terrorists as we are.

Tell us why being a Canadian is important to you.


*This blog was first posted to The St. Catharines Standard blogsite.