Category Archives: religion

ramadan

Posted on June 3, 2019 by sandstarsblog

ramadan my world cannot sleep with the tinnitus of silence,my 3 am soaked in the rousing scent of lemon drops and apple cider vinegar that dress up the onion and watercress salad for the suhūr meal waiting in the kitchen, … Continue reading →

Posted in general, poetry, politics, religion, science & technology | Tagged backward causality, dawn, destiny, drones, fasting, fate, imam, Islam, Laylatul Qadr, masjid, masque, missiles, mosque, Muslim, news, night, Night of Decree, peace, prayers, Qur'an, Ramadan, social media, suhur, supplications | 5 Comments

scoria

Posted on April 26, 2019 by sandstarsblog

scoria oh, to bless the meek, to inherit the earth,to drown our hearts in the raging sea. to teach a man how to beg and he will learn how to smile.to teach a man how to fish and he will … Continue reading →

Posted in poetry, politics, religion | Tagged extremist, fear, intolerance, rage, religion, scum of the earth, sufferings, terrorism, the meek shall inherit the earth | 8 Comments

An invitation to a place of more understanding and less fear

Posted on April 13, 2019 by sandstarsblog

An invitation to a place of more understanding and less fear A Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta (UUCA) talk about Islam by Rev Dr. M’ellen Kennedy “…We are being whipped up into fear of Muslims. And when we are afraid…. … Continue reading →

Posted in general, politics, religion | Tagged Al-Fatihah, charity, fasting, fear, Islam, Oneness, pilgrimage, pillars of Islam, prayers, purpose, Qur'an, religion, Rev Dr. M'ellen Kennedy, The Opening, understanding, Unitarian Universalist | 5 Comments

the seeds

Posted on March 22, 2019 by sandstarsblog

the seeds the world is shrinking as we shake from all the swelling and the aches the hours are shorter, distances near for all the borders we hold dear, and as the world shrinks and squeezes us in its membranes … Continue reading →

Posted in general, poetry, politics, religion | Tagged Al Noor Mosque Christchurch NZ, haka, Islamophobia, love & hate, terrorism, white supremacy | 7 Comments

The Right To Peace and Plenty

Posted on September 28, 2018 by sandstarsblog

The Right To Peace “It is time all nations and all people live up to the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human … Continue reading →

Posted in general, music, poetry video, religion | Tagged hate, human rights, hunger, International Day of Peace, Morsidy Husin, Noga Vilozny, peace, war | 9 Comments

Fireflies: a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs

Posted on August 18, 2018 by sandstarsblog

“….a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs….”* As a child, I used to chase and marvel at the fireflies twinkling in the night. As an adult, I now look at the fireflies as a glowing refutation of Charles … Continue reading →

Posted in essay, music, nature, religion, science & technology | Tagged Adam Young, bioluminescence, Charles Darwin, creative evolution, disorder, entropy, evolution, fireflies, incandescent bulb, intelligent design, lightning bugs, Marc Branham, natural selection, order, Owl City, Radim Schreiber, Tsuneaki Hiramatsu | 2 Comments

The Umbrellas of Madinah

Posted on May 4, 2018 by sandstarsblog

For this post, allow me to share with my blogging community glimpses of an unlikely world that you, dear reader, may not normally find yourself in: the Masjid an-Nabawi (or Prophet’s Mosque) of Madinah al-Munawwarah (the Enlightened City) in Saudi Arabia.