The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew– Three Women Search for Understanding
February 17, 2008
A groundbreaking book about Americans searching for faith and mutual respect, The Faith Club weaves the story of three women, their three religions, and their urgent quest to understand one another.
After September 11, Ranya Idliby, an American Muslim of Palestinian descent,faced constant questions about Islam, God, and death from her children, the only Muslims in their classrooms. Inspired by a story about Muhammad, Ranya reached out to two other mothers to write an interfaith children’s book that would highlight the connections between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. After just a few meetings, however, the women realized that they themselves needed an honest and open environment where they could admit — and discuss — their concerns, stereotypes, and misunderstandings. After hours of soul-searching about the issues that divided them, Ranya, Suzanne, and Priscilla grew close enough to discover and explore what united them.
A memoir of spiritual reflections in three voices, The Faith Club has spawned interfaith discussion groups in churches, temples, mosques, and other community settings. It will make you feel as if you are eavesdropping on the authors’ private thoughts, provocative discussions, and often-controversial opinions and conclusions.
As the authors reveal their deepest beliefs, you watch the blossoming of a profound interfaith friendship and the birth of a new way of relating to others. And this new edition provides all the materials you need for forming your own Faith Club, including sections in Hebrew and Arabic.
Pioneering, timely, deeply thoughtful, and full of hope, The Faith Club’s caring message will resonate with people of all faiths.
Customer Review: Great Blessing
Delightful book, giving everyone the privilege of choice in how they are going to worship. A chance to accept the different methods of “spiritual oneness”. Also, gives a gentle touch to understanding and respect for others. I have suggested this book to many. I truly believe that we are all born with a wonderful,strong spirit, how I worship is my choice of of expression.
Customer Review: Introspective, Personal and Challenging even Ones faith
it is an inter-faith dialogue between a Christian, Jewish and muslim/Arab/Palestinian woman, which bore it-self out of the rubbles of 9-11. mind you there are ivy league educated women, where their practices really form a prism across a different spectrum of amono-lithicness
issues of stereotyping of arabs and muslims are discussed at length as well as those against the jews
i was very drawn to the un-easiness of Priscilla (Jewish woman), as “one who lives as a minority” which Christina (Christian woman) fails to grasp and under-stand. Priscillas sense of how the West is so thoroughly “Christianized” in the sense of holidays, makes her un-easy.
one aspect of the work is how utterly “sensitive” Priscilla is towards anti-Semitism or the suggestion there-of which stems from any or a specific stereotype of Jews - whether they were responsible for the death of Isa (’a), or being wealthy and etc etc
when i was reading this work, honestly, i was reading it through the lenses of how a particular minority, whether Christian, Shi’i or even Ahmadi would read it from the vantage point of Priscilla: that particular stereotypes about a particular minority in a large sunni Community can lead to a sense of “exclusivity”.
one of my sunni friends even termed it “in-security”. i told him, like Priscilla did, that he would never under-stand where we are coming from, since he is part of a larger Community, where a justification of sorts never arises, and when minorities raise issues of concern, the majority gets irritated about their concerns, as if
to suggest, “get over it”.
on a a personal level, it reaches at the core issues, both personal and religious, confronting three faiths.
it is as much a cause for celebration, i.e, one immersing them-selves in the other tradition, as it is, ones sense of questioning of the axioms of their own faith, personified by re-surfacing doubts.
what i found helpful - was a healthy narrative of, and the construction of an identity of the three sisters in faith. remember that this book and the exchange took over a course of 2 years, in the privacy of their own homes, and also the privacy of thoughts that are seldom brought about in the “public domain”.
i mean, who would want to admit, that they are doubtful of their faith, or that they define religion on their own terms, or better else, that there is an element of hope missing within ones faith. it is as much as a struggle for each other, as much as questioning each other over the historical grievances each faith holds or continues to hold against the other.
the style of the book, if you get the chance to read through it, is very well thought out. key issues that effect two faiths are set within a context, while the third faith, sets to bring about a context of questioning, and an admission - some times - of a lack of under-standing. then there are moments of reflection by each speaker.
life, mortality, trinity, the sense of disposession of the Palestinians, the tribalism within the Jews, not to forget, what it holds for their children. i find that this work is a personal testament to the future generations. the sisters were not afraid to confront their fears.
many will dis-agree with the work - as will muslims with Ranyas under-standing of her faith, i.e Islam. at least reading through her narrative, muslim gender relations have a long way to go.
the end of the book has a set of questions for a ‘Faith Club’. they
are personal in nature, which require a sense of tadabbur, i.e reflection Buy from here…
History on Film, Vol. 2
February 17, 2008
Customer Review: Die-hard fans will find much to enjoy; casual fans might want to steer clear
I bought this DVD (Volume 2) because I loved Volume 1 so much. I consider myself a big fan, but I now realize I must not be dedicated enough to enjoy the contents of this collection. Overall, this is a great set for very committed, die-hard fans, featuring two spectacular, ground-breaking live performances and some very rare music videos. The sound and picture quality are great in my opinion, despite some criticism from other reviewers. My personal experience was not so positive, as I did not enjoy many of the obscure videos here, especially “They Don’t Care About Us,” “Blood on the Dance Floor,” and the unnecessarily boastful opening sequence. Make sure you know what you’re buying with this collection, and if you’re positive you love most or all of the material here and want it on DVD, you won’t be disappointed.
Pros: Great picture and sound quality, rare music videos, excellent live performances, featuring one of “Billie Jean” that includes the debut of the renowned Moonwalk, and the classic videos for “Beat It” and “Thriller.”
Cons: The best material here (”Beat It,” “Thriller”) and some other clips can already be found on HIStory: Video Greatest Hits. The collection of videos is too obscure for the casual fan, with some of it, at least in my opinion, a bit bizarre and self-aggrandizing.
Customer Review: Michael Jackson’s History of Films
I love all of the music videos that appear on the DVD, and I like the music. Good value for the money. Buy from here…
Everytime We Touch
February 17, 2008
THE DEBUT ALBUM INCLUDES THE #1 DANCE HIT “EVERYTIME WE TOUCH”!!
Customer Review: All Over Great Album
This is an album worth buying. Cascada delivers great beat and rythm to the songs which make them enjoyable dance beats. (This girl is very simular to artist JoJo) whois another great artist.
Customer Review: awesome!
loved the songs!! she has a really good voice. A MUST HAVE if you like D.H.T or dance-pop kind of music. Buy from here…
Paradise (Oprah’s Book Club)
February 17, 2008
“They shoot the white girl first. With the others they can take their time.” Toni Morrison’s first novel since she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature opens with a horrifying scene of mob violence then chronicles its genesis in a small all-black town in rural Oklahoma. Founded by descendants of free slaves as intent on isolating themselves from the outside world as it once was on rejecting them, the patriarchal community of Ruby is built on righteousness, rigidly enforced moral law, and fear. But seventeen miles away, another group of exiles has gathered in a promised land of their own. And it is upon these women in flight from death and despair that nine male citizens of Ruby will lay their pain, their terror, and their murderous rage…
Paradise is a tour de force of storytelling power, richly imagined and elegantly composed. Morrison challenges our most fiercely held beliefs as she weaves folklore and history, memory and myth, into an unforgettable meditation on race, religion, gender, and the way a society can turn on itself until it is forced to explode.
Customer Review: beautifully written but confusing story
I considered myself a fan of Toni Morrison but I had a
really hard time with this one. The stream of consciousness
that made her a star with her other highly-elevated novels,
for example Beloved, doesn’t quite come together correctly
in this book. The book has too many characters, which is
fine but all of them are given equal importance, making
it extremely difficult for the reader to understand what
to grasp onto. I think Morrison may be trying to too hard
with this one and should instead just let the story unfold.
It’s still a great story though and I honestly couldn’t give
it below four stars.
Customer Review: Divisive and Fantastic
I find it disturbing that many reviews, some of which are listed on this site, devalue this book because it doesn’t deliver “a point”; but I would find this, or any devaluation, disturbing since this is one of my favorite books by Morrison. There is something to be said for subjectivity in the enjoyment of any work; often this is what separates a fine or noteworthy novel from a disappointing or lackluster one. I would, however, question the validity of those who look for a conspicuous or conclusive “point” in a work of literature. It’s not an expository essay, people; it’s a novel, one that seeks to question your conceptions of class, race, and gender.
Clearly, I’m a defender of this novel. I found it poetic and affecting. I did not find that it plodded on or lacked description or injudiciously pointed fingers. I found that Morrison’s tale of an all black town’s xenophobia provided an engaging backdrop for issues of identity, intra-racial color politics, and misogyny. I felt the characters’ pain and triumphs and hatred and cared enough about them to be disappointed and overjoyed. Perhaps I brought so much of my baggage to the party, I simply had to show up to enjoy myself. After all, I am black … and a woman; but I don’t feel you have to be a black woman to appreciate this tale. I suppose you just have to be okay with not having “the point” served to you on a platter. Great works of art are often inconclusive, but they’ve done their part when they’ve triggered both emotional and intellectual responses that force one to question his or her stance on traditional issues.
Again, these things are subjective; however, I love this book. Some of you will also love it. Others of you will not. Pick your poison. Buy from here…
SPOKES Jr. Miss Fitted Tee
February 17, 2008
Pop-art is defined by themes from popular mass culture,advertising,comic books, pop art is a reaction to dominant ideas of abstract expressionism and expansion upon them. Pop art aims to employ images of the popular,the banal or kitschy any given culture. Category: Anarchy Buy from here…
Boys II Men - Then II Now
February 14, 2008
Customer Review: I’m out of appropriate adjectives to describe this!!!
It was just totally increble and I’m so thankful to these men for what they’ve offered, and I’m also thankful to the god for the bringing these cool men into this world. I’m saying this because what they’re doing to us is turning the grey skies blue, and brining our rainy days a bright sunshines. Thank Nate, Shawn, Wanya and most of all MIKE!!! I PRAY THE GOD FOR YOU.
Customer Review: THE GREATEST FELLAS IN THE WORLD
ONCE AGAIN THEY HAVE DONE IT THEY HAVE TOP THE CHARTS ON MORE THEN ONE OCCASION THEY THE NUMBER ONE BAND IN MY EYES WHEN I WATCH THIS VIDEO I CAN’T HELP BUT STILL BE AMAZED THAT FOUR GUYS OUT OF PHILLY HAVE MADE IT THESE FAR IN SO LITTLE TIME. Buy from here…
The Tiara Club 3: Princess Daisy and the Dazzling Dragon (The Tiara Club)
February 14, 2008
Princess Daisy is terrified when she hears that a real dragon is being brought into the Princess Academy. Will her friends think she is a scaredy-cat?
Erasure - The Tank, The Swan, and The Balloon Live
February 14, 2008
DVD Features:
2 DVD
5.1 surround sound
Directed by David Mallet [David Bowie’s ‘Ashes to Ashes’].
Recorded at the Apollo in Manchester, UK, on August 6 1992
Features Erasure’s Andy Bell in several eye-catching costumes, as well as dancers and dozens of sets.
Second disc features exclusive interviews and backstage footage
TRACKLISTING
Siren Song
Ship of Fools
Chorus
Breath of Life
Chains of Love
Love to Hate You
Joan
Voulez Vous
Take a Chance on Me
SOS
Lay All Your Love On Me
Am I Right?
Oh L’amour
Waiting For The Day
Heart of Stone
Stop!
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Who Needs Love Like That
Stand By Your Man
The Soldiers’ Return
Turns The Love To Anger
Star
Blue Savannah
Over the Rainbow
Love is a Loser
A Little Respect
Home
Perfect Stranger
Sometimes
Customer Review: Much Better - And could be Erasure’s defining moment.
After a little bit of a Erasure break for several years, I am slowly starting to go back to their music. I have decided to see some of their concert videos as well. After watching ‘The Erasure Show’ (which came much later after this one) I became mightily depressed and sad about the way Andy Bell has become. Luckily, I have just seen TTTSANTB, and well, we can all have pleasant memories of what Erasure used to be can’t we? Becaause this DVD is OUTSTANDING.
This looks to have been recorded during their Chorus years (I attended one of their ‘Wild’ concerts) and Andy looks amazing in this. totally fit, voice in perfect shape, and just boogying all over the place (as opposed to the other DVD). I havent the foggiest why they splurged so much on this show, because it’s spectacular. Dancers, costumes, props, everything. The catalog they use is equally fun too, with new stuff (eg everything from the Chorus album) mixed in with the old (Sometimes, Oh Lamour etc). I really also how they plucked the obscure songs out of the catalog as well, for example, “Love Is A Loser” and especially that extremely old B side, “Soldier’s Return”.
This is just dynamite. Crisply edited and sounds great, this is a must for any Erasure fan.
Customer Review: One of thier best shows
I did not see this show live, but have been to more recent concerts. How I would have loved to actually see this live. But this dvd captures all the fun and the great music. I throw it on the dvd player and crank up the surrond sound. It’s like being there. Well worth the money. Love it. Buy from here…
Balancing The Books Long Sleeve T-Shirt
February 14, 2008
Balancing The Books funny humorous catch phrases gift for a librarian or accountant Category: Fine Art Buy from here…
ATTITUDE Women’s Tank Top
February 14, 2008
Pop-art is defined by themes from popular mass culture,advertising,comic books, pop art is a reaction to dominant ideas of abstract expressionism and expansion upon them. Pop art aims to employ images of the popular,the banal or kitschy any given culture. Category: Anarchy Buy from here…
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