Reminding ourselves to breathe is simple enough, but the act of slowing down and bringing our awareness inward can be difficult. Omid Safi with a reminder that the ritual of respiration can be the place where presence of spirit begins.
Author
Omid Safi
Omid Safi teaches online courses on spirituality through Illuminated Courses, and leads spiritual tours every year to Turkey, Morocco, and other countries, to study the rich multiple religious traditions there. The trips are open to everyone, from every country. More information is available at Illuminated Tours.
He is a professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University. He specializes in the study of Islamic mysticism and contemporary Islam and frequently writes on liberationist traditions of Dr. King, Malcolm X, and is committed to traditions that link together love and justice. He has delivered the keynote for the annual Martin Luther King commemoration at the National Civil Rights Museum.
He has written many books, including Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism; Cambridge Companion to American Islam; Politics of Knowledge in Premodern Islam; and Memories of Muhammad. His most recent book is Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Traditions and has a forthcoming book on the famed mystic Rumi.
Omid is among the most frequently sought out speakers on Islam in popular media, appearing in The New York Times, Newsweek, Washington Post, PBS, NPR, NBC, CNN, BBC, and other international media. He can be reached regarding speaking engagements at [email protected].
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After a stint in the rain, our columnist comes to appreciate a new orientation to gray days, both in meteorology and in life.
Our language to be inclusive through terms like "Judeo-Christian" and "Abrahamic" might not be big enough to encompass the needs of the many.
If there's one thing winter teaches its humbled residents, it's that gratitude begins before the snow falls and happiness finds new heart in the thaw.
After an act of animal generosity by the imam of an Istanbul mosque, Omid Safi meditates on the meaning of true human kindness. A celebration of love extended beyond the borders of kinship, community, and species.
Pride for our identities and communities can be a source of strength. Pride can also lead us to forget empathy for those unlike us. A generous reminder that the reach of our compassion must stretch beyond the familiar.
Sometimes when a conflict involves Muslims, “Islam” may not be the best category for understanding it. Omid Safi with a reflection on the current crisis between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and why framing it as religion is not the most helpful framework.
Untamed, wild beauty kindles a yearning and an awe that few man-made structures can, even the most sacred churches, mosques, or temples. Our resident bard with a praise song for the wide open spaces that beckon us to open our hearts to all people and things before us.
December 24, 2015
A Theology of Cracked Spaces: A Confluence of Traditions to a Confluence of Spirit
Christians and Muslims are celebrating the births of Muhammad and Jesus on back-to-back days. Omid Safi reflects on these beautiful adjacencies and what the unity of these two traditions can teach us about opening our hearts, minds, and homes to those seeking physical or spiritual refuge.
More than 800 years later, the great Sufi mystic Rumi continues to influence millions. Omid Safi marvels at the unifying and ripening power of Rumi's wisdom and grace through his poetry and his presence.
Our responses to violence have become routine, which is its own tragedy. A necessary reminder that while good will is essential, it is powerless if it does not fuel our actions.
The chaos of the world can challenge our belief in the inherent goodness of humanity. Omid Safi marvels at the strength of a 1960's symbol in the form of a Parisian father teaching his son to overcome hatred with love and hope.
The recent atrocities in Paris and elsewhere in the world may be the new normal. We need to anticipate healing, our columnist says, before, during, and after these attacks in order to be whole and carry on with hope.
How should we receive the news from Paris? Omid Safi shares a few thoughts on the attacks after spending a day of silence.
There are many connections most of us do not see. Stories of hope about educating the "whole child" in North Carolina and a village in Afghanistan using pizza party donations and Rumi's poetry as a bridge.
The ego must die in order for love to rise. Omid Safi with a praise song for the maturing face of love.
There's an elephant in the interfaith dialogue room. Omid Safi with a critical look at the uneven speaking field in America for Muslims and how the politics of Palestine/Israel shapes and affects Abrahamic interfaith dialogue.
What would it take for us to look under the skin of happiness and make haste to being whole? Rather than looking to the self-help aisle, where might we look?
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