Anse’s Blogs

Three people killed in the safety of their homes. Vandalism towards an Islamic school. The mysterious murder of a young man in Canada. Atheism secretly spoken of amongst our children. Sexual abuse allegations against leaders. As the headlines, tweets and posts swirl around and around and around, we are dizzy and sad and scared. ​ […]

There is a truism in every field and every domain: Those who know very little believe they know quite a bit, and those who know more recognize how little they know. In the junior high school classrooms teachers smile patiently at the loud and angry voices that are certain that, were they in charge, they

It is 2015. I cannot believe it. I am old enough to remember when it was 1985! In November, 1984, Ronald Reagan beat Walter Mondale and became president of the USA. I was unhappy because on Election Day I was still not able to vote, since my birthday was November 8th and Election Day that

She walks down streets that curve and turn, balconies reach across the street and graze the vines of neighbor’s walls. These are old streets. Rūmī, Ibn Taymiyya and Imam Ghazālī walked up and down these streets. She turns the corner and finds wide black metal doors greeting her with a tiny doorbell. She pushes the

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Who does not thank people, has not thanked Allah ﷻ.” (Ahmad, Tirmidhi) Thank you Rabata Board members for agreeing to get on this roller-coaster ride in 2012 when it looked like we were only going to be arranging tours, and then sticking by me and the work when it grew into

“Hajj is ʿArafāt…” ﷺ On this barren plain millions of people stand and sit asking Allah ﷻ to forgive them a lifetime of sin and misdeeds. Some are inside tents, others are standing under the beating sun. Some are in tears as their lives pour out into their duʿāʾ, others cannot think of anything to

The night was still dark as I stopped and handed over 5 riyals for a wooden cane. The short climb from the bus to the top of the hill, the point where the stairs began that led up, up, up into the starry sky, had been difficult. I figured I wouldn’t make it up those

The great poet Ibn al-Farīd said in a line of poetry, “Some people claimed to face love, but turned away. They claimed to swim the oceans of love but did not get wet.” The word love is a mystery. It conjures up the color red, pink roses, shiny jewels, and fancy dresses. The word love

Many of us would be surprised to discover how much of our thinking is based in existentialism and post-modern philosophy. We see Sartre’s gloom and despair everywhere. He tells us that what meaning there is in life, we must create. He leaves us feeling both responsible for our boredom and anxious about our inability to

Broken heart syndrome is a medical term for someone who had few risk factors for heart disease and was previously healthy before a physical weakening of the heart due to emotional stress. Often considered the stuff of literature, science today recognizes that our physical hearts are affected by great trauma and stress. One can indeed