Islamic Influence in Florence
Muslim visitors to Florence may detect something familiar under the Renaissance gilding. Walking the narrow alleyways bounded by tall walls and bridged by arches calls to mind the medinas of Islamic cities such as Marrakech and Damascus. The high-walled palazzos harbor courtyards and inner gardens with fragrant flowers, tall trees and tinkling fountains like traditional houses found in the Middle East and North Africa. And the city’s skyline is pierced not just by the great dome and campanile of the Duomo, but by bell towers that bear an uncanny resemblance to minarets.
Reiki As Spiritual Practice
“People are giving the practice a name, facts and rules as if it’s something new,” says Dr. Shirley Al Jabi, a British pediatrician and Reiki Master living in Jordan. “But it’s not new. Reiki is reawakening us to these ancient connections that have always been there. It’s not within religion and it’s not without religion.”
FEATURE: Split Decision
After the smoke cleared on September 11, the Middle East found itself the central focus of U.S. foreign policy. Overnight, Muslims became America’s public enemy number one. In the wake of the attacks, the Bush administration launched a War on Terror first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq, destabilizing an already volatile region. Now violence threatens to spread to Pakistan, Syria, and Iran, while elsewhere in the region, the existing conflicts in Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon are intensifying. In the midst of this upheaval, America has established a global network of secret prisons in Europe, the Mid-East, and at Guantanamo Bay where Muslim men from around the world have been tortured and denied due process in violation of the Geneva Convention and U.S. law.
