Blogs - Chief of Pray Blog

Not in the Most Famous
Back Yard in U.S. History

There are a couple of things I remember about a fund-raising event I attended some years back. First, I remember the dessert. Following the program about five hundred of us were greeted by two chef stations sautéing fresh fruit and topping the warm bowls of bananas and pineapple with caramel sauce. Second, I remember Irshad Manji.

Irshad was the speaker that evening and she was just as fabulous as the food. That’s a strong statement coming from me— I love a great meal. I was doing the equivalent of the borscht belt circuit in those days. I was working as a fund-raiser for a Jewish organization. Part of my networking strategy was to attend events where I could meet Jewish philanthropists. I’m sure I met a few that night.  Even better, was having the opportunity to hear Irshad Manji speak. Irshad, is a female Muslim activist who advocates for reform and pluralism within Islam.  She’s the director of the Moral Courage Project at New York University and best-selling author of The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith. It’s an eye-opening book.

Do you ever think about what it would be like to have a celebrity as a friend? I don’t have a strong desire to pal around with Gwyneth; but I would like to be part of the inner circle of some really smart public figures. I’d love to discuss foreign policy with Hilary. I have a few war questions for David Petraeus. And I have a theory of macro-economics I’d like to debate with Ben Bernake. With Facebook changing the ways we get communicate, I kinda feel like I am friends with some super-smarties.

I’ve been sitting on the sidelines in the debate that’s raging around a Muslim community center with a mosque, being built near Ground Zero in New York. When I think about the fundamental right of private citizens to build a house of worship on private property, I’m all for it. Then I change my mind when I think about the mosque in Bridgeview which has ties to the militant faction of the Muslim Brotherhood. It’s confusing, which is often the case with complicated issues like this one. I turned to my Facebook friend Irshad Manji, to get her views on the subject. I’m still enormously undecided, but I am more enlightened by the many thoughtful references and comments of my brothers and sisters from diverse backgrounds.

 

I heard the call many moons ago,
but turned away to 'find myself.'
Thank You for going to all this trouble,
to sculpt me in skin and sinew,
to wait patiently as I came back into the fold
You took me the long way home,
so I could reach my own conclusions.
Let me be all I can,
and thank You with my life.
Please, today and every day,
be in my heart as I find my way.

-Ruth Williams