Monthly Archives: September 2024

Who’s your favorite social media influencer? I know, I know, I don’t have one either! 

Well, I didn’t until today! Now I’m really big on a Muslim influencer who lived in the late eighth century and among many other things, introduced a new and improved type of deodorant to Europe. 

Ali Ibn Nafi, better known as Ziryab, (The Blackbird) was born in 789 in Bagdad (or thereabouts). The biographical details may be fuzzy, but his impact on downstream culture was immense. 

Ziryab showed exceptional music chops early on. In fact, it seems that besting his teacher may have led to his high-tailing it west out of Bagdad. His intercontinental journey landed him in Cordoba (now Spain) where he soon became a favorite at open mic night in the court of Abd ar-Rahman II. 

With a royal salary of 200 gold dinars per month (Which I’m guessing was somewhere north of minimum wage.), Ziryab began to expand his influence on several aspects of Andalusian culture: 

Music: He brought the Oud, a Middle Eastern lyre, to Europe. By adding an extra pair of strings, he contributed to the evolution of the guitar and his music helped develop what eventually became Spanish Flamenco music. Further, he started the first music conservatory in Europe, welcoming men and women as students. 

Food: Ziryab also influenced the foodie culture of Cordoba, lifting the lowly asparagus from weed status to delicacy. He advocated crystal drink wear over heavy, metal cups, normalized tablecloths and established the basic pattern of three course meals: soup, entree, and dessert!

Fashion: The Blackbird brought bangs to Europe! He also advocated for seasonal clothing, bright colors for spring, white only in summer, and darker, heavier fabrics and colors for Fall. (He would have adored all things pumpkin spice!)

Hygiene: Ziryab may have been the basic inventor of deodorant! At least he advocated a new approach to combatting body odor along with creating toothpaste that actually tasted good. 

I tell you a bit of Ziryab’s story because he’s an amazing and relatively unknown guy, but also as a reminder of some of the good gifts of God that have come to us through Muslims. He loves them, uses them and desires for them to inherit his kingdom. May it be increasingly so! 

Hey! Want to celebrate with me? This is Muslim Connect #400! Can you believe it? It’s hard for me to. 

Once a week for the past seven and a half years, by God’s grace, a Muslim Connect email has dropped and people like you have read it. 

Some of the Muslim Connect tribe has been here since the beginning, having set their eyes on the very first email, “She’s Not Gonna Blow Up the Walmart.” Give me a shout if you’ve been here since the start. You mean the world to me. 

Others have joined in after we met at a Perspectives class or maybe a church. Some of you may still wonder, “How’d I get on this list anyway?” 

To all of you reading this, thank you very much. As my friend Danny used to say in Jordan, “Shukron jiddah owie owie owie.” Which I’ve always taken to indicate extreme gratefulness. Such is what I feel for you. 

We’ve been through a bit together, haven’t we? Kudos for President Trump. Teddy bears for the young victims of the massive Turkey earthquake. A scolding for President Trump. The Corona virus and its impact on the Muslim world. All that and a faltering foray into YouTube video (I’m currently on hiatus until I get my act together, but I do love it when my kids tell their friends, “My dad’s a YouTuber!”)

Through it all, two questions have driven us: How can we think like God does about Muslims? And, how can we love Muslims like Jesus does? 

Those thoughts? Like the Psalmists says, those thoughts are precious and outnumber the grains of sand. And the love, well, the love is bigger than everything, right? Bigger than the cultural gulfs between us, bigger than all the sin, bigger than misguided wars and priorities.

May the goodness of the Godhead be known more fully in the each of our lives and throughout the Muslim world. 

I’m honored to continue to connect with you. 

It’s innate, isn’t it? This desire to be over others, to dominate; to be known as better, stronger, above. In many young sibling groups the bossiness rolls down the ages like water, pooling frustratingly in the baby! 

Of course, whole peoples do this and whatever people you belong to, there’s probably some guilt there in the near or distant past. God knows how Americans have, and are exercising this desire for good and ill. 

In Islam, a particular form of the domination desire is codified in the Quran in Sura 9:29, “Fight those who do not believe in Allah nor in the Last Day, and do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and do not practice the religion of truth, of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the jizya readily and are disgraced.”

The practice is called dhimmitude (those on whom it is practiced are called dhimmi) and it answers the tricky question of what to do with Jews and Christians who refuse to convert to Islam when their territory is conquered. As “People of the Book,” they’re God’s friends, so you probably shouldn’t kill them! Instead they are charged a special tax called jizya, but relieved of paying the religious tithe, zakat and fighting in wars. 

That might be a fair trade, but for the addition of “are disgraced.” In both historic and current application, Jews and Christians are treated as second class citizens.

Some of you know what it’s like to be treated as second class citizens. The closest I’ve come was being a non-athlete in high school. If the feelings I remember are any indication, the real thing really sucks. I’m sorry for whatever way I’ve contributed to that reality for you. 

So how might we respond to this dhimmitude reality?

1. We pray for Jews and Christians for whom this is life. We ask God for justice to prevail and for perseverance, grace and kingdom of God confidence for all who follow Jesus in challenging situations. And 2. We do our best not to participate in or allow any amateur dhimmitude where we live. We do our best to treat Muslims, and all others, as the creations of a loving God that they are, bearing his image and made for his glory. 

Welcome to the weekend! Got anything fun planned? Maybe a date with your sweetie?Maybe a movie? Our family watched a great one recently called The Boys in the Boat about a scrappy group of Depression-era, West Coast college students who defeated the Ivy League elites, the Nazis, as well as their own demons to win Olympic gold in Eight Man Crew. 

The dramatic tension of the film centers mostly around social differences. “We’re poor, but fiercely determined,” vs. “We’re rich and somewhat coddled,” and “We’re planning to capture the world for the Reich!” Although the ultimate conclusion was foregone, the racing suspense was super fun. 

Solid cinema should show us what is true about its characters and setting. I suspect, however, I often enjoy movies because they say and show what I already believe about stuff. 

I read recently about the inaugural Muslim International Film Festival in London. “Championing the narratives of international Muslim filmmakers and highlighting their compelling stories, MIFF. . . . has a mission to celebrate and amplify the diverse voices that explore the rich tapestry of Muslim experiences via the medium of film.”

If you’ve got a little weekend free time, go here and enjoy some of the trailers for the films shown at the festival. 

Filmmaker Warda Mohamed, whose short film Muna screened at the festival, said, “We need to have access to films that challenge stereotypes and reaffirm the norm of Muslim stories.”

That’s the bottom line, isn’t it? All of our brains harbor stereotypes of various people. Muslims, Hindus, Canadians, Mexicans, Republicans, Democrats, a variety of stripes of Christians. We often need Jesus to drop into the comments and say, “You don’t like those guys? That’s weird! I like them a lot. And, no offense, I know ‘em a lot better than you do!”

Cheeky Weekend Challenge: Watch a movie in which the good guys don’t look like you! I’d love to see your recommendations.