Illume Magazine

Star Wars: An Islamic Perspective

Sat, 30 Aug. 2008 05:57:10 PST

As most “Star Wars” fans know, director George Lucas took spiritual elements, which are common in most major world religions to create his epic saga of good vs. evil. As a Muslim, I always thought of the “Jedi” as what a true follower of Islam should be like. Never mind the fact Jedi masters with their North African style cloaks and scruffy beards look like Sufi Sheikhs, but they way they are taught to respect a greater power, fight for the defense of the innocent and honor a code of morals and ethics in order to bring about peace and justice to their society, is basically what Islam teaches all Muslims to strive for. So what really is the connection between these similar Islamic principles and the fictional “Jedi Order” of the Star Wars saga?

The PhD Kid

Fri, 06 June 2008 00:43:04 PST

The measuring stick by which an MC’s skills are determined truly depends on who’s holding it. These days, the depth of one’s talent is overlooked to estimate the weight of platinum one wears around his neck. A synthetic persona, often manufactured by marketing experts, now outweighs the authentic performer that once hypnotized devout hip hop congregates. The MC of yesteryear was a product of his environment and a genius of the incredibly complex world around him. This individual was organically bound to a skill set of lyricism, originality, finesse, wit, tempo, stage presence and the capacity to grandstand impromptu if called to the occasion.

The Muslims Of Cham

Fri, 06 June 2008 00:34:58 PST

“There are two types of Muslims in Cambodia,” said Sary Abdulah, president of the Islamic National Movement for Democracy of Cambodia. The two groups include: Sunni Muslims, and Fojihed Muslims, who follow an ancient Cham interpretation of the religion.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama And The Fate Of America

Fri, 06 June 2008 00:22:47 PST

As we celebrated the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on a national holiday dedicated to his honor, many people point to the surging presidential candidacy of Barack Obama as evidence of how far this country has come in terms of race relations since the days of the Civil Rights struggle led by Dr. King. Many see Obama’s campaign as the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream. As they would point out, here is a man who is being judged based on the content of his character, and not on the color of his skin. Could anything be more representative of the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream than that?

From Climbing Mountains To Moving Them

Fri, 06 June 2008 00:06:14 PST

Confucius famously said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The first step taken by Greg Mortenson in his life’s sojourn was a failed attempt at climbing the world’s second highest peak, K-2, in Pakistan’s Karakoram Northern range in 1993.