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In this age of globalization, technology and the vast spread of information, we as Muslims need a model to better capture dimensions of Muslim reality more effectively. We need guidance.

In short, the only people who understand what Islam is really about as far as Wood is concerned are ISIS and academics who say what ISIS militants do is authentic Islam. As for the rest of over 1.6 billion Muslims and their theologians, they have what in the words of Haykel calls it, “a cotton-candy view of their own religion.”

American Muslims, especially from the immigrant community, still struggle for relevancy because of a failure to integrate the call to Islam with the call to justice. This stems from a disservice to the legacy of Malcolm X, racism and an indifference to the Muslim convert.

With humility and deep sadness, we mourn these beautiful souls and ask Allah for strength to not fall prey to negative reactions, but to emulate the prophetic response to our loss: prayer, reciting and contemplating the Quran, standing by their families, and walking in their footsteps of positive activism for the community.

Instead of being preoccupied with the question, “how dare they insult the Prophet?”, we should ask ourselves, “how dare we insult the Prophet?”

One of the most common New Year's resolutions is to become healthier and fitter. If you are one of the many who has made this resolution, then this year it is time to make your healthy lifestyle ‘resolution’ count. This year, let's get Fit for Allah.

The destruction of the tomb of Imam an-Nawawi is evidence of a greater assault on the sacred, which feeds a pattern of violence throughout the world. The only remedy is in embracing the principles by which he lived.

Removing the confusion of today cannot be simply by trying to weed out who is “qualified” to speak for Islam and who is not. And, it will definitely not be removed through indiscriminate violence against innocents. I believe that the following steps need to be taken.

Curbing our impulses for instant gratification takes effort, but if even the Cookie Monster can learn self-restraint, so can we.

Rabi al Awwal brings us the joyous month of the birth of the Messenger, and January begins a new year. As we reflect on these momentous occasions, we must ask ourselves, as the Qur’an asks us, “Where, then, are you going?”

From the Mawlid to hijab, from Ferguson to ISIS, from Serial to yoga and selfies, revisit the most popular posts from the Al-Madina Blog in 2014.

A fatwa decreeing it permissible to congratulate non-Muslims on their religious holidays is not about giving Muslims permission to practice basic human decency or to be nice. It is an evaluation of an action against the core values of Islam. It may outwardly seem to be a “small issue”, but it is on these small issues that principles at play become evident.