Muhammad As Muslims Know Him
- play show:
Date: 10 December 2009
Rethinking the Founder of Islam
Muhammad has an image problem. To believers he is a mystic, a reformer and a prophet of peace. But to his detractors, the Islamic prophet of God is linked with violence and the oppression of women. Omid Safi introduces us to the historical Muhammad, a deeply spiritual human who slept on a simple bed of hay, and preached a message of justice to the ancient tribes of Arabia.
Pictured: The name "Muhammad" in traditional Thuluth calligraphy.
Omid Safi, author of Memories of Mohammed: Why the Prophet Matters
Black Churches and Gay Marriage: Two Views
Begins at 22 min 29 sec
Nationwide, two out of three African-Americans disagree with same-sex marriage. As Washington, DC comes closer to making it legal, two African-American pastors answer tough questions about where the opposition comes from, and why faith plays a role.
Rev. Dennis Wiley, pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in Washington, DC
Reverend Cheryl Sanders, pastor of Third Street Church of God in Washington, DC
Braille Meets Judaica in 'The Braidel'
Begins at 35 min 49 sec
It can be hard to come up with a new take on the dreidel, the four-sided spinning top game that Jewish children play on Hanukkah. Now there’s a driedel whose Hebrew letters are etched in Braille. It’s called, yes, The Braidel (The Braille Dreidel.) Artist and Jewish scholar Marsha Plafkin Hurwitz created the Braidel as part conceptual art, part disability tool.
Marsha Plafkin Hurwitz, creator of The Braidel (The Braille Dreidel) by Art as Responsa
Rochelle Shvartsman, student at Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael Religious School in Springfield, N.J.
