I started City of Brass in March 2002 at Blogspot, and moved to Beliefnet in August 2008. Over a thousand posts and a million page views later, it is time to end this chapter and start a new one. However, I am not technically going anywhere – Beliefnet recently acquired Patheos, where I am going…
City of Brass
My friend Taha Raja just finished Arbaeen, a 53-mile walk on foot from Najaf to Karbala in Iraq, a pilgrimage for remembrance of Imam Husain’s sacrifice for Islam and humanity. Inshallah I will someday soon take part, but in the meantime, I was privileged to share in Taha’s journey, as he posted updates during the… 
This is a guest post by Taha M. Raja. Third in a series; See Arbaeen Day 2 for the previous entry. Post 1278. close to the right turn to go to the city center of Kerbala. Resting with a Iranian Tea which is a light blend of black tea and water with lots of sugar.… 
This is a guest post by Taha M. Raja. Second in a series; See Arbaeen Day 1 for the previous entry. Post 580. It 5:30am and we resumed our walk to Kerbala. Breakfast on the road. Samoon (Iraqi fresh bread) with lentil soup a tradition for millennia of the Bedouins. Hit Iraqi black tea with… 
This is a guest post by Taha M. Raja. Post 53. Today I started my journey on Arbaeen, a 53 mile walk from the city of Najaf to Kerbala. An annual event that marks one of the largest human gatherings in the world. I am at the 1/3 mark and I have experienced the best… 
Shabana Mir’s blog is (at least) a decade old! Congratulations, Shabana – Koonj (The Crane) is one of the pioneers of the Islamsphere, and earned a runner-up Brass Crescent Award as far back as 2006. Shabana is just as relevant as ever though. Her latest post is a courageous piece inspired by the #MeToo movement… 
Traveling to Karachi from the US is not easy. But traveling back is even worse. I returned a couple weeks ago from my trip and have been coping with the usual jet lag and GI/respiratory baggage that comes from an extended trip to the far side. The pace of events during Ashara itself was too… 
Every year, I travel to attend the Ashara Mubaraka majlis (gathering), with the spiritual leader of my community, the Dawoodi Bohra Muslims. Last year, I went to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; the year before was on my home turf of Houston. I have been attending regularly for almost a decade now – starting with Colombo… search this blog
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