Six Pillars – Introduction

For the past year, I’ve attended the After Shahada Project classes with Imam Nick Pelletier at the Islamic Center of Irving. In Season 1, we covered the 3 questions of the grave (I might dig into those in the future) from “The Three Fundamental Principles,” a 12th century tract by Imam Abdul Wahhabi, and it …

Unboxing ‘Patpong: Bangkok’s Twilight Zone’

Nick Nostitz’s Patpong: Bangkok’s Twilight Zone (London: Westzone, 2000) is not for the squeamish. The photography catalogues the nightlife of Bangkok’s Patpong district during the mid and late 1990s. I heard stories about Bangkok back then: a wild place where you could get and do just about anything, and where you could also wind up in …

Eid Mubarak!

Today, Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al Adha, the Celebration of the Sacrifice, commemorating Abraham’s (yes, that Abraham) sacrifice (yes, that sacrifice) and marking the end of Hajj for the many millions who were fortunate enough to attend this year. Eid al Adha is the major holiday in Islam, sort of akin to Christmas, but somewhat more …