THE MESSAGE

'Broken glass everywhere, people pissing on the stairs like they just don't care.

Can't take the smell, can't take the noise...

Got no money to move out, guess I got no choice.

Rats in the front room, roaches in the back,

Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat.

I tried to get away but I couldn't get far

Cos the man with the tow-truck re-possessed my car.

Don't push me cos I'm close to the edge.

I'm trying not to lose my head.

It's like a jungle sometimes

It makes me wonder how I keep from going under....'

(The Grandmaster Flash, 1982)

(Check out the track on You Tube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpbKZmk5h0g&feature=related

But that was ancient history....wasn't it?

In a time before starbucks and MTV,

Ina time before blogs and i-pads....

Life on the underside of the city is still 1982,

only worse....

What might nishkam mean in the city today?

What about zakat?

Where do we see God's bias to the oppressed?

Where is the struggle?

Are people of faith defending their patch or the poor?

That's prayer
And Grandmaster Flash raps the incarnation.
The Word is flesh and she is our homeless sister....

The English Defence League uncovered | UK news | guardian.co.uk

The English Defence League uncovered UK news guardian.co.uk

The English Defence League exemplify the camp mentality that Paul Gilroy speaks of. Identity is finished and closed. But more than that, in spite of repeated denials the EDL are dominated by a vile and violent Islamophobia as this article and video from the Guardian reveal....

Sikhism emphasises the sacramental nature of hospitality...unconditional welcome within the Langar....

Islam reminds us of the unity of humanity and the duty laid on all Muslims to work for social justice.....

Christians speak of a catholic community: one diverse worldwide community...Created in the image of the one God.... One race...the human race....

But what difference do such values make to the way people of faith act in thef ace of injustice? Check out the web link below and see what you think. Is this the kind of urban Britain you recognise?

MORE REFLECTIONS ON IDENTITY

The English Defence League exemplify the camp mentality that Paul Gilroy speaks of. Identity is finished and closed. But more than that, in spite of repeated denials the EDL are dominated by a vile and violent Islamophobia as this article and video from the Guardian reveal.... Sikhism emphasises the sacramental nature of hospitality...unconditional welcome within the Langar.... Islam reminds us of the unity of humanity and the duty laid on all Muslim to work for social justice..... Christians speak of a catholic community: one diverse worldwide community...Created in the image of the one God.... One race...the human race.... But what difference do such values make to the way people of faith act in thef ace of injustice? Check out the web link below and see what you think. Is this the kind of urban Britain you recognise?