Assalamu aleikum and Ramadan Kareem, as we enter the final days toward Lailat ul-Qadr - the Night of Power during which Muslims pray at night for mercy - or, perhaps, the days of Itikaf - the seclusion and prayer some seek in their mosque during the last 10 days of Ramadan. Barack Obama held his first iftar dinner in Washington, with a wide selection of American Muslims and diplomats (but not, intriguingly, members of established advocacy groups such as MPAC or CAIR). Our Associate Editor Wajahat Ali, who we brought on board after he wrote (and we reviewed) his first play, "The Domestic Crusaders," has succeeded in bringing his production to New York City for a one month run starting this Friday, September 11th. There is the Iftar 10000 campaign, which aims to provide 1,000 iftar meals in 10 countries during Ramadan, and the 30 Mosques in 30 Days project by our friends Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq, who explore the diverse cultures, crowds, and food in New York City area mosques this month. We're only slowing down a little bit as we hash through the site upgrade (no daily posts yet) and attend a number of lectures and conferences in the US and Germany. And even London mayor Boris Johnson - seen as not nearly as friendly to Muslims as past mayor Ken Livingstone - has recommended that people fast for a day and break fast at the local mosque in order to understand Muslims. Says Johnson, "I would be very surprised if you didn't find that you share more in common than you thought."

But, needless to say, things are not always peaceful during Ramadan, Britain included. One 67-year old Muslim was killed on his way back from tarawih prayers at his local mosque - in front of his three year old granddaughter. There are fears of a violent protest by right wing extremists on September 11th at a new mosque in Harrow. Organizers of the protest, the English Defence League, also clashed with Muslims at the beginning of Ramadan in Birmingham, with many arrests from both sides. Anti-facists are expected to join in the fray (siding with Muslims). “These self-confessed hooligans will attack people, I’m absolutely convinced about that," notes one of the representatives. "What will happen then? There will be a response. They know exactly what people will do, and they want a picture of people charging out of a mosque.” Increased racial and religious tensions often occur in hard economic times, with many young (and angry) people left without work. To underscore the tensions, three British Muslims were convicted this week (after a nearly thwarted investigation by the Americans and several false starts in the trial process) of plotting to blow up seven airliners over the Atlantic ocean on their way from England to America using liquids smuggled aboard in soft drink bottles. Yes, they're the ones responsible for you carrying your little plastic bottles in Ziploc bags.

Finally, there is an unusually vociferous face-off over the veil occurring in the blogosphere - but it's not among Muslims. Celebrated author and activist Naomi Wolf (who we interviewed at the start of the economic crisis) penned an article entitled, "Behind the veil lives a thriving Muslim sexuality" in which she documented her experiences in Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt. She found that in typical Muslim households, "It is not that Islam suppresses sexuality, but that it embodies a strongly developed sense of its appropriate channelling -- toward marriage, the bonds that sustain family life, and the attachment that secures a home." There was "demureness and propriety" outside of the home, "but inside, women were as interested in allure, seduction and pleasure as women anywhere in the world." When walking through a bazaar with a Pakistani-style shalwar kameez and headscarf (hardly a burqa), she "felt a novel sense of calm and serenity" and even, "in certain ways, free." That was too much for conservative activist Phyllis Chesler, who is rallying the troops (including David Horowitz and Ann Coulter) to savage Wolf, saying that "most Muslim girls and women are not given a choice" about covering "and those who resist are beaten, threatened with death, arrested, caned or lashed, jailed, or honor murdered by their own families" (though Wolf had said along, "Choice is everything"). It's a sign that women's Islamic (or not) clothing - like the abortion issue in the US - is being appropriated as the battle ground in the ongoing culture wars between, let's say, the rational and the irrational. May rational culture win.