Greetings from New  York City, where I am to tape the latest series of Shariah TV for the UK’s Channel 4. Shariah TV is a discussion-based program where a group of young Muslims engages with a panel of contemporary scholars.

We filmed from a rooftop in TriBeCa (lower Mahattan). A great view of the Empire State Building was the background for our conversation.

Shariah TV has young people ask scholars some of our most pressing issues. For example: what is a young Muslim to do when work functions involve alcohol? Do we have the right - or even responsibility - to reinterpret sacred texts?

I won’t spoil the show by telling you what the scholars said - or how our conversation went. What I will tell you is that it was vivacious - and the show’s staff did a great job of pulling together a diverse group of participants. The show airs in the UK in mid-July. I’ll do my best to get the footage accessible to you.

On a personal note, I really enjoyed meeting my fellow participants and the panel of scholars. The conversations that started even after the tape stopped rolling were some of the most meaningful fellowship I’ve had in a long time. Differing opinions were met with the utmost respect, sincerity and compassion. My heartfelt gratitude goes to those participants I had the blessing of speaking with further. Non-alcoholic cheers to my new brothers and sisters!

…The weird emails I get every day. Check this one out, for example. The last line is the body of the message, not anything I wrote. What do you say to this?

A friend recently wrote to me on the subject of Afghanistan. She wondered if, given all of the attention being given to other situations worldwide - Afghanistan has slipped many people’s radar screens. She elaborated: people are still suffering there. Civilians and military forces are still losing their lives. Yet, it seems that people are talking about the situation less and less. 

We can’t forget about Afghanistan. And we’ve just been issued a serious reminder.

Last week, Taliban insurgents (did you think Bush got ‘em all? Sorry to disappoint) invaded the region just north of Kandahar - taking over 7 to 18 villages.

The Taliban may be making a comeback. That is, if you believe they were successfully suppressed to begin with.

See also: Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the potential risk of conflict with Pakistan. There are plenty of reasons to be concerned.

More to come, but for now: let us not lose sight of this devastating situation. And let us not forget those who are still suffering.

A very quick break this morning to bring you this:

Alright, so I’m an Obama supporter. It’s true. I voted for him in the primaries, my once Hillary-admiring self cheered him in the debates, and I even have an “Obama 2008″ shirt.

But, please, people. He is not a God, he is not perfect, and all of this messiah-light worker-humanity’s savior incarnate stuff is just plain freaky.

We’re in a rough spot these days. The economy is awful, injustice is rampant, and the left and right are tearing each other’s throats out. A lot of people are looking to the next president - whomever he may be - to get us out of a giant mess. I get it. But we’ve still got to recognize that our politicians are just that - politicians. We watch, we vote, and we can hope that they are acting with integrity. I do believe that voting is often more a game of “picking the lesser of the two evils” than picking someone we can truly believe in. I definitely feel less like that this year, but I’m not about to let go of common sense in evaluating our leaders.

Just a reality check. Thanks, and back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Check out the great new project Deeyah Presents by clicking here …

(and by watching the video below!)