In Perspective

via velveteenrabbi.blogs.com See Rachel's whole post for excellent resources against SOPA and PIPA. We are both on TypePad and can't go black for the day.

We’ve added a new typelist on the left bar today to recognize the Ahl al-Kitâb, People of the Book, very broadly defined. One of the things I’ve tried to argue for is that Muslim community cannot see itself or its issues in isolation. After a generous comment from the Velveteen Rabbi, I thought we should practice what we preach. We are actively seeking suggestions for Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, etc., blogs that are attempting to grapple with or explain aspects of their faiths.

All news outlets today in the US issued an apology for calling Muqtada as-Sadr a cleric. The lack of clerics in the Islamic tradition clearly makes such a title incorrect. In addition, as-Sadr has no official standing in the hierarchy of Ithna’ashari religious scholars, making any title inappropriate and granting him an unwarranted level of legitimacy. If only the press would bother learning to read. Rhetorical question: Can one write without knowing how to read?