Related Posts

Friedman on Sistani and the Nobel

See here. Friedman, like most commentators, acknowledges Sistani’s Shi’ism, but fails to understand what that means. “People power” as he describes is what the Ithna’shari conception of the state was/is prior to Khomeinism taking center stage. The idea of jurists leading the state, vilayat-e faqih, is a relatively new concept, but it’s already become normative for even op-ed writers who supposedly have the time to be able to think.

Is Torture Utilitarian?

Glad other people are speaking up about the immorality of torture. As politicians argue, and our pragmatist-in-chief tries to find an angle, we can agree that not all moral dilemmas can be reduced to a cost-benefit analysis of pleasure and pain. There are some kinds of pain a morally serious person ought never to inflict. [From Is Torture Utilitarian?]

Eating Your Own

In the last month three articles have come out regarding the Muslim attack on Islamist ideologues. Chris Dickey came out in Newsweek with a few good examples in the Muslim majority world. My two (minor) gripes are that he didn’t mention the stuff happening here in the US, for example, that’s been going on much longer, and the gates of ijtihad never closed for the Shi’ah, so the debate is very different. Lawrence Wright has a wonderful piece in The New Yorker that highlights the nuances involved in the ideological dispute happening in AQ now. Most importantly what emerges is…