Naguib Mahfouz, God Rest his Soul

On this perfect day, perfect for forgetting God, why are they – Hindu or Muslim, Gentile or Jew – shouting again some godforsaken word of God? Agha, Shahid Ali. The Country Without a Post Office: Poems. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997, pg. 77. cross-posted from Qalandar Technorati Tags: Agha Shahid Ali

I have the utmost respect and admiration for Carl Ernst, and I think it’s hilarious that he compares Taqwacores to Catcher in the Rye. One, I would be saddened if Taqwacores became a classic of Muslim American literature. I think MMK is a good writer, I’m really enjoying his book The Five Percenters, but Taqwacores is not great literature. Of course, I don’t like Catcher in the Rye either, so I’m a bit of a philistine. Anyway, isn’t Catcher the conspiracy nut’s handbook? Exactly what we need, more paranoid conspiracy-focused Muslims. As no one seen Mel Gibson’s Conspiracy Theory? Imagine…