Sept. 11, 2008

My first piece up at The Revealer. The Problem of Equating Shari’ah with Law « The Revealer. Every time I hear someone on TV mention “shari’ah,” I think of the movie The Princess Bride and the line “I do not think it means what you think it means.” I am amused that shari’ah has come to mean “law” as a canonical system for how Muslims are to behave and act. Weak states use the term shari’ah in lieu of “law,” un-inquisitive press use the term the same way, and Muslims ignorant of their own history adopt that understanding, reinforcing the…

I love how he describes his job. It’s what reporters should be doing and so rarely do. Anderson Cooper confronts anti-Muslim candidate – War Room – Salon.com. During an exchange about whether Park51 is a “victory mosque,” a frustrated Cooper exclaims: “That’s like the lowest response I have ever heard from a candidate, I have got to tell you.”