islam doesn't speak, muslims do | "the ink of the scholar is worth more than the blood of the martyr" – Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
The Smithsonian Magazine has a feature on Pakistani Sufis, including one figure I am doing a lot of research on. It unfortunately still suffers from a bit of Orientalizing and exoticizing tendencies, but for a description of what happens, it’s pretty good. The “whys” are a bit shakier. Check out the photo gallery too. Pakistan, Sufism, qalandar
What a great idea for fighting for the rights of others. Don’t make it about them, make it about us. Normally I wouldn’t espouse this particular view, but it seems to work in this scenario. Non-Americans don’t have constitutional protections, so international scholars who are denied entry into the country have no legal standing. American scholars do have the ability to argue violation of the First Amendment. Good strategy. academic freedom, Freedom of Speech, war on terror[ism][ists]
Gordon Atkinson (Real Live Preacher) has a story about his daughter. It’s not about religion per se, but it is incredibly moving. What are the things we expect of our children? for our children? Their joy is our joy, and their sorrow is our sorrow. How they respond to the challenges in their lives helps us with the challenges in ours. children
My friend Eboo writes a piece for NPR on how to reach out to Jews during this most recent Eid al-Adha. I appreciate the sentiment, my daughter and his son are about the same age, and I think it is an important way to bridge the gap. Where I disagree is that this is an opportunity for inter-faith dialogue. In so far as religions share certain basic principles we can reach out, but the loss and horror of Mumbai is far more primal. His story highlights the more basic, human losses we share and support we need. It’s not about…
My friend Andrea, of ReligionWriter fame, is part of Newsweek’s/Washington Post’s new section on Leadership. Go read.
Very scary. Call Samuel L.. Jackson. discrimination, war on terror[ism][ists]