Textbooks of Hate

Readers on Andrew Sullivan’s site talk about the transition the Eastern European countries faced as their regimes fell in the 80s and 90s, and how that transition is incomplete. They then make the obvious connection with the “Arab Spring,” and the fact that we should not expectations of a quick transition there. “The Slow-Grinding, Boring Mill Of Justice” – The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Bin Laden’s theology a radical break with traditional Islam – CNN Belief Blog – CNN.com Blogs. Osama bin Laden wore the mantle of a religious leader. He looked the part and talked a good game, but his theology was a radical departure from traditional orthodox Islam.  The pitch to join al Qaeda did not start with an invitation to put on a suicide vest but, like other religious splinter groups and cults, took advantage of disenfranchisement and poverty.  Bin Laden had no official religious training but developed his own theology of Islam.

The Convert | This American Life. In 2006, a new convert showed up at a mosque in Orange County, California, eager to study the Koran and make new friends. But when he started acting odd and saying strange things, those friends got suspicious. To them, he was Farouk al-Aziz. But his real name was Craig Monteilh, and he was working undercover for the FBI.