Religious Witness Against Torture

All news outlets today in the US issued an apology for calling Muqtada as-Sadr a cleric. The lack of clerics in the Islamic tradition clearly makes such a title incorrect. In addition, as-Sadr has no official standing in the hierarchy of Ithna’ashari religious scholars, making any title inappropriate and granting him an unwarranted level of legitimacy. If only the press would bother learning to read. Rhetorical question: Can one write without knowing how to read?

Check out this commentary on Bush’s new campaign ad. It’s from The New Republic. Race and fear. Race and fear. The frightening thing is that Bush will probably still get a fair amount of votes from South Asians and Muslims. Link via TPM.