My #torture statement at ACLU blog

I haven’t really read the news for the last few days, party because I’ve been travelling and partly because I’m just really annoyed at the way the administration is doing things. I know, I know . . . that’s not news. However, the issue for me has progressed beyond general annoyance and crystallized around two central issues – power and trust. We live in the free world and President Bush seems to have made freedom his mantra, but his behavior seems to more closely resemble an “elected” dictatorship. I know this is naive, but aren’t there any mainstream politicians who…

“Muslims need to recognize that we live in the modern world whether we like it or not. But the modern age in which we find ourselves is not a homogeneous one. The four pillars of modernity are modern concepts, conceptions, means and ends. These in turn shape the pluralistic and heterodox worldview of modern life. The plurality of modernities means that there exist many different ways through which people understand themselves in the world today. The modern age has given us modern conceptions, such as the conception of God, of Prophethood, etc. The modern age also furnishes us with modern…

Karen Leonard on race and religion. Moorish identity first. Noble Drew Ali, etc. Turks were classified as Asiatics and Arabs (associated with Ottoman Empire) and therefore denied citizenship based on race. South Asians were also disqualified. All S. Asians were initially referred to as “Hindoos,” but not used in religious sense. S. Asian and Arab identity is internally ambivalent about identifying as white. New racialization of Muslims. Imposition of Arab phenotype. US Dept. of Transportation issued in Oct., 2001 indicates Arabs, S. Asian, Muslim and Sikh passengers should not be singled out for searches. None are racial categories. Islam is…