Muslim punk

Been going to this conference since its inception. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. This year looks good. Come out and represent. [Update] Much love to HijabMan for reminding me about the conference. Most of the islamicate group will be coming, as will he. If anyone else from the blogosphere is planning on attending, please drop me a line and I’ll try to get us all together. Email is: islamoyankee at yourmotheristhesourceofallspam.mac.com (just remove the “your mother” comment.)

The White House announced We the People, a new online engagement feature.  On this innovative WhiteHouse.govplatform, individuals will be able to create and sign petitions seeking action from the federal government on a range of issues. If a petition gathers enough signatures, White House staff will review it, ensure it is sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response.   Visitors to WhiteHouse.gov can begin submitting petitions later this month.  To sign up for an alert when it launches and preview the feature, visit http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/WeThePeople.

Here’s a link from the New York Review of Books on current books trying to frame the current debates in the Muslim (mostly Arab) world. I give credit to the author for attempting to make sense of such a broad topic. For such a short piece, I think he does a good job. However, the piece is too short for a real understanding of the issue for non-specialists. Still, a read worth noting. Update: Found another good summary of some of the issues involved in Islamism.