Goat farming, with an Islamic touch

No really. via Street Prophets I see that Pew Research has done a new survey on the “intensity of religious identity” (related report here). I think that Pastor Dan hits all the right notes in his analysis. I think that there is an expectation that Muslims, by virtue of being Muslim, are expected to be more vocal in expressing their faith. Part of it is the post-9/11 onus that has been put upon us to represent, and part of it is the never ending push from the tariqah of Abd al-Wahhab [my friend Reza Aslan took me to task for…

Jonathan of Head Heeb fame is convening the third annual blogburst for Arrival Day. Arrival Day commemorates the arrival of Jews to old New Amsterdam, and each year, the burst has a theme. According to Jonathan, “this year, the focus is on American Jews as part – or, more accurately, parts – of a larger whole.” After last year’s Arrival Day I read Philip Roth’s Operation Shylock – no causal relationship. In it, Roth’s protagonist, Philip Roth #2 (you really need to read the book) preaches an idea he calls “diasporism,” as a counter to Zionism. Now, regardless of what…