First US Interview with Aga Khan

NYC.gov. “There is no single reason why New York is the greatest city on earth, but chief among them is that the world’s hardest-working people come to achieve a better life for their families and simultaneously enrich and are enriched by their neighbors once here. The start of Ramadan marks the beginning of a time of fasting, prayer and reflection for New Yorkers in all Five Boroughs, and I want to extend my best wishes for this holiest month on the Muslim calendar. Ramadan Mubarak.”

Opinion: The Year Tía Luisa Tried to Defend Us From the Muslim Stamp – Fox News Latino. In lieu of delivering a gospel of Yultide cheer or peace on earth, Tía Luisa dispatches a demand. Yes, in the subject heading of her most recent e-blast, in blaring full-blown caps, are the words ‘DO NOT BUY THIS STAMP’ and upon opening her email I discover that I am instructed to adamantly and vocally boycott the Post Office’s Eid-themed postage when purchasing my Christmas stamps this year.

Within a month, two interesting pieces regarding teaching and talking about religion came into my RSS feeder. [Apparently the new NY Times permalink generator next to the article doesn’t produce permalinks. Go NY Times, try really hard to make yourself irrelevant in the digital age, and you may actually succeed at something in the 21st century.] The first is about a professor asked to teach by a religious program. The second is by a professor of religion who writes about our inability to talk about religion in the classroom. I’m reminded of a story when I was teaching an introductory…