Related Posts
Maimonides on Giving
I’m placing this here because I think it has strong resonances with the Muslim thinking on the concept of charity. I’ll post a similar one for Muslims shortly. Eight Rungs of the Giving Ladder: The concept of giving anonymously without knowing the recipient can be traced back to ancient Israel. Beggars would regularly congregate next to a wall of a courtyard and donors, being aware of this, would face the opposite direction and toss coins over the shoulders in the direction of the wall. Therefore, the recipients of the charity would not feel ashamed or indebted to the giver. Maimonides,…
Schimmel and the Marsiya
Annemarie Schimmel was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, commentator on Islamic literatures writing in English. Her works are magisterial, and very diverse. I’ve discovered one of her articles on-line, and it’s about the marsiya tradition. Her translations are just beautiful. I wish they had also included the original texts.
Discuss:
From today’s Thomas Friedman op-ed: What is going on in Iraq today is not only a war between radical Islam and America, it is, more importantly, a war within Islam — between those who want an Islam with a human and progressive face that can meld with the world and those who want an Islam that is exclusivist and hostile to the world. So, yes, we need all the Arab and Muslim support we can get to see Iraq through to some decent outcome. But the Arab-Muslim world needs a decent outcome in Iraq just as much — if not…