Islamic influence on popular culture focus of UTA forum

I was invited to speak at the Chautauqua Institute this summer on the theme of The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion and Violence. The initial calendar event is here. A pre-talk write-up is here, and post-talk write-up here, both from the Daily Chautauquan.  A video of the talk is embedded below.  

Regardless of your view on the Iraq war, you cannot deny the bravery and sacrifice of our troops over there. Below are some links to allow you to help them out in their needs. Please be generous. May God reward all your acts of generosity, give the troops and their families support and comfort, and bring peace to the world. Any Soldier – send a care package Operation Hero Miles – donate your frequent flyer miles to help re-join families Michael Moore – he keeps a list of various organizations that help our troops, their families, and children in Iraq…

Here’s an interesting thought. During the Islam in America Conference Muqtedar Khan made an interesting observation. Let’s say there are six million Muslims in the US (I think the number is closer to 7 million, but let’s be conservative). The average income of Muslims is $50,000/year. That means the Muslim American economy is $30 billion dollars. Now, I grant you, not all those 6 million are working, or of working age. Let’s say only 1/3 of Muslim Americans are earning, so that’s a $10 billion economy. Not all of that is disposable income. I’m going to say only 1/5 of…