Islamic influence on popular American music will be the main topic at forum Thursday at the University of Texas at Arlington.
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Alls Quiet on the Western Front
Today is a slow news day. There is not too much to speak about, either that or I have to admit that I am just lazy. Here is article that would not be so interesting but for the fact that it comes out of Saudi Arabia " Another imam renounces his support for terrorists" I wonder what kind of torture this imam had to endure to change his mind. The dreaded Saudi Police probably threatened to shave him and have him acknowledge a woman. Not to be outdone in the reformation, Pakistan too, gets into the act Ulema to be…
Islamist Reform [updated]
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.
Good Apples, Bad Barrel?
Disclaimer – I am not offering this article as any type of justification for the prison abuses going on. Let me be 100% clear – I think what has happened in the Abu Ghraib prisons, and perhaps elsewhere as well, is atrocious and I am angry about it. It is our fault as a country and we need to fix the problem immediately. Those responsible for overseeing these horrible travesties should be severely punished and things must change immediately. Actual post – In the interests of learning from the situation and trying to understand factors at play, I came across…