It’s not about Abraham

Op-Ed: President Obama is not a Muslim (not that there’s anything wrong with that) | JTA – Jewish & Israel News. Why hasn’t Obama taken such an approach? He’s had more than three years as president of the United States to stand loud and firm about how problematic it is to use the label “Muslim” as a pejorative. The television sitcom “Seinfeld” dedicated an episode to this sort of liberal hypocrisy, with Jerry and George denying being gay lovers followed by a quick “not that there's anything wrong with that” with each denial. The sitcom was mocking the insincerity of…

“My Faith in America” by Aleem Walji « Karim R. Lakhani’s Infrequent Musings. But that’s what puzzles me about the current national conversation. I grew up in the United States, in the deep south. I practiced my faith easily and integrated into a community in Georgia that supported Newt Gingrich. And nobody questioned my faith or my commitment to America. Not until after 9/11. That’s when seemingly educated but ill-informed scholars asserted that Islam and the West were caught in an unavoidable clash of civilizations; that there is something fundamentally inconsistent between Islam and western values.

The Clanzoors? Never! | Life and style | The Guardian. In the event I have only been partly ostracised by my family, but it is not only the issues with my family that persuaded Bridget to take my name. “I think it will be a great conversation opener,” she told me. “I’m going to enjoy having to explain why my second name is so exotic.” I suspect that trying to explain to the grumpy man at US immigration why her surname sounds a bit Pakistani may not be quite as enjoyable as she imagines. Nevertheless, I have to admit that…