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Muslims are Evangelical Christians

No really. via Street Prophets I see that Pew Research has done a new survey on the “intensity of religious identity” (related report here). I think that Pastor Dan hits all the right notes in his analysis. I think that there is an expectation that Muslims, by virtue of being Muslim, are expected to be more vocal in expressing their faith. Part of it is the post-9/11 onus that has been put upon us to represent, and part of it is the never ending push from the tariqah of Abd al-Wahhab [my friend Reza Aslan took me to task for…

Chaplain works to be ambassador for Muslim faith, U.S., Army | Mobile Augusta

Chaplain works to be ambassador for Muslim faith, U.S., Army | Mobile Augusta. At 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, Maj. Khallid Shabazz is physically imposing. But what seems to intimidate some people more than his size is the little crescent moon stitched above the name tag on his uniform. That crescent identifies Shabazz as one of five Islamic chaplains, called imams, in the Army. It’s a position that often draws considerable attention and sidelong stares given that America’s armed forces have fought Muslim extremists for more than a decade.

NYT on Turkey’s New Riches

Newfound Riches Come With Spiritual Costs for Turkey’s Religious Merchants – NYTimes.com. There are some choice examples in this article of the rich religious. My favorite is the sofa that lifts up off of the ground during prayer time. I wonder how far they had to dig to find people who saw a strong dichotomy between being wealthy and being religious. I think this quote "The businessmen describe themselves as Muslims with a Protestant work ethic, and say hard work deepens faith," is rather telling. How many Turks are thinking of the Protestant work ethic? The class differentials in Turkish society seem to be the real story. The conflict between the material and the spiritual world seems to be a reach that they shoe-horned into the article.