A Muslim at the Catholic Worker

My essay, “Nation and Narrative” is in the volume The Power of Words and Images. British Council – Society – Our Shared Future – Building a Shared Future. One of the key objectives of this conference was to help fill the gap between academic expertise and public knowledge of cross-cultural relations involving Muslims. Participants broke into discussion groups around five themes to pinpoint new, more inclusive narratives to reshape the conversation about intercultural relations. They explored areas of research and partnerships among institutions in the US, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa that can help shed light on deep connections…

‘Alif the Unseen’ by G. Willow Wilson – NYTimes.com. Ms. Wilson fills “Alif the Unseen” with an array of observations about contemporary culture: new questions of theology (if a sin is committed in virtual reality, is it still a sin?); fantasy literature and, most conspicuously, Western culture. At one point the conversation turns to Lawrence Durrell and the Alexandria Quartet, the question being if the novels are Eastern or Western literature. “There is a very simple test,” Vikram says. “Is it about bored, tired people having sex?” Yes, he is told. “Then it’s Western,” Vikram decrees.