Reading: On Our GDP

According to today’s New York Times, Brandon Mayfield, the American convert to Islam [I’m painfully aware that nationality has nothing to do with religion, but that’s the way it’s being reported], who was detained yesterday for involvement in the Madrid train bombings of March 11, may not in fact be involved. The relevant graf is: The law enforcement officials said they were afraid that Mr. Mayfield, who is originally from Kansas, might become a fugitive if he knew he was under suspicion. So monitoring that was just getting started was abruptly halted. Mr. Mayfield was arrested before investigators had fully…

Shariah at the Kumback Café – NYTimes.com. Shariah is the new hot-button wedge issue, as radicalizing as abortion or gay marriage, seized on by Republicans to mobilize conservative Americans against the supposed “stealth jihad” of Muslims in the United States and against a Democratic president portrayed as oblivious to — or complicit with — the threat. Not since 9/11 has Islamophobia been at such a pitch in the United States.

This is a Storify I'm using for class, but it seems like an interesting conversation that I wish I had shared at the time.   [View the story "Reli77: Muslim4Marriage" on Storify] Reli77: Muslim4Marriage Storified by Hussein Rashid · Wed, Sep 05 2012 04:39:59 I'm not alone; there are lots of #Muslims who support #LGBTQ #MarriageEquality. RT w/ #Muslims4Marriage.Fatemeh Fakhraie the trends nationally of all religious communities are growing towards LGBT equality, check w/PRRI @islamoyankee @fatemehf @azizhp @markosJoseph Ward III @peoplegogy That is powerful stuff. Without the repealing of miscegenation laws, I wouldn't exist!! Equal rights for all! :DFatemeh Fakhraie…