Badshahi masjid: B & W Perspective

A major earthquake has hit Morocco, causing hundreds of deaths. Please give to whatever relief effort you can. I personally use the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, so money can go where it’s most needed. While we do recognize disasters that predominantly affect Muslims, we also acknowledge the value of all human life and strive to help people whenever we can. Any surplus given to the general fund will be redistributed to needy areas.

I was invited to speak at the Chautauqua Institute this summer on the theme of The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion and Violence. The initial calendar event is here. A pre-talk write-up is here, and post-talk write-up here, both from the Daily Chautauquan.  A video of the talk is embedded below.  

Jon from Dawnsinger posted a question about my posting on the Sadr situation in Iraq, regarding what I saw as a possible solution. My response ended up being lengthier than I thought it would be, and I’d be curious as to what other people think. Since I’m not sure everyone reads the comments, I’m posting separately.