Related Posts

Rebuild the Philippines #GivingTuesday @miimdesigns

For several years we have suffered global catastrophes that have cost thousands of lives and untold years of future hardship. Most recent is Typhoon Haiyan, which destroyed parts of the Philippines at a cost of over 5000 lives. It is easy, and necessary, to give money to help people after a tragedy like this, but it is also easy for donor fatigue to develop. There are already reports that most Americans are unaware of the tragedy. More importantly, even after the initial rush of aid, what happens to the people and physical ruins of their lives is something we do…

Reading Iran

Via MoorishGirl (have you bought her book yet?) I found this wonderful list from Azar Nafisi (of Reading Lolita in Tehran fame) on books on Iran. Her list: (asterisks are ones I’ve read) Encyclopedia Iranica (*as much as one reads an encyclopedia) The Blindfold Horse: Memories of a Persian Childhood Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope www.TehranAvenue.com www.fis-iran.org www.abfiran.org My Uncle Napoleon (*I just saw the new edition of the English translation. I’ve read the original Persian, and it’s a hoot.) Persepolis [vol. 1 and vol. 2] (*love it) Strange Times My Dear The Secret of Laughter Rubaiyat…

Online with Tariq Ramadan

Last month the U.S. government canceled a visa that it had granted to Tariq Ramadan, a Muslim scholar in Switzerland. The visa, which had been approved in March and would have allowed him to accept a tenured professorship at the University of Notre Dame, was revoked at the request of the Homeland Security Department. No explanation has been given, but a department spokesman cited “public-safety or national-security risks” as the usual reasons for such an action. Tariq Ramadan, 42, is a professor of Islamic studies and philosophy at the University of Fribourg, in Switzerland. He will respond to questions and…