Category: Intra-faith

Intra-faith Weblogs

You Should be reading

islamoyankee

Talk Islam and Muslimah Media Watch. Both are group blogs and both do a bang-up job of covering some of the more neglected issues relating to Muslims in the MSM. (I cross-post at TI.) TI’s posts tend to be shorter, but the discussions are really where the juice of the site is. You really see the diversity of the community in play. MMW deals with issues relating to women, and they have some great analytic minds at work. Next revision of islamicate will have their feeds on display.

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Intra-faith

Ismailis defend Salafis

islamoyankee

An unlikely pairing: Tajikistan is banning Salafi groups because they may pose a threat. It’s the Ismailis who come out defending the Salafis. Of course, I’m wary of any reporting that talks of an Ismaili imam that is not the Aga Khan. An Ismaili imam, who did not wish to be identified, told Forum 18 that “Salafis do not constitute any threat for the country. It does not matter whether one is Sunni or Shiite, Ismaili or Salafi, we are all Muslims.”

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Intra-faith

Mr. Moo Publishes a Manifesto

islamoyankee

A mighty manifesto it is. Woe to those who disagree. Woe to those who agree. Woe to anyone. Woe is me. Woah is what you tell a horse. “Woh” is “that” in Hindi and Urdu. Whoah is an exclamation of surprise or pleasure. But I digress, and that is un-Islamic. So says the talking Manifesto. It is far better to regress. [Like the manifesto, this is humor.]

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Intra-faith Religion

NYT on Bosnian Islam

islamoyankee

Islamic Revival Tests Bosnia’s Secular Cast – NYTimes.com It seems that there are several issues at stake here. 1. In a republic where one can exercise religion more freely than one has been able to do so in almost two generations, what is the line between expressing religion and reactionary religion? Or, more critically, what is the relationship between the state and religion? 2. There is the the usual undercurrent that devout Muslims are dangerous Muslims. Bars are the signifiers of a truly open society. I think as a metric, it’s a bit bizarre, but it’s the lens of the…

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Intra-faith

NYT on Turkey’s New Riches

islamoyankee

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.

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