Month: April 2009

Politics

Torturers For Hire

islamoyankee

But didn’t CIA officers have to approve the request? Former FBI supervisory special agent Ali Soufan, writing in an op-ed in the New York Times today, makes this parenthetical point regarding CIA torture: (It’s worth noting that when reading between the lines of the newly released memos, it seems clear that it was contractors, not C.I.A. officers, who requested the use of these techniques.) I’m not sure if that puts a different gloss on Obama’s decision not to prosecute CIA officers, but it’s a point worth noting. [From Torturers For Hire]

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Current Affairs

There was a Muslim on the Maersk Alabama

islamoyankee

Zahid Reza said he and shipmates lured a pirate to a darkened engine room, where a struggle broke out. “I held him, I tied his hands and tied his legs. He was fighting me,” said Reza, who stabbed the pirate in the hand. “He was scared. He said he was planning to ask for $3 million. I told him, ‘You’re a Muslim and I’m a Muslim.’ “ Maersk Alabama crew recalls pirate attack – USATODAY.com.

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Inter-faith

Twittering Across the Faith Line

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I am fascinated by the role of new media in the world of multifaith relations. Take the events of yesterday morning… Rabbi Ira Stone At 9 a.m. I received an email from my colleague Rabbi Shai Gluskin that informed me that my teacher, Rabbi Ira Stone, was now posting about the Mishnah on Twitter. Not yet Twitter literate myself, I repaired to Facebook where I posted a “status update” announcing this news. An hour later, I received an email from Hussein Rashid, a scholar of Islam in New York City, who will be teaching for RRC next spring. He indicated…

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Intra-faith Women

Child Marriage in Arabia

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Brian’s comments are spot on. What is this reform of which you speak? After public outcry over the marriage of an 8-year-old to a 50-year-old, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Justice has vowed action: “The justice ministry aims to put an end to arbitrariness by parents and guardians in marrying off minor girls’, Justice Minister Mohammad Al Eisa told Al Watan newspaper, partially owned by members of the royal family… “The minister’s comments suggested the practice of marrying off young girls would not be abolished. The regulations will seek to ‘preserve the rights, fending off blights to end the negative aspects…

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Inter-faith Politics

Attempts to convert Mama Sarah Obama

islamoyankee

Using religion for politics. It ain’t the Muslims this time. There has been an attempt, yesterday, to convert Mama Sarah Obama, President Barack Obama’s foster grandmother, to Christianity: … Presdident Obama’s family is an extended one, of Kenyan, American and Indonesian; and of Muslims and Christians. Obama’s father and paternal grandfather were both Muslims. The mother of Obamas father, the President’s real ‘granny’, Habiba Akumu Obama was a Muslim too. Mama Sarah Obama, his foster ‘granny’ and the woman who brought up Barack’s father – to protect Mr. Obama’s presidential ambition during the recent race for the White House –…

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Books Music

Free Book: “Dis-Orienting Rhythms” available for download

islamoyankee

I love this book. I had just written an article on treating Fun^Da^Mental as part of the South Asian literary tradition (unpublished) about three months before this book came out in print. It’s a wonderful collection of essays, and they don’t all agree with one another. It’s a shame it’s out of print, because I think it’s a classic in the field, but I’m glad they’ve made it available for download. I learned about this book over ten years ago from Tony Mitchell, and have found it invaluable. I urge anyone interested in BrAsian politics and culture, fans of Fun’Da’Mental,…

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Politics Religion

Textbooks of Hate

islamoyankee

Apparently it’s not only the Saudis who know how to screw over the “other.” Why does everyone hate the Turks? How would you place Christians and Turks on a sinking ship so that only the latter drowned? A question in a maths textbook for Polish school children. [From How would you place Christians and Turks …]

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