Over at Guernica, Sadakat Kadri has posted the lush prologue to his new book Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari’a Law from the Deserts of Ancient Arabia to the Streets of the Modern Muslim World. For those who have never given sharia much thought or have only caricatured ideas about what it is, Heaven [...]
Tags:American jurisprudence·ancestor worship·Catholic justices·Heaven on Earth·Islam·jinns·Justice Scalia·Muslim·mysticism·originalism·Sadakat Kadri·sharia·Sufi·syncretic Islam·US Supreme Court
Yesterday Oklahoma voters approved a new law that prohibits state courts from considering Sharia or Islamic law in their decisions. I have yet to do a Westlaw or Lexis search, but am confidently guessing that not a single Oklahoma state court has ever cited such law in a published decision. It is of course always [...]
While I wish it were true that Newt Gingrich were a comedian and his shtick was harmless fun, his high-profile pronouncements are so bizarre and paranoid that it truly is dangerous to national discourse. Here is the latest from the fear monger, discussing his favorite incendiary issue — the Islamic Center to be built in [...]
Tags:Cordoba Center·demagogue·fear·Ground Zero Mosque·irrationality·Monty Python·newt·Newt Gingrich·paranoia·political fantasy·religious liberty·right wing·sharia·Sharia law·Sir Bedevere·The Holy Grail·witch hunts
In a competitive religious marketplace, producers are becoming increasingly savvy and perhaps even post-modern. Although some old-timey producers bemoan this commercial development, others are embracing it.
Over at Rupert Murdoch’s transformative Wall Street Journal, the 20-something Brett McCracken churlishly warns his cohort about the “Perils of Hipster Christianity,” and discusses some of the uncool ways in [...]
Tags:Brett McCracken·competition·fashion·hijab·iChurches·Imam Idol·Islam·Jean Baudrillard·Jean-Francois Lyotard·Malaysia·marketing·marketing religion·MyNakedPastor.com·Nicola Abe·Perils of Hipster Christianity·postmodern·postmodernism·producers of religion·religious marketplace·religious pluralism·sex and religion·Sex God·sharia·simulacra·simulacrum
Not long ago, I discussed an article on Islam by Cynthia Boaz. In her article, Boaz attempted to correct several misconceptions regarding Islam and presented us with a progressive, liberal, and tolerant interpretation of Islam. While there are Muslims outside of the US who interpret Islam in the way Boaz does, there are also Muslims [...]
Tags:Afghanistan·Aisha·authenticity·Cynthia Boaz·Hindu·Huffington Post·intepretation·interpretive communities·Is There a Text In This Class·Islam·Islamist·liberal·linguistics·Literary Theory·manufacturing consent·Missives from Marx·Muslim·Muslim women·Muslims·oppression of women·progressive·sharia·Sharia law·Stanley Fish·Taliban·Terry Eagleton·Time Magazine·tolerant·Vedic faiths
Reuters reports that “specialists” in prayer writing and ritual are doing a booming business in Iran. The whole business — or commodification of prayer — reminds one of the prayer and dispensation trade that existed in the Catholic Church for hundreds of years, and which so incensed Martin Luther:
In Islamic Iran where clerics rule, [...]
Tags:Catholic Church·dispensations·doctrine·Imam·intercession·interpretation·Iran·Islam·Islamic law·legitimacy·magic·Martin Luther·Mullah·Muslim·prayer·prayer sellers·prayer selling·ritual·sharia·Stanley Fish·superstition·supplication
Whether or not you like Christopher Hitchens, one thing is certain: he can turn an incisive phrase. At his best, Hitchens writes with an acerbic aplomb that can be charming; at his worst, he is downright nasty.
With the latter Hitchens in mind, I have not yet been able to bring myself to read his jeremiad, [...]
Tags:atheism·caliphate·Christopher Hitchens·consumerism·crystals·fundamentalists·Galileo·God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything·Islamic empire·jihad·Khalil Gibran·Laurens van der Post·materialism·Muslim·mysticism·mystics·New Age·Prince Charles·radical Islam·religion·science·sharia·soul·universal soul
