the cinnamon peeler's wife

Okay some things to check out...

1. "Time Out of Joint"- a new article in the Boston Review by Sadik J. Al-Azm. he discusses western dominance, islamist terror, and the arab imagination. a very interesting article, i agree with a lot of his perspectives, but not sure how far i would go with his theory. he argues that muslims/arabs have a shared pathology of depression that causes them to ignore the realities of modernity. this theory goes a long way in explaining the 'head in the sand' mentality of so many people. it is long, but worth reading.

an interesting excerpt:
A cultural form of schizophrenia is also attendant on the Arab (and Muslim) world’s tortured, protracted and reluctant adaptation to European modernity. This process has truly made the modern Arabs into the Hamlet of our times, doomed to unrelieved tragedy, forever hesitating, procrastinating, and wavering between the old and the new, between asala and mu’asara (authenticity and contemporaneity), between turath and tajdid (heritage and renewal), between huwiyya and hadatha (identity and modernity), and between religion and secularity, while the conquering Fortinbrases of the world inherit the new century. No wonder, then, to quote Shakespeare’s most famous drama, that “the time is out of joint” for the Arabs and “something is rotten in the state.” No wonder as well if they keep wondering whether they are the authors of their woes or whether “there’s a divinity that shapes [their] ends.”

and another:
The contemporary Muslim or Arab is so sad and vexed in Amin’s account because his cherished convictions about his civilization, religion, and providence, and their role in modern history are all given the lie by hard realities every waking minute of his life. Furthermore, the radical transformations and sacrifices required to transcend this contradiction are either undesirable or unbearable. So what else can the Muslim or Arab do but muddle through his sad perplexity in the 21st century with the conviction that perhaps one day God or history or fate or the revolution or the moral order of the universe will raise his umma to its proper role once again. Under these circumstances, various kinds of direct-action violence (including terrorism in some of its most spectacular forms) present themselves as the only means of relief from this hopeless impasse.

2. shaykh hamza's comments at this year's isna convention- i know there was a lot of hullaballo about the whole version not being on the isna website, but they are available (unedited) at the zaytuna site. his message is to humanity, and just listened to it this morning. i realized it is so relevant and needed at this moment. plus he says anybody but bush. it is a great reminder, listen if you get a chance.

3. daniel pipes, okay disclaimer i don't like him and i don't agree with him. but he has this test that is developed to judge who is a moderate muslim. okay the test is ridiculous, but it is interesting some of the question he poses. plus even if you agree with the questions (i.e. accept diversity within islam, are against all violence, etc.) in pipes' book you are evil if you are muslim.

4. cinnamon girl- the new song by prince. this is getting a lot of attention, it has a powerful video however, i think his message is better understood from the lyrics. what do you think of the song? i have always liked prince (who can not love raspberry beret), and his thoughts on the atmosphere for a muslim girl are thought provoking.

i think that is enough to keep you all busy for a while...