John Calvert, Professor of History at Creighton University and a specialist in political Islam, in hisforthcoming biography of Sayyid Qutb, "rescues Qutb from misrepresentation, tracing the evolution of his thought within the context of his time." InSayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism(2010), he does not look to absolve Qutb of his virulent rhetoric but pushes the reader to understand Qutb in his own setting and time and to delve deeper into the writing of the influential Islamist thinker. Qutb, who was executed in Egypt in 1966, has been studied extensively but Thomas Hegghammer from Harvard University states: "We are dealing with a rare book that is likely to become a classic in the field of political Islam."
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Announcements, events, and opportunities related to topics of interest to TIF readers are posted here. Additionally you may find round-ups of news items and brief commentary on current events.
For a listing of all of the events announcements, click here.
For a listing of announcements regarding books, click here.
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Questions of Zionism, conversion, and the diaspora
by Amanda KaplanNatan Sharansky, head of the Jewish Agency for Israel and now, as The New York Times reports, leader of "a committee of the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox movements" on the controversial conversion legislation currently being debated in Israel and by Jews worldwide, has an op-ed in The Jerusalem Post laying bare the state of affairs as it stands, and gesturing toward a silver lining amidst the ugly infighting.
July 27, 2010
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“Theologians seldom write memoirs”
by Jake Alter"Theologians seldom write memoirs." This, Stanley Hauerwas concedes in a follow up to his recent memoir: Hannah’s Child: A Theologian’s Memoir (2010). It is precisely this sentiment that makes the entire project intriguing. Stanley Hauerwas, named "America's best theologian" by Time magazine shortly before the September 11 attacks in 2001, "has made himself a very fine career as an iconoclastic ethicist, condemning assimilationist Christianity, academic “respectability,” the military, ill treatment of the differently-abled, and any number of other contemporary issues where Christian mediocrity is laid bare." With this description of the author taken to heart, Jack Downey, a doctoral candidate in Theology at Fordham University, reviews this memoir and looks to identify why and how he wrote it.
July 28, 2010
books
What does it mean to be cool and Christian?
by Amanda KaplanThomas Turner, author of the blog Everyday Liturgy, interviews Brett McCracken on his new book, Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide. Focusing mainly on the role of music in popular Christian youth culture, the interview also covers the driving question behind McCracken's book: can, or perhaps should, Christianity be "on trend"?
July 28, 2010
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More on the Cordoba House
by Charles GelmanEdward E. Curtis's brief but educative piece in the Daily News brings to light the historical intimacy of Muslim immigrants and lower Manhattan.
July 28, 2010
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Islam: not a religion?
by Richard AmesburyTennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, is drawing criticism for remarks made earlier this month in which he appears to question whether Islam is a religion. And the quetion may not be as straightforward as one would like to think. To be a religion is, in at least one important sense, to be acknowledged as such.
July 28, 2010
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African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review
by Amanda KaplanIn February 2011, Indiana University Press, in conjunction with the Africa Peace and Conflict Network and the West African Research Association, will release the first publication of the African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review.
July 29, 2010
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“Defending one’s character is not an intellectual exercise”
by Jessica PolebaumAt openDemocracy, Jonathan Gharraie and Farid Boussaid interview Ian Buruma on his intellectual beginnings, his most recent book, Taming the Gods, and his understanding of the increasingly antagonistic tenor of debates on Islam, immigration, and democracy.
July 29, 2010
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Snake handling, Islam, and the First Ammendment
by Jessica PolebaumFollowing Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey's recent comments suggesting that Islam may not be a religion, but rather "a nationality, way of life or cult, whatever you want to call it," Mark Silk attempts "to determine where Ramsey's coming from" and finds that the answer is Blountsville, TN.
July 30, 2010
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The ethical dimensions of kashrut law
by Jake AlterShould the ethical standards applied to the slaughter of animals be expanded to cover the standards of the human work environment in which kosher foods are produced? Rabbi Morris Allen believes so.
July 30, 2010