Barry Rubin, director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs, posts a helpful piece at his blog, The Rubin Report, elucidating the differences and the affinities between Islam and political Islamism, and examining some of the ways in which they've been either conflated or unduly separated.
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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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‘Legitimate’ Laicite
by Charles GelmanMargarita Mooney review's Raphael Liogier's 'Legitimate' Laicite: France and its State Religions (Entrelacs, 2006) in Contemporary Sociology (sub. required).
August 23, 2010
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Call for papers: “The Future of Continental Philosophy of Religion”
by Charles GelmanOn April 7-9, 2011, Syracuse University will host a conference on "the future of continental philosophy of religion," featuring plenary addresses by John D. Caputo, Philip Goodchild, and Catherine Malabou. The organizers have a issued a call for papers, which are to be submitted by December 15, 2010.
August 23, 2010
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3QD Philosophy Prize
by Charles Gelman3 Quarks Daily is now accepting nominations for its second annual prize for the best blog writing in philosophy, to be judged by Akeel Bilgrami.
August 24, 2010
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Religion and place
by Grace YukichRural Vermont is a place known for its natural beauty---trees, rolling hills, and open green space. Recently, a Catholic couple who live on a hilltop in Vermont constructed a cross alongside a chapel on their land. So far, fine. Constitutional guarantees of freedom of religious expression give them the right to do this. However, this is no small cross. It is huge, and its owners want to light it up at night, believing that they have been divinely instructed to do so. Many of their neighbors are unhappy and want it to come down.
August 24, 2010
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Fuel on the fire
by Aaron WeinsteinAs Dina Temple-Rastin of NPR reports, controversy over Park51 has reached a new zenith in way of irony. Far from helping to win the "War on Terror," the Right Wing's open and vociferous hostility has seemingly done the exact opposite.
August 24, 2010
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A Cold War choir
by David WalkerOn Sunday, The New York Times featured an article on the significance of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s "Operation Telstar" performance at Mount Rushmore, nearly fifty years ago. Telstar was the communications satellite through which U.S. programmers, in a “now nearly forgotten salvo of the cold war,” sent “a blast of American culture and technological prowess aimed at Europe,” on July 23, 1962.
August 25, 2010
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Special Envoy on anti-semitism defends herself against ADL
by Charles GelmanHannah Rosenthal, a Special Envoy and director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, has defended her presence on a recent delegation of U.S. Muslim leaders to Auschwitz and Dachau, following criticisms from Abe Foxman of the ADL, reports TPM.
August 25, 2010
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A. S. Byatt on literature, religion, and social media
by John D. BoyThe Guardian met up with A. S. Byatt, author of Possession, to talk about, well, a number of things. It is simply too brilliant to miss. Highlight: "Why can't people just be quiet? [. . .] I'm sure it's a religious matter. You only exist if you tell people you're there."
August 27, 2010
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Religion, the state, and a changing court
by Grace YukichIn a New York Times opinion piece, Linda Greenhouse raises questions about how today's Supreme Court might take a different approach to church/state issues compared to past courts.
August 30, 2010