Blog Recommendation: Arabic Literature (in English)

I was going to draw readers' attention to this blog entry about Arabic children's literature from Lebanon, and then I realized that the entire blog Arabic Literature (in English) is worth following!

Irtiqa: A Science and Religion Blog

It's appropriate with the goals of this blog to point out new media which are important for North American Muslims. Hampshire College Professor Salman Hameed writes Irtiqa: A Science and Religion Blog.

To-Read: Islam and America: Building a Future without Prejudice by Anouar Majid

I've reviewed two books by Anouar Majid, and I look forward to reading his latest release, Islam and America: Building a Future Without Prejudice. He did an interview earlier this month about the book and other topics.

Review: Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan

I've previously reviewed a Carl Sagan book, and I've discussed several books related to science. Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space is a short introduction to the mission and perspective of The Planetary Society (Twitter).

It's important for those pretending to speak for Muslims to realize how many inherited ideas descendants of Enlightenment civilizations have discarded in the last two hundred years. I believe much religious discourse (Friday khutba, pamphlets, halaqat, satellite TV shows) is more concerned with entertaining the audience than exploring, imparting and promoting truth. Participants in this discourse usually don't know much about science or intellectual history in post-Enlightenment societies, and the audiences are of course a mixed group in this regard. Since audiences bore quickly with topics such as sincere worship, good character, and solidarity with the poor and oppressed, the only preachers who can maintain their interest (and support) are the ones who can continuously produce new messages, stories, insights, etc. Of course, these inevitably stray into pseudo-science, pseudo-sociology and pseudo-psychology.

To Read: Timbuctoo by Tahir Shah

Timbuctoo by Tahir Shah (Twitter)



The Los Angeles Review of Books published a review. H/t to Dr. Jalees Rehman.

Review: Hiroshima by John Hersey

John Hersey's first version of Hiroshima was published in 1946. This edition included updates on the six survivors he had originally profiled and was published in 1985. It is available through Georgia PINES-participating libraries.

 
Regular readers of this blog know that I am completely appalled by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and I see no purpose for any nation or group, particularly one claiming to follow Islam, to possess such weapons.

Perhaps the only thing more depressing than the desperate testimonials of these six survivors is how the author interspersed, as the years went by in the lives of the survivors, landmarks in the spread and development of the world's nuclear arsenal, such as the development of the hydrogen bomb and Indian proliferation. Some survivors tried to educate the world on Hiroshima's lesson, namely that humans must end war. Sadly, the world has so far refused to listen.

Review: Actual Innocence by Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld & Jim Dwyer

Actual Innocence by Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld & Jim Dwyer, founders of the Innocence Project (Twitter).