A certain theme of late in my reading is religious in nature. At least, one can say that. Thus, there was Kingdom Come: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, Middle Church: Reclaiming the Moral Values of the Faithful Majority from the Religious Right, and (at attempt) a book entitled The End of Faith by Sam Harris. I found it a bad mixture simplistic and a bit too full of itself -- relevant to a recent entry on torture, one part supported the practice (along as opposing pacifism) in theory by referencing some "ticking time bomb" thought experiment (including some perfect bomb that only killed bad people) that ironically sounded a bit like the idealized "God" the book opposed.*
As to the Muslim faith, you can point to Sarah Chayes' (who keeps on popping up promoting it) The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban and (a few months back) Dancing in the No Fly Zone, though both are more about people generally of than directly concerning the religion itself. All the same, since the two (like Judaism) are intimately connected, there is clearly a connection. I noted to a loyal reader that I wanted to read a bit more about the faith. A year or so ago, I perused an interesting little volume discussing Muslim family law. Since the new Iraqi Constitution appears to leave open the use of Shia law, to the fears of many, this is especially important these days.
The religion has a bad reputation as to women's rights, but -- and this really is trend in my mind -- it is a questionable one. The problem really is cultural, including the deal with those chadors. A close look at the religion, including from the beginning, suggests it has some clear feminist aspects. One need only look to the pastoral letters attributed to Paul (Timothy/Titus) that are used to justify the ban of women priests, speaking against women speaking in public and to be "submissive" to their husbands. [Such epistles also support slavery.] This sort of thing is downplayed by some as much as the render to Caesar taxation verses are by certain right leaning sorts. And, as to the violent themed verses highlighteed by Harris, the Old Testament has quite a lot of them too. Does this make Judaism a violent religion too?
Religion is an important aspect of our humanity, thus it is not surprising that I have had a long time interest in the subject. Now, one I was asked if I was Jewish -- unclear why, since I don't really think I look the part (when I told someone about this query, they too were surprised), and it is well known that Jews are (unsurprisingly) particularly interested in the law. So, you see a connection there to another interest of mine. Likewise, you should learn about the background to the truly understand a people. This is why the book on the Christian Right -- well written -- was very important. A book on megachurches, for instance, would be very useful given the importance to their communities.
And, the same is true for Muslims. See, e.g., The History of God by Karen Armstrong, which was written in the early 1990s, but still is quite relevant. Some are critical of Armstrong for various reasons, but she does provide an enthusiastic/sympathetic approach to her subjects. I have the book, so decided to re-read the chapter on the formation of Islam [a useful enterprise that I should do more often generally speaking, including perhaps some of the books in the back of my closet]. It is par for the course. A cynic might question the creation myths of the religion -- "myth" used for any religion other than your own.
But, she takes the point of view of the people of the time. Nomadic people gaining some success and finding new ways troubling to their psyche. Clearly influenced by Jewish/Christian beliefs of the peoples he came into contact with as a trader, Muhammad has a religious moment and founded a new faith for his people. An important part of said religion, developed over time (we have a better idea as compared to many other ancient religions of how the faith developed over his lifetime, revelations found in the qu'ran [recitations] by length -- long to short, the first saying entitled "The Cow") was unity. This, though Harris views things in a particularly negative light, clearly is connected to their view of "believers" -- in a land of much dissension and tribal warfare, unity through belief is quite important.
I stopped by the local library and there were a few books on Islam, including a translation of the Koran. Nothing quite that caught my eye, so I went a different way. Will keep an eye out though.
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* LGM had an interesting post on pacifism in reference to the recent Amish killings (I commented) which came to mind today when I saw a piece in the paper about the community demolishing the school -- or rather, hiring modernized a demolition service to do so.
The entry referenced in the piece discusses the pacifist path, one which made mincemeat of the Harris' strawman of one killer with a knife murdering a city of pacifists -- they could very well rush the guy (one assumes it would be a guy); they just could not kill him. Harris also snidely wondered where all the Muslim leaders against terrorism are. Middle Church mentions but one.
There is few things more annoying then those you should be sympathetic with but who turn out to be idiots. Not to judge or anything. This is why Julia Sweeney's one woman show about her path to a secular path seems promising -- she has a better sense of humor and modesty. And, at the end of the day, probably has similar firmness of thought.