Grégoire Canlorbe interviews Howard Bloom, who argues that Islamic religion is inherently violent. Gatestone Institute. Mustafa Akyol argues, by contrast, that politics has poisoned Islam. The New York Times. Virginia Murr provides an overview essay on the major theologian of Islamism, Sayyid Qutb. Rockford University. Ayaan Hirsi Ali argues that Islam needs a Reformation. The […]
Islam politicized — round-up of readings Read More »
[Originally published at EveryJoe.com.] Many smart people — including Thomas Friedman in The New York Times, Naser Khader in Newsweek, John Lloyd in The Jerusalem Post, Ayaan Hirsi Ali in The Wall Street Journal — are hoping that the Reformation will come to Islam. Some are calling for an Islamic Martin Luther. Sorry, but no.
No Reformation for Islam, Please [Good Life series] Read More »
In the wake of a recent wave of controversial thinkers being disinvited* from universities, here is a classic quotation from Yale historian C. Vann Woodward on true education: “The purpose of the university is not to make its members feel secure, content, or good about themselves, but to provide a forum for the new, the
Real education — Woodward versus Brandeis and Azusa Pacific universities Read More »
The image is Raphael’s version of Hypatia, the astronomer, mathematician, and neoplatonic philosopher who was murdered by a religious mob in 415. Hypatia lived and died in Alexandria, Egypt, then a clashing hotbed of philosophical schools and rising radical religion. The rising radical religion of the time was Christianity. Hypatia’s nemesis was Cyril, Bishop of
Egypt then and now Read More »
1/31 A good post from Robert Bruner, Dean of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. A key quotation: “Artists in business are visionaries, inventors, entrepreneurs, and general managers, people who create something larger out of the assembly of resources, 2+2=5. They are quick learners; they recognize problems and opportunities ahead of the crowd; they shape large
Worth Reading for January 2008 Read More »
3/30 Here is an occasionally snarky interview with the gutsy Christopher Hitchens and Infidel was published in February. 3/28 You must watch this 30-minute video of a debate at the University of Toronto: worried about the criminalization of business: cases that should be handled in civil suits are increasingly being taken to criminal courts. Kirkendall
Worth Reading for March 2007 Read More »