Everyone from Barack Obama to Glenn Beck to Sarah Palin to Franklin Graham has denounced a Florida pastor’s Quran-burning plans.
How Christian is book burning?
More rape, less deception
Several weeks ago, there was a flurry of stories about someone in Israel convicted of “rape by deception.” Here is a typical lede for the story, this one from the BBC:
Covering the Quran burning
I hadn’t really been following the news about the congregation in Florida that plans to burn a Quran. Gen. David Petraeus weighed in against the plan and it’s receiving a lot of coverage in countries with predominately Muslim populations. This picture is of a protest in Kabul. In fact, it’s downright surprising how much coverage this story has received considering that this is a tiny congregation. Of course, in the day and age of Westoboro-media-paloozas, I shouldn’t be surprised …
One Nation, under Islam
So the Associated Press has this really interesting story about how early Nation of Islam documents were found in the attic of a Detroit home. Totally a Middlesex plot come to life, right? The documents apparently detail the early structure and teachings of the group. The article quotes attorney Gregory Reid whose Keeper of the Word Foundation oversees various collections.
Got News? What's a moderate Muslim?
We’ve seen quite a bit of coverage of the Cordoba mosque project near ground zero. Most in-depth questioning or investigative journalism seems focused on opponents of the mosque project. Most discussions of the backers of the project assert that they are “moderate.” But what is a moderate Muslim? What does the phrase “moderate” mean, much less imply? And this is putting aside the fact that there’s plenty of information out there about Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf that makes one wonder what the modifier “moderate” means in his case any way.
Complex laws in Afghan stoning age
Excuse me if I head deep into the tmatt guilt folder and make a point or two about a story that I’ve been mulling over for more than a week.
St. Timothy McVeigh strikes again
It’s not uncommon to hear people claim that all religions are roughly the same when it comes to acts of violence. And when folks make this claim in the context of terrorism in the United States, it’s not uncommon that they will cite Timothy McVeigh as an example of a “Christian” terrorist.
'Spicy' porn in Iraq
If you haven’t heard yet, President Obama will make a speech from the Oval Office to announce the end of combat operations in Iraq. To evaluate the quality of conditions in Iraq, reporters often look at factors like violence, education, elections, and social services.
