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I realize that, at this point, the word “meditation” has evolved into a term that is used to describe cool things that cool people do instead of doing uncool things that journalists might think of as prayer. Perhaps we need an entry in the Associated Press Stylebook that states this clearly.
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, began Thursday evening and lasts for a month. During the month, participating Muslims refrain from eating or drinking during daylight hours. Muslims believe Ramadan was the month during which the first verses of the Koran were revealed to the Islamic prophet Mohammed. The month is based on the Islamic lunar calendar and moves back about 11 days each year.
It was the detail in the Aurora, Colo., massacre that, logically enough, led more than a few GetReligion readers to drop me a note. Here’s the top of a Los Angeles Times report that puts the denominational label right up front:
One of the reasons it’s important to have reporters who understand religion is so that they don’t miss the subtext or deeper meaning of words spoken by those they cover. Usually that’s just important for covering average people in their day-to-day affairs. But it’s also important for understanding how politicians speak in the rhetoric of civil religion.
No words. Same empty feeling in pit of my stomach as Tucson, Va. Tech, 9/11, OKC, (fill in the blank). #theatershooting #evil #prayers
Religion News Service has a story about churches “shifting” worship to Wednesdays. Or, at least, that’s what the headline as it ran on USA Today said:
The Byzantine drama linked to the removal of Metropolitan JONAH as the leader of the Orthodox Church in America continues to unfold online, even though there has been little information revealed that has not been the subject of rumors and debates for quite some time.
It’s been almost a month since a reader sent in a discussion of the use of scare quotes in the San Diego Jewish World by Dan Bloom. He says that his correspondents call them other things, such as “sneer quotes,” “horror quotes,” “air quotes” and “quote-unquote quotes.” And Jon Stewart calls them something that is not family friendly at all.
