avari | haroon moghul

Bringing Islamic Republicanism to the Mississippi Delta

The Deep South looks to Iran for healthcare advice. (This is a few months old, but still.)

This Friday at NYU, Digital Religion; Next Wednesday at Columbia, Allama Iqbal

This Friday, March 26th, I'll be joining a great panel of new media journalists and activists as part of a "Digital Religion" conference.  The panel is from 1:30pm to 3:30pm in Room 405, Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South:

Several important websites such as www.beliefnet.com  (1999), www.killingthebuddha.com (2001),  www.therevealer.org, (the webzine, 2003), www.religiondispatches.org  (2008) have transformed writing about religious and spiritual life. These sites gather regular blogging and occasional writing into one place that allows for subscription by services such as Googlereader.  They enable discussion and feedback by their readers, creating a reading – writing community (web 2.0 style).

We have invited several writers and editors, all involved in some form or another in these sites and others. We have asked them how digital resources have transformed and challenged their craft, what resources and pitfalls they offer the writer today.

This Wednesday, March 31st, I'll be speaking from 12:00 - 2:00pm on Allama Iqbal.  This will be my first academic talk on Iqbal, during which I'll be discussing Iqbal's reconstruction of Islamic law in order to create what he conceived of as a Muslim League of Nations, a successor to the Ottoman Empire's intended if not actual purpose as an Islamic political "center". 

Click here for more information.  (The hosting institute also have some great events on April 1st and 2nd, Thurs and Friday respectively, on Turkey, France, and the U.S., on the questions of Islam, integration and secularism.)

The event will take place at the International Affairs Building, SIPA, in Room 801.  (That's on the corner of 118th, between Morningside Drive and Amsterdam Avenue.)

Maureen Dowd and Jihad Jane

On the Religion Dispatches blog, I penned a brief response to Maureen Dowd's latest column, Pilgrim Non Grata.  And at the Wall Street Journal Speakeasy blog, Wajahat Ali took on Jihad Jane and the latest cartoon crisis of civilization.  A solid piece, but I have to admit the choice of picture was just not necessary... but what can you do?  Mubarak to Wajahat, for getting the platform and putting it to use.

In other news, I passed my comprehensives.  Alhamdulillah!  It's off to Medina, then Mecca, on Saturday.  Then I can worry about my prospectus once April strikes.

Islam, Capitalism and Niall Ferguson: My Review of 'The Ascent of Money'

My second analytic brief for Tabah Foundation has now been made available; a review of Niall Ferguson's recent The Ascent of Money, my aim in this short paper is to summarize Ferguson's concept-based history of modern capitalism  and what that history means for Muslim scholarly and community interests.  I'm very interested in how Islamic finance will develop in academic dialogue with histories of capitalism, especially considering current crises.  The pdf of the brief is available in English and Arabic.

For those of you wondering where I've been in the weeks since my last post, well  -- other than two monster snowstorms -- I have my comprehensive examinations this Wednesday, March 10th, for the M. Phil. degree, insha'allah.  Please keep me in your du'a.  If I pass with continuation, it'll be on to preparing my dissertation prospectus.  Somewhere along the way, maybe I'll actually start blogging again.

This Saturday, the wife & I are leaving for the first (of what I hope to be an annual) Islamic Center at NYU 'Umrah trip, to Madinah and then to Makkah.  I tell you: I cannot wait.