Category Archives: Uncategorized

What I Learned Studying the Qur’an (I)

Posted on May 17, 2014 by

This winter, during a period of unemployment, I studied the Qur’an at the Howard University School of Divinity. I have the course instructor, Dr. Zainab Alwani, to thank first, followed by her students and Howard University, for this extraordinary opportunity.  … Continue reading →

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On Good Samaritans

Posted on February 19, 2014 by

Seventeen years ago this month I started a job on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and while I looked for a room of my own I lived briefly with a cousin, his wife, infant daughter and cat in Springfield, Va. … Continue reading →

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Matters of Interpretation

Posted on December 17, 2013 by

If the unfortunate fracas over the fraudulent sign language interpreter for the public funeral service of Nelson Mandela had one upside, it might be this wonderful, illuminating (if short) discussion with Melanie Metzger, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Interpretation … Continue reading →

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The Image and the Message in Syria

Posted on September 11, 2013 by

President Barack Obama, an able writer and orator, is substantially challenged when he must speak about armed conflict. His formal speeches about warfare – whether he is lecturing the Nobel Committee in Oslo about just war theory, or muddling his … Continue reading →

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Bosnian Culture is World Culture: March 4 is Global Museum Solidarity Day

Posted on March 4, 2013 by

Today more than 200 museums, galleries and libraries in nearly 40  countries on five continents symbolically closed exhibits in solidarity with seven closed and threatened cultural institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina. More than 20 galleries and universities in North America, 50 in … Continue reading →

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The Nobel Prize for Politics

Posted on October 24, 2012 by

The controversy and dismissive snark over the awarding of the European Union the Nobel Prize for Peace has sparked some discussion about the nature of the award.  I have long considered the Nobel Prize for Peace a kind of ultimate … Continue reading →

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Islam and the Political Aesthetic

Posted on September 20, 2012 by

NOTE Sept. 22: With today’s events in Pakistan (and attending, preventable deaths and violence), my predictions about the numbers involved in the protests worldwide appears to have been off, certainly in scale.  Nevertheless I still stand by my argument that … Continue reading →

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