Most Important Reading of the Morning

Muslim Scholars Increasingly Debate Unholy War. Haltingly.

The title is a bit of a misnomer because the scholars who are debating the meaning and use of Jihad for the faithful are not actually clergy. You know how hot the righties get with lefty actors or humanities professors when they issue judgements about social science (especially political) about which they seem to know little? I can't help but feeling that Islam's left may be looked at in much the same way by their right.

I support their lefties efforts to change the culture in which the Islamic religion is lived (and by extension, aspects of the entire religious praxis), but I doubt their near-term success.

Since I used to live in Egypt and have traveled around the Middle East fairly extensively, I feel a deep bond with the place -- probably the single largest reason why I didn't advocate daisy-cutting our way from Kuwait City to Baghdad. Yet, I have seen both sides: the young, rich and hip life of my friends from the American University in Cairo and the poor, religious men and women of the old quarter. While the rich may have the money, they don't (or didn't at that time) seem keen to do anything that would precipitate large-scale social change there. I'm just speculating, of course.

If we put things in perspective, then we could perhaps compare someone who lives in the Mid-Atlantic region with someone in northern Louisiana. Assume the same split as before: rich, probably only notionally religious mid-Atlanticer and poor, but relatively religious Louisianian. Do you think that someone from New Jersey coming to northern Louisiana is going to spark a wholesale cultural revolution? Possible, but doubtful (sorry, Jack!).

As an extension, has anyone ever argued with a serious Biblicist? The experience is very similar to arguing with a committed post-modernist. Both begin pleasantly, but then devolve quickly into accusations of godlessness from the Big-B Thumpers or some kind of -ist (racist, sexist, etc) from the followers of Foucault.

The entire Muslim world needs to have a conversation like that and then ask themselves what side of the debate they're on. We may not like the results.