Islam
August 22, 2009
- Just want to say a quick but heartfelt, "Ramadan kareem!" to my Muslim readers. For those who may not be familiar with this pillar of Islam, my blog of last year offers a brief explanation. It's the first day of Ramadan in Jordan and, since the holy month commences in accordance with the lunar calendar, I'm not sure whether it's begun yet in Algeria or India or other countries ...
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August 13, 2009
- Here's my latest post on the International Crime Authors Reality Check blog:In the West, our names tend to be pretty nailed down and unvaried. Unless you’re the child of some Hollywood goof who named you Moon Unit or Pilot Inspektor, you’re likely to share your name with many other people. Take me, for example. The family name Rees accounts for 15 percent of Welsh people – not to mention ...
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August 4, 2009
- Dear Reader,"But what he, the writer, is asking, is impossible. Why should... there be anyone else who comprehends what he is trying to do?"This quote comes from Doris Lessing's 1971 introduction to her magnificent novel, "The Golden Notebook," which I am currently reading.It struck a chord with me because I recently received a letter from a Muslim man -- a Pakistani Muslim -- ...
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July 18, 2009
- I've always suspected that the religions of the world all boil down to the basic premise of the Golden Rule. Now I finally have proof. Well, not proof exactly. Or even close to proof. But the authors of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes had the discipline (or perhaps royalty advance) that I lacked to find writings supporting this notion from ...
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July 7, 2009
- Dear Reader,Something new happens almost every day regarding my debut novel, "The Jewel of Medina," and its forthcoming sequel, "The Sword of Medina."Today, news outlets around the world are carrying the story that the three men convicted of setting fire to the home office of Gibson Square Books, the London publisher who had planned to publish "The Jewel of Medina," ...
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July 6, 2009
- Some British Islamic cleric Anjem Choudary called Carla Bruni a prostitute. Why? Because he wants to hit back at French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s attempts to ban the burqa. He said:“Sarkozy may be content with being wed to a prostitute who flaunts her body to the world believing it to be righteous conduct, but he is reminded that a Muslim is not this shallow and depraved,” The Daily Star ...
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June 28, 2009
- This weekend I was the guest of Munther Fahmi, who runs the excellent bookshop at the American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem, for a reading from my newest Palestinian crime novel THE SAMARITAN'S SECRET. Munther and I have been scheming for some time to organize an event, so it was great to finally get it together.I knew it'd be an interesting crowd at the Colony, which manages to be something ...
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June 14, 2009
- The magazine of Harvard's Nieman Fellowship asked me to write an essay about Jeffrey Fleishman's "Promised Virgins: A Novel of Jihad". I wrote about why international correspondents like me and Fleishman, Cairo bureau chief for the LA Times, turn to novels to express the depth of what we learn about a foreign culture. Here's how the article begins:Jay Morgan, the central character of ...
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June 4, 2009
- President Obama rides again! This time to Cairo, Egypt. The big question was, would he make it another apology tour? The last trip could have been summed up in Nirvana's words:Everything is my faultI'll take all the blameI'll proceed from shame- Nirvana, All Apologies - 1990The "I", of course, not being Obama, but the United States of America.So, did this happen this time, too?I will ...
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May 31, 2009
- The woman who wrote about Krishna transferred her attention and affections to Allah. Did it give her anything? Kamala Das Surayya, one of India's best-known poets who broke several barriers, is dead. She, a Hindu by birth, converted to Islam when she was 65. She will be buried like a Muslim. Her words will remain alive.I had written this open letter to her in December 1999 in my column asking ...
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