The US is pushing for a new visa system for visitors from the United Kingdom that that allows for special screening of Britons of Pakistani background. U.S. Seeks Closing of Visa Loophole for Britons – New York Times American officials, citing the number of terror plots in Britain involving Britons with ties to Pakistan, expressed concern over the visa loophole. In recent months, the homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, has opened talks with the government here on how to curb... Read more

These days, Islamophobes dwell lovingly on every example of conspiracy theories among Muslims. Nearly a decade ago, Daniel Pipes devoted a whole book (The Hidden Hand: Middle East Fears of Conspiracy) to it. Sociologically indefensible, neocolonial junk scholarship like Ralph Patai’s The Arab Mind (whose best use, said Brian Whitaker in The Guardian, is as a "door stop"; see this review by Lee Smith in Slate, as well) is steadily making a comeback, especially among neocons. In an article I... Read more

The New York Times has an article on the surreal and utterly anachronisic phenomenon in Iran of "fashion police" who stop and even issue citations to women for inadequately modest dress. In Iran, Tactics of Fashion Police Raise Concerns – New York Times: Only days after Iran’s annual crackdown on immodest dress began in mid-April, with teams of police officers stopping women in major squares and subway stations to warn them about their attire, the security authorities came under fire.... Read more

What is it about the hug of a small child that makes it so electric? It’s practically a high. Read more

Guess what eerily familiar name I came across in the latest issue of the newsletter of the American Anthropology Association, Anthropology News?  None other than my dear wife, who has penned a piece entitled "American Muslim Women on Campus".  She’d mentioned it to me, but being senile I’d completely forgotten about it. Which is a rare benefit of a dodgy memory–all positive experiences are unexpected blessings, mana from Heaven. It’s a summary of her research on American Muslim women experiences... Read more

An interesting NYT article on the influence of Latino immigrants on Catholicism in the US.  What I find fascinating is the fact that they should be introducing Pentecostal-style charismatic practices into American Catholic services, given that these are in essence US “exports” that have accompanied the spread of American-style Evangelicalism into the rest of the the Western Hemisphere. Study Says Hispanics Alter U.S. Catholicism – New York Times The influx of Hispanic immigrants to the United States is transforming the... Read more