{"id":43793,"date":"2017-08-02T14:32:15","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T20:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=43793"},"modified":"2017-08-02T14:32:15","modified_gmt":"2017-08-02T20:32:15","slug":"muslim-non-muslim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/muslim-non-muslim.html","title":{"rendered":"Muslim and non-Muslim"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Tucson<\/a>
A mosque in Tucson, Arizona (Wikimedia Commons public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is a very nice story, with both Muslim and, if you will, \u201cfeminist\u201d connections:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBorn in a refugee camp, she\u2019s now flying solo around the world\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve come across a\u00a0very interesting pie chart of the world\u2019s languages<\/a>, and of their proportional representation in the world\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It can be slightly misleading, though. \u00a0For example, English is probably much more important than its raw number of principal-language speakers would suggest, because, right now, it\u2019s the most important second language in the world by a considerable distance: \u00a0It will get you across Europe and around Latin America and Africa and across much of Asia in a way that Chinese simply won\u2019t. \u00a0English will get you around in China itself in a way that Chinese just can\u2019t do in America, Canada, Australia, Britain, New Zealand, or South Africa. \u00a0You can address a letter to a recipient in China using Roman letters, and it will get there. \u00a0Try, by contrast, using Chinese script to address a letter within North America.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This despite the many weird aspects of English, including its insanely irregular spelling<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I mean, really: \u00a0bough<\/em>, cough<\/em>, through<\/em>, enough<\/em>, bought<\/em>, and so forth.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The representation of Arabic on this chart is also potentially misleading. \u00a0While it\u2019s the primary language of an impressive number of speakers, its importance transcends them: \u00a0It\u2019s the sacred language of scripture, scriptural commentary, law, and prayer for roughly 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. \u00a0Virtually all Islamic scholarship is done in, or at least heavily relies on, Arabic, even in most of the globe\u2019s Muslim nations \u2014\u00a0such as Indonesia, Turkey, Malaysia, Canada, China, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Mali \u2014 that aren\u2019t Arab.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a rather unexpected one:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy the Middle East Hated Obama but Loves Trump\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll add another factor that may play a role:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many years ago, I was walking with a friend and fellow graduate student \u2014 a Pakistani Muslim imam \u2014 across the campus of UCLA. \u00a0It was early on the eve of the 1984 presidential election, and Hashimi suddenly asked me for whom I would be voting. \u00a0I wouldn\u2019t lie to him, though I expected that, for reasons of such issues as the Arab\/Israeli conflict and other matters, he probably wouldn\u2019t be pleased with my answer. \u00a0I told him that I was voting for Ronald Reagan. \u00a0He beamed. \u00a0\u201cA strong man,\u201d he said. \u00a0\u201cA very strong man. \u00a0Good!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

My experience is that, on the whole, the Middle Easterners and Muslims that I\u2019ve known respect strength. \u00a0And I suppose that they see it in Mr. Trump. \u00a0And Muslims\u00a0also, of course, tend to be socially conservative.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Did I ever mention this item? \u00a0I don\u2019t think I did:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly in Egypt: Jewish Mother, Catholic Father and Two Muslim Daughters Under One Roof\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Magda Haroun\u2019s last comment in the article, by the way, is virtually a paraphrase of Qur\u2019an 5:48, which is one of my favorite verses in the Qur\u2019an:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>
Qur\u2019an 5:48<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd unto thee have We revealed the Scripture with the truth, confirming whatever Scripture was before it, and a watcher over it. So judge between them by that which Allah hath revealed, and follow not their desires away from the truth which hath come unto thee. For each We have appointed a divine law and a traced-out way. Had Allah willed He could have made you one community. But that He may try you by that which He hath given you (He hath made you as ye are). So vie one with another in good works. Unto Allah ye will all return, and He will then inform you of that wherein ye differ.\u201d \u00a0(M. M. Pickthall translation)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 This is a very nice story, with both Muslim and, if you will, \u201cfeminist\u201d connections: \u00a0 \u201cBorn in a refugee camp, she\u2019s now flying solo around the world\u201d \u00a0 *** \u00a0 I\u2019ve come across a\u00a0very interesting pie chart of the world\u2019s languages, and of their proportional representation in the world\u2019s population. \u00a0 It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMuslim and non-Muslim<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    This is a very nice story, with both Muslim and, if you will, "feminist" connections:   "Born in a refugee camp, she's now flying solo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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