“Many Medieval and early modern Muslim theologians who offer startling insights about perception, ideas which sometimes even resemble trending topics like neuroplasticity….So the riddle of metaphors and the brain makes me wonder, as a humanist, whether Shah Waliyullah’s explanations imply that the brain is also culturally wired. And, if so, then what about claims that the brain is a closed system? And, if it remains a closed system, then how does the culture seep into it?”
Read posts with commentary on religion and politics in the Muslim world
“There is no document of civilization which is not at the same time a document of barbarism” Walter Benjamin
Today I received an update on the status of the Ahmad Baba library in Timbuktu following news that it might have been torched as the rebels retreated.
Dr Shamil Jeppie, who heads the Tombouctou Manuscripts Project (
President Mohammad Morsi of Egypt should scrap his tough guy image and appetite for power grabs. In canceling the decree that gave him sweeping powers, he took a step in the right direction tonight. But he is not out of the political woods yet. He should show that he cares …
“The Taliban don’t oppose women’s education per se, they just oppose a Western, secular education for ANY Muslim. In addition, I understand that the Taliban justified the shooting [of Malala Yusufzai] using the Khidr reference from Surah 18 (The Cave) i.e. people with superior spiritual discernment can murder disobedient …
My readers might have noticed that I was totally silent following the attempted assassination of the courageous young education activist Malala Yusufzai from the Swat region. I was silenced by a deep disgust at the deeds of these Pakistani Taliban criminals. Anger, outrage and depression do not explain my …
