Today seems as good a day as any to read Daphne Patai’s article on academia and denial, Letter to a Friend: On Islamic Fundamentalism, written September 11, 2006.

“It’s true I share your distaste for all types of religious fundamentalism. But that doesn’t prevent me from noting the different demands and agendas of each type, as well as their numbers and influence in the real world today… Nor, if one tracks their actions, which is far more important than their rhetoric, does it appear that each type of fundamentalism is equally harmful, equally destructive in its influence around the world… If you are still tempted to worry as much, as you wrote, about Christian fundamentalists as about Muslim ones, just ask yourself about the agenda of each group, their numbers, their geographical presence, their past and present violent actions, the political responses to them, and the sort of press they each get in the West.”

More. Related. And.

Heh. This looks fun. I’m sure the Daily Kos will love it to bits. Related.

Charles and Ray Eames’ Information Machine. (1958) // The top 50 documents of all time. Discuss. // Denis Dutton, Charles Murray and Claire Fox on elitism and the freedom to excel. // Dutton on Alan Sokal, Stanley Fish and academic standards. // Norman Geras on the non-existent rights of non-existent future people. // And on the word ‘arse’. // The Tulse Luper Suitcases. A personal history of uranium. More. And. Game. // The Guardian gets tumescent for Ernesto “Che” Guevara. “His image and name would continue to inspire millions…” // Pious jihadists bomb Pakistan music shops; threaten barbers, doctors, drivers. “Stop playing music… or face bomb attacks.” // The 3 Conjectures. // Make your own rheopectic slime. Thickens impressively. May stain furnishings and irritate eyes. // Polyester resin, sugar and cocaine. // A map of the visible universe. Some details not shown. // World Freehand Circle Drawing Champion, Alexander Overwijk. // Famous curves. // Curvy aquarium. // Nepal airline sacrifices goats to appease gods. // Diabolical earthquake machine. (H/T, Vitruvius.) // Via 1+1=3, the colour palettes of famous paintings. Monet, Matisse, Dali, Warhol. // Palette generator. Swipes colour schemes from images of your choosing. (H/T, Drawn!) // Living in a Reversed World. // Mix tape USB drive. (H/T, Strange/Beautiful.) // The Lost Format Preservation Society. Four track, VCR, floppy disc, U-matic. // Trapped with Wham! “I thought I was going to die.” // And, via The Thin Man, it’s Mr Jim Reeves.

Here’s Philip Hunt’s 6-minute animation based on William Burroughs’ rambling text, Ah Pook is Here.

More at Studio AKA. Click ‘short films’. Back Friday with more ephemera.

Published in 3:AM magazine, here’s my discussion with the Muslim novelist and exile Tahir Aslam Gora. On Islam, freedom and denial.

“It seems to me that the ideas being expressed most freely are far from tolerant and those who call for a more open-minded formulation of Islam are most likely to be intimidated or suppressed. One might note the recent experience of the reformist author Taslima Nasreen, whose book launch ended in her being violently assaulted by Islamic lawmakers and members of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, whose piety entailed throwing chairs at a terrified woman. Hyderabad police even filed a case against Nasreen for allegedly ‘creating religious tensions’ and writing ‘provocative literature’ – which rather highlights the scale of the change in outlook that’s required.”