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On August 12, 2022 there was an attempted assassination of the world-class author Salman Rushdie.  Rushdie had twice won the Booker Prize for the best novel in the English language.  Then in 1978 he wrote a book entitled The Satanic Verses.  Part of the book focused upon a dream of a delusional man about a "city in the sand' where a group of false believers had embraced a false prophet. It is the kind of book that a world-class novelist would write.  

At that point Iran had just ended its war against Iraq, and Ayatollah Khomeini was on his death bed.  His son came out of his room with a declaration that Rushdie was an apostate who had insulted the Prophet Mohammed and should be killed.  He called upon all faithful Muslims to undertake the task.  Quickly an organization in Iran offered a vast reward to anyone who was successful at this task.  (Today the amount is in excess of $3.0 million).   Rushdie went into hiding for nine years and later wrote a memoir entitled Joseph Anton, his code name during  that terrifying time.   It is very good.  

A subsequent Iranian government declared that the issues were in the past and the declaration was no longer in effect.  But today, there is a new sheriff in town. 

I posted this classroom lecture a year ago (it has over 400 downloads)  but given what happened this week, it deserves another posting.  

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A few years ago Jane and I were in Hannibal, the home town of Mark Twain.  We did all the touristy stuff -- the Becky Thatcher house, the Tom Sawyer cave.  We also went into a book store where I saw the autobiography of Mark Twain.  This was not a typical autobiography.  He tried that and stopped.  Then he decided to invent a new form of autobiography.  He would just write individual segments, often just 4-6 pages long.  He threw those into a box, in no particular order.  His instructions to the person who was executor of his estate was to put these together into a book but NOT in chronological order.  The result is wonderful.  (The Autobiography of Mark Twain, edited by Charles Neider.  I hope some of you will buy it) 

I have a few more things to tell you along the way, about visiting his house in Hartford, about some things he wrote, but the best part of this podcast is a reading of his story about needing $3.00, and meeting a beautiful dog with beautiful eyes. 

Well, listen away. 

I think you will like this. 

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I am an academic, not an activist.  Maybe I should be an activist, but I am not. In recent months (this is July 2022) the word apartheid has become almost universally used by those who are critical of Israeli occupation policies. This podcast  is a discussion of the comparisons between South African Apartheid, which ended in the early 1990s after the release of Nelson Mandela from prison, and the Israeli policies in the occupied territories.    Back in 2005 I had an article in Middle East Journal ("The Presbyterian Divestiture Vote and the Jewish Response").  It is available on the UM virtual archive site Deep Blue. It  discusses the debate over this topic.  

Here are some passages from that article. 

Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu visited Palestine and saw definite parallels. He used words such as “disenfranchised,” “voiceless,” “injustice,” “oppression,” “collective punishment,” and “home demolitions” to describe the Palestinian situation. “I’ve been very deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa. I have seen the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police officers prevented us from moving about.” 

As Israel’s highly respected columnist Nahum Barnea put it, “thirty-seven years after the occupation, in the eyes of a large part of the world, Israel has become a pariah country."  That reminded me what a young South African woman said to me, "It was not pleasant being the polecat of international politics." 

The Anti-Defamation League preferred to focus on Israel rather than the Occupation: 

"In no way can the treatment of Arabs by the State of Israel be compared to the treatment of the Blacks of South Africa under apartheid. There is no Israeli ideology, policy or plan to segregate, persecute or mistreat the Arab population. Apartheid was a uniquely repressive system, through which South Africa’s white minority enforced its dominion over the black and other non-white racial groups who made up more than 90 percent of the population. Apartheid—which means ‘separate development’ in the Afrikaans language—was enabled through a host of laws which banned blacks from ‘white areas,’ prevented blacks and whites from marrying or even having sexual relations with each other, and regulated the education of black children in accordance with their subservient social position. No such laws exist in Israel, which pledged itself to safeguard the equal rights of all citizens in its Declaration of Independence. Arab citizens of Israel have the full range of civil and political rights, including the right to organize politically, the right to vote and the right to speak and publish freely. Moreover, Israel has declared its acceptance, in principle, of a sovereign Palestinian state in most of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Whatever your view of Israel, the Palestinians and the conflict, it is obvious that there can be no comparison to apartheid."

Former Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Meron Benvenisti  noted that the South African regime was isolated.  but  “Israel receives massive, unshakable support from a unified Diaspora Jewry and American aid” and is protected from “effective sanctions” by post-holocaust concerns."

Finally, while many white South Africans felt uneasy about the morality of an ethnic regime, few Israelis question the ethics of a Jewish state. Most argue that the Jews are a national people inhabiting their historic homeland. There is “no feeling of guilt,” and the occasional cracks in the “national consciousness” are “plastered over” by raising the specter of an “existential threat.” 

I hope you find this discussion informative. 

Factoid:  15,000 Gazans  cross the border daily to work  in Israel.  

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 This is a class lecture delivered near the end of the semester.  We had spent three months discussing different religious traditions from a political perspective.  As I told students, political scientists know nothing about God or about miracles.  We deal with people and politics.  I also told students on the first day, and repeated it more than once, that they were not required to accept anything presented in class   All they had to do was understand it well enough to explain it.  Then they could say, I don’t believe a word of it.  

This talk has a provocative thesis  about the influence of Nestorian Christianity on  Mohammed.  These are not my own ideas.  I borrowed all these insights from reputable scholars.  I also presented various disputes from within Islam itself.  As with Christianity and the dispute over the nature of Christ, there are “official” perspectives but there are also other perspectives that continued to exist under the radar.  My goal is to inform you and to make you think.  Not to convince you of anything. 

Don't overlook the other two lectures in this series.  Lecture One was on Background to Islam.  The other lecture was on the Satanic Verses.  Both are interesting. 

Anecdote:  I had a student who pursued a doctorate and at one point took a class on Islam from a noted scholar.  He asked the professor about the influence of Nestorian Christianity on Mohammed.  The professor said he believed these were true, but when the direction of prayer changed from facing Jerusalem to facing Mecca, some things changed. 

Better terms:  I referred once to the close followers of Mohammed as disciples.  A better term is companions.  Also, what Mohammed received from the angel Gabriel/Jibril are better called revelations than prophecies. 

Glitch:  In one of these two talks (I forget which) I might have used the wrong word.  Fatiha is the opening passage  of the Koran.   It is often used to start a meeting, almost like a prayer.   Shahada is the Islamic statement of faith.  

Names and terms used along the way 

Constantine

People of the Book

Duophysite Monophysite

Nestorian / Arian

Mutazalite

Ibn Rushd / Averooes

Ali, Abu Taleb

Mecca/ Medina/ Taif

I hope to do a separate podcast on the Christian teachings over the Nature of Christ, and the Trinity.  Worth waiting for.  (But who knows when it will be ready?) 

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This is a discussion of the gravestones of three really interesting people buried in the Detroit area.  One was a nationally famous radio preacher, one was a survivor of the Titanic, a woman from Tibnin, Lebanon, and one was an erased aunt whose existence was discovered posthumously by her nephew (who did not know she existed and who wrote an award-winning book Annie's Ghost on the topic).  Along the way you will learn about Eloise, the massive facility that housed people with emotional problems.  

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This was a class lecture on the most famous voting behavior study ever done, showing how certain variables connect to other variables to product voting outcomes. 

This is not as boring as it sounds.  In fact, it is pretty interesting and will give you lots of insights.   

Plus it is not very long. 

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Just two hours ago, I decided to do a podcast on Memorial Day.  As someone who grew up with strong patriotic impulses, it has been a surprise to me how my perspectives have changed.  Today, I think my country is in very bad shape.  There is an incredible danger from extremist elements who think it will be necessary to have a violent insurrection, even a Civil War, to overthrow the extremists who now control us.  

I am writing this at a very depressing time in our country's history, when there are 19 kids and two teachers lying dead in Texas.  They were killed by an 18 year old who brought an AR-15 the day after his 18th birthday.  And there are others lying dead in Buffalo, killed by an 18-year-old who wrote a 180 page manuscript describing how whites are being overwhelmed in their own country and they have to fight back. 

And I am thinking of what happened in Dearborn last week when a white man with a baseball bat went into a very upscale vegetable marker and began hitting two Black women who were shopping.   Was his goal to create a white Belfast in which certain neighborhoods would be only for "our" people.  You can go to your own neighborhood?  I have been in conversation with a  white nationalist who thinks that way.  

If you want an uplifting podcast, this is not the one for you. 

But I keep thinking of what Hemmingway said.  "You love your country in spite of, not because of." 

I am not giving up.  But I am of the age when I need some of you younger people to do the heavy lifting to save our country. 

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Public Opinion did not emerge Full-Blown from some father's head (to borrow from Greek mythology). 

In fact, the very concept of public opinion evolved over time. 

This is the first of a two-part introduction to  the concept  of public opinion  focusing on how early scholars saw it. 

The second lecture (these were delivered in class) will show how empirical public opinion research refined the concept. 

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On May 2, 2022, the draft 

In 1973 the Supreme Court handed down its stunning decision, Roe v Wade, decriminalizing abortion and declaring that women had a constitutional right to privacy in their health decisions.   After 49 years, almost every child-bearing age female has grown up under this ruling.  But the Republican Party has spent 49 years committed to overturning it.  Today the Supreme Court has a 5-person bloc of Originalist Justices who have made a decision to overturn Roe and its companion Casey.  Justice Alito wrote the decision, which will probably be released in June.  On May 2, the draft leaked. This was the first time such a thing has happened. The response was stunned outrage by abortion rights advocates.  We might have anticipated that Republicans would be dancing in the streets, but they were largely silent, preferring to discuss the leak than the decision.  It was Democrats who took to the streets with rallies and demonstrations. 

This is a discussion and analysis of the draft decision, which the Chief Justice confirmed was authentic. 

I found this podcast hard to write.  You may find it hard to listen to.  It is filled with different legal concepts and arguments.  Some of those arguments irritated me. 

Note:  This podcast is not about abortion.  It is about the Alito decision.  
 
Oops.  Did I say Joseph Alito?  I meant Samuel Alito.  

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This is a multi-part lecture I delivered to students in my class on Religion and Politics.  This focuses on the context within which Islam emerged.  There is an earlier talk on the Satanic Verses if you are interested. 

As I would always do, I asked students for reactions to these lectures Here is what they said. 

Many of you were very surprised to learn about the story of revelation and the origin of the Koran.  

Regarding the idea of not showing images of Mohammed, there are images of him as a young boy circulating in the Islamic world.  But they are before he became a prophet.  Hence no problem. 

You liked the idea that all prophets were flawed and that all resisted the idea of their prophethood lest they were promoting their unworthy selves and were misunderstanding God’s intentions. 

Several of you were struck with the fact that there were 360 Gods in the pantheon. You said you realized the significance of that number from the numerology lecture even before I discussed it.  Bravo to you. 

Regarding the fact that Islam just means to submit to God’s will some wondered why people were not just called Believers.  Interesting point.  The original Christians were called followers of The Way, i.e., the example of Jesus.  Ironically, that is what the term Sunnah means, the examples or ways of the Prophet. 

Several were surprised at the countries where Muslims live. You thought Arabs and Muslims were the same.  The fact that there are more Muslims in the US than in Lebanon was a surprise. 

Only one person thought Mohammed was considered a God

You were surprised that Mecca was a cosmopolitan city, not a desert. (But dry by Michigan standards). 

You were surprised that although Islamic rule was spread by conquest, the Islamic religion was not. 

You liked the list of false understandings about the origins and nature of Islam.  It is called “unlearning.” 

Jinn was a new and interesting concept to you.   Local people have stories about a Jinn in the house who rattle around and wakes people at night.  Two local guys put up a big billboard in East Dearborn a few years ago advertising themselves as “Jinn Busters.”  Is your marriage in trouble?  Do you have low self-esteem?  Lost your job?  A Jinn did it.  We can help.  (I am not sure they are still in business). 

Question:  If you are not physically able to fast do you still have to?  The answer is no.  There are waivers for such people, including pregnant or menstruating women, the ill, soldiers in combat, etc. 

Did I tell you the story of my exchange on a pastor’s discussion group?  I mentioned the Satanic Verses and said I wished  we knew there were three Satanic Verses in the Bible.   One person said if this were true, he would renounce his religion because if any part of it is false, then all is false.  (Note: This is called Idolatry with a Book).  Another said he agreed.  Then we would have to examine each verse within the context of an overall divine plan to make sure we were not being deceived by Satan.  Hmm. 

Some of you may want to read something on this topic.  British writer Karen Armstrong wrote a very readable biography of Mohammed.  I like that she used primary sources.  

Some of you wished you could talk to Muslims.  If you seek a beautiful opportunity, look about you.  (Note:  That is a paraphrase of the Michigan state motto).  The people in this class are very friendly and thoughtful.  They might also like to talk to you.