Except as they relate to public services and library funding, I usually avoid mentioning politics and world affairs in this blog.
However, Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan, and publisher of the blog Informed Comment: Thought on the Middle East, History and Religion, is a writer of crystal clear explications of the deeper issues within the Islamic world.
His 2009 book, Engaging the Muslim World , is a valuable effort "to debunk the myths concerning Islam in order to improve the political and ideological understanding between Muslim countries and their Western counterparts."
Cole's blog caught my attention today because of two recent posts:
I'll leave it to the reader to decide whether or not to peek into Cole's work.
Thanks,
Mike
Okay, I can't resist sharing this one:
The blurb says:
It's a little-known fact that Elvis Presley—the most Christian icon of American pop culture—was Jewish. This book provides a behind-the-scenes account of the authors' search, from Israel to Graceland, to find the true roots of the King.
With the help of a Hasidic Jewish Elvis impersonator, Dan Hartel, who performs at senior citizens' homes under the stage name “Schmelvis,” and an eccentric Orthodox rabbi named Reuben Poupko, the authors trace Elvis's Jewish roots all the way to Israel.
Don't know yet whether or not this is a spoof, but it certainly is a stitch. To make it even better, here's a link to the documentary.
And, adding insult to injury...
...Elvis in Jerusalem: Post-Zionism and the Americanization of Israel, by Tom Segev, translated by Haim Watzman.
As the Middle East conflict enters its most violent phase, Tom Segev offers a lively, contentious polemic against cherished and rigid notions of Israel's national unity and culture
Enough, now. Lunch time is over.
Back to work.
:-)
