An Islamic History of Europe?

Why does history matter? It’s the sole provider of context, of meaning, to the otherwise unfathomably complex temporal world. The narratives that sit in your head are the prisms through which you view the world. Successful demagogues know this–so do (good) novelists and filmmakers.
I’ve made this point before, but i feel it’s worth making again: [...]

TTBOOK Radio: Iran After the Revolution

A well-assembled podcast on post-Revolutionary Iran.
Juan Cole (of Informed Comment) makes some fairly astute observations, beginning about 42:25 mins in:
Iran After the Revolution (2009-04-17).

The Chickpea

The Chickpea
- by Mowlana Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi (Rumi)

A chickpea in a pot leaps from the flame,
out from the boiling water,
Crying, “Why do you set fire to me?
You chose me, bought me, brought me home for this?”
The cook hits it with her spoon into the pot.
“No! Boil nicely, don’t jump away from the one who makes [...]

BBC 4: Science and Islam

As both a child of the globalized era, and someone involved in education, i’m continually irked by the myopic (judeo)-christian-centred narratives on the history of global ‘progress’ presented to students here in the west (and probably elsewhere, although i can’t speak to that).
Here’s a doc by BBC 4 that tries to remedy this. It’s not [...]