iFaqeer

AvatarTaking the guise of the poor, the dervishes, we, O Ghalib,
Watch the spectacle of the blessed; of power and pelf
—Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib

بنا کر فقیروں کا ہم بھیس غالِب
تماشأے اہلِ کرم دیکھتے ہیں

banaa kar faqeeroN ka hum bhais Ghalib
thamaasha-e-ehl-e-karam dhaikthay haiN

Muslim Tantrika

There's been a bit of a tizzy in a few circles in reaction to a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Asra Q. Nomani. On the Ladies of the Reformation (or the Babes of the Anti-Jihad, if you will; Nomani, Irshad Manji and Asma Gull Hasan), well, I need to get my thoughts together and will post/publish something on it as soon as I can. But my "Cultural Analysis" instructor in grad school always said "examine the margins"; they help you understand the outlines/borders/definition of a community/construct/what-have-you that you want to understand. And Manji and Nomani are definitely on the margins—but that's the point.

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