As a student of international relations, I'm trying to acquire a broad understanding of Islam and Middle-Eastern culture. I'm looking for a few books to read in my spare time that touch on these subjects. [more inside]
posted by aheckler on Apr 2, 2008 - 14 answers

I am searching for examples of The Infinite, or the immeasurably large, in our mythologies and archetypes. I am also interested in the categories of Truth which came out of the emergence of Western, ontological thought. Does the trust in a rationally conceivable reality deny us the infinity of the mythological realm? By rooting ourselves in the present, and denying atemporal mythologies, do we also deny the infinite origins from where we came? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Nov 28, 2007 - 22 answers

How can I find out the dates of the upcoming 2007 Yuba City Sikh parade/festival? As some of you may know, this is the largest gathering of Sikh people outside of India/Pakistan, and many tens of thousands (sometimes hundreds of thousands) of people come from all over the US to eat the amazing free food, see the floats, and generally have a great time. Non-Sikhs are invited, and I want to go, but can't find the date anywhere.
posted by luriete on Oct 6, 2007 - 8 answers

An op-ed piece argued that it feels right to avoid blasphemy in general conversation even while agreeing that our old blasphemy laws are a bad idea and unconstitutional. This was several years ago, in a secular publication, not written by clergy, and not specifically sectarian. It definitely did not focus on Islam. Any recollection of this? Thanks.
posted by Dave 9 on Aug 22, 2006 - 3 answers

In the past few years, I have read--over and over--that many American Christians feel that "Christianity is under attack," and that there is an "assault on people of faith." [more inside]
posted by curtm on Sep 9, 2005 - 76 answers

1. Are there maps anywhere that show the geographical distribution of ethnicities and religions accross different regions? 2. Or, does a program exist where I could plug in preference for different feilds (example: religion, climate, geography) and it would spit out the closest region to such specifications? [more inside]
posted by scazza on Mar 15, 2005 - 4 answers

When do the 12 days of Christmas actually begin?
posted by oh posey on Dec 12, 2003 - 6 answers