Indiana Josh

I started following today, and you're already one of my top tumblr blogs to follow. What even is this? Why you no stop being cool so I can leave your page alone?

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:12:00 -0600

Haha, thanks for the kind words! I’m not sure what I’ve done to earn “top” status in your eyes, but whatever it is I’ll try to keep doing it. To be honest, I continue to be surprised by the fact that I have any real followers at all (which just hit the 200 mark after around a year here on Tumblr), so messages like this are always really mumtaztic :)

To everyone else, feel free to ask me anything.

The day is beautiful and the dog is awesome.

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:04:57 -0600

The day is beautiful and the dog is awesome.

lol 400 dollars in egyptian pounds? How did that happen and why didn't you exchange that before you left?

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:30:35 -0600

I ended up returning from Egypt on extremely short notice. I received really terrible news one evening and was on the plane the following morning. Didn’t really have time to bother with exchanging it and honestly wasn’t even thinking about it.

Until, of course, I arrived back in the U.S. and was taken into a little white room at Chicago O’Hare with a two-way mirror and questioned for an hour and a half as to why I, a 20-something American with a thick beard and a military duffel, have been traveling to North Africa and the Middle East for the past several years, speak Arabic, and just so happen to have hundreds of dollars in cash stuffed inside of a nondescript white envelope.

My reply began with something like “Okay, see, I know how this looks…”

So I also just realized, in the course of cleaning my room, that I have the rough equivalent of $400...

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:22:03 -0600

So I also just realized, in the course of cleaning my room, that I have the rough equivalent of $400 USD in Egyptian pounds from a few years back. Holla.

A room full of visual piety and material culture. This is what...

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:53:00 -0600

A room full of visual piety and material culture. This is what happens when an anthropology of religion student decides to actually clean his room.

seinedoll replied to your post: I was curious if you thought there is a good English translation of...

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:59:00 -0600

seinedoll replied to your post: I was curious if you thought there is a good English translation of the Quran to read. I don’t know Arabic but I’m interested in reading it not really for religious reasons but just for knowledge. Thanks

I recommend Muhammad Asad’s translation of the Qur’an. It has commentaries linked to the context of the revelations.

seinedoll raises a great point about Muhammad Asad’s translation. It is one of the most widely-used English translations partly because of its excellent commentaries linking the text to tradition but also because it sort of runs counter to the more politically-charged translations by Saudi salafists.

If we’re going to begin recommending English translations (I tend to shy from recommending any specific translation because it makes me feel like I’m implicitly endorsing an ideology), I would also recommend Arthur Arberry’s translation of the Qur’an which is the first real translation by an actual Arabic and Islamic scholar. I personally feel that it’s a bit more…dry, but it is perhaps the most widely used and cited by academics today.

I would suggest reading Asad’s translation alongside Arberry’s and, if one is capable of reading Arabic (even if only in a very limited sense), alongside the original Arabic so that you can see what’s taking place when the gulf of meanings and symbols is being crossed in the translation process.

I was curious if you thought there is a good English translation of the Quran to read. I don't know Arabic but I'm interested in reading it not really for religious reasons but just for knowledge. Thanks

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:33:00 -0600

No.

Aside from reiterating the common axiom that any translation of the Qur’an is really an interpretation, you have to be very careful when you’re looking at translations of anything, but particularly religious scriptures which, unfortunately, tend to be dominated by very divisive ideological camps.

I’ve read translations which implore Muslims to not take Christians or Jews as spiritual guides, and translations which implore Muslims to not take Christians or Jews as friends. Same passage, vastly different meanings. It’s nasty business.

Read it in Arabic. Otherwise, read different English translations together along with commentaries.

I'm lol'ing at study abroad blogs

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:38:00 -0600

which are basically just privileged (and often quite sheltered) middle-class white people projecting middle-class white values and prejudices and fears onto the people and places they’re apparently blessing with their presence.

Why do they all act as if they are one of the few white people who have ever encountered these lands and their strange inhabitants, and feel the need to title their blogs things like “Walking Like an Egyptian” or “Encounters of the Exotic?” Why do they feel like, as a result of their first week in a new country, they have all the answers to the alleged infrastructural shortcomings of these places?

And why do they, in the same proverbial breath, bring up Edward Said and Orientalism without, apparently, understanding the theoretical framework he laid down and how it applies to their approach to other cultures? Have they really read Said, I wonder, beyond an introductory chapter or a few selections from The Edward Said Reader?

It’s one thing, of course, if these blogs and their content are purposefully self-mocking as an implicit critique of the very issues raised by their writings (which has been done, but not often enough imho), but by all accounts these people seem to be taking themselves quite seriously.

My assumption is that they’re going buckwild as the result of their first experience outside of the U.S., and that after a few months (will they be there that long?) or more importantly, continued trips abroad, they’ll begin to see how awkward and embarrassing their blogs really are. I hope.

Date night with Hans Wehr.

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:40:05 -0600

Date night with Hans Wehr.

US Interventions in the World since WW II

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:07:18 -0600

US Interventions in the World since WW II

thenoobyorker: indianajosh: 5 reasons why this weekend is...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:54:54 -0600

thenoobyorker:

indianajosh:

~~5 reasons why this weekend is already awesome:~~

~~1) The two native speakers from Saudi Arabia in Arabic class randomly brought in Arabic coffee and the most delicious dates I’ve ever eaten.~~

~~2) They made it a point to find me after class to tell me that I spoke “perfect, fluent Arabic.” I laughed it off, but they insisted.~~

~~3) Red Bull. This deserves a post of its own.~~

~~4) My incredibly awesome mother is coming into town this weekend to hang out. I don’t see her enough.~~

~~5) Most of the homework is already finished.~~

Sorry Josh what was that? I was lost in your eyes.

Oh, I was just saying how my Tumblr went from like three followers to somewhere around ten, thanks to your reblog. Shiz cray!

Do you think learning Arabic is best done in a class setting or can it be achieved through self study? I am familiar with the language so I thought that would give me a leg up.

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:50:17 -0600

Excellent question that can be extended to any language. It’s a toughie to answer, as so much depends on your own ability to acquire language. I tried the self-study thing and didn’t really make too much progress. As soon as I began taking structured classes, I excelled, reaching intermediate proficiency after only one year of study and advanced after two. Much of it has to do with pedagogy, and I’ve been fortunate to learn from some of the best in the business in four different countries.

If you’re already familiar, you have an advantage. But the real question is the extent of your familiarity. Are we talking just the script? Some conversational vocabulary? Or are you familiar with some of the more dense grammar, like al’i3raab (which you don’t necessarily NEED, I suppose), iDaafas (essential), and the roots and patterns?

Depending on the extent of your familiarity, you may be able to make some decent progress on your own. There are some great resources out there—aside from the standard Arabic textbooks (Al-Kitaab and Ahlan wa Sahlan), there’s a nifty little work called “All the Arabic You Never Learned the First Time Around.” I think it may be out of print, ~~but you can find digital copies online~~.

tl;dr: Take classes if at all possible, your Arabic will improve infinitely beyond your self-study. Self-study is better than no-study.

5 reasons why this weekend is already awesome: 1) The two native...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:39:00 -0600

5 reasons why this weekend is already awesome:

1) The two native speakers from Saudi Arabia in Arabic class randomly brought in Arabic coffee and the most delicious dates I’ve ever eaten.

2) They made it a point to find me after class to tell me that I spoke “perfect, fluent Arabic.” I laughed it off, but they insisted.

3) Red Bull. This deserves a post of its own.

4) My incredibly awesome mother is coming into town this weekend to hang out. I don’t see her enough.

5) Most of the homework is already finished.

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:10:19 -0600

sharquaouia: abudai: Legendary NY Times journalist Anthony...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:50:26 -0600

sharquaouia:

abudai:

Legendary NY Times journalist Anthony Shadid dies of an asthma attack while reporting in Syria.

Anthony Shadid was one of my favorite journalists. His reporting on the Middle East was incredibly informed, balanced and nuanced. He showed incredible bravery not only in the process of reporting from volatile situations (even being captured by Gaddafi soldiers during his time in Libya) but also in his writing, which was honest, wise and gave justice to those whose stories he told. He was never exploitative or sensational but his work was always beautifully-written. I’m shocked and saddened by his passing. Inna lilahi wa ilayhi raji’oon.

Well-said. RIP.

Wow, what? I pull my head out of my Arabic homework and this is what greets me? Huge, huge loss. Significant. Many of us have relied on Shadid’s reporting on the region for a long time. He’s also been a huge inspiration, not just for his bravery and honesty, but for his decision to learn Arabic as an adult, partly to communicate directly with the people about whom he was writing.

This is a weighty loss, and may Shadid continue to be an example to current and future reporters.

الله يرحمه

"We Egyptians of the Liberal Party believed once in English liberalism and English sympathy; but we..."

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:01:03 -0600

“We Egyptians of the Liberal Party believed once in English liberalism and English sympathy; but we believe no longer, for facts are stronger than words. Your liberalness we see plainly is only for yourselves, and your sympathy with us is that of the wolf for the lamb which he designs to eat.”

- Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905), one of the founders of Islamic Modernism, when asked by a representative of the British government about his opinion on the present state of Egypt and British policies therein.

I think I’m in love. This is one of the best looking stock...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:30:00 -0600

I think I’m in love. This is one of the best looking stock cafe racers I’ve ever seen, and a reliable source indicates that Royal Enfield will indeed be coming out with this concept bike in 2013. There are very little cosmetic mods I’d even be interested in doing to this near-perfect bike. I’d definitely chop the exhaust and perhaps throw a wrap on it. But.

This news comes right as I’m thinking of selling my own Royal Enfield. I’m not sure I’ll be in the market for another bike anytime soon due to more pressing car issues, but when I do I know where I’ll be looking.

Currently.

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:59:32 -0600

Currently.

Let's stop blaming the victims of predatory lending

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:09:24 -0600

squashed:

This is important.

The primary cause of the subprime collapse—which heralded in the Great Recession was bad loans not bad borrowers. At the peak of the subprime boom lenders structured loans in a way that virtually guaranteed that those loans would fail because it was profitable. Borrowers—particularly minority borrowers—were steered toward these designed-to-fail loans even when they would have qualified for a prime loan. It doesn’t matter how good your credit is or how high your income is. I can write you a loan with terms so bad that I know you won’t be able to pay it back. I’m afraid this post may require tossing around some numbers—but please bear with me. Even if correcting the banks efforts to shift blame isn’t sufficient, this stuff is worth knowing if you plan on someday getting a home loan.

Read More

One of the many reasons to follow Squashed’s blog, if you’re not already.

Can I have this goat, please?

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:34:18 -0600

Can I have this goat, please?