Closing and Opening
Eid al-Fitr is the Muslim holiday at the end of Ramadan. Its typically known as the smaller Eid, and Eid al-Adha, which is several weeks away, is known as the larger Eid. In the United States, I believe the opposite is true. Ramadan is one of the few times in the US that large numbers of Muslims are gathering on a daily basis and the social and mosque calendar is full. This culminates in a holiday you can observe with people you’ve been seeing all month. Eid al-Adha, by contrast, pops out of nowhere on the American calendar, and celebrations are often light.
This year the end of Ramadan and Eid coincided with March Madness. More importantly for me, the Eid weekend coincided with March Matness, the NCAA wrestling tournament which was held in Cleveland. The wrestling tournament only lasts three days and it’s impossible to describe how much I look forward to it every year and how magical the action on the mat is. I’ve been blessed to attend the tournament live on a number of occasions and next year it will be back in St. Louis where it belongs. The first day of action was on Thursday, which was the last day of fasting, and the second day of wrestling, which sees the quarter finals and the semis, was on the actual day of Eid. So, we woke up early, attended the first service at around 6:30 AM, and attended a daytime party and a nighttime party, and, in between all of this, I rushed home to my YouTube TV recordings of wrestling. All in all, it was a great day. On Saturday evening I watched the finals on ESPN (how ‘bout them Oklahoma State Cowboys, looking tough under David Taylor). On Sunday my brotherhood group visited the home of one of our dear brothers in Ferguson who is facing some serious health challenges. That brother and his wife have been a foster family to countless children over the years and many of them were visiting for Eid.
Next year will be the big test. Not only will Valentines Day be during Ramadan, but far more importantly, the Super Bowl will be during Ramadan. Are brothers gonna skip out on the big game for Taraweeh? Or can we lobby Roger Goodell for some shariah creep and get the time adjusted!
American Ignorance
If you watch American cable and network news, which I don’t really suggest doing, you will learn very little about the world. There is virtually no coverage of international issues. So, when a situation like the war in Iran comes up, the average American is starting out (and most ending) with a very low level of information. Even during this war, the coverage from American outlets is largely superficial and poor. I’ll remind readers of two things. This isn’t universal and it’s largely peculiar to Americans. Watch British, French, German, Saudi, Japanese, and other news broadcasts and you’re getting updates not just on Iran, but on the war in Sudan, European politics, Ukraine, you name it. The second thing I would like to remind readers of is the fact that it wasn’t always like this. American newsrooms have been gutted. Even the St. Louis Post-Dispatch once had international correspondents as did many major dailies. If you would like to know more than what the hot takes of the day are from Team Blue or Team Red, I suggest subscribing to the New York Times, serious Substack newsletters focusing on international affairs, and taking advantage of magazine subscriptions such as the New Yorker (which I get free via the public library). There are also many noted foreign policy experts and scholars to follow on X. Finally, you can go to YouTube and watch live video coverage from the BBC, RFP, Al Jazeera, TRT News, and many other international outlets.
Hegseth Faith and Pope Leo
Of all the Jerry Springeresque, trailer park chic, and grifting members of Trump’s cabinet, Pete Hegseth may be the worst of them all. Hegseth, who, in between his string of sex scandals, likes to lead prayers and give his theological spin to current events. His rantings at the Pentagon, such as praying for overwhelming violence, can only be described as coming from low-brow, theologically-light, entertainment driven ala Erika Kirk, evangelical protestant White Christian Nationalism. The counterpart to a Itamar Ben-Gvir in Israel, Hindutva figures in Modi’s government, or Ikhwanis and other Islamists in majority-Muslim societies. For a counterpoint to the ramblings of a foolish man, read what Pope Leo has had to say about the war in Iran from a Christian perspective.
Opening Day
Today is a local St. Louis holiday as we begin another baseball season in St. Louis. Experts are predicting this will be the worst Cardinals season in my lifetime. The bright side? Tickets should be cheap.