However, I’d like to add, if I may, a little extra context. Haddad’s book was discussed in the Guardian, where it received a glowing review which included an interview with/profile of the author: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/aug/21/joumana-haddad-interview
It also was covered in the Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/arifa-akbar-we-can-learn-from-these-modern-scheherazades-2050876.html

This press in the Western media elicited responses and reactions within the Arab media/blogsphere as well, ranging from the critical: http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/08/tales-and-fables-of-joumana-haddad.html

to the more constructive: http://www.bekhsoos.com/web/2010/08/an-open-letter-to-joumana-haddad/comment-page-1/#comment-5140

The latter link is an open letter from the editor of the queer arab magazine bekhsoos.com (a magazine that is arguably much more controversial than Haddad’s).

Without dismissing Haddad’s courage, commitment, or the importance of her work, I think that a forum like SM is also a space where articles like the BBC or Guardian ones could (and should) be critiqued.

Haddad is certainly not the only Arab woman to be writing about controversial issues around sex and oppression, or challenging gender norms and expectations in the region. It seems worth considering how, and perhaps why, she has become a media darling in the West, celebrated in profiles that, without fail, mention her physical appearance–not only as unveiled but more specifically as wearing an “electric blue mini-dress, neon pink nails, aggressive heels, vivid makeup and cascading hair” (from the Guardian piece), while other people, doing similar work, are not always so celebrated, especially if they do not have the kind of linguistic access or photogenic appeal that Ms. Haddad has.

But that being said, I look forward to reading her book, and appreciate the link, I just was hoping for a slightly more nuanced approach to the issues at stake here from SM.

The Economist: http://tinyurl.com/279hmj2

Timothy Burke: http://tinyurl.com/2bxpcuu

(via Aaron Bady on Twitter)

This disregards the wide variety of religious beliefs and behaviors found among humans over historical time. Rather than different forms of deism, I thin Rappaport had it right when he said that social behavior was all about trust (something also pointed out in the story), and that belief was tied to unquestioned principles. These principles were reaffirmed socially through ritual behavior. This is also a major aspect of Turner’s work, which ties the profane to the ineffable through ritual behavior and symbols.