Tram Town
Sunday, January 15, 2006
 This is one of a series of Danish Cartoons that are sparking controversy across the globe. The cartoon refers to the supposed afterlife of ease and plenty Islamic martyrs have to look forward to: As a curious example of ijtihad, Manji questions the concept of literal truth by looking at a passage that has had plenty of buzz of late in some (mostly Western) intellectual circles. Islamic martyrs, at least according to their cheerleaders, can look forward to an afterlife of ease and plenty including 70 willing virgins. It seems this passage may be a terrible case of mistranslation. The 70 dark-eyed virgins might actually have been, originally, white raisins, apparently a highly prized delicacy in days past. |
