The Brass Donkey and the State of the Ummah

Haroon has proposed a Brass Donkey Awards for the worst muslim blogs - the yang to the Brass Crescent's yin. The categories are as follows:

Most Lopsided Blog
Least Interesting Post
Post Most Likely To Have Been Posted By an Uncle
Most Annoying Commenter
Most Incendiary Blogger
Worst Group Blog

Visit avari/nameh to learn more about each category, and nominate your favorite jafis accordingly.

In addition, Maryam of A Dervish's Du'a has begun a "carnival" for muslim blogging, entitled The State of the Ummah, which is akin to the other various blog carnivals like the Carnival of the Liberated and the Blog Mela.

I have not yet coordinated with Shahed, but we will indeed be launching the Brass Crescent Awards for 1426H/2005 in a few months. I also will be continuing my Brass Crescent roundup, which is somewhat similar to the State of the Ummah^[1], but more a function of what I personally found interesting rather than a call for submissions. I think they serve complementary functions.


[1] To be honest, I am uncomfortable with the word Ummah, even when used (as by Maryam) in a completely benign manner. I subscribe to Tariq Ramadan's view that the very concept of Dar ul-Islam, when interpreted in any political sense, has been largely harmful to muslims' self interest as a community. I am immediately suspicious and even hostile to any argument that rests upon the "good of the ummah" because I find that such arguments are often a thin cloak of religion upon political aims (or worse). None of this is of course relevant to Maryam's effforts and she is to be lauded for her initiative in trying to bring the community of muslim bloggers together, which is the same aim of the Brass Crescent Awards.