Free Republic

Five years ago, young Muslims across the United States began reading and passing along a blurry, photocopied novel called “The Taqwacores,” about imaginary punk rock Muslims in Buffalo. “This book helped me create my identity,” said Naina Syed, 14, a high school freshman in Coventry, Conn. A Muslim born in Pakistan, Naina said she spent hours on the phone listening to her older sister read the novel to her. “When I finally read the book for myself,” she said, “it was an amazing experience.” The novel is “The Catcher in the Rye” for young Muslims, said Carl W. Ernst, a...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The ghostly ghetto of al-Thawra still whispers of massacres and mayhem. The 72-square-block slum of taupe hovels is home to nearly 2 million of Baghdad’s 6 million residents, and it carries a reputation that soldiers like Maj. Lainer Ward are changing. “We’ve worked hard to clean up the neighborhood,” said Ward, operational officer of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. “I’m not saying everything’s perfect, but it’s far from what it used to be. If you fear al-Thawra, it’s because you haven’t been here.” It’s a city going through an identity crisis. In the two months since the...