Harry Potter and the Imam's Fatwa?

Let me start off by saying: I love, adore unrestrainedly, those books. I don't know how that Scottish witch (good witch) does it, but they are possibly the most engaging, effortlessly enjoyable things ever written.

The thing about the stories that has always ranckled with me though, is this: a conspicuous absence of anything relating to faith, God, religion, anything. At first you might think, well, this is logical. In today's "Western culture" there is a pronounced rejection of faith in many areas. This state of affairs is not complete though. Almost every Western institution that can trace its origins farther back than the Renaissance usually had or has some associatioin with faith, or at least the Church. And despite the wishes of many scientific, evolved, intellectual, etc. types, these origins continue to influence and persist in our culture and others. This is why no matter how much "Jo Rowling" tries to avoid sticky religious controversy, she cannot fundamentally sidestep such inconvenient muggle concepts as "God" in every page. Some examples:

The wizarding hospital of "St. Mungo's" (named, I've been told, after an actual saint).

The Sanskritic and, by association Hindu, names of two of Harry's schoolmates-- Parvati and Padma Patil.

The constant stream of allusions to Classical mythology (ergo faiths) in names, creatures, etc. (Minerva, Argus, Fluffy, etc.)

There are probably more; these just sprang from my mind, fully armed. However, even from these examples one might be able to infer that Rowling tries to stick to "safe" religious themes and concepts, so as not to offend certain touchy parties. The problem with this, however, is that it would now be impossible to represent, for example, Jewish or Muslim Britains at the apparently all-inclusive Hogwarts. Does the school have secret apartheid regulations forbidding attendance by members of these two faith cultures? Is the food served in the Great Hall consistenly un-kosher, un-halaal? Or does she think Arab culture, that gave us the unparalleled Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, has but little to offer in the way of magic? But digressions aside, I think it would be a rational day in the White House when we saw a new character in the upcoming "Deathly Hallows" conclusion by the name of Kabir, Mohammed, -baum, -berg, -owitz, or Khan. These two faiths, she apparently thinks, still contain adherents who'd be willing to raise heck against haraam notions of magic, sorcery and enchantment. And she's probably right. I think it would be vastly entertaining though, not that I'm an advocate of strife, but still...