Bridget Purcell: Mabrouk to the New York Times, which ran two pieces yesterday providing a rare glimpse of an apolitical Islam. The first, an international Quran recitation competition in Dubai drew 80 young men from around the world —- some as young as 10 years old —- to recite the Quran from memory. And in Brooklyn, an artist named Michael Rakowitz opened a shop selling dates, an indigenous Iraqi crop. Part business venture, part art installation, the shop’s walls feature Iraqi flags and histories of the Iraqi date industry written in both English and Arabic. Rakowitz hopes that his Brooklyn storefront will help foster dialogue between Americans and Iraqis. How pleasant in these times of “cultural conflict” to linger a moment on such points of convergence.