diff --git a/src/mu-log.c b/src/mu-log.c
index a54413e0..20c371fd 100644
--- a/src/mu-log.c
+++ b/src/mu-log.c
@@ -35,9 +35,11 @@
 
 struct _MuLog {
 	int _fd;      /* log file descriptor */
-	int _own;     /* close _fd with log_destroy? */
-	int _debug;   /* add debug-level stuff? */
 
+	gboolean _own;     /* close _fd with log_destroy? */
+	gboolean _debug;   /* add debug-level stuff? */
+	gboolean _quiet;   /* don't write non-error to stdout/stderr */
+	
 	GLogFunc _old_log_func;
 };
 typedef struct _MuLog MuLog;
@@ -94,13 +96,14 @@ log_handler (const gchar* log_domain, GLogLevelFlags log_level,
 
 
 gboolean
-mu_log_init_with_fd (int fd, gboolean doclose, gboolean debug)
+mu_log_init_with_fd (int fd, gboolean doclose, gboolean quiet, gboolean debug)
 {
 	g_return_val_if_fail (!MU_LOG, FALSE);
 	
         MU_LOG = g_new(MuLog, 1);
 
         MU_LOG->_fd     = fd;
+	MU_LOG->_quiet  = quiet;
 	MU_LOG->_debug  = debug;
         MU_LOG->_own    = doclose; /* if we now own the fd, close it
 				    * in _destroy */
@@ -111,7 +114,8 @@ mu_log_init_with_fd (int fd, gboolean doclose, gboolean debug)
 }
 
 gboolean
-mu_log_init  (const char* muhome, gboolean append, gboolean debug)
+mu_log_init  (const char* muhome, gboolean append,
+	      gboolean quiet, gboolean debug)
 {
 	int fd;
 	gchar *logfile;
@@ -134,7 +138,7 @@ mu_log_init  (const char* muhome, gboolean append, gboolean debug)
 			   logfile, strerror(errno));
 	g_free (logfile);
 	
-	if (fd < 0 || !mu_log_init_with_fd (fd, FALSE, debug)) {
+	if (fd < 0 || !mu_log_init_with_fd (fd, FALSE, quiet, debug)) {
 		_try_close (fd);
 		return FALSE;
 	}
@@ -197,7 +201,7 @@ log_write (const char* domain, GLogLevelFlags level,
 		fprintf (stderr, "%s: failed to write to log: %s\n",
 			 __FUNCTION__,  strerror(errno));
 
-	if (level & G_LOG_LEVEL_MESSAGE)
+	if (!(MU_LOG->_quiet) && level & G_LOG_LEVEL_MESSAGE)
 		g_print ("mu: %s\n", msg);
 	
 	/* for serious errors, log them to stderr as well */
diff --git a/src/mu-log.h b/src/mu-log.h
index 36aa16db..afd4e106 100644
--- a/src/mu-log.h
+++ b/src/mu-log.h
@@ -29,25 +29,26 @@
  * 
  * @param muhome the mu home directory
  * @param append append to logfile, instead of overwriting
+ * @param quiet don't log non-errors to stdout/stderr
  * @param debug include debug-level information.
  * 
  * @return TRUE if initialization succeeds, FALSE otherwise
  */
 gboolean mu_log_init  (const char* muhome, gboolean append,
-		       gboolean debug);
+		       gboolean quiet, gboolean debug);
 
 /** 
  * write logging information to a file descriptor
  * 
  * @param fd an open file descriptor
  * @param doclose if true, mu-log will close it upon mu_log_uninit
+ * @param quiet don't log non-errors to stdout/stderr
  * @param debug include debug-level info
  * 
  * @return TRUE if initialization succeeds, FALSE otherwise
  */
-gboolean mu_log_init_with_fd    (int fd, gboolean doclose, gboolean debug);
-
-
+gboolean mu_log_init_with_fd    (int fd, gboolean doclose, gboolean quiet,
+				 gboolean debug);
 
 /** 
  * be absolutely silent, except for runtime errors, which will be