Claim that alleged shooter took orders from the Muslim Brotherhood straight out of the Islamophobia playbook.
That doesn’t stop rumor, innuendo, and profiling.
Religion is Not about Belief: Karen Armstrong’s The Case for God
Of all the monotheisms, Christianity has come to depend the most on the idea of belief, or doctrine. But there is a strong countertradition, now submerged, that insists that any time we say we know who God is, or what God wants, we are committing an act of heresy.
Suicide Bombers and the Prozac God: A Review of Dying for Heaven
A new work advancing a radical theory of the motivation behind suicide bombers is almost bizarrely off the mark. Stitching together thought and observation from disparate and often dissonant sources, Georgetown theology professor Ariel Glucklich’s book would be laughable were he not a consultant to the defense community.
The Silence of Religious Voices in the Health Care Debates
The national conversation about health care has been about everything but care, or compassion, for those truly in need. Isn’t it simply wrong for religious leaders to sit this one out?
Satanic or Silly: Does Yale Press Censorship of Cartoons Insult Muslims?
While the rioting over the Danish cartoons seems to be well behind us, Yale University Press recently removed the images from a new scholarly work on the topic. Do Muslim extremists need a scholarly book as pretext with two wars being fought in Muslim nations and an ongoing crisis in Gaza? The problem isn’t with these images, but with the ubiquitous Islamophobia in the United States.
Revisiting Hagar, The Woman Who Named God
An interview with the author of a new book that takes a critical look at the biblical tale of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar and sons, claiming that this story at the core of anxiety between religions isn’t exactly as it seems.
A religious scholar in Egypt recently warned against listening to broadcasts of the Qur’an, as the mediating influence is disrespectful to the text. But what of disregard for human agency?
Rarefied Islamophobia: When Americans Duplicate the European Cultural Talk
By presenting itself as a disinterested collection of “facts” and “data,” an alarmist new book about the Muslim threat to Europe has been taken more seriously than your standard Islamophobic pamphlet.
Sisterhood is Islamic: an Interview with Daisy Khan
The face of modern global feminism is wearing hijab. The director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement talks to us about the new "Jihad Against Violence" and other developments in the worldwide Muslim women's movement.
On the Taliban’s Hit List: An Exiled Pakistani Singer’s Plea to Save Music
An interview with a singer marked for death by the Taliban. Curiously, while the Taliban claims that music is a violation of Islamic law, they do have their own melodies and hymns.
Afghan Idol: Can a Talent Competition Save a Nation?
An interview with the director of Afghan Star, a documentary that follows a tense but cathartic talent competition.
The Deadly Burqini, Or, What Exactly is an “Islamic Swimsuit”?
A young Muslim woman is denied entry to a public pool because of her body-covering swimsuit, a “burqini,” and authorities insist that it has nothing to do with Islam. What, then?
The Most Religious Race: Islam in Europe
Christopher Caldwell’s new book on Islam and the West is fraught with inconsistency, selective history, and outright error. But, for all that, it is a must-read.
Ahmadinejad’s Call For “Compassion” is a Cynical Display, Critics Say
As the Iranian president makes a public show of Islamic virtue, it is instructive to look through the eyes of Iran’s most prominent theologians and dissenters, and to recall what actual compassion looks like.
The hijab has gone from symbol to object, and the people associated with it are that object. Alex W. attacked and killed a piece of cloth.
Muslims Are Not the Only Group Endangered By Hate
The recent murder in Germany, and the ensuing silence, reveal a shocking level of tolerance for Islamophobia. But hate is seldom focused nor easily sated.
Michael Jackson, Perfect “God” for the Media Age
Was Michael Jackson a supernatural magician or an icon of self-immolation? Both? The physical body is gone, the musical productivity has ceased, the capacity to speak for himself is no more, so now MJ is a wonderfully ambiguous figment of our imagination. Three religion scholars discuss the life, legend, meaning, and myth of one of the world's most talented, successful, and perhaps tortured performers.
Though it sounds good just on its face, NYC Mayor Bloomberg has made the right decision by threatening to veto the proposal to add two Muslim holidays to the school calendar. And no, it’s not a pander to Jewish voters.
French President Sarkozy declared recently that the burqa “will not be welcome on our territory,” as it is a symbol of the enslavement of women. If the president is trying to foster equality of women, is this the best way to go about it?
Take It Off, Or We’ll Make You: On Sarkozy’s Proposed Burqa Ban
When you step out in clothing that boldly states your womanhood, you are a free woman. You are no longer a slave to old rules and notions. Modernity is inherently free.
Attempts at the recent Muslim Voices festival to reinvent the qawwali, of having it cross-fertilize with other musics, made the concert seem so promising as a closing event.
When The Gods Die: Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett Take the ’70s With Them
Michael Jackson, pop theologian and transcendent performer, went from Jehovah’s Witness to Nation of Islam to Islam searching for the well-being embedded in so many of his songs. Farah Fawcett, who was so much more than a pretty face and healthy head of hair, courageously faced death on camera in a youth-obsessed culture.
Undemocratic Republic of Iran: How Did the Hardliners Pull Off a Coup?
What we are witnessing in Iran is a coup against elements of the establishment deemed insufficiently committed to a radical reading of Islam. Unable to handle the messy outcome of democracy is the regime in serious trouble?
Religious-Educator-in-Chief
If "we teach who we are," Obama's Cairo speech taught us that we are capable of appreciating difference and making peace.