What Does the Muslim World Really Want?
Depends which of the 1.6 billion Muslims you ask. A new film seeks to give depth to Western perceptions of Islam. Too bad they didn't make it to Asia.
Massacre in Mindanao: The Irresistible Urge to Blame Religion
While most reports focus on the brutal massacre of over fifty Philippine citizens and the religious tensions that appear to be at work, beneath the surface it looks a lot more like a good old-fashioned power struggle.
Immigration Reform: A Country Divided, Or a Richer Society?
With the Obama administration’s renewed support for immigration reform, and new support from conservative Christian leaders, immigrants’ rights activists are looking toward real progress—and their vision is supported by recent scholarship in the intersection of religion and immigration.
A letter to the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg from a scholar of religious extremism.
Spinning Ft. Hood
RD associate editor Hussein Rashid scrutinizes a cross-section of reactions to the Ft. Hood massacre, from those eager to blame Islam to a number of Muslim-Americans.
The picture of Major Nidal Hasan grows murkier—but it is a mistake to assume that we understand the role of his faith in the massacre at Fort Hood.
Those who denigrate the service of Muslims in the US military only compound the tragedy.
Bruce Lawrence’s unflattering review of Ariel Glucklich’s new book on suicide bombers elicited a spirited response from the author.
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.
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?
Why did coverage of the murder of a pregnant Muslim woman merely record the outrage “in the Muslim world”?
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.
How ironic, we immigrants sigh to ourselves, that we can turn on the tap to clean water at whatever temperature we like, but we can’t put up a poster of the Holy Mosque in our cubicle.
Oprah Talks Down to Fundamentalist Mormon Girls
Oprah's skepticism toward FLDS girls about their devotion to unusual beliefs reminds one writer of the questions asked of Muslim women.
Osama and Orientalism: Where Islamophobes Meet Al-Qaeda
What do critics of Islam have in common with bin Laden? They both have a reductive, prescriptive understanding of religion and they use it to assert superiority over others.
Co-sponsored by the only Muslim member of Congress, the new bill could pave the way for greater acceptance of LGBT families in the American Muslim community.
When the head of a TV station devoted to improving the image of Muslims in the U.S. murdered his wife last week, it served as a reminder that no community is immune to domestic violence and tragedy.
The Most Popular Stories of 2008
The numbers are in and you, the reader, have chosen your favorite RD stories of the year; from Rick Warren to AIPAC, Sarah Palin, Creationism 2.0 and the fabled “death” of the religious right.
Busta Rhymes Offends Arabs, Then Muslims
The hip-hop artist attempts to solve one problem only to create another.
For the first time in years, it looks like al-Qaeda might actually be shaking in its boots.
Powell and Obama share a perspective, born of an experience, that the rest of us should heed well: the deployment of religion in the cause of race- or other-baiting is an especially dangerous game.
Allah Made Me Funny: Borscht Belt Goes Halal
Jackie Mason shticks and all, a new comedy concert documentary, Allah Made Me Funny, reminds us that it's not all doom and gloom.
RDBook: 10 Questions on Sexual Ethics and Islam
Asked about other titles she’d considered, Ali replied, “I would have accepted any title that didn’t have ‘veil’ in it.”
Megachurch Pastor Rod Parsley calls for America to “fulfill its divine purpose” by destroying “this false religion.”