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Conflict in Mecca: The Prophet Muhammad and Soft Power
Featured

Conflict in Mecca: The Prophet Muhammad and Soft Power

Juan Cole

I believe that the earliest source we have for the life of the Prophet is the Quran itself. And I believe the Quran is early.

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“Into this Universe:”  Heidegger and FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:29

“Into this Universe:” Heidegger and FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:29

12/14/2025 By Juan Cole

“Identity is never fixed:” Interview with Iranian-American Artist Soraya Sharghi

“Identity is never fixed:” Interview with Iranian-American Artist Soraya Sharghi

12/14/2025 By Global Voices

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Climate Change
Can Big Oil "win ugly" in its "Endless War" on Climate Activists?

Can Big Oil “win ugly” in its “Endless War” on Climate Activists?

by Stephen Leahy (IPS) Greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are higher than ever, and we’re seeing more and more extreme weather and climate events….We […]

contributors

Egypt
Incredible Expanding Cairo (Video)

Incredible Expanding Cairo (Video)

NYU STERN URBANIZATION PROJECT “The expansion of built up urban land in Cairo, 1800 – 2000. Prepared for the NYU Stern Urbanization Project using data […]

contributors

Bashar al-Assad
American Weapons, provided to Syrian rebels, fall into Hands of al-Qaeda

American Weapons, provided to Syrian rebels, fall into Hands of al-Qaeda

By Juan Cole The al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra (the Succor Front) not only took the territory of the moderate Muslim Syria Revolutionaries Front this weekend, […]

Juan Cole

Islam
Can't We all Get Along?   Sunni-Shi'a Commonalities

Can’t We all Get Along? Sunni-Shi’a Commonalities

By Tareq A. Ramadan As we enter the Islamic New Year (1436 AH) and therefore the month of Muharram (one of Islam’s sacred months), many […]

contributors

Islam
The Critical spirit of Islam against the mass insanity of ISIS

The Critical spirit of Islam against the mass insanity of ISIS

By Neslihan Çevik The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), having declared itself a caliphate, is now making a call to all Muslims (especially […]

contributors

Epidemics
Ebola's not the First Racial Germ Panic:  The Long History of Xenophobia and Scapegoating

Ebola’s not the First Racial Germ Panic: The Long History of Xenophobia and Scapegoating

By Dan Dinello The attempt by some GOP politicians to tie the ebola outbreak to immigration issues is nothing new in American or European history. […]

contributors

Democracy
Bernie Sanders on Breaking Big Money’s Grip on Elections (Moyers)

Bernie Sanders on Breaking Big Money’s Grip on Elections (Moyers)

Bill Moyers: “Bernie Sanders, Vermont’s independent senator, is angry about what he sees as big money’s wholesale purchase of political power. It’s a grave threat, […]

contributors

Israel
Fierce Entanglements require Dialogue:  Israeli-Palestinian conflict rooted in their different stories about the World

Fierce Entanglements require Dialogue: Israeli-Palestinian conflict rooted in their different stories about the World

By Donald Ellis When I was in Israel for a year on a Fulbright conducting research I interviewed Israelis, Palestinians, and Israeli Arabs. I asked […]

contributors

Bashar al-Assad
US Dilemma in Syria:  Moderate Stronghold Falls to al-Qaeda, Fighters desert to Extremists

US Dilemma in Syria: Moderate Stronghold Falls to al-Qaeda, Fighters desert to Extremists

By Juan Cole In a big setback for the Obama administration’s Syria policy, the al-Qaeda affiliate Succor Front (Jabhat al-Nusra) took the town of Deir […]

Juan Cole

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