religion

( Tomdispatch.com ) – It was a moment somewhat like this, 30 years ago, that turned me into a biblical scholar. In the lead-up to the passage of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, political and religious leaders quoted scripture to justify shutting down food programs and kicking mothers and their babies off public assistance. Those […]

Environment

‘Green Islam’: how Muslims are powering environmental Action across the World

The Conversation

By Eva F Nisa, Australian National University and Faried F Saenong, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) (The Conversation) – As the world grapples with myriad environmental problems, a growing number of studies shows the role of religion is key. Religion influences people’s worldviews, including how we think about nature and our roles within it. This […]

Featured

Saudi Arabia in Modern History

Marc Martorell Junyent

Book Review – David Commins, “Saudi Arabia: A Modern History” (Yale University Press: New Haven and London, 2025). Munich (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – The rise of Saudi power in the eighteenth century is not easy to explain. There are few sources, and most of them are highly partisan, remarks David Commins, a professor […]

Abbasid Empire

Scientists prove Extensive Viking Silver Trade with Abbasid Empire from British Silver Hoard

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Northeastern England fell to the Vikings in 865, and they held it for several decades. They not only had what is now Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Durham but points south to the town of Bedale on the way to York. In 2012 archeologists found a silver and gold treasure hoard in Bedale […]

Far Right

Christian Nationalism’s Plot on Civil Society: The Seven Mountains Mandate

Matthew Boedy

Oakwood, Ga. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – A concerning story out of Georgia offers a window into the rise and possible demise of an all-encompassing strategy of Christian Nationalism finding unheralded success in the Trump era. On July 10th federal regulators filed a complaint “seeking the seizure of Georgia lender First Liberty Building & […]

Anti-Zionism

Anti-Zionist Jews Gather at the Birthplace of Zionism

Yakov M. Rabkin

Montréal (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – In March 1896, William Hechler, the Anglican chaplain at the British Embassy in Vienna, came across a book titled Der Judenstaat (The State for Jews). Hechler belonged to a centuries-old Protestant movement that aimed at gathering Jews in Palestine and converting them to Christianity. The book’s author, journalist Theodor Herzl, […]

Alawites

Understanding the Violence against Alawites and Druze in Syria after Assad

The Conversation

By Güneş Murat Tezcür, Arizona State University (The Conversation) – In July 2025, clashes between the Druze religious minority and Sunni Arabs backed by government-affiliated forces led to hundreds of deaths in Sweida province in southern Syria. Israel later launched dozens of airstrikes in support of the Druze. This eruption of violence was an eerie […]

Druze

Israel is exploiting the Vacuum left by southern Syria’s sectarian Clashes and a weak State

The Conversation

By Rob Geist Pinfold, King’s College London (The Conversation) – Several days of bitter sectarian fighting in the south of Syria brought the fledgling government in Damascus dangerously close to direct conflict with Israel, after Israeli warplanes launched strikes against government buildings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on July 16. The United Nations and a […]

Asian-Americans

Zohran Mamdani’s last Name reflects Centuries of intercontinental Trade, Migration and cultural Exchange

The Conversation

By Iqbal Akhtar, Florida International University (The Conversation) – When Zohran Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City, political observers noted his progressive platform and legislative record. But understanding the Democratic candidate’s background requires examining the rich cultural tapestry woven into his very surname: Mamdani. He takes the name from his father, […]