Islam

The great scholar Annemarie Schimmel quoted Arthur Jeffrey, the Australian scholar of Islam, to this effect: “Many years ago . . . the late Shaikh Mustafa al-Maraghi remarked on a visit to his friend, the Anglican bishop in Egypt, that the commonest cause of offence, generally unwitting offence, given by Christians to Muslims, arose from […]

Qur'an

Headcanon: Review of Juan Cole, “Muhammad: Prophet of Peace” at Northwest Progressive Institute

Juan Cole

David A. Johnson has written, for The Cascadia Advocate (a project of the Northwest Progressive Institute), a review of my new book on the Prophet Muhammad: Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires, published October 9, 2018 Available at Barnes and Noble And Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor And Hachette And Amazon Here […]

Qur'an

The Prophet’s Tribe: The First Mention of Quraysh in an Inscription from the Dawn of Islam

Juan Cole

The Qur’an, the Muslim scripture, speaks of the Quraysh as a tribe that engaged in travel and worshiped at a shrine. Qur’an 106, “Quraysh,” says, Because of his benevolence toward the Quraysh they were enabled to undertake the winter and summer caravans. So let them worship the lord of this shrine, who provided them with […]

Environmentalism

Young Muslims fashion a Green Ramadan: Faith, Fasting and Environmentalism

The Conversation

By William Barylo | – Muslims worldwide are about to enter the second half of Ramadan, a month widely known to the public as one for fasting. However, growing concerns around the environmental crisis and social struggles across the globe have lead Muslims to consider its deeper meaning. An environmental demonstration by the MADE charity. […]

Qur'an

Love, Peace, Forgiveness and Light dominate the Qur’an

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Outside observers often have the incorrect impression that the Qur’an, the holy book of Muslims, is bleak, or harsh, or even violent. Philip Jenkins has found that the Bible is far more violent than the Qur’an, and the violence in the latter is about self-defense from attacking militant pagans. Jenkins […]

Muslim Brotherhood

Why Trump can’t ban the Muslim Brotherhood without Damaging Democratic Prospects

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

(Informed Comment) – Donald Trump’s already problematic and divisive Middle Eastern policy could create more problems as he seeks to label the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization. Though presented as a national security move, it could ignite further Middle East and North African tensions, while giving another green light to authoritarianism – all […]

Islam

Muslims need an Alternative Political Paradigm

contributors

By Muqtedar Khan | – I am pleased to announce the publication of my book Islam and Good Governance: A Political Philosophy of Ihsan by Palgrave Macmillan publishing group My goal was nothing short of advancing an alternate to the paradigm of Islamic politics that Islamists have to offer today. It took more than four […]

Buddhism

Sri Lanka’s Mainstream Muslims Caught in Nexis of Extreme Nationalisms and Fringe Radicalism

The Conversation

By Andreas Johansson | – More than 300 people have now been confirmed killed in the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka. Several sources had suggested a domestic Muslim Islamist group may have been linked to the atrocity – but Islamic State (IS) has now also claimed responsibility. Sri Lanka’s Muslim community is spread across the […]

Featured

“The Nearest in Love:” On how the Sri Lankan Death Cult Betrayed the Islamic Values of the Qur’an

Juan Cole

A tiny death cult in Sri Lanka calling itself “Sri Lanka Tawheed Jamaat” (not to be confused with a big mainstream organization of the same name in India) appears to be responsible for the eight coordinated bombings at luxury hotels and Christian churches on Sunday. By now the tactic is familiar, if monstrous. These small, […]