Islam

Andrew C Condon interviewed me in this podcast on my new book abut peace themes in the Qur’an and the life of the Prophet Muhammad. Andrew is with the Bridge Initiative, aimed at combating Islamophobia, of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) at Georgetown University Building Bridges Interview with Juan Cole […]

Featured

Dear Sen. Anning re: Mosque Shooting: The Qur’an Forbids Murder and Commands Peacemaking

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A far right wing senator in Australia, Fraser Anning, issued a despicable and widely condemned statement after fascist white supremacists from Australia murdered 49 persons at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. He referred to the mass murder merely as “vigilantism,” as though it were an understandable policing of a neighborhood […]

Qur'an

New Historicism: A Manifesto for Writing the History of the Qur’an

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In borrowing the term “the New Historicism” from literary studies, I do not mean to take over all its theses. Rather, I am making an analogy. Just as Stephen Greenblatt came to require a historical context for studies of Shakespeare, rebelling against the contextless New Criticism at Yale in the […]

Qur'an

New Archeological Evidence for the Kaaba, Sanctuary of Peace, in Early Islam

Juan Cole

During the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, believers circumambulate the square ‘House of God’ called the Kaaba. It is said to have predated Islam, and to have been cleansed of idols by the Prophet Muhammad in January of 630, when the town of Mecca swung to his leadership by acclamation. There is some new archeological evidence […]

Feminism

‘Muslim women are stuck between Islamophobes and Islamic fundamentalists’

Open Democracy

By Nandini Archer | – (OpenDemocracy.net) – From France to Malaysia, Muslim women’s rights activists are challenging those who ask them to ‘choose between being a Muslim and a feminist’. “Muslim women are stuck between Islamophobes on the one hand and Islamic fundamentalists on the other”, Suri Kempe, an outspoken rights activist from Malaysia, told […]

Islam

Pope Francis, Muslim Rector of al-Azhar, Call for Religious Freedom & Full Citizenship

AFP

by Catherine Marciano with Rene Slama in Dubai | – Abu Dhabi (AF) – Pope Francis and a top Muslim cleric Monday issued a joint call for freedom of belief during the first visit by the head of the Catholic church to the birthplace of Islam — the Arabian Peninsula. Francis, who has made outreach […]

Greece

Greece’s Muslim Minority Complain of “Marginalization”

AFP

Komotini (AFP) – Outwardly, Komotini looks like other Greek cities, but there is a major difference: it has nine mosques whereas there are none in Athens. The northeastern city has existed from the second century and was captured by Ottoman-era Turkey in the 14th. It was an important hub connecting the capital city of Constantinople, […]

Qur'an

The West Has Islam Dangerously Wrong

Juan Cole

Legendary journalist Robert Scheer interviews Juan Cole on his new book, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires. Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires Available at Barnes and Noble And Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor And Hachette And Amazon Audio Podcast: Here are couple paragraphs of the transcript to give […]

Qur'an

My “Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires” now a Bold Type Book

Juan Cole

Congratulations to my publisher @BoldTypeBooks on their new name! I’m proud to be a Bold Author and part of the #BoldTypeBooks community. www.BoldTypeBooks.org. https://vimeo.com/307572732 "I am Bold" – Bold Type Books from Bold Type Books on Vimeo. Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires, published October 9, 2018 Now available at Barnes and […]