Qur’an

Sinead O’Connor’s Music and Life were infused with Spiritual Seeking, From the Hebrew Prophets, to Rasta, to Islam

By Brenna Moore, Fordham University | – When news broke July 26, 2023, that the gifted Irish singer Sinead O’Connor had died, stories of her most famous performance circulated amid the grief and shock. Thirty-one years ago, after a haunting rendition of Bob Marley’s song “War,” O’Connor ripped up a photograph of Pope John Paul […]

Featured

Muslims are understandably Protesting Qur’an Burning in Sweden, but the Qur’an itself urges them to do so Peacefully

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Swedish police permitted the burning of the Muslim scripture, the Qur’an (Koran) in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, on the grounds that previous attempts to stop such acts have been overruled by the courts on freedom of speech grounds. Hate acts targeting minorities are not actually free […]

Islam

A Ramadan primer: Why Muslim Americans Fast

Minnesota Reformer

Abdulrahman Bindamnan ( Minnesota Reformer) – While growing up in Yemen, I was introduced to the practice of fasting. It ‎was a common practice, in which all the families ‎will encourage their children, as young as 7, ‎to practice fasting. In my household, I had ‎parents who were very observant of Islam. In fact, […]

Afghanistan

Muslim Authorities Condemn Taliban Ban on Women in Universities, as NGOs Close in Protest

Michael Jansen

By Michael Jansen | – ( The Irish Times ) – Four global aid agencies have suspended services in Afghanistan in response to a Taliban ban on women working at non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In a joint statement, Care, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the International Rescue Committee said: “We cannot effectively reach […]

Christianity

The Great Muslim Sufi Mystic Farid al-Din Attar on Jesus’ Innocence, Love, Forgiveness

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Christians are often surprised to discover how important Jesus is to the Muslim spiritual tradition. The Muslim scripture, the Qur’an, praises him as a Word from God and affirms the Virgin Birth. In Muslim civilizations with painting traditions, such as the Mughals in India, Jesus, Mary and the nativity became […]

Featured

Iran’s Hijab Revolt: What does the Qur’an Really say about Women in Public?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The ayatollahs who rule Iran claim to do so in the name of Islam. Their interpretation of Islam, however, is often rooted in a medieval commentary tradition that added accretions to the central scripture, the Qur’an. The Qur’an was recited in Mecca and Medina by the Prophet Muhammad in the […]

Featured

The Islamic Peace Studies Initiative

Juan Cole

The Islamic Peace Studies Initiative – Presentation by Juan Cole at the Conference “Fi Subul al-Salām: Pacifism and Nonviolence in Contemporary Islam” at Manchester University, Tuesday, May 17 2022. Many thanks to Walaa Quisay. “Juan Cole and Samer Ali have directed the Islamic Peace Studies Initiative at the Center for Middle Eastern and North African […]

Archaeology

Does Megadrought of the 500s in Yemen help Explain the Rise of Islam?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A new article in the journal Science gives evidence for a prolonged dry spell in the kingdom of Himyar (which now would comprise Yemen, southern Saudi Arabia and Oman) in the 500s. Since the Prophet Muhammad is traditionally said to have been born in 567 or 570, any new information […]

Gay rights

Review: “Homosexuality in Islam” by Scott Kugle

Saifa T. Hussain

( Medium) – For anyone attuned to the Muslim American milieu, it is hard to miss how conversations around gender and sexuality have become major faultlines. As someone who was quite intimate with neo-traditionalist Islam, there seems to be an increasing conservatism that sees these issues as part of an apocalyptic agenda that infringes upon […]

Qur'an