religion

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis notoriously just came after the Walt Disney Co. for its opposition, if belated, to his “don’t say gay” legislation forbidding school teachers to mention the subject of gay relationships to children under 9. The act vaguely insists that mentions before children older than that had to […]

Christianity

E. Orthodox Christians in Jerusalem accuse Israel of Violating Freedom of Worship over Easter Holy Fire Ceremony

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Palestine’s foreign ministry on Saturday called on the Biden administration to pressure Israel to cease its encroachments on the religious liberties of Palestinian Christians and Muslims in Jerusalem. The issue shifted this weekend to Israeli restrictions on Christian crowds flocking to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for Eastern Orthodox […]

art and photography

Contemporary Muslim Artists continue to adapt Islamic Patterns to challenge Ideas about fixed Culture

The Conversation

By Soheila Kolahdouz Esfahani, Western University | – What is culture? In today’s globalized world, we are familiar with seeing various cultural objects and ornamentation outside of their original location or context. If culture is not fixed and bound to a particular location, how does culture move and transform? Ornamentation in Islamic art — patterned […]

Christianity

For Easter: The Joyous, Dancing Ascendant Christ in a Love Poem of Hafez

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Just as Good Friday is a time for sober reflection and grief at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, so Easter Sunday is a time for blissful celebration at his rising from the dead and his ascension into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. In keeping […]

Islam

The Israeli Attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque is not Local but an Insult to Muslims Worldwide

Middle East Monitor

Ismail Patel | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Masjid Al-Aqsa has been in danger since the Israeli Occupation of East Jerusalem began in 1967. Since the occupation, the Israeli authorities have allowed Israeli extremists to intimidate and violate the sanctity of Masjid Al-Aqsa. However, in the past decade, the attacks on Masjid Al-Aqsa […]

Antisemitism

How misreadings of the Christian Gospels fuel anti-Judaism and Ignore Jesus’ Jewishness

The Conversation

By Matthew Thiessen, McMaster University | – This year, Easter and Passover, holidays central to Christianity and Judaism, respectively, begin on the same weekend. This timing provides an ideal opportunity to address faulty and often dangerous misconceptions that have been part of Christian communities for nearly 2,000 years. The harmful belief that Christianity ‘replaced’ Judaism […]

France

Whoever Wins France’s Election, its Muslims Fear Islamophobia has Become Endemic

Middle East Monitor

By Rayan Freschie | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – As the French election looms on the horizon, Muslims in France are less interested in who will become president, instead of turning their concerns to the systemic Islamophobia that envelops all candidates, underpinning the entire political system. The structural nature of anti-Muslim persecution in […]

Africa

Timbuktu Manuscripts Online promise to re-balance the African Continent’s place in World intellectual History

The Conversation

By Charles C. Stewart, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | – The ancient Timbuktu manuscripts of Mali were back in the headlines following internet giant Google’s initiative to host a collection of them at an online gallery. The images of the documents, text in Arabic, can be found at a page called Mali Magic. No […]

Evangelicals

War in Ukraine is testing some American evangelicals’ support for Putin as a leader of conservative values

The Conversation

By Melani McAlister, George Washington University | – In February 2022, evangelical leader Franklin Graham called on his followers to pray for Vladimir Putin. His tweet acknowledged that it might seem a “strange request” given that Russia was clearly about to invade Ukraine. But Graham asked that believers “pray that God would work in his […]