religion

( Middle East Monitor) – US attorney Nadia Kahf has been appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court, becoming the first hijab-wearing judge on the bench, local media reported. Kahf, who is of Syrian origin, is a law and immigration attorney from the township of Wayne. She took the oath of office yesterday with her […]

Climate Crisis

Calls for a ‘Green’ Ramadan revive Islam’s long Tradition of Sustainability and Care for the Planet

The Conversation

By Noorzehra Zaidi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County | – For many Muslims breaking fast in mosques around the world this Ramadan, something will be missing: plastics. The communal experience of iftars – the after-sunset meal that brings people of the faith together during the holy month starting on March 22, 2023 – often necessitates […]

Antisemitism

All Communities Must Speak Out Against bigotry toward Jews

OtherWords

As far-right violence against Jewish people rises, the Jewish idea of an “eruv” can teach us all to enlarge our humanity. By Svante Myrick | ( Otherwords.org ) – Jewish communities across the country have been targeted with violence or harassment as anti-semitic hate crimes reach record levels. In late January, a man tossed […]

religion

Why the Pronouns used for God matter

The Conversation

By Annie Selak, Georgetown University | – The Church of England is considering what language and pronouns should be used to refer to God. The church’s General Synod has, however, clarified that it will not abolish or substantially revise any of the currently authorized liturgies. Nonetheless, this news made headlines and brought up questions of […]

Christianity

America is Finally Secularizing, as Young People abandon Organized Religion in Droves

The Conversation

By Phil Zuckerman, Pitzer College | – (The Conversation) – About six months ago, Americans’ belief in God hit an all-time low. According to a 2022 Gallup survey, the percentage of people who believe in God has dropped from 98% in the 1950s to 81% today; among Americans under 30, it is down to an […]

Christianity

No, Mike Pompeo, God doesn’t Want the Palestinians to be Ethnically Cleansed and Shot down like Dogs

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a podcast interview in which he said that Israel has a “biblical right” to the Palestinian West Bank, to which he referred as “Judea and Samaria,” and is not “an occupying nation.” So reports Chris McGreal for The Guardian.. Pompeo defended the Trump […]

African-Americans

Faustian Bargain: On pretext of Israel, Republicans oust Ilhan Omar from Committee to please White Nationalist Base

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – Congressional Republicans are more interested in grandstanding than governance, and political persecution rather than functional democracy. The banishment of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from her assignment on the Foreign Affairs Committee by Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) illustrates how Republican candidates and office holders try to outdo each other with […]

Antisemitism

Teaching the Holocaust through Literature: four books to help Young People gain deeper Understanding

The Conversation

By Christine Berberich, University of Portsmouth | – A survey commissioned in 2019 revealed the shocking result that over half of Britons did not know that at least six millions Jews had been murdered during the Holocaust. This result was all the more surprising given the fact that the Holocaust, as a topic, has been […]

African-Americans

McCarthy’s Vendetta against Rep. Ilhan Omar Recalls Congress’s Refusal to seat first African-American Elected to House in 1869

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is making an attempt to keep Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from taking her seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Omar is the only African Muslim woman in the House, and it is hard not to conclude that she is being targeted on racial and […]