religion

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israeli archeologists have made two extremely important finds recently that have implications for our image of early Islam. Katia Cytryn-Silverman, an Israeli archeologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has concluded that the remains of a mosque in Tiberias, on the western shores of the Sea of Galilee, is seventh […]

Antisemitism

The Republican Party’s Iran-Level Superstitious Anti-Semitism: Greene claimed Jewish Space Laser started Cali Wildfires

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Golnaz Esfandiari reports on controversies currently roiling Tehran over the belief in supernatural beings, genies (jinn or djinn), among the country’s ruling ayatollahs. Esfandiari writes, that Iran’s clerical Leader recently said, “There are enemies from among both genies and human beings, and they help one another. The security services of […]

Fundamentalism

Right Wing Laws to “protect religious freedom” Enable Fundamentalists to Discriminate

James A. Haught

Charleston, W.Va. (Informed Comment) – Across America, right-wing politicians pass “religious freedom” laws that have a single purpose: to let narrow-minded believers discriminate against gays — an intolerance that is illegal for other people under human rights laws. In other words, only born-again Christians are allowed to express prejudice and hostility, while other Americans live […]

Books

An Admiring Review of Cole, ‘Muhammad: Prophet of Peace,’ in Algeria’s Echorouq

Juan Cole

The Algerian newspaper Echorouq [al-Shuruq] has published a positive review of the Arabic translation of my book, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires Available at Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor And Hachette And Barnes and Noble And Amazon Juan says: In turbulent era, I am most gratified that Muslim readers on the […]

Congress

Yes, it Was a Coup Attempt, but one Just as Looney as Trump and his Wingnuts

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Wednesday 1/6 was clearly an attempted coup on Trump’s part. There is some controversy about this, depending on how analysts define a “coup.” It was of course not a successful coup d’état inasmuch as it failed to overturn the government or even to permanently install an elected president as an […]

American Jews

What were those Horrifying Anti-Jewish Hate Symbols at the Capitol Insurrection? A Scholar of American Anti-Semitism Explains

The Conversation

By Jonathan D. Sarna | – One of the many horrifying images from the Jan. 6 rampage on the U.S. Capitol shows a long-haired, long-bearded man wearing a black “Camp Auschwitz” T-shirt emblazoned with a skull and crossbones, and under it the phrase “work brings freedom” – an English translation of the Auschwitz concentration camp […]

Brazil

How the son of a Lebanese Migrant and Street Sweeper became Brazil’s first Muslim Federal Judge

Middle East Monitor

By Eman Abusidu | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Ali Mazloum is one of millions of migrants whose story illustrates the determination and success of so many Lebanese refugees. When his father Mohammed arrived in Brazil in 1950, he could never have known that his son would one day become a federal judge. […]

Arab Spring

Already a New Boss in Town: Saudis, afraid of Biden, Hurry to End their Blockade on Qatar

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Saudi Arabia announced Monday that it would lift its land and sea blockade against Qatar, and that Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (the UAE) would allow Qatari aircraft to fly through their air space again. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt announced their boycott on the small peninsula […]

Bill of Rights

The Trump Administration’s Final Push to Make It Easier for Religious Employers to Discriminate

ProPublica

By Lydia DePillis | – ( ProPublica ) – It was the hectic week before Thanksgiving, and Amrith Kaur — the legal director of an advocacy group called the Sikh Coalition — was not prepared for a surprise update from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that could have dramatic consequences for her clients. With little […]