Quran
Smithsonian’s Quran exhibit aims to dazzle the eyes and may soften the heart
By Lauren Markoe — October 25, 2016
(RNS) The first major American exhibit of Islam's holy book has just opened on the National Mall.
A new Quran attempts to bridge divide between Christians and Muslims
By Lauren Markoe — October 6, 2016
(RNS) Two friends -- one Muslim and one Christian -- line up verses from the Quran and the Bible.
In the name of freedom, porn is trashing our lives
By Tahir Nasser — September 20, 2016
(RNS) Fourteen hundred years ago, the Quran warned that the spreading of indecent acts such as pornography only results in pain and misery for society.
Muslim attitudes about LBGT are complex
By Lauren Markoe — June 17, 2016
(RNS) Mainstream Islamic authorities reject gay relationships. But some Muslims hope for change, and say the roots of homophobia within Muslim communities may not be as deep as many think.
Religious roots of hatred resurface in Orlando
By Yonat Shimron — June 12, 2016
(RNS) If there was one message in the massacre, it seemed to be that LBGT people are still not safe and that religion may be a contributing factor to hatred against gays.
The ‘us vs. them’ ideology of radical Salafis
By Laleh Bakhtiar — May 24, 2016
(RNS) It lets ISIS militants sleep peacefully at night.
Muslim theology faculties develop an ‘Islam for Germany’
By Tom Heneghan — April 27, 2016
(RNS) The practical approach these faculties have taken contrasts sharply with the increasingly shrill declarations coming from Germany’s far-right.
A mobile minaret is mightier than the sword (COMMENTARY)
By Laleh Bakhtiar — February 26, 2016
(RNS) How do we keep Muslim youth from the extremists? We need imams and scholars to teach Quranic critical thinking on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
4 ways ISIS grounds its actions in religion, and why it should matter (COMMENTARY)
By Ayman S. Ibrahim — November 16, 2015
(RNS) One cannot erase the effects of such horrible attacks executed under the banner of religion. To claim that all Muslims are terrorists is far from correct, but to deny or underestimate the power of some Islamic texts and interpretations is not prudent, either.
8 banned books to celebrate Blasphemy Rights Day
By Brian Pellot — September 30, 2015
(RNS) The Bible and "Fifty Shades of Grey" share more than a few raunchy sex scenes. For Banned Books Week and International Blasphemy Rights Day (Sept. 30), these eight titles are still too hot to handle.
A rabbi and an imam: The story of Isaac and Ishmael can be a source of hope
By Alana Suskin — September 21, 2015
(RNS) The shared story of the binding of Isaac can be a story of hope for peace between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East and across the globe.
Manager of Oklahoma gun store and range declares it ‘Muslim-free’ zone
By Greg Horton — August 13, 2015
OKLAHOMA CITY (RNS) Gun range manager Chad Neal, a medically discharged veteran, said last month’s shooting at the military recruiting station in Chattanooga, Tenn., prompted him to hang the sign in the door.
Quran fragments in drawer at British university may be world’s oldest
By Trevor Grundy — July 22, 2015
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) The manuscripts had been brought to England in the late 1920s; a grad student decided to take a closer look.
My prayer: Iran deal will help millennials in US and Iran bridge the divides (COMMENTARY)
By Serene Jones — July 15, 2015
(RNS) As I came to know Iranian millennials, what I experienced was strikingly similar to my day-to-day interactions with Americans, especially students at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
At Ramadan, an online petition for female Quran reciters
By Ken Chitwood — June 29, 2015
(RNS) Searching for a recitation from a female "qariah" or reciter, Jerusha Lamptey, assistant professor of Islam and ministry at Union Theological Seminary, found none.
