Islam
This week’s terror in Israel is not the moral equivalent to war
By David Michaels — October 10, 2023
(RNS) — Democracies seek to avoid civilian deaths, while bloodthirsty fanatics aim to maximize them.
Why Al-Aqsa remains a sensitive site in Palestine-Israel conflict
By Ken Chitwood — October 10, 2023
(The Conversation) — The Al-Aqsa mosque, a flashpoint in Hamas’ recent assault against Israel, hosts daily prayers and Friday gatherings. It lies adjacent to important Jewish and Christian religious locales.
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, in prison for speaking up against human rights violations, has been a voice for women for almost two decades
By Pardis Mahdavi — October 9, 2023
(The Conversation) — Narges Mohammadi is the second Iranian woman, after Shirin Ebadi, to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She remains locked up in Evin, Iran’s most notorious prison for political detainees.
How we got to the ‘Al-Aqsa tsunami’
By Daoud Kuttab — October 7, 2023
(RNS) — Ramping up religious fanaticism for political ends always ends badly.
Despite terrorist attacks, the people of Israel live
By Joshua Stanton and Olivia Brodsky — October 7, 2023
(RNS) — The conflagration of violence will likely transform the Middle East for the worse.
Citing Al-Aqsa Mosque, Hamas launches broad attack as Israelis celebrate Simchat Torah
By Josef Federman and Issam Adwan — October 7, 2023
JERUSALEM (AP) — Under cover of a barrage of rockets, dozens of Hamas militants broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and into nearby Israeli towns, killing hundreds and abducting others in an early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday.
Federal agency sues Chipotle after a Kansas manager allegedly ripped off an employee’s hijab
By Claire Rush — October 2, 2023
(AP) — The manager's “offensive and incessant requests” that she remove her hijab, and his attempt to physically take it off, were “unwelcome, intentional, severe, based on religion, and created a hostile working environment based on religion," the complaint alleged.
Dozens dead after blast in southwestern Pakistan at a rally celebrating birthday of Islam’s prophet
By Abdul Sattar — September 29, 2023
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Around 500 people had gathered for a procession from the mosque to celebrate the birth of the prophet, known as Mawlid an-Nabi.
French schools’ ban on abayas and headscarves is supposedly about secularism − but it sends a powerful message about who ‘belongs’ in French culture
By Carol Ferrara — September 29, 2023
(The Conversation) — Catholicism, ‘Frenchness’ and secularism are often conflated in French culture, a scholar writes, while non-Christian traditions are viewed with suspicion.
How college can be a pathway to making Muslims more welcome
By Musbah Shaheen, Matthew J. Mayhew, Christa Winkler, and Alyssa Rockenbach — September 28, 2023
(RNS) — Campuses are places we learn to value others in the basic ways that humanize us.
Religious liberty is becoming a go-to right for everyone
By Mark Silk — September 27, 2023
(RNS) — A legal strategy pioneered by the right has been adopted by the left.
Tinmel – Morocco’s medieval shrine and mosque – is one of the historic casualties of the earthquake
By Abbey Stockstill — September 27, 2023
(The Conversation) — Morocco is grappling not just with the loss of lives from the recent earthquake, but with the destruction of its cultural heritage – a 12th century mosque in the village of Tinmel is among them.
What is an abaya − and why does it cause such controversy in France? A scholar of European studies explains
By Armin Langer — September 27, 2023
(The Conversation) — In some conservative countries, the abaya is part of expected dress. But in countries where Muslims are in the minority, the abaya can be a way for women to connect with their religious identity.
The increasingly perilous lot of the pilgrim shows us all the path on climate
By Marqus Cole — September 22, 2023
(RNS) — People of faith can help bend the curve on emissions.
Belly dancers, terrorists or taxi drivers: Arab American comedians spoof stereotypes
By Fiona André — September 21, 2023
(RNS) — The Arab American Comedy Festival is launching a 10-month tour as the event turns 20.
