Islam
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.
Saudi reforms are softening Islam’s role, but critics warn the kingdom will still take a hard line against dissent
By Nathan French — September 11, 2023
(The Conversation) — A scholar who has closely followed reforms that MBS has made to Wahhabism, an austere form of Islam, explains the changes taking place in the Saudi kingdom and their impact.
‘On 9/11 there was a sense of unity in the country. We’ve taken a collective step back.’
By Simran Jeet Singh — September 8, 2023
(RNS) — A surgeon who volunteered at Ground Zero recalls the aftermath.
Hoop dreams, with hijab
By Liz Kineke — September 7, 2023
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (RNS) — At a camp called Hooping in Faith, young women build confidence in their identities as athletes and faithful Muslims.
At African climate summit, faith leaders join demands for climate justice
By Fredrick Nzwili — September 6, 2023
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — ‘Matters of climate change cannot be politicized, reduced to economies,’ said a Lutheran priest, but instead should be ‘treated as a matter of life and death.’
France’s laicité in the name of secularism is really only supremacist legacy of colonialism
By Omar Suleiman — September 6, 2023
(RNS) — What is it that makes a schoolgirl’s choice to wear the abaya a form of religious proselytism?
Another Washington-area mosque receives threatening call
By Fiona André — September 1, 2023
(RNS) — The call came two weeks after another mosque in the Washington region was targeted by a false bomb threat.
Clergy dish up meatball sundaes, pickle ice pops and a little faith at the Minnesota State Fair
By Giovanna Dell'orto — September 1, 2023
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) — As the sun rose on an unusually steamy opening day of the Minnesota State Fair, Jeff Knott and his two daughters joined the already long breakfast line outside the Hamline Church Dining Hall. The Lutheran family, at the fair to show the teen girls’ pigs Billy and Lil’ Red, favor […]
