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Conflict in Mecca: The Prophet Muhammad and Soft Power
Featured

Conflict in Mecca: The Prophet Muhammad and Soft Power

Juan Cole

I believe that the earliest source we have for the life of the Prophet is the Quran itself. And I believe the Quran is early.

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“Into this Universe:”  Heidegger and FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:29

“Into this Universe:” Heidegger and FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:29

12/14/2025 By Juan Cole

“Identity is never fixed:” Interview with Iranian-American Artist Soraya Sharghi

“Identity is never fixed:” Interview with Iranian-American Artist Soraya Sharghi

12/14/2025 By Global Voices

More Stories

Constitution
New FCC Rules Will Put "Stake in Internet's Heart"

New FCC Rules Will Put “Stake in Internet’s Heart”

(By Jon Queally) Defenders of an open, innovative and fair internet are up in arms Thursday after learning the Federal Communications Commission is about to […]

Juan Cole

Bill of Rights
The Impunity of American Torture:  From Abu Ghraib to Sen. Feinstein's Brawl with the CIA

The Impunity of American Torture: From Abu Ghraib to Sen. Feinstein’s Brawl with the CIA

(by Karen J. Greenberg via Tomdispatch.com) It’s mind-boggling. Torture is still up for grabs in America. No one questions anymore whether the CIA waterboarded one […]

Juan Cole

Featured
John Kerry admits Israeli Apartheid; and 5 Ways he is Understating It

John Kerry admits Israeli Apartheid; and 5 Ways he is Understating It

(By Juan Cole) In a closed-room meeting of the Trilateral Commission last Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry warned that Israel is on the verge […]

Juan Cole

Bashar al-Assad
A Widening War:  Iraq  intervenes in Syria with Helicopter Gunships

A Widening War: Iraq intervenes in Syria with Helicopter Gunships

(By Juan Cole) For the first time, Iraqi helicopter gunships have crossed the border to hit a target inside Syria. They destroyed 8 fuel tankers […]

Juan Cole

Human Rights
Turkey's PM Erdogan between Sultanate and Hobbesian Commonwealth

Turkey’s PM Erdogan between Sultanate and Hobbesian Commonwealth

(By Kerem Oktem) . . . [Thomas Hobbbes’] Leviathan is about more than the rights of the sovereign. For it to be considered a commonwealth, […]

Juan Cole

Economy
Can America's descent into Plutocracy (Rule-by-the-Rich) be Reversed?

Can America’s descent into Plutocracy (Rule-by-the-Rich) be Reversed?

Harvard’s Lawrence Lessig, the crusader for campaign finance reform, feels that his fellow reformers don’t think big or boldly enough to inspire the kind of grassroots campaign that might break elite donors’ stranglehold on America’s political…

Juan Cole

Germany
Wind & Solar Can Generate Electricity For Half The Cost Of Nuclear

Wind & Solar Can Generate Electricity For Half The Cost Of Nuclear

Originally published on Renew Economy. New-build wind and solar energy systems can generate electricity for up to 50 per cent cheaper than new nuclear power plants, a German study has found. The research, commissioned by German think tank Agora Energiewende…

Juan Cole

Constitution
State Dept Launches 'Free the Press' Campaign Same Day DOJ Asks Supreme Court To Jail Reporter

State Dept Launches ‘Free the Press’ Campaign Same Day DOJ Asks Supreme Court To Jail Reporter

The US State Department announced the launch of its third annual “Free the Press” campaign today, which will purportedly highlight “journalists or media outlets that are censored, attacked, threatened, or otherwise oppressed because of their reporting…

Juan Cole

censorship
Egyptian Youth Protest against Anti-Protest Law a month before Elections

Egyptian Youth Protest against Anti-Protest Law a month before Elections

(By Juan Cole) Hundreds of leftist and secular youth demonstrated on Saturday against Egypt’s Draconian law forbidding demonstrations, demanding the release of revolutionary activists jailed […]

Juan Cole

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