Islam

By Nabil Al-Sahli | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – A far-right member of the Israeli parliament stormed into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque last Thursday. Extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir was guarded by a heavy police presence at the time. His incursion fell within the context of Israel’s long-term strategic political goal to Judaise occupied […]

Archaeology

Israeli Archeologists find Proof of Muslim-Christian Ecumenism among Crew of Shipwreck from Dawn of Islam

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ariel David writing at Haaretz reports on Haifa University marine archeologists who have been investigating a shipwreck that sank off the coast of early Muslim-ruled Palestine sometime between 648 and 740 A.D. The find provides some evidence for the economic robustness of this era, and for strong connections between the […]

Islam

What is Ramadan and why does it require Muslims to fast?

The Conversation

Mehmet Ozalp, Charles Sturt University | – Intermittent fasting is now becoming popular, with many promised health benefits. But Muslims have been practising fasting in the lunar month of Ramadan for centuries. The Ramadan for 2022 will start on Saturday April 2 and go for about 30 days. It is then followed by the three-day […]

Islam

Crimea’s Peaceful Muslim Tatars Dared come out against Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine

Brian Glyn Williams

( The Conversation ) – As Vladimir Putin’s forces wage a brutal war against Ukraine, the Crimean Tatars living in Russian-occupied Crimea and on the Ukrainian mainland feel particularly threatened by their historic enemy’s latest invasion. Some have vowed to defend Ukraine, a land many fled to in 2014 after Putin’s forces invaded the Crimean […]

Islam

The Long History of al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem as a Center of Sufi Mysticism was even Mentioned by Rumi

Middle East Monitor

By Ismail Patel | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Before discussing two great Sufis, Abd Al-Ghani Nabulusi and Ibrahim ibn Adham, it is essential to note that Sufis from across the globe are passionate about Masjid Al-Aqsa. In the 17th century, there were over 70 zawiyas (Sufi spiritual centres) in Jerusalem. Both Masjid […]

Iran

Foes of a new Nuclear Agreement Demonize Tehran, but what is Iranian Society really Like Today?

Ali Abootalebi

Eau Claire, Wi. (Special to Informed Comment) – The nature and the parameters of power relations in the state-society relations in Iran since the 1978-79 revolution have radically changed. The revolution ended the twenty-five-hundred-year-old monarchical rule in Iran and gave rise to a Shi’a ‘ulema-dominated rule. The demise of the old Pahlavi regime saw the […]

Islam

Juan Cole’s New Book “Peace Movements in Islam” – Interview by Jadaliya

Juan Cole

Via: Texts out Now: Jadaliya (Excerpt from the Jadaliya Interview – go to original site for full text.): Jadaliyya (J): What made you edit this book? Juan Cole (JC): I began this project in 2015 because of the avalanche of writing in the United States and Europe about the ISIL terrorist group in Iraq and […]

Featured

Juan Cole on his new Book “Peace Movements in Islam” (Simon Mabon’s Podcast)

Juan Cole

Many thanks to Simon Mabon, Professor of International Politics at Lancaster University and prominent Middle East specialist, for hosting me on his Sepad Podcast to speak about my new edited book, Peace Movements in Islam This book results from two conferences held at the International Institute of the University of Michigan to explore the theme […]

art and photography

The Nativity, Jesus and Mary in Paintings of the Muslim Mughal Court of India

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Here’s a Christmas entry. The Mughal dynasty, originating in what is now Uzbekistan, ruled India from 1526 until the 18th century, though the dynasty continued under British rule until 1857. Some of the members of the royal family were remarkably open-minded about religion, being a Muslim minority in a sea […]