Islam

Today is a special day for me. In 2015, at the height of the ISIL cult’s influence in Iraq and Syria and during a time of extreme bigotry toward Muslims in the United States, I conceived a project on “Islamic Peace Studies.” The point was not to deny the violence of cult-like movements such as […]

Islam

The Qur’an and Plato’s Republic: Hellenism and Early Islam (Juan Cole Video Interview)

Juan Cole

Interview by Ziryab Jamal of Juan Cole | – “THE QUR’ĀN’S CHAPTER “The Cow” contains a verse (2:138) having to do with believers being dyed with the dye of God, which has occasioned speculation both among Muslim exegetes and academic scholars. I translate it this way: “The dye of God! Who is better than God […]

Islam

On Writing the Biography of the Prophet Muhammad: Juan Cole Video

Juan Cole

I was honored to be asked to address a seminar of the AIME organization on the biography of the Prophet Muhammad on November 6, 2021. It was a wonderful audience and they were very kind to listen to me talking about how academics approach he sources for the Prophet’s life. Here is the video: “Mercy […]

Islam

Muslim Generosity and the Obligation of Zakat

The Conversation

By Iqbal Akhtar | – Muslims see wealth as a gift and a divine dispensation. The Quran urges individuals to share their wealth and income with those of lesser means. Almsgiving is one of the five pillars of Islam – a fundamental practice within the faith. One key way this happens is through Zakat, the […]

Donald Trump

In Irrational COVID Policy, is there any Difference between Republicans and Iran’s Ayatollahs?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – David Axe at the Daily Beast reports on what he says is very bad news for the US red states whose Republican governors are depending on herd immunity to get us past the COVID-19 pandemic. Some Iranian provinces have, since its beginning, reported more cases of the coronavirus than they […]

Islam

Juan Cole’s “Muhammad” is one of Best Five Books on the Prophet Muhammad (Muqtedar Khan Youtube)

Juan Cole

Muqtedar Khan is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delaware. His doctoral dissertation at Georgetown University was on Islamic political thought. He edited Debating Moderate Islam: The Geopolitics of Islam and the West (University of Utah Press, 2007) and authored Jihad for Jerusalem: Identity and Strategy in International Relations (Praeger […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Taliban Forcibly Evict Minority Shia — Hazaras Targets of Collective Punishment

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (New York) – Taliban officials in several provinces across Afghanistan have forcibly displaced residents partly to distribute land to their own supporters, Human Rights Watch said today. Many of these evictions have targeted Hazara Shia communities, as well as people associated with the former government, as a form of collective punishment. […]

Featured

Will Israel’s Muslim Fundamentalists help Pass Marijuana Bill?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Jack Khoury and Noa Shpigel report at Haaretz that the Israeli government is advancing a marijuana bill that may gain the support of the United Arab List, a Muslim fundamentalist party that forms part of the 8-party coalition underpinning the government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Although Mansour Abbas, the […]

China

China: removing features from country’s biggest mosques the latest move in campaign of Muslim assimilation

The Conversation

By David R. Stroup | In the normally quiet city of Xining, capital of northwest China’s Qinghai province, everyday interactions between the city’s ethnic groups – Han Chinese, Hui Muslim, Tibetans, Turkic Salars and others – usually pass without conflict or fanfare. But thanks to the municipal government’s controversial demolition of the entrance hall of […]