Islam

The term ‘Judeo-Christian’ has been misused for political ends – a new ‘Abrahamic’ identity offers an alternative

By Toby Greene | – Upcoming elections in the Netherlands and Germany in 2021 will test the strength of the radical right, which has a distinct vision of European identity. In contrast to those who view democratic values as essentially secular and universal, and not tied to specific cultural or religious roots, radical right parties […]

Christianity

What does the Holy Book of Islam say about the Birth of Jesus?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | Revised. The Qur’an, the scripture Muslims believe was received by the the Prophet Muhammad (d. 632) by divine inspiration, has a number of passages that mention Mary and the virgin birth of Jesus. The Chapter of Mary, 19:16, says (my interpretation): And mention in the Book Mary, when […]

Islam

Lady Zeinab: A British Aristocrat embraces Islam in the Shadow of European War

Shalom Goldman

Middlebury, Vt. (Special to Informed Comment) – In 1934, Lady Evelyn Cobbold, a Scottish aristocrat and traveler, wrote that with the tightening of Nazi rule over Germany, many in England sensed that a European War was looming. Among the British elites ‘rumors of war’ were discouraged; the trauma and losses of the 1914-18 World War, […]

al-Qaeda

Heroic Values: What do radical Islam and militant Christianity have in common? Part II

Bert de Vries

( Christian Courier Canada) – Evangelicals were looking for a protector,” Kristin Du Mez says, to explain their attraction to President Trump in 2016, “an aggressive, heroic, manly man, someone who wasn’t restrained by political correctness or feminine virtues, someone who would break the rules for the right cause” (Jesus and John Wayne, 253). The […]

France

Why should every individual terrorist Attack bring Questions about all French Muslims’ loyalty to the Republic?

The Conversation

By Greg Barton and Fethi Mansouri | – After three people died in a knife attack in Nice this week that French President Emmanuel Macron called an “Islamist terrorist attack”, there was a sense of déjà vu — we have seen this before. Embed from Getty ImagesFrench Prime Minister Jean Castex (L) greets policemen near […]

al-Qaeda

What Do Radical Islam and Militant Christianity Have in Common?

Bert de Vries

Radical Minorities ( Christian Courier Canada) – In both Islam and Christianity, the mainstream has understood the core teachings of their founding prophets as proclamations of the Peace of God on earth. In each, the “way” has been characterized by peaceful interaction in societies that welcomed coexistence with religious minorities. While both have had their […]

Donald Trump

Is it an accident that Iran and the US, two Theocracies, are Coronavirus Basket Cases?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The coronavirus statistics in both Iran and the United States are horrible. The US has the worst record on dealing with the pandemic in the industrialized world. One clue to why the two countries are doing so badly with regard to basic public health strategy may lie in the importance […]

Christianity

Peace and pro-Christian themes in Muhammad and the Qur’an

Juan Cole

Juan Cole is interviewed below by Professor Adnan Husain, Queens University (co-editor of A Faithful Sea: The Religious Cultures of the Mediterranean, 1200-1700) on themes of peace and warmth toward Christians in the Qur’an. The event was sponsored by the Muslim Societies Global Perspectives initiative at Queens University. My remarks are drawn in large part […]

Islam

On how there are no “Infidels” in the Qur’an, and how Christians and Jews are never Called That

Juan Cole

My new article is out in The Journal of the American Oriental Society about the meaning of the root k-f-r in the Qur’an, the Muslim scripture. We’ve all grown up hearing about the Qur’an’s condemnation of “infidels” or “unbelievers,” but I think that this is for the most part a mistranslation. I argue that the […]