Islam

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Journalist and science fiction writer Frank Herbert’s Dune epic has many themes. One is, clearly, environmentalism and the need for humans to adapt to their environment. Another is the struggle between regimented bureaucratic civilization and individualism. Yet another is the temptation to use religion for liberatory purposes. The Denis Villeneuve […]

Islam

Ramadan finds greater Recognition in America’s Public Schools

The Conversation

By Amaarah DeCuir, American University | – Ramadan – the Islamic month of fasting – is expected to begin at sunset on March 10, 2024. The likely first day of fasting will be Monday, March 11. Amaarah DeCuir, who researches Muslim student experiences, offers insights into how public schools can move toward greater recognition of […]

Arab Americans

Biden, Whitmer join in condemnation of Wall Street Journal column accusing Dearborn, MI, of Muslim Radicalism

Michigan Advance

By: Jon King – ( Michigan Advance ) – Reaction to a Wall Street Journal opinion piece about Dearborn intensified through the weekend, as President Joe Biden and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined the chorus of condemnation. The WSJ op-ed, “Welcome to Dearborn, America’s Jihad Capital,” alleged thousands of residents in the predominantly Muslim city, including […]

Featured

How Biden inherited the War with an Iraqi Shiite Militia from Bush, Trump and Netanyahu

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The “Party of God Brigades” (Kata’ib Hizbullah) of Iraq struck the Tower 22 US military base in the far north of Jordan on the border with Syria on Sunday, killing three US military personnel and wounding dozens more. The Shiite militia said that it was part of its continued attempt […]

Iran

Muslims and Jews: Remembering Jewish School Days in Pre-Revolutionary Tehran

Nassrine Azimi

( The Chukogu Shimbun ) – HIROSHIMA —The elegant art deco building of Ettefagh, Iran’s famous Jewish school, still stands on a leafy avenue adjacent to Tehran University. Originally established by prominent Iraqis who had settled in Iran following Jewish pogroms and expulsions of the 1940s and early 50s in Iraq, Ettefagh started as a […]

Islam

With Palestinian Struggle in Gaza, Tiktok has opened Rare Spaces of Empathy and Learning about Islam

The Conversation

By Nahid Widaatalla, University of Toronto | – (The Conversation) – The ongoing conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israel is playing out on screens like never before. Through social media, millions are witnessing the violence that has killed thousands since Oct. 7. People have turned to social media to learn about the history and […]

Christianity

A Merry Muslim Christmas from India’s Hyderabad, c. 1630: Jesus, the Dutch, and Diamonds

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The nativity of the Christ child is not solely an occasion of Christian spirituality, but has been celebrated through the ages by Muslim writers and painters, as well. As I have pointed out, the story of the Annunciation and the birth of Jesus is told in the Qur’an: Verses 19:17-35: […]

Christianity

Juan Cole: Infidel or Pagan? Understanding Kufr (كفر) in the Qur’an | Muhammad the Prophet of Peace

Juan Cole

Gabriel Said Reynolds of Notre Dame writes: “In this video I interview Professor Juan Cole, the Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan. We discuss the historicity of Muhammad’s raids as well as the picture of the messenger that is obtained when one focuses on the Qur’an alone. The bulk […]

Islam

Never Forget: Jews and Muslims have Often imagined themselves in History as Siblings and Allies

Anouar Majid

Excerpted from Tingis. Historically, and even theologically, Jews have always been closer to Muslims than they were to Christians. It was in Muslim lands, the late eminent historian Bernard Lewis told us, that Arabic “became the language of science and philosophy, of government and commerce, even the language of Jewish theology when such a discipline […]