religion

Opposing views points to the scary ignorance and bible-thumping to which GOP representatives in Congress are appealing in their genocidal stand against quick action on climate change. If you have to have a biblical theology about these things, it should be the old-fashioned one that human beings are stewards of the earth and have a […]

Islam

Ms. Marvel and the Rise of the Muslim Superhero in America

Juan Cole

Umberto Eco argued that Superman, from the character’s inception in the 1940s through about 1970, was a politically conservative figure. The stories were about protecting property and combating petty crime, rather banal stuff given the character’s powers. The character was opaque and unchanging (i.e. the stories are plot-driven adventures, not character-driven). Art by Adrian Alphono […]

Christianity

Egypt’s Coptic Christians Protest Killing by Fundamentalists of 4 at Church

Juan Cole

Coptic Christians in Egypt staged a big demonstration on Monday to protest the shooting deaths of four church-goers at the Church of the Virgin in the working class al-Warraq district in Cairo on Sunday. Two of the victims were children. Assailants came in on motorcycles with guns blazing. Many Coptic Christians blamed the deposed Muslim […]

Gulf

Can you Pass the Qatar Quiz? (Rudolph)

Juan Cole

CAN YOU PASS THE QATAR QUIZ? By Jeffrey Rudolph Qatar, once one of the poorest Persian Gulf states, has become one of the region’s wealthiest countries and also one of the most active in regional affairs. However, Qatar, like the other Gulf states, faces meaningful internal and external challenges, which require more than energy wealth […]

Christianity

Syrian and Middle Eastern Christians Condemn US Strike Plans

Juan Cole

Syria and Lebanon are multicultural societies, but the American discourse about Syria tends to focus on the Muslim majority and to ignore the substantial Christian minorities. It is interesting that these Eastern Christians are solidly against an American missile strike on Syria. Many US congressional representatives discussing the possibility of military action against that country […]

Afghanistan

Has Military Suppression of Political Islam ever Worked?

Juan Cole

The Egyptian military’s obvious determination to crush the Muslim Brotherhood involves serious human rights violations, apparent in the appalling scenes of the siege of members in a mosque on Saturday. A separate question, which any political pragmatist would ask, is, can it work? If we look at long term attempts to limit political expressions of […]

Islam

The Burka Avenger stands up to Male Chauvinist Taliban on Pakistani TV

Juan Cole

The Burka Avenger is a children’s cartoon about a mild-mannered female school teacher in Pakistan who has an alter ego. As the black-clad Burka Avenger, she takes on oppressive and intolerant Taliban types with the power of education and books. The concept, by rock star Haroon, is full of reversals and appropriations. Thus, the full […]

Christianity

Why US Media will focus on Pope’s ‘Gay’ Remarks but Ignore those on the Poor, Amazon Environment

Juan Cole

Pope Francis comes across in the media as a person who cares for others, and his genial personality, it seems to me, allows him to restate conservative principles in ways that inspire hope in or do not alienate liberals. But liberals need to listen to him carefully to hear the unyielding steel in his voice. […]

Christianity

Fox to Reza Aslan: Why would a Muslim write a book about Jesus?

Juan Cole

Academic publishes scholarly study of the historical Jesus. Fox Cable News wants only to talk about his own religious background as a Muslim. Apparently they don’t know over there that Muslims believe in Jesus (as a prophet, which is what the New Testament calls him– remember his comment about a prophet not being without honor?). […]