religion

By Dov Waxman, University of California, Los Angeles | – (The Conversation) – Antisemitism has been in the news a lot lately. Hip-hop megastar Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – tweeted Oct. 8, 2022 that he would “go death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” and then made antisemitic comments during a series of […]

Authoritarianism

In New Tactic, Young Iranian Protesters Knock Off Clerics’ Turbans On The Street

Golnaz Esfandiari

By Golnaz Esfandiari and Hamid Fatemi | – ( RFE/RL ) – Nationwide antiestablishment protests have raged across the Islamic republic since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died on September 16 shortly after she was arrested for allegedly violating the hijab law on women’s dress. As the authorities have waged a […]

Islam

How Images of veiled Muslim Women are used to justify War

The Conversation

By Sara Rahnama, Morgan State University | – Unusual Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching. Course Title: “Women and War” What prompted the idea for the course? (The Conversation) – When I was on a fellowship at the Library of Congress finishing my first book, “The Future […]

Authoritarianism

The MAGA Golden Calf: The Christian Right’s dangerous Flirtation with Political Violence and Far-Right Extremism

Matthijs Kronemeijer

By Matthijs Kronemeijer | – Toronto (Special to Informed Comment) – The November edition of First Things, a magazine of the Christian Right, features a lengthy statement from a group of theologians called Evangelicals and Catholics Together. The church friend who spontaneously sent me a link indicated that the statement is about Christian citizenship and […]

Christianity

Churches Are Breaking the Law by Endorsing in Elections, Experts Say. The IRS Looks the Other Way

ProPublica

By Jeremy Schwartz and Jessica Priest | – Co-published with The Texas Tribune ( ProPublica) – Six days before a local runoff election last year in Frisco, a prosperous and growing suburb of Dallas, Brandon Burden paced the stage of KingdomLife Church. The pastor told congregants that demonic spirits were operating through members of the […]

Feminism

Iran: Protesters call for Move to a non-religious State. What Changes would that Bring?

The Conversation

By Hossein Dabbagh, University of Oxford | – My friend was in Tehran during protests after the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police (Gasht-e Ershad). My friend went into a grocery shop intending to buy milk. The seller refused to sell anything to her. “Why are you refusing?” she […]

African-Americans

With his Dangerous Antisemitism and Racist Stereotypes, Ye has made himself a MAGA Patsy

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – Kanye West, who now goes by just “Ye,” has transformed himself from a global rap and fashion icon, into a useful idiot for Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. What he did not realize is that rich, powerful white men like Trump are routinely forgiven their racism by […]

American Jews

Ken Burns’ Holocaust Documentary should set our Hair on Fire about the Creep of Trumpian Fascism

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland (Special to Informed Comment) – The genius of Ken Burns’ documentaries is his ability to personify history. Watching the documentary by Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein on the U.S. and the Holocaust is a challenging experience for most people, and is especially difficult for those from Jewish families that include survivors. I learned […]

Feminism

Marriage laws in Mideast put Women at increased risk of Child Marriage and Domestic Violence

Middle East Monitor

By Amelia Smith | – ( Middle East Monitor) – A new policy briefing by the NGO, Equality Now, on how marriage laws in the MENA region and around the world discriminate against women and girls reveals how failure to reform means they are at increased risk of human rights violations, such as child marriage […]