Michael Penn | Emir-Stein Center | Video Clip and Transcript | – If history matters, then getting right the history of the first encounters of the world’s two largest religions—Christianity and Islam—really matters. In this fascinating video, Prof. Michael Penn, the Teresa Hihn Moore Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University, sheds light on the […]
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religion
Glowing Review of Cole’s “Muhammad: Prophet of Peace” in “American Diplomacy”
Career foreign service officer, Benjamin Tua, who served in Brazil, Japan and Muslim-majority countries such as Kyrgyzstan, reviews my new book Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires for American Diplomacy. Tua writes, that it “is perfect for the reader who knows little about Mohammad’s life and origins as a member of a […]
Islam, the Oud and American Jazz Prodigy Ahmed Abdul-Malik
(Informed Comment) – On John Coltrane’s breakthrough album Live at the Village Vanguard album (1961) there were many musical innovations, and the sound of an instrument new to jazz, the oud. The oud, staple of Middle Eastern music – and ancestor of the lute and guitar – was played by Coltrane’s bassist, Ahmed Abdul-Malik. Just […]
What is Ashura? How this Shiite Muslim holiday inspires millions
By Noorzehra Zaidi | – Tens of millions of Shiite Muslims from around the world will visit Iraq on Sept. 10 this year to see the shrines of Hussain, grandson of Prophet Mohammed, and his brother Abbas on the day of “Ashura.” Ashura in Syria. Tasnim News Agency, CC BY-SA This annual pilgrimage marks the […]
Why I Left the Far-Right: Joram van Klaveren’s Journey to Islam (Video)
Emir-Stein Center | Video Clip | – “From extreme nationalism and far-right politics to compassion and empathy, watch the incredible transformation story of Joram van Klaveren, a former Dutch parliamentarian.” Emir-Stein Center: “Why I Left the Far-Right” Article appended by Informed Comment: Geert Wilders’ former senior right hand, Joram van Klaveren, converts to Islam EICRI […]
The Saudi Axis and Israel’s Drone War on the Shiite Crescent
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In the past week, Linah al-Saafin at Al Jazeera English points out, an Israeli drone hit a Hizbullah target in Lebanon, Israeli fighter jets bombed a base in Syria with Iranian personnel, and Israel somehow hit bases of a Shiite militia in Iraq, including one on the Syria-Iraq border, killing […]
Jewish Liberalism v. Jewish Nationalism: How Trump’s tweets on Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib Pitched an Old Divide
By Noam Pianko |- President Trump recently asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deny entry to two Democratic congresswomen planning to visit Israel. Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, Trump claimed, “hate Israel and all Jewish people.” Within a few hours, the Israeli prime minister banned the representatives. Subsequently, Trump questioned how any Democrat […]
Jazz Great John Coltrane and the Enchantment of Islam
(Informed Comment) – In his childhood and youth in rural North Carolina John Coltrane absorbed the musical traditions of African-American worship. His parents were active in the local African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. John’s paternal grandfather was a minister in that church and John’s mother sang and played piano in the gospel choir. In 1943 […]
British Muslims: New Directions in Islamic Thought, Creativity and Activism
In British Muslims: New Directions in Islamic Thought, Creativity and Activism, Philip Lewis and Sadek Hamid demonstrate how new generations are remaking Islamic institutional infrastructures in Britain. In so doing, the book challenges scholars and policy practitioners to revise their representations of Muslim institutions in the UK and to argue for an different, updated understanding […]