religion

The Qur’an castigates the Jews and Christians of the early 600s AD for their exclusivist theories of salvation. Alan Race and John Hick have identified three possible stances by one religion toward the prospects of going to heaven for members of other religions. Exclusivism is the position that only members of your own religion are […]

Islam

Islam: Compassion and Positive Peace in the Qur’an

Juan Cole

One of the early chapters of the Qur’an is “The City,” chapter 90 in the standard version. It gives us a good idea of the verses being recited by the Prophet Muhammad around 613, three years into his ministry, once he started preaching publicly. I discuss this period in Chapter 3 of my new book: […]

Muslim-Americans

Why is it Muslim Americans need Military Service to be Accepted as Americans?

Edward E. Curtis IV

(Mizan) – On October 19, 2008, a little over a fortnight before the November 4 election contested by Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, former Republican Secretary of State and retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Colin Powell appeared on the NBC News Sunday morning program Meet the Press to endorse the Democrat. […]

Iran

“A Deadly Blow:” Why is Iran Persecuting and Killing Sufi Mystics?

Golnaz Esfandiari

Washington, D.C. (RFE/RL) – Thirty-three-year-old Mostafa Abdi, a member of Iran’s largest Sufi order and editor of a news outlet focused on the Gonabadi dervish community, appears set to spend the most productive years of his life in an Iranian prison. Abdi was reportedly sentenced earlier this month to more than 26 years, and 148 […]

Featured

Muhammad and Islamic Peace Studies: Interview with Juan Cole

Juan Cole

Author Juan Cole Detroit (World Religion News ) – Joseph Richard Preville, American Writer and Book Critic, interviews Juan Cole. Joseph Richard Preville: What problems do historians face when writing about the life and times of Muhammad? What are the principal sources you consulted to write your book? Juan Cole: The problem is that the […]

Sufism

Morocco’s Visitation of the Poor honors Sufi Muslim Saint

AFP

by Hamza Mekouar | – Moulay Driss Zerhoun (Morocco) (AFP) – It’s dubbed the “pilgrimage of the poor” — every summer, tens of thousands of people flood this small central Moroccan town to honour a Sufi saint buried here 12 centuries ago. Moulay Driss Zerhoun, nestled between two hills covered in olive groves, is where […]

Featured

Early Arabic Inscriptions and the Life of the Prophet: A new Source for History

Juan Cole

Among the anecdotes told in the early biographies of the Prophet Muhammad is one about him being harassed by his immediate neighbors in Mecca, in roughly the period 614-622. One way they bothered him was to throw sheep offal through the window of his home in Mecca where he lived with his first wife, Khadija. […]

Featured

Trump wouldn’t have let her in the Country, but Ilhan Omar is Likely joining Congress

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ilhan Omar, a refugee and a Somali-heritage Muslim woman who veils, has won the Democratic primary for Minnesota’s Fifth District congressional seat, hoping to succeed Keith Ellison. The district, which includes Minneapolis, typically votes heavily Democratic, so she has a good shot at winning the seat. Somalia is one of […]

United Kingdom

UK Labour’s Corbyn Refutes Netanyahu’s Smears, Calls out Policy of Shooting Gaza Kids

Middle East Monitor

London (Middle East Monitor) – Israel’s nation-state law discriminates against the country’s Palestinian minority, British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said Monday, Anadolu reports. Corbyn made the remarks on Twitter in reply to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who joined the criticism against Corbyn over his alleged participation in a wreath-laying ceremony in Tunisia four […]