religion

By Elizabeth Drayson | (The Conversation) | – – It was the moment which set Spain on a course to become the greatest power in early modern Europe. On January 2, 1492 Abdallah Muhammad bin Ali, or Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil, the last Moorish sultan of Granada and head of the Nasrid dynasty, surrendered […]

Islam

What is Missing in our Sunni-Shi’a Conflict Narrative?

Juan Cole

Ali R. Abootalebi | (Informed Comment) | – – The Sunni-Shi’a schism provides for different narrative and prescriptions for arriving at the ‘utopian Islamic society’ and the incoming of the Messiah, al-Mahdi. The theological, doctrinal and jurisprudential differences between the two main branches of Islam has translated into two different visions on the role of […]

Donald Trump

Ignoring White Supremacists, Trump Smears Immigrants as Terrorists

contributors

By Arnold R. Isaacs | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – When you see an immigrant or a foreign visitor, especially from a Muslim country, should your first thought be that you might be looking at a possible terrorist? Clearly, that’s how the Trump administration wants Americans to react. It was the message in the president’s […]

Protestants

American Christian Zionism: The Deep Background and the Current Situation

contributors

By Shalom Goldman | (Informed Comment) | – – This season, the best-selling book in the U.S. is Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu are mentioned frequently in Michael Wolff’s account of the chaos and confusion in the Trump White House. Wolff points out that for […]

Christianity

Priests close Church of Holy Sepulchre over Israeli “attack on Christians”

contributors

Middle East Monitor | – – Church leaders in Jerusalem shut the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday in protest at a new Israeli tax policy and a proposed land expropriation law which they called a “systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land”. Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian church leaders […]

Buddhism

Buddhist Burma Bulldozing Muslim Rohingya Villages: Satellite Photos

contributors

TeleSur | – – Human rights groups that fear the Burmese government is destroying crime scenes before any credible investigation takes place. Satellite imagery shows at least 28 Rohingya villages have been leveled between December and February. However, reports produced by some human rights groups place the figure at 55. Myanmar’s military, aided by Buddhist […]

Israel/ Palestine

Turkey & Vatican tag team Trump over Jerusalem

contributors

Middle East Monitor | – – Both Erdogan and Pope Francis are opposed to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which many US allies say could doom Middle East peace efforts. Tayyip Erdogan made the first visit by a Turkish president to the Vatican in 59 years on […]

Antisemitism

Right’s ban on phrase “Polish Death Camps” Backfires on Warsaw

Juan Cole

Sławomir Sierakowski | (Project Syndicate) | – – A new Polish law criminalizes blaming Poles for any wrongdoing against other nations. But the move only serves to highlight the fact that some Poles were complicit in crimes against Jews, while jeopardizing the country’s relationship with its three most important allies: the US, Germany, and Ukraine. […]

Donald Trump

Trump’s Criminalization of Muslims goes beyond Travel Ban

contributors

Basima Sisemore | (The Conversation) | – – On Jan. 19, a year after President Donald Trump’s first travel ban was issued, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments against the latest third version signed by Trump on Sept. 24, 2017. This version remains in full effect. Under the ban, nationals from eight countries are […]