religion

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Some American political leaders are talking about a religious war between Christianity and Islam in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks on Israel of October 7 and after. This rhetoric is ignorant and bigotted. Although Hamas calls itself an “Islamic” resistance movement, it is in fact a dangerous cult that […]

Antisemitism

In Historic Announcement, Biden Bans Anti-Muslim, Anti-Jewish Discrimination under Title VI for Federal Agencies

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It is a truism that there are some ethnic groups in the United States toward whom it is still permitted to show bigotry. Whereas public figures can be cancelled for racism against African Americans, Hispanics, and other groups, ragging on Muslim Americans is a blood sport in American politics. Trump […]

Christianity

Extremist Minister Ben-Gvir opposes Jailing Ultra-Orthodox who spit on Christians in Jerusalem, as Pope Francis Fumes

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israeli journalist Nir Hasson at Haaretz put a spotlight on the disturbing practice of some Ultra-Orthodox Israelis of eastern European heritage of spitting on Christians in Jerusalem. The incident concerned what appeared to be Filipino pilgrims carrying a cross, but the people who suffer most from such forms of aggression […]

Christianity

How White Christian Nationalism Threatens U.S. Democracy

Michigan Advance

By Steve Corbin. | – ( Michigan Advance ) – You may be among the 35% of Americans who have never heard the term “white Christian nationalism.” But of those citizens who are knowledgeable of the concept, it carries a decidedly negative view. The belief is becoming more and more important to understand as cultural […]

Featured

ISIL Extremists Bomb Mosques in Pakistan, in Bid to outlaw Celebrating the Birth of the Prophet Muhammad (Yes)

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Muhammad Shahid at The National (Dubai) reports that there were two attacks on mosques in northern Pakistan on Friday. The bigger explosion targeted worshipers in Mastung, Baluchistan, near the provincial capital of Quetta. This bombing appears to have been aimed at Muslims who were staging a public procession to commemorate […]

Islamophobia

What is an Abaya − and why does it cause such Controversy in France? A scholar of European Studies Explains

The Conversation

By Armin Langer, University of Florida | – (The Conversation) – Worn by some Muslim women, an abaya is a long, loose-fitting, robelike garment that covers the entire body, except for the face, hands and feet. Through the abaya, women can express their religious identity and dedication to following Islamic guidelines regarding modest attire. In […]

Featured

Taliban in Tel Aviv: Israel Joins Middle East in Clashing over Gender Segregation, Women’s rights in Public Sphere

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Haaretz reports that at public prayers for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, at Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening, Ultra-Orthodox activists attempted to put up banners as separators to allow for the segregation of male and female worshipers. This action was seen as a provocation by liberal […]

Iraq

How Popular Music Videos encouraged Iraqi Shiites to Resist ISIL Terrorism

The Conversation

By Benjamin Isakhan, Deakin University; and Ali Akbar, The University of Melbourne | – Almost a decade ago, the Sunni jihadist network known as the “Islamic State” (IS) declared the formation of an Islamic Caliphate after they captured the Iraqi city of Mosul in June 2014. In response, tens of thousands of Shia men joined […]

Evangelicals

The dangerous Alliance of religious Nationalism in Israel and America to Silence Critics of Apartheid

Waging Nonviolence

Morgan Artyukhina ( Waging Nonviolence ) – A new brand of far-right religious nationalism in Israel is seeking to refine the country’s ethnocentric basis, increasing its policing of the boundaries of Israeli Jewish identity in an attempt to shore up support for Israel’s anti-Arab policies. A parallel movement is unfolding in Israel’s chief benefactor, the […]