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‘Almost Like Praying’: The Religious Work of ‘Hamilton’ Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda

By Spencer Dew

…entity. Just as Boricuas have come together since the storm, here celebrity-stand-ins join in rough harmony, taking turns at the mic. As Andrew Boryga wrote in the The New Yorker: “At a time when it’s hard for Puerto Ricans not to feel like the entirety of their island is being forgotten by the federal government and by parts of the media, the song rings with pride, and the haste in which it was put together by big-name artists speaks to the effor…

Why the Obama/Hillary Clinton Approach to Middle East Peace is Doomed to Failure

By Rabbi Michael Lerner

…th that American politicians promise not to deal with Hamas, just as in the 1980s and 1990s these same forces insisted that the U.S. not negotiate with the PLO. According to several Israeli analysts, the Obama Administration’s game plan is this: To call for a cease-fire that will freeze in place Israel’s commanding military position in the West Bank and Gaza—after allowing Israel some more time to finish wiping out Hamas operatives in Gaza—then ho…

Uganda Passes Anti-Homosexuality Bill Despite (or Due to?) U.S. Opposition

By Kapya Kaoma

…support from his people. He will also define his opponents as pawns of the West who are poised to legalize homosexuality—again winning him support among Ugandan voters. But the move will also purify his image among American Conservatives like Scott Lively, Lou Engle, and Sharon Slater, among many others, who will celebrate him for standing up to what they see as Obama’s global gay agenda. Unfortunately, this law will also give cover to other Afric…

Talking Justice on Twitter: “We Are Breaking Down Barriers”

By Arafat Kabir

…e of the greatest cultures and civilizations ever to develop were in Muslim-Jewish Babylon, Muslim-Jewish Ottoman Empire, and Muslim-Jewish Spain. We must remember our history and build on it. When Jews and Muslims attack each other with European and American weapons and money, we might remember that Christian crusaders saw Muslims as pagans and Jews as Christ-killers. We were both victims of their swords. We must remember that Catholic Spain expe…

French Theologian Urges Islam to Self-Critique, Fails to Notice Log in Own Eye

By Daniel J. Schultz

…and their motivations. In the immigrant dominated Parisian suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, reported the New York Times, teacher Éric Bettancourt told the television channel France 2 that a majority of his students did not observe the silence. He went on to say the students “considered that it was forbidden to make blasphemies or insult the prophet through drawings or speech.” Many teachers – shocked and speechless – found themselves unable to engage….

Explaining Christian Zionism to Israelis

By Sarah Posner

…U.S., the American public can discover more details about Christian Zionist-funded trips American lawmakers take to Israel and the occupied territories.) In turn, Schlesinger said, MKs provide the flourishing Christian tourism business in Israel with special treatment: VIP meetings with members of the Knesset, officially sanctioned awards to prominent Christian Zionists, MK endorsements of the Christian ministries, useful for the ministries’ fundr…

Solidarity Through Veiling? Backlash Has Been “Personal, Fierce and Vile…”

By Sarah Eltantawi

…m back to their home countries. Combine this with the Iranian Revolution of 1978-9 and we have a significant percentage of the Muslim majority world experiencing this moment. – In view of these last two points, it is interesting to read the many threads that make the argument along the lines of, “if hijab isn’t fard (obligatory), then all Muslims until this very moment in the liberal west have been wrong!” or “The wives and companions of the Proph…

If Kirill’s Bizarre Sermon Blaming War on Pride Parades Comes as a Surprise, it’s Time to Learn the History

By Katherine Kelaidis

…emarks go beyond a decade of horrific anti-LGBTQ repression and the Russian-American Evangelical Lovefest. For centuries, arguably since the Crusaders’ Sack of Constantinople, Orthodox Christianity has shaped its self-conception around the image of the Suffering Servant. Orthodox Christians and Orthodox Christian nations, this logic goes, are the last bastion of true Christianity and pious Christian life. As such, they’re bound to suffer at the ha…

Refusing the Monsters on Maple Street: A First-Person Commentary from the Mass Hysteria at JFK

By Marion Grau

…chronically beset—either by war and terrorist violence, or by state counter-insurgency, domestic security, and counter-terrorism programming. If terrorism is geopolitical, it’s because it damages psyches as much as bodies. In emphasizing the geopolitical aspect of its “War on Terror,” has the West missed the fact that it has been colonized by a psychic terrorism—one inspired as much by the hypervigilant paranoia of homeland security and law enforc…

Anti-Trans Bus Tour Is Not Very Welcome In Spanish Cities; Gay Rights As A Weapon In Nationalist War On Muslims; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…ation based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Manvendra Singh, a 40-year-old gay man described as “India’s first openly gay prince,” is urging the decriminalization of homosexuality. Israel: Gay couple part of military ad campaign A social media campaign by the Air Force celebrating the families of career members included Capt. Adir Gabbai and his husband Din as well as their dog. Central America: Profile of Central American LGBT refugees…