Religion Dispatches
Just as the Arab spring has upended conventional understanding of Arab and Muslim societies, so a new report on the issues faced by LGBT Muslims challenges the stereotype of Muslim communities in the U.S. and abroad as monolithically closed to conversations about sexuality.
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It’s far more meaningful to ask who is interpreting Shari’ah; think of the argument over ‘what the bible says’ and you begin to get an idea.
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If we read the Arab Spring as a zero-sum game between Islamists and secularists, we’re going to miss what’s happening; if we imagine Arab democracy will look like secular Western democracy, we will likely be disappointed. And if we assume reference to Islam and democracy reveals only hypocrisy, insincerity, or ideological confusion, we’re likely to be surprised.
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Seeing what happened to Qaddafi, it is hard to deny there is not an epic arc of evil rising and consuming itself. Still, those who rage at dictators should also tremble at any tendency in their direction.
Read MoreThe Center for American Progress follows the money in a groundbreaking new report.
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While many books will no doubt be written about the momentous events that are unfolding in the Middle East, many of them will doubtless leave out the prehistory. By exploring the rich tradition of nonviolent resistance in the Muslim world—from Palestine and Pakistan, to Kosovo and the Maldives—Amitabh Pal dispels the oft-repeated misconception that what we are witnessing in the Arab Spring is without precedent.
Read MoreJoe Nocera’s casual use of the Tea Party’s “jihad.”
Read MorePart five of the travelogue, from what was once Europe’s Jerusalem.
Read MoreIf Egypt’s democracy takes hold it will, along with Turkey, help elbow out the Islamist movements we’re used to hearing about.
Read MoreSo the FJP says to the FEP: hey, you’ve insulted Islam.
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