In The News

Muhammad Ali’s Message: Fight for Your Vision and Change the System

Michael Lerner June 13, 2016
Cassius Marcellus Clay, born in the segregated South of the United States, emerged as a boxing legend in the 1960s. Time and time again, he startled fans and the public at large with athletic prowess, charm and expression of personal beliefs with bravado. He joined the Nation of Islam in 1964, later converting to Sunni Islam: “Muhammad Ali had the courage to say no to Farrakhan and leave the anti...

Official Religious Orthodoxy Driving Malaysia to Extremes

The Asia Sentinel, June 2, 2016
Malaysia has been credited for moderation and quick response on any connected with the Islamic State or Al Qaeda, “Yet even some Islamic scholars are now accusing the government itself of fostering extremism through official actions,” notes the Asia Sentinel. Malaysia’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but Islam is the nation’s official religion. Salafist preachers dispatched and...

No Handshake Exemption for Muslim Students, Swiss Canton Rules

May 26, 2016
Schools are the battleground for culture wars. A tradition in Switzerland – shaking a teacher’s hand as a sign of respect – has attracted global attention because of the conflict between gender equality and religious belief. Parents or guardians of students who refuse to shake a teacher’s hand can face fines of up to 5000 Swiss francs. The local school had tried to grant two boys, ages 14 and 15...

US Airstrike Against Taliban Leader Crossed a Pakistani “Red Line”

Tim Craig and Greg Miller May 25, 2016
US President Barack Obama ordered a drone strike that killed Taliban leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in Baluchistan – defying Pakistan’s request to limit such strikes to the northwestern tribal belt. Afghan leaders are frustrated by terrorists waging attacks against their country, then crossing the border for shelter in Pakistan. “Now, some Pakistani leaders are rattled, saying they fear the...

Bangladesh Accommodates Extremism, Spelling Danger for the Region

Sumit Ganguly May 17, 2016
The Islamic State extremists have claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Bangladesh on journalists, educators, atheists and religious minorities. Unfortunately, “the present regime, in denial about religious extremism, finds this trend to be politically expedient,” writes Sumit Ganguly, a professor at Indiana University and also a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute...

March of Arab Spring on Pause

Hicham Alaoui May 10, 2016
The Arab Spring, a wave of protests sweeping through the Middle East in 2011, inspired hope for more freedoms in the region. Such anticipation was short-lived as authoritarian rulers recalibrated strategies for control by strengthening alliances with constituencies including elites, secular middle classes and workers who are wary of rapid changes that might threaten economic stability, explains...

The Myth of the Islamic State: The History of a Political Idea

Mohammed Ayoob May 4, 2016
The goal of a worldwide modern caliphate may be impossible for diverse Muslim nations that lack consensus over universal standards on governance. Phrases like “golden age” are tossed about, yet ignore the challenges, explains Mohammed Ayoob for Foreign Affairs. The Prophet Mohammed died in the year 632, when the world’s population was about 200 million, and Ayoob details the history of the early...