In The News

Big Win by Turkey’s AKP Signals Vote for Stability

Chris Miller November 3, 2015
Turkey’s Justice and Development Party, also known as AKP, won 317 seats in the General National Assembly with Sunday's election– more than expected and more than the 276 needed for a majority, but not enough to change the constitution directly. The results confounded pollsters since AKP failed to win a majority in June elections or form a coalition government. “Confronting renewed conflict...

Islamic Group Blocked From Building “Britain's Biggest Mosque” in London

Andrew Gilligan October 28, 2015
An Islamic group is reported to have lost its appeal for building a mega-mosque in a London neighborhood. The court decision could end a 16-year battle that included protests in support and opposition to the plans. “Tablighi Jamaat is an ultra-conservative and separatist group which believes that Muslims should not integrate into non-Muslim society. Its current UK headquarters, in Dewsbury, West...

Among the Lucky Few: Syrian Family Rebuilds in America's Heartland

Ari Shapiro October 21, 2015
Toledo, Ohio, is among the communities doing its best to welcome refugees. “Fewer than 2,000 Syrians have come to the U.S., though the war has displaced more than 12 million since it began in 2011,” reports Ari Shapiro for NPR. He describes the experiences of one of eight families settling in Toledo with the help of diverse faith groups: A Christian group provides language lessons and day care,...

Rise of Muslim Population Poses Challenge for India

Riaz Hassan October 8, 2015
If current demographic trends continue, the ranks of religious believers in the world could rise through 2050, reports a Pew Research Report. Islam would show the fastest rate of growth, and the unaffiliated would decline in proportion to other religious categories. Riaz Hassan, director of the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding at the University of South Australia,...

Carter Says Russian Airstrikes in Syria Didn't Target ISIS

Richard Sisk October 1, 2015
Efforts by major powers and advanced militaries to control extremism have faltered before – Russia in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the United States after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Americans and Russians alike resent high-cost interventions that result in horrific casualty counts and demonstrate little progress. Some critics would prefer that the international onlookers choose sides and pass out...

The King and ISIS

Daniel Benjamin September 15, 2015
The United States and Saudi Arabia disagree on many issues including a deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for an end to sanctions. “Papering over differences is one of diplomacy’s finer and more useful arts,” writes Daniel Benjamin for Foreign Policy, adding that Saudi Arabia may pose more challenges for the US than Iran does. “Saudi Arabia’s energetic propagation of Wahhabism –...

Raja-Mandala: Faith and Diplomacy

C. Raja Mohan September 2, 2015
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks common ground with his foreign counterparts and one of those includes religion, specifically Buddhism. That religion began in 624 BC in a stretch of northern India that is now Nepal – and spread throughout Asia. “Modi went beyond the notion of promoting India’s soft power to highlight the importance of Buddhism in dealing with the contemporary political...