In The News

Globalization and the Middle East: Part Two

Frank Griffel January 21, 2003
Far from being anathema to Islamic societies of the Middle East, globalization has strengthened Islamic fundamentalism in the region by facilitating extensive networks of formerly dissociated Muslims - so says Yale Islamic Studies professor Frank Griffel, in the second half of this series on globalization and the Middle East. "A close look into the Islamic world reveals that it does indeed...

Globalization and the Middle East: Part One

Barry Rubin January 16, 2003
Globalization has been heralded both as the savior and the damnation of the world. Especially the attitude of Islamic countries towards all that globalization brings has been a matter of intense debate. In the first of two-part series, Middle East scholar Barry Rubin argues that unlike regions like Latin America or East Asia the Islamic nations of the Middle East have responded negatively to...

Pew Survey Says America Most Religious of Wealthy Nations

December 23, 2002
The latest poll by the Pew Research Center reveals that Americans place a higher degree of personal importance on religion than residents of other wealthy countries. The survey of 44 countries, part of The Pew Global Attitudes Project, also found that residents of Asia, Latin America, and Africa tend to place a great deal of importance on religion in their own lives. – YaleGlobal

PAS Gets Tips from Turkey on How to Win Elections

Brendan Pereira December 5, 2002
In our era of super-fast communication and cheap international transportation, even ideas and political strategies are not always wholly domestic. Leaders of an Islamic Malaysian political party just returned home from a trip to Turkey where they consulted with newly-elected Islamic politicians and asked about the secret to political success. "'The victory in Turkey has really inspired...

Kenya's Muslims: Resentments Both Local and International

Dexter Filkins December 1, 2002
Close-knit global communication is helping to spread information and arouse passions about developments in far-away places. This New York Times report finds widespread resentment among Kenya’s Muslim community about their condition at home and abroad. Much of that resentment is born of a widespread belief among Kenya's Muslim minority that they have long been the victims of discrimination...

Islam, Disney Style

Amina Elbendary November 28, 2002
UK-produced Muhammad (Pbuh) The Last Prophet, a story that traces the life of Mohammad and the birth and rise of Islam, arrives in theaters after overcoming impediments over Islamic law's ban on depicting the Prophet and other notable figures. The cartoon tells the story of Muhammad through the voice of Malek, the father of a little girl who, eager to sell her sheep's wool in the market...

Beyond salvation

Gamal Nkrumah November 28, 2002
Nigeria hosted the Miss World pageant hoping this would help clear its anti-secular image. But the plan backfired when Muslim fundamentalists in the country’s north responded violently to an article in a daily which they thought insulted the Prophet Mohamed. Instead of an international reputation as a democratic and secular country, Nigeria is now beset with more internal strife. –YaleGlobal.