In The News

The Gay Sons of Allah: Homophobia Sweeps the Muslim World

Juliane von Mittelstaedt, Daniel Steinvorth September 21, 2009
Across Muslim states of the Middle East, violence and persecution of gay men and women is on the rise. Such persecution, however, is an exception to the past, despite the reputation for repression many of these governments in the region enjoy. Indeed, interpretations of passages in the Koran as referring to homosexuality and laws against homosexual acts are largely the products of British 19th...

Chinese Jeans Bearing Name of God Anger Iranians

Robert Tait September 16, 2009
In a gaffe that may top the list for cultural insensitivity, jeans produced in China to be sold in Iran bore a hallowed phrase from the Koran on the seat pocket of their product. Perhaps the manufacturers thought the inclusion of such a phrase would appeal to the Muslim customers and increase brand recognition. What they missed was the relevance of the phrase for devout Muslims and the less than...

Mass Effect of Global Downturn

Cithara Paul August 17, 2009
In 2004, news of a tiny Kerala church in India holding a Mass to pray for the renowned British soccer player David Beckham fascinated the global media. Although Beckham’s celebrity certainly contributed to the focus, “Mass intentions” – applying a Mass for a specific purpose – had been around long before the media took notice. What is perhaps new is outsourcing Mass intentions to India where...

Gray Menace

Brad Glosserman, Tomoko Tsunoda July 31, 2009
At 21.5 percent, Japan has the highest proportion of its population over age 65 of any country in the world. It also has one of the world’s lowest birth rates, leading to an expectation that Japan’s population will shrink from its current 127 million to 89 million by 2055. This demographic shift is likely to have a variety of domestic consequences, including a decline in economic growth, lower...

Nigeria’s ‘Taliban’ Enigma

Joe Boyle July 29, 2009
A recent spike in violence in northern Nigeria has drawn attention to a mysterious group of radicals known variously as “Taliban,” “Maiduguri,” and “Boko Haram.” All the terms have been attributed to the group by local people; it has no name for itself and has no link to the Taliban in Afghanistan. The group aims to overthrow the Nigerian state, impose strict Islamic law and abolish what it calls...

Linguist’s Preservation Kit Has New Digital Tools

Chris Nicholson July 28, 2009
Languages have faced extinction throughout history. Often, it is the evolutionary forces of greater interconnectedness through trade and war that lead to the dominance of one spoken tongue. From Greek to Arabic to English, the language of traders has frequently become the lingua franca. This has led to a decline in the usage of other languages as individuals connect speaking a particular language...

In Dusty Turkish Village, Surfing the Web for Brides

Yigal Schleifer July 14, 2009
The arrival of the internet in Turkey’s rural southeast has had at least one surprising consequence: men in the village of Gokce have started using the web to seek second wives from abroad. Although in the past, Turkish men would travel to neighboring Syria, now they increasingly use Arabic chat websites to attract potential wives from Morocco. Moroccan women make appealing candidates because...