Turkey’s government is showing that an “Islamist” party can become a force for democracy and progress, challenging so many of our usual assumptions about Muslims, terrorism and the Middle East.
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Why question defence force loyalty because of religion?
Our troops have a job to do. We should allow them to do it and not waste their or our own time with moronic speculations based on isolated incidents.
Hockey: Why I’m a Christian even though I don’t agree with other Christians
MP Joe Hockey gives a damning view of literal interpretations of the Bible in Christianity in last night’s speech to the Sydney Institute. We need to embrace the diversity of religions and not commit acts of war because of it, he says.
A Muslim soldier’s view from Fort Hood
An anonymous Muslim soldier stationed at Fort Hood shares his experiences working and praying with Nidal Malik Hasan and his belief that the shooter was motivated by “religious radicalism”.
This was an act of jihad
Even if Nidal Malik Hasan may be crazy, but make no bones about it, says Marty Peretz: the Fort Hood massacre was an act of jihad.
Islamophobia: the real horror of Fort Hood
Thursday’s Food Hood shooting, which left 12 dead on a US Army base, was indeed the “horrific outburst of violence” condemned by Obama. But equally horrific is the torrent of anti-Muslim hatred it has inspired, writes John Nichols.
Mohammad: The Movie
A $150m English-language film about the Prophet Mohammad is going to begin shooting soon in Qatar. Just one problem: Islam strictly forbids visual depictions of him. So how do you make a biopic about a guy you can’t show?
Letter from...: Aceh Part II: the only Jew in the village
Jakarta may now control their lives but an independent streak still runs through the veins of the Banda Aceh province, with a growing number of writers, discussions of morality and pirated DVDs.
Letter from...: Aceh: the only Jew in the village
This Indonesian province takes its Islam very seriously. The provincial parliament of Aceh recently passed a criminal bylaw that supported the death penalty, stoning and flogging for homosexual acts and adultery.
Dick Gross: Why I love the hijab
My godless heart leaps with joy when I see brave, veiled Muslim women walking in Australian streets, says Dick Gross. But what’s an atheistic, pro-feminist Jew doing praising the Islamic veil?
Why Islam needs a sexual revolution
German-Turkish writer Seyran Ates reckons what Islam needs is a good sexual revolution: young Muslims are too sexually repressed, and parents consider their daughters’ in-tact hymens as “capital”.
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A quarter of the world is Muslim
Almost a quarter of the world’s population is Muslim, according to a new study. Livemint maps the world’s Muslim population, and the results may surprise some people: the majority of Islamic practitioners live in Asia, not the Middle East.
Guantánamo guard: “Why I converted to Islam”
Six months into his work in the US military as a guard at the notorious Gitmo, Terry Holdbrooks converted to Islam with the help and mentoring of the prisoners. What made him do it?
Behind the veil of Afghanistan’s women
Despite the billions pumped into the war in Afghanistan, women’s rights have barely changed since the rule of the Taliban, claims Globe and Mail, in an in-depth report on women in the conservative city of Kandahar.
Burying Saudi Arabia’s past
Saudi Arabia is rich with untouched treasures, just waiting to be dug up and studied, but the country’s ban on displaying or even discussing non-Islamic relics makes it a difficult and sometimes dangerous proposition for archaeologists.
Clive James gets it wrong on feminists, Muslims, Australians, you name it
Clive James has joined the chorus of voices railing against both Islam and Western feminists, in an article that champions two Australian “dissidents” — Pamela Bone and Helen Garner, writes Shakira Hussein.
Guess who’s coming to Obama’s Ramadan dinner?
US president Barack Obama has invited Israel’s US ambassador to the presidential Ramadan dinner, proving that he is serious about changing US relations with the Muslim world, writes David A. Harris.
Malaysia’s image takes a hit over caning
32-year-old Malaysian mother of two Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno is soon set to face six lashes with a cane for drinking beer in a bar, as mandated by the country’s Islamic laws. The case calls Malaysia’s reputation as “moderate” Muslims into question, says the WSJ.
The warped logic of banning al-Manar
There are many good arguments for and against allowing the Lebanese Hezbollah-run TV station al-Manar to be broadcast in Australia, writes : but those put forward by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council aren’t any of them.
Essay: the thin light shone by Rebiya Kadeer
It seems so long ago that we thought of the Chinese as the “nice” communists, writes Peter Craven.
Costello shows little faith in the possibilities of education
Peter Costello thinks Christian schools should only have Christian teachers. Perhaps he could learn a thing or two from many of Australia’s Muslim schools, says Irfan Yusuf.
Iran’s religious cleansing
Political dissidents aren’t the only people facing brutal treatment in Iran: the country’s non-Muslim minorities are regularly persecuted by both state and society. So why doesn’t the West take notice?
Hate speech, the hijab and western media
Despite the gruesome nature of Marwa el-Sherbini’s murder in a German courtroom by her neighbour, the western media have shied away from telling her story.
Xinjiang riots: it’s all about the money
The recent civil unrest by Muslim Uighurs in China is not about Islam, as the Government alleges — it’s about economics, writes Josh Chin.
