Rounded Analysis On Contested Issues; Spotlighting Blind Spots; Politics, Religion, Travel, Books
The Dawoodi Bohras, a branch of the Ismaili Shia Muslim sect, have for centuries been unified under a supreme spiritual leader or Dai Syedna that has helped them remain well-knit and maintain a unique cultural identity
The role the country's single largest religion has played in the development and enhancement of pluralism has been linked to Indonesia's adoption of the Islamic middle path or ummah wasat thanks to Islam's peaceful propagation and integration into diverse ethnic, cultural, and social realities
Contrary to the myth that Islam encourages multiple marriages, the Quran, the primary source of Islamic law, describes monogamy as the preferred model of marriage underlining how inherently unjust polygamy is
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan overcame decades-old domination of secularists, who saw themselves as the guardians of the secular Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded and shaped through sweeping top-down Westernization and suppression of religious citizens
Jewish communities in the Gulf states have been emerging from the shadow of the Arab-Israeli conflict and adopting a more public profile including through open celebration of their holidays' thanks to the Abraham Accords
The West embraced rationality, science, and liberal multiculturalism to become the guiding light for the world but dehumanizing constructions of Muslims embedded in its consciousness as internalized beliefs and practices continue to fuel Islamophobia
The Iraqi clergy took a leading role in defeating ISIS by employing religious symbolism as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa urging men to resist and led to a surge in volunteers for the Popular Mobilisation Force
Tribalism, corruption, and the absence of modern institutions have been blamed for Afghanistan's troubles, overlooking political modernization and the creation of features of a modern secular state by the 1970s before foreign interventions unmade them
Former Oxford professor Avi Shlaim’s book Three Worlds: Memoir of an Arab-Jew uncovers what he calls ‘undeniable proof' of Zionist involvement in the attacks that forced Iraqi Jews to emigrate to Israel after over 2,500 years of presence in Babylon
Zainab refused to be silenced when she challenged tyrant Yazid in his court and would play a key role in memorializing her brother Hussain’s fight for upholding Islam's foundational ideals of egalitarianism and justice
