Talal Asad on Suicide Bombing

Young. British. Female. Muslim. -Times Online. It’s a controversial time for British women to be wearing the hijab, the basic Muslim headscarf. Last month, Belgium became the first European country to pass legislation to ban the burka (the most concealing of Islamic veils), calling it a “threat” to female dignity, while France looks poised to follow suit. In Italy earlier this month, a Muslim woman was fined €500 (£430) for wearing the Islamic veil outside a post office.  And yet, while less than 2 per cent of the population now attends a Church of England service every week, the number…

I remain convinced that a country that cannot embrace the diversity within Islam, cannot understand what it means to be “Islamic.” In a Muslim State, Fear Sends Some Worship Underground – NYTimes.com. While sectarian divisions are associated more with countries such as Iraq and Pakistan, Islamic experts say Malaysia is a rare example of a Muslim-majority country where the Shiite sect is banned. They say the recent raid reflects the religious authorities’ reluctance to accept diversity within Islam, and was part of the authorities’ continuing efforts to impose a rigid interpretation of the religion.

A tweet feat: Quran goes on Twitter for Ramadan – USATODAY.com. Ramadan, which begins with a sunup-to-sundown fast Monday, calls on the Muslim faithful to immerse themselves in scripture — ideally by reading the entire Quran.   In 2009, Hussein Rashid, a professor of Islamic Studies at Virginia Theological Seminary, noticed rabbis using Twitter to highlight snippets of Torah text to celebrate Shavuot, when Jews say Moses received God’s word at Mount Sinai.  “I saw they were creating a virtual way to pray and study together, and I thought it would be fun to invite a few friends to tweet…