Politics

Bin Laden’s Lonely Crusade | Politics | Vanity Fair

Bin Laden’s Lonely Crusade | Politics | Vanity Fair. Is al-Qaeda simply going to wither away? Yes, with a little help, though not in the short term. History shows that small, violent groups can sustain their bloody work for years on end with virtually no public support. However, embedded in the DNA of groups such as al-Qaeda are the seeds of their own destruction.  To begin with, al-Qaeda and allied groups have launched terrorist campaigns from Iraq to Indonesia that have killed thousands of Muslim civilians. For groups that claim to be defending Muslims, this is not an impressive achievement.…

Read More
Politics

Opinion: Homegrown terrorists are not just Muslims – Rep. Bennie Thompson – POLITICO.com

Opinion: Homegrown terrorists are not just Muslims – Rep. Bennie Thompson – POLITICO.com. Today’s terrorists do not share a particular ethnic, educational or socioeconomic background. Recently, when state law enforcement agencies were asked to identify terror groups in their states, Muslim extremist groups ranked 11th on a list of 18.  Law enforcement agencies identified neo-Nazis, environmental extremists and anti-tax groups as more prevalent than Muslim terrorist organizations. The sophisticated explosive device found along a parade route in Washington on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an act of domestic terrorism clearly motivated by racist ideology, should prove that other groups are…

Read More
Religion

More Young Americans Identify as Mixed Race – NYTimes.com

This is a great trend overall. My fear is that religion will become a reified, unitary identity that will become over-determined as many traditional group markers are redefined. More Young Americans Identify as Mixed Race – NYTimes.com. The crop of students moving through college right now includes the largest group of mixed-race people ever to come of age in the United States, and they are only the vanguard: the country is in the midst of a demographic shift driven by immigration and intermarriage.

Read More
Politics

Violating the Saints – NYTimes.com

She gets that we can no longer politicize religion and hope that it stays “safe.” Violating the Saints – NYTimes.com. There is no poetry in the aftermath of a bombing. After the initial fireball, there’s choking black smoke, people running everywhere, screaming in fear and panic. There is blood, and body parts strewn on the ground. Rescue workers must claw their way inside, facing searing heat and burning wreckage, to find what little remains of both the victims and the perpetrators.

Read More
Intra-faith

In a Muslim State, Fear Sends Some Worship Underground – NYTimes.com

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.

Read More
Art

Superbowl Keepsake Book Includes Muslim House of Worship

Ideal Super Bowl XLV keepsake book City by Design Dallas features exclusive renderings of Cowboys Stadium and other iconic works of architecture | Cision Wire. The 72-story Bank of America Plaza was designed by Rees Associates (formerly JPJ Architects) in the 1980s yet stands today as impressive and progressive as the day it was envisioned, with its clever floor plate arrangement that affords 16 corner offices, as opposed to the standard four, on each floor. In contrast to this iconic structure are equally brilliant yet decidedly smaller structures such as Hidell Associates’ Ismaili Jamatkhana, a prayer hall that makes use…

Read More
Intra-faith

Next Time You Are in … Cairo – TIME

Next Time You Are in … Cairo – TIME. A walk down the main thoroughfare of Darb al-Ahmar is a fascinating, raucous look at daily life in the Egyptian capital: you get honked aside by trucks and motorcycles, sideswiped by donkey carts and greeted enthusiastically by children. The area is home to the poorest population in the city, but these days many of its once decrepit mosques and palaces, from the Fatamid to the Ottoman eras, are being restored under the auspices of the Aga Khan Development Network’s (AKDN) Historic Cities project.

Read More
Art Inter-faith

NYC Event: Three Faiths in the Form of a Fugue at the @NYPL

THREE FAITHS IN THE FORM OF A FUGUE Salman Ahmad, Reza Aslan, Fabrice Hadjadi, Alicia Jo Rabins, Shirin Neshat, Damien Poisblaud Hosted by: Reza Aslan Friday, January 28th at 8:00PM in the Celeste Bartos Forum of The New York Public Library. http://www.showclix.com/event/16519/ Use code: FUGUE when purchasing tickets through www.Showclix.com to receive discounted tickets to this program. Spread the word and share the code with friends and colleagues. Event details and ticket information below. LIVE from the NYPL 11 West 40th Street Room SC-1 New York, NY 10018 PH 212 930 0843 F 212 930 0914 pubpage@nypl.org www.nypl.org/live

Read More
Inter-faith

What’s The New Civil Rights Movement? : NPR

What’s The New Civil Rights Movement? : NPR. You know, just coincidentally, we were at the NBC studios a half hour ago and we saw photos of the marches and protests put on by Martin Luther King and it still resonates with, I think, all groups here in America. It’s iconic. It’s the vision and it’s the reality of forcing America to live up to its ideals. And to ensure that America really, you know, keeps to its promise of having those freedoms and democracies and civil liberties for all people regardless of your religion or gender or race.  We…

Read More