Media Literacy and the Middle East – Primary Source Podcast

Why the Charlie Hebdo attack is not about images or free speech (COMMENTARY) – Religion News Service. Regarding images: Muhammad is a powerful symbol for Muslims. The Quran calls him a “beautiful role model,” and he is considered to be the most perfect Muslim. It is generally accepted by Muslims that images of Muhammad, or any other person, do not appear in mosques. However, this ban does not extend outside the mosque. Various Muslim cultures show a comfort with painting and figural representation. Images of Muhammad, his family, prophets and other holy figures exist. They are on display in museums…

A top White House aide was asked if Trump thought Islam was a religion. He refused to answer. – Vox. Questioning whether Islam is a religion is not, in and of itself, a new idea. Dr. Hussein Rashid, a professor of religion at Barnard College, told me that it was a dynamic that began in Europe and has a “centuries-long pedigree.” “We are seeing a particularly American manifestation of it now,” he added. He continued, “This administration is playing into all of these themes very clearly: They are trying to say that Muslims are not human and that they are…