Muslim leader Yahya Cholil Staquf: Need to address 'problematic elements of Islamic orthodoxy' after Christchurch attack

There has been little real learning from the New Zealand mosque attack that could shape what we do in the future. However, on Mar. 24, there was a remarkable article in the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph that suggests at least one way forward.

A Fresh Take on Fasting: What We Can Learn from Eastern Orthodoxy During Lent

(COMMENTARY) While western Christians today view fasting largely as an individual activity, Eastern Orthodox Christians practice fasting communally.

Health, Religion, Opinion, North America, Asia, Europe, Middle EastEmily ShirleyMarch 26, 2019Lent, fasting, Eastern Orthodoxy, Primary Feature, Secondary Feature, secondary feature, Emily Shirley, Christianity, Orthodox Church

After New Zealand mosque attacks: what are religious persecution levels around the world?

(COMMENTARY) Religious persecution of Christians is more than at any other time in modern history, while other groups like Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Jews also suffer discrimination and violence in different regions of intolerance.

This year's Purim carnival set off more than firecrackers in Israel

(NEWS ANALYSIS) Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked released a satirical perfume ad jabbing at leftists who call her fascist, the country’s largest English daily labeled Israel’s democracy a joke and President Trump upended decades of U.S. policy in one tweet.

Conflict, Middle East, News, Politics, Religion, North AmericaGil ZoharMarch 24, 2019Purim, Gil Zohar, Israel, Esther, Adar, Hebrew, full moon, Primary Feature, Judaism, Jewish, Secondary Feature

ISIS’s final battle will not blot out its brutal legacy

Surviving Yazidis and Christians in Iraq and Syria will remember their people’s genocide for generations. And in the aftermath of ISIS attacks, help and hope are still in very short supply.

In Jerusalem's Muslim quarter, an Austrian Hospice serves peace and strudels

The oldest Christian guesthouse in the Old City is a hub for interfaith and intercultural dialogue.

Travel, Religion, Middle East, NewsGil ZoharMarch 11, 2019Gil Zohar, Israel, Primary Feature, Muslim, Austrian Hospice, Islam, Muslim Quarter, Christianity, Catholic Church, Old City of Jerusalem, Second Intifada

'A Good Wife' is Samra Zafar's story of leaving an abusive marriage without leaving Islam

Zafar agreed to an arranged marriage at age 17, believing the man and his family that the move from Pakistan to Canada would give her more educational opportunities. She didn’t expect to become a prisoner in her own home.

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?

(COMMENTARY) In February, Pope Francis met with Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayebb, and together, they acknowledged the “God who has created all human beings”.

Middle East, Religion, OpinionRichard OstlingMarch 3, 2019Richard Ostling, Muslims, Christians, Catholic Church, Pope Francis, Pope Paul VI, nostra aetate, Islam, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestant, Ahmed Al-Tayebb, Christianity

Four years later, a look at the Coptic faith of 'The 21' ISIS beheaded

(COMMENTARY) Four years after 21 Christians were beheaded by ISIS in Libya, a new book, The 21: A Journey into the Land of Coptic Martyrs, explores their ancient faith.

Middle East, Religion, Books, OpinionTerry MattinglyFebruary 25, 2019Terry Mattingly, Coptic Christians, ISIS, Libya, beheaded, Malak Ibrahim Seniut, Tawadros Youssef Tawadros, Egypt, Copts, Coptic Orthodox Church, Angaelos, Christianity

How will the Pope’s Arabian adventure affect global Islam?

(COMMENTARY) A joint declaration from the Vatican and Al-Azhar University, seen as the intellectual hub of Sunni Islam, called upon world leaders “to stop using religions to incite hatred, violence, extremism and blind fanaticism, and to refrain from using the name of God to justify acts of murder, exile, terrorism and oppression.”

Middle East, North America, Opinion, PoliticsRichard OstlingFebruary 16, 2019Pope, terrorism, United Arab Emirates, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, Sunni Muslims, Catholic media, Richard Ostling, Pope Francis, Islam, sexual abuse, Catholicism, Muslim

An Apostate Iranian’s path to God

A review of the book From Fire, By Water, which recounts Sohrab Ahmari’s spiritual journey from revolutionary Iran to membership in the Communist Party before he finds a spiritual home in the Roman Catholic church.

Coptic Bishop in Africa explains how ISIS killed ISIS

(OPINION) In Egypt alone, we have about 2 million children in Sunday School every week. In America, we also have thousands and thousands and thousands, not only for children but also for youth. And this is the strength of the church. A church without youth is a church without a future. A youth without the church, is a youth that is lost.

Persecution of Christians is 'old news'? Prince Charles begs to differ

(COMMENTARY) The persecution of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East was not one of 2018's big news stories. Instead, this parade of horrors became a kind of "old news" that rarely reached the prime headlines offered by elite newsrooms.

Jews, Christians and religious persecution

(COMMENTARY) Israel is preparing to officially demand compensation for assets abandoned by Jews who were forced to flee eight Arab countries after the establishment of the State of Israel, to the tune of $250 billion.

Another strong EU anti-Semitism warning: journalists should keep covering this story

(COMMENTARY) A growing number of Jews in the UK, Germany and Sweden are considering emigrating to escape anti-Semitism, according to a recent survey by an EU agency.

Europe, Middle East, Religion, OpinionIra RifkinDecember 25, 2018Anti-Semitism, Ira Rifkin, British Jews, German Jews, Swedish Jews, European Union, EU, Jews, Judaism, Israel

A Dangerous Christmas for Iran's Christians

(COMMENTARY) On December 17, the United Nations approved a resolution which rejected Iran’s continuing rights violations against women.

Middle East, Religion, OpinionLela GilbertDecember 23, 2018Iran, Christian persecution, Christmas, Christians in the Middle East, Ex-Muslim, Christian convert, Lela Gilbert, Christianity

PBS story on Iran's Jews doesn't fully explain what captive minorities must do to survive

(COMMENTARY) In late November, PBS NewsHour broadcast a piece that, like other attempts to explain the Iranian Jewish community, came up frustratingly short.

American politics and the deadliest attack on Jews in US history

(COMMENTARY) In democracies, politics and politicians come and go, but Trump or no Trump, Jew-hatred moves steadily along its historic path as an unrivaled and utterly devastating source of evil.

Analysis, Conflict, Middle East, North America, Religion, OpinionLela GilbertDecember 8, 2018Lela Gilbert, Judaism, Jews, synagogue shooting, Anti, Donald Trump, Louis Farrakhan

The Saudi puzzle: Here are four religion threads woven into this sordid political drama

(OPINION) There are several more religion stories to be told surrounding the murder of the former Washington Post op-ed writer Jamal Khashoggi.

Middle East, Religion, Politics, North America, Conflict, Analysis, OpinionIra RifkinDecember 1, 2018Ira Rifkin, Middle East, Islam-Muslims, Godbeat, Islam, Muslims, Human Rights, International News, New York Times, CNN, BBC, Washington Post, Primary Feature

Larry Norman: Trapped in Contemporary Christian Music walls he helped create?

When Larry Norman died in 2008 there was one thing the critics – secular and religious – agreed on: The controversial singer and music maven helped create the "Contemporary Christian Music" industry. For Norman, that was not good news.

Religion, Opinion, Culture, Asia, North America, Middle EastTerry MattinglyMay 3, 2018Terry Mattingly, Opinion, comentary, contemporary Christian music, Jesus Movement, Music, Christianity

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