Islamist terrorism: active, or reactive? – 1
AMID PRESENT DAY events associated with terrorist operations carried out by Muslim extremists, it has become customary for the political…
The meaning of the term ‘Isra’iliyyat’
ISLAMISTS FREQUENTLY make use of the term Isrā’īliyyāt when responding to those who differ with them in interpreting a Qur’ānic…
Our need for Enlightenment thinking
WHENEVER DARKNESS sets in there is a need for light. Our societies today are seeing the rise of forces that…
Religious Delirium on Women – 2
BUT THE FACT REMAINS that its real source is history, and despite this the Revelation (in which the collective and…
The challenges of saving Islam from an ISIS mentality
THE SIMPLE, DEVOUT Muslim understands that his religion commands what is good, beautiful and merciful, and forbids all that is…
In praise of Orientalism! – 1
I MEAN OF COURSE academic Orientalism, not the superficial, politicised Orientalism associated with colonial administration from the 19th century to…
On the punishment for Apostasy
IN A BOLD ARTICLE published by the Al-Ra’y al-ʽĀm newspaper on April 26, 2011, Professor ‘Alī Muhammad al-Hasan Abū Qināya…
Is there a way in for democracy in Arab Muslim societies?
AT THE BEGINNING of the 20th century the first motor car entered Baghdad arriving from Aleppo, and at the wheel…
The case for Islamic reform – 2
Japan free of ‘hysterical taboos’: A concert of European Music by Yōshū Chikanobu (1838–1912) EVERY TRUE REFORM is a matter…