Pope Francis, King Abdullah II Of Jordan On Syria: Dialogue Is The ‘Only Option’...
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis and Jordan’s King Abdullah II reaffirmed that dialogue is the “only option” to end the conflict in Syria, just as the United States and its European allies consider launching a military strike against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The two leaders met for the first time on Thursday (Aug. 29) at the Vatican. The pontiff and the king, accompanied by his wife Queen Rania, talked in private for 20 minutes. According to an official Vatican statement, during the meeting “special attention” was given to Syria’s “tragic situation.” Talks of a possible Western military intervention in the Syrian crisis intensified after reports of a chemical weapons attack against civilians in Damascus last week....
The problem in the Middle East is authoritarianism, not Islam...
August 20, 2013 12:15 AMBy Dani Rodrik Is Islam fundamentally incompatible with democracy? Time and again events compel us to ask this question. And yet it is a question that obscures more than it illuminates. Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia are very different countries, but one thing that they share are Islamist governments (at least until recently in Egypt’s case). To varying degrees, these governments have undermined their democratic credentials by failing to protect civil and human rights and employing heavy-handed tactics against their opponents. Despite repeated assurances, Islamist leaders have shown little interest in democracy beyond winning at the ballot box. So those who believe that the removal of Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi’s government was justified have a point. As the Muslim Brotherhood’s...
Arab Women As Likely As Men To Support Islamic Law In Middle East After Arab Spring...
By Jaweed KaleemPosted: 06/25/2012 5:27 pm Updated: 06/25/2012 5:50 pm As Islamist political parties have gained influence across the Middle East since the Arab uprisings, activists and pundits have questioned the role religion will play in new governments, including how religiously influenced law will affect women’s rights. A Gallup report released Monday found that Arab women are as likely as Arab men to want Islam to play a role in their countries’ laws and that religious Arab men are more likely to support certain women’s rights than men who are less devout. The report, “After the Arab Uprisings: Women on Rights, Religion, and Rebuilding,” draws upon polls of men and women in six countries that experienced political upheaval in recent years...
Those Defending US Constitution from Sharia Must Have Failed High School Civics...
LOS ANGELES AND PORTLAND, ORE. There are those who would have you believe that Islamic law, or sharia, is taking over America. They seem to allege that the 1 percent of the American population that is Muslim is on the verge of a total takeover of the United States, and if Americans are not vigilant, soon we’ll all be stoning adulterers and chopping off the hands of thieves. Take Rep. Allen West (R) of Florida, who recently alleged that, “there is an infiltration of the shariapractice into all of our operating systems in our country as well as across Western civilization. So we must be willing to recognize that enemy.” If that kind of hyperbolic statement sounds ludicrous, it’s because it...
No space for violence in Islam, says Gilani...
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that there is no space for terrorism, militancy or extremism in Islam and those involved in such activities cannot even claim to be Muslims. The prime minister, in his message on the occasion of Eid Milad-un- Nabi (PBUH) being celebrated on Sunday, said: “Those, who spread disorder and chaos, cannot even claim to be Muslims as the scourges of terrorism and extremism are incompatible to the essence of Islamic teachings.” Gilani said Islam, a universal religion, guides the humanity to the path of peace, security and welfare. He said Islam does not allow anyone to spread violence and strife on the face of earth and...
More Muslim Americans Believe They Are Thriving, Poll Says...
By Wendell Marsh WASHINGTON | Tue Aug 2, 2011 11:45am EDT (Reuters) – Muslim Americans are now more optimistic about their lives than any other major American faith group as their economic well-being improves and they feel more politically enfranchised. A Gallup study released on Tuesday found 60 percent of Muslim Americans surveyed reported they were “thriving”, slightly higher than for Americans of any other religion except for Jews, who edged them out of the top spot by one percentage point. Pollsters noted in particular the rapid surge in positive sentiment among Muslim Americans. The percentage of Muslims who were “thriving” grew by 19 points since 2008, double that of any other major faith...
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