a review of religion and media
by Alex Thurston Teju Cole analyzes the destruction of the shrines by analogy: Mali is premodern Europe; Mali is Afghanistan under the Taliban…Then comes the interesting analogy: Timbuktu is Mecca at the time of its conquest by the forces of the Prophet… Continue Reading →
by Austin Dacey The Indian Penal Code was drafted in 1837 by the Indian Law Commission…In their commentaries, the commissioners observed that India is “pregnant with dangers” because of a susceptibility to “religious excitement” peculiar to Muslims and Hindus. Continue Reading →
by Rachel Riederer It’s difficult for me to conceive of the memorization of scripture as even a mildly progressive act, let alone a radical one. But The Light in Her Eyes…sets out to prove that it is. Continue Reading →
by Rachel Riederer It’s difficult for me to conceive of the memorization of scripture as even a mildly progressive act, let alone a radical one. But The Light in Her Eyes…sets out to prove that it is. Continue Reading →
by Alex Thurston Should Sudan’s protesters topple President Omar al Bashir, I believe the media would get excited, but until they do, the Sudanese will remain, for the media, “marginal Arabs” or, as el Dahshan argues, Arab “villains.” Continue Reading →
by Alex Thurston Should Sudan’s protesters topple President Omar al Bashir, I believe the media would get excited, but until they do, the Sudanese will remain, for the media, “marginal Arabs” or, as el Dahshan argues, Arab “villains.” Continue Reading →
by Alex Thurston AMOK turns the logic of the law’s critics around: the bill will not target Muslims but protect them, and represents not outsiders’ agendas but a response to local problems. Continue Reading →
by Maurice Chammah The editors weren’t pleased. It was too complex…It would be easier, they decided, to frame the story as one of religious hatred. Continue Reading →
by Alex Thurston The MNLA and Ansar al Din have dominated the headlines about Mali this spring and summer. But how have other Malian Muslims reacted to the crisis in the north, and to the partial “Islamization” of the conflict by Ansar al Din? Continue Reading →
by Alex Thurston The MNLA and Ansar al Din have dominated the headlines about Mali this spring and summer. But how have other Malian Muslims reacted to the crisis in the north, and to the partial “Islamization” of the conflict by Ansar al Din? Continue Reading →