a review of religion and media
by Joshua M. Z. Stanton
When John F. Kennedy was running for president in 1960, fear-mongers raised the specter of his dual loyalty. Would he really serve American interests or merely be a pawn for the Vatican? After all, he was a Catholic. Church doctrine, it was whispered, could co-opt the person designated to uphold America’s laws and Constitution. Continue Reading →
by Najam Haider
This article is part of an ongoing series that will examine what Shari’ah is, how the media often get it wrong, and how it’s being used to create fear of Islam and Muslims and to justify continued military defense of “American values.” Continue Reading →
by Najam Haider
This article is part of an ongoing series that will examine what Shari’ah is, how the media often get it wrong, and how it’s being used to create fear of Islam and Muslims and to justify continued military defense of “American values.” Continue Reading →
by Najam Haider
This article is part of an ongoing series that will examine what Shari’ah is, how the media often get it wrong, and how it’s being used to create fear of Islam and Muslims and to justify continued military defense of “American values.” Continue Reading →
Got a strong hatred for a faith other than your own? Forget finding tolerance; find a book agent! Richard Bartholomew writes today that a new book, Islam is of the Devil, has hit the shelves. Its opportunistic author, Terry Jones, is pastor of Dove World Outreach in Florida. Yes, the same church that sponsored, “Burn a Koran Day” last month. (Read Daniel Schultz’ post for The Revealer on the kind of evangelism that Jones and his church are practicing.) You could say that Jones knows his audience and has worked to build a platform for selling the book. The mystery is why they’re buying it. For some answers, follow our series on Shari’ah here. Continue Reading →
Yesterday, plans to build a Muslim religious center near Ground Zero were approved. Later in the day, Mayor Bloomberg spoke about the center with emotional praise. Here’s a smattering of news stories from around the web: including those that approve of the “mosque” so that “we” can, in part, keep our “enemies” closer and help them to become good Americans, Elizabeth Wurtzle at the Daily Beast; Mark Bergen at Religion Dispatches reviews how opposition to the center developed; MSNBC on Pat Robertson’s plans to oppose the approval; Welton Gaddy at WashPo’s On Faith blog asks why, after so many calls for “moderate” voices to counter Muslim extremism, an opportunity to support such a voice is made controversial; WSJ’s Dorothy Rabinowitz gets her hate on cause we’re Americans, not “insufficiently enlightened” liberals; Yahoo! gives a brief profile of Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind the center; Time’s Amy Sullivan says the controversy proves there is a new wave of intolerance. Continue Reading →