Religious Pluralism and Democracy on Show in Egypt
Religious pluralism is one of the few, truly, modern, expressions. The term refers to the acceptance of a multitude of religions existing in harmony despite internal doctrinal dif…
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Comment & Analysis
International perspectives and commentary from the Global Experts archive.
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Asma Afsaruddin
Asma Afsaruddin is Professor of Islamic Studies and chairperson of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, Bloomington. She is also Adjunct Pr…
The Taliban takes over
On Sunday May 22nd, TTP terrorists attacked the Mehran navy air base in Karachi. In an 18-hour assault, 10 militants stormed the military facility, destroying two US made surveill…
Faith and Free Speech
Religion, that private balm for the soul, often enters the public space when politics forcibly pulls it through. The Federation of Malaysia is no exception. The Federal Constituti…
Religion and the Public Sphere in India
In contrast to most South Asian countries, modern India has always been officially “secularâ€, a word the country inscribed in its Constitution in 1976. Secularism, here, is no…
The Fate of Minorities in the Arab Spring
From the shores of the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf, women and men in many Arab-Muslim countries are demanding that their rulers democratize, and that dictators monopolizing power…
Iran's Greatest Spiritual Leader
Iran's officially recognized “spiritual leader†today may be Ayatollah Khamenei, but for hundreds of years before the current establishment of mullahs and ayatollahs, Iranians…
Iran’s Greatest Spiritual Leader
Iran’s officially recognized “spiritual leader†today may be Ayatollah Khamenei, but for hundreds of years before the current establishment of mullahs and ayatollahs, Irania…
Secularism to the Rescue of the Arab Spring
London - Spring has come early this year to the Arab world. Climate change has awakened the once comatose Middle East from the stupor of singular leaderships. A new dawn of democr…
A Unique Series on Religion & the Public Space: An Introduction
In spring 2011, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations invited eminent analysts from around the world to provide informed commentaries on pressing issues of their own choosi…
A Unique Series on Religion & the Public Space: An Introduction
In spring 2011, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations invited eminent analysts from around the world to provide informed commentaries on pressing issues of their own choosi…
Private Beliefs, Public Change
When the suicide bomb exploded as worshippers left New Year's mass at a Coptic church in Alexandria, 21 people died and 79 were wounded. It's hard to imagine a more grim, ghastly,…