On Sunday, July 13, the Dalai Lama gave a public talk at Lehigh University as part of a "series of teachings," which takes place from July 10-15. The public talk, held yesterday (on the topic of "Generating a Good Heart"), also allowed the Dalai Lama to answer questions from the audience, which had been earlier […]
There have been two interesting news stories related to China's "religion policies' in the weeks leading up the Olympics. One development concerns Sino-French relations, and the Chinese Ambassador to France's warning that "there would be serious consequences" for their relations if President Sarkozy meets the Dalai Lama. Apparently, just meeting the Dalai Lama is an […]
On June 23, this blog discussed the Anglican divide over homosexuality. Now, this week has seen another contentious issue resurface in the Church of England. The General Synod met this year from July 4 to July 8 and voted on Monday, July 7 to approve the appointment of women bishops in Britain. The BBC News […]
In June of this year, the International Crisis Group published a report titled, "Egypt's Muslim Brothers: Confrontation or Integration?" , particularly looking at confrontation in the context of long-term stability. In the world of politics and religion, the question always seems to come back to "confrontation" and whether domestic politics can tolerate the religious foundations […]
It's gotten to the point that Afghanistan is no longer "the other war," but is starting to claim more of the spotlight from Iraq with each day. Consider these developments: In the months of May and June, more Americans died in Afghanistan than died in Iraq. On June 13th, the Taliban successfully staged a well-planned out […]
The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) issued a statement last Thursday about the Department of Justice's aim to update the Attorney General Guidelines. MPAC reported that besides for its own organization, other groups, including the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and the Arab American Institute (AAI), are concerned by developments in the drafting of the new […]
According to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), Syrian women are happy that men will no longer be the only gender occupying the position of mufti. In June, according to IWPR, Arabic-language news sites reported that Grand Mufti Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun "announced that female graduates of Islamic law colleges are being trained to […]
Although in regards to Iran, Bush used his favorite phrase, "all options are on the table," he did say, military action would not be his first choice. More importantly, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mullen admitted "opening up a third front right now would be extremely stressful on us — that doesn't mean […]
AlJazeera.net continues its coverage of the violent clashes in Indian-administered Kashmir (particularly in Srinagar), which have already lasted more than eight days. It reports that the violence stems from protests over a “controversial plan to transfer land to a Hindu trust organization.” The aim was to provide 99 acres of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine […]
According to President Bush's speech at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast on June 26, his administration "has provided unprecedented support for the compassionate work performed by faith-based and community groups." He continued this thought by saying that the "government can hand out money, but government cannot put hope in a person's heart." The President remarked […]
Foreign Policy and Fund for Peace have published the 2008 Failed States Index. The main goal of the Index is to assess the vulnerability of states to slide towards further violence and chaos. There are twelve indicators of state vulnerability, which can be found here. At the top of the Index (most failed) is Somalia, […]
Presidential Candidate Barack Obama still has the support of a majority of American Muslims, but a New York Times article from June 24, 2008 questions whether there is a "disconnect between Mr. Obama's message of unity and his campaign strategy." One reason for questioning his sincerity is Obama's failure to visit a single mosque during […]
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