One of the misconceptions in the Occidental discourse on Islam is that the latter is a monolithic entity. Islam has spread far and wide across the planet. It has a significant presence from China in the East to Spain and Northern Africa toward the West. And through this broad range, there is considerable diversity and…
Category: Religion
Why does Amina Wadud think that the Qur’an can be read in a more women-friendly way?
In the article written by Amina Wadud, titled Quran, Gender and Interpretative Possibilities, we see one of the emerging trends in contemporary Islamic discourse. That beyond the commonly understood and accepted fact of ‘the text’ being of revelatory nature, one has to take into account other socio-historical circumstances of 7th century A.D, in order to…
How did Humanism affect Christian beliefs during the Renaissance?
Humanism is a school of thought in philosophy that is based upon established and emerging facts about human nature. Humanism, which flourished during the Italian Renaissance is largely secular in its composition, making no references to the unknown and the supernatural. But in the centuries that have gone by, it has been adopted into various…
The need for a liberal review of the Niqab and the Hijab
The issue of dress codes for women has been a debating point for long. Some Islamic scholars believe that there is no such decree in the holy books, while others interpret it counter-wise to make their case. Even with so much new research conducted on the subject, there is no consensus among Islamic scholars and…
The Mormon religion between the 1820s and 1840s
Mormonism is a new religion that emerged in early 19th century United States and has its roots in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Officially called the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints, the religion is founded on a disillusionment with existing denominations of Christianity. Joseph Smith is credited as the founder of the religion and it was…
Should morality be based solely on religion?
Religion has long been an integral part of human civilization. Religion effectively started when humans realized the power of nature and their subordination to this power. And being the most intelligent species on earth, human beings conceived the notion of ‘appeasing’ the Gods in return for favorable natural events. For example, offering animal and human…
Galileo’s Daughter – A Drama of Science, Faith and Love by Dava Sobel
Galileo Galilei was one of the most influential scientists of the modern era. His discovery and development of telescopes and his study of the cosmos revolutionized scientific understanding of the day. But his discoveries and inferences were disliked by the dominant religious institutions of his time, for they challenged the Christian theocratic view of the…
Quranic and Biblical Depictions of Solomon (Sulayman)
The Judeo-Christian religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have several common characteristics. All three of them originate from what is presently referred to as the Middle East and thus share a common cultural and geographic heritage. Islam being the most modern of the religions has derived some of its precepts from its immediate predecessor Christianity. …
The principal theme that unites the four pastoral letters of Archbishop Romero
Archbishop Oscar Romero, who served the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador, is an important public figure in Latin American socio-political history. He was appointed as the Archbishop of San Salvador in late 1970s. Though he was assassinated in 1980, his legacy lives on still today, mainly due to the preservation of his political and…
In defense of Khalid Muhammad
Khalid Muhammad was the former leader of Nation of Islam (NOI), which is a radical black nationalist movement founded in the last century. This organization has close links with the New Black Panther Party, which is distinct from the original party of the Black Power movement. Khalid Muhammad is right about many of the grievances…