A collection of 38 posts
Are we going to defend liberty, openness, and democracy, or are we going to allow radical theocrats and their ideological allies to try to crush our hard-won freedoms?
Lale Gül’s autobiographical novel about a young Muslim woman living in the Netherlands has led to death threats and ostracism. But it is a work of admirable intelligence and courage.
Liberalising trends within Islam are facing resistance from radicals committed to a narrative of victimhood and grievance.
Jonathan Kay speaks with Roya Hakakian about the rise and fall of Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, a former Iranian official who’d presented himself to Oberlin as an agent of peace and ‘forgiveness.’
The problem here is not a subset of Islamic thought, but the fundamentals of Islam itself.
A conversation about Iran, Israel, and Islamic terrorism with Iraqi researcher Suha Hassen.
What happens when the values of multiculturalism conflict with homophobic, misogynistic, and deeply anti-democratic strains of Islam?
Tracing Tehran's ties to the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah.
Many Iranians perceive Israel as a potential ally in their struggle against Islamic oppression.
The Hamas atrocities of October 7th have refocussed attention on the place of a consequential voting bloc in Western democracies.
The French polemicist's memoir invites us to pity him, but should we?
Salman Rushdie’s new novel is a powerful reminder of his vital role in the endless battle for free speech.
Meg Smaker’s film about the rehabilitation of former Guantanamo terror suspects was nuanced and sympathetic. But the mob didn’t care.
For centuries, the orthodox Muslim view has been that those who insult Muhammad must be summarily killed.
A further irony is that while Khan presses ahead with entrenching Islam in every nook and cranny of the polity and society, other Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia, are toning down the hard-line version of Islam that they have long promulgated.