If current demographic trends continue, moreover, the world could level off at about 9 billion persons in 2050, and nearly 1/3 of those could well be Muslim. The really big Muslim populations are not in the Middle East, which is largely arid and wouldn't support such populations. It is in relatively well-watered places such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Indonesia in Asia where the bulk of Muslims live.
Informed Comment: Nearly One in Four Persons on Globe is Muslim - 0 views
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One of the implications is that the US is a little unlikely to thrive as a superpower in the 21st century if its more venal and bloodthirsty politicians go on barking about "Islamo-fascism" (they never said Christo-Fascism even though Gen. Franco in Spain was a good candidate for the label) and denigrating Islam and Muslims and seeking to militarily occupy their countries and siphon off their resources. That kind of behavior may have worked in the 19th century before Muslims were mobilized, but it does not work now.
Ali Gomaa: Islam, Israel and the United States - WSJ.com - 0 views
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while we must strive to reinforce the common principles that we share, we must also accept the reality of differences in our values and in our outlook. Islam and the West have distinct value systems. Respect for our differences is a foundation for coexistence, and never for conflict.
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While some of the divide between Islam and the West lies in the realm of ideas, it lies mostly in the realm of politics. The violence and the aggression to which many Muslim countries have been subjected are the main sources of a deep and legitimate sense of grievance, and they must be addressed.
Turks intolerant of religious diversity, says poll - 0 views
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Turks intolerant of religious diversity, says poll
A survey conducted by a private research company has shown that a great majority of the public does not want atheists, Jews or Christians for neighbors and also disapproves of their employment at top state institutions, the Radikal daily reported yesterday. -
Fifty-seven percent of 1,108 people surveyed in the poll said they did not want to have atheist neighbors, while 42 percent said they did not want Jewish neighbors and 35 percent of respondents were reluctant to have Christian neighbors
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When participants were asked whether they have close friends who are Alevi, Kurd, atheist, Greek, Armenian or Jewish, 64 percent stated that they had a Kurdish friend, while 53 percent said they had a friend from the Alevi community.
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via @mideastyouth
Best place for Muslims to live? America - Yahoo! News - 0 views
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In Turkey, where the vast majority of the population is Muslim, you will not find a lawyer with a beard or a student at a university wearing a head scarf, but you can find plenty in New York City. In Tunisia, you won't see a religiously dressed physician at university hospitals – but you can in Alabama.
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Many Muslim countries promote homogeneity while their citizens yearn for a right to diversity, which will give them the ability to practice their religious rituals freely.
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the difference is when American Muslims face an unjust treatment, they have recourse where they can find justice
Religion in schools, finally | open Democracy News Analysis - 0 views
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Dmitry Medvedev met with the leaders of Russia's traditional religions, and responded to two appeals from them.
He agreed that the history and culture of the country's main religions should be included in the core school curriculum. He also agreed that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation should have military priests. -
Twice a week from the spring of next year, pupils in the fourth and fifth classes will study one of three new subjects. They and their parents will be able to choose between the religious culture of one religion (Orthodox, Islam, Judaism or Buddhism), the history and cultural background of the world's great religions, or the foundations of secular ethics. It will be compulsory for pupils to choose one of these three modules.
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These three modules, "Foundations of religious culture", "Foundations of history and culture of world religions" and "Foundations of secular ethics",- will be taught by teachers who have taken a special training course, though most of them will probably have had a secular education.
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A Song Contest Becomes a Hot Spot in Feud Between Countries - NYTimes.com - 0 views
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The simmering conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has entered a new theater: the Eurovision Song Contest.
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some Azerbaijanis who took impartiality to impressive lengths, voting for the Armenian entry in the 2009 final in May, reportedly were called in to the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry
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Previously, the Armenians had raised tensions by slipping images of a memorial in Nagorno-Karabakh, the enclave at the center of the dispute between the countries, into the video presentation that introduced their representative in a preliminary round.
Memo From Cairo - Hints of Pluralism in Egyptian Religious Debates - NYTimes.com - 0 views
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Mr. Banna was pleased because at least his ideas were being circulated. Mr. Banna, who is 88 years old and is the brother of Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, has been preaching liberal Islamic views for decades.
But only now, he said, does he have the chance to be heard widely. It is not that a majority agrees with him; it is not that the tide is shifting to a more moderate interpretative view of religion; it is just that the rise of relatively independent media — like privately owned newspapers, satellite television channels and the Internet — has given him access to a broader audience.
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Some of those who have begun to speak up say they are acting in spite of — and not with the encouragement of — the Egyptian government. Political analysts said that the government still tried to compete with the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned but tolerated Islamic movement, to present itself as the guardian of conservative Muslim values.
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President Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world has quieted the accusation that the United States is at war with Islam, making it easier for liberal Muslims to promote more Western secular ideas, Egyptian political analysts said.
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French Rap as a Flash Point - NYTimes.com - 0 views
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“One wonders if our leaders understand their electors aren’t living in Tehran,”
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a new phase in the usually hostile relationship between French rappers and politicians. Though the artists remain committed and popular provocateurs, some leaders who once called them a serious threat to French culture and public safety have begun to soften their tone. The change mirrors broader attitudinal shifts in France, a nation devoted to tradition but adapting, sometimes grudgingly, to an evolving, multiracial society.
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“At a certain point, what they accept from a Franco-French artist they don’t accept from an artist of North African origin,” said the lawyer Guillaume Traynard, who has defended several French rappers in cases brought by politicians. He called the suits a misguided “shortcut” for addressing the problems of France’s tense minority neighborhoods, from which most French rappers hail.
Orelsan, who is white, suggested rap’s troubles have had more to do with culture than with politics or race.
“Rap is a kind of music that people don’t really understand,” he said. “It’s a musical genre that’s not accepted as ‘culture’ by a large part of the population.” Some French have attacked rap, he said, simply because they don’t view it as art — and mistake aggressive posturing for literal threats of violence.
News | US students under fire for anti-Islam shirts - 0 views
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A handful of school students in the American state of Florida were sent home this week for wearing t-shirts with the words "Islam is of the Devil" printed on the back in red and refusing to change out of them or cover the message.
BBC NEWS | Europe | French minister urges burka ban - 0 views
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A ban on the burka in France would help stem the spread of the "cancer" of radical Islam, a female Muslim minister says.
Religious unrest in Egypt - 0 views
Coptic Church censoring student's PhD thesis - 0 views
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When the young student called the bishop to confirm his attendance only days later, the bishop began listing a number of changes he would want to see in the PhD thesis before he would approve.
One of those changes included the accent that Ishaq had claimed in his work was more appropriate in usage. The bishop argued that this would need to be changed in order to match his own accent of the Coptic Language, saying that this was the norm, not what Ishaq had asserted. -
“The fact that a member of the church is, or was, attempting to manipulate the findings of an academic is inappropriate and must not be seen as something that happens often," he begins, “because in the region, religious groups, whether they are Christian or Muslim, too often get involved in situations they shouldn’t."
National Intelligence Examiner: Censored: Jewish professor wins Arab 'Nobel Peace Prize' - 0 views
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no major media in Europe or the U.S. picked up the Reuters article or even mentioned this historic event at all. Israel's respected Haaretz was one of the few major media publications in the world to discuss the significance of Saudi Arabia for the first time in the award's 30 years choosing a Jew as the recipient.
An Iranian's vision of Jesus' life stirs debate - Los Angeles Times - 0 views
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the Islamic version of the life of Jesus, depicting the man Christians believe to be the messiah and son of God as a tormented Judean prophet foretelling the coming of Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim faith.
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"I pray for Christians. They've been misled. They will realize one day the true story," said Talebzadeh
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This, and the comment from the Christian blogger below, show how easily inter-faith dialogue can become zero-sum.
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"People might use this film as a strategy to further demonize Iran," he said. "They may succeed. But I hope once you see that the focus of the film is sacred, it will overwhelm. No one would have imagined that an Iranian would make a film to glorify Jesus."
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The new film, based on the Islamic version of Jesus' life, depicts him as a prophet rather than the son of God. Its director says he wants to further understanding.
Virtually Islamic - 0 views
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