taliban

A New Book Traces the Influence of Racism and Imperialism on White Christian Feminism

Caroline Matas — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 11:47:34 EDT

As a scholar of American evangelicalism, I often spend my time writing and teaching about the overt beliefs and practices that White conservative Protestants employ to further entrench Christian nationalism and White supremacy as American values. White evangelicals are, for…

Originalism Needn't Always Result in Abortion Bans — Just Ask al-Qaʿida?

Nathan French — Fri, 06 May 2022 04:27:14 EDT

When it comes to Roe v. Wade , some pro-choice voices have a jihadism problem. Posting about “Shariʿa” won’t help them. Critiquing originalism might. A subset of those infuriated by the leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion that would…

Sharbat Gula’s Experience Exemplifies the 'White Savior' Lens Through Which Most Americans View Afghanistan

Sara Kamali — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 06:26:19 EST

On August 29, 2021, in an emblematic end to America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan, the US military killed 10 innocent people, including 7 children, in an armed drone attack on a dense residential neighborhood of the capital city, Kabul. The…

'We Remember a United States That Fought the Nazis': A German Scholar of Fascism Weighs in on Christian Nationalism in the U.S.

Andrew L. Seidel — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 01:10:12 EST

“January 6 helped argue the case for fascist tendencies in Christian Nationalism,” Annika Brockschmidt tells me. As someone who spends his time on the front lines battling Christian Nationalism and writing about it, including a new epilogue on the January…

The Biggest Lesson Learned From the US War in Afghanistan is How Little We've Learned

Sara Kamali — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 01:30:33 EDT

Twenty years ago, in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 th attacks, President George W. Bush unleashed what he termed the War on Terror that reoriented the geopolitical security paradigm forever. In its wake, the Department of Homeland Security…

Please Stop Using Islam to Critique the Abortion Ban: It Only Excuses the Very Christian, Very White Roots of Anti-Choice Movements

Sajida Jalalzai — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 04:08:05 EDT

Like many other women living in Texas, news of the Supreme Court’s refusal to block Senate Bill 8 (SB 8) hit me hard. This extreme law not only bans abortion around six weeks in all cases of pregnancy (including those…

Goodbye 'Roe,' Hello Violence and an Out-of-Control Judiciary

Andrew L. Seidel — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 12:29:59 EDT

The Supreme Court overturned a constitutional right to healthcare, and effectively overturned Roe v Wade , by doing nothing. Using the shadow docket, Justice Alito allowed a draconian, dystopian misogynistic law to rob Texans of a basic constitutional right: bodily…

The 'Fake Christian' Deflection and Contrarian Concern Trolling: How Not to Write about Evangelical Authoritarianism

Chrissy Stroop — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 05:14:08 EDT

Over the last couple of weeks, America’s conservative, mostly white evangelicals have once again generated considerable buzz—and deserved criticism—over their authoritarian attitudes and behaviors. For example, as Christian nationalism has featured prominently at rallies against mask mandates and the Covid…

Will the Taliban Actually Remain Somewhat Moderate This Time?

Mark Juergensmeyer — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 02:54:12 EDT

Some ten days after the fall of Kabul it’s still not clear how the Taliban will rule. There are several reports of reprisal killings and brutal enforcement of their strict interpretation of Islamic law. But there are also statements of…

Another Manufactured Outrage: Rep. Ilhan Omar Did Nothing Wrong in Listing Hamas, Israel, and U.S. Together

Joshua Shanes — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 04:24:23 EDT

Last week, Representative Ilhan Omar asked Secretary of State Tony Blinken a straightforward question. It was prompted by recent cases brought to the International Criminal Court (ICC) alleging war crimes, or crimes against humanity, by both Israel and Hamas in…

With Trump's Failure to Protect Religious Minorities, Afghan Hindus and Sikhs Face an Uncertain Future in India

Tejpaul Singh Bainiwal — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 12:52:46 EDT

On July 19, 2020, The New York Times reported that India had offered to take in Afghan Hindus and Sikhs in an attempt to address the recent violence against those communities whose numbers have been steadily shrinking in Afghanistan. Despite…

Religion as a Front for Tyranny: A Roundtable on the Timeliness of Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale"

Anita Little — Wed, 17 May 2017 06:58:26 EDT

Are we worse off than when “The Handmaid’s Tale” was first published?

Not All American Muslims Feel the Dread I Do

Huma Mohibullah — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 07:21:30 EST

Whether cavalier attitudes or crippling dread, the varied responses of American Muslims to Trump’s election reflect our political diversity—we are anything but homogeneous.

Mexican Marriage Marches Show Struggle Between Church and Secular State; Pro-LGBT Mormon Group Grows After 'Apostate' Declaration; Botswana Gives Anti-Gay US Pastor the Boot; Global LGBT Recap

Peter Montgomery — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 11:25:29 EDT

Mexico: Anti-marriage marches stir clash between church officials and proponents of secular state A march drew tens of thousands – or hundreds of thousands depending on whose numbers you believe – of anti-marriage-equality Catholics and evangelicals to Mexico City, the…

Delillo and Doctor Strange: Orientalist Fantasy is Alive and Well

Noah Berlatsky — Tue, 24 May 2016 04:39:07 EDT

“Open your mind. Change your reality.” These are the twin phrases that flash across the screen in the trailer for Marvel’s upcoming Doctor Strange: file://localhost/%3Ciframe%20width=%22853%22%20height=%22480%22%20src=%22https/::www.youtube.com:embed:ap-22FjgoE4%22%20frameborder=%220%22%20allowfulls… The movie promises to follow its eponymous hero, a super-surgeon played by Benedict Cumberbatch, as…

#VanillaISIS, White Tears and the Adventures of Captain Moroni

Megan Goodwin — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 06:36:22 EST

Reading between the hashtags as Twitter responds to the Oregon standoff.

Tweeting ISIS Attacks: A Lesson in Not Learning a Lesson

Haroon Moghul — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 05:05:07 EST

After Friday’s horrific attacks on Paris, France, leaving 129 dead, hundreds wounded, a nation traumatized, and a world shocked, we are of course asking: What do we do now? But, of course, we’ve been here before. We overthrew the Taliban…

Pope's US Visit Provokes Intense Attention; New Vatican Book on Man-Woman Complementarity & New Int'l Report on Christian Role Models for LGBT Equality; Global LGBT Recap

Peter Montgomery — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 11:33:22 EDT

The United Kingdom’s Stonewall has published “Christian Role Models for LGBT Equality,” a booklet that tells the stories of 20 Christians from 15 countries on six continents, with a foreward by Bishop Christopher Senyonjo of Uganda. The report is also…

The Blasphemy of ISIS: A 7-Point Pro-Guide to Islam(ism)

Haroon Moghul — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 04:47:07 EDT

Islam was meant to be read as a whole, and not in bits and pieces, as ISIS and al-Qaeda do. (Their Islam is not just outrageous, it is also embarrassing.)

Is Religion to Blame for Violence? Karen Armstrong's Flawed Case

Paul Harvey — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 12:23:46 EST

Just as I finished Karen Armstrong’s Fields of Blood, which is a very extended attack on the notion that “religion is inherently violent” or that religion and war go together like a horse and carriage, news broke of the latest…

Interview With a Muslim

Haroon Moghul — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 03:32:00 EST

Q: So where does this leave us? Do Muslims condemn terror? A: If I speak, it is used against me, and if I do not speak…

It's Theology, Not Baseball: Misunderstanding Iraq's Sectarian Conflicts

Amyn B. Sajoo — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 12:37:13 EDT

Nothing is as conducive to global radical mobilization as an exclusive theological summons.

Hobby Lobby, Bill Gothard, and the Submission of Women

Sarah Posner — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 09:27:46 EDT

Mother Jones’ David Corn and Molly Redden report on the relationship between the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., and the disgraced former leader of the Institute in Basic Life Principles, Bill Gothard. Gothard, now 79 and never…

Note to David Brat: Free Markets Are Not Calvinist

Kate Blanchard — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 09:00:33 EDT

On the occasion of Dave Brat’s rise to (perhaps short-lived) fame, I wish to take this opportunity to question the common wisdom that Calvinism and capitalism go hand in hand. The confusion may go back even farther than Max Weber’s…