French presidential election turns to question of identity

The race to become the next president of France is becoming a referendum on what it means to be French. As voters prepare to head to the polls Sunday for the Républicains’ primary—which could ultimately determine the next president—the rhetoric at rallies and debates has increasingly focused on whether France’s secular values are compatible with

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New Book: The Oxford Handbook of European Islam (Jocelyne Cesari, Editor)

The Oxford Handbook of European Islam is the first collection to present a comprehensive approach to the multiple and changing ways Islam has been studied across European countries. Parts one to three address the state of knowledge of Islam and Muslims within a selection of European countries, while presenting a critical view of the most

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Press Release from Bertrand Dutheil de la Rocher, Republic-Secularism Advisor to Marine Le Pen

Bertrand Dutheil de la Rocher released a press statement discussing Islam in France. He states, “In recent days, discussions are circulating in social networks about Islam in France that involve the Marine Blue Gathering. The law is of a contingent nature. Its extent and its contents are decided according to the common good, variable at

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Demand for US-born imams up as mosques struggle to retain new generation of American Muslims

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mustafa Umar, an imam in Southern California, is popular with the Muslim teenagers who attend his mosque. They pepper him with questions about sensitive topics like marijuana use, dating and pornography. Umar, 31, is a serious Islamic scholar who has studied the Quran in the Middle East, Europe and India — but

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Don’t Fear Islamic Law in America

MORE than a dozen American states are considering outlawing aspects of Shariah law. Some of these efforts would curtail Muslims from settling disputes over dietary laws and marriage through religious arbitration, while others would go even further in stigmatizing Islamic life: a bill recently passed by the Tennessee General Assembly equates Shariah with a set

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