Statement read by Jason Graves, Al Hedaya Islamic Center, Newtown, Conn. In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful The Muslim community of the Al Hedaya Islamic Center in Newtown, in Connecticut and throughout the nation joins with our fellow Americans in grieving for those who died in this senseless tragedy and praying for…
VISOKO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — When Amra Babic walks down the streets of the central Bosnian town of Visoko wearing her Muslim headscarf, men sitting in outdoor cafes instantly rise from their chairs, fix their clothes and put out their cigarettes. The respect is only natural: Babic is their new mayor. The 43 year-old economist has blazed…
Modern nation states utilize political models that were unanticipated in any of our premodern scriptures. It is anachronistic to ask whether “Islam” endorses constitutionalism or democracy. Islam as such does not proscribe any one particular system of government. (Of course “Islam” doesn’t do anything, Muslims do. We human beings are the agents of our religious…
Recently, President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney gave interviews with “Cathedral Age,” a magazine produced by the Washington National Cathedral, in which they reflected on the role of faith in America. As religious leaders from distinct Abrahamic faith traditions, we were pleased to read this statement from Romney: “Every religion has its own…
The only Protestant running for president in 2012 is President Obama, an American of both a racially and a religiously diverse family background. Both vice-presidential candidates are Catholics, and Mitt Romney, the presumptive GOP nominee for president, is Mormon. Does it matter? Eboo Patel, founder of Interfaith Youth Core thinks it does. In his new…
