Before it was innocuously renamed Park 51, the Ground Zero mosque development had been known as the Cordoba House, which proponents claimed referred to a supposed golden age of multi-faith tolerance under Islamic rule. What they neglect to mention is that historically, non-Muslims under Muslim...
What is a mosque? This is an important and pressing question. I am reminded of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein's observation: "One thinks that one is tracing the outline of the thing's nature over and over again, and one is merely tracing round the frame through which we...
I have been ruminating further about Rabbi Gary M. Bretton-Granatoor's 9/11 address. In my previous blog I questioned his presupposition that those who oppose the Park51 Project (the 'Ground Zero Mosque) must be bigots, as well as his assumption that ignorance is the cause of...
Rabbi Bretton-Granatoor, of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, has written a reflection for 9/11 entitled "How many lies are contained in the phrase "A mosque at ground zero"? The rabbi excoriates those who are opposed to the construction of the Park51 project, also known as...
I have hesitated to write about the Ground Zero Mosque, which has grabbed the attention of America in recent months. But today is the 11th of September, and it seems as good a time as any to bite the bullet. For an insightful discussion of what...
Dove World Outreach Centre in Florida has declared that it will burn a Quran on 11 September 2010 on what they have declared as 'Burn a Koran Day'. In response Muslim groups throughout the world have warned that this event will result in extreme reactions. Would-be...
This post gives three updates on Nagla Al-Imam, one of the most outspoken human rights activists living in an Islamic country. This post discusses: her second kidnapping and beating, her response to allegations that she promoted sexual harassment of Jewish girls on Arab television, and ...
A post by Mary Abdelmasih reports that Bishop Agathon, 75 clergy and nearly 150,000 Copts from the Diocese of Maghagha and Edwah have staged a sit-in in Maghagha since last Sunday (25 July 2010) protesting against obstructions to church building works. (Maghagha is 180 km...