Tag: Islam
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Seeking More Muslim Heroes
Unlike the thugs who killed him, Merabet had assimilated into French society, while retaining his Muslim identity.
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A Bishop, a Rabbi and an Imam Walked Into a Room a Few Miles from Ground Zero…
The service bulletin thoughtfully provided an English translation of the call to prayer, which begins and ends with "Allahu Akbar." Tragically, that phrase is associated in my mind with the hatred and anger of too many terrorist attacks. It was a blessing on this day to hear in those words an affirmation of our common humanity.
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Karen Armstrong Preaches Compassion in Morristown
I tried to bait the famous author into a partisan screed, but she was having none of it. “America is at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now our Nobel Peace Prize winning president is taking us into war in Libya. I’d be interested to hear your take on how some of the things you’ve […]
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There Are a Billion Muslims — We Better Make Friends With Some of Them
America is at war with a global enemy motivated by Islam — but if Islam itself is the enemy, we’re all in trouble. Father Butler should be commended, not attacked, for working to build bridges between Muslims and Christians.
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In Any Language, the Ground Zero Mosque is a Bad Idea
Yasser Arafat, the Father of Modern Terrorism, whose 1994 receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize tarnished that award for all time, pioneered the art of condemning violence in English while encouraging it in Arabic. He largely got away with it, because of a shortage of Arabic-language speakers in America and Europe. Enter MEMRI, the indispensable […]
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Should French Women Wear Burqas at the Ground Zero Mosque?
Sometimes I blog to share what I think. Other times I blog to try to decide what I think. I don’t know what to think about the French Parliament’s vote last week to ban the wearing of the burqa and niqab. More precisely: The legislation adopted Tuesday by the Senate, the upper house of the […]
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Park51 Would Be the Most Expensive Islamic Center in North America
One of the first thoughts that occurred to me when I began writing about the planned 13-story, 100,000 square foot, $100 million Islamic center near Ground Zero is, “surely this would be the biggest Islamic facility in the country?” To me, the trophy-building scale of the project is what makes it objectionable at that site. […]
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A Symposium on Moderate Islam — and Why the Ground Zero Imam Doesn’t Qualify
Two useful features today in the Wall Street Journal. First, a symposium titled “What is Moderate Islam?“, in which six scholars and thought leaders explore the topic that represents the world’s best hope for peaceful coexistence between Islam and the West. Second, “Letters from the Imam,” in which the man behind a controversial proposed Islamic […]
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Stumbling Toward a Middle Ground on the So-Called “Ground Zero Mosque”
Both sides of the controversy cite the First Amendment — freedom of religion vs. freedom of speech — but appealing to the Constitution is missing the point. Nobody — no serious person — is suggesting the government should forbid the project.
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Muslims Against the Ground Zero Mosque
When I first started hearing about it, the controversy over a proposed mosque near the gaping hole where the twin towers once stood seemed like an annoying distraction. I wished the whole discussion would just go away.  I sympathized with the visceral opposition to a monument to Islam near where fanatical Muslims killed so many […]