There is much that we can learn from the recent attacks on several churches in Malaysia spurred by the use of the word Allah–the Arabic word for God–by Malaysian Christians, dividing an otherwise diverse society.
The row started when government authorities moved to ban the import of religious book

The American people and their openness to Muslim communities will in many ways determine the success of US President Barack Obama's global engagement initiative, which he launched on his inauguration day a year ago by calling for a "new way forward" with Muslims. Change will depend in large part on

On January 12th the nation of Haiti was devastated by an earthquake the magnitude of 7.0, the largest earthquake on that besieged island state in 200 years. The next morning we received a personal note from a Haitian Episcopal priest from Port-Au- Prince:
“There is no Cathedral. The entire Holy T

Even as a Jew in New York, I know what it is like to be Muslim in France.
While studying abroad in the French city of Strasbourg in 2007, I decided to grow a bushy beard. Little did I know that in France only traditional Jewish and Muslim men don anything but the most finely trimmed moustache or g

Alas, it happened again. An extremist Muslim attacked a Westerner to punish him for mocking Islam. This time, the victim was the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, whose controversial caricature of the Prophet Muhammad had sparked a worldwide storm five years ago. A 28-year-old man of Somali origin

The year 2010 has started off as a difficult one for Muslim-European relations. Switzerland’s 29 November referendum banning the construction of minarets is still producing an outcry in the country and abroad. Critics point not only to the discriminatory character of the vote against Swiss Muslim mi

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will unveil new reconciliation efforts with the Taliban at this week’s London Conference on Afghanistan’s political future. After US President Barack Obama’s announcement of another troop surge last month, Afghans have been asking: “Where is the diplomatic surge to addr

Isolation in some cultures, ethics and moro-social values is taken as a curse whereas, some take it as privacy. Isolation in certain conditions and times is may be very good and results exceedingly positive, but it may not be always the same. Any nation, group or individual left in isolation dies so

Many people wonder what relevance shari'a–Islamic principles– has in the modern world. In Morocco it has influenced national laws, especially the civil code and family law, primarily in a positive sense. Coupled with the country’s tradition of tolerance and openness, this has provided the Moroccan g

A new year begins, but last year’s “1Malaysia” campaign, which promotes multiculturalism and understanding between religious and ethnic communities throughout Malaysia, is still going strong.
The mere need for this kind of public campaign for unity and the recent violence marking the beginning of t

At a time when many have despaired of hope for Jewish-Muslim understanding due to the ongoing impasse in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, nearly 200 Muslims and Jews gathered in Paris recently to say: “Now is the time to build ties of friendship and understanding between our faiths for the sake of

Muslims and Christians together constitute over 50 percent of the world. If they lived in peace, we would be halfway to world peace. One small step we can take towards fostering Muslim-Christian harmony is to tell and retell positive stories and abstain from mutual demonisation.
I propose to remind

A previously divided region has a new symbol of hope: the recently reopened train line between Sarajevo and Belgrade. Many young Serbs, Croats and Bosnians who don't remember the Bosnian war of the early 1990s hope to travel on this train, which serves as a physical link between Serbia and Bosnia.

Recent surge of violence in both parts of contentious state of Jammu and Kashmir has fuelled the concerns about the expansion of Taliban network in the Himalayan region. Despite significant increase of terrorist operations in India and Pakistan during the last few years, Jammu and Kashmir remained r

Jerusalem is a central point of reference for the three great monotheist faiths. King David made the city the political and religious capital of Israel, creating a centre for Judaism within and beyond the region. Jerusalem is a holy city for Christians as the place of Jesus of Nazareth’s teaching, c