By James M. Dorsey Indonesia has emerged as a primary battleground between democratic and autocratic visions of Islam in the 21st century. The b
Read MoreBy James M. Dorsey Three scantily dressed samba dancers wearing traditional feather headdresses laid bare the limits of social liberalisa
Read MoreUsaama al-Azami’s Islam and the Arab Revolutions: The Ulama Between Democracy and Autocracy (Oxford University Press, 2022) focuses on the responses o
Read MoreBy James M. Dorsey Two diametrically opposed visions of moderate Islam have emerged as major Muslim powers battle to define the soul of their faith
Read MoreIn a sign of the times, Turkish schoolbooks have replaced Saudi texts as the bull’s eye of criticism of supremacist and intolerant curricula in the Mu
Read MoreWhen Pope Francis sets foot in Iraq on Friday, he will be breaking historic ground while manoeuvring religious and political minefields. So will his f
Read MoreDemonstrating for the third week their determination to force the country’s military to return to its barracks, protesters in Myanmar appear to be lea
Read MoreTwo decades of snail pace revisions of Saudi schoolbooks aimed at removing supremacist references to Jews, Christians, and Shiites suggest a willingne
Read MoreSaudi Arabia’s combustible mix of religion, nationalism, and tradition as well as contradictions in the kingdom’s projection of itself as a driver of
Read MoreOn 12 December 2020, Iranian authorities had executed Ruhollah Zam, an Iranian dissident and journalist who was living in exile in Paris since 2009, o
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