Hindi Zahra is the new face of a young generation of emancipated, cosmopolitan singers and songwriters from North Africa. Her album Handmade is due to be released in late February.
Born in Khouribga in southern Morocco, Zahra describes herself as an inveterate nomad: "From the time I was a small c

At an international conference on “Islam and the Media” organised by the Center for Media, Religion and Culture at the University of Colorado-Boulder in January, many of the participants, including myself, examined the negative stigma attached by the media to Islam and Muslims, especially after 9/11

The bipartisan Kerry-Lugar Bill, named after US Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar, provides a multi-year, super-sized economic aid programme to the people of Pakistan. This is the right approach to improve US-Pakistan relations. The majority of Pakistanis distrust the United States because they

Perhaps one of the most misunderstood and stereotyped countries in the world is Saudi Arabia, particularly when it comes to its women.
Some of the negative perceptions surrounding Saudi women could be justified. After all, we are the only country that does not allow women to drive, though the gove

A recent report by researchers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) states that the number of Muslim Americans vulnerable to radicalisation is small, but not negligible. Since 9/11, a total of 139 Muslim Americans have been arrested on terrorism charges, some

The social teachings of Christ influenced millions of people around the world. The members of the Catholic Church have responded well to this clarion call to develop this world from the socio-economic point of view based on justice and peace. It is being guided by the words of Christ , “He who has t

Over the past decades, numerous polls have demonstrated that the majority of Egyptians want shari’a—or Islamic principles—applied to parts of their country's legal system. Egypt’s constitution reflects this: Article 2 of the constitution states that shari’a is the principle source of legislation.

“Talent, like love, is only useful in its expenditure.” This quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. was brought to light on 23 January, when the Inner City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) brought its signature arts and culture event, Community Café, to New York City. Ibrahim Abdul Matin quoted King to prov

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