Islam in the U.S.
All topics-
Anti-Muslim sentiment in Canada and the US
Playing on people's fears
North America has seen an alarming number of anti-Muslim attacks in recent months. With elections coming up in both Canada and the US in the next two years, Richard Marcus takes a look at the context of these attacks and the reactions to them
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Snowden revelations
NSA spied on prominent US Muslims
After 9/11, every Muslim was a potential suspect. Under President George W. Bush, the FBI and NSA read the e-mails of Muslim lawyers and activists even though they had no convictions and there was no evidence that any of them had committed a crime, called for jihad or sympathised with al-Qaida. Even a Department of Homeland Security employee was under surveillance. By Matthias Kolb
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Islamophobia
Evidence Does Not Support Fears of Islam in the West
Why has a dichotomy persisted between Muslim and Western societies despite the bulk of academic research dispelling any notion of incompatibility? Director of the Islam in the West program at Harvard University Jocelyne Cesari explains
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Film on the Case of Murat Kurnaz
''A Scandal of Democracy''
"Five Years" examines the fate of the German Guantanamo prisoner Murat Kurnaz. Director Stefan Schaller's film exposes viewers to the horrific abuse of human rights endured by camp detainees. Jochen Kürten reports
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John R. Bowen's ''Blaming Islam''
Deconstructing Populism
John R. Bowen, anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis, is fed up with the myths, misinformation and cheap populism surrounding the issue of Islam and Muslims in the West. In his book, he debunks the falsehoods that have crept into the everyday political discourse about the religion and its adherents. A review by Paul Hockenos
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Imam Talib Abdur-Rashid on American Islam
Islamophobia as an Integral Part of the Political Platform
The general mood in the United States has grown increasingly intolerant towards Muslims. Charlotte Wiedemann was in New York and spoke with Imam Talib Abdur-Rashid, Afro-American and President of the Islamic Leadership Council, on the mood in this election year and about his criticism of some Muslims for what he sees as opportunism
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''The 99'' Cartoons
Islamic Super-Heroes
In the television series "The 99", Islamic comic heroes fight against evil forces in the world. Western critics warn against religious propaganda – unjustly, says Jannis Hagman
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Interview with Michael Muhammad Knight
''Religious Laws Can Change''
Michael Muhammad Knight has earned a reputation as an ostentatious cultural provocateur among American Muslims. In this interview with Richard Marcus, however, he talks quite seriously about matters of faith and the relation of religion and ideology
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American Islam
Decades Later, Malcolm X's Legacy Lives On
Muqtedar Khan looks at the legacy of Muslim civil rights activist Malcolm X, his journey through Islam – and what it means for America today
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Christians and Muslims Ten Years after 9/11
Hated, Feared, Misunderstood
The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington a decade ago have deepened the gulf between Christians and Muslims – but since the events of that day, the dialogue has become more sincere. By Matthias Drobinski
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9/11 and the Arab Spring
The End of the ''Antithesis''
After a decade, 9/11 is over. Its main legacy – the idea that Islam is fundamentally opposed to Western democratic values – has finally lost its power of persuasion. What is making this antithesis untenable is the Arab Spring, which is revealing rather different sides to both Muslims and what the West has stood for in the past. An essay by Geert J. Somsen