Ethics + Religion

A women is more than what she wears. Darrin Henry/Shutterstock Peter Hopkins, Newcastle University Rio 2016 is proving not just to be a platform for sporting prowess, it is also helping to shake up some traditionally-held cultural misconceptions too. In the West, many regard traditional Muslim dress like the hijab as a sign of oppression, with women forced to wear …

Muslim schools can provide a place for girls to study while wearing headscarves. Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images Carol Ferrara, Emerson College Following recent terror attacks in France, President Emmanuel Macron appears intent on pushing forward with his plans to combat what he sees as “Islamic separatism” – starting with the schools. A new bill announced on Nov. 18 will …

Diwali is the most important festival for the South Asian community. Photo By Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post via Getty Images Natasha Mikles, Texas State University As many Indian Americans celebrate the election of the first Black and South Asian woman, Kamala Harris, to the White House, many will also be celebrating the festival of Diwali on Saturday, Nov. 14. Sometimes …

The podcast Caliphate explored the war on terror and ISIS on the ground in Syria and Iraq. In this March 12, 2020 photo, a man rides a motorcycle in northwestern Syria the current focus of the 10-year civil war. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) Peter Klein, University of British Columbia The latest scandal to hit United States news media involves Rukmini Callimachi, …

An anti-Islamic protester during a demonstration at Toronto City Hall on March 4, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov Fahad Ahmad, Carleton University and Tarek Younis, Middlesex University On Sept. 25, the RCMP arrested Shehroze Chaudhry, a Muslim man, for allegedly fabricating his affiliation with the Islamic State group (ISIS). Chaudhry — popularly referred to by his supposed nom de guerre, …

Muslims praying in Puerto Rico. AP Photo/Tomas van Houtryve Ken Chitwood, University of Florida For Juan, Ramadan is a balancing act. On the one hand is his religious faith and practice. On the other is his land, his culture, his home: Puerto Rico. Although he weaves these two elements of his identity together in many ways, during Ramadan, the borderline …

Hazal Atay, Sciences Po – USPC Many women took to the streets worldwide on September 28, the global day of action for safe abortion successes and put forth new demands for women’s right to access safe, free and legal abortion. Right to access safe abortion is under threat in many countries, from the United States to Poland, from Argentina to Ireland …

Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato Was Brenton Tarrant’s silence and acceptance of sentence in court a final act to expand his notoriety? Was his disavowal of previously expressed ideological views a trick? A person capable of planning the Christchurch mosque attacks so methodically may well have mapped the last public chapter, too. By saying little and expressing no real remorse, …

Only a handful of tourists at the usually busy St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images Faizan Ali, University of South Florida and Cihan Cobanoglu, University of South Florida Religious tourism is among the oldest forms of planned travel and to this day remains a huge industry. About 300 to 330 million tourists visit the world’s …

Afghan security personnel inspect the rubble of Afghanistan’s intelligence services building after a car bomb blast claimed by the Taliban killed at least 11 people, July 13, 2020. AFP via Getty Images Sher Jan Ahmadzai, University of Nebraska Omaha Five months after the United States signed an historic accord with the Taliban – the Islamic militant group that sheltered al-Qaida …