Foreign Policy Blogs

Defense & Security

The 2008 U.S. Elections: Conservative and Religious?

The 2008 U.S. Elections: Conservative and Religious?

As Barack Obama makes history by becoming America's first African-American president, the election took other more conservative turns. Same-sex marriage bans were passed in California, Florida, and Arizona. Arkansas also passed a measure that would bar homosexual couples from adopting children. (South Dakota did however reject an abortion ban for the second time in two […]

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Bad for Religion: Politics

Eric Gorski has written a fascinating article about religion in the 2008 elections. The main premise is that this year's politics has unfortunately used religion as a weapon to divide and mock. The country really became obsessed with the ideas of fringe religion and what the mainstream set of religious beliefs “should” be. On this election day, it is worth reflecting on how […]

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More Iraqi Christians May Go to Germany

More Iraqi Christians May Go to Germany

This map Religions and Ethnicities in Iraq was published yesterday as part of an article titled, “Christians on the Run in Iraq.” It discusses the contradiction of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's “promise of security for everyone” with the continued persecution of Christians. In July, Maliki assured German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Christians were safe […]

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Who Blames Religion and Why?

In October, GulfNews published in five parts various excerpts from John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed's analysis of the recent Gallup survey of the world's Muslims. The title of the book is "Who Speaks for Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think." In fact, the book is based on the largest ever survey conducted of Muslims. […]

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Who's Afraid of Tariq Ramadan? Not me, well…maybe just a little

Who's Afraid of Tariq Ramadan?  Not me, well…maybe just a little

Hello everyone, it's Pat Frost from FPA's Central Asian blog doing a guest post. Now this piece is far from ripped off the front page headlines, but the issue is still as vibrant as ever and continually is debated in my mind: Is Tariq Ramadan, a European Muslim with an elite Islamic past (he is […]

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Book Review: The Islamist by Ed Husain

The final sentence of this book is: "The future of Islam is being shaped now." The Islamist (published 2007) is an autobiographical portrait of a young man's journey from being a rejectionist to a patriotic British citizen. Along the way Ed Husain learns about the hypocrisy of fundamentalists "who enjoy British life while calling for […]

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A New Interfaith Network

A New Interfaith Network

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has convened a two-day Global Forum of Faith-Based Organizations in Istanbul. The main result was the formation of an Interfaith Network on Population and Development. The goal was "to strengthen cooperation against the global urgencies of maternal death, AIDS, and poverty." The press release says that the Global Forum […]

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Prayer Disputes in the United States

Prayer Disputes in the United States

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal looks at how the American workplace accommodates religious differences. Phred Dvorak specifically addresses events in Colorado and Nebraska last month when meatpacking plants "fired about 200 Muslim Somali workers who walked off the job over prayer disputes." Dvorak writes that the United States is seeing is a […]

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Anti-Christian Violence in Iraq

There are approximately 700,000 to 800,000 Christians in Iraq, and in recent weeks, the violence against this religious community has intensified. Some reports say that "it is the work of Al Qaeda." However, a senior Iraqi Interior Ministry official has said, "there are no indications that Al Qaeda is involved in forcing Christians to flee." […]

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The New Religulous

The New Religulous

As you may already know (or have seen it), Bill Maher – with director Larry Charles (from ‘Borat’) – has made the new movie Religulous. It came out on October 3. In an interview, Maher described his approach to the movie as confronting people of faith. He said, “In America, every politician gets on the […]

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Controversial Deities

Controversial Deities

At the beginning of October, Al Jazeera reported on the fascinating developments surrounding the Dalai Lama's ban on the worship of Dorje Shugden , a "500-year-old Deity." The news centered on the tension among Tibetans in India over the issue – and also how the Tibetan exile government says that Shugden worshippers are terrorists linked […]

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Can "Islamicisation" Lead to the Miscarriage of Justice in Afghanistan?

The Institute for War and Peace Reporting has a new article about growing international concerns that the Afghan judiciary is "composed of religious hardliners with Taleban sympathies." The article looks at two convictions that are based on violations of Islamic law and points out that "some have suggested that the cases expose what they see […]

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Encouraging Interest in Holy Books

The Bible is the topic for the current World Synod of Bishops, which brings together Roman Catholic bishops from October 5-26. The goal is to encourage more interest in the Bible, and John Travis, with the Catholic News Service, has written that the decision was taken after bishops reflected on the fact that "only a […]

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Does the Defamation of Religion Make Sense?

On Friday, Fox News and Jennifer Lawinski took a critical look at a General Assembly Resolution 62/154 on religion, which was first adopted in 2007. The resolution, "Combating the Defamation of Religion," intends to prevent speech that offends religion. Fox News, although certainly not the highest authority on issues concerning the United Nations, does provide […]

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Germany Opens its Mosques to the Public

It has been reported that more than 100,000 visitors attended Germany's "Open House Day for Mosques" on Friday. It is the 12th yearly open house (since 1997), and the program was organized by the Central Council of Muslims in Germany. It was also German unification day. Around 2,500 exhibitions were organized, and some reports linked […]

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