Changing demographics might derail peace

God's Warriors Are Multiplying

Much of religious fundamentalism's political strength derives from fundamentalists' increasing share of the population. This demographic shift is occurring not only in the Muslim world, but also in Israel.

Israel has been slowly evolving from a culturally Jewish democracy into a religiously dominated one. Israel's Haredi ultra-orthodox religious community, for example, is growing at a rate so high that it is redefining the political landscape.

A timely reminder that religious extremism is also on the rise in Israel.

Dancing in Saudi Arabia- Sheikh Obaikan's view

Saudi sheikh in wedding dance row

A prominent Saudi cleric (al-Obaikan) has publicly criticised religious hardliners after it was suggested he behaved improperly when he danced at a wedding.
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The Sheikh confirmed to an Arabic newspaper that he did take part in the dance but quoted many stories of the Prophet's life to argue that there was nothing wrong with entertainment like dancing and drum playing.

What an interesting development in Saudi Arabia. Will we live long enough to see Saudi Arabia host a troupe of dancing dervishes?

We mustn't forget, of course, that although Sheikh al-Obaikan is no small fry in the kingdom, he has stood up and criticized his colleagues for things such as their blind opposition to taqlid (adherence to a school of jurisprudence) and the murderous consequence of some of their shortsighted teachings.

This follows hot on the heels of another puritan cleric's decision to join a Sufi mawlid, which I briefly covered here.

Axis of Evil- Redundant?

The Extremists Unbound

The pattern of policymaking in the Middle East, as it was defined since President Bush's "axis if evil" speech of January 2002, is undergoing a momentous change of direction. Bush's foreign-policy paradigm of an alliance of "moderates" to defeat the "extremists" – a model too enthusiastically seconded by an unimaginative Israeli leadership and by those Arabs (led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia) who dread the forces of radical change – has collapsed.

Atheletes compete with hijab

I have nothing but respect for the women athletes who are wearing their hijabs at the Olympics

A lot of rubbish is talked about the hijab. Since France banned girls from wearing them in schools in 2004, there has been a steady stream of media stories and comment suggesting that Britain should do the same. Feminist friends tell me that the headscarves are a symbol of female subjugation, a way to deal with male lust by forcing women to cover up, and that as such, they should not be tolerated in a gender-equal society. The women who wear them, they say, have been pressured into it by their communities.

Well, yes and no. We all wear the kind of clothes we wear partly because of social pressure - and our own culture still says, for example, that it is more acceptable, and less sexual, for men to walk down the street topless than it is for women.

Counting Muslims not an easy task

Muslim census a difficult count

A new census of Muslim congregations is reviving controversies over how many Muslims are in the USA, how they are counted and why it matters.

For minority religious groups, particularly Muslims and Jews, higher numbers can mean enhanced social and political clout in the U.S. public square.
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The first census in 2000 counted 1,209 mosques. The tally became controversial when the census announced more than 6 million Muslims were in the USA. That figure was so high it would have vaulted Islam into one of the five largest religious denominations in the country.