Despite having the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia seldom troubles others and so draws little attention in the West. But last month's imprisonment of the governor of the capital, Jakarta, on charges of blasphemy has properly brought it to the front pages. It may signal that the…
Despite having the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia seldom troubles others and so draws little attention in the West. But last month's imprisonment of the governor of the capital, Jakarta, on charges of blasphemy has properly brought it to the front pages. It may signal that the…
Jombang, Indonesia
For at least three reasons, the contemporary persecution of Christians demands attention: It is occurring on a massive scale, it is underreported, and in many parts of the world it is rapidly growing.
In Nigeria, thousands of people have been killed in recent months, and tens of thousands in the last decade. It is a fissiparous country whose conflicts have been exacerbated by the increased influence of radical Islam—beginning with attempts to apply Islamic law, then the growth of militias, and…
Judging the likely trajectory of post-Mubarak Egypt requires assessing the depth of public support for Islamism, and usually this has meant assessing the strength and intentions of the Muslim Brotherhood. While the Brotherhood remains central, however, the country is also facing a frequently…
Over the past 30 years, under Pakistan’s laws criminalizing blasphemy against Islam, hundreds of Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus, Sikhs, and unorthodox and reformist Muslims have been tried and imprisoned by the state or killed by extremists. But even against this brutal background, the…
In the April 4-5 NATO meetings in Europe, most European nations backed former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen for the new head of NATO. Turkey, however, objected -- so strongly that it took President Obama's personal intervention with Turkey's President, Abdullah Gul, to have Rasmussen…
The Lost History of Christianity
When the newly nominated American ambassador to Cairo, Margaret Scobey, testified at her Senate confirmation hearing on February 6, she listed many current problems in Egypt and pledged to do work to advance civil and political liberties there. Apart from a reference to including religious leaders…
For Christians--and many Muslims--the main reason to celebrate this Christmas is, of course, Jesus' birth. But there are also trends in the church worldwide that make this Advent season at once a time of especial hope and a time of great suffering and darkness.
The Iranian government is currently intensifying its persecution of its largest religious minority, the Baha'is. This reveals something of the government's nature, and also sheds light on the hotly debated question: Does the regime remain a revolutionary one, or has it become instead a "normal…
On June 16, Queen Elizabeth announced in the annual birthday honors list that author Salman Rushdie, previously accused of "insulting Islam," would be knighted. At the same time, five Egyptian Muslims, also accused of "insulting Islam," languished in the jails and interrogation rooms of Egyptian…
THE KIDNAPPING in Gaza of two Fox News reporters, and the significance of their subsequent "conversion" to Islam at gunpoint, vanished from the front pages after their August 27 release. But their story shows three things--that we cannot trust much "news" from the Levant, that much of the media is…
THE NEWS THAT, DESPITE the Afghan parliament's last-minute attempts to prevent him from leaving, Abdul Rahman has been given asylum in Italy has drawn a global sigh of relief. But now is not the time to forget the issue. The case of Rahman--an Afghan Christian tried for the capital crime of…
THE SHOCKWAVES OF HAMAS'S ELECTORAL victory were felt keenly by everyone in the Middle East, not just the Israelis. In fact, few people watched the Palestinian election returns with more hope, trepidation, or calculation than the Egyptians.
AS MOST OF THE WORLD now knows, on September 30, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published twelve cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Subsequent disputes have drawn in the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the World Trade…
SINCE MAY 27, THE Saudis have arrested eight Christians from India and seized documents naming others. One of those arrested, Chittirical John Thomas, was pulled away from work and beaten in front of his five-year-old son. He is reportedly in the Shemaissy Detention Center.
DESPITE A FEW PLAYS FOR political advantage, here and abroad, the world's response to the Indian Ocean tsunami has been heartening. With few exceptions, the vast majority of people, countries, and religions are working together to alleviate human suffering. The big exception is radical Islamists,…
THE AFTERMATH of the election brought a belated realization that President Bush's victory was based in large part on increased evangelical turnout. Hence, predictably, committed religion is again an incendiary political topic, and again it is mindlessly stereotyped as "fundamentalism" and…
THE BEHEADING of American Paul Johnson in Saudi Arabia was terrible enough in itself, but for me it struck strangely close to home.
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST extremist Islam is not only military and diplomatic, it is also a war of ideas. In this battle there are few more important countries than Indonesia, whose 230 million people make it by far the largest Muslim country and democracy. It is also home to the largest concentration…
AMERICAN REACTIONS to the recent bombing of a foreign workers' compound in Riyadh reveal multiple misreadings of the Arab world and--more dangerously--of both al Qaeda and the Saudis. The media seem to equate Arab with Muslim and, along with some in the administration, think that al Qaeda's war is…
AFTER SAFIYA HUSEINI was sentenced to death by stoning last October 9 by an Islamic sharia court in northern Nigeria, her case drew international attention. The New York Times Magazine profiled her, and European members of parliament protested to Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo. When, in…
THE ROAD BETWEEN Poso and Tentena on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi runs past burned-out homes, stores, and churches, and is blocked by checkpoints adorned with pictures of Osama bin Laden. Some have signs proclaiming him "our leader." Islamic militias stop vehicles and check identity papers.…