One of the sadder consequences of the near decade of war and violence that has followed the attacks of 9/11 is that so many people are convinced that we are in a clash of civilizations divided along religious fault lines. The rise of anti-Muslim rhetoric in Europe and the continued attraction of radical antinomian Islam in parts of the Muslim world attest to this situation.
Read moreBehind the Mosque Controversy, a Rich History of Both Coexistence and Conflict
Over the past two months, the planned construction of a Muslim cultural center in the vicinity of the World Trade Center site has become the fulcrum of an acrimonious debate about religion, freedom of expression, and the place of Islam in the United States. You would have had to be living off-the-grid somewhere not to have noticed the hundreds of opinion pieces, thousands of blogs, and considerable airtime on television and radio. As characterized by Newt Gingrich, the planned center is no less than the latest chapter in a war of civilizations: "America is experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our civilization."
Read moreContentious Ground: The Middle East
A panel of authros talked about their books and the Middle East. They responded to questions from members of the audience. Zachary Karabell moderated.
Read moreGlobal Crisis Points
The panelists talked about historical crises and the decision making processes of leaders in response to them.
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BookTV: Hitchens, Karabell, and Kirsch Debate Religion (2)
Christopher Hitchens, Zachary Karabell and Jonathan Kirsch debate Religion and Culture. The LA Times Festival of Books, 2007.
Read moreBookTV: Hitchens, Karabell, and Kirsch debate Religion (4)
Christopher Hitchens, Zachary Karabell and Jonathan Kirsch debate Religion and Culture. The LA Times Festival of Books, 2007.
Read moreBookTV: Hitchens, Karabell, and Kirsch debate Religion (5)
Christopher Hitchens, Zachary Karabell and Jonathan Kirsch debate Religion and Culture. The LA Times Festival of Books, 2007.
Read moreBeyond the Crusade and Jihad
The only good things to come of 9/11, some say, are a greater consciousness of and a keener sensitivity to Islamic history, religion and culture. If that is so, the education has been slow and painful in the past six years, made all the more difficult by the gruesome reality of the Iraq war.
Read moreReligion and Culture Panel
The panelists, moderated by Thane Rosenbaum, debated the topic, “Religion and Culture: Do They Mix?” They also talked about their books on opposing sides of the religion and culture question. After their presentations the panelists responded to audience members' questions.
Read moreEnough Already with “The Trouble with Islam”
In a recent Wall Street Journal editorial titled “The Trouble with Islam,” the author regurgitated all of the familiar canards about the inherent backwardness of Islam: that the religion at core promotes violence toward unbelievers and toward women, that the Quran calls for death to the Jews, that all attempts of interfaith dialogue in the West are based on a hopeless naivete and that the violence in Iraq proves that Muslims are prone to violence.
Read morePeace Be Upon You
Zachary Karabell talked about his book Peace Be upon You: The Story of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Coexistence, published by Knopf. Mr. Karabell traces the historical instances of peaceful coexistence between Muslim, Christian, and Jewish people. The author contended that throughout the past fourteen centuries the different faiths have found common ground; from peaceful debate amongst scholars in the courts of the caliphs in Baghdad to medieval Spain where Jewish sages, Muslim philosophers, and Christian monks translated the meaning of God together. The author argued that the current state of religious tensions are solvable if one studies the past. Mr. Karabell responded to questions from the audience.
Read moreThe Modern Middle East
Moderated by Mr. Karabell, the panelists discussed the topic, “The Changing Shape of the Middle East” and their books on the topic. They responded to questions from members of the audience.
Read moreOur Muslim Problem
Over the weekend, the following headline appeared: “Muslims Assault U.S. Embassy in Indonesia.” I read it in one place, but no doubt variants of it appeared in many places. And I doubt that many people gave it a second glance, so normal and ubiquitous was its phraseology. And yet, it is symtomatic of how Islam is routinely portrayed and percieved in the West.
Read moreBeyond the Riots
As hard as it is to divert attention from the Cheney train-wreck this week, compared to his misuse of buckshot, the worldwide riots over the now-infmamous Danish cartoons is surely the more important story. Forget for a moment that much like the uproar over “The Satanic Verses” more than fifteen years ago, many of those protesting did not actually see the cartoons. Their publication was astutely used by extremists and by the governments of Syria and Iran to fan anti-Western flames and distract attention from their own manifold failings.
Read moreMisunderstanding Islam
In the wake of September 11, the reading interests of the American public have changed. To a lesser extent, so have the interests of readers throughout the Western world. This may not rank as one of the more significant consequences of the attack on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, but it does reflect a new awareness on the part of millions of people--an awareness of just how ignorant they have been about Muslims.
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