Throughout much of the world, religion manifestly—and sometimes markedly—informs everyday understandings, cultural representations, and political and legal definitions of nationhood.…
A new “Christianist” secularism in Europe
Islam
The Politics of Islamic Law: An introduction
My new book, The Politics of Islamic Law, presents an approach to the study of religion, comparative politics and law…
Post-Doctoral Opportunity at Columbia University IRCPL
The Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life invites applications for postdoctoral scholar positions, for the 2016-2017 academic year.
On France’s theologico-political crisis
Nations have different ways of talking about themselves. Americans tend to discuss their country in an idiom of national greatness,…
The new global politics of religion: A view from the other side
In the summer of 2013, the international Islamic magazine al-Bayan published its Ramadan issue with a striking cover. Flanked by…
The religious roots of ISIS
At Arc of the Universe, Daniel Philpott draws from the recent New York Times article, "ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape"…
Coalitions and slippery slopes: The same-sex marriage debate continues
Earlier this summer, the Supreme Court of the United States confirmed the constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry. Unsurprisingly,…
A View from the Margins of the Banlieue
What light does the experience of Salafi Muslim women shed on satire mocking Islam and Muslims? New Directions in the…
The public voice of Muslim women
In an essay here back in 2011, I sounded the alarm about the ubiquity and mainstreaming of hate speech directed…
The Islamic State’s intellectual genealogy (and what you need to read to understand it)
Graeme Wood’s “What ISIS Really Wants,” published in The Atlantic in February 2015, sparked a massive debate. The controversy concerns…