Few books in Islamic studies have been as eagerly awaited or intensely debated prior to publication as Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na`im's…
Secularism and the paradoxes of Muslim politics
Islam
Anti-secularist failures
I guess it's to be expected that in today's fashionable anti-secularist perspective an act of secular criticism that calls for…
The headscarf controversy
The analysis of the headscarf controversy cannot simply be based on arguments of liberal politics. Rather, it has to be…
What we talk about when we talk about shari‘a
A few clarifying points are in order regarding an essay of mine in The New York Times Magazine that drew…
Why Shariah?
Noah Feldman prefaces his plea for the Shariah in his recent article for The New York Times Magazine ("Why Shariah?")…
A headscarf affair, a women’s affair?
Women who are proponents of the headscarf distance themselves from secular models of feminist emancipation, but also seek autonomy from…
New freedoms in Turkey — for whom?
Turkey’s ban of the headscarf on university campuses -- rather than the headscarf itself -- has become a serious impediment…
Gender equality and Islamic headscarves
In Turkey there is now a great deal of controversy about proposed revisions to the constitution that would include lifting…
Beating radical Islam
“People of faith want a candidate who can beat radical Islam.” So claimed Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, in a statement…
The death of secular democracy in Pakistan?
The first time I met Benazir’s father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, many years ago, I bought a new suit for the…