I should begin by emphasizing that our knowledge of ISIL is extremely scant. We know close to nothing about ISIL’ social base. We know little about how it made its military gains, and even less about the nature of the coalitions into which it has entered with various groups — from other Islamist rebels in Syria to secular Ba‘athists in Iraq. More

The group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant or simply the Islamic State (ISIL, ISIL, or IS) has attracted much attention in the past few months with its dramatic military gains in Syria and Iraq and with the recent US decision to wage war against it. More

women and men should go to the masjid for prayers and spiritual, educational, and social gatherings while observing Islamic ethics of man-woman interactions. More

I see no justification for supporting such an act by evoking cases of Muslim victims burnt alive such as in Myanamar because the preptrators of such crimes are not good examples to follow. We should not respond to the wrong with a graver wrong. A Muslim is commanded to abide by the limits set by Allah in all situations: in war, peace, governance More

It’s not just single women; it’s the married ones too. Many husbands are making their wives’ lives miserable because they suddenly resent their veil. Instead of showering these women with love and compliments, they make them feel small and inadequate. I see beautiful veiled wives struggling every day, trying their best to look good for an More

Veiled women make the conscious decision to cover their beauty, and for the most part, feel like they’ve become unattractive in the process. It’s a feminine instinct to take pride in our looks. We go bankrupt buying anti-aging creams, designer outfits and high-heeled shoes because the way we present ourselves is part of who we are. We strive More

When it comes to freedom of expression and criticism, Islam not only adopts it among its principles, but calls for more than just ‘freedom’, making it an obligation to say, express, and criticize whatever relates to the interest of the community, general morals and public ethics. Within Islam, it is a religious duty to speak the truth, not More

People are getting their only knowledge of Islam from the TV or from newspaper articles and very often the “Islam-related” topics have very little to do with the real Islam at all. More

The mainstream Islamic position on violence is clear. Killing innocent people or the initiation of force, except in self-defense, is forbidden. More

As with any map, our roadmap will only help us if we choose to follow it. We must choose to start with the right intention. More

We live in a world where so much emphasis has been put on the external, that attention to the internal is often neglected. How much time do we spend trying to enhance the way our hearts look/behave/function (at the spiritual level)? More

The West has been looking for an Islam that protects the territorial nation-state and prevents the establishment of the United Islamic State. But this would be an artificial, cloned form of Islam. This will be the ultimate victory of the West when it reaches an Islamic formula it can support because it is based on preventing any attempt to More