Word: islam
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...took place shortly after Jesus' death, between the mean patriarchal faction who concealed Jesus' marriage and the nice faction consisting of startlingly liberal first-wave feminists. In other words, The Da Vinci Code recasts the history of Christianity into something that looks a lot more like the history of ... Islam, wherein an early schism took place between the Sunnis and the Shi'ites. Could the book's passionate following in a predominantly Christian America express a secret, even unconscious sympathetic identification with Islam? Or a repressed desire for Christianity to have a less boring, more Islamic history - richer, darker, riven...
...Aceh is believed to be the first place in Indonesia where Islam took root, imported by traders from the Middle East. By the 15th century, the Sultan of Aceh had converted to the faith and the sultanate soon became one of the most powerful in Southeast Asia, commanding a vast spice- and mineral-trading empire. While much of Indonesian Islam is syncretic, mixing traditional local beliefs with the imported faith, Aceh's belief system is generally far closer to the orthodox form practiced in Saudi Arabia, where the law of the land is based on Shari...
...harsh bylaws voted in on Monday, saying that if nothing else, they violate Indonesia's constitution and several international human-rights frameworks to which the country has acceded. Indeed, Aceh's governor, Irwandi Yusuf, a former insurgency leader, has in the past expressed discomfort with the wave of Islamic laws being passed in the province. But in a region that is so firmly committed to conservative Islam, outspoken criticism of Shari'a-based criminal law is politically risky. To wit: even though several moderate legislators in the Aceh parliament declined to endorse the bylaws, none actually dared to vote against...
...Iranian influence as a potential foil to that of Saudi Arabia, which has stronger ties with the opposition. Government officials privately accuse the Saudis of being prejudiced toward Zardari because of his Shi'ite background. (Shi'ites are an embattled minority in Saudi Arabia, whose dominant Wahabi strand of Islam deems them heretics.) But Pakistan's response to Iran will ultimately be determined by the all-powerful military establishment. And, analysts say, the army is a great deal more wary of Iran's regional aspirations. "They are not really allies," says Christine Fair of the RAND Corp. in Washington. "There...
...9/11 reveals a damning negation of al-Qaeda's tactics. So repulsive was the mass murder of innocents to ordinary Muslims that most refused to celebrate the attacks, as bin Laden had hoped they might, but instead sought to blame them on those deemed enemies of Islam. (Read "How to Remember 9/11...