Hassan al-Banna (1906-1949) was an important Egyptian reformer who lived in the early half of the 20th century. He is most well-known for having established, along with six friends in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood ( الإخوان المسلمون). In the city of Isma’iliyy, Egypt, Banna had witnessed growing up the manifestations of moral decadence, political corruption, […]

Shaltut_Article_Download Here Sheik Mahmood Shaltut (1893-1963) was an outstanding Muslim scholar from Egypt. He is most famous for having served as the Grand Mufti of the prestigious Al-Azhar University (الإمام الأكبر‎ or شيخ الأزهر الشريف‎) in Cairo during the key years of 1958-1963. (Zebiri, 210). As one author describes his life, “Shaltut himself had been […]

You are what you read. Reading allows you to share other great minds. Reading allows you to expand your experience in life and hence make your age more effective.

Morteza Mothhari (1920-1979) is widely acknowledged as having played a seminal role in the build-up to the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979. Born in 1920 in a small village not too far from Mashad, the capital of Khorsan province, Mothhari grew up deeply influenced by his study of philosophy. (Dabashi, 148). His major contribution was a […]

June 11, 2012 Ms. Wissam Charafeddine Dear Wissam, Thank you for contacting me about detainee provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act. I share your support for protecting civil liberties, which is why I believe the government’s detainee policy should be codified in law. I strongly believe that the President needs the power to keep […]

Exactly 45 years (or 16,448 days) ago today, Israel (and the world) awoke to a new, stunning geographical reality:  The young Jewish David had essentially humiliated the “Arab Goliath”. Israeli forces were in occupation of the whole of the Sinai and the Gaza Strip (Egyptian territory), the West Bank including Arab East Jerusalem (Jordanian territory) […]

Al-Shahid Al-Thani_Al-Mustafid In the attached article (see directly above), Professor Devin Stewart (Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia USA) has provided an exhaustive survey of some of the foundational legal texts within Imami Shi’i legal tradition. Professor Stewart finds that a considerable number of Shi’i legal compendiums were “based to a large degree on Sunni models.” (Stewart, […]

Wilayah_Ali_Adhan_Article_Download Here In the attached article, Professor Liyakat Takim (McMaster University in Ontario, Canada)  points out that the recital in Imami Shi’i adhan add a line–not included in the original adhan during the time of the Prophet– that references the wilayah (religious and political authority) of Ali ibn Abi Talib. “Thus, after reciting the shahada […]

Every year, human rights organizations like Amnesty International, Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition, National Religious Campaign Against Torture and the Center for Victims of Torture mark June as Torture Awareness Month. Why? The short answer is because it’s when a very important treaty against torture took effect and there are still people who flout it—people like Jose Rodriguez, the former CIA official […]

We are nearing the second anniversary for the passing away of Al-Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). On July 6, 2010, tens of thousands of Lebanese mourners came to Haret Hreik, Beirut’s southern district, to pay their last respects,“to a man that at times of bleak  fitna (civil strife) […]