Islam

Some people did not like Robert Nicholson’s article on Ilhan Omar’s run-in with Israel because they disagreed with the way he classifies Judaism and Christianity in a category separate from Islam.

Is it possible that the partisan quarrel about the rightness or wrongness of Ilhan Omar’s actions is really a hidden debate about the “Islamic Question” that still remains unresolved 18 years after September 11, 2001? As the election cycle heats up, Republicans and Democrats are likely to dance around this question’s two sub-questions: How do we deal with the Islamic world, and how do we deal with Islam inside our borders? The answers to both should be characterized by a single word: respect.

Ignoring the democracy versus pluralism dilemma fails to address the core issue facing both communities at the onset and consequently will not yield a Middle East friendlier to human rights and religious liberty. This debate is one that governments and politicians themselves cannot lead. Civil society is where this discussion must take place, and believers themselves are the ones who should lead it.

Religious diplomacy is important, but religious leaders should focus on representing the truths of their religion and the concerns of their constituencies rather than working toward meta-religious consensus. They will be most successful when their diplomacy is understated and narrowly-construed.

Dr. Hellyer is a nonresident Senior Fellow at the RH Centre for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council in DC and Senior Associate Fellow in International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

Regardless of the risks, every free nation in the world should be climbing over one another to be the first to offer Asia Bibi sanctuary.

A seemingly small incident in Indonesia is the first shot in the use of religion, specifically accusations of blasphemy, as a political weapon against President Jokowi in the ongoing presidential race.

Pastor Brunson is free, but many others are not. The U.S. should not push Turkey away, but continue the hard work of diplomatic engagement around core human rights issues. It should also continue to engage broad range of challenges these partner countries are facing in the region.