Worldcrunch
The concept of “resistance” adopted by militants in the Middle East has a close relationship with oppression and “divine victory,” which Hamas and Hezbollah both embrace in a false interpretation of the Koran, despite the heavy human and material losses inflicted.
Violence and denunciation won’t beat political Islam. Its deconstruction must be through reasoned criticism, the methods of modern science and allowing space for religion to have its influence.
This is not the first spike in deaths of those making the Hajj pilgrimage, but what this year’s toll was accompanied by photos and videos circulating on social media that showed how many dead pilgrims were left on the roads near Mecca.
Sunnis were historically resistant to have this sacred text translated from Arabic — but especially into Persian, the language of a nation sometimes viewed as reluctantly Muslim. What does that mean today under the Sharia law of the Islamic Republic.
After centuries of disagreements over the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, the split between Islam’s two main schools of thought is more apparent than ever, as the two theocratic regimes of the Middle East are increasingly hostile towards each other. “Shias, Sunnis: Why is Islam torn apart?” the French newsweekly L’Obs writes on Friday’s cover. […]