Quran
A Book, a Joke, a Graduation Gift: One Week in Israeli Xenophobia
Think Michael Oren’s book or Judy Nir Moses’s joke were offensive? A third event involving an Israeli mayor’s graduation gift shows these are not isolated incidents, Lior Zaltzman writes.
Can Hamas War Be Tied to ISIS? Not If You're Kerry
Israeli ministers stopped just short of charging John Kerry with anti-Semitism for linking ISIS to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But, J.J. Goldberg points out, Netanyahu draws the same link.
No, Pamela Geller, the Qur'an Is Not Anti-Semitic
Anti-Semitism is no more inherent in the Qur’an than hatred of all non-Jews is inherent in the Torah — whatever Pamela Geller’s subway ads would have us believe.
The New Testament Sounds Odd in Yiddish
If you thought that a Yiddish translation of the Qur’an sounded odd, just try translating the New Testament into a language used only by Jews.
The Yiddish Quran
Philologos examines how odd it would be for an ultra-Orthodox Jew to read the Muslim holy book in a tongue so inextricably linked to Judaism.
600 Christian Families Flee after Pakistan Blasphemy Laws used to Arrest Young Christian Girl
Some 100 Christians have been sleeping in a forest in Pakistan after a member of their group was accused of violating the country’s strict blasphemy laws. They’re building a new church out of branches in the secluded area after fleeing their neighbourhood out of fear. Their ordeal began recently when a Christian girl was accused by a neighbour of burning pages of the Quran. Much of the case is still in question including the girl’s age, whether she is mentally impaired and what exactly she was burning. But as word of the blasphemy accusation spread, hundreds of people gathered at her house demanding something be done to the girl. The police eventually arrested her and are now investigating. Sajid Ishaq, the chairman of the Pakistan Interfaith League, says some 600 families have fled the neighbourhood and that his groups is calling for an investigation into what role religious extremism played in ignighting the case. Sajid Ishaq, Chairman of Pakistan Interfaith League: “They are actually now taking refuge with their families and friends, host families, churches also. So they are actually fearful and we are trying our best to send them home safely and we are also demanding to the government that they should give them the compensation of the loss.” The issue of blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistan where critics say it’s often abused to settle vendettas or as retribution.
Three Faiths Cozy Up at the Library
Bibliophiles, history buffs, religionists, and the plain curious will find “Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,” the new exhibit at the main branch of the New York Public Library, an extraordinary glimpse into the history of the Abrahamic faiths and their commonalities. Partly sponsored by the Coexist Foundation, a New York non-profit dedicated “to promote better understanding between Jews, Christians, and Muslims…through education, dialogue, and research,” the exhibit was described at a press preview by the NYPL president as the “single most important, beautiful, exquisitely designed exhibit in the modern history of the New York Public Library,” not least for its lofty interfaith raison d’etre.