Saudi and Emirati religious moderation inspires few beyond their borders
James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have drawn praise for social reforms that have domestically reduced the role of...
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James M. Dorsey
- Nov 8, 2021
- 4 min
South Asia replaces the Middle East as the epicentre of Muslim religious ultra-conservatism
November 08, 2021 By James M. Dorsey As Middle Eastern states attempt to manage their political and security differences, Muslim-majority...
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James M. Dorsey
- Nov 6, 2021
- 5 min
How much is religious soft power worth? Indonesian President Jokowi searches for answers in Abu Dhab
November 06, 2021 By James M. Dorsey An Indonesian promise to work with the United Arab Emirates to promote ‘moderate’ Islam raises...
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James M. Dorsey
- Oct 30, 2021
- 5 min
Religious ultra-conservatism has a field day in Pakistan. It puts Saudi Arabia on the Spot
October 30, 2021 By James M. Dorsey Sunni Muslim ultra-conservatism is having a field day. Barely three months after the Taliban claimed...
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James M. Dorsey
- Sep 19, 2021
- 5 min
Indonesian G20 presidency promises to put a ‘battle for the soul of Islam’ on the front burner
By James M. Dorsey Indonesian religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas set the bar high for President Joko Widodo as well as...
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James M. Dorsey
- Sep 16, 2021
- 4 min
Opposing Hindutava: US conference raises troubling questions
By James M. Dorsey Controversy over a recent ‘Dismantling Global Hindutava’ conference that targeted a politically charged expression of...
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James M. Dorsey
- Sep 14, 2021
- 7 min
Initial Taliban moves fail to convince Afghanistan’s neighbours
By James M. Dorsey The Taliban’s record in recent weeks on making good on promises to respect human and women’s rights as well as uphold...
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James M. Dorsey
- Sep 9, 2021
- 5 min
Bin Laden’s legacy probably surpasses his wildest dreams
By James M. Dorsey At the very outset of the 21st century, Osama bin Laden wittingly or unwittingly positioned himself with the 9/11...
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James M. Dorsey
- Sep 7, 2021
- 5 min
Taliban perpetuate Muslim world's failed governance paradigm
By James M. Dorsey The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan perpetuates a paradigm of failed governance in the Muslim world based on a...
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James M. Dorsey
- Aug 31, 2021
- 7 min
AfPak takes on a new meaning with the rise of the Taliban
By James M. Dorsey Recent attacks on Kabul’s international airport by the Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate raise multiple questions as...
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James M. Dorsey
- Aug 28, 2021
- 6 min
Taliban victory threatens to be a double-edged sword for Pakistan and China
By James M. Dorsey Pakistani efforts to exploit the Taliban victory in Afghanistan threaten to reinforce ultra-conservative inclinations...
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James M. Dorsey
- Aug 19, 2021
- 4 min
Taliban and Al Qaeda: Putting a fox in charge of the chicken coop?
By James M. Dorsey Abu Omar Khorasani was taken from Kabul’s Pul-i-Charkhi prison and unceremoniously shot. The first and only person to...
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James M. Dorsey
- Aug 17, 2021
- 5 min
Defining change: Who are the Taliban that conquered Afghanistan?
By James M. Dorsey Having taken control, the Taliban want the world to believe that they have become more pragmatic and inclusive in the...
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James M. Dorsey
- Jul 14, 2021
- 5 min
Defining moderate Islam: Muslims and Evangelicals forge an alliance
By James M. Dorsey A major Muslim and Evangelical organization joined forces this week to significantly advance hitherto state-backed...
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James M. Dorsey
- Jun 22, 2021
- 5 min
Middle Eastern powers vie in shaping a next generation of Muslims
By James M. Dorsey Education is emerging as a major flashpoint in competing visions of a future Muslim world. Rival concepts being...
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James M. Dorsey
- Mar 20, 2021
- 5 min
In the bull’s eye: Turkish, not Saudi, schoolbooks
By James M. Dorsey In a sign of the times, Turkish schoolbooks have replaced Saudi texts as the bull’s eye of criticism of supremacist...
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James M. Dorsey
- Mar 17, 2021
- 5 min
Reform in Saudi Arabia: A road not taken
By James M. Dorsey Saudi Sheikh Salman al-Awdah, a popular but controversial religious scholar who has been mostly in solitary...
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James M. Dorsey
- Feb 15, 2021
- 5 min
Muslim scholar: Human rights policy needs to focus on religious scholars, not just activists
By James M. Dorsey A prominent Muslim scholar has warned that the West’s failure to include the incarceration in Saudi Arabia and...
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James M. Dorsey
- Jan 7, 2021
- 5 min
Gulf state religious moderation falls by the wayside in Pakistan
By James M. Dorsey Silent about rising sectarian violence in Pakistan, Gulf states vying for religious soft power risk exposing the...
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James M. Dorsey
- Jan 1, 2021
- 4 min
Indonesia potentially set to take on China and claim leadership of ‘moderate’ Islam
By James M. Dorsey President Joko Widodo’s recent cabinet reshuffle suggests that Indonesia may adopt a more critical attitude towards...
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