ALTMUSLIM and HUFFINGTON POST Guess where in the world candidates for political office are pandering to religious conservatives, using religious imagery in political advertisement and participating in political forums in houses of worship? Where some voters are unwilling to support candidates because they do not belong to the majority faith, dismissing a candidate...

Question - I have an impression that Islam, like Judaism, is a bit legalistic.  Even though I consider myself a rationalist, I am convinced that Christianity is an emotional response to God and Christ.  Christ’s great teaching is “to love your lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and to love your neighbor as...

Question – What is the difference between Islam and Muslims? Islam is a religion or faith. Muslims are the people who follow the religion or faith of Islam. As an analogy consider this – Christianity is the faith. Christians are the people who follow the religion of Christianity. Judaism is the faith. Jews are the people who follow the religion of...

Question – What is the global distribution of Muslim population? The Pew Forum has completed an interesting study on the Muslim population worldwide. Muslims make up 1.57 billion of the 6.8 billion people worldwide. Muslims make-up 1 in 5 people in the world. More than 300 million Muslims live in countries where Islam is not the majority religion. In India...

Question – What about the place of women? Where do they pray and learn? Are women held to the same standards as men? Women can pray or learn in public or private. She can attend worship services at the mosque. She can attend school or universities. She can pursue whatever profession she chooses. She has the right to choose in marriage and initiate divorce. She...

The evidence about the possibility of Muslim presence in pre-Columbus America is controversial. Linguist Barry Fell in his work Saga America (1980) pointed out that in Inyo county, California, there exists an early American petrogyph (rock carving) which stated in Arabic: “Yasus ben Maria” (“Jesus, Son of Mary”), a phrase commonly found in...