• Al Jazeera Net (AJN) interview with Jeffrey Haynes on his book: Trump and the Politics of Neo-Nationalism

    Al Jazeera Net (AJN) interview with Jeffrey Haynes on his book: Trump and the Politics of Neo-Nationalism Posted on AJN, 28 March 2021. (Arabic version at: https://www.aljazeera.net/news/cultureandart/2021/3/28/%D8%AD%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AC%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%B2-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D9%86%D8%AA-%D8%AD%D9%88%D9%84?fbclid=IwAR0o5iItLIBuMKRzDz2wZBN4p8rt3iY5ulucV1U-Mmc34xSwGC_q1hMcTZA) AJN: You mentioned in your important book th…

  • Religious Minorities in Iran: Persecution Meets Resistance by Fred Petrossian*

    Security forces break into your house in the middle of the night. They confiscate your cell phones, photos, and religious books. They interrogate you, and maybe even have you beaten and jailed. You will be deprived of your business and education. Your crime, in the eyes of the Islamic Republic, is your religious identity—and the authorities will do all they can to break it. Many members of religious minorities who have not surrendered to the will of the regime and its de-identification policies …

  • Sovereign Nations under God: The interdenominational and international potential of the Christian Right in Europe by Gionathan Lo Mascolo

    In the shadow of the rise of the far-right, ultra-conservative Christian denominations and groups in Europe are joining forces and overcoming long-held dogmas. These new interdenominational and international networks could profit from processes of social politicisation and radicalisation. The unthinkable has happened in the last decades: Ideas affiliated with the far-right, have become mainstream and have been normalised by conservative parties. Pushed by the so-called "refugee crisis“, popul…

  • COVID-19 and Religion: Between Nationalism and Communal Responsibility by Jocelyne Cesari, University of Birmingham, UK/Georgetown University, USA

    Will COVID-19 lead to increased nationalist exclusionary and defensive attitudes among the religious, or might it be the cure that leads to radical social reorientation with a new emphasis on collective solidarity?1 Around the world, religion has come into focus as a central point of controversy and praise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Strict social distancing policies have raised thorny religious freedom issues and religious communities have faced criticism for noncompliance to the lockdown. At…

  • Secular Ideals vs. Religious Freedom: Non-Medical Child Circumcision and Ritual Slaughter of Animals by Jonathan Fox, Bar-Ilan University

    Banning a religious practice of a minority religious group that is considered abhorrent to the doctrine of the majority religion is a classic form of religious discrimination, one that violates modern Western liberal values.1 Religious freedom means non-interference in religious institutions and practices except under the most extraordinary circumstances. Yet this type of religious freedom violation is occurring in societies in which secular values justify this type of interference in religious …