Mistaking Islam for a State: Misunderstanding Religion and Revering False History
The evil of ISIS has been filling news bulletins with stories that seem to be incessantly in competition to show how low the human being…
Did Muslim Exegetes Ever Accept Jesus’ Crucifixion? Debunking a Recent Myth
A growing minority of scholars, including a few Muslims, have been falsely arguing that the Qur’an does not reject the historicity of the crucifixion of…
Jesus and the Law in the Qur’an
This article explains Jesus' relationship with the law according to the Qura'n and compares it with the New Testament account.
The Factualisation of Lies: The Creation of Fake History from Fake News
I have coined the term “factualised lie” to denote a lie that has been so commonly used and normalised to the ear and eye that…
Abrogation and the Myth of Missing Verses
A few months ago, I was asked to give two Zoom talks to academic staff at the University of Al-Mustansiriyya in my beloved Baghdad. One…
The Obligatory Prayers and the Broader Command to Remember Allah
We all each now and then meet and hear about people who perform the daily obligatory prayers for a period of time then abandon it,…
Birthday of Love: Celebrating the Birth of the Prophet Muhammad
Tonight, hundreds of millions of Muslims throughout the world celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (ṣalla Allah ‘alaihi wa sallam). Ironically, other Muslims, although…
The Birmingham Muṣḥaf Between Simple Facts and Manufactured Controversies
Two months ago came the exciting discovery of fragments of a Qur’anic manuscript that radiocarbon dating has shown to be among the earliest, if not…
Mercy: The Understated Sign of Islam
About eighteen months ago, I wrote an article about the particular leadership qualities of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that this beautiful verse reveals: It is…
Qur’anophobia: The Core Truth of Islamophobia
“Islamophobia” is an established term that denotes prejudice against, hatred towards, and fear of Islam and Muslims. At times Muslims are targeted because of their…
Sources of Misinterpreting the Qur’an
Like any scripture, and indeed any text, the Qur’an is open to different interpretations. Some interpretations are plausible, others are possible but unlikely, and many…
The Role of Emotions in a Supposedly Rational World: A Dangerous Oversight
We live in a world that glorifies few things more than reason. And rightly so. Everything around us reminds us of the power of reason…
Similarities and Differences Between the Qur’an and Jewish and Christian Scriptures and Sources: What Do They Really Mean?
One observation that is often made by critics of the Qur’an is that at times its historical account of a story, such as the story…
The Islamic Caliphate Between Past Myths and Present Delusions
The Islamic caliphate is promoted by its advocates on the basis that it was an ideal system of Islamic government in the past that can…
The Meaning of “Being News”: The Persecution of Religious Minorities by ISIS
The rise of The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and its extreme form of intolerance, persecution of Christians and Yezidis, and brutality have…
