Word: secularism
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...worst. The devil is not in the details - al-Qaeda's involvement, where the extremists are, how to retaliate. It's in Islamabad's broad, historical abdication of any government's most essential responsibility: taking care of its own people. A good - nay, great - start would be to strengthen secular schools, so that education is not hijacked by those madrasahs valuing reckless faith over studied reason and mutating misguided youths into mindless fanatics. Many of those leaders were created by a military establishment to harass India. But today, the real enemy is within, a radicalism that, like Frankenstein's monster...
...conservatism that dates to the 18th century pact made between Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab, a puritanical preacher, and the founder of the Saud dynasty Mohammed ibn Saud. And many conservatives resent the social changes the King is pushing. "Those around King Abdullah use his peaceful positions to impose secular values," says conservative cleric Mohsen al-Awajy. "But Saudi society is a special, tribal society, and neither King Abdullah or anyone else can impose his own interpretation of Islam. They can do nothing without Islam. There is no Saudi Arabia without Islam. There is no royal family without Islam." (Read...
Indeed, such understanding is of critical importance today. Although much ink has been spilled about today’s “secular age,” religion remains extremely relevant. The large majority of people are still spiritual in some way—only four percent of Americans define themselves as atheist or agnostic. However, the number of people unaffiliated with any faith, especially among young Americans, is growing. This trend poses the danger of creating a new generation that will grow up outside of any sort of religious tradition altogether, making it harder for them to come...
...Thanksgivings have historically been religious observances, though both are now regarded as secular...
...friction is the latest in a relationship that has been worsening since last December, when Turkey - predominantly Muslim but officially secular - condemned Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip that left 1,500 Palestinians dead. In January, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed out of a debate with Israeli President Shimon Peres at a conference in Davos, Switzerland. Wagging his finger at Peres, an emotional Erdogan accused him of "murdering children on beaches" - an outburst that made Erdogan a hero on streets across the Arab world. "If bilateral relations between Turkey and Israel touched bottom after that incident...