Critical Muslim's Syria issue approaches the diversity of this rich culture as it is reborn through revolution, tortured by repression, and traumatised by war.
Thomas Pierret illuminates the varying positions of Syria's Muslims and Islamists; Rasha Omran writes about being an Alawi revolutionary; Robin Yassin-Kassab investigates the revolution's artistic and cultural shifts; Firas Massouh appraises the role of workers and the left inside Syria; Louis Proyect castigates leftists in the West; Nader Attasi examines the successes of the revolutionary committees and the failures of opposition...

Ziauddin Sardar argues that free thinkers are essential for any culture to survive and thrive; Aziz al-Azmeh outlines how Abbasid Culture established freethinking humanism; Oliver Leaman highlights the significance of the twelfth century Andalusian philosopher ibn Rushd; Ebrahim Moosa seeks meaning in the ethics of the tenth century blind poet and atheist, Al-Maarri; Robert Irwin examines the thought of the controversial Sufi Al-Hallaj; Abdelwahab El-Effendi explores the 'Second Islam' of the executed Sudanese thinker, Mohamed Taha; Aamer Hussein suggests that we need to embrace the ideas of...

Hassan Mahamdallie argues that racism is twenty-first century's main problem, Shannon Shah detects racial overtones within Islam, Robert Irwin examines race and racism in the Arabian Nights, Hugh Kennedy uncovers the ninth century Zanj slave uprisings, Sejad Mekic looks for signs of hope in Bosnia, Sadiyya Shaikh explores religious imaginaries of ibn Arabi, Avaes Mohammad evokes parallel lives in Blackburn, Gary MacFarlane revisits the Christian fundamentalism of abolitionist John Brown, Ziauddin Sardar has unsavoury encounters in Saudi Arabia, and Naima Khan accuses South Asian Muslims of...

Jeremy Henzel-Thomas argues that educational reform is the biggest challenge facing Muslim societies, Richard Pringle highlights the purpose of education, Abdelwahab El-Affendi suggests how Muslim education should be reconfigured, Abdulkader Tayob argues that issues of identity are intrinsically linked with Islamic education reform, Farid Panjwani is convinced that conventional approaches to education in Islam are deeply flawed, Ebrahim Moosa rethinks the whole idea of the madrassas, Ali Asani experiments with new methods of teaching Islam, Keri Facer explores the future of public knowledge...

Tahir Abbas explores the enigma of modern Islamist Turkey, Ahmet Kuru discovers Turkey's political history, Nagihan Halilo?lu gets tangled in Turkish heritage wars, Zeynep Okten has reservations about the country's Islamic finance industry, Gokhan Bacik wonders why Turkey fails to have a social contract, Iftikhar H Malik is enchanted by the whirling dervishes, John Crofoot revisits the Seljuk era, Charles Allen Scarboro listens to local stories, Onur Suzan Nobrega fights for the oppressed Zaza Alawis, Semiha Topal is appalled by violence against women, Rebecca Soble witnesses a killing, and...

A vivid look at a modern-day political and humanitarian nightmare.