As a former Wall Street Journal reporter Paul Barrett knows how to get people to talk to him American Islam is organized around interviews with seven representatives of the Islamic faith some immigrants others born in the United States But in preparing this book the author interviewed hundred

Sometimes a nation ought to pause in order to celebrate a major collective achievement. And the approaching presidential primary season may well be one of those times. After more than 200 years when only one segment of the populationnamely, white, non-Hispanic males who, with just two exceptions, we

In the wake of North Korea’s first nuclear weapon test on Oct. 9, 2006, the long-stalled six-party talks resumed in Beijing in December, but quickly ended without tangible progress. The multinational talksin which Russia, China, South Korea and Japan joined North Korea and the United Statessta

In 1940 the Carnegie Foundation commissioned a study to assess the state of race relations in America segregation and white supremacy in the South The Foundation chose a Swedish sociologist named Gunnar Myrdal to lead the project They selected a non-American scholar because they wanted an outsid

Experts differ as to how the just war tradition should be applied to real-life conflicts. Hard as it may be to believe, some regard it as an academic exercise with no bearing on the real world. For others, it is a calculus for decision makers, with no relevance for others, whether other authorities

No one 8217 s life runs a straight course There are arrows and roadblocks and turns we take that influence the subsequent journey The remarkable life of the Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai founder of the Green Belt Movement and winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize is no exception In th

Books, like houses, can be remodeled. The house and garden sections of city newspapers often include articles about energetic people who have transformed a rundown farmhouse in the Catskills or a cabin in the Maine woods by knocking down walls between cramped rooms, installing new lighting and build

Abbé Pierre, Helper of Poor, Dead at 94Abbé Pierre, the founder of the Emmaus Community in France, dedicated his life to fighting poverty and serving the poor, Pope Benedict XVI said. The 94-year-old priest, repeatedly voted the most respected person in France, died Jan. 22 in Paris. Informed of t

More than 40 years have passed since Nov. 21, 1964, when the bishops assembled at the Second Vatican Counil—after much argument and amid great rejoicing—approved solemnly the “Decree on Ecumenism.” Ever since, we have paused from time time to ponder, trying to assess our prog

Suppose Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib are not merely momentary aberrations, but rather preludes to even stronger responses to the threat of terrorism. After all, in a very short time, we’ve become used to teams of guards in black coveralls carrying automatic rifles as they patrol our airpor

In the past few years we have been exposed to displays of moral evil 9 11 01 and natural catastrophes the tsunami in 2004 hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 At each point the question ldquo Why rdquo occupied many of us The ldquo religious rdquo discussion too often came down to whether

Hispanics, Immigration and the WarAbove any other concern, it was the Iraq warspecifically, the U.S. voters’ opposition to the way it was being conductedthat gave the Democrats their Congressional majorities in the November elections. Exit polls showed critical gains among political independen

As Congress and the President debate the merits of sending 20,000 more troops to Iraq, a very different cohort of 20,000 troops is trying to prepare for life after the war. They are the men and women who have been wounded in action in Iraqmen and women whose bodies may never be whole again, whose mi

The population of the United States reached 300 million in October 2006, tripling in size in less than 100 years (in 1915 the population was 100 million). This rapid growth has been spurred over the past 30 years by the largest wave of immigrants our country has ever seen. According to the most rece

Professor Bart Ehrman chair of the religious studies department at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill has written a widely used introduction to the New Testament and many books about early Christianity The Learning Company runs full-page ads in The New York Times Book Review for his l

Fifty-three years ago, the moral issue that most preoccupied the national conscience was not posed by a misbegotten war abroad but by racial discrimination against African-American school children at home. At that time, the 16 states that made up what the U.S. Bureau of the Census called the Souther

The surprise and happy outcome of the papal visit to Turkey in late November might best be summarized in the pope’s own words to Ali Bardakoglu, head of Turkey’s department of religious affairs: “The best way forward is via authentic dialogue between Christians and Muslims, based o