Religion

Reports of al Qaeda's Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

The terrorist group may be headless, but its tentacles still pack a mean punch.

BY DAVEED GARTENSTEIN-ROSS | OCTOBER 3, 2012

An Idealist on Death Row

Why the desperate fate of a little-known Sudanese human rights activists poses some fundamental questions about what it means to be human.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | OCTOBER 3, 2012

What Happens When the Lights Go Out in Karachi?

Three scary questions that keep Pakistanis up at night.

BY SHAMILA N. CHAUDHARY | SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

The Revolution in Tunisia Stalls

Even before last week's riots at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, the progress of Tunisia's revolution was beginning to look rocky. Here's why.

BY FADIL ALIRIZA | SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Wait, You Still Don't Like Us?

Why the Muslim world hasn't warmed toward America over the past four years.

BY RICHARD WIKE | SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Aung San Suu Kyi’s Buddhism Problem

Why isn't Burma's democracy icon speaking up for minorities -- and against her country's nationalistic, racist, xenophobic, and occasionally violent Buddhist majority?

BY WILLIAM MCGOWAN | SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

The Silent Hand of Saleh

Was the security lapse at the U.S. embassy in Sanaa a move by Yemen's former president to show America who still calls the shots?

BY IONA CRAIG | SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

Why the Embassy Riots Won't Stop

The world has become one big crowded theater, and anyone with a laptop can now yell "fire" and set off a stampede.

BY MICHAEL KOPLOW | SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

Buddhist Monks Behaving Badly

The boys in saffron are marching again. But this time there’s nothing that's noble about it.

BY FRANCIS WADE | SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

The Battle of the Shrines

The attack on the U.S. diplomats in Benghazi isn't the first time that Libya's ultraconservative Islamists have tried to shake things up. Can the country's nascent democracy rise to the challenge?

BY SHARRON WARD | SEPTEMBER 12, 2012

The City with a Short Fuse

How a shrewd politician defused ethnic tension and improved public services in one of Indonesia’s most dysfunctional cities.

BY RUSHDA MAJEED | SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

The Gang That Can't Shoot Straight

The Syrian National Council has failed to galvanize international support for the rebellion -- and it has only itself to blame.

BY MALIK AL-ABDEH | SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Reading Corinthians in Karachi

Haunting photos of Pakistan’s persecuted Christians.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

The Great Ballot Box Caper

How do you conduct an election when contending political forces don't agree on the rules? An unlikely study in compromise from Northern Ireland in 2005.

BY MICHAEL SCHARFF | SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

The Strange Life of Reverend Sun Myung Moon

The bizarre tycoon and church leader never lived to see his dream of a reunited Korea.

BY ISAAC STONE FISH | SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Magical Thinking

A rare look inside Swaziland's mysterious annual kingship ceremony and brewing protest movement.

BY NELLIE BOWLES | AUGUST 27, 2012

Blaming the Victims

Why is the U.S. media demanding that Sikhs defend their faith?

BY ROZINA ALI | AUGUST 8, 2012

Wandering Sikhs

From India to Wisconsin, a look at one of the world's most misunderstood religions.

AUGUST 6, 2012

God and the Ivory Tower

What we don't understand about religion just might kill us.

BY SCOTT ATRAN | AUGUST 6, 2012

When Your Whole Country Is a Closet

Powerful images of gay Uganda.

BY TADEJ ZNIDARCIC | AUGUST 2, 2012

People of the Book

What's behind the strange love affair between Mormons and Israel?

BY OREN KESSLER | JULY 30, 2012

Shrines into Stones

Images of the disappearing treasures of Timbuktu's ancient landmarks as militants bomb them into rubble.

JULY 10, 2012

Burma's Misled Righteous

How Burma’s pro-democracy movement betrayed its own ideals and rehabilitated the military

BY FRANCIS WADE | JULY 5, 2012

Reach Out to Morsy

Egypt's new president may be no moderate, but he deserves a chance to prove he's no enemy.

BY YOSSI BEILIN | JULY 2, 2012

The Five Stages of Egypt's Revolution

It matters little who wins the presidency this weekend -- a much bloodier uprising is inevitable.

BY CHARLES HOLMES | JUNE 15, 2012

The Freedom to Hate

As sectarian violence lashes Burma, the media are using their newfound freedom for destructive ends.

BY HANNA HINDSTROM | JUNE 14, 2012

Blood in the Caucasus

Scenes from the war zone in Russia's backyard.

BY DIANA MARKOSIAN | JUNE 8, 2012

Egypt's Revolutionary Soul-Searching

Cairo's revolutionaries take to the streets during a chaotic weekend.

JUNE 4, 2012

Saying Mass in Havana

A look at the re-emergence of Catholicism in Cuba.

JUNE 4, 2012

A Failure to Communicate

Why is the Obama administration using its radio station to attack the Cuban Catholic Church?        

BY FULTON T. ARMSTRONG | JUNE 1, 2012