• A black and white photograph of Hermann Gross holding a metalworking tool, with an in-progress sculpture before him.

Introducing From Rumi to the Whirling Dervishes

by Walter Feldman Love is the Way and the Path of our Prophet. We are Love’s children, and Love is our Mother. Rumi These words echo down through the ages from when Mevlana (”Our Master”) Jalaluddin Rumi (d. 1273), first…

What are Tribes? Do They Still Matter?

by Scott Weiner What is a tribe? Social scientists have long been interested in tribes, but political science has struggled to talk about them. Tribes exist on every inhabited continent and are as foundational to many states as political parties,…

How ISIS Fights: New Books in National Security

In this great interview from New Books in National Security, Omar Ashour, author of How ISIS Fights: Military Tactics in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Egypt, talks to host Jeffrey Bristol about his work. They discuss the origin of Ashour’s study…

Five Essentials of Friday Preaching in Modern Turkey

by Elisabeth Özdalga The core of her new book Pulpit, Mosque and Nation, author Elisabeth Özdalga explores five key aspects of Turkey’s Friday preaching. 1. A Secular State Housing Thousands of Mosques and Pulpits Every Friday, millions of Muslims all…