Members of a civil society group participate in a candlelight vigil to pay tribute to the Sri Lankan citizen Priyantha Kumara, who was lynched by a Muslim mob in Pakistan.
AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary
A scholar of Islam explains how Muslim religious leaders, starting around the year 1050, worked with political rulers to challenge what they considered to be sacrilegious influence on society.
According to Islamic studies professor Abbas Barzegar, there are many ways Muslims practice their faith, with some young American Muslims even developing new interpretations of Islamic law.
Joana Toro/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images
Day 3 of our Understanding Islam series. Many Muslims belong to one of two sects of Islam, which agree on most of the fundamentals of Islam but vary in others.
Students on the campus of Darul Uloom, the Deoband school of Islam located in a small town, Deoband, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images
There are many different understandings of shariah law in the Muslim world – the Taliban’s is a particularly hard-line one that is unlikely to change radically.
A late 19th-early 20th century painting by Abbas Al-Musavi depicting the Battle of Karbala, which occurred in 680.
Gift of K. Thomas Elghanayan in honor of Nourollah Elghanayan, Photo: Brooklyn Museum
Sharia is often portrayed as being brutal and barbaric. However, in many parts of the world, women are using Sharia to stop oppressive practices.
Muslims pray at the Mihrab, a niche in a wall indicating the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, at the Foundation Stone, located under the Dome of the Rock in the Al- Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images
The Masjid al-Aqsa of Jerusalem is linked in the Quran to the story of the night journey of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and has deep religious meaning for Muslims across the world.
A pro-LGBTQ poster at Bosphorus University in Turkey with the image of the mythical creature Şahmeran.
Via Twitter
Student protesters in Turkey recently used this mythical figure to express their queer identity. An art historian explains the significance.
Hilye, or calligraphic panel containing a physical description of the Prophet Muhammad made in 1718 in the Galata Palace, Istanbul.
Dihya Salim al-Fahim, (1718), via Wikimedia Commons
Visual depiction of Prophet Muhammad is a sensitive issue for many Muslims. Islamic literature shows how Muslims used textual imagery to give a vivid picture of the prophet.
A painting made by French street artist Christian Guemy in tribute to the members of those killed in the attack on Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015.
AP Photo/Michel Euler
The French satirical magazine republished the controversial caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. An expert says satire has often been a subject of condemnation.
People pray inside the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, with sail-like drapes covering mosaic figures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.
AP Photo/Yasin Akgul
In reconverting Hagia Sophia to a mosque, Turkish officials have emphasized veiling of Christian icons to create a Muslim prayer space. Experts explain why the veiling is in fact a Byzantine practice.
Golden Iwan, Shrine of Fatima Masuma, built in the eighth century, is also a leading Shii seminary in Iran.
Kishwar Rizvi
Trump recently warned Iran that the US could target its cultural sites. Many of Iran’s cultural sites carry deep religious meaning for a global Shii community and such a threat risks alienating them.
An image of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who died on Oct. 26, 2019..
Department of Defense via AP
For Muslims, Ashura marks the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammed’s grandson Hussain.
Muslim women at a prayer service at a mosque in Redmond, Washington, to mark the end of Ramadan and the start of Eid-al-Fitr in 2016.
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Muslims throughout the world will celebrate the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, a celebration at the end of Ramadan. Here’s an introduction to this important feast and its partner, Eid al-Adha.
The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, one of the landmarks in Brunei. Brunei recently announced punishing gay sex by stoning offenders to death.
AP Photo/Vincent Thian
Jessica Marglin, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Some Islamic nations, including Brunei, have harsh punishments under Sharia. In pre-modern times, Sharia was rarely used as criminal law, and standard of proof for any prosecution was very high.
Women pray at a mosque during the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan on May 6 in Bali, Indonesia.
AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati
Last Friday, Muslims were killed while praying at two mosques in New Zealand. For Muslims, Friday is the day of gathering, the most important prayer day of the week.
Muslims can pray anywhere in the world using the prayer carpet.
AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
Trump recently tweeted about prayer rugs being left along the border. Many may not know the role and history of Muslim prayer rugs and why they are not likely to be left behind.
For many Muslim women, a hijab is a way of expressing resistance.
AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty
Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation and Executive Member of Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University