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Articles on Understanding Islam

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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

America’s Muslims come from many traditions and cultures

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.
World Hijab Day started in the U.S. and is one way women have asserted pride in wearing a headscarf. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Why some Muslim women feel empowered wearing hijab, a headscarf

Day 5 our Understanding Islam series. For some Muslim women, wearing a hijab can be a religious act but Muslim women’s clothing isn’t entirely about faith. It has been used – and is still used – as an assertion of identity.
The response to anti-Islamic law bills introduced in 2017 included counterprotests like this one in Seattle. Ted S. Warren/AP Photo

What is Sharia? Islamic law shows Muslims how to live, and can be a force for progress as well as tool of fundamentalists

Day 6 of our Understanding Islam series. Sharia constitutes a broad set of rules that guide Muslims on how to lead an ethical life. The way Sharia is interpreted depends on who is using it and why.