Western stereotypes frequently cast Muslims as either "good" (quietist) or "bad" political, with Sufis wholly identified with the former camp, says Omid Safi. This dichotomy ignores a third group of Muslims: Those who, whether mystically inclined or not, want to neither destroy the world nor acquiesce to the wishes of the Empire, but rather seek to redeem the world by speaking truth to power.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has deplored attempts by governments in Europe to prohibit Muslim women from publicly wearing the burqa.

While many of us have been holidaying, hate-mongering employing religion and ideology for its purposes, has been all the rage, says Martin Marty. Here he deconstructs evangelist Franklin Graham's recent pronouncements on Muslim genetics, competition for souls, Islam as killer, and scriptures.

A new US national survey has found that a substantial and growing number of Americans think that Barack Obama is a Muslim.