There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, and Islam is the world's fastest-growing religion. If the evil carnage we witnessed on Sept. 11 were typical of the faith, and Islam truly inspired and justified such violence, its growth and the increasing presence of Muslims in both Europe and the U.S. would be a terrifying prospect. Fortunately, this is not the case.

My first real experience of the patriarch Abraham's crossover appeal came on the splendid sun-spangled day in June when I took a crosstown cab to arrange my son's circumcision. Jews have circumcised for thousands of years--ever since God , having made a history-altering pact with Abraham, directed him to "cut my Covenant in your flesh." Some biblical commentators suggest that the circumcision was meant as much as a reminder to the Lord as to the Israelites, a kind of divine ...

Malaysia is that rare country with an unequivocal national narrative. It goes something like this: Malaysia's 28 million people, comprising mainly Malays, Chinese and Indians, make up a moderate and modern emerging democracy. Unlike members of other multiethnic countries, they respect one another's beliefs and values and share a commitment to achieving prosperity. The official religion is Islam, but other faiths are freely allowed and celebrated. This is one harmonious place. Much of that narrative is true — but not all ...

Karima El Mahroug, the woman at the center of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's latest sex scandal, says that when she was 9 years old, she was raped by two men, then told by her mother to keep quiet because she feared how Karima's father would react if he discovered she wasn't a virgin. When Karima was 12, her father spilled a pan of boiling oil on her after she told him she had converted from Islam ...

The leader of a group of African-American converts to Islam was fatally shot Wednesday, federal authorities said.

A runaway teen who said her father threatened to kill her for converting from Islam to Christianity has been returned from Florida to Ohio, but not yet to her family, her mother's lawyer said Tuesday.

There's more to wearing the "niqab" -- the austere, all-covering veil favored by ultra-religious Muslim women -- than meets the eye. A recent declaration by a leading Egyptian cleric that women will not be allowed to wear the niqab in university areas frequented only by women has sparked demonstrations by female students in Cairo determined to wear the all-encompassing veil wherever they go. Egypt's Al-Azhar university, the highest seat of Sunni Islam, recently convened an all-male committee to rule on ...

The father of a detainee beaten to death in an Iranian prison says he's satisfied with the way the Islamic government has handled the case -- even as it serves as proof imprisoned protesters were abused. A coroner's report showed Mohsen Rouhol-Amini, arrested for protesting the June 12 election, died of "repeated blows and severe physical injuries" at Tehran's Kahrizak prison, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported Monday, citing an informed source. Officials initially had said Rouhol-Amini had died from ...

Ramadan, the holy month of Islam, began Saturday with Iraqis hoping for tranquility but fearful after recent attacks that have shaken the country. Al-Iraqia state TV interrupted regular programming Saturday afternoon to broadcast Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's address to Iraqis on the occasion of the start of the holy month. The prime minister said that as he congratulates Iraqis, his "heart is full of sadness and sorrow." Four Iraqi soldiers and a government worker were killed Saturday in attacks in ...

Troubling news of kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder is flooding out of Iran. (CNN) -- Troubling news of kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder is flooding out of Iran. Neda Aqa Soltan was murdered point-blank in the streets of Tehran for the whole world to see; while Sohrab Arabi was killed far from any global attention and his body given to his mother quietly to bury, as was the tortured body of Mohsen Ruholamini. These names have assumed ...