“When it’s time for prayer we say, am I clean?” explains Imam Talib Shareef of the Masjid Muhammad Mosque in Washington, DC. The ritual ablution a Muslim performs before prayer, he says, starts with intentions: “I intend to make the ablution for preparation to stand in obedience before my Lord.” More →

November 23, 2016

At Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, Muslim children sit in tents, pray, throw stones, and make seven circuits around a replica of the Ka’ba as part of a mock hajj, the traditional pilgrimage to Mecca. More →

September 9, 2016

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia describes the rituals and spiritual significance of Eid al-Fitr, the three-day festival marking the end of the month-long Ramadan fast. More →

July 1, 2016

Some mosques use the month of Ramadan as an opportunity to educate friends and neighbors about Islam. The Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia encourages members of its congregation to bring non-Muslim friends to their iftar dinners, the meal that breaks the fast during Ramadan. Imam Johari Abdul-Malik describes how the program ties the community together. More →

June 24, 2016

“Women have for a long time felt shut out from mosques everywhere. And so instead of trying to argue against whether this women’s mosque should exist or not, they should really be looking at their own communities and wondering how they can make them a more welcoming place for everyone,” says Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, one of the preachers at the all-female Women’s Mosque of America. More →

June 3, 2016

“Islam believes fundamentally that the spiritual and material worlds are inextricably connected. Faith is a force that should deepen our concern for our worldly habitat, for embracing its challenges, and for improving the quality of human life.” More →

March 11, 2016

“A headscarf isn’t meant to hurt you; it’s what’s meant to protect you. You’re modest in the sense of God looking at you, but you’re modest to other people as well,” says Umand Weerasinghe, a young Buddhist woman in Maryland whose Muslim friend Sofia Amir loaned her a scarf to wear for Hijab Day. More →

January 21, 2016

Recent ISIS-linked bombings in Istanbul took place near two of the city’s top tourist destinations, which are also two of the city’s most important religious monuments: Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Watch scenes of both as author and Ottoman scholar Scott Rank, who lives in Turkey, discusses their historic spiritual and political significance for Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, and for Christians and Muslims. More →

January 14, 2016

“For us it’s very important to hold onto our faith and to do that in a space where it’s encouraged, to engage your intellect but also to remember it goes with your faith, and they are not separate,” says Aisha Ibrahim, a student at Zaytuna. More →

December 18, 2015

“If ISIS is allowed to define the terms of this engagement then they’ve pretty much won the battle. We have to understand them and meet them where they’re coming from but not capitulate, not really surrender to the terror they’re trying to spread, because that’s the victory they are looking for,” says Rabbi Jack Moline, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance. More →

November 20, 2015