Articles by Joseph Hammond

Arts & Entertainment

Celebrity surgeon Dr. Oz seeks to be first Muslim elected to the US Senate Besides Sufism, the mystical Islamic sect, Oz's spiritual practices include transcendental meditation and elements of his wife's Swedenborgian tradition.

December 2, 2021   

(Religion News) Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity surgeon and host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” has launched a campaign for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat now held by Pat Toomey, who is retiring. If Oz wins the Republican nomination, he will be the […]

Government & Politics

Muslims win office in US municipal elections in 2021 Three years after the first Muslim women were elected to Congress, successful campaigns in Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey and Pennsylvania put Muslims in key local offices.

November 10, 2021   

(Religion News) In Dearborn, Michigan, where the mayor once promised to do something about the city’s “Arab problem,” Abdullah Hammoud, a Lebanese American Muslim, was elected this month to fill that post. In New York, Bangladeshi American Shahana Hanif became the first […]

Government & Politics

Rashad Hussain faces Senate committee on historic nomination The former Obama administration official’s confirmation would make him the first Muslim to hold the position.

October 26, 2021   

(Religion News) A Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Tuesday (Oct. 26) considered the nomination of Rashad Hussain to be President Joe Biden’s ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Hussain’s confirmation would make him the first Muslim to hold the position. Hussain held […]

Beards

Sailors, Marines seek religious accommodation to wear beards One Orthodox Jewish sailor and three Muslim sailors joined in a lawsuit alleging the Navy’s beard policy amounts to a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

October 1, 2021   

(Religion News) Shave or be shaved. Aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, sailor Edmund Di Liscia faced a stark choice. According to his lawyers, he was told to either shave his beard voluntarily or be held down by his bunk mate and forcibly […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Trump is gone, but Muslim federal workers say reforms are still needed Muslim Americans in Public Service has published a set of 12 recommendations to improve working conditions for Muslims in public service.

September 17, 2021   

(Religion News) Muslim federal employees who say they felt discriminated against under President Trump are advocating for new federal policies to prevent workplace bias, with many backing a new initiative from Muslim Americans in Public Service aimed at getting the Biden administration to […]

Mosques

Study finds the American mosque increasingly a melting pot of Islamic traditions The report, conducted every 10 years, found American Sunni mosques are blending various schools of Islamic jurisprudence or madhabs.

August 3, 2021   

(Religion News) The American mosque is becoming more American. At least according to Ihsan Bagby, who has authored a report for the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding based on a … new survey of American mosques. The report, conducted every 10 […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

White House announces new religious affairs leaders, first Muslim religious freedom ambassador Biden will nominate Rashad Hussain, who served in other roles under the Obama administration, as his U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

July 30, 2021 , and   

(Religion News) The White House announced Friday (July 30) a slate of nominations and appointments for top religious affairs roles, including the first Muslim American nominated to be the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. President Biden will select Rashad Hussain as […]

Demographics

Report: Number of mosques in US grows overall, but African American mosques in decline The majority of America’s new purpose-built mosques are found in suburban areas, a shift that reflects the demographic footprint of Muslims in America.

June 2, 2021   

(Religion News) Increasing numbers of African American mosques are closing, while the overall number of mosques in the United States continues to grow, according to a new report. “The American Mosque 2020: Growing and Evolving,” released Wednesday (June 2), shows key changes […]

Government & Politics

As US refocuses anti-extremism programs on far right, many Muslims still oppose them After the Capitol attack, the Biden White House called for countering violent extremism programs to shift to a focus on white supremacists. But Muslim groups say the programs are still a waste of resources.

February 18, 2021   

(Religion News) The storming of the U.S. Capitol brought renewed attention to the threat of far-right and white supremacist groups in the nation, prompting the Biden administration to consider applying counterterrorism-focused programs that have for years targeted Muslim communities. Many in the […]