Sukkot, which begins on the fifth day after Yom Kippur and lasts seven days, is the celebration of the Jews escape from Egypt and their survival during forty years of travel in the desert. They survived in all sorts of temporary dwellings. And according to Chabad.org, “ever since, we remember G-d’s kindness and reaffirm our trust in His providence by dwelling in a sukkah–a hut of temporary construction with a roof covering of branches–for the duration of the Sukkot festival.”... Read more

Bill Maher, on his HBO show, Real Time with Bill Maher, recently created a firestorm when he called Islam a violent religion in a heated debate with actor Ben Affleck. You can see the ten minute clip above and you can also see Maher discuss his views with Charlie Rose in a  five minute clip below. Newspapers like the Washington Post and the New York Times have weighed in the debate.  Reza Aslan, the author of “Zealot: The Life and... Read more

Teaching Hinduism and some of the important gods? Here ‘s Lord Shiva with all his attributes explained.  If you go to Yoga Life, you can read more about each attribute. Shiva is part of the Hindu trimurti, or trilogy, that also includes Lords Brahma, the creator, and Vishnu, the preserver. Shiva is known as the destroyer. He is also god of the yogis. Read more

Here’s a great clip about Hasidic Jews that comes from StyleLikeU. I saw it on the Religious News Service as their featured video. It explains Jewish traditions based in clothing, style, and fashion. Read more

ISIS is destroying the religious and cultural heritage in Syria that dates back to the classical period, according to this fascinating story from NPR. The extremist group is destroying entire city neighborhoods that date back to Hellenistic and Roman times. In addition, they are looting museum collections and archaeological sites and selling many objects on the international antiques market. Here is a story from Artnet about the destruction. And here is an excellent story from Heritage Daily about the occupation of... Read more

Here’s a great short clip from BBC (just 60 seconds). Find out how many Muslims will make the hajj this year. Or how many times Muslims must circle the Kabba or how many security official Saudi Arabia will deploy. My thanks to my colleague, Heather O’Grady, for the link.   Read more

Here, on CNN with Don Lemon, Reza Aslan argues that Islam does not promote violence. He suggests that those who believe that it does promote violence, like the comedian Bill Maher, do not have a sophisticated understanding of religion. Aslan was on Maher’s late night show, Real Time with Bill Maher, when Maher suggested a link between Islam and violence. He noted that female genital mutilation was a Muslim problem. Aslan pointed out that while female genital mutilation is an African problem,... Read more

Here’s a six minute review of the rites of the hajj. It’s from a non-profit organization called AlMaghrib which works to popularize Islamic education. The Huffington Post has a story about the organization and video here. Read more

Gallup posted this map showing the importance of religion around the world.  The poorer countries–South America and Africa–tend to be the most religious. You can see more specific maps about the importance of religion here at The Independent.  Read more