September 11, 2001 is a day that will never and should never be forgotten. On that day, in the space of a few short hours, two tragedies took place. The first and most painful: almost three thousand Americans lost their lives in the horrific terrorist attacks. This in turn unleashed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, where almost five thousand more Americans have died. But a second tragedy also occurred on 9/11.

I rejoice that we are honoring Dr. King. Nevertheless, I wonder if we really get how disturbing and radical his message was. As my good friend and colleague Jim Mullins reminds me, peacemakers sometimes have to be peace disturbers to be effective.

Already when we lived in Egypt from 1989 to 1992, it had become a rare sight to see young women without the hijab (hair covering, plus modest dress of one sort or another), except for the Christian girls. My wife always went out with a scarf on her head, if only to show that she was not a “loose western woman,” as depicted in the American soap operas Egyptians loved to watch.

First, when it comes to women and clothing, let’s get one misconception out of the way: “Islam oppresses women.” That is the default statement that, even when not stated outright, is assumed by non-Muslim westerners while their minds dance with this image of Muslim women waddling down the road covered in black cloth from head to toe.

You know from my last blog that large majorities of Muslims worldwide believe that women should have the same civil, political and professional rights as men. Many of you are thinking, "but doesn’t 'Islam' oppress women?" Let’s unpack that statement and see 1) what’s behind this perception, and 2) why Muslims themselves fiercely disagree with one another on these issues.

Pretty near the core of American culture is the automobile. The average family owns two or three of them, and from high school on, all of us, men and women, see cars as the extension of our personality, our pride (well, for men at least!), and our freedom. Gas prices notwithstanding, we’ll keep driving!

A rabbi, a priest and an imam were sitting in a cafe drinking coffee and smoking shisha.... The beginning of a politically incorrect joke? No. One of my favourite moments from the Building Hope Conference in July 2011. The nine-day event – yes, nine days – brought together over two dozen mid-career religious leaders – Jewish, Christian and Muslim – to discuss issues of common concern. But this was not just another dialogue.

Earlier this week, Norani Abu Bakar guest blogged about the use of the word Allah in different countries and by different faith communities around the world. Today, she concludes the discussion by looking at the way the word is used in Indonesia and Malaysia.  

In today’s world, media has an unprecedented power to either unite us or divide us on a global scale. Television, news, movies, internet, photographs. These things have the power to make the world smaller and bring us together with people and cultures we may never otherwise encounter. But these same things also have incredible power to cause misunderstanding, stereotypes, hatred, and fear.