While religious pluralism was a founding ideal of the United States implicit in the 1st Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom, Americans historically have edged toward it kicking and screaming.

Daniel Senor argues that plans to locate a mosque near Ground Zero undermine the goal of interfaith understanding.

Mohamad Bazzi says Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's rise could stoke sectarian tensions in Iraq--and help Iran.

Four religious leaders weigh in on the importance of reform and the role of the religious community in the continuing, heated debate on immigration.

The passage of a burqa ban by the French National Assembly is a response to France's "idea of women's dignity," voter support, and a desire to blunt "the rise of fundamentalism," says CFR's Isobel Coleman.

Mohamad Bazzi argues that Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is positioning himself as "kingmaker" in Iraq.

Mohamad Bazzi comments on the death of Shiite cleric Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah.

The Obama administration sees the Organization of the Islamic Conference as a venue through which to court Muslims globally, but the group's controversial positions on some issues could pose problems.

In The Flight of the Intellectuals, Paul Berman argues that it is not violent Islamists who pose the greatest danger to liberal societies in the West but rather their so-called moderate cousins, such as Tariq Ramadan.

Mohamad Bazzi explains how Muqtada al-Sadr reshapes Iraqi politics.

Mohamad Bazzi says a more moderate, democratic vision of Shiism could ultimately resolve the current conflict in Iran.

Leonard A. Leo and Elizabeth H. Prodromou discuss international religious freedom and U.S. foreign policy in light of the recent release of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's Eleventh Annual Report on Religious Freedom in the World, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Learn more about CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Initiative.

The"proximity talks" being conducted between Israelis and Palestinians probably won't lead to a final status agreement, say CFR experts Elliot Abrams and Steven A. Cook, but they could lead to the framework for a Palestinian state on the West Bank.

Walter Russell Mead discusses the "proximity talks" in Jerusalem.

Walter Russell Mead says that fears and panic over the current economic crisis in Europe expose the failures of the "religion" of liberal modernity.

CFR's Isobel Coleman discusses the growing movement of Islamic feminism in light of her new book, Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women are Transforming the Middle East, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Learn more about CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Initiative.

Isobel Coleman discusses an emerging movement of Islamic feminism.

CFR's Senior Fellow Isobel Coleman discusses her new book about the rising empowerment of Muslim women in the Mideast and its potential to transform human rights in the region

In this op-ed from Pakistan's Daily Times, Peter Jacob explores the reasons for why the UN Resolution on Defamation of Religions has caught little attention in Pakistan and recommends that the Pakistani government review its position on the resolution, pointing out that it will undermine the development in the conceptual framework and implementation of human rights.