Rashid Dar, Columbia student and Islamic seminary graduate, discusses connotations around the word that gives Muslims hope and causes many Westerners fear: "Caliphate."

Peter Storey argues that partnering with "evil" regimes like Saudi Arabia is often necessary from a practical point of view when intervening or stepping away could remove advantages.

Arnold Isaacs reviews Nazila Fathi's new memoir, The Lonely War: One Woman's Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran, in which she explores the Islamic Republic's "different personalities."

Dr. Afzal Upal writes that with no attractive alternative, as social psychologists suggest, our ad-hoc efforts at countering Islamist extremism will continue to fail.

Lionel Beehner worries that the "Je suis Charlie" solidarity mirrors the aftermath of 9/11, which gave rise to two needless wars. Maybe to prevent such hubris, we need less unity and more divisiveness.

Flemming Rose on his book, Tyranny of Silence, and how a cartoon published in his Danish newspaper ignited violent protests throughout the Muslim world and an international debate about censorship and the boundaries of freedom of speech.

Daniel Lakin asks: Is a new reactionary 'Holy Alliance' forming in the Middle East among Egypt, Saudia Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates?

Upon news that the ISIS slayer of James Foley may be a British hip hop DJ, Hisham Aidi writes that European hip hop is not new to jihadism.