al-ghallābī is rated as among the shī‘ī authors of the third/eighth century, through whom many historical traditions have been related in shī‘ī and sunnī sources. examining the status of al-ghallābī’s traditions in the two major sects (of shī‘a and sunnī), this writing is intended to find the reason for the permeation of his traditions into the sources belonging to the sunnīs – who are very cau...

Why did conversion to Christianity take place in some Asian areas and not others? What happened when sacred and religious texts from Abrahamic traditions, especially Christianity, were translated into Chinese? What were the effects when the secular and the religious were asserted to be separate realms? What were the consequences for ideas about the private, the public, and the state? How did re...

Bangladesh hosts religious minorities that reflect the diverse faith traditions that have been influential in the historical region of Bengal over the millennia. Hindus, at 9.1 percent of the national population, are Bangladesh’s largest religious minority, though the Hindu population has declined significantly over the past 60 years since Partition (see figure 4). Buddhist communities, concent...

The rapidly changing technologies that involve human subjects raise complex ethical, legal, social, and religious issues. Recent advances in the field of cloning and stem cell research have introduced new hopes for the treatment of serious diseases. But this promise has raised many complex questions. This field causes debate and challenge, not only among scientists but also among ethicists, rel...