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Archive
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| Muslims in Syria and Thomas Jefferson's Secret Bible |
| August 23, 2012 |
Summary: Why tensions between Alawite and Sunni Muslims are fueling the conflict in Syria, and Thomas Jefferson's secret re-mix of the New Testament. |
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| President Assad's Religion Problem |
August 23, 2012 |
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In Syria, Alawite Muslims are kind of like the Mormons of Christianity: they’re a branch of Islam, but many Muslims, especially the Sunni majority, don’t consider them legitimate. That’s always been a problem for Alawite president Bashar al-Assad. Now that at least 17,000 people are dead in a revolt against the Assad regime, we explore why theological differences are playing a huge role. Our interview first aired in March 2012.
Pictured: The old Syrian flag for the Syrian Republic (1932-58) has become a symbol of the revolution, waved by anti-Assad protesters.
Joshua Landis, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma |
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| Cutting and Pasting the New Testament |
August 23, 2012 |
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With a razor blade and glue brush, our third President carefully excised parts of the Gospels he considered supernatural and untrue - including all references to the divinity of Jesus. The final product is known as the Jefferson Bible. It was a work of private reflection, written in secret. Had it been published during his lifetime, it might have become one of the most controversial religious works of the time. Our interview first aired in January 2012.
Pictured: a fold-out tab Jefferson glued to the margin of page 56 of the original Jefferson Bible.
Mitch Horowitz, editor-in-chief at Tarcher/Penguin Publishing House |
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