The pope retires to a monastic life today, a withdrawal from the world that marks the end of both his pontificate and his public life. As historians assess his reign, they will all ask how
It has been reported that the Ahmed Baba Institute in Timbuktu has been destroyed by Islamist rebels, retreating from attacks by French and Malian government troops. If so, this is a historical disaster of vast
Obama’s Second Inaugural Address has been well-received, especially among pundits who hope the president’s final term will usher in a more assertive brand of liberalism than we witnessed over the course of his first four
Introduction, by Abdel Razzaq Takriti Arabic is the fourth most widely spoken language on earth. It is also one of the oldest living tongues, boasting an exceptionally rich and uninterrupted historical and literary tradition. The
On New Year’s Day, celebrations across the U.S. will mark the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order issued by the Civil-War president which declared perpetually free the millions of slaves held
Last summer my wife and I were driving through the Border South en route to Memphis. On the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky, we tuned into an evangelical Christian radio station, where the presenters were discussing