A student of philosophy laments that I am a religious person. He tells me that my “wings are clipped,” that my belief prevents me from soaring in the heights of thought and wisdom. Rather, the right example is that of a tree. It requires for its health that its dead and stray branches be trimmed. The more skillfully this is done, the more fruitful the tree will be...

Once upon a time, the diverse town of Jersey City, New Jersey marked Christmas, Hanukah, Ramadan, and the Hindu New Year with public pronouncements, signs, parades and displays at City Hall. The celebrations ended after the city was sued, and lost, on the grounds that its official acknowledgment of these holidays violated the Constitution. As Muslims, should we have agreed with the city or with the court?