Uncategorized

A thought on a question

Jon from Dawnsinger posted a question about my posting on the Sadr situation in Iraq, regarding what I saw as a possible solution. My response ended up being lengthier than I thought it would be, and I’d be curious as to what other people think. Since I’m not sure everyone reads the comments, I’m posting separately.

Read More
Uncategorized

Have they really not made a difference?

Via Head Heeb, are three articles (1, 2, 3) about Asians in East Africa. The author uses the term “Kenyasians” to describe the community. Since my family is from Tanzania – Tanzazianz if you will – I know there are Muslims in the area. However, aside from mention of “Aslam,” Muslims really don’t show up in the piece and I’m surprised by that. Did we really not contribute anything? Note: Loyal readers will note that this article is slightly different than what I had originally posted. Somehow a new post displaced the original, including associating with the original story’s comments.…

Read More
Uncategorized

We continue not to know [updated]

I will be honest, I did not see Condi Rice’s testimony to the 9/11 commission yesterday. I have been reading commentaries, conservative and liberal, and the news doesn’t appear to be good. The reasoned right won’t muster a strong defense, and in some cases are actually questioning (link via TPM) what new information the testimony gave. The left of course is having a field day. If you read the conservative article above, and the following Boston Globe op-ed – especially the last paragraph – the testimony seemed to be dependent on people not having any sort of memory. Bush is…

Read More
Uncategorized

Rising up

Sorry for my prolonged absence from substantial posting. Been a busy few weeks. I tried to keep up with the basic interesting links post, and then lost that well. I hope to catch-up on the backlog and comment on the new stuff soon. Until then, here’s something to keep you amused.

Read More
Current Affairs

Arab Reform Issues

On March 12-14, a conference entitled “Arab Reform Issues: Vision and Implementation” was held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt. This was a semi-secret conference in which participants were invited only three days before the start. It was closed to the public and the press. The outcome and final declaration were not widely distributed. Here is what the delagation had to say in its final statement. If this was implemented and had some weight behind it, there may be hope for the Middle East.

Read More
Uncategorized

Is this for real? or an April Fool’s joke

Read the following two articles from Campaign Desk: Article 1 Article 2 Does the White House really need to lie about this sort of thing? I mean it is incredibly easy to verify. Has lying become so ingrained in this administration that everything must make them look good? I’m utterly at a loss. With a track record like this, how can we believe anything about the prisoners at Guantanamo? or Iraqi WMD? The sad thing is, that they are losing credibility and that means our intelligence gathering abilities continue to suffer. Do they honestly think by denying a 14-year-old boy…

Read More
Uncategorized

Desecration

CNN is reporting on the desecration – after the murder – of US soldiers in Iraq. The Shi’ah condemn Yazid for his treatment of Imam Husayn in a similar fashion. In the Qur’an the word for hypocrites is munafiq, arguably a worst sin than shirk. For the Shi’ah responsible, damn you to hell. The Sunni base their actions solely on the traditions of the blessed Prophet Muhammad. If any of them dare to say he did such a thing, they are besmirching the name of beloved of God. They are apostates; damn them to hell. To kill in the name…

Read More
Uncategorized

The contributions of Muslim civilisations

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, launched a trenchant attack on Islamic culture, saying it was authoritarian, inflexible and under-achieving. The report was carried on the front page of the Daily Telegraph newspaper in the United Kingdom. [Read the article] . I was going to comment on Carey’s statement, but then I came across a response to the same article in the Muslims Under Progress blog. The section is entitled “Is Carey right?”. In fact all of the postings here are quite good except for the fact that the poster[?] seems to think that suicide bombers are martyrs if…

Read More