Category: Current Affairs

I’m a Muslim. Surprise. Quite happy to be one. Like my islam. So, whenever I see a positive article on Islam or Muslims, especially in these times, I feel the requite rush of pleasure. Then I think about the article, and realize that more often than not it attempts to divide “good” Muslims – the subject of the article – from “bad” Muslims – the ones you normally read about. In many ways, it is a failure on our parts, as Muslims, to take responsibility for the acts of our brethren. Some acts are reprehensible, but to deny the fact…

Yes Virginia, it is MIT.

Last night was a good night for me. I was flipping channels because the Law and Order episode on TNT was one that I had previously seen. As a was bypassing all of the reality shows (Are people really this shallow? If there is to be a clash of civilisations as the both the Bush administration and Osama and his bearded minstrels seem to be taking all of us toward, the current state of American television, would lead one to conclude that it may be a fair fight.) Anyway back to the matter at hand. As I was flipping channels,…

I just finished re-reading an interesting article by Kathleen Moore, “Representation of Islam in the Language of Law: Some Recent U.S. Cases,” in Muslims in the West: From Sojourners to Citizens edited by Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad. I quite like this article because it talks about the works of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in preserving the civil rights of Muslims. CAIR launches lawsuits on the behalf of Muslims who have faced some sort of discrimination because of their beliefs. This particular article focuses on a few cases of men who were fired/not hired because they had beards, and these…

I came across an interesting article on Slate. So, where should one go to learn Arabic in an environment with relatively little propaganda? And should one start classical and then go colloquial or vice versa?

So the Boykin story gets better and better. [See You Can Call Me Satan.] First he apologized, but the Pentagon had to censor his apology. When you read what was left in, you wonder how bad the stuff was that was edited. CNN has the story. I have to admit I’m surprised, CNN usually isn’t this critical of anyone, especially not the powers in the Bush administration. Talking Points Memo also has a nice piece on the affair and links to some good related articles. While TPM does mention the Fareed Zakaria piece, it’s good enough to mention again. I…

I believe that many of the issues facing the Muslim world revolve around questions of using intellect, and I believe intellect can only be exercised in an environment where knowledge is freely available and given. I believe education – not indoctrination passing itself off as the highest of human endeavors – is the basis for any level of positive discourse in the ummah. The Arab Human Development Report published last year came to similar conclusions, and the indication is that this year’s report will come to similar conclusions. If you look at what we call the “golden” periods of Islamic…

Scanning the news today, I was struck by a headline on Reuters stating: “Majority of Palestinians back suicide bombing”. The following is a brief excerpt from the article: Seventy-five percent of Palestinians support the suicide bombing at an Israeli restaurant two weeks ago in which 21 people, including four children, were killed, a Palestinian survey shows. “The survey by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, which questioned 1,318 respondents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, also showed that 85 percent of Palestinians support a “mutual cessation of violence by both sides”. The poll found considerable anti-American feeling…

Malcolm X, before he converted to Islam, was known as Satan. Al-Hallaj claims that the truest lover of God was Iblis, because he refused to bow down in front of Adam; Iblis acknowledged no other than his Beloved. I suppose that means I’m not in such bad company. Some of you may remember this comment by the Attorney General of the United States, John Ashcroft, entrusted with making sure I suffer no discrimination: “Islam is a religion in which God requires you to send your son to die for him. Christianity is a faith in which God sends his son…

Several news outlets (1, 2, 3, 4) are reporting that the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahatir Mohammad, opened the summit of the Organization of Islamic States with some good ol’ fashioned anti-Semitism. I’m not talking anti-Israeli comments – which are often labeled as anti-Semitic, but more on how that lazy use of language, and how it does a dis-service to all involved, in another post – but full out Judeophobia. Just so you don’t doubt me, here’s the most obvious example: “The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million, but today the Jews are in control of the…