islam doesn't speak, muslims do | "the ink of the scholar is worth more than the blood of the martyr" – Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Indeed. I don’t know anyone who wanted to close the detention facility at Gitmo because of where it was — but rather because of what it was. It’s not merely a symbol, but is the embodiment of the implementation of a bad policy. If you close Gitmo but carry on the same bad policy elsewhere, you’re playing a shell game, Mr. President. [From Missing the Point]
inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un – We are from God and to God we return The unrest in Iran has been going on for almost two weeks, and I have posted nothing here for several reasons: The story is unfolding in internet time, and the updates are coming fast and furious on Twitter. I am geared for academic time and television time, both of which move significantly slower than internet time. Because of the speed at which things are moving, people with deeper knowledge and/or better resources are better positioned to give real knowledge on the situation. I do…
Turns out there are 32 polling places open in the US for the Iranian election. [From I Did Not Know That]
For those unfamiliar, the “Academic Bill of Rights” is designed to curtail free speech in American universities, particularly by professors involved in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. A new report by Free Exchange on Campus, a coalition of groups opposed to David Horowitz’s “Academic Bill of Rights” and similar measures, argues that the entire movement is built on false premises and is designed to attack higher education. The report, “Manufactured Controversy,” notes that legislative successes for this movement have been minimal, but that the effort still needs scrutiny. [From New Critique of Those Who Love to Criticize Academics]
I’m liking Jesse Ventura more and more. Last week: give me a water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I’ll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders This week: “If waterboarding is OK, why don’t we let our police do it to suspects so they can learn what they know?” he asked. “If waterboarding is OK, why didn’t we waterboard [Timothy] McVeigh and Nichols, the Oklahoma City bombers, to find out if there were more people involved? … We only seem to waterboard Muslims… Have we waterboarded anyone else? Name me someone else who has been waterboarded.”
From TPM. If you haven’t heard, Donald Rumsfeld was using Bible quotations to justify what was going on in Iraq. No doubt, the big story starting off the week. In GQ, Robert Draper does a first look back at Don Rumsfeld’s tenure at the DOD, with a focus on internal briefing documents which wrapped the day’s military events out of Iraq with smoteful biblical quotations about the righteous conquering the wicked and the infidel. Here’s the slideshow. [From Onward Christian Soldiers] Dan Varisco from Tabsir shares his thoughts as well: The Bible is a big book with plenty of quotations…
Umm…Even real liberals can be Islamophobes, and in fact many are. Uncritical rights talk frames Islam as the enemy. When you are a politically convenient liberal, right-wing and liberal fears collapse into one great, big black hole of Specter. Matt Duss notes a Washington Independent report that Arlen Specter will deliver the opening address to a right-wing anti-Muslim conference hosted by Daniel Pipes Middle East Forum: A coalition of conservative legal groups will host a “Libel Lawfare: Silencing Criticism of Radical Islam,” a conference on how “Islamist lawfare” is imperiling free speech in America. Confirmed speakers include neoconservative foreign policy…
Sadism? If we need torture to keep the country safe, why did Bush and Cheney stop doing it in early 2004? [From Good Question]
They are out. For those with strong stomachs, more Abu Ghraib torture photos may be seen here. … The Australian press got hold of 60 of these some time ago and is now releasing them. Presumably they are among the photos, the release of which President Obama is now attempting to block. [From Australian Press Releases Abu Ghraib Photos]
JMM at TPM: If we need to keep evidence of torture, like photographs, secret, to protect our troops, doesn’t that suggest that torture isn’t a great way to keep them or us safe? [From Following the Logic]