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IN THE NEWS: In Australia, members of an international organization by the name of Hizb Ut-Tahrir have stirred up controversy by calling on Australian Muslims to reject democracy while criticizing any and all efforts by the Australian government to promote interfaith dialog and faith based work, labeling such efforts as propaganda to establish a “moderate” and false [...]
When Zinedine Zidane infamously bowed out of the international game in 2002, world football not only lost one of its best players in history, but also one of the Muslim world’s biggest stars. Since then, no player has stepped up to earn the same veneration as the French icon. However, a lot can change in four years, and in that time a country that has a history of xenophia has produced our new poster boy: Mesut Ozil.
Rory Bremner examines how satire on Islam is viewed by the Muslim community. Most of the time it is taken as part of a wider context and then stamped as a genuinely funny or manufactured controversy. He is hesitant to joke about Islam because he fears a strong backlash. Nonetheless, Muslims need satire [...]
On Sunday, the New York Times reported that the US government has discovered that Afghanistan has nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits:
The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps [...]
Maybe you saw him play Raza in “Iron Man.” Perhaps you caught him as Captain Robau in “Star Trek.” And all you girls out there that are thinking “Eww, I don’t watch action movies?” Well… he’s conquered your world too, as a guest star this past season on “Grey’s Anatomy.” His name is Faran Tahir, a 47-year-old Pakistani-American who’s been in the acting game for decades and is proof that you don’t always have to go to the doctor-lawyer-engineer-banker route to be successful.
IN THE NEWS: Renowned White House correspondent and member of the White House Press Corps, Helen Thomas, has decided to resign after a controversial video of her surfaced on the internet. In the video, she says that Israel should “get the hell out of Palestine.”
IN THE NEWS: Self-proclaimed human rights and religious liberty group organizes protest against the building of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City. The group, called “Stop the Islamicization of America,” sees the mosque as an attempt to impose Sharia on American democracy and culture.
A Muslim candidate is vying to win a seat in Florida’s statehouse during elections this year. “The statehouse is the first step into a career in politics, and I want to give back to the community that allowed my family to live the American Dream,” the 26-year-old Democrat says.
The passengers of the Gaza humanitarian flotilla had no religious obligation to defy the orders of one of the world’s strongest militaries. They did so because they felt the human urge to help their fellow man and by doing so they set an example. Humanitarian injustices, in Gaza or anywhere else, are injustices. Muslims should be proactive in trying to stop them.
This summer, take your family to the Gulf Coast. Enjoy the beaches of Florida’s panhandle, go sport fishing off the parishes of Louisiana, and enjoy magnificent views of the coast from a hot air balloon in Alabama. It’s a way that you can help relieve communities impacted by an oil spill.
IN THE NEWS: The New York Times reported this week that General David Petraeus signed a secret directive authorizing American Special Operations Troops to expand clandestine military operations in both friendly and hostile Middle East countries for the purposes of gathering intelligence and forging ties with local forces. Regardless of the reason, the meddling in foreign affairs by the military without oversight or accountability should be scary to any Democratic nation.
IN THE NEWS: The Council on American-Islamic Relations argued last week that Pamela Geller be cut from the Tennessee Tea Party Convention in Gatlinburg over her views on Muslims. Geller, a speaker at the convention, had planned a presentation titled “The Threat of Islam.” She delivered the presentation and wrote a blog post about it.
Last week was a dramatic one for both Facebook and YouTube. Of course, the drama involved a country which has seen more than its fair share of chaos, controversy and violence for over the better part of the past decade. Pakistanis perhaps overreacted and let their emotions get the best of them. But while no one should deny others their right to draw the Prophet, it doesn’t mean Muslims can’t speak out against the offensive depictions, either.
[UPDATE: Pakistan added a YouTube ban Thursday, over "growing sacrilegious content."] A “South Park” depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in an episode last month had ramifications in Pakistan Wednesday, when a court order directed the government to block access to Facebook. Sure, freedom of speech is a value we respect in America and Muslims must be tolerant and accepting of others’ views, regardless of how offensive or demeaning they may be. But how, then, does a country whose constitution vows to protect the image of Islam’s prophet carry out that responsibility?
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced today that world powers would pursue sanctions against Iran in an effort to stop it from developing nuclear weapons. But external sanctions could be avoided if Clinton and other leaders decided to engage a powerful constituency in Iran: its conflicted ayatollahs. If scholars are advocating for the same non-proliferation agenda as the U.S., then why do we neglect them?
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