For Imam in Muslim Center Furor, a Hard Balancing Act Craig Ruttle/Associated Press Feisal Abdul Rauf in May. A professor of Islamic studies says the imam “is in the eye of a storm for which he’s not suited at all.” By ANNE BARNARD Not everyone in the Cairo lecture hall last February was buying the imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s message. As he talked of reconciliation between America and Middle Eastern Muslims — his voice soft, almost New Agey — some questioners were so suspicious that he felt the need to declare that he was not an American agent. Parsing the … Continue reading Feisal Abdul Rauf – An American Imam

Chris Rodda Senior Research Director, Military Religious Freedom Foundation; author, “Liars For Jesus” // <![CDATA[ function hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage() { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); bubble.style.display = "none"; } function hide_user_promo_bubble() { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, { opacity: { to: 0 } }, 1, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut); myAnim.animate(); setTimeout("hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage()", 1100); } function handle_promo_username(params) { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); var img = $("user_promo_bubble_image"); var anchor = $("user_promo_bubble_link"); if (params.has_photo == "true") { img.src = "http://images.huffingtonpost.com/profiles/&quot; + params.user_id + "-tiny.png"; } else { img.style.display = "none"; Dom.addClass(anchor, "wide"); } anchor.innerHTML = "Shared by " + params.user_name; anchor.href = "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/&quot; + params.user_name; bubble.style.display … Continue reading U.S. Soldiers Punished by Taliban

Dejected Robert Spencer Crows over being Exposed in Chicago Tribune Spencer with fellow anti-Muslim writer Bostom during happier days.  (Bostom too has accused Spencer of fake scholarship since). Robert Spencer is indeed a strange breed. He has curiously thin skin for someone who is a career bigot and hatemonger. He freely throws punches (that mostly miss) but cries to the heavens when any are thrown back (maybe because they usually land). I mean if you are going to put yourself out there as a bigot, you may not want to cry yourself to sleep every time someone calls you out … Continue reading Robert Spencer Exposed in Chicago Tribune

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF Is there any doubt about Osama bin Laden’s position on the not-at-ground-zero mosque? Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times Nicholas D. Kristof On the Ground Share Your Comments About This Column Nicholas Kristof addresses reader feedback and posts short takes from his travels. Go to Columnist Page » Osama abhors the vision of interfaith harmony that the proposed Islamic center represents. He fears Muslim clerics who can cite the Koran to denounce terrorism. It’s striking that many American Republicans share with Al Qaeda the view that the West and the Islamic world are caught inevitably in … Continue reading Taking Bin Laden’s Side

Seth Wenig/Associated Press Passers-by confronted Abu Rahman, right, Matt Sky, and Julia Lundy, who demonstrated for religious tolerance at the site of a proposed Islamic center near ground zero in Lower Manhattan. By SCOTT SHANE WASHINGTON — Some counterterrorism experts say the anti-Muslim sentiment that has saturated the airwaves and blogs in the debate over plans for an Islamic center near ground zero in Lower Manhattan is playing into the hands of extremists by bolstering their claims that the United States is hostile to Islam. Opposition to the center by prominent politicians and other public figures in the United States … Continue reading U.S. Anti-Islam Protest Seen as Lift for Extremists

HuffPo: Why Christians Should Support the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ loonwatch Counterterrorism experts have said that the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” controversy and the anti-Islam protests benefit Islamic extremists “by bolstering their claims that the United States is hostile to Islam.”  But Muslims should not fall into the trap of thinking of all Americans as a monolithic group, just as they themselves do not want to be viewed that way.  In fact, some of the most vocal supporters of the Islamic cultural center include Jews, such as Rabbis in the Manhattan community and stalwarts like Jon Stewart, Glenn Greenwald, Amy Goodman, … Continue reading Christians Should Support the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’

MediaMatters.org: Pamela Geller does not belong on national television Hate blogger Pamela Geller (cross-posted from mediamatters.org) Numerous mainstream media outlets have recently hosted right-wing “Atlas Shrugs” blogger Pamela Geller to discuss the controversy surrounding a proposed Islamic community center set to be built blocks away from Ground Zero. However, Geller’s history of outrageous, inflammatory and false claims, particularly when it comes to issues related to Islam, demonstrate that she cannot be expected to make accurate statements and should not be rewarded with a platform on national television. Media bring Geller into the mainstream, telling nation she is a credible source […] Geller routinely uses … Continue reading US Prime Time TV and extremists

Robert Spencer calls himself a “scholar of Islam”, but the more one delves into his “scholarship,” the more one realizes that he is anything but. In a recent post about a truly shocking news report from Saudi Arabia, Spencer begins by saying, “It’s in the Qur’an…” It’s in the Qur’an: “We ordained therein for them: ‘Life for life, eye for eye, nose or nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal.’ But if any one remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself. And if any fail to judge … Continue reading Robert Spencer’s “Cut and Paste” Scholarship

Muslim-American Spills His Guts, Admits Barack Hussein Obama’s Taqiyya Loonwatch How many of you have heard of taqiyya?  It’s a religious belief of Muslims where they can lie to infidels.  Read all about this fundamental Islamic doctrine right here. Basically, it allows them to lie about what religion they belong to, among other things!  I didn’t believe it when I read Robert Spencer’s book, but just today a prominent Muslim-American named Wajahat Ali, known for drinking goat milk (that’s what Muslims drink), spilled his guts and wrote a tell-all piece for The Guardian.  Hear it straight from his own words … Continue reading SHEIKH OBAMA!

By playing nasty, Labour is wrecking its own chances The public likes the shift in tone to more amiable, co-operative politics, but Labour’s leadership hopefuls are acting tribal Jackie Ashley guardian.co.uk, Sunday 22 August 2010 21.00 BST Article history Labour is playing bad politics. The leadership campaign is turning into a tin-ear, foot-in-mouth competition about who can be nastiest to the Liberal Democrats. As candidates desperately try to prove themselves more true Labour, more tribal than the next guy, they are in danger of missing the big picture about our changing politics. They could end up wrecking their party’s position … Continue reading Labour Party – The Nasty Party ?