Learning How to be Reconciled to Disagree Sheikh Salman al-Oadah I deliberately chose to discuss the topic of “reconciliation” rather than the topic of “compromise”, since I do not want to speak about a process of mitigating disagreement. There are cases – both in religious matters and worldly affairs – where the continued existence of disagreement is unavoidable, or even something healthy and essential. In a number of situations, if disagreements did not exist, people would lose out on a lot of things that are good and beneficial. Allah, in His wisdom, gave us our various languages, colors, and so … Continue reading Learning How to be Reconciled to Disagree – Sheikh Salman al-Oadah

Most people would agree that adopting violence to propagate a political agenda is radical and warrants punishment. However, American public discourse has reinvigorated the misuse of the term ‘radical’ to label both criminal activity and unpopular political dissent. By Sahar Aziz, No rose-colored glasses here Washington, DC The recent discovery of attempted terrorist plots by Muslims in America has prompted overreaching accusations of radicalization of an entire religious group. As a consequence, pressure is mounting on American Muslim leaders to actively engage in elusively defined counter radicalization. But rather than spend limited resources on programs that assume collective guilt, efforts … Continue reading Another red scare – Is Green the New Red?

Remembering Aasiya Zubair A year on from the tragic death of Aasiya Zubair, American Muslims have mobilised to confront domestic violence Wajahat Ali guardian.co.uk Last year the tragic beheading of Aasiya Zubair jolted a dormant Muslim American community to finally acknowledge and proactively confront the hidden scourge of domestic violence in its midst. On 12 February 2009, Aasiya Zubair, a Muslim Pakistani American MBA student and co-founder of Bridges TV, was murdered by her estranged husband, Muhammad Hassan, after she officially filed for divorce and obtained a restraining order against him. Hassan’s previous two wives left him due to domestic … Continue reading American Muslims have mobilised to confront domestic violence

Hijab-wearing women rock! Why hijab-wearing Muslim women have a real affinity for hard rock Remona Aly guardian.co.uk Hijab-weariing rock fan Remona Aly. God gave rock’n’roll to you! So US rock band Kiss chanted in the early 90s, a cover of the original song by British group Argent. My relationship with this “divine” gift started early. At 12, I riffled through my brother’s vinyl collection and emerged a fan of U2, Faith No More and Led Zeppelin. Recently, aged 31, I set out in my coolest headscarf to see the best live band in the world: Muse, on their Resistance Tour. … Continue reading Hijab-wearing Rock Fanatics

Facebook: the election’s town square Are you thinking what your friends are thinking? Social networking looks set to be an interesting influence on voters Alan Finlayson guardian.co.uk What might be the impact of social networking on the general election? Party political communications officers are sure it will be significant. Steve Grove from YouTube has been to parliament to urge parties to use his site. And Mumsnet is the site of the newest key election battlefield. All of this promises to cause us much pain. If party election broadcasts are inexplicably poor on television why would they be any better on … Continue reading Facebook due to be used by ass-kissing UK politicians?

We have let Obama down When Obama came into office with a mandate for change, the left sat back and waited. Instead, we should have mobilised Clancy Sigal guardian.co.uk When Barack Obama became US president, the left should have mobilised. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images Both Barack Obama and I are Chicago boys, schooled in the tough-minded, arm-twisting don’t-mess-with-me attitude of crushing rather than compromising with your unforgiving enemies. We are both products of machine politics, I from the west side’s “rotten borough” 24th ward loyally turning out Democratic party majorities of almost, and sometimes exceeding, 100% (“Vote early, vote often!”), … Continue reading When Obama came into office with a mandate for change, the left sat back and waited.

Mandarins in the margins Peter Preston guardian.co.uk You can make it sound very grand indeed. A great department of government with 4,062 chunks of real estate worth £1.6bn spanning 279 countries around the globe. You can also make it seem rather puny. A core budget this year of only £830m – some 0.4% of what our nation spends, and less than a 12th of what Goldman Sachs gives away in bonuses; a budget, moreover, that now rises and falls with sterling. But let’s ask the question that underpins everything. What is our Foreign Office for? What does it actually do? … Continue reading The advice of worldly, well-educated Foreign Office diplomats is simply being ignored