Thursday, April 29, 2010 <!– –> // // Share this story!   VIEW: Changing the Muslim conversation —Mahjabeen Islam In the pre-modern era, religious scholars controlled the discussion; now anyone even vaguely familiar with the Quran and prophetic tradition can write a book and gain credibility. Specifically, authorship does not connote authority So is Abu-Talha Al-Amreeki going to be speaking for me now? A 20-year old, formerly known as Zachary Adam Chesser, is now media-commissioned to be the loudest responder to the South Park incident satirising Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). On cursory examination, why should he not be? If you posted bloodied … Continue reading So is Abu-Talha Al-Amreeki going to represent us all now?

As an Arab-American, my first British hustings revealed a communal self-determination I have not seen in the US Abdulrahman El-Sayed guardian.co.uk Rushanara Ali, Labour’s candidate for Bethnal Green and Bow Photograph: Martin Godwin Candidates shuffled through the packed gym of the Ensign youth centre in east London. Enlivened by the colourful embroidered scarves of many of the women in attendance, the highly Bengali constituency (nearly 36%) of Bethnal Green and Bow had come out for the event, a “hustings” or political debate between candidates for parliament in the 2010 general election, organised by YouElect, a grassroots initiative aimed at encouraging … Continue reading UK democracy is superior to US

In this undated handout photo, Madhuri Gupta, 53, an Indian diplomat who worked as second secretary in the Indian high commission in Islamabad is seen. – AP THIMPHU: India’s foreign minister said on Wednesday a thorough investigation would reveal why and how a diplomat posted in Islamabad had spied for Pakistan. Junior diplomat Madhuri Gupta, who worked in the information service of the Indian embassy, was arrested by police last week after coming under suspicion. In Thimphu, Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters Gupta was facing a joint probe by the police and home ministry detectives. “The investigations are … Continue reading India promises thorough ‘spy’ investigation

Firm Run by Ex-Israeli Special Forces Soldier Wants U.S. Security Contracts in Jerusalem, Iraq, Afghanistan As Obama continues the military privatization agenda, a CIA-connected firm and an Israeli-run company named Instinctive Shooting International are looking to cash in. Photo Credit: ISI The Obama administration has continued the Bush-era reliance on private contractors to sustain the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the U.S. operations in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, Obama has surpassed Bush’s reliance on contractors with current contractor levels surpassing 100,000 Defense Department contractors deployed. In Iraq, Obama has maintained the long-standing ratio of one contractor to every US soldier. General … Continue reading Ex-Israeli Special Forces Soldier Wants U.S. Security Contracts in Jerusalem, Iraq, Afghanistan

Threats of right-wing violence have doubled in the past year. What is behind the latest upsurge in the movement to create a Christian theocratic state? When Scott Roeder, the murderer of Wichita Kansas abortion clinic provider Dr. George Tiller, had his day in court, he spent much of his rambling self-defense quoting the words of another abortion clinic assassin, Reverend Paul Hill. In the 1990s my own research had brought me into conversation with others in the inner circle in which Hill and Roeder were at that time involved. So it was a chilling experience for me to realize that … Continue reading The Return of Christian Terrorism

What Happened When I Went Undercover at a Christian Gay-to-Straight Conversion Camp My weekend was filled with crying, singing, and wrestling, as 30 men struggled to overcome their attraction to other men. It was also the first time I felt another man’s erection. Photo Credit: Jamison Wieser I don’t remember exactly when I felt his erection pressing into my back. It might have been while he whispered in my ear, “Long ago, you were the Golden Child. But, somehow, that Golden Child was hurt, and you put up a wall to protect yourself.” Or it might have been when other … Continue reading Christian Fanatics Gay-to-Straight Conversion Camp Antics!

Right-Wing Attacks on South Park Censorship Ignore America’s Wars in Muslim Countries It’s absurd to buttonhole Comedy Central when U.S. troops are occupying two Muslim nations and bombing a third. LIKE THIS ARTICLE ? Join our mailing list: Sign up to stay up to date on the latest Civil Liberties headlines via email. Start a Petition » // The decision by Comedy Central last week to heavily censor an episode of the animated sitcom, “South Park,” has prompted conservative commentators like the New York Times’ Ross Douthat to bemoan Western “cowardice and self-censorship” in the face of Islamic extremism, while … Continue reading It’s absurd to buttonhole Comedy Central when U.S. troops are occupying two Muslim nations and bombing a third.

Stephen Tankel Foreign Policy In 2006, the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba entered the Afghan theater, necessitating its increased presence in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The group is often mentioned during discussions of the Punjabi Taliban, militants from Punjabi jihadi groups, who arrived in large numbers at approximately the same time. But these militants follow the Deobandi school of Islam and are close to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban. Lashkar is also a Punjabi group, but its Ahl-e Hadith faith and close relationship with the Pakistani military establishment have contributed to a historically rocky relationship with … Continue reading Lashkar-e-Taiba in Perspective

The Pentagon Prevents a Poison Prayer digg Huffpost – stumble reddit del.ico.us Christian dominionists are in high dudgeon at that most holy of government agencies, the Department of Defense. The Family Research Council says that the Pentagon’s decision to rescind a speaking invitation to cleric Franklin Graham for early May’s National Day of Prayer isn’t mere discrimination, it rises to a constitutional violation of freedom of speech and religion. “Almost nine years after 9-11, the Pentagon is the site of a new attack — this time on religious freedom,” Tony Perkin’s Washington Update warns. The reactionary organization’s rhetoric isn’t only … Continue reading Poison Mullah Franklin Graham cries foul!