by Timothy R. Furnish Middle East Quarterly http://www.meforum.org/713/beheading-in-the-name-of-islam Print Send RSS Share: Images of masked terrorists standing behind Western hostages in Iraq and Saudi Arabia have become all too common on Arabic satellite stations such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Manar. Islamist websites such as Muntadiyat al-Mahdi[1] go further, streaming video of their murder. The February 2002 decapitation of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, true to its intention, horrified the Western audience. Chechen rebels, egged on by Islamist benefactors, had adopted the practice four years earlier,[2] but the absence of widely broadcast videos limited the psychological impact of hostage decapitation. The … Continue reading Beheading in the Name of Islam

A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population Executive Summary A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 1.57 billion Muslims of all ages living in the world today, representing 23% of an estimated 2009 world population of 6.8 billion. While Muslims are found on all five inhabited continents, more than 60% of the global Muslim population is in Asia and about 20% is in the Middle East and North Africa. However, the Middle East-North Africa region has the highest percentage of Muslim-majority countries. Indeed, more than half of the 20 … Continue reading Mapping the Global Muslim Population

niqash | Kholoud Ramzi Iyad Jamaluddin, a Shia cleric and MP, has announced the creation of a new political ‘Ahrar’ liberal stream to compete in January’s parliamentary election. The movement is composed of Sunni and Shia liberal personalities including the Sunni MP and head of parliament’s national reconciliation committee, Wathab Shaker. The stream has chosen “secularism is the solution” as its electoral campaign slogan prompting some religious criticism. Muslim clergy have condemned the step because this slogan is being used – for the first time since 2003 – by a turbaned cleric and descendant of the Prophet Muhammad’s family. The … Continue reading Mullah calls for secular solution

// James Cameron’s sci-fi eco epic Avatar is almost certain to become the highest-grossing movie of all time – not bad going for a film whose heroes are blue-skinned aliens speaking a made-up language. It has violently divided critics. Some have been moved by its message of cosmic wholeness, others have been left cold by its vapid, predictable plot, its too obvious allegory and the preachiness of its message. Everyone agrees, however, that it is spectacular, which may be enough to explain its success. Boris Johnson is the latest to notice the film’s heavy-handed political subtext – a plot which … Continue reading Avatar and the future of religion

By Mohammad Darawshe The announcement of MK Mohammed Barakeh of his intention to join the parliamentary delegation to Auschwitz next week has ignited a heated discussion in Israel’s Arabic press. Many saw this as a positive step, following efforts by other members of the Arab community to reach out to the Jewish community and improve relations between the two groups. Such efforts include the establishment of a small Holocaust museum in Nazareth, and the visit of 260 Israeli Arab and Jewish clerics, municipal leaders and educators to Auschwitz in May 2003, led by Bishop Emile Shoufani. Shoufani’s visit sparked controversy, … Continue reading Have a safe trip, Mohammed

This is a cross post by Edmund Standing The BNP website has announced that BNP Head of Publicity, Mark ‘I am evil’ Collett, is to stand against David Blunkett in Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough. They’ve put up a short biography, which includes this: He moved to Leeds to study Business and Economics at Leeds University where he graduated with an honours degree. During his time at Leeds University he joined the BNP and became actively involved in local politics, standing for election to Leeds City Council in 2002 whilst still at university. After graduating, Mr Collett took up a full-time … Continue reading Nazi dude is hoping to become an MP!

Its soaring steeple of rock topped by a small oasis of trees looks straight out of the 3D blockbuster Avatar. But this is no special effects illusion, it’s a real-life tower of quartz-sandstone deep in the rugged mountain terrain of southern Hunan in China. The 3,544ft Southern Sky Column is one of 3,000 in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and became the inspiration for the magical ‘floating peaks’ in James Cameron’s film after a Hollywood photographer spent time shooting there in 2008. Now where have I seen this before: The mountain previously known as the ‘Southern Sky Column’ in China, … Continue reading Found! The stunning mountain that inspired Avatar’s ‘floating peaks’