It’s safe to say that foreign policy was not the strong suit of this year’s contenders for the GOP presidential nomination. Rick Perry labeled the Turkish government “Islamic terrorists.” Newt Gingrich referred to Palestinians as “invented” people. Herman Cain called Uzbekistan “Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan” and memorably blanked when asked what he thought of NATO’s incursion into Libya.…… Continue reading LOL – Republicans and foreign policy
Thomas Friedman is an unapologetic advocate of modern-day American imperialism. His quotes should outrage any civilized human being. This man is a barbarian. Read this at your own discretion.
‘These are the Pashtun Tribes… The Afghans have never been defeated in history — they will destroy themselves. You blow up their villages, destroy their families, but they are very much like the Americans — they believe in independence and freedom… Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, once said, ‘Waziristan is beyond control. What they need…… Continue reading Important quote on the Pashtuns
I am trying to be more creative. Rather than writing something, I have decided to speak something.
By now you may have heard that Michele Bachmann has accused Huma Abedin of being a mole that has successfully infiltrated the US State Department on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Hmm, I wonder what MB leaders think of their mole… One Ahmed Al Nahhas, a long-time MB activist and leader in Alexandria, Egypt, has said, I haven’t…… Continue reading A ‘radical Islamist’ group responds to Bachmann’s remarks with… SANITY!?
I have an issue with the Vatican stripping Pontifical Catholic University of Peru of its right to call itself Catholic or Pontifical. This stripping is bothersome for several reasons. The first reason is that it only further amplifies the reputation of the Catholic Church as an archaic, authoritative, and out-of-touch institution which tries to conform…… Continue reading My spat with the Vatican
The Twittersphere is overflowing with Tweeters that have dedicated what seems like their entire existence to ragging on Muslims in the U.S. I want to hear what the jingoists think about a Muslim scholar who walks through Arlington National Cemetery with an American Colonel as they pay respect to fallen Muslim Americans.
Nothing like some guns to celebrate the birth of Christ! This is how guns become ‘normal’ in the USA. Buy a kid a gun and he or she will love you forever.
Source: ‘Not Again’ by Arundhati Roy in the Guardian, September 27, 2002.”The Task That Never Ends is America’s perfect war, the perfect vehicle for the endless expansion of American imperialism. In Urdu, the word for profit is fayda. Al-qaida means the word, the word of God, the law. So, in India, some of us call the War…… Continue reading The minatory engine of American imperialism
Akbar Ahmed’s Islam Under Siege is an attempt to make sense of a rapidly transforming and dangerous world where ‘Westerners’ and ‘Muslims’ (as if the to are not inclusive!) are often pitted against each other as mortal enemies. In his analysis, Ahmed explains what is going wrong in the Muslim world; why it is going…… Continue reading Recommended reading: ‘Islam Under Siege’
I woke up to this comment on my blog ‘Why the “Free” in Murfreesboro bugs me’: The author of this blog is a naive, at best. Islam is a totalitarian ideology like Communism or, more closely related, Nazi-fascism. It controls every aspect of a Muslim’s life with Shari’ah Law. Ask Europe, the Mideast, Asia, Australia,…… Continue reading Commentary: What the standard American bigot says about ‘the Jihad’
In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Muslims are hoping to celebrate Ramadan in the much-anticipated opening of their Islamic Center of Murfreesboro (ICM). While it seems they will be able to do so, a most unfortunate story is lurking in the shadow. A group of non-Muslims who filed suit seeking a restraining order to end the Centre’s construction has…… Continue reading The “free” in Murfreesboro bugs me
Texas Representative Louie Gohmert is one of several members of Congress who decided (stupidly) to sign the now infamous ‘Bachmann letter’, which accused Huma Abedin’s PARENTS for being the reason the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ has ‘infiltrated’ the US State Department. Yes, you read that correctly. Abdein’s PARENTS have successfully infiltrated the US State Department.
Perhaps I never gave him a chance (I do not really give politicians too many), but THIS… now THIS truly fantastic passage says a lot about John McCain and, I think, represents all that is holy about the US of A (if anything can be holy about it). McCain is speaking in reference to (the…… Continue reading Politics: Speech on what makes America exceptional
The relationship between church and state in Ireland is again in question as Alan Shatter, Ireland’s Jewish Defense Minister, has been accused of being ‘ant-Catholic’ because he refused to allow the Irish army to offer a guard of honour for a religious procession during the recent International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. This ‘unprecedented move’, writes…… Continue reading Shattering ‘Catholic Ireland’: Some thoughts on the recent controversy over church and state
Dr. Lawrence Britt examined the former fascist regimes in Germany, Italy, Spain, Indonesia, and several Latin American countries and found 14 defining characteristics common to each. Considering the saliency of several current issues, such as Congressman King’s ‘radical Muslim’ hearings to the influence of the media and rampant corruption and militarism, one has to wonder…… Continue reading Politics: How to spot a fascist
I have actually never voted in an American election, whether it be local, state, or national. I am not even registered to vote, but this is not stopping me from commenting on the state of American democracy and the 2012 elections. Democrats and Republicans: Two ‘different’ parties with essentially the same fundamental principles and entities…… Continue reading Time to Go Green in American elections
The population in some of the world’s most destructive and fragile areas are overwhelmingly young. Some of these areas – Kashmir and the Palestinian occupied territories as two examples – have religious conflict ingrained in their history and everyday life psyche. Here are a few figures for you to think about: 1. 75% of India’s…… Continue reading Politics: Demographics of religiously volatile areas
It is early, not too early, on the morning of the tenth of January. I have been, unfortunately, neglecting this journal mostly because of time with friends and our extravagant journey’s. Tomorrow morning, I head to Amsterdam. The purpose of this entry is to recap events of yesterday, for there are surely many. I am…… Continue reading Failing democracies and rationality
Who are the Sanusi and why do they remain so influential to so many? Only by understanding the Sanusi order, the Cyrenaica tribes and the historic role of both in the development of Libya will we be able to make sense of both the recent moves towards autonomy and prospects for the future of Libyan…… Continue reading The health of Libyan democracy lies with recognizing Cyrenaica tribes
Location: Hamza Yusuf’s home, California Date: November 2008 Topic: American identity and Muslims in the USA Project: Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam Principal investigator: Akbar Ahmed Filmed by: Craig Considine © Akbar Ahmed
The head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida is, amazingly, telling the people of Galway to not erect a Che Guevara Memorial statue. Florida, I should note, is roughly 4,000 miles away from Galway. And Che, if you aren’t aware, has Irish roots with the Lynch family (of Galway). Now,…… Continue reading My point on the Che Guevara statue in Galway
Location: Noam Chomsky’s office, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Date: October 2008 Topic: American identity (with some focus on Muslims in the USA) Project: Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam Principal investigator: Akbar Ahmed Filmed by: Craig Considine © Akbar Ahmed
We like to think of the drone war as something far away, fought in the deserts of Yemen or the mountains of Afghanistan. But we now know it’s closer than we thought. There are 64 drone bases on American soil, including 12 that house armed Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles. The possibility of military…… Continue reading Drones Over American Skies
’manufactured monsters for mutual murder, hideous hobgoblins produced by a horde of capitalistic lusts upon our prostituted labour. The poor man starves while they are grassing their royal mountain stags or shooting peasants and phartridges in their purblind pomp of pelf and power. But their reign is rover for rever and ever and ev .…… Continue reading Why Joyce’s Leopold Bloom still matters
One thing that I find puzzling is the notion that Obama ‘isn’t as bad as Bush’ when it comes to death, destruction, and the illegality of US foreign policy. For me, when I indulge in such conversations to prove why Obama is actually quite similar to Bush in these regards, I tend to use the not so…… Continue reading Who’s the Master of the Drone?
My intellectual/spiritual/academic mentor, Professor Akbar Ahmed, has done it again. And it’s sheer brilliance! Brookings Institution Press has just released an e-mail highlighting their forthcoming Fall publications. Showcased in this e-mail is Professor Ahmed’s latest book ‘The Thistle and the Drone: How America’s War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam’: The United…… Continue reading Fascinating and timely forthcoming book: ‘The Thistle and the Drone’ by Akbar Ahmed
This archive documents my writings from the ‘Journey into America’ book and documentary project. The writings here are my own personal opinions and don’t necessarily reflect the overall message of ‘Journey into America’. Most of these entires are ‘notes in the field’, but you may also find published articles. In addition, included here are short…… Continue reading My diary: 1 year, 100 cities, 75 mosques, and one question…
When Afghan or Pakistani civilians are murdered by drone strikes, US bangs on about ‘collateral damage’, but when Syrian civilians are murdered by Assad regime/militias, US cries about ‘war crimes’. Let’s not forget that a war crime is a war crime is a war crime, regardless of the context in which war crimes are committed.…… Continue reading A gross double-standard
One of my favourite journalists, Eric Margolis, recently published a piece titled ‘Facing the Writing on the Wall in Kabul’. Here is an excerpt. Link to article below. The objective of war is to achieve political goals, not kill people. The US goal was to turn Afghanistan into a protectorate providing bases close to Caspian…… Continue reading Margolis on the clear defeat in Afghanistan
According to the BBC, a US drone strike has killed at least eight people in a volatile tribal area of north-west Pakistan. This is the second strike in the area in 24 hours. At least four suspected militants were killed on Wednesday. US drone strikes in Pakistan are highly controversial. Are they legal? What about the…… Continue reading Drones over the ‘suspected militants’ in Pakistan
Bahrain has been in the news over the last year or so for largely negative reasons – shooting and tear-gassing peaceful protestors that were fighting for the so-called quintessentially American value of democracy. The Guardian reports that at least 30 protestors have been killed, more than 500 people detained, and up to 2,000 people have been dismissed…… Continue reading So THAT’S why the US supports Bahrain
Some thought-provoking questions which sprang from my reading of: The Politics of Multiculturalism in the New Europe by Tariq Modood and Pnina Werbner (1997). 1. What are the key features of ‘Islamophobia’? 2. How would you compare ‘Islamophobia’ to anti-Semitism? What about anti-Judaism? 3. To what extent would you agree that ‘Islamophobia’ is more a form…… Continue reading Study Questions to Guide Discussion on Islamophobia
There’s an obvious variable here – would Rubio even accept the invitation to be Romney’s running mate? Reports are already suggesting he wants no part, but it’s hard to imagine he’d pass it up (but you never know). Either way, Romney wanting Rubio to serve as his running mate makes sense for a number of reasons,…… Continue reading 10 reasons why Romney chooses Rubio
I just received an e-mail requesting that I stand by 60 Minutes, which is under attack for airing a report which was critical of Israel’s occupation and its persecution of Christians. The e-mail from a leader at Jewish Voices for Peace read as follows: This week, something rare happened: A major U.S. media outlet actually…… Continue reading Stand by 60 Minutes for report on Israel’s occupation and persecution of Christians
One of the many signs of a lackluster visionary and poor leader is when he or she exports propaganda in order to serve his or her own self-serving interests. In the circumstance of a politician, he or she may deceive their constituency with lies and rumours if he or she was confident that it would…… Continue reading The ghost of McCarthyism alive in West
Anders Behring Breivik, the man who went on a ruthless murder-spree which killed over 70 people (mostly youth) in Utoeya, Norway, has recently gone on trial. Breivik has justified his actions by claiming that those he killed were like ‘criminals’ for showing their support for a Norwegian political party, Labour, that promotes multicultural policies. The main…… Continue reading Commentary: Breivik and the relativity of insanity
I’m heading tomorrow morning to meet with a Pakistani friend who I met back in January. This young man, whose name I’ll keep anonymous for security purposes, is a native of Islamabad, Pakistan. He arrived to Dublin via work visa over eight years ago. When his work visa ended he filed the necessary paperwork to live (legally) in Ireland. His…… Continue reading Wondering About Ireland’s Immigration System
Last week I was invited by Imran Ahmed, member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, Ireland and Dublin City Interfaith Forum, to the 6th Interfaith Peace Conference on April 28th in Lucan, County Dublin. The conference, titled ‘Purpose of Religion, will be attended by people and speakers from major religions to strive towards peace in Ireland.…… Continue reading Attending event with Ahmadiyya community in Dublin
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