Category Archives: Journalism and Media

Where Are All the Islamic Terrorists?

Anthropology/Sociology, Islam in Europe, Islamophobia 101, Journalism and Media, Terrorism Issue


Islamic terrorism has not posed as strong a threat as many feared, in part because of the failure of most Muslims to join the movement. Above, a veiled Muslim woman was among those protesting against the deadly attacks that took place in Mumbai in 2008;
photo by Amit Dave, Reuters

By Charles Kurzman, The Chronicle Review, July 31, 2011

Last month, a few hours after a bomb exploded in downtown Oslo, I got a call from a journalist seeking comment. Why did Al Qaeda attack Norway? Why not a European country with a larger Muslim community, or a significant military presence in Muslim societies? I said I didn’t know.

A second media inquiry soon followed: Given NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the number of disaffected Muslims in Europe, why don’t we see more attacks like the one in Norway? This question was more up my alley. I recently published a book asking why Islamic terrorism has been rarer than many of us feared after 9/11. Before answering, I checked the news. Norwegian officials were reporting that the attacker was not Muslim. I was no longer an authority on the incident.

A third reporter called the next morning: Has the focus on Islamic terrorism distracted us from the threat of non-Islamic extremism?
Continue reading Where Are All the Islamic Terrorists? →

الأزهر والزنداني والدولة المدنية

"Arab Spring", Islamic Law, Journalism and Media, Yemen


محمدعبدالملك المتوكل

د.محمدعبدالملك المتوكل, المصدر أونلاين

بتاريخ 21/6/2011م نشرت جريدة الأهرام وثيقة الأزهر بشأن مستقبل مصر وبتاريخ 9 يوليو2011م نشرت جريدة الشارع هجوماً للشيخ الزنداني على الداعين للدولة المدنية والشرعية الثورية مطالباً لهم مراجعة دينهم، ومن المفيد للقارئ أن يعلم أن الأزهر بعلمائه والشيخ الزنداني بجامعته كلهم ينتمون إلى مذهب أهل السنة والجماعة ولكن، وللناس فيما يعشقون مذاهب.

حدد بيان الأزهر أحد عشر مبدأ نذكر منها خمسة مبادئ أساسية تتعلق بنظام الحكم.
الأول: تأسيس الدولة الوطنية الدستورية الديمقراطية الحديثة التي تعتمد على دستور ترتضيه الأمة يفصل بين سلطات الدولة ومؤسساتها القانونية الحاكمة ويحدد إطار الحكم ويضمن الحقوق والواجبات لكل أفرادها على قدم المساواة بحيث تكون سلطة التشريع فيها لنواب الشعب. وينسجم ذلك مع المفهوم الإسلامي الصحيح، فالإسلام لم يعرف لا في تشريعاته ولا حضارته ولا تأريخه ما يعرف في الثقافات الأخرى بالدولة الدينية الكهنوتية التي تسلطت على الناس.. بل ترك للناس إدارة مجتمعاتهم واختيار الآليات والمؤسسات المحققة لمصالحهم مع اشتراط أن تكون المبادئ الكلية للشريعة الإسلامية هي المصدر الأساسي للتشريع وبما يضمن لأتباع الديانات السماوية الأخرى الاحتكام إلى شرائعهم الدينية في قضايا الأحوال الشخصية.
Continue reading الأزهر والزنداني والدولة المدنية →

Yemen’s Unfinished Revolution

"Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Journalism and Media, Photography, Sanaa, Yemen


Photo by Karim Ben Khelifa

By TAWAKKOL KARMAN, The New York Times, June 18, 2011

Sana, Yemen

AFTER more than five months of continuous protests, I stand today in Change Square with thousands of young people united by a lofty dream. I have spent days and nights camped out in tents with fellow protesters; I have led demonstrations in the streets facing the threat of mortars, missiles and gunfire; I have struggled to build a movement for democratic change — all while caring for my three young children.

We have reached this historic moment because we chose to march in the streets demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, an end to his corrupt and failed regime and the establishment of a modern democratic state. On June 4, our wish for Mr. Saleh’s departure was granted, but our demand for democracy remains unfulfilled.

Following months of peaceful protests that reached every village, neighborhood and street, Yemen is now facing a complete vacuum of authority; we are without a president or parliament. Mr. Saleh may be gone, but authority has not yet been transferred to a transitional presidential council endorsed by the people.

This is because the United States and Saudi Arabia, which have the power to ensure a peaceful transition to democracy in Yemen, have instead used their influence to ensure that members of the old regime remain in power and the status quo is maintained. American counterterrorism agencies and the Saudi government have a firm grip on Yemen at the moment. It is they, not the Yemeni people and their constitutional institutions, that control the country. Continue reading Yemen’s Unfinished Revolution →

Ali Abdullah Salih and Yogi Berra

"Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Journalism and Media, Yemen


The picture chosen by The Washington Post for its lead article today

The speculation about the health and future of President Ali Abdullah Salih of Yemen is wild today. On Friday he was wounded by a rocket attack on his compound that killed several others. I first heard about this when someone called me and mentioned that in Pakistan they were saying he had been killed in the attack. When he only gave an audio message afterwords, and that with a clearly heavy breathing voice, it was still not clear what his injuries were. Since government sources are certainly not believable and no reporters were on the scene, all kinds of rumors spread easily. Now it is known that Salih with a number of family members and some of the other wounded are in Saudi Arabia for treatment.

So what next? The BBC takes a cautious approach with the headline “Yemenis rejoice as Saleh leaves but fighting continues” while The Washington Post is more optimistic, leading the headlines with “Yemeni crowds cheer as Saleh transfers power,” and stating “The departure of Yemen’s president for Saudi Arabia raises the prospect that a key U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaeda has lost his grip on a nation tumbling into chaos.” Over at Waq al-Waq Gregory Johnsen reflects the hopes and fears of the situation:

“My guess is that his wounds are much more severe than Yemeni officials have let on, as Salih was well aware that leaving Yemen would make it incredibly difficult for him to return. Continue reading Ali Abdullah Salih and Yogi Berra →

Oh Brother(hood)!

Apocalypse Watch, Islamophobia 101, Journalism and Media, Luke R. E. Publican, Terrorism Issue, Yemen


First, something positive: there is an excellent op-ed in today’s New York Times by Greg Johnson on the situation in Yemen.

And now for something completely different… Now the “duh” moment. Here is a headline that deserves all the possible bad things one can say about an ignorant and stupid headline:
“Yemen’s Government Poised to Fall to the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda ?” The source I consulted is the Right Side News, where “right” certainly does not make “right”. It would be quite a major event if Yemen was taken over by the Muslim Brotherhood, since it does not have any kind of presence there. Of course if most Muslims are radical and all radical Muslims are the same, it hardly matters to someone like the ludicrous ranting of someone like Robert Spencer (whose Islamophobic magazine rag is the ultimate source of this story). The article was posted Wednesday at 5:38, but over a full day later the prediction that Ali Abdullah Salih would be ousted in 24 hours was unfulfilled. Back to the drawing board or the Book of Daniel, perhaps? Is this regime change supposed to be before or after all the bible believing Christians are raptured away? Continue reading Oh Brother(hood)! →

Mubarak did not get the message

"Arab Spring", Anthropology/Sociology, Egypt, Journalism and Media


In 1993 Anthropologist Fadwa El Guindi wrote a provocative call for President Mubarak of Egupt to resign. This was almost two decades before events forced him out of office. I post the 1993 commentary by El Guindi here, courtesy of the author.

Mubarak Should Call an Election and Step Aside

Egypt: The country is a wreck; before radicals force a bloody change, he should allow open elections for a successor.

By FADWA EL GUINDI, Los Angeles Times, FRIDAY MARCH 26. 1993

If President Hosni Mubarak is smart, he will take a hard look at the shambles Egypt has become and step down, before he is overthrown or assassinated. An honorable exit might earn him forgiveness for his otherwise disgraceful record.

Egypt had its revolution in 1952, yet it remains a dependency. For example, Egyptian cotton, the highest-quality cotton in the world, is marketed in the United States as towels and bed sheets made in Israel, Britain and America. Egypt’s only part is to provide the natural resource produced by the sweat and labor of peasants living under substandard conditions. This is how it was for Egypt under British colonialism. If Egypt cannot use its very fine cotton to also make and internationally market towels, after 40 years of the revolution that promised industrialization, and if most of its income comes from Westerners visiting the accomplishments of Egyptians of millennia past, something is fundamentally wrong. And it is not fundamentalism, as the government wishes to believe or portray. Continue reading Mubarak did not get the message →

Winners and Losers in a Post-Mubarak Arab World

"Arab Spring", Arab-Israeli Conflict, Egypt, Israel, Journalism and Media, Palestine

By Yousef Munayyer, Palestine Center, The Jerusalem Fund, February 14, 2011

Thirty years ago the Soviet Union was at the beginning of a long campaign in Afghanistan, the average person was lucky to have an advanced recording technology called a “VHS tape,” and Mohammad Hosni Mubarak took control of Egypt, the most populous nation in the Arab Middle East. This week, the last of these beginnings came to an end when millions of Egyptian protestors succeeded in toppling one of the longest standing rulers in the 5,000-year history of Egypt.

But as with all eras, Hosni Mubarak’s established norms, some national and others regional, which have now irreversibly changed. What type of government may take form in Egypt in the coming weeks and months is yet to be seen, however, it is highly unlikely that any new government can afford to repeat the mistakes of the previous regime which eliminated pluralistic political participation in the formulation of both domestic and foreign policy.

Many different global players had an investment in the outcome of the drama that finally concluded in Egypt with Mubarak’s departure. So after this transformational moment, who are the winners and who are the losers?

The Winners

1. The People of Egypt – After only 18 days, the people of Egypt succeeded in removing a ruler who had governed Egypt for three decades. But the victory for the people of Egypt is far greater than the removal of one person like Mubarak or his family. Continue reading Winners and Losers in a Post-Mubarak Arab World →