The New Faces of Terrorism, part 2

As a follow-up to Fadi’s post from last week, I present to you Ahmedyassine Boujrad, a Moroccan toddler separated from his parents for nearly two years, despite the fact that his father is a U.S. citizen. The reason? His name allegedly matched that of a former Hamas leader assassinated by Israel in 2004. How’s that [...]

Speaking of scary Arabic terms…

The media smear campaign that forced Debbie Almontaser to resign as principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy was led by a group called Stop the Madrassa. Stop the madrassa from what? From teaching teenagers their daily algebra lessons in Arabic? The term madrassa means school. Nothing more, nothing less. In fact it’s a shame [...]

State of Emergency in Gaza

The events of the last five days have many speculating whether we will soon be talking about two Palestines — one controlled by the military wing of Hamas in Gaza, and one by Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party in the West Bank. What this could mean for the (former) Palestinian Unity Government and the greater PLO [...]

No more sacred cows.

It’s a bizarre time to be living in Washington DC. Ahead of next year’s presidential election, and amid a firestorm of criticism surrounding the war in Iraq, the political mud-slinging has gotten ugly, with half the government facing the prospect of being ousted in ’08. It’s a regime change of sorts. Visible on the horizon, [...]

Another case of Jimmy Carter being ridiculed for telling the truth.

White House slams CarterBy Associated PressMonday, May 21, 2007 – Updated: 01:29 AM ESTCRAWFORD, Texas – In a biting rebuke, the White House yesterday dismissed former President Jimmy Carter as “increasingly irrelevant,” after Carter called Bush’s presidency “the worst in history.”Carter was quoted Saturday as saying “I think as far as the adverse impact on [...]

Under the Influence

TIME Magazine has published its annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people, or what its editors hail as ‘the 100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world’. Meanwhile TIME’s website conducted a simultaneous poll, encouraging hundreds of thousands of readers to submit their own rankings online. The [...]

Sinai Bedouins seek entry into Israel after clash with Egyptian police

You know police brutality has reached a new low in Egypt when hundreds of the country’s poorest would rather seek refuge in Israel than face Mubarak’s hired guns. The government should be ashamed of itself… From Reuters, 26 April 2007 Hundreds of Egyptian Sinai Bedouin massed at the border with Israel on Thursday seeking entry [...]

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Remembering Mai Ghoussoub (1952-2007)

‘Words don’t kill, humans do.’ I had the privilege of working with Mai Ghoussoub for a brief time in 2005-2006. There was no one else quite like her. Here’s a tribute. * * * * * * * * * * * Lebanese icon packed several lifetimes’ worth of achievement into her 55 years By [...]

Globalization Backlash in Egypt?

It used to be that globalization was strictly talked about in economic terms. Evidence of a globalized economy included milestones such as these: October 20, 1994: The first McDonalds restaurant opens in Cairo. Land scarcity makes it nearly impossible for McDonalds to construct its traditional stand-alone restaurants in Cairo. Instead corporate executives come up with [...]