Will the Revolution be TelAvivized?

Edit: As of Tuesday, April 27, the Tel Aviv gig is no longer listed on Gil Scott Heron’s website

Lady Gaga: The Real Barrier to MidEast Peace

Pop quiz—What does more to galvanize radical anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world: (a) Israeli settlements on the West Bank; or (b) a Lady Gaga music video?

Find out our answer…

How the US Censors Arabs (Part ٢)

A couple of months ago, I wrote a post on my own blog entitled “How the US Censors Arabs” which detailed two points of contention: First, the US export controls against Sudan, Syria (and Iran, Cuba, and North Korea) that prevent citizens of those countries from downloading certain software, and second, HR 2278, a bill that would consider any satellite provider which broadcasts certain channels (Al Manar, Al Aqsa, and Al Rifadayn were all specifically mentioned) as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” specifically for their alleged broadcasting of “incitement to violence against the United States.”

Arab Hopes for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

I joined KABOBfest during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics (and my first post was on Arab women participating), so it would seem only appropriate for me to talk a little about Arab hope for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

That hope rests on one man.

Muslims as Model Minority?

Racism Review has an excellent post up right now about the western worldview presented in the recent Gallup press book, Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think (by John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, who must be Gallup’s token Muslim). The book is interesting, as it, at first glance, seems to be an [...]

A democracy is only as righteous as its citizens

Today, many people are outraged at the Swiss people’s decision to ban minarets from their skylines, a decision made by referendum.

From the outset, let me say that I am wholly opposed to this decision, just as I am opposed to the burqa ban in France, Egypt’s ban on building churches, several Muslim countries’ bans on conversion, and Saudi Arabia’s banning of female hair. I fundamentally believe in the right of anyone to practice their religion, anywhere (though I certainly prefer they keep it to themselves). I should also say that two wrongs don’t make a right: I’ve heard plenty of statements along the lines of “good for the Swiss, they’re standing up to Islam” from people who, were the tables turned, would call inequality if a majority-Muslim nation does the same thing.

How to Write About Muslims

(This was originally posted over at my own blog – you can read the comments – negative and positive – there) Last week, I read Judy Bacharach’s “Twice Branded – Western Women in Muslim Lands” (bint battuta already dug into it here). You may also want to take a gander at the growing catfight between [...]

Fair and Balanced

As if Fox News didn’t distort the truth enough, now they’ve annexed Iraq too! If they had labeled Egypt, I wonder what they might have called it…Morocco? Seriously though, why is Fox making its own maps anyway? Don’t they have people for that? People who are not conservative idiots with no knowledge of the Middle [...]

Un-Sanctioning Syria

A notable news item this morning is that of the United States’ lifting two bits of its sanctions on Syria, one of which happens to be its ban on the import/export of IT, including hardware and software (the other is on the exportation of goods to the Syrian aviation industry). Syrian envoy to the U.S. Imad Moustapha (a blogger in his own right) announced the news yesterday, stating that more sanctions will be lifted soon.

Poor Alternatives

Anne Applebaum, liberal-ish Washington Post and Slate correspondent, former-USSR expert, and wife of the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, recently published the most ridiculous op-ed of all time, entitled “Morocco, an Alternative to Iran.”  On Slate, it was published as “Morocco Makes Peace With Its Past” (perhaps even more proposterous), and I perhaps wouldn’t have [...]