The current issue of Newsweek has an interesting commentary titled, “As Economies Sink, Religious Radicals Suffer Setbacks.” Apparently, the financial crisis is killing the prospects for more political Islam. The examples given are from: Turkey, Indonesia, Iran, and Lebanon. In Turkey, the AKP has lost support after focusing on Islamist platforms instead of Turkish economic […]
The Economist has jumped on the debate train: This past week they looked at the resolution on religious defamation, adopted by the UN Human Rights Council. Actually, they asked the question (which shows perfectly the confusion in this debate), “What exactly is it the drafters of the council resolution are trying to outlaw?” The answer […]
This was the Turkish proverb quoted by President Obama in his speech yesterday before the Turkish Grand National Assembly to say that the U.S. does not aim to fight extremism through force. The President’s speech was remarkably general, but at the same time, he made some important gestures towards the Muslim world. In case you […]
President Obama is expected to participate in the UN-connected meeting called the Alliance of Civilizations. It is the second forum of the alliance and scheduled for April 6-7 in Istanbul. The Alliance was established in 2005, and it aims to reduce cross-cultural tensions. The director of the alliance has said that Obama’s visit to Turkey […]
The State Department has released the blacklist of religious freedom violators established by the Bush administration. It is the same list as in 2006, and it’s questionable whether the new department really analyzed the current situation before releasing the names of eight countries. Burma, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan are […]
This past week Pope Benedict XVI took his first trip to Africa, and yesterday, he celebrated a mass for 1 million in Angola. There were three major headlines from the Pope’s trip to Cameroon and Angola. The first was the controversial statement about condoms and how they do little to help fight AIDS. The second […]
This past week, the UN Human Rights Council heard the report of Asma Jahangir, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. Jahangir provided several findings about world-wide discrimination based on religion or belief and its impact on the enjoyment of rights. While looking at the adverse impact of religious discrimination, “it was noted […]
This week, an unusual opinion piece appeared on the Wall Street Journal online. Tawfik Hamid wrote, “Islam Should Prove It’s a Religion of Peace.” Looking back over the past few months, I have noticed that a common theme in articles about religion is “proof.” Specifically, the question is: Who is responsible for proving facts about […]
According to Fareed Zakaria, the answer to the above question is a resounding No. Zakaria’s main argument is that if we try to fully understand the phenomenon of Islamic radicalism, there will be a clearer picture that not all Islamists are potential terrorists. The article in Newsweek, “Learning to Live with Radical Islam,” focuses on […]
President Obama is apparently working hard to keep his campaign pledges. He has now had his first interview with Al Arabiya, while repeating his promise to give a speech in a Muslim capital in the first 100 days of his administration. In some ways, President Obama's approach to the presidency feels like the campaign season […]
I watched the inaugural address of Barack Obama at a packed auditorium at New York University School of Law. When Obama said, "America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity" the room broke out into applause. In fact, there were about a […]
January 16 was Religious Freedom Day (the news was dominated by the miraculous landing of an airplane on the Hudson). Various religious organizations issued statements and press releases, while the Day itself even has its own website. The White House, on January 14, issued a press release to commemorate the annual recognition of the 1786 […]
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