spokesman of spanish police announces muslim men of moroccan, indian and spanish nationality were arrested this evening. goodbye and thank you, jose maria aznar.
posted by coyroy
on Mar 13, 2004 -
44 comments
Ashoura Day
(warning, the image in the link is graphic and disturbing and is from Yahoo News, sorry about the lameness of the source)
Ashoura Day is a Shiite Muslim holiday that commemorates the 7th century death of Saint Imam Hussein.
Its "celebrated" by cutting oneself or others with swords and knives and is primarily aimed at children though many adults get into it as well. I'm all for cultural tolerance but this strikes me as pretty blatant child abuse.
For an in depth examination of what the Ashoura commemoration means, check out
The Connotations of Ashoura.
posted by fenriq
on Mar 2, 2004 -
69 comments
Alhamdullah. "I do say that freedom is the Almighty's gift to every person," the president replied. "I also condition it by saying freedom is not America's gift to the world. It's much greater than that, of course. And I believe we worship the same god." Apparently, this is causing no small amount of controversy in the Christian God-believing circles. I was always under the impression that it was commonly accepted that
Jews,
Christians, and
Muslims were all working for the same
Guy. So, Bush finally says something that's not completely stupid, and he gets all kind of
hell for it. Great.
posted by majcher
on Nov 24, 2003 -
55 comments
Qur’an in Aramaic? Virgins become raisins, veils become belts. "Luxenberg’s chief hypothesis is that the original language of the Qur’an was not Arabic but something closer to Aramaic. He says the copy of the Qur’an used today is a mistranscription of the original text from Muhammad’s time, which according to Islamic tradition was destroyed by the third caliph, Osman, in the seventh century. But Arabic did not turn up as a written language until 150 years after Muhammad’s death, and most learned Arabs at that time spoke a version of Aramaic."
posted by four panels
on Jul 29, 2003 -
16 comments
Chalmers Johnson is an provocative proponent of the
American Empire theory, indeed. Here are excerpts from his
Blow Back: The Cost And Consequences of American EmpireI heard Johnson interviewed on Episode II,
War And Conflict In The Post-Cold War, Post-9/11 Era of
The Whole Wide World
The Cold War and its central conflict - the physical and ideological battles between the United States, the Soviet Union and their proxy states - imposed a certain logic and consistency on the world. Take that away and add the bloody wars in the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East in the ‘90s as well as the terror attacks and warnings of more recent times and you get a very confused picture of a world at war. Is this breaking storm in Iraq about oil, democracy, freedom, empire, culture, water, diamonds, modernizing Islam or nation building in the Middle East? Some, one or all of these things?It was an excellent program and well worth your listen, either by RA now or mp3 later.
(From listening to the radio)
posted by y2karl
on Mar 13, 2003 -
15 comments
The "merger" of the Egyptian Zawahiri's Islamic Jihad and the Saudi Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda in 2001, based on the foundation of Qutb's book "Milestones", provide outlet for those who have no other way of expressing their objections to the authoritarian regimes of the countries they live in, and the reach of American power in the Middle East.
posted by semmi
on Sep 17, 2002 -
19 comments
Unlikely Allies Bound by a Common Hatred.
"Herr von Laden is an example for our children." The bridge between radical Muslims and the neo Nazis in Europe and the United States.
In 1991, German neo-Nazis tried to form a "Condor Legion" to fight alongside Iraqis against the U.S.-led international coalition. More recently, members of the European far right have journeyed to Baghdad to express solidarity with Saddam Hussein.
posted by semmi
on Apr 29, 2002 -
15 comments
An
Algerian defendant tells a court of his transformation from an irreligious drug dealer on the streets of Germany to an Afghanistan-trained militant, and the
psychic journey of some young Muslim slackers in England to become fighters for Al-Qaeda (NYT).
posted by semmi
on Apr 24, 2002 -
14 comments
Islamic nations dodge defining terrorism. The Organisation of the Islamic Conference is divided over whether Palestinian suicide bombers should be classified as terrorists. On the other hand, there's no question that Israel practises terror.
Rather than stick their necks out and commit to something, they'll leave it to the good ole UN to decide who is a terrorist. That'll solve everything.
More depth here.
posted by badstone
on Apr 2, 2002 -
14 comments
The "Sum Of All Fears" trailer recently went online, and is already causing some
heated discussion over major changes from the book. In the wake of 9/11, it seems that terrorists in the film have been changed from Muslim to Neo-Nazi (who then go on to detonate a bomb within the United States). Hollywood knee-jerk reaction or a good call given the timing of things? Discuss...
posted by almostcool
on Mar 28, 2002 -
28 comments
Polls Come Under Fire.
Watchdog Group Issues Rebuke on Poll on Islamic Countries. Meanwhile, those bogus aggregates continue to circulate freely in this country and around the world.
posted by semmi
on Mar 22, 2002 -
16 comments
Woman sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery The man with whom she had sex admitted it, then denied it, and was set free for lack of evidence. She was pregnant when she received the sentence (which provides for her to be buried up to the chest and stoned by male villagers until dead). The Nigerian court in question recently implemented a fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic Law (Sharia, in the case), and have returned to mandatory sentences like stoning to death for adultery and amputation of hands for theft. Modernity, how we luff ya.
posted by brookish
on Feb 14, 2002 -
23 comments
Muslims blast CNN polling techniques. CNN apologizes and offers up an excuse to justify act. But is poll (1) out of place, (2) unjustified, (3) a fair assignment to get some interesting and/or useful information? (4) an overreaction on the part of those who would control what their children should and should not know and see.
posted by Postroad
on Dec 20, 2001 -
20 comments
"Unholy War" from director Saira Shah of
Beneath the Veil fame is appearing several times this weekend. I am very much looking forward to this as I found the first film insightful, thought-provoking and observant. It all leads me to wonder how does one help dimilitarize and rebuild a country where an entire generation knows nothing but war, insecurity and guile?
posted by dness2
on Nov 17, 2001 -
0 comments
Blair now a 'legitimate target.' A spokesman for a British Islamic group has said Tony Blair is a 'legitimate target.' According to spokesman, "This means if any Muslim wanted to kill him or get rid of him, I would not shed any tears." Salman Rushdie roomate jokes aside, this is pretty chilling.
posted by prodigal
on Oct 10, 2001 -
23 comments
Israel is not the real issue the piece speaks for itself. Many have blamed our foreign policy, our support of Israel, our bombing of Iraq. This view sees a different issue and confrontation.
posted by Postroad
on Sep 19, 2001 -
46 comments
Americans have little to fear (ny times link) - In an opinion piece by Larry Johnson, a former State Department counterterrorism specialist published July 10th,
Americans are bedeviled by fantasies about terrorism. They seem to believe that terrorism is the greatest threat to the United States and that it is becoming more widespread and lethal. They are likely to think that the United States is the most popular target of terrorists. And they almost certainly have the impression that extremist Islamic groups cause most terrorism.
None of these beliefs are based in fact. . . .
posted by revbrian
on Sep 16, 2001 -
8 comments
understanding the terms used - With the constant white noise of pundits and CNN trying to fill space I've realised how little I understand about the islamic belief. Now it seems to be Bush's soundbite bogeyman I guess we should all try and learn more.
I'd love to read any more links you guys have.
posted by mrben
on Sep 12, 2001 -
2 comments
