By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Some half of US governors have announced their opposition to their states taking in Syrian refugees after the Paris attacks. Although they can bother refugees, they can’t actually dictate to people who are here legally where they can live. But anyway, here are the reasons for […]
Whether Jewish Refugees in ’30s or Syrians today, USA Falls Short of own Ideals
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reprint ed., slightly revised. More than half of US governors have abruptly announced that they will not welcome Syrian refugees. Governors cannot actually tell people in America where they can live. Germany, a country of 80 million, will take in 800,000 refugees this year, many of […]
Is Daesh/ ISIL a modern Raiding Pirate state?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Some analysts trying to understand Daesh (ISIL, ISIS) had suggested that it differs from al-Qaeda in its emphasis on taking and holding territory, thus becoming a state– something that al-Qaeda was largely uninterested in. They expected the self-proclaimed “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to concentrate his resources […]
Dem Candidates reject War Talk, Islamophobia in wake of Paris Attacks
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – At the CBS Democratic Party debate on Saturday night, the Paris attacks dominated as a concern. Unlike the Republican field, which is somewhat divided on the necessary response, the Democrats agree that all-out war is undesirable as a response. (In the GOP, Rand Paul is cautious […]
Terrorism and the Other Religions
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reprint edn. slightly revised. Contrary to what is alleged by bigots like Bill Maher, Muslims are not more violent than people of other religions. Murder rates in most of the Muslim world are very low compared to the United States. As for political violence, people of […]
Paris at Midnight: Attempt to push France out of anti ISIL coalition in Syria?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Update: Daesh (IS, ISIS, ISIL) has said they were behind the attack. Paris was hit by at least two well-trained and -equipped terrorist cells in a coordinated attack on 6 or 7 soft targets on Friday night. The attack that took the most lives, over 120 […]
Top Ten Ways Islamic Law forbids Terrorism
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reprint edn. (Slightly rearranged & revised): 1. Terrorism or hirabah is forbidden in Islamic law, which groups it with brigandage, highway robbery and extortion rackets– any illicit use of fear and coercion in public spaces for money or power. The principle of forbidding the spreading of […]
Kurdish Fighters cut Road between ISIL centers of Raqqa and Mosul
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Al-Arabiya reports that the Security Council in Iraqi Kurdistan has announced that their paramilitary, the Peshmerga have taken 150 square kilometers of the city of Sinjar from Daesh (ISIL, ISIS) and has the entire city surrounded. Some sources say that 70% of the city has fallen […]
Are 2,000 Gulf fighters in Syria a terrorist threat to . . . the Gulf?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – A Saudi preacher has given a press briefing on young men from the Gulf fighting against the al-Assad regime. Although the Hizbullah fighters from Lebanon are often mentioned in the US press as an example of foreign interference, there is little mention of this Gulf contingent. […]
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