European Union

By Marianna Fotaki (IPS) – The European Union should not be afraid of the leftist opposition party Syriza winning the Greek election, but see it as a chance to rediscover its founding principle – the social dimension that created it and without which it cannot survive. Greece’s entire economy accounts for three per cent of […]

Germany

Surprise! German anti-Muslim Leader Resigns after Posing as Hitler

contributors

Euronews | — “The leader of the anti-Islamisation PEGIDA organization in Germany has quit after a photo of him posing as Hitler was published in the Bild newspaper, throwing the future of the movement in doubt. Lutz Bachmann resigned with an apology to all those he offended over comments he made on Facebook where he […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

It is Failed State in Yemen that permitted al-Qaeda to Train Paris Terrorists

contributors

CCTV America | — “CCTV America’s Susan Roberts interviewed Yemen correspondent for The Times of London Iona Craig about how Yemen has played a role in al-Qaida training and the Charlie Hebdo killings. Craig is an independent journalist and discussed the stability of Yemen, what makes it a hub for al-Qaida and how the West’s […]

Featured

French Pres. Hollande: Anti-Muslimism is as bad as Antisemitism: Muslims Must be Protected

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) French President Francois Hollande addressed the Institute of the Arab World on Friday, in a bid to reassure French Muslims, who fear being the victims of a collective guilt campaign or reprisals after the attack of radicals on Charlie Hebdo. Hollande said: “It is the Muslims who are the […]

Culture

Charlie Hebdo & French ‘Secularism’: Does it really just privilege White Christians?

contributors

By Mayanthi Fernando | The Conversation Commentators in France and elsewhere have taken the recent terrorist attacks in Paris as an occasion to reflect more broadly about Muslims in France. Many read the attacks as a sign of French Muslims’ refusal to integrate. They’ve asked whether Muslims can be fully secular and expressed doubt as […]

Belgium

Top 7 Things to know about Belgium anti-terror Op that left 2 Dead

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) Belgian police launched a counter-terrorism operation on Thursday in the eastern city of Verviers (pop. 56,000) near the German border. Verviers is one of the towns in Belgium that has a large number of Muslims, with many of the young men in that community being unemployed. Belgium is a […]

Dissent

Learning from Paris: Are you Charlie Hebdo? (Juan on Radio w/ C. Lydon)

contributors

Christopher Lydon | Radio Open Source ” Learning from Paris The story of the massacre at Charlie Hebdo has gone everywhere in the past week: into meditations on free speech and blasphemy, into declarations of cultural and actual war, and high-wire geopolitics. It’s a fresh attack, meaning high emotion and demands for ‘moral clarity‘ — […]

France

Fox ‘News’ Schooled By French ‘Daily Show’ On Muslim ‘No-Go Zones’

contributors

AJ+ | — “The host of France’s “Le Petit Journal,” Yann Barthès, asked his audience to flood Fox News with claims about Parisian “no-go zones.” Since the Charlie Hebdo attack, several Fox guests have asserted that parts of England and France are Muslim-run, with non-Muslims and police not welcome. But Barthès did some fact-checking on […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

Will France intervene in Yemen after its al-Qaeda Claims Paris Attacks?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | — Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is based in south Yemen, claimed on Wednesday to have been behind the attacks in Charlie Hebdo in Paris last week. Said and Sharif Kouashi are known to have visited Yemen in 2011 for weapons training, assisted by Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born terrorist later […]