International Politics and Economy

Montréal (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – The Jewish holiday of Purim, related in the Book of Esther, celebrates deliverance from a genocide. How to celebrate it when death and starvation kill thousands in Gaza, and the holiday’s rhetoric, namely the memory of the archenemy Amalek, is being used by Israeli politicians responsible for it? […]

Democracy

The Man who Disproved Trump’s Election Fraud Claims Looks at the Problems with New York’s Voter Data

Ken Block

Barrington, RI (Special to Informed Comment) – If the oldest human alive is 116, how did 368 118-year-olds vote in New York in 2020? Election districts that do a terrible job identifying their voters expose their state to problems far beyond a few votes by individuals with impossible ages. Consider that in 2020 New York […]

Israel/ Palestine

Nonviolence in the Holy Land: Fear, Love and Palestine with Sami Awad

Waging Nonviolence

Nonviolence Radio Nonviolence Radio Team Former Holy Land Trust Executive Director Sami Awad. (Facebook/Sami Awad) Subscribe to “Nonviolence Radio” on Apple Podcasts, Android, Spotify or via RSS. ( Waging Nonviolence) – As a Palestinian, Sami and his family have suffered directly under the long Israeli occupation and more acutely now, from the […]

Books

Dune Part Two: The Islamic Dimension

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Journalist and science fiction writer Frank Herbert’s Dune epic has many themes. One is, clearly, environmentalism and the need for humans to adapt to their environment. Another is the struggle between regimented bureaucratic civilization and individualism. Yet another is the temptation to use religion for liberatory purposes. The Denis Villeneuve […]

Elections

Growing ‘Despondency’ And Hard-Liners’ Dominance: Key Takeaways From Iran’s Elections

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By By Kian Sharifi ( RFE/ RL ) – Iran’s parliamentary elections on March 1 witnessed a historically low turnout, in a blow to the legitimacy of the clerical establishment. The official turnout of 41 percent was the lowest for legislative elections since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Critics claim the real turnout was likely even […]

Democracy

Israeli Peace Activists agree War must end with some form of Democracy for All

The Conversation

By Atalia Omer, University of Notre Dame | – (The Conversation) – The months since Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, have been excruciating ones for Israeli peace activists. As the country rallies behind the war effort, critics have been arrested and condemned by opponents who say the attacks proved how misguided the peace movement […]

nationalism

My Malaysia Ordeal shows how Religion can Fuse with Nationalism to Silence Dissent

The Conversation

By Ahmet T. Kuru, San Diego State University | – (The Conversation) – I hadn’t expected my book tour in Malaysia to end with a confrontation with men who identified themselves as police in a Kuala Lumpur airport. I arrived in the Muslim-majority country in early January 2024 to promote the Malay translation of my […]

Dissent

Aaron Bushnell Sacrificed himself to Stop Gaza Genocide: “I won’t be Complicit”

Azam Saeed

Connecticut (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Despondence, mixed with commitment, courage, and action, can be a starter for epochal change. Aaron Bushnell set himself afire on Sunday, a telling decision by a serving USAF airman, saying that he refused to be complicit in the Gaza genocide. His martyrdom could well make such a contribution […]

censorship

Islamophobia: Defending Rutgers’ Center for Security, Race and Rights from Senate Judiciary Committee

Committee on Academic Freedom

Committee on Academic Freedom | Middle East Studies Association of North America | Senator Richard Durbin Chair, Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate fax: (202) 228-0400 Senator Lindsay O. Graham Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate fax: (202) 224-3808 Dear Senators Durbin and Graham: We write on behalf of the Middle […]