Islam

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) The thinly veiled hate group PEGIDA, which says it is against the “Islamization” of Germany (by which it means it wants German to be Muslimrein or purified of Muslims), staged a demonstration of 18,000 in the eastern city of Dresden on Monday, in the wake of the Paris terrorist […]

Education

Fundamentalism for Dummies: The Paris Terrorists’ Ignorance and Poverty

contributors

By Akil N. Awan | (The National Interest) The masked gunmen who assaulted the Charlie Hebdo offices in a hail of automatic gunfire, leaving twelve people dead in their wake, were heard proclaiming, “we have avenged the Prophet Muhammad.” Amateur footage also revealed the killers invoking God with the Arabic phrase, “Allahu Akbar”—an otherwise-innocuous, everyday […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

Muslim Hero Lassana Bathily Saved Jewish Hostages in Paris

contributors

WotchitGeneralNews | — “At a kosher supermarket in Paris, a quick-thinking Muslim employee hides several Jewish shoppers in the basement before sneaking out to brief police on the hostage-taker upstairs. In the town of Dammartin-en-Goele, a poker-faced businessman fools a pair of gunmen into believing they’re alone in the building before being allowed to leave […]

Germany

Despite rising racism, European Muslims embrace democratic values

Juan Cole

EurActiv | — “For Muslims, Germany has become a home. But they see themselves being confronted by a negative image, defined by a minority of radical Islamists.” [kellinahandbasket/Flickr] A large portion of Muslims in Germany share the country’s democratic values, a Bertelsmann study shows, but unfortunately this fact is not recognised by a majority of […]

al-Qaeda

Brother of Slain Muslim Policeman: Assassins “Pretend Muslims,” Terrorists

contributors

BBC | — “The brother of the Paris policeman [Ahmed Merabet] killed by the Charlie Hebdo shooter urged people not to avenge his death with further violence and reiterated that Islam was not about “terrorism or madness”. He added: “My brother was Muslim and he was killed by people who pretend to be Muslims. They […]

al-Qaeda

Sharpening Contradictions: Why al-Qaeda attacked Satirists in Paris

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) The horrific murder of the editor, cartoonists and other staff of the irreverent satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, along with two policemen, by terrorists in Paris was in my view a strategic strike, aiming at polarizing the French and European public. The problem for a terrorist group like al-Qaeda is […]

Islam

What Black & White thinking misses about ISIS/Daesh & why it Matters to us All

contributors

By Neslihan Çevik | (Daily Sabah) — To combat radicalism, EU countries should avoid considering an increased interest in the origins and nature of Islam as a sign of potential radicalization, while Muslim states should encourage the youth to analytically inquire about their religion and systematically reject radical Islamism based on that inquiry Debates on […]

Iraq

Saudi General, Border Guards Killed by Daesh/ISIL for not being Fanatical Enough

contributors

France24 | — “At 4,30 am 4 men coming from Iraqi territory attacked a border post on the northern frontier of Saudi Arabia. Two of the attackers were killed during the attack, one by gun shot and the second activated his explosive belt killing general Awda al-Balwi, commander of the northern frontier zone, with one […]

Iraq

Iraq has Worst Year since Bush Invaded, is a Ghost of Former Self

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) — The past year in Iraq is not easy to review. The assorted crises, both in security and politics, are well known around the world and for many Iraqis it’s been one long nightmare. NIQASH went to gather ordinary Iraqis’ opinions on the year gone by and ended […]