London (Informed Comment) – When many Westerners think of the Middle East today they tend to see a region gripped by religious and sectarian violence. What all the many conflicts have in common is the participation of inflexible and fanatical groups of fighters dogmatically opposed to the further modernization and Westernization of their home countries. […]
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Islam
Reza Aslan, religion Ph.D. vs. Sam Harris
The Young Turks: Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks and Professor Reza Aslan discuss Sam Harris. Cenk asks Reza how he feels about Harris’ comments about him and islam. Reza explains why he thinks Sam Harris gives Atheism a bad name. The Young Turks Professor Reza Aslan On Sam Harris
First 1300 Years of Islamic History in 3 Minutes
Lost Islamic History: “1300 Years of Islamic History in 3 Minutes ”
Does the Houthi Takeover of Yemen’s Sanaa Endanger World Trade?
By Juan Cole The fall of the Yemeni government to radical Zaidi tribesmen from Saadah in the north has gone relatively unremarked in the US mass media. Yemen is admittedly a relatively small country of 24 million, a little less populous than Texas. It is the second poorest in the Arab League after Somalia. It […]
ISIL Still Taking Towns in Iraq’s Al-Anbar as Coalition Airstrikes are Delayed
By Juan Cole The pan-Arab London daily Al-Hayat [Life] reports today that ISIL is still expanding its sway in towns in Iraq’s western al-Anbar Province, having just taken Kubaisah in the district of Hit on Friday into Saturday, two days after the district capital of Hit fell to them. Local Iraqi police ran away from […]
Lessons from French Morocco: “Fanaticism Anxiety” about Muslims has been with us since the Colonial Era
By Edmund Burke III Today we hear a great deal about the question of what went wrong in Middle Eastern societies. For an historian of the early twentieth century world, it’s déjà vu all over again. Similar questions and similar anxieties were being voiced a century ago. Very much like fin de siècle Europeans, we […]
Iraq’s Humpty-Dumpty Factor: Even if ISIL is Defeated, Can it ever be put Together Again?
Nawzat Shamdeen | Berlin | via Niqash.org As local forces appear to be preparing to take on Sunni Muslim extremists in charge of their hometowns, discussion has already started about what happens next. In the northern province of Ninawa, the governor is putting his faith in a new military force while others argue about how […]
Can Iraq Convince its Sunnis to Fight Extremists?
By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad via Niqash.org Local opposition to Sunni Muslim extremists in control of parts of Iraq is building – and it’s being formalised with the creation of a new National Guard, with military units enlisting locals to protect their own provinces. As well as fighting the extremists, the new units could include […]
Israeli forces re-open Holy Aqsa Mosque compound after heavy clashes
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Hundreds of Palestinian Muslim worshipers were allowed to access the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem on Wednesday at noon after being prevented from entering the Muslim holy site the day before and in the morning. Director of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, sheikh Omar al-Kiswani, told Ma’an that Israeli police […]