religion

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Despite Russian airstrikes, Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) has made some advances in November. One place it has had some success is Homs province, which is vulnerable because Daesh has a position in Palmyra. At the beginning of November, Daesh took Maheen and advanced toward the major Christian […]

Immigration

No, Neocons: US isn’t facing ‘Flood’ of Syrian Refugees

contributors

By Bridge Initiative Team | – – In the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis, which has forced more than four million people to flee that country’s civil war, fears over the geopolitical fallout have gripped some quarters of the American public. Amid intense conversations about how to deal with the throngs of stranded people […]

Featured

With Ahmad Chalabi’s Death, Passing of an Age of Lies

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Ahmad Chalabi (1944-2015) died of a heart attack in Iraq on Tuesday. Clarence Darrow, the great trial lawyer and orator, said, “I’ve never killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction reading the obituary notices.” I don’t get any satisfaction from this obituary. In the first Star […]

Islam-hatred

The “Bridge” Project: Fighting the anti-Muslim Machine

contributors

By Inas Younis/ John Esposito | (Interview of Esposito in OnIslam) SALT LAKE – The Wall Street journal called Professor John L. Esposito “American’s foremost authority and interpreter of Islam.” With over 40 years devoted to the field of Islamic studies, Esposito is well known as one of the world’s most influential bridge builders of […]

Islam-hatred

Which Presidential Candidates Have ‘Shown Backbone’ Against Islamophobia?

contributors

Robert McCaw | (ISLAMICommentary) | – – Robert McCaw Last Friday, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley denounced the socially-corrosive evils of “Islamophobia and xenophobia” at a conference held by the Arab American Institute at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. What should have been an unremarkable statement was made noteworthy because only a few presidential candidates have […]

al-Qaeda

Syria: On eve of Vienna Summit, Has Russia changed the facts on the Ground?

contributors

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Writing in al-Hayat [Life] this week, columnist Walid Choucair outlined the successes he sees Russia to have had in its Syria campaign, and the goals for which it is reaching. Choucair is the Lebanese affairs bureau chief of this pan-Arab, Saudi-owned London daily, which has a […]

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders Hugs Muslim Student And Vows To Fight Racism

contributors

AJ+ | (Video News Report) | – – “Bernie Sanders promises to fight the “ugly stain” of anti-Islamic sentiment across the U.S.” AJ+: “Bernie Sanders Hugs Muslim Student And Vows To Fight Racism”

Islam-hatred

Trump On Shutting Down Mosques: Yeah Sure Whatever

contributors

By John Iadarola, Jayar Jackson, and Elliot Hill | (The Young Turks) | – – “How far would Donald Trump go to protect America from ISIS? Turns out pretty far… John Iadarola (Think Tank), Jayar Jackson, and Elliot Hill (The Lip TV) hosts of the The Young Turks, break it down. Tell us what you […]

Domestic Surveillance

3rd Circuit to NYC: Being Muslim is not Reasonable Suspicion for Surveillance

contributors

By Nadia Kayyali | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) | – – Being Muslim can’t be the basis for law enforcement surveillance. That was the message from the Third Circuit last Tuesday when it told the plaintiffs in Hassan v. The City of New York that their lawsuit could go forward. The plaintiffs are suing over the […]