religion

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) – – Iraq’s Shiite militias have been celebrated and criticised. Now, as differences in everything from weapons to leadership to loyalties become evident, tensions between the militias are rising. Last Saturday was the anniversary of senior Iraqi spiritual leader, Ali al-Sistani’s call to arms. The cleric, who is seen […]

Arab Spring

Wikileaks Docs Reveal Saudi intrigues against Bahrain’s Arab Spring

contributors

By Faten Bushehri | (Global Voices) | – – The Saudi Cables, released by WikiLeaks, includes a treasure trove of information in secret exchanges between Saudi diplomats on restive Bahrain Saudi Arabia's meddling in Bahrain's internal affairs has been revealed in top secret documents released by whistle blowing site WikiLeaks from June 20. WikiLeaks published […]

Arab Americans

European Islamophobic Networks influenced Roof to Kill in Charleston

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Muslim-hatred of the Geert Wilders and Marine LePens in Europe, for which Daniel Pipes, and Pamela Geller, and the whole Islamophobic network are cheerleaders and enablers, was a key influence on Dylann Roof, according to his manifesto. These same hatemongers helped whip Norwegian white supremacist […]

Christianity

Israel releases 16 Squatter Youth suspected in arson of Church of Loaves & Fishes

contributors

By IMEMC | – – Israeli police detained and have now released 16 young Jewish settlers, Thursday, after an overnight arson attack damaged a revered shrine in northern Israel. The arson attack struck the Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where many Christians believe Jesus fed the […]

Christians

Pope to Developed World: Greed is Causing Climate Change, Inequality

contributors

Jon Queally, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org ) | – – Leader of Catholic Church says the richest owe the poorest a ‘great social debt’ for creating the climate crisis, ignoring warnings of its dangers, and refusing to act ‘The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all,’ reads Pope Francis’ […]

African-Americans

Rhodesian Flag, Confederate Flag: Roof & the Legacies of Racial Hate

contributors

Benjamin Foldy | (Informed Comment) | – – When the perpetrator in the horrific massacre at the Emanuel AME church in Charleston was first publicly identified as Dylann Storm Roof, a near-instantaneous Twitter trawl of his social media uncovered his Facebook profile picture. In the picture, Roof sports two flag patches on his left breast: […]

African-Americans

Our reply to Dylann Roof’s Hate: Donate to “Mother Emanuel” AME Church

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – There are many essential responses to the racist terrorism that attacked Emanuel AME Church, which the state of South Carolina should take. It should stop flying the Confederate flag. It should undo the gerrymandering by the white Republican Establishment that keeps the one-third of the population […]

Christianity

Why Conservatives fear Pope’s Climate Letter: A Radical Attack on the Logic of the Market

contributors

Steffen Böhm | (The Conversation) | – – What makes Pope Francis and his 187-page encyclical so radical isn’t just his call to urgently tackle climate change. It’s the fact he openly and unashamedly goes against the grain of dominant social, economic and environment policies. While the Argentina-born pope is a very humble person whose […]

Europe

Juan Cole & Jocylene Cesari: “Europe’s Muslims after Charlie Hebdo: Challenges and Misconceptions”

Juan Cole

David Speedie, Juan Cole & Jocylene Cesari | Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs (Video) | – – “Months after the “Charlie Hebdo” attacks, questions remain about Europe’s Islamic communities. How strong is the lure of groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS for Islamic youth in France or the UK? Why do so many Muslims, […]