religion

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The funeral of Muhammad Ali, attended by a throng of 20,000, was the first national funeral for a national hero of the United States that was also a Muslim ceremony or janazah. Muhammad Ali crafted it as a interfaith event, but obviously Islam was central. The […]

Featured

Sufi Boxer Muhammad Ali’s last fight was against Extremism & Politicians’ Islamophobia

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Boxer Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, on 17 January 1942, is dead at 74. Ali was on the US team for the Rome Olympics in 1960, and became the Olympic light-heavyweight champion. He and the team were lionized when he came back. […]

Iraq

How The US, Iraqi Army And Shiite Militias United – Then Split – In Fallujah

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – Anti-extremist forces have been fighting in Fallujah for a week. But before they began, there were serious negotiations between the partners-in-battle. And the negotiations continue on the front lines. On May 23, Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi appeared near an Iraqi army camp near the […]

Christianity

Holy Lands: Reviving Pluralism in the Middle East

contributors

by JOSEPH RICHARD PREVILLE and JULIE POUCHER HARBIN | ( ISLAMiCommentary) | – – Column » ‘By the Book’ with Joseph Preville How did the rise of nation-states in the 20th century doom religious diversity and pluralism in the Middle East? And, can pluralism be recovered to heal and transform the Middle East? Veteran journalist […]

Entertainment

Tired of living in fear of the Muslims next door? Easy Breathalyzer Fix (Bassem Youssef Satire)

contributors

Dr. Bassem Youssef | (Fusion Comedy Satire Video) | – – “Tired of living in fear of the Muslims next door? Bassem Youssef has a solution! SUBSCRIBE for more Democracy Handbook (Bassem’s new docu-series) –coming to Fusion in July! Episodes will be available in their entirety on Thursday, July 14 at FUSION.net as well as […]

Featured

Modern Mongols: Sunni Arabs outraged at Iran role in Iraqi Gov’t Fallujah Campaign

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – BBC Monitoring surveyed the Arabic press on 27 May for the issue of the Iranian role in the Iraq government campaign to take Fallujah from Daesh (ISIS, ISIL). Although Saudi and other newspapers say they want to see Daesh defeated, they are deeply critical of the […]

Alawites

ISIL hits Syrian Regime in Shiite northwest, killing 150

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The leftist Beirut daily al-Safir reports that security in Syria broke down dramatically on Monday, as seven bombs timed to go off simultaneously hit soft targets in the Syrian Mediterranean cities of Jebleh and Tartus, killing some 150 persons and wounding 225 , the vast majority […]

Iraq

Baghdad Locals Fear Shiite-On-Shiite Violence As Alliance Fractures

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – Protests and suicide bombings have caused tension within the Shiite Muslim alliance that’s been fighting extremists. As neighbourhoods are taken over by militias, locals fear intra-sectarian fighting. Abu Fatima al-Budairi is a member of the powerful Badr Organization, one of the largest Shiite Muslim militias […]

Islam-hatred

This is America! Man Facing Jail For Ripping Veil Off Muslim Woman

contributors

Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian | (The Young Turks Video Report) | – – “A man in North Carolina has pleaded guilty to ripping a hijab off of a woman’s head as they were on a flight. Gill Parker Payne faces one year in prison and a possible fine for religious obstruction. Cenk Uygur and […]