As Western intervention against the Qaddhafi regime enters its sixth day, rebels remain enthusiastic. The Arab League, though considerably less enthusiastic, also continues to back the effort. In the United States, however, some commentators have adopted a more critical approach.

One such figure is… Read full post »

Two days after Western forces struck Libyan military targets, halting Qaddhafi’s attack on civilians in Benghazi and elsewhere, some observers wonder whether the Arab League will withdraw its support for the intervention.

 The League had unanimously endorsed the no-fly zone on March 12^th&/… Read full post »

Since the United States performed an abrupt about-face on Libya, backing a U.N. resolution that authorizes “all necessary measures” to counter Qaddafi, military intervention on the rebels' behalf appears likely. Opponents of intervention urge their audiences to recall the Iraq invasion&md/… Read full post »

As Qaddafi continues to rout rebel forces in the east and terrorize their supporters in the west, the United States has radically recalibrated its stance on intervention. Previously wary, the U.S. is now leading efforts to rally the U.N. behind not only a no-fly zone but also a “no-drive”… Read full post »

As a Sunni, I feel no hesitation in saying that the Shiites vying for freedom in Bahrain are closer to my heart than the Sunni elites who are vying to crush them.

Now, the local Sunni regime has been reinforced by the Saudis. The Wahabist sect that has reigned over… Read full post »

Americans are adopting an increasingly venomous attitude toward Islam and its adherents.

 The latest evidence of this trend was on display Saturday, when liberal talk show host Bill Maher turned on his Muslim guest, Congressman Keith Ellison. Maher slammed the Qur’an as “a hate-fill… Read full post »

(Published in Foreign Policy in Focus)  

The eruption of democratic defiance among Arabs has discredited neoconservatives and al-Qaeda alike, shattering their shared assumption that Muslims need violent prodding to reclaim their dignity. Ten weeks of protests won  Tunisians and Eg… Read full post »

(Appeared in Antiwar.com and Crossing the Crescent) 

Egypt and Tunisia demonstrated the power of mass protest and the moral leverage of those who pursue non-violent action. But while movements there sparked a chain reaction of democratic defiance across the Arab world, protesters… Read full post »

In the aftermath of the Iraq invasion, a cavalcade of conservatives tapped open their sunroofs to profess love of democracy for Iraqis as the wheels of their war plan crushed Iraq.  In a time and place replete with scenes of carnage, this spectacle vied for a top spot.

Having unleashed hell… Read full post »

(Slightly different version appeared in Antiwar.com)

A False Peace: Egypt’s Relationship with Israel – and Ours

When the tumult in Tunisia and Egypt shattered the deep freeze that has afflicted Arabs for almost four decades, countries fond of touting democracy should have been leadin… Read full post »

Below is a statement by American and Canadian Muslims who are writers, bloggers, cartoonists, and various leaders in defense of freedom of expression; this statement was issuedin response to (among other things) news that various death threats apparently forced cartoonist Molly Morris to go into hidi… Read full post »

Below is a statement by American and Canadian Muslims who are writers, bloggers, cartoonists, and various leaders in defense of freedom of expression; this statement was issuedin response to (among other things) news that various death threats apparently forced cartoonist Molly Morris to go into hid… Read full post »

Fahrenheit 451, Park 51, and Mainstreaming Hate

America underestimated Terry Jones.

The pastor who planned to set the Qur’an aflame has revealed a razor-sharp political instinct, one that will advance his cause regardless of whether the bonfire takes place.

When the… Read full post »

 It is a tiring and often thankless task to combat the hate and vitriol that nourish America’s burgeoning anti-Islamic phenomenon.

Since today is Ramadan in parts of the world, I invite readers to simply ignore the polemics, politics, and hyperbole for a few minutes, sit back, and just… Read full post »

Animosity toward Islam has reached such extremes in America that officialdom only rallies against anti-Muslim invective if it interferes with its warring on Muslim countries.

Perhaps it’s just the skeptic and former journalist in me, but that’s my impression as I review the recent blo… Read full post »

(Published at Antiwar.com)

In their spirited assault on Islam, conservatives have seized upon one notion with particular delight: the Abrahamic faith embraced by a quarter of humanity is a "cult."  

Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey popularized the claim in July when a constituent asked abo… Read full post »

The Israeli loyalist and chief editor of The New Republic, Martin Peretz, recently opined that Muslims are not "worthy" of the "privileges" of the First Amendment.

 Since the Constitution applies not only to all citizens but all residents in the United States, the only logical conclusion is that… Read full post »

(Published in Antiwar.com)

You are not terrorists. Your religion is not evil. Your project is not a monument to murder. But since some believe otherwise, I propose a compromise:

Get out.

That is the message adopted by some liberals and their allies in… Read full post »

Doubtless offended by the site's proximity to Ground Zero, some patriotic conservatives apparently decided to torch equipment at a planned mosque in Murfreesboro, a suburb outside Nashville. Federal officials ruled today that the cause was arson.

Making some back-of-the-envelope calculations, t… Read full post »

In his searing indictment of colonialism, The Wretched of the Earth, Frantz Fanon wrote the following as death approached:

“Western bourgeois racial prejudice as regards the nigger and the Arab is a racism of contempt; it is a racism which minimises what it hates. Bourgeois ideology, however… Read full post »