News and Analysis (12/15/15)

“[T]he United States is dropping bombs faster than it can replenish them.” Whether the addition of Saudi Arabia and some thirty plus other Muslim majority countries (including the Palestinians) “amounts to any real change in fighting ISIS remains to be seen” …

• Muslim Nations Form Coalition to Fight Terror, Call Islamic Extremism ‘Disease’ (CNN)

… and painting “‘establishment Islam’ as a synonym for ‘brutal dictators who cynically exploit Islam for their own gain’” and making this a fight between “the terrorist’s Islam or the tyrant’s Islam … denies space for the vast majority of Muslims who want neither dictatorship nor terrorism”:

• The Problem at the Heart of Saudi Arabia’s Muslim Anti-ISIS Coalition (Vox)

After “decades bombing, invading, and droning …; arming and propping up … tyrants …; lavishing Israel with the weapons, money, and U.N. cover used to occupy and brutalize…; and … treating their countries like your own private plaything for war and profit”, this won’t be easy:

• When the State Department Tries to Choose Muslim Thought Leaders to Win “Hearts and Minds” (Intercept)

A non-Muslim artist “makes the Quran itself into a cultural criticism tool, a mirror, by making the exotic familiar and the familiar exotic, scrutinizing the beliefs and behaviors of ordinary Americans in much the same way as they typically scrutinize Muslim societies”:

• Provoking Discussion, Not Riots: Sandow Birk’s “American Qur’an” Is Quietly Transgressive, Eschewing the Satirical Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad that Grab Headlines (Salon)

A descendent of Mayflower pilgrims “and President John Adams” who “could literally register as a Daughter of the American Revolution” says, “Islam is as diverse as America, and part of what makes America beautiful is that we can all practice what we believe in peace together” …

• This Minnesota Mom Who Converted to Islam Is Speaking Out Against Anti-Muslim Messages (BuzzFeed)

… while ignoramuses ask, “How is using anything other than the holy bible to be sworn in acceptable?” and scream “what a trader [sic]” at the judge who uses the holy book of her own religion to swear to uphold the Constitution :

• Bigots Go Bonkers After Muslim Judge Swears Oath on Koran Instead of Bible: ‘She should be Arrested!’ (Raw Story)

“[I]n a free and democratic society we enter into severe peril when we start to confuse what we perhaps ought or ought not to say, with what in law we are allowed to, or not allowed to say” – Muhammad al-Hussaini, senior research fellow in Islamic studies at the Westminster Institute:

• Muslim Scholar Backs Christian Pastor’s Right to Call Islam ‘Satanic’ (Guardian)

On Fox News recently, Marco Rubio asked, ”Where is there widespread evidence that we have a problem in America with discrimination against Muslims?” Well …

• What a Week of Anti-Muslim Discrimination Looks Like (GQ)
• The Stunningly Long List of Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes Since San Bernardino (Talking Points Memo)

… and “30 women have come together in solidarity to learn to protect themselves as Muslim communities continue to face” rising violence:

• ‘We Will Not Be Victims’: Muslim-American Women Organize Self-Defense Class (NBC News)

“The allegation of apostasy made by Shaheen bin Ali Abu Mismar, who is alleged to have had a personal dispute with the poet, was not corroborated by other evidence, which goes against the principles of sharia law”:

• Saudi Conviction of Poet for Renouncing Islam Seriously Flawed, Lawyer Argues (Guardian)

“[U]nder visa vetting procedures at the time that Malik applied for her visa, no one routinely checked applicants’ social media postings for irregularities” …

• California Shooter Was Not Fully Investigated Before U.S. Visa Was Issued (Reuters)

… and the “had previously said that they had managed to stay under counterterrorism investigators’ radar by not espousing those views online”:

• San Bernardino Shooter Posted Jihadi Facebook Message in 2012: How Should FBI Respond? (Christian Science Monitor)

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