Calling the Faithful to Freedom!

What does it mean to “illegally covert” someone to another religion? We may never know because, after denying  bail to ten persons arrested on the charge, UP’s Anti-Terrorism Squad refuses “to provide details about those converted”: ATS Arrests Cleric from Meerut over Conversions to Islam (Hindustan Times) It is a victory for transparency in a…

Despite the policy’s pathetic failure, one Israeli government after another believes that if you just kill enough Gazan civilians the armed resistance will go away: ‘Just Hit Gaza Harder’: No End in Sight for Israel’s Collective Punishment of Two Million Palestinian Civilians (Haaretz) “[T]he Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) disclosed … that 217 protesters were…

Americans and Taliban  apologize for their respective “mistakes,” but victims on both sides have no reason to accept their apologies until they bring the perpetrators of the criminal negligence to justice: Pentagon Reverses Itself, Calls Deadly Kabul Strike an Error (Washington Post) Afghan Survivors of Errant US Drone Strike Seek Probe (Washington Post) As an…

“With the rise in global solidarity with Palestinians since the May 2021 Unity Intifada, United States policymakers and activists are calling for conditioning and halting US military aid to Israel”: Restricting US Military Aid to Israel in the Age of Normalization (al-Shabaka) A man with a criminal record sent by the FBI to secretly record…

The legacy of the 9/11 attacks includes weapons and guard dogs at American airports, the “Muslim ban,” unending foreign wars, extrajudicial procedures (including imprisonment without due process), and the politicization  of “terrorism” cases: 9/11 Attacks: A Two-decade Assault on US Civil Liberties (Middle East Eye) “[S]ome of the people who have been ordered to leave…

Better late than never: Will the ADL’s apology for opposing Cordoba House (and vilifying it as “the ground zero mosque”) inspire others to reconsider their bigotry? The ‘Ground Zero Mosque,’ a Right-Wing Fever Dream that Never Was (Huffington Post) A “Saudi national named Omar al-Bayoumi who helped [two of the hijackers] find and lease an…

Twenty years after 9/11, Muslims and their friends are still reckoning with the aftermath: ‘Me And My Muslim Friends’ — 20 Years After 9/11 (WUNC) How 9/11 Changed Muslim, Immigrant Communities Forever (Daily Herald) ‘Being a Muslim Is Like Being Black Twice’: North Texan Faces Hate Towards His Race, Faith (KERA) ‘Things Are Going to…

We have already explained in brief why most Afghanis cheer the American withdrawal, despite their previous unpleasant experience under Taliban rule.  For the gory details, read this: The Other Afghan Women (New Yorker) Tunisia’s military is uniquely respected in the Arab world for staying out of politics, but now aspiring strong man Kais Saied has…

The far right and white supremacists were responsible for 73% of fatalities due to extremists in 2009-2018 and 57 of the 59 deaths due to extremists in 2019-2020, yet most of the billions of dollars on counterterrorism funding since 9/11 has been spent chasing after Muslims: Close to Home: How US Far-right Terror Flourished in…

The death of a peaceful advocate of Kashmiri self-determination provides India with a pretext to double down on its repression: Internet Shut Down and Indian Troops Deployed After Death of Kashmir Separatist Leader (Reuters / CNN) New Zealanders distinguish between the lone wolf responsible for the ISIS-inspired attack and New Zealand’s  broader Muslim community which …