Author: Sarah

Will Africa become the new battleground between the US and Al Qaeda? Experts Fear Africa Next Big Stage for Al Qaeda (Reuters/Washington Post) Olmert remembers the “original excuse” for invading Lebanon and demands the two soldiers taken hostage be returned in exchange for lifting blockading and troop withdraw: Israel Pegs Its Pullout to Release of…

Muslim taxi driver who made a video of tourist sites in London acquitted of terrorism charges Taxi Driver In London Acquitted in Terror Case (Washington Post) Olmert rejects Annan’s call to lift ‘humiliating’ blockade of Lebanon Israel Rejects U.N. Blockade Appeal (Reuters/Washington Post) Former Iranian president given permission to visit US US Issues Visa to…

ISNA elects female convert as its president: Muslim Group Picks First Woman Leader (AP/Washington Post)  Muslim charities in the US struggle to give aid to Lebanon without “knowingly financing or “working with” Hezbollah.” Charity Strives to Keep `Clean’ (Chicago Tribune) A sorority-like group in Syria gives space for women to explore the difference between religion…

New Australian anti-terrorism laws: presumed guilty until proven innocent? Australia Applies New Anti-Terror Laws (AP/Washington Post) Nasrallah: “We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude.” Hezbollah Head Says He Didn’t Expect War (AP/Washington Post) American Muslims feeling more alienated after 9/11,…

By Sarah Swick, Minaret of Freedom Institute, www.minaret.org The latest episode of PBS’ Wide Angle, which highlighted successful businessmen in Turkey, explored the relationship between Islamic piety and business. The film followed a devout Muslim man who had founded a clothing line which caters to pious Muslim women. (The film also followed a secular businessman…

by Sarah Swick, Minaret of Freedom Institute, www.minaret.org A recent Associated Press article, which was printed in the Washington Post, celebrated 50 years of Tunisian independence by exploring women’s rights in the North African nation. The article, titled Injustice Lingers in Tunisia for Women, praises Tunisian women as the “most liberated in the Muslim World.”…

Cleansing innocent Iraqi blood: He Shows Mercy to the Dead (LA Times) Suspicious behavior forces plane to turn back: was it a legitimate fear of terrorism or simply passenger profiling? Dutch Gov’t: Incident Not Terror-Related (AP/Chicago Tribune) Lack of publicity for journalist captured in Gaza raises question over American media bias: Mysterious Gaza Kidnapping Stirs…

Sarah Swick, Minaret of Freedom Institute, www.minaret.org On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to meet with a group of Saudi women at the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington. The women are educators in Saudi Arabia and are visiting the U.S. in order to learn more about religion and education in America. During the discussion time,…

Op-ed discusses the many challenges facing Al-Jazeera in its effort to report the news in the Middle East Al-Jazeera’s Tricky Balancing Act (Washington Post) Saad Eddin Ibrahim describes American led “ cold war on Muslim democrats” as increasingly “the Arab people do not respect the ruling regimes, perceiving them to be autocratic, corrupt and inept.”…

In today’s Los Angeles Times, an article appears entitled Muslim Converts in Britain Seen as Among Most Extreme. The article describes the handful of around 50,000 British converts who have been accused of acts associated with terrorism. As one person interviewed for the article explained, “A lot of youth … have had a kind of…