Minaret of Freedom Weblog

Category: Dr. Ahmad’s blog

  • The Betrayal of Islamic Law by Its Self-Appointed Guardians

    Any lawyer will tell you that there is great latitude for debating the law in any legal system. The Islamic legal system in no exception. However, certain interpretations of the law are an embarrassing absurdity, and the case of the woman known only as “the Girl of Qatif” is made all the more disgraceful in…

  • Benazir Bhutto’s Return to Pakistan

    We were recently interviewed by Javier Mendez of Chile’s El Mercurio on Benazir Bhutto’s return to Pakistan. Here are the answers Alejandro Beutel and I gave to his questions. 1) What are the expectation for the return Benazir Bhutto to Pakistan? Musharraf and his supporters, who are in an embattled position, politically against popular sentiment…

  • Occupation, Nation-building, Fighting Terrorists and NATO

    Here are my answers to some questions posed by Fars Press, an Iranian news agency in Iran. Q. What is NATO’s function to bring stable and security to Afganistan, and as we see Afganistan is unstable and insecure and also the Taliban threat has increased, how do you evaluate it? A. Lord Ismay, NATO’s first…

  • Fatah’s “Spiritual” Opposition to Hamas

    Here is a remarkable development. According to an article in the Chrsitian Science Monitor (“West Bank Scholars Push for Spiritual Reply to Hamas Extremism”), Muslim supporters of Fatah like Shaikh Sad Sharaf of Al Rawda College have engaged in ideological confrontation with Hamas on religious grounds and lobby for the creation of a spiritual association…

  • A Plea for a Consistent Definition of Terrorism

    It is interesting that the US would add the Iranian “Revolutionary Guard Corps” (RGC, Iranian Unit to Be Labeled ‘Terrorist’, Washington Post) since branding a national group like the RGC as terrorist goes against the definition in U.S. law (U.S. Code Title 22, Ch.38, Para. 2656f(d)(2)): “the term ‘terrorism’ means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated…

  • The Israeli Prisoner Release: Preparation for War

    Why has Israel decided to release 250 Fatah members, but refuses to release 400 women and children? Especially when the release of the innocent civilians would lead to the release of its own soldier held captive by Hamas? Israel makes contradictory statements about this strange decision. In one sentence Israeli Prime Minister Olmert says the…

  • What’s Next in Palestine/Israel?

    Javier Mendez of El Mercurio (Santiago, Chile) has posed some questions about the current situation in Palestine/Israel. Here they are, with our answers. 1) What are the expectations for the meeting between Olmert and Bush? Our expectations for the meeting between Olmert and Bush are very low.      HAMAS is nowin a situation similar to…

  • “Challenges to Objective Media Coverage of Islam and Muslims”

    The edited transcript of the Minaret of Freedom Institute annual dinner on “Challenges to Objective Media Coverage of Islam and Muslims” with Caryle Murphy, Nadia Charters-Bilbassy and Alison Weir is available, as are audio files of the event. Speakers: Caryle Murphy Nadia Bilbassy Charters Alison Weir (Click on the name of a speaker above to…

  • Can the U.S.-Iranian Talks Lead Anywhere?

    I was interviewed this weekend by Fars Press (Iran’s first private news agency” about the talks that begin today between the United States and Iran over the security situation in Iraq. Similar talks were held previously regarding Afghanistan, and although the talks were helpful to the joint objectives of the United States and Iran, the…

  • How to Solve the Iraqi Oil Impasse

    Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad Minaret of Freedom Institute www.minaret.org The situation in Iraq will not stabilize until the issue of the oil (and gas) industry is resolved. Accusations are flying that the new oil legislation under consideration will throw open the Iraqi oil and gas wealth open “for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies.” That is only…

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