Category: Dr. Ahmad’s blog

  • NONVIOLENCE INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON “BEYOND THE TWO STATE SOLUTION”

    [On December 16, 2020, Nonviolence International held a webinar on Jonathan Kuttab’s book Beyond the Two State Solution. The following highlights are lightly edited excerpts transcribed from the YouTube recording of the entire webinar, which readers are encouraged to access here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4zm_VwZPm0&feature=youtu.be] David Hart, Co-Director of Nonviolence International: I am Jewish and was raised being…

  • Geo-Political Dynamics of Arabia and the Gulf

    [This is a summary of a panel discussion chaired by Dr. Abdullah Baabood, Waseda University on the second day of the 29th National Council on US-Arab Relations Conference held on November 18, 2020. These notes summarize my impression of highlights of the presentation and are not an attempted transcription.] H.E. Dr. Mohamed Al Hassan, Sultanate…

  • Crony Capitalism in the Middle East

    [On October 9, the Middle East Institute (MEI) hosted a panel of experts to launch the book Crony Capitalism in the Middle East: Business and Politics from Liberalization to the Arab Spring, eds. Ishac Diwan, Adeel Malik and Izak Atiyas. These notes summarize my impression of highlights of the presentation and are not an attempted transcription.]…

  • Explaining the Paradox in the New Muslim Poll

    Dalia Mogahedand and Azka Mahmood have released ISPU’s new annual poll on national conversations with the voices of everyday Americans (“American Muslim Poll 2019: Predicting and Preventing Islamophobia“). Their poll of Muslim attitudes includes a remarkable paradox: of all religious groups surveyed Muslims were least likely to approve of President Trump’s governance and most likely…

  • Hagia Sophia, Just War, the Inviolability of Awqaf, and the Meaning of “Prayer”

    I received many gratifying letters of appreciation for my blog “Sincere Advice for ErdoÄŸan on Hagia Sophia” published in July, in which I urged Mr. Erdogan to let Christians as well as Muslims pray in the Ayasofya now that it was to be reopened for prayer.  Only one person protested my suggestion. On the Sociology…

  • Sincere Advice for ErdoÄŸan on Hagia Sophia

    The Vatican message marking the advent of Ramadan this year, addressing “Christians and Muslims: Protecting Together the Places of Worship,” says, “For both Christians and Muslims, churches and mosques are spaces reserved for prayer, personal and communitarian alike. They are constructed and furnished in a way that favors silence, reflection and meditation. They are spaces…

  • Black Liberty Matters

    With the murder of George Floyd, the demand for respect for the lives of black Americans has exploded into the streets. Yet, after two decades of imprisonment of Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (f/k/a H. Rap Brown), the demand for the respect of the LIBERTY of black Americans remains shockingly mute. Is it that Americans value liberty…

  • Getting Real About Israeli Annexation Plans

    The diversity of reactions to Netanyahu’s planned formal annexation all West Bank settlements have been fascinating. While disinterested parties, such as the EU, have generally been opposed to the proposal, not all Zionists favor it and not all Palestinians think it means a whole lot. Christian Zionists love it for the same reasons some pragmatic…

  • U.S. Policy on Human Rights in the Middle East

    [On November 21, 2019, the National Interest Foundation held program on “U.S. Policy on Human Rights in the Middle East.” These notes summarize my impression of highlights of the presentation and are not an attempted transcription.] Opening Remarks by Congressman Gerry Connolly (D – Virginia), House Committee on Foreign Affairs No American, no resident of…

  • A Question on Racism

    [A reader made the following inquiry.] Q. Please share with me Qur’an and Hadith verses and authoritative Islamic Commentary on Race/Racism, etc. (via .pdf or otherwise) demarcative of the limit beyond which The Deity requires absolutely no thought or action greater than mere disagreement with the clearest of wrongdoing in one’s own heart. A. From…

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