Month: November 2010

[These are  our answers to questions posed by the Iranian weekly Panjereh (meaning “window”) about the effect of the mid-term Congressional elections on U.S. foreign policy.] Q. Given the Republican’s victory, how do you see the future challenge to Obama’s foreign policy? A. The main impact of the Republican victory will be to further discourage…

Karzai “wants American troops off the roads and out of Afghan homes and that the long-term presence of so many foreign soldiers will only make the war worse”: Karzai Call for End to Night Raids Irks US General (Washington Post) The pilgrimage can be a trying experience for those with limited means, but “[f]or over…

“[M]arked by a dramatic walkout by Iraqiya, the main Sunni-backed bloc, in protest over what it said was the coalition partners’ decision to renege on an agreement hours after it was signed”: Tumultuous Parliamentary Session Threatens Iraq’s Fragile, New Government (Christian Science Monitor) And now, from the people who brought you the Scopes trial: Hearing…

Obama pledged “to reshape American relations with Muslim nations so they were not ‘focused solely on security issues,’ but rather on expanded cooperation across a broad range of areas, from science to education”: Obama Pledges Expanded Ties With Muslim Nations (New York Times) “[T]he suspension of talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ……

CAIR argues that the amendment violates both the establishment and free-exercise clauses of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom” and would ‘officially disfavor and condemn the Muslim community as being a threat to Oklahoma’”: Judge Blocks Oklahoma’s Ban On Islamic Law (CNN) Just hours before departure, “the group learned that the package had been…

Over 100 terrorists have been captured or killed in the past year in Indonesia, but uprooting extremism requires means such as education and the strengthening civil society, including mainstream religion: In Indonesia, Extremist Activities Raise Questions About Effectiveness Of Anti-Terror Efforts (LA Times) By presenting “a mirror image of al-Qaeda’s arguments about the inherent perversities…

Woolas accused Liberal Democrat opponent Elwyn Watkins of receiving support from Muslim militants who advocate violence. British Judges Order Rerun of Parliamentary Vote (AP / Washington Post) “It is ironic that two important characteristics of being a Muslim, in fact the two most basic criteria (freedom and peace), are two of the most misrepresented and…

“An Oklahoma Muslim filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday to block a state constitutional amendment … that would prohibit state courts from considering international law or Islamic law when deciding cases”: Lawsuit Filed in Okla. Against Islamic Law Ban (AP / Washington Post) “Al Qaeda has been able to say, ‘We’ve been telling you Yemen…

As an Indonesian worries that the new political order in the U.S. means Obama can’t bring peace to Israel and Palestine, an Israeli worries that it means he won’t be able to attack Iran: Around the World, Concern over the Global Impact of U.S. Elections (AP/ Washington Post) The opening of Gaza’s borders has drastically decreased the…

Does conservatism equal authenticity? An interesting Bloggingheads discussion on feminism in Islam: Values Added: Women And Islam (Bloggingheads) Scorning the fact the mosques have been exclusively Muslim places of worship for over a thousand years, Israel “seeks to consecrate its fait accompli of Palestinian land and history by laying false historical claims”: Editorial: Hijacking The…