Month: August 2014

“Six senior Islamic scholars have endorsed the fatwa … describing Britons allied to Islamic State cells as ‘heretics’” and stating that they should fulfill their “‘moral obligation’ to help those in war-torn Syria and Iraq … without betraying their own societies”: British Muslim Leaders Issue Fatwa Against Would-be Jihadists (Guardian) “Iraqi security forces backed by…

Steve Sotloff’s mother pleads with al-Baghdadi to follow the sunnah of Muhammad (pbuh), saying that she has “learned that Islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others…. Steven has no control over the actions of the U.S. government. He’s an innocent journalist” … Shirley Sotloff’s Plea (New Yorker) … but…

So far the truce brings relief to Gazans and heat to Netanyahu: Gaza ceasefire: Thousands return home as calm returns (BBC) Gaza Truce Holding but Israel’s Netanyahu Under Fire at Home (Reuters) Actor and playwright (and brother of one of my college roommates) Wallace Shawn “translates” an ad placed by the ADL in defense of…

“The government had made significant investments in both weapons and manpower to try to hold onto the military base, making its fall a both a symbolic and a strategic blow”: Islamic State Militants Capture Major Syrian Air Base (Christian Science Monitor) The bankruptcy of the Neoconservative position on Islam needs no further proof than the…

Has the attempt to form a less sectarian Iraqi government come to late? Iraq Launches Investigation into Shia attack on Sunni Mosque (Guardian) Suicide Attacks Kill at Least 17 in Iraq After Mosque Shooting (Reuters) Hamas is unafraid to face a process “that could expose both the Islamist group and Israel to war crimes investigations”, but “Israel…

“Khalid Mahmood, the MP for Perry Barr in Birmingham, estimates that at least 1,500 young British Muslims have been recruited by extremists fighting in Iraq and Syria in the last three years” … ‘Twice as Many’ British Muslims Fighting for ISIS Than in UK Armed Forces (Newsweek) … one of them seems to be the…

As scholars say, “The worsening plight of Iraq’s Christians is but a legacy of US’ illegal, unwarranted and criminal invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its subsequent engineering of sectarian strife to divide the Iraqi resistance to the occupation” and urge the UN hold ISIS accountable for its “crime against humanity” … Muslim Intellectuals Slam…

The seaport and the airport destroyed by Israel are symbols of the sticking points in the negotiations: Gaza’s Ruined Airport and Unbuilt Seaport Fuel Dreams of Independence (Guardian) Palestinian Divisions Exposed by Peace Talks (Christian Science Monitor) A Saudi ambassador insist that his country’s puritanical and intolerant version of Islam is not a unique interpretation of…

“One of the most influential tribal leaders said he was willing to work with Shi’ite prime minister-designate Haider al-Abadi provided a new administration respected the rights of the Sunni Muslim minority that dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein”: Iraqi Sunnis Say Could Join New Government, Fight Islamic State (Reuters) I’m frustrated because for years, Muslim[s] ……