Last year I visited the Indonesian province of Aceh and discovered a Muslim area though one with surprisingly liberal attitudes (in some parts, anyway). So this news, under the headline, “Tight Pants Ban Takes Effect in Indonesia’s Aceh“, is a little sad: Authorities in a devoutly Islamic district of Indonesia’s Aceh province have distributed 20,000…
Showing all posts tagged Islam
Washington and the Muslim world, a testy relationship
Views from across the Arab world: We are now approaching the first anniversary of President Barack Obama’s June 4, 2009 speech in Cairo, which offered Arabs and Muslims around the world a new “engagement” with the United States. A year later, how do Arab publics see the results of that effort–and how much do their…
New Zealanders robustly debate Israel/Palestine
Following the recent feature in New Zealand magazine The Listener on my work, this week’s edition publishes the following letters (and note the perfect “balance”, one pro and one anti): In the unbalanced demonisation of Israel (“Cry the promised land”, May 15), writer Joanne Black, swallowing every generalisation, stereotype and distortion made by Antony Loewenstein,…
Removing this man without due and fair process shames Australia
With this decision, Australia once again shows itself to be far outside the parameters of international law, making security assessments based on a system completely lacking transparency. I once spoke at this Sydney Islamic centre last year and found an important space to engage Muslims on issues related to the Middle East and re-defining the…
Religion: what is it really good for?
The Auckland Writer’s and Reader’s Festival was a blast, ending yesterday. So much interest to talk openly about Israel/Palestine and audiences literally crying out for their corporate media to allow a wide range of views, including Arabs, anti-Zionists and skeptics. This New Zealand blogger reported on my event yesterday, a conversation about religion with Economist…
Why internet censorship is a fool’s paradise
My following article is published today by the Sydney Morning Herald/Age online: We live under the illusion that governments can protect us from the evils of the world. Paedophilia, extreme violence, lessons in self-harm and suicide, race hatred and terrorism. We have every right to expect governments to monitor hate and terror sites and arrest…
Attacking a Jew who dares to welcome Richard Goldstone
The price sometimes paid for simply being a Jew who questions Zionist dogma (and who do you think was behind these actions?) The Berkeley, Calif.… home of Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of the progressive Tikkun magazine, was vandalized with posters. The posters, attached to his door and the fence around his home, attack Lerner personally, and…
Examples of American Jewry loathing all Arabs
A constant theme of this website is the shocking effect of Zionism on so many Diaspora Jews; the hatred towards Arabs and the racism against Palestinians. Max Blumenthal captures just the latest example: On April 25, over 1000 New York-area Jewish extremists gathered in midtown Manhattan to rally against the Barack Obama administration’s call for…
Obama is anti-Semitic, pro-Islam and anti-Israel (say rational protestors in New York)
Don’t you wish you were in New York yesterday at the Zionist/Christian protest against America’s meek and mild criticisms of Israel? Obama is an “anti-Israel” President, America’s first in history.
The free speech to offend Muslims, Jews and others
The Daily Show has a few things to say to a Muslim group that threatened the creators of South Park with death if they displayed the prophet Mohammed: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c South Park Death Threats www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party