Leading American journalist, commentator and conservative Andrew Sullivan: One question that should always be asked of an ally: what is that ally doing for the US? Since the end of the Cold War, that question has been increasingly hard to answer with respect to Israel. Strategically, Israel is obviously a huge burden for the US,…
Showing all posts tagged Islam
The great pains of Aceh
For some reason, there’s an avalanche of stories in the Western media about Aceh in Indonesia (all after my recent visit there.) Here’s the latest, in the Los Angeles Times, about the significance of the two large ships that have become massive memorials to the horrific 2004 tsunami (one of my pictures is here): They…
Aceh moves to the sharia beat
Having just visited Aceh in Indonesia, this New York Times feature about the place is timely: Just before noon prayers one recent Friday — a mandatory session for men — the Shariah police’s all-female brigade hopped onto a Toyota pickup to begin patrols. Dressed in olive uniforms, the officers hewed to the city center, away…
All we are saying is give Facebook a chance
I’m sceptical, but when the political elites aren’t really interested in bringing peace, alternatives must be found: For many of its 300 million enthusiasts, Facebook is a convenient way to keep in touch with friends, track down old sweethearts and share drunken photographs with the world. But the global power of the social networking site…
How moderate is Islam in the world’s largest Muslim state?
Islamism in Indonesia is something I examined during my recent visit there (my thoughts picked up by the Atlantic). It’s a small issue that shouldn’t be over-estimated but the reality exists:
Rising anger around the Temple Mount
An Haaretz editorial worth considering: The clashes yesterday between Israeli police who entered the Temple Mount plaza and Palestinian stone throwers and inciters seemingly ended calmly. There were “only” three policemen who suffered light injuries. In contrast to prior incidents on the Temple Mount, and using the standard wherein the number of casualties is the…
The Jewish background of Aceh
My following article is published in Crikey: In the shadow of Aceh’s tsunami memorial museum sits a colonial, Dutch-era cemetery. Framed by overgrown grass and red flowers, graves lie disjoined, the result, I was told by writer Fozan Santa, of time and the tsunami’s raging water. At the back of the space, behind ornate statues…
Indonesia moves a little towards America, for now
Following my recent visit to Aceh in Indonesia, this piece in today’s Washington Post is particularly interesting (though highlights the seeming inability of the American corporate media to see the world in anything other than what benefits the US): In many ways, Indonesia — a nation of 240 million people scattered across 17,000 islands —…
Life in Aceh, Indonesia
My following article is published in the Huffington Post: In a collection of just released work by Acehnese writer Azhari, Nutmeg Woman, we are brought into a world before the devastating 2004 tsunami that killed over 220,000 Indonesians. Civil war wracked the province. Indonesian occupation was brutal and fought against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).…
Introducing…Miss Aceh
My following article in New Matilda is about the Indonesian province of Aceh: Despite recently implementing sharia law — including the stoning of adulterers and homosexuals — Aceh does not fit the stereotype of an Islamic state, finds Antony Loewenstein Muslim extremists in Aceh were outraged when a young woman from the province, Qori Sandioriva,…