Islam // Current

Victory: the Path to Peace

How many "peace plans" have come and gone, how many "peace talks", how many "good will gestures";... more

HansGruen
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Muslims' free speech 'threatened'

This is an interesting article about the inner conflicts that threaten the forward movement of Islam in the modern world. It is... more

doithengiaorg
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The Wild West Bank

Israel declared that it plans to start building its first settlement in the Jordan Valley since 1991, causing an uprising in the... more

ThreeCities
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Man as God? Five Percent Nation of Islam | Nation of Gods and Earths

Appeal to Urban Blacks. The religion is popular among urban black youth, and serves as a positive influence that distracts... more

lateefx
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Culture of Peace Conference

The (Durban II) resolution begins by recalling a long list of previous resolutions, last, but not least, "62/157 of 18... more

HansGruen
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Why Obama can heal US racial wounds

Source: Al Jazeera English When I was a teenager, I used to hitchhike out west of Washington to the Blue Ridge Mountains of... more

arcticspirit
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Obama about Israel: "What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."

I did not change anything in this article, not the spelling, removal of content, nothing. Friday, November 14, 2008 04:39... more

arcticspirit
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Dancers flogged by Somalia fighters

Thirty-two people in Somalia have been arrested and whipped for taking part in a traditional dance in rebel-held territory south... more

arcticspirit
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Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite?

Just goes to show why we haven't won the war yet.
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FOR the past several months, I’ve been wrapping up lengthy interviews with Washington counterterrorism officials with a fundamental question: “Do you know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite?”

A “gotcha” question? Perhaps. But if knowing your enemy is the most basic rule of war, I don’t think it’s out of bounds. And as I quickly explain to my subjects, I’m not looking for theological explanations, just the basics: Who’s on what side today, and what does each want?

After all, wouldn’t British counterterrorism officials responsible for Northern Ireland know the difference between Catholics and Protestants? In a remotely similar but far more lethal vein, the 1,400-year Sunni-Shiite rivalry is playing out in the streets of Baghdad, raising the specter of a breakup of Iraq into antagonistic states, one backed by Shiite Iran and the other by Saudi Arabia and other Sunni states.

A complete collapse in Iraq could provide a haven for Al Qaeda operatives within striking distance of Israel, even Europe. And the nature of the threat from Iran, a potential nuclear power with protégés in the Gulf states, northern Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, is entirely different from that of Al Qaeda. It seems silly to have to argue that officials responsible for counterterrorism should be able to recognize opportunities for pitting these rivals against each other.

But so far, most American officials I’ve interviewed don’t have a clue. That includes not just intelligence and law enforcement officials, but also members of Congress who have important roles overseeing our spy agencies. How can they do their jobs without knowing the basics?

My curiosity about our policymakers’ grasp of Islam’s two major branches was piqued in 2005, when Jon Stewart and other TV comedians made hash out of depositions, taken in a whistleblower case, in which top F.B.I. officials drew blanks when asked basic questions about Islam. One of the bemused officials was Gary Bald, then the bureau’s counterterrorism chief. Such expertise, Mr. Bald maintained, wasn’t as important as being a good manager.

A few months later, I asked the F.B.I.’s spokesman, John Miller, about Mr. Bald’s comments. “A leader needs to drive the organization forward,” Mr. Miller told me. “If he is the executive in a counterterrorism operation in the post-9/11 world, he does not need to memorize the collected statements of Osama bin Laden, or be able to read Urdu to be effective. ... Playing ‘Islamic Trivial Pursuit’ was a cheap shot for the lawyers and a cheaper shot for the journalist. It’s just a gimmick.”Just goes to show why we haven't won the war yet. ... more