May 31, 2016 | Anadolu Agency

Orientalism, Palestine and Covering Islam

Three of Edward Said’s books are as timely today as the day they were published almost 40 years ago: Orientalism (1978), The Question of Palestine (1979), and Covering Islam (1981). The three constitute Said’s trilogy that focused on literary and artistic representation in the service of empire, colonial dispossession, and the media shaping and reproducing…

Colonialism Islam Islamic Politics Muslim History Palestine Race/Racism

May 6, 2016 |

Islamophobia and Women’s Hijab in Public Space!

Take the case of seven Muslim women in Hijab in Southern California that were escorted out of a restaurant by police officers for supposedly over-staying the 45-minute limit in the eatery. The seven Muslim women are suing Urth Caffe in Laguna Beach because of this action since they felt targeted due to a number of…

Colonialism Islam Islamic Thought Islamophobia Muslim History Muslims in America

January 16, 2016 |

Islamophobia and The Three Evils of Society

Edited and expanded text of a speech given by Dr. Hatem Bazian at the Reviving the Islamic Spirit Conference, December 27th, 2015, Toronto, Canada.[i] On August 31st, 1967, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. delivered The Three Evils of Society speech at the National Conference on New Politics, which is the most prophetic and revolutionary address…

Colonialism Islam Islamophobia Muslims in America Politics Race/Racism

December 10, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Islamophobia is at a violent tipping point

In the past few months, DAESH unleashed on the world a series of horrendous terrorist attacks in major cities all across the globe and impacted every continent. Aside from the massive death toll, Islam and Muslims are doubly victimized – once by the actual terrorist attacks and twice by being despised as a religious group…

Colonialism Islam Islamic Politics Islamophobia Muslims in America Politics Race/Racism

September 10, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Abraham: Persecution, refuge and renewal

The hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca,-the Hajj, an ancient ritual traced all the way back to Abraham, is just around the corner and it is the perfect occasion to contextualize this year’s gathering with an eye on the unfolding refugee crisis. By no means is this the first time the world has witnessed a…

Islam Islamic Education Muslim History

May 3, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Embedded intellectuals: An ethical crisis

Report says American Psychological Association collaborated on torture justification, was a lead article in the April 30 edition of The New York Times, which brought to light the darker side of academia. The article pointed to the ongoing cooperation and research with the CIA and the Department of Defense, which in this case involved torture….

De-Colonial Islam Muslims in America

April 28, 2015 | Daily Sabah

The Muslim question

Half of knowledge is contained in the question, is an important and well-known saying in Arabic. Taking this as a starting point and reflecting upon the current global discourse that is totally focused on the “Muslim question” with multiple research projects, intelligence programs and policy debates on how best to answer the unsolvable riddle of…

De-Colonial Islam Islamic Politics

March 29, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Sunni Islamic authority between the text and context

The ongoing chaos in many parts of the Muslim world can, in part, be traced to the collapse of Sunni Islamic authority and the emergence of various groupings claiming to fill the vacuum. While all agree that the collapse is a reality, however, dating the collapse is as difficult as the attempts to fill it….

Islam Islamic Law Islamic Politics Muslim History

March 27, 2015 | Turkey Agenda

How does it feel to be a Muslim?

Events in the Arab and Muslim world direct me again back to W.E.B. Du Bois and the pressing question in his book, The Souls of Black Folk– how does it feel to be a problem? The question posed by Du Bois in relations to African Americans and the problem of race in America has not…

Islam Islamic Politics Islamophobia

March 15, 2015 | Daily Sabah

ISIS beheading Islam through its actions!

The recent videos showing ISIS members destroying Mosul’s museum and with it the loss of Iraq’s and world cultural and historical heritage are woefully sickening. The actions are undertaken supposedly on the basis of Islamic interpretation and an attempt on the one hand to destroy idols and on the other adhering to a strict prohibition…

Islam Islamic Law Muslim History