December 2, 2015 |

Death certificates in America – Cause of Death: “Being Black”

Numbers are cold and can narrate America’s story of deep rooted structural racism and white supremacy in clear and sometimes an overtly clinical way.  When numbers are combined with the picture and video of a 17-year-old young black kid, then America’s racist and troubled soul is exposed.  A soul frequently drenched in blood, pain, and…

Politics Race/Racism

November 29, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Trump and civil society bullies

The public atmosphere is so intensely poisoned with Islamophobia and racism directed at Muslims and minorities that it has reached a crucial tipping point toward violence. It is no longer a question of whether mass violence will be committed against Muslims and minorities, but a matter of when- for all indications point to heightened levels…

Islamophobia Politics Race/Racism

November 18, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Terrorism is wrongly framed!

In the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks, politicians have taken to the airwaves to shape public opinion and insert a heavy dose of Islamophobia and “clash of civilizations” venom. Florida Senator Mario Rubio called the attacks “a wake-up call” and urged the U.S. to commit itself to “a civilizational war against radical Islam.” Former…

Colonialism Islamophobia Muslims in America Politics Race/Racism

November 12, 2015 | Daily Sabah

The clash of civilization: A racial discourse

The oft-cited clash of civilization thesis promoted by right-wing politicians, religious extremists and public figures is predicated on extending and reformulating the already discredited notions of “scientific/biological racism” into new categories based on cultural, religious, and ethnic norms – nebulous and difficult to define terms, as the concept of race itself. In the clash of…

Colonialism Politics Race/Racism

October 15, 2015 | Daily Sabah

On Muslim toleration

In “A Letter Concerning Toleration” from exile in the Netherlands, John Locke articulated a truly liberal view concerning freedom of conscious that he hoped might help resolve Europe’s raging religious war that had killed millions. Europe’s religious conflicts and Christian sectarian wars raged in the 16th and 17th centuries with tumultuous debates centering on claims…

Islamic Education Islamic Law Islamic Politics Islamic Thought Muslim History Race/Racism

October 12, 2015 | Turkey Agenda

Palestine’s Wound

Palestine, a gnawing wound eating away at the exposed soul and flesh of Palestinians living under occupation, is facing, yet, another orchestrated episode of Israeli military and settler’s violence. Where to begin the story in this well-designed Greek tragedy! We have multiple beginnings, detours, reverses, but for sure, no end in sight. Even if, a…

Colonialism De-Colonial Palestine Race/Racism

September 3, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Donald Trump’s racism pushes Republicans further to the fringe

The Aug. 31 Time Magazine cover had Trump’s image with the caption “Deal with it,” as if to say that the problem is with all of us and not with the candidate’s racism. Jorge Ramos, the anchorman of the largest Latino TV network, had to “deal with it” during Trump’s press conference when bullied out…

Colonialism Politics Race/Racism

August 2, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Israeli racist settlers, burning toddlers and ‘price tag’

A year ago, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, was burned alive by Israeli terrorists in Jerusalem in a “price tag” revenge killing. The horrific burning of an 18-month-old toddler, Ali Saad Dawabsheh, due to an arson attack by racist settlers on the family home in the village of Duma, marks Abu Khdeir’s one…

Colonialism Islamic Politics Palestine Race/Racism

July 27, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Racism and Sandra Bland’s death

Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black woman, is dead because of her skin color. A police officer stopped her for a routine traffic stop but Bland’s real crime in the mind of the officer and some Americas is that she is a black woman with a bad attitude. Attitude or no attitude, race and dark skin…

Colonialism Race/Racism

July 7, 2015 | Turkey Agenda

On sectarian violence in the Muslim world

Extremist groups often site the Hadith from Sunan Abi Dawud stating, “Ummah (the community) will divide into 73 sects, all of them in hellfire except one,” as evidence for the veracity of their ideology while condemning all others who disagree or differ to death. This frame of thinking is atrocious; evidently, murderous when acted upon…

Islamic Politics Islamic Thought Islamophobia Race/Racism