August 17, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Books and reading in the Muslim world: A serious crisis

An imperative verb “Read”, it was the first word revealed in the Quran and is repeated twice in the initial few versus. Considering that the Quran, according to Muslims, is the last and final revelation to humankind, the first command points to the centrality of reading as a foundation and the path to approaching, connecting,…

Islamic Education Islamic Thought Muslims in America

August 10, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Will AIPAC defeat Obama’s Iran deal?

The effort to win Congressional approval of Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal took a major hit this week when the third-ranking Senate Democrat, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, informed the White House and publicly announced his opposition to it. Senator Schumer, who is slated to lead Senate Democrats after the impending retirement of Harry Reid…

Colonialism De-Colonial

August 10, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Will AIPAC defeat Obama’s Iran deal?

The effort to win Congressional approval of Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal took a major hit this week when the third-ranking Senate Democrat, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, informed the White House and publicly announced his opposition to it. Senator Schumer, who is slated to lead Senate Democrats after the impending retirement of Harry Reid…

Islamic Politics Muslims in America Palestine

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 19, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Netanyahu’s Congress and Iran’s nuclear deal

The Iran-P5+1 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear agreement is a major breakthrough in international diplomacy and points to a hopeful outcome for a region that has become accustomed to disappointment and chaos. After three years of long, intense multiple negotiation sessions, the concluded agreement provides for a pathway to resolve issues related to Iranian…

Colonialism De-Colonial Islamic Politics Palestine

July 12, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Gaza: The never-ending war crime

Palestine’s calendar is pierced by endless lists of traumatic and painful anniversaries. Now there is another important date that has been permanently affixed to it: the third Israeli battering of Gaza. One year has already passed since Israel’s sadistic summer assault on Gaza, which according to the U.N. Independent Commission of Inquiry’s report killed 2,251…

De-Colonial Islamic Politics Palestine

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

July 6, 2015 | Daily Sabah

On Burning Churches and Lynching!

Since the murder of nine African Americans in the Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, North Carolina, at least eight different black churches in the south have been torched, with three already confirmed as an arson attack. The last one in this string was the Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church in Greeleyville, South Carolina, only…

Colonialism De-Colonial Race/Racism

June 28, 2015 | Daily Sabah

Israeli war crimes and bringing an end to impunity

On June 22, 2015, and almost a year after Israel’s assault on Gaza, the U.N. Human Rights Council independent commission of inquiry issued its report concluding that “serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law by Israel and by Palestinian armed groups” occurred during the war. The report, like many earlier internationally…

Colonialism De-Colonial Islamic Politics Palestine