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June 9, 2017 |Commemoration: A Collective Narration of Palestine
On June 5, 1967, Palestinians around the world marked the 50th anniversary of Naksah, which is commonly known as the Six Day War. Occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights were the immediate outcome of the war but the real impact is the total erasure of Palestine from the global map. In…
Colonialism De-Colonial Palestine Politics -
May 28, 2017 |Ramadan: A Time of Renewal and Reducing Our Carbon Footprint!
Attaining “Taqwa” is the purpose given in the Qur’an for fasting the month of Ramadan. The Arabic term “Taqwa” or the root basis of it, is very difficult to translate into a single word in English but among the possibilities are: Protection, Shield, Fear of God and Consciousness of God. In this essay, I will…
Islam Islamic Thought Muslim History -
May 16, 2017 |Refugees and Education: The Key to Sustainable Development!
In the 1980s while I was an undergraduate student at San Francisco State University, I had the opportunity to meet and talk to refugees from El Salvador, Columbia and Nicaragua, who were part of the campus community. At the time, the civil wars and Cold War proxy regional conflicts had led many civilians to flee…
Colonialism Muslim History Politics Race/Racism -
May 3, 2017 |Is Balancing Freedom of Expression and Public Interest Possible?
The current debate engulfing the University of California at Berkeley, the United States and the world as a whole is not unique or new, and it is as old as the human experience itself. Certainly, free speech and Berkeley will forever be connected. The 1960s’ Free Speech Movement was born on campus, and has shaped…
Islamophobia Politics Race/Racism -
April 21, 2017 |Kashmir: The Forgotten Cause!
The image of Farooq Ahmad Dar, a Kashmiri shawl weaver, bound as a human shield on the bumper of an Indian military jeep is an atrocious display of an army that has become well-accustomed to human rights violations. On April 9, Mr. Dar was detained for no cause whatsoever while on his way to a…
Colonialism Islamic Politics Islamophobia Muslim History -
March 23, 2017 |Othering Islam and Muslims in America
Since its founding, the United States of America has constantly struggled to define its identity and to classify who belongs and who are the ostracized. From the first days of the republic, African Americans and Native Americans were not part of “We the People” and were denied full membership in the newly formed society, while…
Islamophobia Muslims in America Race/Racism -
March 14, 2017 |On Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and Fictitious Alliances – Muslims and Jews in America – what is the way forward?
The complex and often contentious relationship between American Jews and Muslims witnessed two momentous events that produced divergent results and emotions. On the one hand, anti-Semitic attacks on a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, brought about a rapid $120,000 online fundraising drive in the Muslim community and hundreds of volunteers to repair damage to…
Islamic Politics Islamophobia Muslims in America Race/Racism -
March 2, 2017 |Titanic Shifts: The Muslim Ban, Burning Mosques and Islamophobia
Trump’s administration is issuing yet another Muslim travel ban targeting seven majority Muslim countries on the basis of religious identity. Don’t let the White House press statement fool you, it is a Muslim ban, no matter what the spin doctors say. The factually challenged President and the administration’s alternative-facts brigade maintain that this is not…
Islamophobia Muslims in America Race/Racism -
February 13, 2017 |Trump, Islamophobia and the New McCarthyism
A purported secret document is being used by the Islamophobes, Alt-right operatives, Israel and Arab lobbyists in order to push for a presidential executive order that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood movement as a terrorist organization. In fact, successive Republican and Democratic U.S. administrations have investigated the Muslim Brotherhood movement and reached the conclusion that…
Islamophobia Muslims in America Race/Racism -
January 29, 2017 |Trump’s War on Islam and Clash of Civilization Wrecking Crew!
In the few days since Trump took office, the new administration has re-deployed Islam at the center of its anti-terrorism campaign. Trump expressed this shift in his inauguration speech, which had the following line to frame the new administration’s relations with Islam and the Muslim world: “We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones…
Colonialism Islamophobia Muslims in America Race/Racism
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