This is a step in the right direction, and a real credit to the Israeli legal system. Noone should be above the law and noone’s victimization should be defined away with political rationalizations. I was tempted to say that this ruling set an example for Israel’s neighbors, but to be fair for all their manifest political faults and with the possible exception of Morocco no other nations in the Middle East are engaged in an occupation of another people where... Read more
This is is interesting news given the increasing opposition among medical professionals to the tradition of male circumcision (especially in Europe). Of course, avoiding STDs would be a paradoxical argument for those who consider it religiously mandated/encouraged. Circumcision Halves H.I.V. Risk, U.S. Agency Finds – New York Times Circumcision appears to reduce a man’s risk of contracting AIDS from heterosexual sex by half, United States government health officials said yesterday, and the directors of the two largest funds for fighting... Read more
A heartwarming reminder that not all Muslim/Hindu relations in India today are riven by strife and fear. A Brahmin Who Sent a Muslim for Haj (ARAB NEWS): Hasan from Aurangabad in India’s Maharashtra state is one of the millions of pilgrims standing shoulder-to-shoulder as Muslims here on the plains of Arafat where Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) delivered his last sermon. The standing of the pilgrims in Arafat is the climax of Haj. Hasan was able to stand here... Read more
I just posted over at Eteraz.org on the "L.A. Eight" case. Eteraz.org || LA Eight’s vindication a defeat for Islamophobia and victory for America Good news in the war on terror, bad news in the War Against Muslim Participation in American Life. A resounding blow has been struck for justice and rule of law in a decades old case of government-sanctioned pro-Israeli political persecution against American Arabs and Muslims. The "LA 8" have finally been vindicated. A federal immigration judge... Read more
This is simply brilliant, Denmark’s coolest contribution to modern life since the Danish Design movement. It’s also somehow subversive yet very hyggelig. I give you MugMouse, a mouse-cum-coffee cup whose explicit purpose is to make you "rethink […] the way people work at computers by making it easy to build slowness into your daily activities." The MugMouse website explains: MugMouse plays on the idea of deliberately choosing to use a slower mouse for a while. Filled with tea or coffee... Read more
While I’m acutely aware of the advantages of demographic growth–there’s strength in numbers, especially these days–I don’t obsess about dawah. My attitude has always been that the best outreach is living your life openly and honorably as a Muslim. I think it’s undignified (and ineffective) to hawk something priceless door-to-door like a cheap trinket. Still, given the Eurabia-style bile that’s bubbling up all over Europe and the US these days, how can one as a Muslim not chuckle at the... Read more
Speaking of the Holocaust, I blogged elsewhere (Eteraz.org || Refutation of Holocaust denial theories to be translated for Muslims) on the welcome news that Deborah Lipstadt’s Holocaust Revisionism, History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving is to be translated into a number of key languages spoken by Muslims. In that connection, I argued that Correcting dehumanizing myths and conspiracy theories about the Holocaust is no less a part of a Muslim’s duty to "enjoin good and forbid... Read more
I really ought to be hitting the hay, but I’m too inspired by a beautiful and unusually thought-provoking documentary called "A Life Apart – Hasidism in America" that I just watched on the history of this fascinating ultra-orthodox Jewish community, which has only been in America in significant numbers since the mid-20th century. The PBS website sums the documentary up succinctly and accurately: Through our principal families as well as secondary characters, A LIFE APART presents a multi-layered analysis of... Read more
Just made the mistake of finally watching "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World". Good grief. I was ready for a stinker, but I didn’t expect such an unearthly stench. I haven’t awaited a film’s end so eagerly since I endured the numbingly dull "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues". Not even the cursed souls of of Mystery Science Theater 3000 could find humor in this agonizingly uninspired flick. Having never once so much as cracked smile at a word Albert... Read more
I expect the occasional troll to drop by, especially given how I openly mock some of the Beltway’s most sacred cows (e.g., the so-called War on Terror). But even the most obnoxious trolls generally pick fights over substantive issues. So you can imagine my surprise when I found myself in a spat with somebody over my use of Arabic words in my posts. Yes, someone–and a blogger who evidently fancies himself an informed firsthand observer of the Middle East and... Read more
Akram's Razor
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In