by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* On October 31, I wrote, Who is the Syrian Opposition?. Less than two weeks later, a new coalition of opposition figures was born in Qatar, underscoring the erratic composition of the groups fighting to oust Bashar Assad from power. Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, Riad Seif, Suhair al-Atassi, and Mustafa al-Sbbagh The Syrian National Read more
Continue ReadingHOLY IGNORANCE: When Religion and Culture Part Ways; By Olivier Roy; Translated by Ros Schwartz.259 pp. Columbia University Press. $27.50 Every winter Fox News, seeking to stir up anger through the land, uncovers evidence of a war on Christmas. Secular humanists ignorant of religion and hostile to its traditions, someone in the studio will Read more
Continue ReadingUnited States 2012 Presidential Elections Results (some results are not final) President Obama wins his second term in office State-by-state U.S. Presidential race results’ table below: Washington D Winner B. Obama (i) 55.2% 1,062,561 R M. Romney 42.8% 822,611 L G. Johnson 1.0% 20,117 G J. Stein 0.5% 10,442 O V. Goode 0.2% 4,592 Oregon D Read more
Continue Readingby John B. Quigley A reset is in order for our policy in the Middle East. From what the two candidates for the White House have said, neither seems to grasp the fact that current policy is fostering, not stopping, the violence we continue to face there. Hillary Clinton says we can’t protect our embassies Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Armed opposition groups operating inside Syria may have violated international humanitarian law by committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Arguably, some members of the Syrian troops may also have committed similar violations. However, the self-incriminating evidence released by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups is simply overwhelming. The evidence used Read more
Continue ReadingAla A. Alryyes. A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar Ibn Said. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2011. xii + 222 pp. $19.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-299-24954-0; ISBN 978-0-299-24953-3. Reviewed by Hilary Green (Elizabeth City State University) Ala Alryyes has made a valuable contribution to the understanding of the religious and intellectual lives of enslaved Read more
Continue ReadingUri Rubin. Muḥammad the Prophet and Arabia. Farnham: Ashgate, 2011. getr. Zählung (XIV, 346 S.). ISBN 978-1-4094-0846-8. Reviewed by Konstantin Klein Der Schwerpunkt der Forschung Uri Rubins (Tel-Aviv-Universität) liegt auf dem frühen Islam und dabei vor allem auf dem Koran, dessen Exegese (tafsīr) und der frühen islamischen Überlieferung (sīra und ḥadīth). Im Jahr 2005 erschien Read more
Continue ReadingFor six days, representatives of member states of the United Nations talked about their most pressing issues. One after one, they addressed mostly an empty hall updating the General Assembly about their achievements and reminding the world about the problems that must be solved. Leaders of the Islamic world were present, although not all key Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* For the second time in several months, Russia and China have vetoed a UNSC resolution concerning Syria. The double veto last Saturday especially irritated U.S. and European leaders because they thought that the Arab League’s proposal was revised several times to meet Russia’s demands. Russia argued that Western states rushed the Read more
Continue Reading“While Turkey is training and supplying Syrian rebels, whom the Syrian regime calls terrorists, Syria is providing military support to the Kurdish rebels, whom the Turkish regime calls terrorists.” by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Up until two years ago, Turkey’s status and influence were the envy of its neighbors. It was enjoying a thriving democracy at Read more
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