Original essays, research notes, and reports
BY A. E. SOUAIAIA | GUEST OPINION | The Daily Iowan | JANUARY 24, 2011 7:10 AM During the first day of class, I asked students enrolled in my survey course on the Islamic civilization to think of an important event from around the world. The first student to speak pointed out the return of Read more
Continue Readingby AHMED E. SOUAIAIA By now, anyone who has followed the news coming out of Tunisia knows the timeline of events that culminated in Ben Ali fleeing the country and leaving his party struggling to regain control. But the end of Ben Ali’s era did not create a definite alternative. There is no consensus among Read more
Continue ReadingAs the number of people killed by Ben Ali’s security forces rises, victims’ family have reported that some of the fallen are citizens of European nations. The French Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that one of the victims killed in the central Tunisian town of Douz during Wednesday clashes was a dual French-Tunisian citizen. “We Read more
Continue ReadingBy A. E. SOUAIAIA• On cold winter days, Mohamed al-Bouazizi, a resident of Sidi Bouzid, loads his cart with fruits and vegetables and pushes it along the dusty streets of the town hoping to make enough money for himself and his family. One day, like many other days, police officers harassed him and then confiscated Read more
Continue Readingby A. E. SOUAIAIA Two matters are intimately connected: security and economic power. How countries leverage economic power to maintain security and how security is used as pretext for monopolizing power show the interconnectedness of economic development and global security. For the three cases that I will examine (North-South Korea, India-Pakistan, and Iran-West standoffs), I Read more
Continue ReadingDuring the 2008 presidential campaign, then candidate Obama challenged Hillary Clinton’s assertion that some things must be kept secret in order to be an effective leader. He argued that in a democracy, the voting public must be informed. We all know that now President Obama sits on secrets that neither he nor career policy makers Read more
Continue ReadingThe Obama administration promised a new era with the Islamic world based on mutual respect and common interests. The US and the Islamic world must work together to end deadly extremism and dislocating suspicions. The global relations can be balanced when each side of the equation is also balanced. While the US administration must respect Read more
Continue ReadingWhere should Muslims build mosques? – The Daily Iowan Where should Muslims build mosques? – GUEST OPINION | AUGUST 25, 2010 7:20 AM The Muslim-American community is growing, and with growth comes the need for community centers, mosques, and a public presence. Every state in the United States contains at least one mosque, according to Read more
Continue ReadingSource: International Affairs President Barack Obama delivering his State of the Union address on Captitol Hill, Jan. 27, 2010. AP Photo/Charles Dharapak Given the economic hardships that we–as a nation–are facing, it is understandable if the president dedicates more than ninety percent of his state of the union address to domestic issues. But if he Read more
Continue ReadingHaitian children sit in the Canadian run Masion Enfants Espoir orphanage Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz. It is being reported in the news this week that Baptist missionaries from Idaho have been accused of attempted kidnapping. They were detained as they tried to transport 33 Haitian orphans Read more
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