by 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 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 ReadingBy A.E. SOUAIAIA Swiss Justice Minister, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, said that Sunday’s referendum, during which voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on minarets, was not “a referendum against Islam… but a vote directed against fundamentalist developments.” I say, what the &%@#! Seriously, can someone explain to me how a ban on building minarets could fight fundamentalism? Read more
Continue ReadingBy Ahmed E. Souaiaia* October 19, 2009 War is very destructive. However, despite the human and economic costs, war also creates new opportunities and ends oppressive political and administrative stagnation. The human cost of the Iraq war could be mitigated by the economic and political return of the reshuffling of the cards in the Middle Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed Souaiaia In a speech given at the 2009 O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing conference, while attempting to highlight the advances in print and press technology, Jason Epstein, declared: “Retrograde Islam banned Gutenberg’s technology as satanic, confining its followers within a single book.” Granted, Mr. Epstein is a successful business person with a Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has become the most vocal supporter of the ban on religious symbols worn by people in public (government) institutions; specifically, the ban on the headscarf worn by Muslim women. His foundation for this argument is this: France is for French and anyone wishing to live in Read more
Continue ReadingPolitics of nuclear arms issue complex By Jacob Maxson For the Press-Citizen This week’s Q&A is with Dr. A. E. Souaiaia. He is a professor of Modern Religious Thought at the University of Iowa. He teaches and researches on the subjects of Islamic ethics and moral philosophy, Islamic law, human rights, and religion and politics. Read more
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