Americans must be led to correct our counterproductive misunderstanding of Islam….The presumptive candidate of one of our two major parties has suggested banning Muslims from entry into the United States….If we do not correct these attitudes, we will continue to pay not just in treasure but in blood. Lots of it.
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What America Keeps Getting Wrong in the Middle East
Posted June 16th, 2016 at 3:01 pm (UTC-5)
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If Islam Is a Religion of Violence, So Is Christianity
Posted June 16th, 2016 at 2:53 pm (UTC-5)
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I am tired of hearing…that Islam is inherently violent. I am even more tired of hearing that Christianity is inherently peaceful….inherently a religion of love. With all due respect to my many Christian friends, I seriously beg to differ.
The Muslim Silence on Gay Rights
Posted June 14th, 2016 at 10:02 am (UTC-5)
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No religion has a monopoly on homophobia. The track record of exclusion and outright abuse of gay men and women in the name of God is a depressing reality across faiths. But we cannot use those analogies to excuse our own shortcomings.
The Gravedigger of Kabul
Posted May 27th, 2016 at 12:00 pm (UTC-5)
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Ahmad buried what remained of a suicide bomber who attacked the Indian Embassy….I tell Ahmad that…I interviewed the widow of an…officer who died because of this attack. Ahmad says nothing. I want to know what he would say to her as the man who buried her husband’s killers, but his silence cuts me off.
Sadiq Khan vs. Donald Trump
Posted May 9th, 2016 at 8:28 am (UTC-5)
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In his victory, a triumph over the slurs that tried to tie him to Islamist extremism, Khan stood up for openness against isolationism, integration against confrontation, opportunity for all against racism and misogyny. He was the anti-Trump.
U.S.-Saudi Relations: Salman Snubs, Obama Shrugs
Posted April 25th, 2016 at 2:35 pm (UTC-5)
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The truth is that, with or without Obama, the fabric of interests that once tied the two countries together has been fraying for some time now….US needs less Saudi oil…the question of whether Saudi Arabia is more of an asset or a liability in the fight against terrorism is much more finely poised.
It is Time for Muslims to Begin a Deep Self-examination
Posted December 31st, 2015 at 11:04 am (UTC-5)
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[Ghassan] Charbel called for shutting down platforms of hate and said the Middle East needs to undertake “a deep re-examination” of its society. … ‘What threatens the Arab and Islamic world today,” he said, “is no less dangerous than the threat that Nazism posed to Europe.’
Obama Calls Helping Christian Refugees ‘Shameful,’ While State Claims That’s Exactly What It’s Doing
Posted November 19th, 2015 at 9:44 am (UTC-5)
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Mr. Obama’s desire to deride his critics likely got the better of him once again. But he should study the law and come clean. Helping persecuted Christians is lawful and it is moral. What’s shameful is ignoring and abandoning them—and mocking Americans who want to help them.
America’s Politicians are Feeding the Islamic State Narrative
Posted November 17th, 2015 at 3:27 pm (UTC-5)
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[I]f U.S. politicians define Islam as the problem and cast aspersions on Muslim populations in the West, they are feeding the Islamic State narrative. They are materially undermining the war against terrorism and complicating the United States’ (already complicated) task in the Middle East.
After Paris, a Global Resolve to Dispel Islamic State’s Darkness
Posted November 16th, 2015 at 11:07 am (UTC-5)
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It is easy to agree on the darkness of the militant ideology that drives IS, and to try to protect against its reach … But it also requires hard work to agree on the light that should replace that darkness and to end the IS threat for good – with something sustainably good.
The Dangers of an Anti-Muslim Backlash
Posted November 16th, 2015 at 10:23 am (UTC-5)
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Imagine that you’re a Muslim man, or a man that many people in a Western country would mistake for being Muslim … If you heard that Islamist radicals had just carried out an attack on your city, or your country, or even in another country, would you worry about a backlash?
A Muslim Marine’s Testimony to His Fallen Chattanooga Brothers
Posted July 17th, 2015 at 5:51 pm (UTC-5)
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Serving my country remains among the highest honors I’ve been blessed with. Thus, I was that much more horrified, angered, and saddened at the loss of life of my four brothers-in-arms in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Aung San Suu Kyi Can’t, or Won’t, Rein in Burma’s Army
Internationally, Suu Kyi has for decades been the chief barometer of when and how it was appropriate to engage with Burma’s isolated government. The crisis in Arakan state presents a paradox for her allies, particularly in the West…