Nonviolence Finally Gets Some Action on American TV

The most important interview on any global affairs issue the Daily Show has ever had happened last night with the appearance of Mustafa Barghouti and Anna Beltzer, both advocates for a nonviolent solution in the Israel Palestine conflict. There are so many great sound bytes in the unedited version that appears on the Daily Show [...]

Film Review: Pluralism in America

This Fourth of July I had the extreme pleasure of going to the world premiere of Islam in America, the latest project of Dr. Akbar Ahmed and his wonderful team of motivated youngsters. The film takes a look at the various Muslim communities across America, from big cities in the East to small towns in [...]

Obama Talks the Right Talk

Cairo is an ancient city that has become a modern urban hub of the Arab world. It is the primary place to produce Arabic pop music, the favored study abroad location for Americans looking to study the Arab world, and the birth place of Pan Arabism and the Muslim Brotherhood. Ponder all those contradictions for [...]

Prose, Violence, and Problems with Aslan’s Cosmic War

In a post-college world, looking at grad school and gainful employment on the horizon, it appears I need to step up my reading habits. So in an effort to make this a more regular segment of the blog, I’m going to read and review at least one book a month. This month, I bring to [...]

Obama’s Election Didn’t Defeat al-Qaeda, Surprise!

Al-Qaeda has released a new tape directed at the US administration, and many are calling it a “mild” approach.
In the tape, the leader of al-Qaeda’s Iraqi division “calls on the incoming US administration and allied Western leaders to embrace Islam, withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and release Muslim prisoners from there and from Guantanamo [...]

(Re)Discovering Iraq: Restoring Sovereignty or Undermining Security?

Members of Iraq’s 37-member cabinet voted on Sunday to approve a security agreement setting conditions for the U.S. presence in Iraq.

The Latest Deal
The Iraqi Cabinet has agreed to a new pact with the US military. The terms of the pact are an agreement to place US troops in Iraq under the authority of the [...]

Rediscovering Iraq: Triple Bombing, Working with Locals

Today, when I looked at the news headlines I saw a story about iraq. Its been a long time since I’ve paid attention to Iraq. In Fall 2006, I took a class entitled Post Saddam Iraq and it was one of the most intense classes I’ve ever taken. Since then, I’ve been largely unaware of [...]

Peace is Supposed to Make You Squirm

In a recent high profile interfaith dialogue between the Pope and other notable Muslim and Catholic leaders, the Pope announced that political and religious leaders everywhere must honor the rights of each individual to their faith. He further stated that Muslims and Christians are members of one family.
While the Vatican has protested attacks on Christians [...]

Commending Belligerants for Nonviolent Actions in Iraq

I was very pleased to see this article as the main headline on the BBC News website this morning. However one may feel about Shi’a cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his followers, it is imperative that nonviolent actions in Iraq be publicized and positively acknowledged.The group may condone violence, but to only talk about their expressed [...]

Apostate Shield of Protection +20

Silly thought of the day…
If Islam and Muslims are supposed to be so violent and oppressive towards other faiths…how am I not dead?
The answer must be that God has given a special Muslim proof shield.
“Hello Muslim country, my name is Christa.”
“Your name is a derivative of Jesus Christ! We must convert and/or kill [...]