February 2016
Lies and Deceptions come easy for the Republicans By Habib Siddiqui: George W. Bush’s Administration sold us the war against Iraq when it had no proof that the Saddam Hossein’s regime had“weapons of mass destruction” (WMD). After invasionand occupation of the land, years of search found no WMD. Absolutely nothing! It was a gigantic lie manufactured by Bush (USA) and Blair (UK). In the meantime, nearly half a million Iraqis had to die in one of the most sadistic wars of history in which the USA and her partners showed their real ugliness with everything – their wanton killing of innocent civilians, their ill-treatment of the occupied people, let alone the prisoners, their savage bombing of places of worship, business centers, schools, hospitals, heritage sites, museums and even the drinking and sewage system. Read More
On Hillary Clinton, sexism, and U.S. foreign policy By Stephen Zunes: After the strong early primary showings by Senator Bernie Sanders, a few high-profile supporters of his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton have seized upon an explanation: sexism — and not only by men. Sanders’ high level of support from young women in particular, they say, reflects the naiveté of younger self-identified feminists. Feminists who oppose Hillary Clinton's imperialism can't just challenge her foreign policy. We have to challenge the sexist attacks against her, too. Read More
Republican candidates’ endorsement of torture shames America By Habib Siddiqui: At the Republican debate in New Hampshire, when Senator Ted Cruz was asked whether waterboarding is torture, he replied that it is not. “Under the law, torture is excruciating pain equivalent to losing organs and systems,” he said. So waterboarding “does not meet the generally recognized definition of torture.” Read More
American Muslim Community one year after the murder of three NC Muslim students By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: The Muslim American community observed Wednesday (Feb. 10) the first death anniversary of three North Carolina University Muslim students amid rising anti-Muslim bigotry and hate crimes. On February 10, 2015, Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha, and Razan Abu-Salha were brutally murdered simply because they were Muslim. A neighbor, who had expressed anti-Muslim animus in the past, fatally shot each of them in the home that newlyweds Deah and Yusor shared. Read More
The post Iran nuclear deal scenario By Chandra Muzaffar: Now that the Iran nuclear deal is being implemented, it is perhaps time to ask, what does it mean for Iran, for other nations in West Asia and North Africa (WANA), for Israel, for the United States of America, for Europe? What does it mean for the world as a whole? Read More
President Obama's visit to Mosque and Presidential Race By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: The seven million strong American Muslim community has welcomed the visit of President Barrack Obama to Maryland mosque on Feb. 3 where the President called on Americans to embrace their common humanity and reject the inexcusable political rhetoric emanating from the presidential campaign trail. Read More
How the American Muslims vote in 2016 election? By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: The seven-million strong American Muslim community has voted overwhelmingly voted for Democrat s since 2004 and a recent poll released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) indicates that the American Muslims will follow this trend. The CAIR survey finds that 67 percent will vote for Democratic Party candidates. More than half of respondents said they’d vote for Hillary Clinton and 22 percent back Bernie Sanders. More than 85 percent of Muslims who voted backed President Barack Obama in 2012, according to a CAIR poll. Read More
Any hope for peace in the Palestine-Israel Conflict? By Dr. Habib Siddiqui: For many Israelis, the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 marked a grim turning point for their country. In the words of the commission set up to investigate the murder, "Israeli society [would] never be the same again. As a democracy, political assassination was not part of our culture." In the eyes of most people, the murder ended all hope for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process through the Oslo Accords and altered the course of history. Read More
A cursory look at this year’s WEF By Habib Siddiqui: The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Swiss nonprofit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva. As a state recognized international institution for public-private cooperation, its mission is cited as "committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas." Read More
A Friendly Note from Your Muslim Neighbor .. By Paul Findley: Twenty years ago the plight of Muslims in America was so serious, it led me to a weeklong international conference on Western images of Islam. It was held in Penang, Malaysia, half way around the world. Read More
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