January 2009
Will Obama policies bring real change for the Muslim World? By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: In a bid to repair relations with the Muslim world that were damaged under the Bush administration, President Barack Obama told the Muslim world Tuesday that “Americans are not your enemy.”In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV channel, Obama said: “My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy — we sometimes make mistakes — we have not been perfect.” Read More
The U.S. Role in the Rise of Hamas By Stephen Zunes: The United States bears much of the blame for massive destruction and loss of life in the Gaza Strip in late December and early January, and not just because of the role U.S.-provided armaments played in the carnage and the U.S. refusal to demand an immediate cease fire. Perhaps more significant were the policies that led the radical Islamist group Hamas to control the territory in the first place. Read More
Nine crucial issues for the Muslim World By Arthur Scott: The Middle East and the larger Islamic world at the beginning of the millennium find itself confronted by several essential issues revolving around identity, meaning, and purpose. These issues and the American responses to them will have a profound effect in shaping the texture of the twenty-first century. I regard the following 9 issues as crucial for the future of the Muslim World that need to be addressed: Read More
Past Leaders’ Deeds Can Weave Peace in Middle East by Dwayne Hunn: The threads of history and change run through people. Smedley Butler, Abe Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Oliver Brown… Their deeds have woven the quilt that America is especially proud of in January 2009. From their threads of knowledge, we should weave, with troubled parts of the world, another quilt that could erase warfare in the bloodied Holy Lands…Read More
U.S. Foreign Policy and the Middle East By Syed Mahmood: President Obama’s administration has to create a balance of power and sense of justice in the Middle East. He has to show courage and determination to make tough decisions. In October 1956, just before his election, President Eisenhower warned Britain, France and Israel to abandon their invasion of Egypt. He threatened Israel to impose sanctions. The invasion was abandoned. Read More
An Obama inspired change will also help Pakistan By Maria Ahmad: Almost reverently, Barack Obama has become the symbol and “audacity” of hope. The “change” awaited with bated breath is not limited to Americans; Pakistanis also, recount stories and rumors of Obama’s life in Third World countries and his “very close friend in Karachi”. The entire world is sensing the transformations. Read More
Leonardo may have influenced Silicon Valley By Mertze Dahlin: Leonardo da Vinci and the Sienese Engineers of the Renaissance period gave us all a reminder of their creative genius by being the highlight of the new, limited time, display at the “Tech Museum of Innovation” in San Jose. This is a display consisting of over two hundred artifacts. It is the only time it will come to the United States and San Jose is the only host. Many of the drawings, paintings, sculptures, models and mechanisms have never left Italy before. Read More
Special issue on the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza January 5, 2009
The untold reasons of the Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: The year 2009 began for the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza with an all out air, land and sea assault from the Israeli armed forces. With an overt support of Bush administration, meaningful silence of President-elect Barak Obama and complicity of the US client Arab regimes, Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza continues for the 10th day today (January 5, 2009) with air strikes, naval bombardment and ground forces assault on unarmed men, women and children. After week-long massive air strikes against the unarmed Palestinians, the Israeli launched a ground assault on Saturday. The Israeli onslaught, in which depleted uranium is reportedly being used, has so far killed more than 500 Palestinians and injured about 2,500. Read More
My Life In Gaza By Dr. Mona El-Farra: The irony is almost beyond belief. Since the capture of an Israeli soldier on June 25, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to a large-scale military operation, what Israel calls "Summer Rain." Because Israel bombed the power plant, and the area needs electricity to pump water, most of Gaza now has almost no access to drinking water. In the heat of summer, rain would be a blessing far more welcome than the ongoing bombings. I am already starting to lose track of days and nights, of how many bombs have dropped. Since the main power plant was destroyed, we have had to live with no electricity. What we do get is patchy, and barely enough to recharge our mobile phones and our laptops so that we do not lose all touch with each other and with the outside world. Read More
It’s time to treat Palestinians as human beings By Mertze Dahlin: Our new President-elect Barack Obama has some tough decisions to make. As for the Middle East, he needs to recognize what Lobbyists will be trying to cause him to do. He can have some influence in how Israel is treating the Palestinians, particularly in Gaza. If he is concerned about giving a helping hand to the Muslims, he should be told that the Palestinian Arabs are also Christians. He has undoubtedly been briefed by now about how friendly he should be to the Israelis; he should also know by himself that it’s time to treat the Palestinians as human beings. Read More
Solving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict By Dr. Abdul Jabbar: It is our moral obligation to bring an immediate end to the death and destruction that Israeli government has been inflicting on the Palestinians in Gaza for several months. On December 27, more than 200 Palestinians were killed (mostly civilians, including women and children) and hundreds injured in Israeli attacks. On Dec. 28, Israel struck again, pushing up the death toll to 280 -- the highest one-day fatalies in decades. Israel claims, and our heavily biased mainstream media seems to acquiesce, that the attacks are in retaliation to Hamas rocket attacks on Israel. Even though the rocket attacks are to be deplored, rarely have they resulted in any Israeli loss of life. Instead of addressing the underlying causes of Palestinians' frustration and their reduction to less-than-human status by Israeli blockade of food, water, fuel, medicine, electricity, and other basic necessities of life, Israel ends up killing hundreds of Palestinians and injuring many more on a regular basis, thus escalating the cycle of violence. Read More
The Gaza massacre in perspective by Chandra Muzaffar: Honest, accurate media presentation of the context surrounding a conflict is vital for an in-depth understanding of the conflict. In the case of the on-going Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, the context has been distorted by much of the media. The impression given is that Israel had no choice but to retaliate against a constant barrage of rocket attacks launched by Hamas after the latter decided to end the Hamas-Israel truce on 19 December 2008. Read More
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