By Tamar Chapidze and Andreas Umland Over the last two decades, Georgia and Ukraine have become close geopolitical allies vis-à-vis both Russia and the West. In 1997, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova created between themselves a multilateral consultative forum that, in 2001, was upgraded into the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, better known […]
Nahed Hattar’s assassination sheds light on how social media is used as a weapon by the terrorists to promote their extremist ideologies.
Image Credit: www.catholica.com.au Last summer I was intrigued by a book review about Alain de Botton’s “Religion for Atheists”. In the review, that was partly an interview with the author, Botton explained that being an atheist didn’t mean you had to hate religion, but that you could learn lessons from it, seeking knowledge wherever it can […]
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” That is how a famous prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi starts; the very saint that Pope Francis took his name from, a saint known for his philanthropy and love of nature. As though a reflection of Saint Francis, the Pope, in his inaugural address, said “let […]
In hopes of generating patriotic fervor, German politicians have asked that their national football team to be compelled to sing the national anthem before each match. Players, such as Mesut Özil and Lukas Podolski, have been criticized for not participating in the ceremonious singing of the Deutschlandlied before each national match. Why? Özil is a third generation Turkish-German and Podolski first […]
It was 2006 when Keith Ellison (MN – 05) made history as the first Muslim to be elected to Congress. The same year, Mazie Hirono (HI – 02) and Hank Johnson (GA – 04) became the first Buddhists in American history to serve as U.S. Senators. But both Hirono’s and Johnson’s achievement was overshadowed by the […]
Wade Michael Page killed six Sikh worshipers in their gurdwara (Sikh Temple) in Wisconsin earlier this week. Page, a 40 year old who is said to have been an active member of a white supremacist group, died of a self inflicted gunshot to the head. Although the motive of the crime is unclear, or has “died with Page,” most […]
Earlier this month, Mehdi Hasan of the Guardian wrote about having to deal with Islamophobia on a day to day basis; how his work and family were affected, but asserting that he would continue to do what he does. Mr. Hasan clarifies that he does not consider his Islamic beliefs exempt from public criticism — just that it […]
When I first came across Mona Eltahawy’s article, questioning “Why do they hate us?”–“they” being the misogynistic rulers of Middle Eastern and Muslim nations, and “us” being the female population–I have to say my instant reaction was one of apprehensive agreement. Apprehensive, because I’ve seen womenfolk suffer cruel injustice in my part of the world […]
image lifted from http://cdnnews.onepakistan.com Pakistan and the United States of America may seem like polar opposites, but when you push aside the semantics, you’ll find the same people everywhere: insecure, intolerant, injudicious and irrational. In Pakistan: The Domestic Violence Bill was first proposed in the Senate in 2009 and has since been lying dormant and the […]
Last year, a girl named Amina El-Filali was raped in her town of Larache, Morocco, where her parents filed a criminal complaint. The case was taken to court where, in accordance with Article 475 of the Penal Code the judge ordered the rapist to marry his victim, thereby absolving him of his crime. Since Amina […]
It’s never a dull moment in Pakistan, but various moments filled with dull people. A rally was held on January 28, in the city of Rawalpindi, against the establishment of a place of worship by the Ahmeddia community. The Ahmedi’s are a minority community who consider themselves a sect within Islam, but were declared non-Muslims […]