Heated Debate on ‘Separating’ from Islam
SEPARATIONISM & ITS DISCONTENTS My assertion (last week) that the Jihadwatch website is “separationist” continues to generate 2,000-word exegeses from people who must be in dire need of something better to do. One more time, for the record: Hugh Fitzgerald, the second main blogger on Jihadwatch (i.e. with Robert Spencer) is a separationist, if the […]
Who’s Pushing For Muslim Women’s Rights?
WHO’S PUSHING FOR MUSLIM WOMEN’S RIGHTS? I didn’t review Phyllis Chesler’s “The Death of Feminism” when it came out more than a year ago, and that was a mistake. The book, which accused American feminists of ignoring the oppression of Muslim women out of a combination of multicultural piety and anti-Americanism, was such a slapdash, […]
Vatican Restores Catholic-Islam Dialogue Council
VATICAN RESTORES CATHOLIC-ISLAM DIALOGUE COUNCIL In an unexpected about-face, Pope Benedict XVI will restore power and prestige to the Vatican department that oversees dialogue with Islam a year after he controversially downgraded it. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said in an interview last weekend with La Stampa newspaper that the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue would again […]
The Informer: Behind the Scenes, or Setting the Stage?
THE INFORMER: BEHIND THE SCENES, OR SETTING THE STAGE? With tired eyes and mussed hair, Osama Eldawoody opens his door to an unexpected guest. He doesn’t get many visitors these days. He is in hiding for his own safety. He has received no direct threats, he says, but has heard through friends of friends that […]
CA: Missing Iraqi Pains Brother in CA
CA: MISSING IRAQI PAINS BROTHER IN BREA The 24-year-old speaking by telephone from Damascus weeps softly. There’s not one thing that she misses about her father, she says. It’s a lifetime of memories. Her uncle, Khalid Al-Faris is also on the line from Brea on this conference call, helping translate one of the harshest memories […]
CAIR-NJ: Muslims Feel Backlash After Fort Dix Arrests
CAIR-NJ: MUSLIMS FEEL BIAS BACKLASH AFTER FORT DIX ARRESTS Raed Allan says he loves America. “It’s a country of freedom — freedom of speech, freedom of religion, a chance to make a living,” said the 34-year-old Jordanian-born gas station owner from Wayne, in Passaic County. The slight, soft-spoken father of four says “there’re no negative […]
PA: Muslim, Arab and Then American
PA: MUSLIM, ARAB AND THEN AMERICAN The Pew Research Center’s first-ever, nationwide survey of Muslim Americans, released last week, found them largely assimilated, happy with their lives, and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world. They did say, however, that since 9/11, they found it […]
PA: Palestinians Thrive But Feel Cut Off
PA: IN PHILA., EXPATRIATES THRIVE BUT FEEL CUT OFF FROM MUKHMAS Inside the Mustafa family’s Sunshine Food Market at 43d and Lancaster is an ornate plaque listing Islam’s traditional 99 names of God. Inches away are two photos of the Mustafas with Gov. Rendell and City Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell. This juxtaposition is symbolic of […]
CA: College to Offer Class on Islam
CA: PALOMAR COLLEGE TO OFFER CLASS ON ISLAM THIS SUMMER A new summer class at Palomar College will allow students to explore the history of Muslim women, in an effort to break down social barriers and misconceptions that educators say have gotten worse since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. “Women and […]
NY: Muslim Center Launches Classes for Converts
NY: MUSLIM CENTER IN WHITE PLAINS LAUNCHES CLASSES FOR CONVERTS There are no welcome wagons awaiting converts to Islam after they recite the “shahada,” a declaration of faith made by new Muslims. The White Plains-based Muslim Education and Converts Center of America – or MECCA – wants to be that greeting committee. The center, launched […]