Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

09 Oct 2011 20:50

tags

World: Egyptian violence heats up after Coptic Christian protests

  • Both sides blame the military for the escalation: While protests had roots in a conflict around a Christian church, the violence reached unprecedented heights, with at least 24 killed and 213 injured, and gruesome photos (which are on AP, but we won’t publish) telling the story of a devastating scene. “What happened today is unprecedented in Egypt. 17 corpses crushed by military tanks,” tweeted human rights activist Hossam Bahgat. “I saw bodies missing hands and legs, heads twisted away or plastered to the ground.” This Al Jazeera English clip above does a pretty decent job of explaining what led to the protests — the worst since the fall of Mubarak. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2011 01:35

tags

World: Egyptian counter-revolution? Hard-line Salafist Islam gains steam

  • The roots of Egypt’s sectarian violence: When Hosni Mubarak was in power, his influence repressed the salafis, a hard-line but influential Islamic sect in the country, ensuring they would not hold strong influence over the country’s militant Sunni Muslims. But with Mubarak out of power, they’re taking advantage of the opporutunity, most recently during the sectarian violence that engulfed two churches near Cairo. “There is no security in Egypt,” said Rober, a member of one of the churches that was destroyed in the conflict. “This is only the beginning. I’m afraid for my sister, for my mother, from the salafis.” Yasmine El Rashidi, a Cairo-based columnist for the New York Review of Books, recently described the scene as a counterrevolution, which might be a little strong, but nonetheless underlines the severity of what’s happening right now. Keep an eye on this. It could be bad. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 May 2011 10:27

tags

World: Egyptian Christians, Muslims in fresh sectarian violence

  • A round of sectarian violence: After a set of rumors suggested a woman was being held against her will in a Coptic Christian church in a suburb of Cairo, Muslims reacted by causing violence around the church in question — and setting fire to a nearby church. Around ten people were killed, with another 186 injured; the Egyptian government plans to try 190 people detained for the violence, which a couple of people in this video suggest was an attempt by the old regime to flare up tensions between Muslims and the Coptic Christian minority. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 May 2011 01:12

tags

Politics: President Obama reassures American Muslims: ‘no war on Islam’

  • I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.
  • President Barack Obama • In his speech tonight, announcing that a U.S. special operation had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. The President takes a very good tact here in distancing bin Laden and his organization from the Muslim community writ large. His reminder that bin Laden had himself killed many Muslims in service of his terror campaigns (and within our nation, as well, with many Muslims killed on 9/11) is an important one, too often lost in recent politicking. Even amidst what looks like broad jubilation domestically at the news, it’s important to keep the celebrating a positive thing, not something that turns at all ugly on our Muslim brethren. The President clearly wanted to short circuit that, as best he could, by emphasizing solidarity. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Mar 2011 12:46

tags

U.S.: From the chamber: Senator Dick Durbin’s Muslim rights hearing

  • …it is incumbent upon all Americans who love this nation and the values our Constitution protects to make it clear to defend the civil rights of our Muslim neighbors are as important as the rights of Christians, Jews and non-believers.
  • Senator Dick Durbin • On his Senate hearings on anti-Muslim discrimination, broadly viewed as a counter-weight to Rep. Peter King’s hearings on radicalized Islam in the House. For what it’s worth, King’s anti-terrorism zeal wasn’t beyond the scope of his responsibility, nor could it not have been handled tastefully as a hearing on terrorism writ large. The standard of tacitly condemning an entire community for the actions of the very few, however, was and is unpleasant, and its given Durbin a chance to shine some light in the other direction. Also, isn’t it cool that non-believers get a shout out, too? The first time we can recall that was during  Obama’s inauguration, and it’s a welcome and overdue addition to the public discourse on faith. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2011 14:15

tags

Politics: President Herman Cain will not appoint Muslims

  • Gimme extra cheese, anchovies, and bigotry on that: Not many political observers have given Godfather’s Pizza founder Herman Cain a shot at taking the GOP nomination for President (though it’s a credit to his initiative that he’s actually, you know, officially running). As it turns out, anybody who has a problem with religious litmus tests for federal appointments should be pleased about that. Cain’s silly justification, that he’s worried about the spread of Sharia in America, is a sad example of either earnest prejudice, or the lowest breed of political pandering. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Mar 2011 21:10

tags

Politics: Even folks getting questioned don’t get Peter King’s hearings

  • I was overwhelmed by the number of Muslims who, while under threat from misinformed sources, were ready and willing to connect with law enforcement to help keep the peace.
  • Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca • Speaking at Rep. Peter King’s totally effed-up hearings on radical Islam about the level of outreach he received from the Muslim community after Sept. 11, 2001. Baca, one of the four witnesses who spoke the hearing, called out the hearing’s entire premise as screwed up. You and everybody else, Lee. “This hearing is playing into Al Qaeda right now,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat who is exactly right. Basically, go back to what Keith Ellison said. It really nails it all. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Mar 2011 20:01

tags

Politics: White House official backs Muslims before Rep. Peter King’s hearings

  • You’ve sent a message that those who perpetrate such horrific attacks do not represent you or your faith, and that they will not succeed in pitting believers of different faiths against one another.
  • Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough • Speaking to a DC-area mosque this weekend to do damage control before Rep. Peter King, the chairman of the House’s Homeland Security panel, holds hearings on Islam radicalization. King defended his efforts earlier today: “The overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding Americans,” he said, “but at this stage in our history there’s an effort … to radicalize elements within the Muslim community.” Is ol’ Petey boy right? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Mar 2011 11:48

tags

Politics: Rep. Peter King’s radical Islam hearing not exactly winning him fans

  • First off, this is a spectacular photo of Rep. Peter King. He’s straight-up draped in America in this pic, and it’s something that we must admire. Anyway, King (the chair of the Homeland Security committee) is planning these Congressional hearings about radical Islam this week, and they have some people up in arms. For example, here’s Rep. Keith Ellison, a Muslim himself who showed up on CNN’s “State of the Union” with King: “It’s absolutely the right thing to do for the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee to investigate radicalization. But to say we’re going to investigate a — a religious minority, and a particular one, I think is the wrong course of action to take.” King claims that radical Islam poses a graver threat than other types of radicalism. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Feb 2011 22:22

tags

U.S.: UC-Irvine’s Muslim Student Union caught in free-speech battle

  • People are afraid to be seen as with us. It’s like they went after them, how do we know they aren’t going to come after us next? Everyone is afraid and looking over their shoulder.
  • UC-Irvine Muslim Student Union leader Hamza Siddiqui • Discussing the charges against him and ten other members of his group. See, the Muslim Student Union (which had been criticized by Jewish and Israeli groups in the past for its overly-in-your-face approach to the issues) repeatedly disrupted a speech by Michael B. Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, last year. After the speech, the group was suspended for a quarter. It seemed like the scandal died, until the students involved in said protests (three of which went to UC-Riverside) were charged with disturbing a public meeting and conspiring to do so. While the Muslim Student Union perhaps overplayed its hand by trying to drown Oren out for the entire speech in an organized manner, charging them with a misdemeanor seems perhaps a tad anti-free-speech. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
top tags
older >>