Aoun’s MOU with Hezbollah is dangerous for Israel and the United States. Last November, Aoun was feted in Washington by neo-con members of the Bush administration and pro-Israel members of Congress for his leadership of the so-called “Cedar Revolution,” the movement to chase Syria out of Lebanon after it was falsely accused of being behind the assassinatio […].
Of Danish Cartoons, Muslim Rage and the Bedouin State of Mind
The beast within Islam has been prowling for a very long time. Islam as religion was also a civilizing force in Arabia as it brought for a while some discipline to its native population, the Bedouins of the desert. But the Bedouins are, Ibn Khaldun wrote, “a savage nation, fully accustomed to savagery and the things that cause it… Such a natural dispositio […].
Free Alaa
D’après les informations fournies par Manal and Alaa’s bit bucket, l’aggregateur des blogs égyptiens, lauréat du prix spécial Repoter Sans Frontières de l’année 2005, Alaa Abd El Fattah vient d’être arrêté le dimanche 7 mai avec 14 autres pendant qu’ils se rendaient à une manifestation, devant le siège du syndicat des journalistes égyptiens, contre la comp […].
“Islam versus the West” and the Political Thought of AbdolKarim Soroush
The internal crisis in the Muslim world today, both in Muslim-majority states and in the Muslim communities in the West, is grave and complex. In this context, AbdolKarim Soroush’s views and analysis are cogent, logical, and highly relevant. Extremist forces in the Muslim world can only be defeated if progressive forces both in the West and in the Islamic […].
The Anti-Imperialist Left Confronted with Islam
Whether the unbelievers can freely express themselves is obviously another question. Often they can’t, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. As is the case here, religion is not the central element in the life of Muslims. People work, eat, make love, build families. Some go to the mosque, others don’t. Exactly like in other parts of the world. The d […].
Letter to President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali on Ali Ramzi Bettibi
We are concerned also because the case against Mr. Bettibi stems from his having copied and re-posted online material in a discussion forum. As such, his prosecution sends the message to Tunisians that they risk prison if they view and exchange information from the Internet that the government deems to be extremist, even in the absence of compelling eviden […].
Tunisia : independent but not free
Tunisia celebrates the 50th anniversary of independence this month, but hopes raised by the end of French rule and early reforms have long evaporated. The country is governed and owned by General Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. But opposition groups have begun to suppress their divisions and make an attempt at collective resistance. […].
(2) Islamist Movements And The Democratic Process In The Arab World :
Regional and international developments after September 11, 2001, have helped consolidate liberal trends in the Islamist spectrum, both because the movements themselves are not immune to the new discourse about democracy permeating the Arab world and because most authoritarian governments in the region have felt pressure to introduce a modicum of reforms, […].
(3) Islamist Movements And The Democratic Process In The Arab World :
In discussions with skeptical liberals probing their commitment to democracy and human rights, mainstream Islamist movements often assert that the differences between their ideas and those of their interlocutors are minor, hinging at most on a few points. But these few points, the gray zones where the thinking of Islamists is ambiguous, are crucial ; depen […].
(4) Islamist Movements And The Democratic Process In The Arab World :
Uncertainty is a fact of life in politics. It is a defining feature of democratic politics. Evidence from the research leading to this analysis suggests that the reformist currents in the Islamist movement are real, that they are becoming much more sophisticated and flexible in their thinking, and that recent political success in some countries is increasi […].
(1) Islamist Movements And The Democratic Process In The Arab World :
During the last decade, Islamist movements have established themselves as major political players in the Middle East. Together with the governments, Islamist movements, moderate as well as radical, will determine how the politics of the region unfold in the foreseeable future. They have shown the ability not only to craft messages with widespread popular a […].
Whether by the Fire of Freedom or by the Fire of Zeal
It seems that today the right to freedom of expression has turned into a duty to defile and desecrate Muhammad’s name. It would be impossible to vandalize freedom more viciously than this. Muslims detect a whiff of vilification and conspiracy, and see it as an act of hostility. They believe that a collusion and conjunction between secularism and fundamen […].
Islam’s Crisis of Authority
Unlike Catholicism with the Vatican and the pope, Islam has no central authority. And the recent furor over Muslim cartoons in Europe has exposed this void even more clearly. Richard Bulliet, author of “The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization,” explains that this void in authority in Islam is only increasing as Muslims reach out to various people and in […].
Political Islam
The contrasts between different varieties of Islam, and Islamism, are not trivial—either in their teachings or the behaviour they inspire. The western world needs to know about them, if only to know which outcomes and shifts of policy are conceivable, and which are not. But woe betide any western strategist who thinks the problems of the Muslim world can b […].
Islam and Power
There is a tension in the Islamic world between the desire for democracy and a respect for liberty. (It is a tension that once raged in the West and still exists in pockets today.) This is most apparent in the ongoing fury over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a small Danish newspaper. The cartoons were offensive and needlessly provoc […].
The Key To Arab Reform: Moderate Islamists
Before any significant political reform can take place in the Arab world, the United States and Europe need to begin engaging moderate Islamists, an action less thorny than it might seem because Islamists have embraced democratic procedures and have shown a strong commitment to the rule of law. For a long time Arab regimes have frightened the United States […].
Towards A New Islamic Discourse
Islam is portrayed sometimes as if it were a monolithic or uni-dimensional entity. Islam is undoubtedly the faith of transcendental monotheism , the belief in Allah (the one and only God), who transcends both man and nature. But monotheism does not lead to monism (the metaphysical doctrine that existence is a whole and one); on the contrary, it leads to pl […].
Democracy, Justice, Fundamentalism and Religious Intellectualism
An interview with Abdulkarim Soroush* by Ali Asghar Seyyedabadi Q. Let’s start the discussion with the [June 2005] presidential elections if you don’t mind. The outcome can be linked on two counts to issues of interest to you: one is the question of justice, since some people believe that the government that emerged from the elections is a product of the […].
