News for the internationally inclined
From the category archives:
For most Americans, the idea of a Muslim martyr can cause quite a bit of anxiety. Some immediately imagine a brown “towel-headed” man with an explosive device duct-taped to his chest, or sewn into his under garments, and a crazed murderous look in his eyes. Unfortunately, this kind of act in the name of Islam, an act that kills both Muslims and non-Muslims indiscriminately, is all too common.
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When news broke out in November that a US Army psychiatrist and self-identified devout Muslim shot his colleagues at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, it didn’t take the American media long to start speculating on what role Islam played in the massacre. But five months earlier, when the American media began covering the [...]
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In a special session held on the morning of November 20, 2009, the United Nations General Assembly approved a draft resolution condemning human rights violations in Iran. The United States Senate had passed a similar resolution a day earlier, prompting media sources to herald the two occasions as a constructive step against the Iranian government. [...]
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Today, marks the 30th year since the 444 day Iran Hostage Crisis began in 1979. On this day the media traditionally offers us images of burning American flags and effigies of Uncle Sam. We are reminded of the great chasm of mistrust and misunderstanding that has marked the last three decades of US-Iranian relations. But [...]
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Reading Gandhi today in countries like Iran helps these to problematize the issue of nonviolence in their respective civil societies. As such the Gandhian critique of tradition and modernity offers a theoretical terrain for a nonviolent approach to politics in Muslim societies.
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When caricature takes the place of dialogue, everyone suffers – especially when it comes to understanding issues affecting women, who struggle worldwide against being silenced. Some right-wing American bloggers recently twisted an article that I wrote in a way that did just that.
I wrote that many women activists in Muslim countries tend to emphasize issues [...]
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No matter how important rising oil powers outside the Middle East are becoming, the region will continue to be the world’s main source of energy for years to come. Unlike Russia, the Middle East’s OPEC members act as a cartel that produces well under capacity. At current production rates, Russia will be out of the running by 2020. The conditions are not radically different in Africa.
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When the ongoing turmoil surrounding the Iranian elections finally ends, the West is likely to walk away with a simple black and white judgment: the bad guys won. Of course, the West did the right thing by supporting the good guys, the street demonstrators. Hence, the West need not bear any responsibility for the outcome.
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The arrest in New York last month of Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum, a Brooklyn businessman whom police allege tried to broker a deal to buy a kidney for $160,000, coincided with the passage of a law in Singapore that some say will open the way for organ trading there.
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The 13 Aban demonstrations in Iran commemorating the US embassy take-over in 1979 will gain greater significance as we approach the next public demonstrations on Student day: 16 Azar (December 7).
As most analysts have pointed out, it is by now clear that the post-eletion demonstrations are not going away and that there are [...]
There is a certain buzz in Iranian papers about Ahmadinejad's trip to NYC last week. Echoing Israeli newspapers criticizing of Prime Minister Netanyahu's remarks at the UN , the Iranian media is celebrating the unseating of the state of Israel's primary justification for itself.
Archive for Kouross' Blog »Calling all news junkies! I read through many articles to pull today’s story together. Whether or no there is a real connection between the CIA and the insurgent groups on the Iran/Pakistani border is questionable, but what’s more fascinating is why are we hearing so many mixed messages from inside Iran. The article [...]
Archive for Yaz' Blog »