The Nomad and the Olive Branch

First, it was Evo Morales of Bolivia. Afterwards, it was Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. And now,it's Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista movement, out of all parties, of Nicaragua. The wave of electoral victories by leftist parties in the Western hemisphere has come to show that the rightwing certainly is wrong on most parts, and is losing support fast. Then again, "anti-Americanism" is rife in this part of the world. Of course, when it comes to bigger nations intervening in the affairs of "the little guys", you can expect a warm response to such meddling... right? But that aside, Latin America was a major Cold War front back in the 50's onwards. From it arose famous figures, such as Che Guevara (who, while glorified and immortalized on t-shirts, baseball caps, and posters, was a murderer at best), Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, and - who would've guessed it? - Daniel Ortega. During the era of the Cold War, many democratically-elected leftist leaders of Lat...

I admit: I do sound like a "culture-centric" person at times... well, probably most of the time? Most of the issues that I address here on this blog deal with the Middle East and Islam, particularly because I am a Middle Eastern Muslim. Thing is, I don't want my identity to affect my scope of things to the totality of ignoring all other views, news, and beliefs. The world does not revolve around a single point on itself. It spins on an axis, with each part of the world getting its share of the Sun and Moon. While some issues may technically be viewed "hotter" than others, there is no way one can ignore other worldly issues because these issues will, one day, affect us all, and that we can't assume how good or bad the world has become. For example, I tend to base my assertion that the world is a worser place than it was 6 years ago mainly because of what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the worsening situation for Palestinians living in the West B...

Something told me that Saddam's guilty verdict was just another tactic to divert media attention. I mulled that over when I considered the relative calm in Iraq. However, when my eyes turned back to Palestine, I was shocked to see what had happened. Apparently, Palestinians are in an uproar, not because of Fatah or Hamas, but because of the Israeli army. And this uproar was caused by... a massacre. And this just came in after Saddam's verdict, did it not? Well, apparently, 18 civilians were killed in an indiscriminate shelling attack on the Gazan town of Beit Hanun ( Al Jazeera ). What's even more enraging is that the casualty count included seven children and four women who all died when Israeli tanks fired on their home as they were sleeping on Wednesday morning . Get that: more than HALF of the civilian casualties were innocent women and children. It is clear-cut, however, that the other casualties most likely involved dead men as well who were most likely innocent. A...

Funny... the last time I tuned into Iraq , it was in a state of chaos and anarchy, with the Iraqi capital of Baghdad divided into many mini-states, with the bubble world known as the "Green Zone" fortified from the rest of the death and destruction. A month ago or so, the death toll was found to be shockingly higher than it was estimated to be. But looking at the present, something happened that wasn't too surprising for the common viewer: Saddam Hussein, former President of Iraq... was sentenced to death. I honestly don't know what to make of it. On one side, he is finally getting punished for the crimes he committed against innocent Iraqis. On the other hand, there shouldn't have been such a big contemplation over this issue. What's worse was that the verdict was just another factor that could prove to be divisive, so says Al Jazeera.net . It should be noted that Saddam still had many (pro-Baath) supporters amongst the Iraqi populace, not that it's a go...

The Crusades were one of the bloodiest wars in the history of mankind, and was grossly misinterpreted as a war between "Muslims" and "Christians". The same thing could be said for the Lebanese Civil War, which involved a myriad of sectarian factions that allied with each other at parts and opposed each other later on, or vice-versa. However, the same can't be said entirely regarding the Crusades, although, like all wars, the Crusades were driven largely by political motivations more than anything else. And then you've got your extremists, from all sides. The most notable group of extremists are the Knights Templar, who were Crusader Knights that wanted to openly fight with the Muslim, Christian and Jewish "infidels" of Palestine and subjugate them either to death or conversion... their choice. However, from reading the New Testament, I admit that I actually find it less draconic than the Koran and the Old Testament, with the latter being the more d...

I admit that I am no student of Philosophy. However, I must comment that after reading certain philosophical works (are they philosophical?), I started to question them from a more - you can say - "simplistic" point of view, one that does not include all the confusing mumbo jumbo in contemporary and classical Philosophy. One such person who caught my eye was a German guy named Hegel. Georg Hegel . He was a German philosopher back in the day, and had quite a cult following, both right-wingers and left-wingers. I tend to view him in the same light as the same guy who said that "democracies can't fight each other" (which is utterly false ). Why is that? Hegel, like Samuel Huntington, in his controversial yet faulty "Clash of Civilizations" theory (I wrote something about this , but I suppose Edward Said has a much better argument), provided a philosophy that is based on simplistic collectivist ideas that do not take into account the many variables that s...

With chaos stretching from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean, we have never lived in a more dangerous time. Our man in the Middle East looks back over a lifetime of covering war and death, and lays out a bleak future for all of us - one that even those living in the comfort of the Home Counties cannot escape. by Robert Fisk A few days after Lebanon's latest war came to an end, I went through many of the reporter's notebooks I have used in my last 30 years in the Middle East. Some contained the names of dead colleagues, others the individual stories of the suffering of Arabs and Kurds and Christians and Jews. One, dated 1991, is even splashed with a dark and viscous substance, the oil that came raining down on us from the skies over the Kuwaiti desert after Saddam blew up the wells of the Emirate. It was only after a few minutes that I realised what I was looking for: some hint, back in the days of dangerous innocence, of what was going to happen on 11 September 2001. And sure en...

"God created you from a single male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so ye may know each other, not that ye may despise each other ." -The Koran, (49:13) When you look at a map of the world, you will notice that it's not one big homogeneous land mass. It is a world divided by borders. But look further, and there are more divisions than meets the eye. You will see people... many people... of different backgrounds, whether they are cultural, racial, social or religious. The world itself is a mosaic within a mosaic within a mosaic, and these mosaics aren't simply components of each other, but interweave at parts. Unfortunately, there are many who wish to disrupt this delicate balance, especially regarding religious divisions. Throughout history, religious divisions have been at most pseudo-apocalyptic: from the Crusades to the Inquisition, while politically driven, had religious undertones, and spiritual differences were exploited for the sake of...

Ramadan: It's Not Just a Food Fast Ramadan in America can be overwhelming. Here are five ways to simplify and be more spiritual for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. By Dilshad D. Ali Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, is special to millions of Muslims worldwide as a holy period dedicated to fasting, self-purification, and spiritual attainment. Every year the world’s Muslims redesign their life to focus on the goals of Ramadan: A whole-body awareness of God and a humble thankfulness for whatever blessings He has granted. But Ramadan in non-Muslim countries can be more challenging, as Muslims try to navigate the requirements and recommendations of Ramadan--fasting from sunrise to sunset, fitting in the five daily prayers at their appointed times, attending special evening tarawih prayers at the mosque, and reading the Qur’an each day for an entire month--while juggling the demands of work, school, and family. While I passed lunchtime in my junior high school guidance cou...