The Nomad and the Olive Branch

The intellectual (or the intellectually lacking) debates surrounding Muslim issues post-9/11 has shaken as a whole the foundation of the Muslim body in light of the context of the "modern world", and lead to the formation of many polarized encampments from which people base their arguments and critiques on. Amongst the most exploited camps are those of the apologetic Muslims who keep parrotting "Islam is peace", promoting flowery and "hip" images of Islam through media, and speaking out against the injustices with arguments that draw out excerpts from Islamic doctrine... all at the constant urge of those who criticise Islam. "Where are the protests?" "Islam is a religion of violence." "It needs reform". "Sharia is barbaric". Time and time again, I see new literature springing out again and again repeating the same old lame old mantra. The debate is heading into a standstill b/c both sides are repeating the same stu...

A user named "dodg531" uploaded this 10-part documentary on America's war on democracy. If you're reading this, dodg531, kudos to you from myself. Notice the onus of this film and how it's illustrated in this first part: comparing the sheltered bubble that we all live in to the grim situation which many in third-world countries endure daily, and view each passing second as a struggle for survival. The desperation is largely blamed at "American domination" through right-wing dictators like Pinochet who stratified the pyramid of economic inequality and widened its base for the interests of the upper quintile. Despite this, Simon Bolivar, the known "El Libertador" of South America, is brought forth as a reminder that revolution can crush a foreign influence given the people unite. Chavez is brought up as a potential change and antagonist towards American foreign policy, which, through "aggressive media coverage", brought forth opposition...

If you haven't known by now, I am a student of science, and viewing what I learn about in action is just thrilling for me. I'm an avid Cell Biology fanatic, and I'm not just saying this because I find this video awesome. This one was made by, according to the YouTube caption, geniuses at Harvard as well as XVIVO, so hats off to them for making such a spectacular video. Enjoy it! Find out more by looking up this resource . Salaam, from Saracen P.S. Also, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the poll that I am conducting on Musharraf and the State of Emergency.

And this time, the Iraqi government seems to be responsible. Just when I read the details, I couldn't help but feel irrevocable contempt for a government that is aiding the forces that seek to divide and conquer Iraq by actually promoting the divide. The headline here speaks for itself: It is a volatile city, but one that is vital to Iraq's future, and Kirkuk is now facing its toughest test yet. Just weeks before a scheduled referendum on the city's future, Arab residents are being paid to pack up and leave. It is a controversial scheme, tied up in the struggle over which community should have control of Kirkuk and its huge oilfields. The so-called jewel of the north lies around 250km northeast of the Iraqi capital, and has always been a valuable prize.( Al-Jazeera, 11-06-07 ) Un-!@#$%^&believable. What the hell are they thinking? And what's the issue? The fact is that we have three ethnic groups claiming Kirkuk as their own. Three cheers for this form of "demo...

Just when I got my laptop, I decided to try on the wireless feature at my neighborhood. I was surprised that many people, who had wireless routers and networks, were detected by my laptop. I was even more surprised at the fact that a good number of them were unprotected. Connecting to one gave me a faster connection than the one I had at home. I was tempted to stay connected, but I felt I was doing something that I shouldn't be (call it guilt). I mean, it's not my fault that I was able to tap into my neighbor's internet, even though a door wide open that leads to something wrong doesn't necessarily mean you have to or can go into it. So, I disconnected. I mean, sure: it's not like I killed someone, but it's still as bad as stealing someone's wallet. What if the guy paid for bandwidth? What if his bills are already outrageously high? What if he was doing some serious work that required a consistently hi-speed connection? That would certainly make me a bad nei...

Sometimes, turning stereotypes into comedy serves to undermine the stereotype. Let's see how Jeff Dunham and his pal, Achmed the Terrorist, do that: Achmed The Terrorist - Watch more free videos It sure got a good laugh out of me. Hope you enjoy it! Salaam, from Saracen

One of the most controversial issues in all religions is the case of gender equality in religious beliefs. Unsurprisingly, Islam has faced countless criticism against its so-called “misogynist traditions” in that it is inherently a religion that is biased against women in matters of marriage, divorce and inheritance, among other things. On the other hand, apologetics and scholars alike argue that Islam is a religion in which both sexes are considered equals both under the eyes of God and in social matters. This paper will compare both approaches and attempt at resolving this question from the following perspective: that the religion of Islam is not inherently misanthropic towards women, and that this application does not require a specific social and cultural framework. This standpoint defies many obstacles, among them the rising reports of domestic violence in Islamic countries and the lack of contemporary scholarly discourse on women’s rights in these nations; at the same time, I am ...

I mean, come on: who's better at spreading democracy like it should be done than the U.S. government? And who's even better at colonial suppression than the U.K.'s? Ever since the end of World War II, the U.S. government established itself as a superpower by nuking two separate cities in Japan, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese, all under the pretext of "saving the lives of millions"? This is not to relieve blame from the Axis Powers, but to highlight the fact that two wrongs don't make a right. However, the U.S. government kept using that pretext to elect governments that serve its interests all around the world. After all, it is the U.S. government, the no. 1 hombre of freedom and democracy, that is choosing those governments, so why should we be pissed? My horrible sarcasm aside, the U.S. government has hid behind the auspices of freedom and democracy to mask its subduing post-colonialist neo-imperialist interests the world over. But I must...

The big news in Iraq these days has brought into the spotlight a religious minority that has yet to make it to the news, if ever. I'm not talking about Iraqi Jews or the Chaldo-Assyrian Christians, but rather the religious group known as the Yazidis. The casualties of the Iraq war have shown themselves to be rather equally discriminatory against all sects, as Sunnites, Shiites, Christians, Jews and now Yazidis alike have fell to the juggernaut of the Coalition, Al Qaeda and who knows who else is messing Iraq up. But this isn't just one event, but rather a series of events that happened over a matter of days. They have climaxed to truck explosions that left hundreds dead. To keep the events in perspective ( Al Jazeera, 08-15-07 ), In April, a Yazidi teenager who had recently converted to Islam was stoned to death after she reportedly fell in love with a Muslim and ran off with him. The incident appears to have sparked an increase in attacks on members of the sect. The bodies of ...

Since September 11, 2001, the growing interest in Islamic studies has led to serious inquiry about Islam’s integration with the modern global community over myriads of issues. One of the most prominent challenges to Islam is its compatibility, or lack thereof, with the most promoted form of political and social decision-making today, democracy. Another challenge involves the necessity of implementing democracy in Islamic institutional and social reform. There is a wide spectrum of views concerning this subject. Some scholars insist that Islam’s coexistence with democracy is possible, and even more insist that the implementation of democracy is a prerequisite for such reform in the modern world. Others, however, oppose the notion of democracy altogether, instead calling for more “Islamic” methods. While I do agree that Islam and democracy can go hand-in-hand, although not entirely, I do not consider democracy a necessity for social reconstruction in the Islamic world today. At the same ...