The Nomad and the Olive Branch

I didn't know what to expect when reading a book composed by one of the most prominent Muslim intellectuals of the 21st Century. For a second, I thought I was gonna read a book about the traditional tropes of radicals in the 3 Abrahamic faiths being rooted in a minority of their respective followers. The shocking thesis of Reza Aslan portrayed in this book describes a much more endemic problem: the idea of a "cosmic war" between what each radical group perceives as "good" and "evil", and how that differs and at the same time finds common ground between the 3 faiths. The backdrop of globalization further emphasizes the de-nationalization of identity and the construction of a new identity that transcends geographical and racial boundaries, whether he talks of the radical groups such as Al Qaeda, the Christian right-wing extremists in the USA, or the Zionist settler groups in the West Bank. He asserts that such a history goes back to some of the ear...

Benjamin Franklin once said that there is no such thing as a good war or a bad peace. The concept of "just war" seems to be too idealistic: given the variety of historical accounts that cover any particular war in known history, there will always be an opposing narrative calling out injustices on part of the "other". The fallible nature of man and the subjectivity of human perception have guaranteed the perpetuation of such a pattern of injustice against those who are wronged... wrongfully. After all, war is political. It's a means to an end for those seeking resources, land, wealth, influence, and power. Yet oftentimes we are led to believe that armies around the 1st Century B.C. onwards have started to adopt more restrictive measures in dealing with enemy positions. Is it possible that the people of these times became aware of the monstrosity of warfare, and the barbarity of killing needlessly and endlessly? It may seem that way, especially considering the e...

The First World War was one of the costliest wars if not the costliest war in the last two millennia. Both Allied and Central powers lost much in terms of manpower, military strength, production capability, and economic stability. [1] Given historical tensions between Germany and France dating back to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the French leadership saw an opportunity in the end of the war to weaken Germany vis-à-vis the Versailles Treaty of 1919, the WWI postwar settlement. [2] The original stipulations of the Versailles Treaty were designed to weaken Germany militarily, politically, and economically to ensure that it was not strong enough to attack France or its neighbors. Such conditions included demilitarization of areas such as the Rhineland or the Saar Valley, limitations on the size of the German military, monetary reparations, and loss of territory. [3] British Prime Minister Lloyd George, American President Woodrow Wilson, and the new German Weimar government, among o...

One of the most widely hailed "best game" of all time is the action/adventure/stealth/strategy/RPG known as Deus Ex (it's designer, Warren Spector - who produced the hardcore sci-fi/horror System Shock and the legendary steampunk Thief series - did not categorize Deus Ex into a specific genre, coming to show that it has reached a level of appreciation beyond any mere classification), a VG that I had the pleasure of going through once. The sequel itself, Deus Ex: Invisible War, was quite good as well (and it also came with a quality soundtrack). They both had all the elements of a great game: open-ended situations, pivotal dilemmas to decide on, well-rounded characters that you actually could develop (un)sympathetic emotions towards, occasional side-stories and numerous humor-reliefs, aesthetic sci-fi visuals (so I admit I am a big fan of the sci-fi genre), and - most importantly - a solid storyline that anyone can relate to... well, almost anyone. But what struck me most ...

It is not uncommon that one changes one's views in light of what one encounters in life, and how one's world is suddenly shaken, but not completely stirred, in the face of an iminent groundbreaking notion... Well, maybe not that groundbreaking, but one's foundations in thought are altered nonetheless in ways that manifest themselves in action and words. Most importantly, one's attitudes shift in their entirety, and all issues related to that particular topic change. But what, pray tell, could that particular subject be in this meager post? The title's the giveaway here, so it shouldn't be that much of a surprise. Allow me, then, to explain what you may perceive as my change of heart. In my early years into my awakening towards socio-political situations on the global scale, I was a nationalist of sorts. I had my mind set on the nation that is the Palestinian people, a "righteous" nation "oppressed" by Israel. One day, I had thought to myself...

I know this is old, but it's a rather memorable lecture/seminar from the late Edward Said, posted for your watching pleasure, or displeasure if you're allergic to enlightenment. Either way, Said's voice is one of the most articulate, intellectual, moderate, and, above all, intelligent. His loss severely damaged, in my opinion, the level of intellectual discourse amongst and from Palestinians as a whole. Here's to hoping that there are Palestinians willing to grow a pair (like this man did) and stand outright against the injustices perpetrated by the political groups - Israel's government, Fatah, and Hamas (surprised?) - who take advantage of the oppression of Palestinians to maintain dominance and control. Salaam, from Saracen

There have been records upon records of discriminatory acts against Muslims and other visible minorities in the states, but this is just sickening. I for one have never seen discrimination on live video more than I have seen it in the movies and those re-enactions in documentaries. The video? Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. I was going to puke, but I don't want to waste a morning breakfast on account of a few ignorant racists... Well, 13% stood up with the Muslim woman, and 6% stood with the baker. Both the Muslim and the baker were actors, so the real condemnation goes against those who discriminated. Worse still, the remaining stood silent and did absolutely nothing. In the words of one concerned viewer, it would be no wonder to find that some of them are "closeted bigots". The only bright side to this video is the humanity exhibited by those who stood up for the woman. This is interesting to note, considering that yesterday (or the day before?) was the commemoration...

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...