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...

It is not the most rosy topic, sure, but at least one group in every major era of history has come out with End-Times theological ramblings. From the Sumerians and Mayans to the terrorist groups and evangelical zealots of today, the Apocalypse has become a subject of controversy, satire, and foreboding. The Mahdis and Messiahs of prophecies passed on long ago are starting to look more and more wanting. Ultimately, it is the battle between "Good" and "Evil", "Order" and "Chaos", or what-have-you that will decide the fate of this world in the years to come. Wolves in sheepskin and other Anti-Christ-like figures have surfaced to the forefront of political discussion. Demons and Demon-worship have become topics of popular culture, even to the extent of glorification. Clerics espouse ideologies centered on hate and discord, at the same time warning of an impending slaughter that will spare no home, school, or hospital. Dishonesty is becoming the way...

I apologize for not posting as of late, and I know this topic is way out of date now. Life has a tendency of getting in the way of less important endeavors like blogging, not to say that what I'm about to address is of little significance compared to living your daily routine day by day. Considering what is going on these days, I'm sure you'd be surprised as to why I am posting this now as opposed to day it started. Well, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls... I'm back, and what I'm about to say and show you is not pretty, nor for the faint of heart, if you know what I mean. Last January, the Gaza Strip, an area no larger than Washington, D.C. and populated by 1.5 million Palestinians of whom at least 80% live below the poverty line and can not sustain or transport themselves [ 1 ], has been under attack by the Israeli army. The casualties number in at least 1,000 Gazans killed, mostly civilians and roughly half of the total being children [ 2 ]. Since the conflict...

DISCLAIMER: This topic is not against the nature or necessity of a military force. This topic addresses a disturbing social and political phenomenon that absolves armies from the same accountability that applies to every armed group. But then again, this world isn't a just and fair place. Moreover, take note that I do not support nor condone any military, militant group, or insurgent organization, nor any actions which - BS semantics aside - are clearly unjustifiable. Lastly, before you read on, I acknowledge my biases for "underdogs". This bias, however, does not detract from the gist of the topic itself. After surfing over several political forums, mainly "politicalcrossfire.com" (where, as many of you might already know, I post occasionally), I've come across a rather disturbing trend. There is a prevalent notion that the military of a nation is somehow above the law and for some reason does not have the ability to commit acts of terrorism or war crimes....

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...

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

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 ...

The title of this post barely describes the despair and distrust that many Palestinians now have for the main political parties, Hamas and Fatah. This wave of conflict in Gaza that has just fired up was started by Fatah's targeting of Hamas members and politicians, along with their compliance and collaboration with Israeli soldiers in kidnapping such politicians and other innocent people that may have entered in the way of these soldiers. But now, Israel seems to only watch the conflagration that is firing up in both Gaza and the West Bank, definitely benefitting from this new discord and discontent. Personally, I am disappointed and disgusted that both parties sink to such a new low, and it looks like that they're not going to recover. Hamas responds to the attack on PM Haniya by killing Fatah members in the street and throwing them off the tops of buildings, while Fatah joins this bashfest and does the same. Fatah and Hamas make it worse by fighting each other in the open, an...

Why, you ask? Well, considering that their government has been helping the states defeat the UIC in neighboring Somalia by invading the nation and making way for U.S. Navy Seals to enter and make an even bigger mess... of course, that's after they helped the corrupt transitional government, again backed by the U.S. A "diplomat" by the name of Nurudin Farah was in Somalia during the time of this unrest, and he watched the chaos unfold right before his very eyes. However, he paints a different picture that many people are used to seeing in neocon PR. According to the New York Times (thanks, Mr. Abu Khalil), Over Christmas, Ethiopia, perhaps intending to provide a gift for the festive season to its American ally, invaded Mogadishu and expelled the Islamists. With thousands of Ethiopian troops in the country — and only a few African Union troops from elsewhere — savage battles took place in Mogadishu between the transitional government army (backed by Ethiopia) and the Islam...