The Nomad and the Olive Branch

Saladin. The name echoes heroism, chivalry, and magnanimity. The legend has become larger than life and is loved or at least respected even by his enemies and detractors. I picked this book up, interested in the chance to review what probably was an Orientalist critique of the man himself, but I was surprised by John Man's even-handedness and fairness in covering this historic figure. Having read snippets of Saladin's life in  The Crusade through Arab Eyes by Lebanese-French historian Amine Maalouf, I found both an admiring and critical viewpoint in Man's approach. The book itself comprises just over 340 pages, but it is, as many reviews have stated, "fast-paced" and "thrilling". The language is easy to follow, and the book itself is quite a page-turner for a history-themed work. The book starts by framing the historical context in which Saladin was a part of, namely that of the early 3 Crusader Wars. The book then talks of Saladin's early...

I have to admit, the book cover and the catchy title (and the rather edgy subtitle) drew me to buy this book out of impulse. Okay, maybe not completely out of impulse. After having read her previous book "A History of God", I have been fascinated with the works of Karen Armstrong, a former Catholic nun turned atheist scholar of religion. Her previous work centered on the 3 Abrahamic faiths in a layman-like fashion of historical narration, focusing first on the Creation story of Adam and Eve right up to the humble beginnings of the Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) pivotal role in the initiation and spread of Islam. Being a former Catholic nun, Armstrong's works have an Abrahamic bias to them. However, this book - which delivers on its promise - tells of the history of violence in general and frames this history against the backdrop of the rise and fall of religions the world over. While I would generally say that spoilers abound, this is moot in light of the book...

Reza Aslan is one of those intellectuals notorious for their uncompromising stance, bluntness, and, to a certain degree, political incorrectness. It comes to no surprise, then, that his latest publication, God: A Human History , reflects his headstrong approach in the sphere of all things religion and spirituality. However, despite Aslan's misgivings, this book is a thoroughly enjoyable read and indeed a most enlightening one. While his previous book, Beyond Fundamentalism , explored the notion of a "cosmic war" of ideologies against a backdrop of globalization, God: A Human History instead looks at how religion came to be from a more scientific standpoint, coming to a conclusion based on his own personal experiences with faith and belief. The book starts with Aslan's recounting of his conversion to Christianity and subsequent reversion to Islam, followed by a revelation of his newly adopted pantheistic approach to which he returns to near the end of the book...

I have a confession to make: I love Jordan Weisman's BattleTech series. To make a long story short, it's like Game of Thrones but deeper, in space, and filled with giant walking machines of destruction. My first exposure was in 1995. I was 9 years old when we got our first home personal computer, a Toshiba model that came with the video game MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat. The game enthralled me and my then 7-year-old brother at the time with its deep lore and fast-paced strategic combat, and the soundtrack wasn't bad to boot (here's a  sample ). Since then, I bought almost every game in the series, up to and including the recent BattleTech game by Hairbrained Schemes. It wasn't until my university years, interestingly enough, that I heard about the BattleTech novels, specifically the Twilight of the Clans series. With the "infinite" resources of the internet at my disposal (thank you, Amazon and eBay, though I have some stern words for you, A...

It has been a tumultuous week that has passed. Ever since seeing the soul-crushing news of 61 (SIXTY ONE) Palestinians murdered as they were protesting their rights to be free from the open-air prison of Gaza, I've been sick to my stomach and heartbroken. The blood of my brothers and sisters spilt over the sands of the Gaza Strip ran aplenty as if it were cheap. Men, women, children, journalists, and medical personnel were slaughtered in cold blood with live ammunition from guns fired by Israeli terrorist soldiers hundreds of yards away overlooking the "border". What did the shameful Western media do about it? CNN claims "dozens die at the border". The NYT published multiple sham propaganda attempts disguised as "opinion pieces" blaming the Palestinians for their deaths, even going as far as to dehumanize them and negate their suffering. Even the BBC had the gall to call them "clashes". "Clashes"?! It was a massacre! Murde...

It was supposed to be one flag, a flag that united Arabs of different origins, backgrounds, cultures, religions, and ethnicities into one common cause for rebellion, freedom, and self-determination. The flag depicted represents the flag of the initial Arab revolt in World War 1, the "war to end all wars". While it may have ended for some, it did not end for the Arabs, especially those now in Palestine, Iraq, and Syria let alone the entire Middle East, now ruled by despots and tyrants willing to lick the boots of the same colonial powers that divvied up and shattered the unity of Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa. Make no mistake: this is not a hearkening back to "the old days" or a call for open rebellion or revolt, but rather a thorough and damning examination into the state that we Arabs are in today. With the occupation of Palestine, the invasion of Iraq, the massacre of innocents in Syria, the bombardment of Lebanon not too forgotten in recent memo...

There really is no such thing as bad publicity let alone checks and balances against those who promote it. However, there is such a thing as intellectual dishonesty, and such ignorance is a pox on how we conduct our affairs, and it is this same ignorance that prevents us from seeing the world through a more objective lens. Nevertheless, that humans operate the media and our sources of information only adds to the subjectivity, and there is an increasing and frightening authoritarian trend to dismiss all efforts of objectivity even from within the media sources themselves. Now, more than ever, do we need a strong and objective press, even in the face of all these allegations of "fake news", a dumbed-down, infantile, thuggish, and inane accusation lobbed to dismiss all objective yet negative depictions of certain asinine, incompetent, and unscrupulous politicians. To put things in perspective, Kant spoke of noumenal and phenomenal realities, reality impervious to our subj...