religion

By Patricia Hogwood | (The Conversation) | – – Angela Merkel will continue as chancellor of Germany. But following an election that saw the rise of smaller parties – most notably the far right – her fourth term will probably be an eventful one in ways she would not wish for. The Union parties (Merkel’s […]

Arab Americans

Trump tries to Camouflage Muslim Ban with a Few Venezuelans and N. Koreans

Juan Cole

TeleSur | – – The addition of North Korea and Venezuela broadens the restrictions from the original, mostly Muslim-majority list. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that Venezuela and North Korea will be added to the list of countries banned from traveling to the United States. The order outlines different restrictions for each country on […]

Arab Americans

New Customized Muslim Banned planned by Trump

Juan Cole

TeleSur | – – The original measures tried to prohibited travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the U.S. U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban is expected to be altered to tailor it to several specific countries deemed not to comply with the Department of Homeland Security regulations. Reports from […]

Buddhism

As Muslims rally for the Rohingya, what About the Rest of Us?

Juan Cole

By John Feffer | ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) | – – If only Muslims reach out to help the Rohingya, the international community will suffer another blow to its reputation. They were Muslims, and they were leaving the country in droves. Their homeland, a remote corner of a multiethnic country, had become a […]

Donald Trump

Iranian Leader: Trump is “Disturbed,” speaks like a Cowboy or Mobster

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Iranian hardliners are still responding to Trump’s speech at the UN Monday, in which he accused Iran of backing terrorism and called the nuclear deal the worst deal the US had ever made. Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday that Donald Trump’s address to the […]

Authoritarianism

Muslim Rohingya Refugees from Burma: “The Army… burned down my house.”

Juan Cole

TeleSur | – – “The army came and burned down my house. I was inside the house at that time,” one survivor said. Rohingya refugees arriving at treatment centers in Bangladesh covered in burns have told of an increased wave of violence against Muslims by the government’s military offensive. “The army came and they burned […]

Feminism

Given Fundamentalist impact on Syria, Women’s Freedoms in Doubt

contributors

By Manal Ismael | ( Global Voices Online ) | – – In early September 2017, a piece of paper with a potent message targeted against women, held by a group of Hezbollah fighters in Juroud Arsal, Eastern Lebanon, went viral. The message, which celebrates “every woman who is not using her own photo as […]

Buddhism

Can Turkey’s Erdogan ride Rohingya Crisis to global Muslim Leadership?

Juan Cole

By Simon P. Watmough | The Conversation | – – The emerging humanitarian crisis that has been rocking Myanmar – where an estimated 370,000 Rohingya have been forced out of the country – has prompted broad international condemnation. But so far it has translated into little concrete action. United Nations (UN) human rights chief Zeid […]

Elections

Can Iran keep its Influence in Baghdad?

Juan Cole

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – Iran wants to reunite the fighting Shiite Muslim political parties in Iraq that once gave it unconditional support. But that job is far from easy. Last week Mahmoud Shahroudi, the head of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, which advises that country’s theological leader, Ali Khamenei, visited Baghdad. […]