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Formerly "Hudson Institute, New York" Latest ArticlesIslam and Free Speech: OIC vs. Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Michael Curtis • February 8, 2012 at 5:00 am
One of the important early contributions of James Madison to American life was his impact on the framing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1776. One section stated that "all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion according to the dictates of conscience." Another declared that "any citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right." The Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution went even further with the provision that Congress should make no law "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion or abridge the freedom of speech or of the press. As a result of Islamic activity in recent years the question has arisen in Western countries whether tension or incompatibility exists between the two principles, freedom of speech and freedom of religion, and whether restrictions should be imposed on speech critical of religions or religious beliefs. Should those beliefs and belief systems be protected from adverse comment? Equally should not those who may be offended by such comment tolerate the legitimate exercise of free expression in democratic societies?
Brazil's President in Cuba by Anna Mahjar-Barducci • February 8, 2012 at 3:30 am
Human rights activists had high expectations for Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's first official visit to Cuba last January 30. Rousseff visited Cuba just few days after the international media reported that Brazil was distancing itself from Iran over the Iranian regime's human rights abuses. Further, just a week before her arrival to Cuba, the Brazilian government gave a visa to a Cuban opponent and blogger, Yoani Sanchez, raising hopes that Rousseff would show some support to dissidents. Many therefore thought that the Brazilian president would have taken a public stand against human rights violations perpetrated by the Castro's dictatorship, but that turned out to be just wishful thinking.
by Herbert I. London • February 8, 2012 at 3:15 am
It has become glaringly apparent that the college tuition bubble is about to burst. At a time of financial exigency, the cost of $250,000 for a four-year education at a private college is beyond the means of most middle class parents. That story is now very much front page news. What may not be front page news, but is itself a related bubble, is the excessive commentary surrounding the liberal arts. If one speaks to an academic immersed in the academic culture, he is likely to glorify the virtues of the liberal arts curriculum. The liberal arts, however, have been injected with foreign steroids that have ballooned the number of offerings and weakened the meaning of the curriculum. If one were to rely on the Matthew Arnold standard of "the best that is known and thought as a guide," the current curriculum is anything that will fit, or whatever you can get away with.
Israel Undecided on Attacking Iran by AK Group • February 8, 2012 at 3:00 am
United States President Barack Obama said Monday that he does not think Israel has decided whether to attack Iran over its disputed nuclear program, a standoff that has the Middle East on edge. The president sought to assure allies and foes alike that the U.S. was working in lockstep with Israel to solve the crisis, "hopefully diplomatically." Obama's comments came as Israel's major allies in the West are working hard to talk it out of a unilateral military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, arguing forcefully that an attack ultimately would only strengthen the regime in Tehran. "I don't think that Israel has made a decision on what they need to do," Obama said during a pre-Super Bowl interview with NBC television. He reiterated that the U.S. has removed no option from consideration in dealing with Iran an allusion to military intervention but emphasized that the U.S. wants a diplomatic solution built around a world coalition.
by Ahmed El Aswany • February 7, 2012 at 5:00 am
Translated and Introduced by Raymond Ibrahim. The following op-ed, written by Ahmed El Aswany, appeared in the popular news website El Bashayer, December 22, 2011, following several lawsuits against Egypt's Christians, most notably billionaire Naguib Sawiris, for "defaming Islam." Hard-hitting and self-critical, it deals with an important question: Exactly who is it that defames Islam and its prophet Muhammad? Many in the Muslim world insist it is the West—whether through cartoons, books, or simply free speech. However, as El Aswany boldly argues, no one defames Islam as much as "we Muslims, for imposing a terrorist, hypocrite, and life-hating Islamic model that feeds on killing others in the name of jihad and fighting freedom of expression…" ------ I do not believe that cartoons, books, or movies can defame any religion or affect the faith of its adherents and true believers.
Palestinian Authority: Write Only Nice Things About Your Leaders by Khaled Abu Toameh • February 7, 2012 at 4:45 am
Facebook has become a dangerous playground for Palestinians living under the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. The US-backed Palestinian Authority security forces belonging to Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad have been monitoring the activities of Palestinians on Facebook to make sure that no one criticizes them. The Palestinian Authority wants Palestinians to write only nice things about their leaders. Criticism should be directed only against Israel. Those who fail to toe the line will find themselves either behind bars or without work. The Palestinian leaders are aware of the power of social networking, especially in light of what happened in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria. The Palestinian leadership's clampdown on Facebook users is seen as a pre-emptive measure to prevent the "Arab Spring" from infiltrating into the West Bank. Rami Samara, a Palestinian journalist from Ramallah, last week found himself under interrogation by two different security agencies in the West Bank: Military Intelligence and General Intelligence.
Europe Moving Even Farther Left by Peter Martino • February 7, 2012 at 4:30 am
What will happen if the euro collapses? Politicians such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy say it will be an unmitigated disaster. They depict a gloomy future in which complete chaos follows and the nations of Europe go back to their past habit of waging war on each other. Swiss professor Bruno S. Frey of the University of Zurich, however, is not impressed. Last week he published an article in which he called these scaremongering statements "careless" and "totally misleading." The euro, the EU, and Europe are far from being identical, he points out. Not all the countries in Europe are members of the European Union – Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Ukraine, and a number of others are not. Nor do all the EU member states use the euro as their currency – such as Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Poland and a number of others.
If Armenian 'Genocide' Proven, Turkey will Apologize, Bagis Says by AK Group • February 7, 2012 at 3:00 am
Turkey's Minister for European Affairs and chief European Union negotiator Egemen Bağış on Saturday said if claims that the 1915 deportation of Anatolian Armenians constituted "genocide" could be historically and scientifically substantiated, Turkey would apologize for it. As a guest on "Talk to Al Jazeera," one of the most popular programs on the Al Jazeera English-language news station, Bağış responded to extensive questions regarding whether the Turkish government would recognize the 1915 incidents as "genocide." Bağış said: "If it is recognized as a reality approved both historically and scientifically, moreover, unanimously, then why not?" He noted that every nation has dark moments in its history, asking, "Would you be able to name a nation without any dark chapters or pains in its past?" He also noted that to prove if the incident amounted to "genocide" or not, first the disputed issue needs to be examined objectively. However, he said the Armenian government was not brave enough to confront its own history, as it refuses to disclose its historical archives.
British Muslims Try to Ban Negative Reporting of Islam by Soeren Kern • February 6, 2012 at 5:00 am
A Muslim activist group with links to the Muslim Brotherhood has asked the British government to restrict the way the British media reports about Muslims and Islam. The effort to silence criticism of Islam comes amid an ongoing public inquiry into British press standards following a phone-hacking scandal involving the News of the World and other British newspapers. The Leveson Inquiry, established by British Prime Minister David Cameron in July 2011, is currently considering how to increase government oversight of the British media. But in a move that many worry will result in government regulation of the Internet, Lord Justice Leveson, a British judge who serves as Chairman of the inquiry, now says he wants to include Internet bloggers into any system of press regulation that he proposes.
by Raheel Raza • February 6, 2012 at 4:30 am
"You have each been convicted of the planned and deliberate murder of four members of your family. The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your twisted notion of honor, a notion of honor that is founded upon the domination and control of women, a sick notion of honor that has absolutely no place in any civilized society." Ontario Judge Robert Maranger, delivering the verdict in the Shafia murder case. On Sunday, January 29, 2012, the Ontario Superior Court imposed mandatory sentences of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, on Mohammad Shafia, 58, his younger, second wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed Shafia, 21. The polygamous Shafia family had come to Canada from Afghanistan. The accused had strong defence lawyers; and the jury deliberated for 15 hours before coming to a unanimous verdict. The trio were all found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder. Canada does not impose death sentences and will not extradite people within its borders to jurisdictions that order capital punishment.
by Mohshin Habib • February 6, 2012 at 3:30 am
Israel's Deputy Prime Minister, Silvan Shalom, the descendant of a Tunisian family, recently called on the Tunisian Jewish community to leave the country and emigrate to Israel. A few members of the media, including the BBC, reported on his remark, brought on by the rise of the Islamists there, but noted that the few Jews remaining in Tunisia had rejected the call. In Tunisia, the Islamist Ennahda party won the most votes, 41.7%, in last election, following the ouster of Tunisian long time president Zine Al-Abedin Ben Ali. According to the January 31 BBC report, Attoun Khalifa, a senior figure of the Jewish community said, "I am a Tunisian Jew. I know my country well. I am against the proposition to leave because no one here is afraid. I do not tell Shalom where to go." Gilles Jacob Lellouche, owner of a kosher restaurant said, "I am proud of being a Tunisian Jew. Where would I go -- to Europe? Come on, I am not stupid. To Israel? I am not that stupid either." Earlier, as the only candidate not elected in the October 23 election, Lellouche said." I want to break the taboo that someone from a minority cannot get involved in politics."
Arab Heroes by Ali Alyami • February 6, 2012 at 3:15 am
While President Obama and his European counterparts are going out of their way to apologize for defending their citizens' democratic way of life and to assure Muslims, especially the rich Gulf royals, that the West is not "at war with Islam" but rather with terrorists groups such as Al-Qaeda, a cadre of Saudi women is unabashedly challenging Saudi religious extremism and its destructive impact on them, their children, society and the international community.
French Army Change Route After Turkey Ban by AK Group • February 6, 2012 at 3:00 am
French state aircraft and warships are no longer using Turkish airspace and territorial waters after permission requests in three different cases were rejected by the Turkish government, France's top diplomat in Ankara said amid the ongoing spat over a French law penalizing the denial of Armenian genocide. "Our requests [for an aircraft and two warships] have been rejected, so we are no longer issuing such requests. We are using alternative routes," France's Ambassador to Turkey Laurent Bili told the private news channel CNN Türk in an interview. Bili said the first rejection was a request for a French military aircraft that wanted to use Turkish airspace on its way to France from Afghanistan. Similarly, two French warships were not allowed to enter Turkish territorial waters recently. Turkey's move against the French military was part of sanctions imposed against France after the adoption of the law at French Parliament late December last year.
by Soeren Kern • February 3, 2012 at 5:00 am
The southern Italian island of Sicily is about to become the proud new owner of a multi-million euro mega-mosque. The mosque, to be built in the medieval town of Salemi in southwestern Sicily, is being paid for by the oil-rich Persian Gulf Emirate of Qatar. Supporters of the mosque hope it will become a reference point for Muslims in Sicily as well as the rest of Italy. Construction of the mosque reflects the growing influence of Islam in Italy, which is now home to an estimated 1.5 million Muslims.
Abbas Blocks Young Leadership, Ensuring Hamas Victory by Khaled Abu Toameh • February 3, 2012 at 4:30 am
Fatah leaders in the West Bank announced this week that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is their only candidate for the presidential election expected to take place in May 2012. The announcement enraged several disillusioned Fatah officials, some of whom called on the 76-year-old Abbas not to seek re-election so as to pave the way for the emergence of young and fresh faces. Although Abbas made it clear over the past few years that he had no plans to run in another election, his aides in Ramallah are now saying that he does not plan to retire in the near future. Abbas and his veteran colleagues in the Palestinian Authority and PLO believe they have a monopoly over the Palestinian issue and the decision-making process. They are convinced that they know better than anyone else what is good and bad for the Palestinians. Any young leader who dares to challenge them or question their wisdom is quickly denounced as a 'traitor" and "fifth columnist."
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