Morality Police

Thanks to the Arabist for this link.
Self-appointed enforcers of Islamic law are becoming more common in Egypt, a Sunni Muslim nation with a population well above 70 million. Unlike the state-sanctioned morality police of conservative theocracies such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, Egypt’s enforcers are ordinary people who take it upon themselves to offer religious [...]

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Of Veils and Segregation

I posted this ages ago when a monaqqaba won a case against AUC because they were barring entry with a face veil. To the comments there i would like to add that the reason i am sorry AUC lost the battle is because AUC is a private institution. It’s not a public park, street or [...]

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Why I Hate Ramadan – Ramadan Rant

I found this unposted piece of writing from last year. I’ve done the editing but havent bothered to change much. Though it’s a little dated to my mind, i think all of the meaning is still there. It’s quite different from the general direction of this blog and i hope it will not offend too [...]

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Saudi divorce over face?!

i found this to be absolutely hilarious.
Since it’s in Arabic, briefly: Woman got fuming mad, left her husband’s house because he purportedly tried to sneak a glance at her face while she was asleep. Funnily enough, they;’ve been married for some 30 years and have children. Now, i know that Khamees (e)Msheit is one of [...]

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Pakistan: Islam’s Fault

UPDATE: oops! forgot the link.
I just read a pretty interesting article in the National Geographic that takes a look at Islam in Pakistan and its relationship to both fundamentalist Islam and violent Islamists, entitled “Struggle for the Soul of Pakistan”. I have always, since my insect-observing science-obsessed nerdy childhood had a certain affection for NG [...]

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Niqab in Philly

Peter Spiro on Opinio Juris brings up the large number of niqab-covered women in Philadelphia, and points to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer on them.

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“Losing My Jihadism”

Someone pointed me to this article in the washington post by a writer (and apparently former imam) who tried salafism and decided the violence wasnt for him. He advocates Islam’s need for a reformation. Needless to say, he’s rather unliked.

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veil accolade

argh!
umm.. err.. uhhh.. umm.. sigh..
argh!
It’s a recent music video called: “You’ve taken on the veil; bravo!”
Do i have to elaborate? i’m sorry, am at a loss.

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Silverstein on Islamists

Just caught an article in the March Harper’s by Ken Silverstein. It’s one of the most measured looks at “Islamist” movements/parties in the region and the West’s (particularly, the US) approach to dealing (or, rather, decidedly not) with them.
Naturally, he touches on the oxymoronic so-called “Bush Doctrine”:
Notwithstanding President Bush’s new “forward strategy of freedom,” the [...]

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Court: AUC can’t ban niqab

While i am generally for personal freedoms, i draw the line at niqab. Primarily because, at the risk of sounding like a government, i do believe that it does cross into that zone where it transgresses others’ security (or senses thereof). I, personally, do not feel safe in the presence of people whose faces i [...]

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Active Islam (Qaeda and MB)

A round up of some recent stuff on Active Islam.
First, the super-evil al-Qaeda. Bruce Reidal from the brookings institute (and a 29-year career in the CIA and political intelligence and security posts) writes in Foreign Affairs on the resurgence of al-Qaeda across the globe and what the US, NATO and other allies should do about [...]

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