In The News

Danube Blues

Ben Aris April 26, 2004
Soon to become part of the European Union (EU), Hungary is now "busily trying to dump its Soviet-era trappings," says this article in the Guardian. Symbolic moves, like canceling Stalin's honorary citizenship and prohibiting the public display of communist red stars, are being taken to distance Hungary from its communist past. But economic concerns aren't so easy to legislate...

Militants in Europe Openly Call for Jihad and the Rule of Islam

Patrick E. Tyler April 26, 2004
As the situation in Iraq worsens, radical Muslims in Europe are stepping up their recruitment efforts. In the streets of countries such as England, France and Germany, more and more young Muslim Europeans are gathering to hear radical clerics' preaching on violence and martyrdom in the service of Islam. Ironically, it is often exactly the characters of the western societies that these...

Asians Offer Region a Lesson – in English

April 25, 2004
According to this Miami Herald article, most of the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group (APEC) - a group that includes China, South Korea, and Singapore - are making impressive gains in teaching English to their schoolchildren. Economic success in Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong can be at least partially attributed to high levels of...

Cost, Language Barrier Still Keeping Tourists Away

Kaho Shimizu April 20, 2004
Japan wants to attract more tourists but faces many hurdles: a confusing transportation system, limited ATM and currency exchange access, and expensive accommodation. The government has already changed the coding for Tokyo's subway system to allow tourists easier orientation. But changing ATM access will face considerable costs. At the moment, Japan's magnetic strips on bank and credit...

Democracy Gains in Southeast Asia's Islamic Nations

Goenawan Mohamad April 16, 2004
The rise of Al Qaeda has led many in the West to conflate Islam with anti-democratic political views. This is a mistake, argues Jakarta-based writer Goenawan Mohamad, given that the world's two largest Muslim countries - Indonesia and Malaysia - are solidly democratic. In Malaysia, the March elections yielded victory for pluralist parties and defeat for those advocating state adoption of...

Al-Qaeda Tries to Split West Over Iraq

Mark Huband April 16, 2004
Yesterday over Arab television, Osama bin Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda, offered European countries a three month respite from terrorist attacks in exchange for withdrawing their forces from Iraq. Mark Huband, security correspondent for the Financial Times, says that this move hints at Al-Qaeda's long term strategic goals: to expel non-Muslims from the Islamic world, undermine incumbent Islamic...

Explaining The Passion

Gihan Shahine April 16, 2004
It’s no surprise that Christian Egyptians, like Christians worldwide, flocked to see Mel Gibson’s recent film The Passion of the Christ. Yet the majority of Egyptian moviegoers who bought tickets to the film were Muslims. The turnout is particularly startling because Islam generally condemns representations of prophets, and Egypt itself once banned The Prince of Egypt because of its portrayal of...