In The News

Invisible Earth

Annalee Newitz August 31, 2005
Technology giant Google has recently extended its global reach. It's new product, Google Earth, is a 3-D mapping program that allows users to view any point on the planet at the click of a mouse. With detailed satellite photos, Google Earth is touted as a tool not just for education, but also for communication; special features include comments "tagged" to specific locations, as...

Enduring an IT Eclipse

A. Sheshabalaya August 30, 2005
In recent years, Bangalore has outpaced Silicon Valley in the global innovation race. This is not a temporary blip, writes author Ashutosh Sheshabalaya, but a fast-evolving reality to which the American IT industry must adapt for the long haul. While offshoring is hardly a new phenomenon, it was previously restricted to back-office support functions. This is no longer the case: IBM and Hewlett...

Schooled For a House of Islam

Noor Huda Ismail August 25, 2005
In analyzing the motives of terrorists who act in the name of global jihad, it is important to understand why many Muslims choose to lead partially secular lives – while others with the same education and background embrace extremism and violence. Educated in one of Indonesia's many Islamic schools, Noor Huda Ismail describes how many of his classmates opted to join a radical movement, Darul...

Home, Sweet Home – for Some

August 17, 2005
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the African continent hosts the world's most mobile population. Due to adverse conditions, citizens of countries will flee, at least temporarily, often taking with them skills that are greatly needed back home. This phenomenon, sometimes called "brain drain" – coupled with shortages in crucial fields, including...

All Cultures Are Not Equal

David Brooks August 11, 2005
"The gospel of multiculturalism preaches that all groups and cultures are equally wonderful," writes David Brooks – and then proceeds to refute this notion in this commentary. Rather, Brooks suggests that globalization, rather than giving rise to a unified world culture, has actually further segmented the global population. Due to increased ease of communication and travel, he writes...

Muslims Unite! A New Reformation Will Bring Your Faith into the Modern Era

Salman Rushdie August 11, 2005
The British government's strategy of relying on traditional, but essentially orthodox, Muslims to help eradicate Islamist radicalism is ineffective, writes Salman Rushdie. Traditional Islam is a broad church that includes millions of tolerant, moderate believers – as well as those at odds with the cultures among which they live. What is truly needed to combat terrorism, says Rushdie, is a...

Ilm by Rote

Sanjay Suri August 10, 2005
When Muslim students are released from British public schools in the afternoon, they quickly head home and change into their religious garb in preparation for their second school – the madrassa. With close to a thousand madrassas across the country, an overwhelming number of Muslim children in Britain are receiving a strong Islamic education in their evening schools. The children are required...