In The News

Alienated Danish Muslims Sought Help from Arabs

Spiegel Staff February 3, 2006
The world was surprised by the sudden fury in the Islamic world let loose following the publication of a series of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in Danish and later other European newspapers. Until now little was known, however, of the efforts made by Denmark’s Muslim community to raise awareness about the discrimination they faced. Feeling ignored after protesting the initial appearance of...

Fear of an American Internet

Markus Dettmer February 2, 2006
Despite millions of new internet users from all around the globe, US companies like Google continue to dominate the medium. These businesses invest heavily in research and design, and as a result continue to expand their reach of the internet. One ambitious new project that is raising eyebrows is Google Print, which is collaborating with some of the world’s top universities to publish their...

Behind the Mic

Khalid El-Farra February 2, 2006
Sportscasting is an art, and the African Cup of Nations will soon put the Arab football commentators in the spotlight. Relying on satellite channels to compare styles, many Arab football fans grumble that their homegrown commentary has a long way to go before meeting professional standards set by the West. Grievances against Arab commentators include crushing melodrama, ignorance of the game...

Threaten One, Intimidate a Million

Henryk M. Broder February 2, 2006
With bomb explosions, assassinations and riots coloring the recent history of Islam in Europe, the already tense state of relations took a serious turn for the worse over some cartoons. Drawings in the right-wing Danish daily “Jyllands-Posten” last autumn satirically portrayed the images of Prophet Mohammad – unleashing outrage throughout the Muslim world, including a boycott of Danish goods in...

The Basics: How to Outwit the World’s Internet Censors

Tom Zeller Jr. February 1, 2006
While China’s censorship of the internet receives increased attention, less publicized are the system’s imperfections. Relying on loopholes, greater freedom can be sought, even in a restrictive environment. One way individuals subvert a watchdog government is by surfing the web through a proxy server, which dissociates computer addresses from visited websites. In China, an underground network of...

Denmark PM Rejects Apology Demand

January 31, 2006
Islam traditionally considers any depiction of Muhammad disrespectful. Muslims in the Arab world were aghast, then, when they learned that the Danish newspaper “Jyllands-Posten” had published cartoons portraying their prophet as a terrorist last fall. Tensions have now come to a head, after a Norwegian paper reprinted the cartoons and as the Danish government insists that it cannot punish “...

In Threat to Internet’s Clout, Some Are Starting Alternatives

Christopher Rhoads January 31, 2006
Since the advent of the commercial internet more than a decade ago, the US has overseen the administration of that global resource. Now, however, alternatives to the internet are emerging in other nations—a development that is in part a reaction to US control. As other nations push for a greater say in how the internet is run, competing networks start up for political, business, and cultural...