In The News

Let's admit to a growing Islamist problem

Michael Young February 13, 2006
Governments often blame riots and violence – such as those that erupted throughout the Middle East after a Danish newspaper published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed – on a few infiltrators from outside the country. Expressing helplessness, authorities suggest that small radical groups can quickly disrupt diverse communities who would otherwise live together in relative stability. In Lebanon,...

NAFTA and Nativism

Harold Meyerson February 10, 2006
Shortly before the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect in 1994, then US President Bill Clinton optimistically predicted, as more Mexicans gained the ability to support themselves at home, a gradual decline in illegal immigration. Contrary to Clinton’s promise, however, the US has seen a four-fold increase in undocumented Mexican workers in the last decade. Putting...

Saudi Prince Slams Iran’s Nuclear Program

February 10, 2006
The Saudi Arabian ambassador to the US, Prince Turki Faisal, denounced Iran’s nuclear program, but also criticized US policies on nuclear weaponry as inconsistent. Although he agreed that Iran’s uranium enrichment program is heightening tension throughout the Middle East, he noted that Iranian citizens support their government’s efforts in part because the US operates from a double standard...

The Opportunity of the Cartoon Crisis

Kishore Mahbubani February 9, 2006
In keeping with the Chinese definition of “crisis,” the uproar over recent Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed offers opportunities that both Europeans and Muslims would do well to recognize. European and Muslim worlds have become inextricably linked, and Europeans should understand Muslim anger over the cartoons. The author argues that the outrage has come against the backdrop of a growing...

From Cartoon War to Trade War

February 9, 2006
Europe views a recent decision by Tehran to boycott Danish products as a blatant financial attack against the EU itself. Ostensibly a response to the Danish cartoons of Mohammed, the Iranian move puts Europe on the defensive about Iran’s nuclear program. Financial Times Deutschland counsels that the EU must remain calm and not antagonize Iran. The center-left paper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, has...

At Mecca Meeting, Cartoon Outrage Crystallized

Hassan M. Fattah February 9, 2006
Recent violence in response to the infamous cartoon depictions of the Prophet Mohammed may have not been as spontaneous as initially thought. At a December meeting in Mecca of Muslim leaders, Saudi, Iranian, Syrian and Lebanese officials thumbed through a dossier of the Danish cartoons. Ahmed Akkari, a Danish immigrant leader, brought the folder to the Middle East after appeals for redress to the...

Bonfire of the Pieties

Amir Taheri February 8, 2006
Many commentators have framed the recent furor over Danish newspaper cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a harbinger of a clash of civilizations, a sign that Islam and Western secular and religious traditions are incompatible. But, as author Amir Taheri writes, the violent protests over the cartoons do not reflect true Islamic theology or practice. The rioting is largely the result of...