In The News

No More Fanaticism as Usual

Salman Rushdie November 27, 2002
Globalization of the media allows us to hear and see almost instantly news from around the world, creating a space for global perspectives on important issues that affect people everywhere. Recounting recent events in Egypt, Iran, Nigeria, and the Netherlands involving religious violence and Islamicists, author Salman Rushdie calls on fair-minded Muslims the world over to stand up for their...

Bin Laden Material Found at Alleged Bali Mastermind's House

November 25, 2002
The interrogation of the prime suspect of the Bali blast in October and forensic evidence have raised the tantalizing possibility that the attack was a suicide bombing. If this turns out to be true this would be the first suicide attack by a Muslim in Indonesia, perhaps in Southeast Asia. While suicide attacks by Tamil Tiger guerillas in Sri Lanka has been a common phenomenon and in recent years...

Tragic Mistake

November 24, 2002
The globalization of television and bigger opportunities for commercial gain by promoters of beauty contests have in recent years expanded the number of countries who want to host such international contests. But that commercial drive has run up against tradition and religious beliefs in many countries. A Saudi Arabian English-language paper blames the Nigerian government for the violence by...

100 Die in Nigerian Riot over Miss World Article

November 22, 2002
International television programs are not yet universally accepted in Nigeria. Conservative Muslims have shown serious misgivings about the upcoming world beauty pageant soon to be hosted in their capital city. The nation’s leading newspaper struck a discordant note when it published an article suggesting that Prophet Mohammed desired to marry a Miss World beauty queen. Subsequently, Muslim...

Behind the Veil: A Muslim Woman Speaks Out

Marlise Simons November 9, 2002
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 continue to impact public sentiments around the world. European attitudes toward Muslims have shifted; over 70 mosques in the Netherlands, for example, have been attacked in the month following the attack. In light of such circumstances, the Dutch Muslim community has condemned Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Dutch Muslim woman of Somali origin, and forced her to...

Arab Perspective: The Chechen Issue That Cries for Solution

Huda Fawzi November 1, 2002
This collection of editorial comments from Arab media argues that although the perpetrators of the Moscow theater hostage crisis identify themselves with Muslim groups, their actions are contrary to Islamic teachings and are utterly unacceptable to humanity. The inability to distinguish individual contention towards a government from one towards a people prevents terrorists from realizing that...

Moscow Hostage Crisis Repercussions Felt Across Caucasus and Central Asia

October 31, 2002
The hostage crisis in Moscow has prompted neighboring countries to individually convene in security councils addressing the same issue of counterterrorism. Domestic decisions will have potential to determine the stability of cross national relations. While Azerbaijan has immediately closed its Chechen cultural center in an attempt to reduce tensions with Russia, for example, Georgia’s reluctance...