In The News

An Islamic Alienation

David Rieff August 15, 2005
The London bombings perpetrated by native-born Muslims have forced Europeans to take a serious look at the status of the Continent’s Muslim minority. Suggestions that the Muslim alienation is due to anger in Muslim communities over the Iraq war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, do not provide an adequate answer. Rieff argues that the reasons of alienation run much deeper than this. Europe’...

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...

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...

The New Chauvinism

George Monbiot August 10, 2005
Following the bombings in London last month, a national consensus has emerged in Britain that a renewed sense of patriotism is necessary to combat terrorism. Codes of citizenship and a shared belief in Britain's values, proponents argue, will reduce the risk of domestic terrorism. While patriotism makes citizens less likely to attack one another, it may also make the state more inclined to...

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...

China's Cautious Pride in an Ancient Mariner

Wang Gungwu August 4, 2005
Six centuries ago, Chinese Admiral Zheng He embarked on the first voyage of a career that encompassed destinations as far as India, Persia, Arabia, and Africa. Though his achievements were forgotten for centuries, a re-emergence of interest in his story coincides with China's dramatic rise. As historian Wang Gungwu notes, it also coincides with the publication of a controversial theory:...

Beijing Clamps Down on Foreign Television

Chris Buckley August 4, 2005
The Chinese government recently announced that it would deny approval for more foreign satellite broadcasters entering the Chinese market, as well as increase restrictions on already existing foreign media. Certain US entertainment companies will still have the right to broadcast to certain Chinese audiences, and to foreigners in hotels and similar multi-cultural spaces. The initiative, however...