The Witches of the Apocalypse!

Ibrahim Hmeidi has just published an interesting reportage dealing with the now celebrated phenomenon of the Kubaisi women, the orthodox sufi women movement founded by the Syrian scholar and teacher, Munira Kubaisi, AKA the Miss.

The movement which began in the early 60s in Damascus is now an international one with “centers” all over the world operating quietly, almost clandestinely sometimes, albeit, let me rush to say here, they are so far pretty apolitical and, as such, has no connection to any terror groups or activities. Continue reading “The Witches of the Apocalypse!” →

Secularists & Islamists – The Promise & the Dread

This is the paper that I have prepared during my second stint as a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution (October 2005-March 2006). It, too, was too whimsical for publication as a Brookings policy paper. So, here it is. Continue reading “Secularists & Islamists – The Promise & the Dread” →

The Mohammed Cartoons: European Society and Freedom of the Press

The violence that followed the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed in several European newspapers has raised questions about European models of social integration and underscored that their debates at home can have dramatic implications abroad. The story has also raised questions about freedom of the press and self-censorship in the media. In a world threatened by a clash of civilizations, does freedom of the press include the right to offend the most sacred beliefs of others? In a time of fundamentalist terrorism, can we allow violence and the threat of violence to determine the content of our speech?

To examine these issues, the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution and the Heinrich Böll Foundation hosted a panel on The Mohammed Cartoons: European Society and Freedom of the Press. Commentary was provided by Ammar Abdulhamid, Visiting Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy; Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, Die Zeit; David Ignatius, The Washington Post; and Claus Christian Malzahn, Der Spiegel. The briefing was moderated by Philip Gordon, Director of the Center on the United States and Europe.

Muslim reformers need to shout

First posted on my short-lived blog Tharwalizations.

In their first women conference in Hyderabad, India, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind president Dr. Mohammed Abdul Haq Ansari asserted that, “[i]n the name of liberty, women are being sexually exploited and misused for promotion of brands. But reality is that dogs are given better treatment than women in the western countries.” Continue reading “Muslim reformers need to shout” →