News sources have recently reported on an interesting assortment of materials at Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound. Not only was bin Laden living far from any cave on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, his house apparently had a large supply of Pepsi and Coke (inexplicably, Pakola wasn’t good enough), a significant stash of pornography, and marijuana plants on the property.
It’s difficult to understand how blowing up Pakistani militaries avenges bin Laden’s killing by U.S. forces.
Arthur Waskow is a rabbi who founded and directs The Shalom Center in Philadelphia, a prophetic voice in Jewish, multireligious, and American life. He is the co-author of The Tent of Abraham and Freedom Journeys: The Tale of Exodus and Wilderness Across Millennia. He was also a resident fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies from 1963 to 1977. As part of our special focus on Islamophobia, he talks here with Foreign Policy In Focus about how to counter Islamophobia through interfaith dialogue and the religious tradition.
Nothing good comes from defacing a holy book.
Cynthia P. Schneider teaches, publishes, and organizes initiatives in the field of cultural diplomacy, with a focus on relations with the Muslim world. She co-directs the Muslims on Screen and Television (MOST) initiative. She is also a specialist in 17th-century Dutch art and served as the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands from 1998 to 2001. She spoke to Foreign Policy In Focus about working on the stereotyping of Muslims in American culture, engaging with the TV show 24, and watching the rise of Islamophobia in the Netherlands.
In our special focus on Islamophobia, Farid Panjwani talks about the relationship between religion and citizenship, the impact of Sharia law, and the role of Muslim faith schools.
U.S. policymakers should learn from the events in the Middle East that the Muslim impulse for modernity and freedom is hindered, not helped, by Western military intervention. And they should learn soon. The U.S. “Af-Pak” war is accelerating the self-destruction of the world’s second largest, and only nuclear, Muslim country.
Wajahat Ali is a playwright, lawyer, and political commentator. His play, The Domestic Crusaders, made its Off Broadway premiere at the Nuyorican Poets Café in 2009 and was published by McSweeney’s last year. He is currently doing research on Islamophobia for ThinkProgress and preparing a pilot for HBO. In our special focus on Islamophobia, he talks with FPIF about the Homeland Security Committee hearings on Muslim extremism, the “threat of sharia,” and the reception of his play.
The Western world finally sees real Muslims in action.
Muslims are rising up against tyranny throughout the Arab world. They have ousted autocrats, consistently called for democracy, and inspired people from Beijing to Madison to rally for justice. And yet, for some here in the homeland, Muslims are still the problem. Consider two campaigns recently launched from Washington, DC. The first is the upcoming Homeland Security Committee hearing on Muslim radicalism, sponsored by Rep. Peter King (R-NY). The second is a campaign against sharia law, spearheaded by the Center for Security Policy. Both suggest the American empire needs an enemy–not only abroad– but at home as well.