Raed Jarrar is an Iraqi-American blogger and political analyst based in Washington, DC. Niki Akhavan is an Iranian-American professor of media studies at Catholic University. They talked with FPIF about the roots of Islamophobia, how anti-Islamic sentiment has shaped U.S. foreign policy, and the relationship between faith and violence.
Arun Kundnani is a British writer and human rights activist. He is the former editor of Race and Class, published by the Institute of Race Relations in London, and is currently an Open Society Institute fellow. In 2009, he wrote Spooked: How Not to Prevent Violent Extremism, which explored the effects of the Prevent program, the British counter-radicalism policy aimed at Muslim communities. Here he talks to John Feffer of Foreign Policy In Focus about the debate on multiculturalism in the United Kingdom, the dichotomy between “good” and “bad” Muslims, and the status of the Preventing Violent Extremism program.
Protesters in Martyr’s Square chanted “yesterday Egypt, today Algeria” during demonstrations in the Algerian capital Algiers on February 12. The Algerian government’s response to the protesters was reminiscent of Egypt’s ex-President Hosni Mubarak during the last five days of the 18-day protest in Cairo. Armed riot police and pro-government thugs attacked pro-democracy protesters to provoke violent clashes. The same aggressive approach to the protesters was seen again on February 19 when military-style armored police vehicles deployed throughout Algiers to prevent the protests from even forming.
Freedom is to conservatives what a scabbard is to a swordsman: a means to protect and conceal the implement of choice.
In our special focus on Islamophobia, FPIF talks with Phyllis Bennis: activist, analyst, and writer on Middle East and UN issues for many years.
To curry favor with Egyptians, President Mubarak adopted the social conservatism of the Muslim Brotherhood.
According to a prominent national-security expert, if a clash of cultures is inevitable, U.S. foreign policy must reflect the inherent antagonism.
In the latest news out of Egypt, where people power is confronting regime rigidity, President-for-life Hosni Mubarak is doing what he can to maintain his perch. He has named a new cabinet, deployed more troops in the cities, and blocked al-Jazeera broadcasts. The opposition, meanwhile, hopes to bring a million people into Cairo’s streets to give the regime a final boot.
In a new special focus on Islamophobia, Foreign Policy In Focus interviews prolific author and professor John Esposito about prevailing political and media myths about Muslims and the Muslim world.
When western governments focus on political Islam, the debate gravitates toward the national security domain. Western governments and policy analysts routinely portray the role of Islam within Arab political life as a danger to western interests. In reality, Islam is an integral component of contemporary Muslim politics. With some innovative thinking, the United States and its western allies can use the power of Islam to their advantage as well as the advantage of people in the region.