NewsTrust - Islam - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Independent)

Fact checking the AP fact checker

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Power Line - By Scott Johnson - Dec. 20 (Opinion) - According to Pete Yost last week in a superficial AP fact check story: “Republican presidential candidates have claimed that the Obama administration is cleansing government files of references to radical Islam, an assertion so juicy that politicians keep repeating it — even though it’s a wild exaggeration.” But I think the GOP candidates have it right, more or less, and Yost has it wrong. At least they are closer to the mark than Yost. See, for example, Cliff May’s NRO column “What’s Islam got to do with it?” (May cites a report by the Westminster Institute’s Katharine C. Gorka that notes: “Key national security documents have already excised all terminology that associates terrorism with Islam or Islamic concepts such as jihad.”) See also “Obama administration pulls references to Islam from terror training materials, official says.” (The story quotes purposefully ambiguous comments made by Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole at the George Washington University law school. My call yesterday to the Department of Justice for clarification went unreturned.)

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White Christian Fundamentalist Terrorism in Norway

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Informed Comment - Jul. 23 (Opinion) - That the horrible terrorist attacks in Oslo on Friday that left some 90 persons or more dead– a bombing of the prime minister’s office and shootings at a Labor Party youth camp– were allegedly committed by a blonde, far right wing Norwegian fundamentalist Christian rather than by a radical Muslim group is being treated as a matter of surprise in some quarters. But if those journalists and analysts had been paying attention, they would not be surprised at all.

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An Pakistani Student Reflects on Osama bin Laden's Death

Thu, 05 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Maria Kari - May. 05 (Opinion) - As a Pakistani student living in the West, with roots heavily embedded in my cultural and religious heritage, many questions permeated the silence in my living room at that moment. What was Pakistan’s role in all of this? Will the president differentiate between fundamentalist Islam and the religion of Islam of which I adhere? Was there collateral damage? Will I get through airport security more easily now? Why does Obama pronounce Pakistan more correctly than most of my Pakistani-American friends?

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Terrorism Concerns After bin Laden

Mon, 02 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Richard N. Haass - May. 02 (Opinion) - The killing of Osama bin Laden constitutes a significant victory over global terrorism. But it is a milestone, not a turning point, in what remains an ongoing struggle without a foreseeable end.

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Obama: The Man Who Got the Job Done

Mon, 02 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Meredith Bagby - May. 02 (Opinion) - But what we can say tonight is that President Obama will receive great political accolades for his efforts. He is already being positioned as the leader that focused on the right mission rather than the wrong war.

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How We Train Our Cops to Fear Islam

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Monthly - By Meg Stalcup, Joshua Craze - Mar. 01 (Advocacy) - In recent years, the United States has become more and more committed to the idea of bringing local police forces into the business of sniffing out terrorists. In 2002, the National Joint Terrorism Task Force was set up to coordinate existing collaborative efforts among federal, state, and local law enforcement. And since 2006, the Department of Justice has been developing a program called the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative, through which local cops are meant to act as intelligence gatherers on the ground, feeding reports of suspicious activity to a network of data “fusion centers” spread out across the country. The system is scheduled to be up and running in all seventy-two of the nation’s fusion centers by the end of this year. But in order for the cops to play a role in counterterrorism, the thinking goes, they need to be trained.

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Words you can’t say at the Pentagon

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Volokh Conspiracy - By Stewart Baker - Feb. 20 (Opinion) - Anyone who paid attention to news coverage after the rampage knows that the Army had plenty of warning about Hasan’s Islamist views. Classmates say that he questioned whether he could fight against other Muslims and made presentations justifying the murder of non-Muslims, suggesting that Muslim-Americans in the armed forces might kill other servicemembers, defending Osama bin Laden, and justifying suicide bombers. The servicemembers in the audience were so appalled that the instructor finally stopped one of Hasan’s presentations. Off the record, it seems, everyone thought Hasan was dangerous, a nutjob, or an Islamist, and perhaps all three. On the record, though, no one would criticize him. You don’t rise in the armed forces if you can’t read your superiors. And the rising officers who met Hasan knew what their superiors wanted without having to be told. Islam was a religion of peace, and Muslims in the Army were a welcome sign of diversity. Treating Hasan as a dangerous Islamist would put those messages at risk.

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Uprisings in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt -- America Is Paying the Price for Supporting Corrupt Dictatorships in the Muslim World

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Juan Cole - Jan. 26 (Opinion) - Here’s one obvious lesson of the Tunisian Revolution of 2011: paranoia about Muslim fundamentalist movements and terrorism is causing Washington to make bad choices that will ultimately harm American interests and standing abroad. State Department cable traffic from capitals throughout the Greater Middle East, made public thanks to WikiLeaks, shows that U.S. policy-makers have a detailed and profound picture of the depths of corruption and nepotism that prevail among some “allies” in the region.

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2010: The Year In Crazy, Pt. 2

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

This Modern World - By Tom Tomorrow - Dec. 28 (Cartoon) - An incomplete and subjective look at the year in crazy.

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Please, Kick Us: More Amateur Hour in the State Department

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Ricochet - By Claire Berlinski - Nov. 01 (Opinion) - I recently interviewed Turkey's former ambassador to the United States, Faruk Loğoğlu. He is appalled--like many in Turkey--by the soft-headedness of the Obama' Administration's diplomacy in this region. He finds Obama's speeches about his personal warmth toward Islam ludicrous and inappropriate. “Obama can’t play the religious game," he said. "He should be playing the security game. His policy toward Turkey is a bad imitation of the worst parts of Orientalism.” ... It is hugely significant when the tone coming out of the State Department is childish, inappropriate, and supine; it is fundamentally unserious to put such a message on Twitter; and it is beyond belief that anyone there would think "sarcasm" about this situation--we are talking about kidnapped US citizens who are being held hostage in Iran--conveys American resolve.

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The real danger from NPR's firing of Juan Williams

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - By Glenn Greenwald - Oct. 23 (Opinion) - I'm still not quite over the most disgusting part of the Juan Williams spectacle yesterday: watching the very same people (on the Right and in the media) who remained silent about or vocally cheered on the viewpoint-based firings of Octavia Nasr, Helen Thomas, Rick Sanchez, Eason Jordan, Peter Arnett, Phil Donahue, Ashleigh Banfield, Bill Maher, Ward Churchill, Chas Freeman, Van Jones and so many others, spend all day yesterday wrapping themselves in the flag of "free expression!!!" and screeching about the perils and evils of firing journalists for expressing certain viewpoints. Even for someone who expects huge doses of principle-free hypocrisy -- as I do -- that behavior is really something to behold. And anyone doubting that there is a double standard when it comes to anti-Muslim speech should just compare the wailing backlash from most quarters over Williams' firing to the muted acquiescence or widespread approval of those other firings.

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NPR fires Juan Williams for anti-Muslim bigotry

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - By Glenn Greenwald - Oct. 21 (Opinion) - On Monday, I documented the glaring double standard in our political discourse generally and in the world of journalism specifically, whereby anti-Muslim bigotry is widely tolerated, while those perceived as expressing similar (or even more mild) animus toward other groups are harshly punished (see, for instance, Octavia Nasr, Helen Thomas, Rick Sanchez). That double standard suffered a very welcome blow last night, when NPR announced it was firing its long-time correspondent, Juan Williams, due to blatantly bigoted anti-Muslim remarks Williams made on Bill O'Reilly's Fox News program.

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On Juan Williams, Muslims, Media, Fear, America

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Everything is ablaze! - By Jon Mitchell - Oct. 21 (Opinion) - To what extent are the media responding to anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S., and to what extent are they generating it? The fervor expressed by cultural figures and everyday folks in interviews is real; it feels real, anyway, but would they be so worked up about it, would they think about it at all, if they weren’t confronted with it on the radio and on TV every day?

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Yes, Mr. Kristof, This Is America

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Killing The Buddha - By Garrett Baer - Sep. 20 (Opinion) - Unfortunately, contemporary Islamophobia is not a stain against the otherwise spotless canvas of American history. If anything, that canvas is filthy and should be acknowledged as such. This, Mr. Kristof, is America: land of the screed, home of the enraged.

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The paranoid style in American punditry

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - By Laura Miller - Sep. 15 (Review) - "So, why is this anti-Muslim panic coming up now?" I asked. "What triggered it?" "I keep going back to Richard Hofstadter's 'The Paranoid Style in American Politics,'" he replied. "It's not necessarily about Islam. These people need an enemy." I took that as my cue to return to the Pulitzer-winning historian's seminal essay on American political crackpottery. Originating as a 1963 speech delivered in Oxford and first printed in Harper's magazine in 1964, it can currently be found in a collection, also called "The Paranoid Style in American Politics," reprinted by Vintage Books.

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Newspaper Cartoonist Goes into Hiding After Fatwa Issued

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Seattle Weekly - By Mark D. Fefer - Sep. 15 (Editorial) - On the insistence of the FBI, Seattle's Molly Norris is "going ghost": moving, changing her name and essentially wiping away her identity. Why? Because of the appalling fatwa issued against her, following her infamous "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" cartoon.

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Islamaphobia, sexism and American demagoguery in the 21st century

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

mondoweiss.net - By Betsy Taylor - Sep. 11 (Opinion) - There are dangerous blind spots in the media coverage of American Islam. For instance, there has been a brute blindness to women and to women's concerns in news coverage of the proposed Islamic Center in New York City.

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The Next Christian Response to Islam

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Christianity Today - Sep. 10 (Editorial) - "Anxiety about Islam has spread in response to proposed mosques in Wisconsin, California, and Tennessee, where an arsonist set construction equipment ablaze. Muslims who wish to build places of prayer meet resistance, both violent and verbal. How should American Christians respond?"

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As GOP and Some Top Dems Unite in Opposing N.Y. Islamic Community Center, a Roundtable Discussion With Mother of 9/11 Victim, Rabbi, Muslim Lawmaker and Islamic Scholar

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By ANJALI KAMAT, Talat Hamdani, Rabbi Irwin Kula, John Esposito, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN.) - Aug. 18 (Interview) - We spend the hour on the controversy around the proposed construction of an Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan, which has turned into a national issue. Opposition to the center first started among fringe, right-wing blogs but has swept into the mainstream, with some Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, coming out against it. Republicans have vowed to make the controversy a campaign issue in the fall. We host a roundtable with four guests: Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress; Rabbi Irwin Kula of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership; Islamic scholar John Esposito of Georgetown University; and Talat Hamdani, whose son Salman died on 9/11 in the attacks on the World Trade Center.

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Obama defends "Ground Zero mosque"

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - By Glenn Greenwald - Aug. 14 (Opinion) - This is one of the most impressive and commendable things Obama has done since being inaugurated: President Obama delivered a strong defense on Friday night of a proposed Muslim community center and mosque near ground zero in Manhattan, using a White

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The Anti-Defamation League's Ground Zero Mosque Hypocrisy

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Daily Beast - By Peter Beinart - Aug. 02 (Opinion) - The other day, when the Anti-Defamation League came out against building a mosque near Ground Zero, I think I heard a sound—the sound of chickens coming home to roost.

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Rachel Ehrenfeld: America’s Patron Saint of Free Speech

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Pajamas Media - By Phyllis Chesler - Jul. 26 (Interview) - I recently spoke with Ehrenfeld after her second major legal victory, this time in the American Senate. On April 29, 2008, the New York State legislature passed “Rachel’s Law.” On July 19, 2010, the American Senate passed the SPEECH Act. These two pieces of bi-partisan legislation potentially go a long way in terms of allowing American authors to exercise our First Amendment rights without having punitive judgments for “defamation” in foreign libel suits collected against us in the United States.

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Palin Takes On Islam And The English Language At The Same Time

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

New Republic - By Jonathan Chait - Jul. 19 (Opinion) - Sarah Palin is so upset that some Muslims want to build a mosque and cultural center in lower Manhattan that she invented a new word to express her umbrage: Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn’t it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate

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Islam: Unmentionable In D.C.

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

New Republic - By Reuel Marc Gerecht - Jul. 14 (Opinion) - Muslim-versus-Muslim debate is always more robust when the West, especially the United States, is also actively engaged in the discussion. Whether the invidious subject is slavery, female genital mutilation, Sharia’s draconian corporal punishments (hudud laws), women’s rights, corruption, jihadism, “oriental despotism,” or representative government, intra-Muslim ethical deliberations on most of these subjects have been provoked by Westerners and Westernized Muslims taking issue with prevailing practices. President Obama’s operating philosophy toward the Muslim world appears to be that being “offensive” towards Muslims can’t be good for Muslim–non-Muslim relations. Mr. Obama’s dispensation more or less follows the arguments made by a wide variety of liberal intellectuals while Mr. Bush was president.

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Cause And Effect In The War On Terror

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - By Glenn Greenwald - Jun. 23 (Opinion) - The Times Square bomber pleads guilty and provides more evidence of the link between U.S. policy and terrorism.

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