Archive

Libya’s Reform: Shadows of the Past

Dirk Vandewalle is one of the few most highly regarded experts on Libya’s history and political economy. Dr. Vandewalle is a keen observer of Libya with direct knowledge and insight

Laughing at dictatorship

Public discontent in Egypt has not been solely manifested in ballot boxes (when there are semi-fair elections), demonstrations and newspaper articles. Most Egyptians still feel insecure about expressing themselves in

Security Treatment with Arab Peoples…When Will It end?

The Arab world is witnessing day after day more repressions against public freedoms not only against opposition groups but also against all sections of the society.

The New Year’s Resolution for the American Muslim Leadership:

We the American Muslims are at the right place in a critical time in history to make a difference: The difference which is most urgently needed for the world to

Democracy Gets Small Portion of U.S. Aid

Two years before Benazir Bhutto was assassinated while leading her Pakistan People’s Party in its campaign against the rule of President Pervez Musharraf, the Bush administration devoted this much new

LIBERAL ISLAM WEB SITES

As noted in the introduction to the Liberal Islam anthology, I use the term "liberal" to refer to basic themes in the history of liberalism, such as democracy, freedom of

What Islam Wrought

The title of David Levering Lewis’s surprising new book, God’s Crucible, brings to mind another piece of ceramic phrasing, Colin Powell’s warning to President Bush about invading Iraq: "You break

MSU scholar urges policy shift toward Muslim world in new book

Unless the United States drastically changes its foreign policy toward the Muslim world – and supports democratic efforts at every turn – Islamic radicalism will continue to thrive, according to

ISLAM, CATHOLICISM, AND THE SECULAR: A CONVERSATION WITH JOSE CASANOVA AND ABDOLKARIM SOROUSH

What is the proper relationship between religious and secular knowledge and authority? What tensions exist between religious traditions and communities, on the one hand, and the secular institutions of state,

Savage vs. CAIR: Free speech vs. hate speech

Cinnamon Stillwell’s recent column in SF Gate, “Savage vs. CAIR: The battle over free speech” on Dec. 19 offers a holiday assortment of misleading truths and omissions of facts. In