57 Articles

Thursday, July 17, 2008
Al-Arian granted bail but remains in prison
At a bail hearing at Alexandria, Virginia, Judge Leonie Brinkema has ordered a prominent Palestinian activist, Dr. Sami Al-Arian, released but he remained in prison since the judge refused to block immigration authorities from detaining Al-Arian as a prelude to his deportation.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Fear mongering in the name of satire
(6 comments) Depicting Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as militants and terrorist sympathizers "feeds into the terrible rise in anti-Muslim sentiment" during this election season.

Monday, July 7, 2008
Suicide bombers return to Islamabad
A suicide bomb attack in the heart of Islamabad killed 19 people, including 15 policemen, Sunday. The attack came minutes after the end of the Red Mosque Martyr Conference held to commemorate the first anniversary of a bloody military operation against the militants in the mosque and adjoining madrasa, Jamia Hafsa, killing dozens of student girls and boys.

Saturday, July 5, 2008
"Holding Muslims at Arm's Length"
(2 comments) Politics is not about honesty or principled stand but it is the art of possible.

Friday, July 4, 2008
American Muslims alarmed at the new profiling policy
(3 comments) American Muslim community is alarmed at the proposed Justice Department policy change that would allow the FBI to investigate Americans without evidence of wrongdoing, relying instead on a terrorist profile that could single out Muslims and Arabs.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Pakistan's paramilitary forces launch operation in FATA
Pakistan's paramilitary forces Friday launched an operation in the Khyber Agency to clear the supply route for the US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan. The operation comes only two days after the government authorized Chief of Army Staff, General General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, to launch fresh military operations in tribal areas.

Saturday, June 28, 2008
Dr. Sami al-Arian indicted on contempt charges
Palestinian activist and a former professor of South Florida University, Dr. Sami al-Arian, has been indicted on June 25, 2008, in Alexandria, Virginia on two counts of criminal contempt for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury.

Thursday, June 26, 2008
Under US pressure, Pakistan army is poised to launch a new operation in FATA
Under intensive US pressure, Pakistan army is poised to launch a fresh all out operation in Pakistan's tribal belt along its border with Afghanistan.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Pew surveys and the politics of demography
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life today released the second report of the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey on June 23, 2008 which again uses its 2007 flawed report about the population of Muslims in America.

Saturday, June 21, 2008
From embedded journalists to embedded media Generals
Two months after the revelation that the Pentagon used retired military officers to sell Iraq war, corporate media continues its criminal silence over the issue.

Thursday, June 12, 2008
Abandon peace talks with militants: US retched up pressure on Pakistan
A fresh massive US air strike in Pakistan's tribal region, killing 27 people including 13 soldiers, has again heightened tensions between the US and Pakistan where it is being seen as an example of US aggressive tactics to pressurize Islamabad to abandon its current peace negotiations with the militants.

Sunday, June 8, 2008
US double standards on talks with Taliban
In the face of its backing of Afghanistan for holding talks with the Taliban to put an end to their resistance, the Bush Administration's reservations about Pakistan's efforts to conclude peace deals with tribesmen presents a clear example of US double standards while dealing with the same issue.

Saturday, June 7, 2008
Another high profile "terror" trial ends in quandary
Judge Dennis Saylor's latest ruling to quash the January jury conviction of the defunct Islamic charity leaders vindicates what the civil right activists and groups have been saying that the American Muslim charities are being targeted to intimidate the seven-million strong American Muslim community that remains besieged more than six years after 9/11 terrorist attacks

Thursday, June 5, 2008
Secret plan to keep Iraq under US control
The British newspaper, Independent, reported Thursday, June 5, 2008, that a secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Keffiyeh: The Politics of Symbolism
(1 comments) The campaign against the innocent use of keffiyeh in a commercial ad is the latest episode of anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and Islamophobic diatribe which is the best seller in the post-9/11 America where our administration has created a culture of fear, hate, anger and division among all Americans.

Monday, June 2, 2008
Iraqis resisting US capitulation
(2 comments) Iraq's key Shiite and Sunni leaders have rejected a new open-ended security agreement with the United States that envisages permanent US military bases, immunity to American military personnel and security contractors if they killed civilians and allowing the United States to detain Iraqis indefinitely.

Saturday, May 31, 2008
'Narco-dollars' feeding militancy in Afghanistan, Pakistan
Baitullah Mehsud, the most prominent militant commander in Pakistan's restive tribal belt, along the border of Afghanistan, is spending around 50 million dollars annually on procuring weapons, equipment, vehicles, treating wounded militants and keeping families of killed militants fed.

Friday, May 30, 2008
Surveillance of LA, San Diego mosques spark calls for congressional hearing
Alarmed by a report that the mosques in Los Angeles and San Diego are under surveillance, civil rights groups have called for congressional hearings. The call for public hearings followed a San Diego newspaper report that a group of military reservists and law enforcement officers at Camp Pendleton Marine base stole the data from a federal surveillance program that monitored mosques in Southern California.

Saturday, May 24, 2008
Despite US reservations: Pakistan goes ahead with peace deal with militants
(1 comments) In the face of stiff US opposition, the provincial government of NWFP Wednesday signed a peace accord with militants in Swat where a bloody army operation was under way since November 2007.

Thursday, May 22, 2008
Bush apologizes for shooting of Quran by US soldier in Iraq
(4 comments) After US army's prompt apologies for shooting of the Quran by a US soldier stationed in Iraq failed to calm down this potentially explosive situation, President George Bush has stepped in and offered apology to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Monday, May 19, 2008
Why US soldier shot at Quran for practice?
(3 comments) An unnamed sergeant's use of the Quran for target practice emanates from an unabated and persistent anti-Islam and anti-Muslim propaganda, desecration of the Quran and attacks on mosques.

Friday, May 16, 2008
American Muslims alarmed at the new report on "Violent Islamist extremism"
(1 comments) American Muslims are alarmed at a new government report on "homegrown terrorism" which claims that the threat posed by "violent Islamist extremists" now comes increasingly from within the U.S.

Thursday, May 15, 2008
Zardari's spin on judiciary issue
After weeks of spin by Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) , on the issue of restoration of the sacked judges, former prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League has quit the coalition government. The outcome of the long and protracted talks between the two leaders in Islamabad, Dubai and London were not unexpected.

Saturday, May 10, 2008
Mutilating the judicial system in Pakistan
After dragging feet on the issue for weeks, Pakistan People's Party led by Asif Ali Zardari, has reportedly acquiesced to the demand by President Musharraf to create two parallel Supreme Courts to accommodate the so-called PCO judges and curtail powers of the Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, when he is restored.

Friday, May 9, 2008
Mock attack on the fake mosque in Illinois sends a wrong message
(4 comments) Six years and eight months after the 9/11 tragic attacks, Muslims in America remain at the receiving end with the reconfiguration of American laws, policies and priorities to target them. The latest assault on the Muslim community comes in the form of a simulated attack on a fake "mosque" by the law enforcement authorities in Illinois.

Monday, May 5, 2008
The ordeal of Al Jazeera cameraman Sami Al-Hajj
After six and a half years of imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay military prison, Al Jazeera cameraman, Sami Al-Hajj, was released on May 2, 2008 in a very bad shape. He was carried off a US air force jet on a stretcher when he arrived in Khartoum, Sudan, and immediately taken to hospital. Al-Hajj's case symbolizes the policy of torture and human rights violation of the Bush Administration.

Thursday, May 1, 2008
Evangelicals highjack the National Day of Prayer
(2 comments) "Evangelicals attempt to exclude non-Christians from National Day of Prayer," this Mother Jones headline best reflects the controversy over the National Day of Prayer (NDP) being observed on Thursday, May 1, 2008. The National Day of Prayer (NDP) was once a symbol of American unity and faith in God that transcended boundaries but in recent years the decades-old tradition has become mired in divisions.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Kabul attack a virtual replay of 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat
In a virtual replay of the 1981 assassination of the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, the Afghan militants attempted to assassinate the Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a military parade in Kabul last Sunday.

Saturday, April 19, 2008
Why MPAC declined to join interfaith meeting with Pope Benedict
(1 comments) The Muslim Public Affairs Council, a leading civil rights group, declined to join a meeting between the visiting Pope Benedict XVI and about 200 religious community leaders in Washington, DC, due to the absence of a "meaningful dialogue on Muslim-Catholic issues."

Friday, April 4, 2008
Pakistan 29 years after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's execution
April 4 marks the 29th anniversary of the execution of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by the army junta led by General Ziaul Haq. By executing a popularly elected Prime Minister, Pakistan became the second Muslim country to execute an elected Prime Minister by a military junta. Turkey was the first Muslim country that executed its popularly elected Prime Minister Adnan Menderes on September 17, 1961.

Thursday, March 27, 2008
This is not our war: New Pakistani leadership tells US
(1 comments) Alarmed at the expected shift towards a negotiated and peaceful handling of the problem of militancy in Pakistan's tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan, two senior US officials arrived in Islamabad on March 24, hours after Makhdoom Yusuf Raza Gilani was chosen Prime Minister by the newly elected parliament.

Monday, March 17, 2008
Abuse of judicial system to keep Dr. Al-Arian in prison
(1 comments) Dr. Al-Arian is in a Catch-22 situation. Asst attorney Gordon Kromberg, is setting up for him a perjury/obstruction trap. If Dr. Al-Arian again refuses to testify because of the no-cooperation agreement, he will be charged with obstruction of justice. If he testifies, he faces a 'perjury' trap based on past practice with other acquitted Palestinian defendants.

Thursday, March 13, 2008
Pakistan resists capitulating to new US demands
(1 comments) More than six years after 9/11, the US has handed over a new list of 11 demands to Pakistan. US Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen's two recent visits to Pakistan were reportedly linked to the new 'wish-list' envisaging immunity for the US military and auxiliary personnel to be deployed in Pakistan under a new US plan.

Thursday, March 6, 2008
The forgotten oil war in Sudan
According to F. William Engdahl, author of the book, 'A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order, the present concern of the current Washington Administration over Darfur in southern Sudan is not, if we were to look closely, genuine concern over genocide against the peoples in that poorest of poor part of a forsaken section of Africa. No. "It's the oil, stupid."

Saturday, March 1, 2008
New massive survey of Muslims belies Bush rhetoric "why do they hate us?"
(3 comments) The war on terror was premised on this key question: why do they hate us? The common answer from Washington is that Muslim 'radicals' hate our way of life, our freedom and our democracy. It means that Muslims do not believe in freedom and democracy, in other words they are primitive people. Tellingly, the presidential rhetoric stands refuted and exposed by the latest survey of 500,000 Muslims in more than 35 Islamic states.

Thursday, February 28, 2008
Pakistan's post-election scenario
Whatever the configuration of the new government, Washington is facing a changed political landscape in Pakistan, including the diminished fortunes of its favored ally, Musharraf, in the battle against extremism.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Fear mongering and racism in presidential race
(4 comments) A furor has erupted as a photo of Barack Obama in a white turban spread across the Web, drawing accusations of fear-mongering and racism from the Obama campaign.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The Oil factor in Kosovo independence
On February 17, Kosovo broke away from Serbia and declared its independence. Not surprisingly it was instantly recognized as a state by the U.S., Germany, Britain and France. With 4203 square miles area, Kosovo may be a tiny territory but in the great game of oil politics it holds great importance which is in inverse proportion to its size.

Sunday, February 24, 2008
Was 1991 Gulf War a prelude to the 2003 Iraq debacle?
(1 comments) Historian Dr. Stephen J. Sniegoski, is perhaps right when he says: the neocons could not have initiated the 2003 war if the 1991 Gulf War had not taken place. In that sense the first Gulf War was a prelude to the 2003 war on Iraq, in which the U.S. government would pursue a policy in complete harmony with the thinking of the neocons to precipitate regime change and destabilize the Middle East.

Thursday, February 21, 2008
Pakistan polls a repudiation of Musharraf as well as the Bush administration
Not surprisingly, the elections in Pakistan were seen as a referendum on President Musharraf's eight year's autocratic rule. They are also a repudiation of the Bush administration, which has staunchly backed Mr. Musharraf for more than six years as its best bet in the campaign against the militants in Pakistan.

Monday, February 18, 2008
Feudal factor to determine polls in Pakistan
Pakistanis vote in general elections Monday (Feb. 18) amid accusations of pre-poll rigging and concern about security situation in the wake of rise in suicide attacks. Hundreds of international and local observes are in place to ensure fair and free elections. However, if history has any guidance, manipulation or no manipulation, the results are very much predictable at least in the rural areas where most of the voters live.

Sunday, February 17, 2008
Reflections on the Black History Month
(1 comments) Knowledge of the past is a key to understanding the present. French Philosopher Paul Valery says it is necessary to study history, even to study it deeply, in order to obtain a clear meaning of our immediate time. There is always a connection between the way in which men contemplate the past and the way in which they contemplate the present.

Thursday, February 14, 2008
How intelligence agencies frame "terrorism" charges?
(1 comments) A British Court of Appeal, on February 13, 2008, completely exonerated Lotfi Raissi, a British pilot of Algerian origin, from the charges that he trained some of the hijackers in the 2001 terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon. His episode is the latest example of how British and U.S. intelligence agencies try to frame terrorist charges against innocent people.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Lessons from the Japanese internment during WWII
(1 comments) The February 19 marks the Day of Remembrance when President Roosevelt signed an Executive Order that sent about 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry to concentration camps during the World War Two.

Monday, February 11, 2008
Manufacturing a fig leaf of Democracy in Pakistan
Popular perceptions about the integrity of the electoral process in Pakistan are dismal. Only 21% of the country's voting age population believes elections in the country are free and fair. This is one of the lowest in the World. In a Gallup International study of around 60 countries, Pakistan is ahead of only Philippines (19%) and Nigeria (9%).

Monday, February 4, 2008
Pakistan's military establishment abandoning Musharraf

Wednesday, January 30, 2008
India alarmed as Chinese-built Gwadar port of Pakistan becomes operational
India has expressed concern over the Chinese built Pakistani port of Gwadar. Indian Naval Chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta said last week that the Gwadar port has "serious strategic implications for India." "Being only 180 nautical miles from the exit of the Straits of Hormuz, Gwadar, being bulit in Baluchistan coast, would enable Pakistan take control over the world energy jugular and interdiction of Indian tankers."

Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Why Musharraf rebuffs US plan for joint operation in volatile tribal territories?
In an atmosphere of mistrust and misgivings about American policies in the region, it is difficult for President Musharraf to yield to US pressure for joint military operations in the volatile FATA region. Already Pakistan army's bloody operations, which are now spilled into the interior of the country in the shape of suicide attacks, have damaged its image. Many in Pakistan see this operation as against their own people.

Thursday, January 24, 2008
Islam-West division is worsening
(2 comments) Majority of the people in Muslim and western countries believe that Islam-West division is worsening while each side thinks the other disrespects their culture, says a report on Muslim-Western relations released on January 21, 2008 in Davos, Switzerland.

Friday, January 18, 2008
Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
(1 comments) On January 21, the nation pauses to remember one of its most important civil rights leaders with a national holiday. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential and respected civil rights leaders who inspired the world and helped bring about laws that ensure fairness and equality for all Americans.

Monday, January 14, 2008
Imagine a world without Islam!
(2 comments) Take away Islam, and the world would still be left with the main forces that drive today's conflicts, including colonialism, cross-national ideologies, ethnic conflicts and terrorism, says Graham Fuller, a former Vice-Chairman of the National Intelligence Council at the CIA.

Thursday, January 10, 2008
Why Pakistanis see US bigger threat than Al Qaeda?
Majority of Pakistanis see the American military presence in the region a far greater threat to their country than Al Qaeda, according to a new survey by the World Public Opinion Organization.

Saturday, December 29, 2007
Benazir's assassination: History is repeating itself
Assassination of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto

Sunday, December 16, 2007
Cindy Sheehan: Impeach Pelosi for collaboration with Bush administration on torture
(1 comments)

Sunday, December 16, 2007
Happy Bill of Rights Day: Little is left by Bushies to celebrate
(2 comments) Bills of Rights day

Friday, November 30, 2007
Senate hearing on: "The Role of Local Law Enforcement in Battling Violent Islamic Extremism"

Monday, November 26, 2007
The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act 2007
Comment on the Rationalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act 2007 bill that was passed by the House of Representative on Oct. 23, 2007.