MuslimMatters.org Discourses in the Intellectual Traditions, Political Situation, and Social Ethics of Muslim Life

I want you to come to know of the concern and dedication that this woman had for Islam as described by those who knew her - a dedication that was manifested by way of actions that were very simple and easy, yet seldom carried out by those who are able Read More »

While there are several possibilities, there is one that most will find almost impossible to believe. We are not ready to believe that Dr. Aafia is a star terrorist-- a claim that is ironically being pushed by the US Government and not denied by Al-Qaeda. Why? The answer lies in each group's malicious agenda. Read More »

Christopher Hitchens, pseudointellectual atheist extraordinaire, as part of an article for this August's Vanity Fair magazine, submitted himself for perhaps a somewhat unique experience – waterboarding. There has been some back and forth debate among policy makers the past few years about whether or not to categorize waterboarding as torture, ... Read More »

Last week I was up in DC for some government-relations work, and was a bit shocked to receive a request from FOX News for an interview on the Presidential Race. Generally speaking, whenever the issue came up in my conversations with national Muslim leaders over the past few months, I ... Read More »

We previously covered the case of the Toronto 18, as they're known, in this post. The trials continue and the plot thickens as Mubin Sheikh, the Crown's star only witness testifies in court. Please excuse me while I rush off to the bathroom and proceed to barf up the remains ... Read More »

While the debate of whether Dunkin' Donuts should have pulled the ad or not has been hashed out in the blogosphere, one thing that many people are ignoring is the potential fall out from this disaster. I have, therefore, taken it upon myself to outline for America just a few ways how this milestone event in our history may affect our future. Read More »

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To most Muslims, jihad implies honor and sacrifice for others, even when interpreted military, it comes with many conditions, including the writ against targeting civilians. Using jihad and terrorism as synonyms is wrong and counterproductive, and the meaning of Jihad to Muslims is much more nuanced than what many Western commentators invoke. Read More »

Against the backdrop of this bleak world situation, the West desires stable, secular democracies in the Muslim countries it deems as “supporting terrorism”, believing this to be the ultimate measure of victory in the “war against terrorism”. But a number of challenges exist in this battle of hearts and minds, and data is ever-important to understand the people we wish to move. Read More »

The reality of the Muslim world is that most of the countries are not democracies, and a number of the ones that are have elections where the ruler somehow manages to win about 90% of the vote in every election. It is no surprise then, that George (lowest approval rating of all time) Bush made democratization a key goal of his foreign policy. While the surveys show that most people admire the West's freedoms, they do not feel that the US is actually serious about promoting democracy in Muslim lands. Read More »