democrati.net
Opinion
Response to Mustafa Akyol’s article: There is no such thing as the people
The following is my response to the article by Turkish “liberal” Islamist Mustafa Akyol entitled quite preposterously “There is no such thing as ‘the people’“. In it Akyol reiterates what we’ve heard repeatedly by Islamist supporters that protesters on the streets whether in Tahrir or in Gezi Park do not have the right to speak in … Continue reading
The Production of Knowledge: limits and critiques
I will start a series of articles and feature extracts to highlight how think tanks get it wrong, purposefully, to push a certain agenda. Today’s post comes from: “Special Document File – “The Israeli Lobby.” Journal of Palestine Studies 35(3) (Spring 2006): 83-114.” On page 11 it reads: “The Lobby’s influence extends well beyond WINEP, … Continue reading
US Versus Iran Match: Lessons Politicians Can Learn
The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States went at it, but it was not over Iran’s nuclear program or the US’s sanctions on Iran — it was over a gold medal at the Olympics. The US’s Jordan Burroughs beat Iran’s Sadegh Saeed Goudarzi at the final for the men’s 74-kilogram freestyle wrestling. When … Continue reading
In The Garden of Mullahs: ‘Apple,’ A Forbidden Fruit?
By now you have probably heard of the Apple versus Iranian diaspora sanctions dispute. Like most Americans, I own an iPod. I even ‘turned to the dark side’ and purchased a MacBook Pro a year ago. But when news came out about 19-year-old Sahar Sabet, a college student of Iranian descent, was denied the purchase … Continue reading
Mona Eltahawy sparks debate on plight of women in the Middle East
Mona Eltahawy’s piece “Why Do They Hate Us?” in Foreign Policy Magazine has sparked a debate that has shaken the social networks. Views of vitriolic dislike or profound approval of her controversial article have been expressed on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and may even be a main topic on Al Jazeera English’s “The Stream”. An ardent … Continue reading
Exploring the Muslim veil in Western art
Mona el Tahawy caused quite an uproar with her article on misogyny in the Middle East. One of the most unsettling things about the article was a series of photos depicting what appeared to be a nude model with black body paint representing a niquab. One of my co-authors on this democrati.net wrote a critique … Continue reading
Case in point: Mona el Tahawy’s FP article
This article, like many others, is a response to Mona El Tahawy’s FP piece Needless to say that women in Egypt have a problem. There’s also a problem for Arab women in general. That’s also true for women in the third world. And its true of women even in the US, Mona admits that when … Continue reading
Dictatorship by Liberalism
It is counter-intuitive at first to read that title. Some may even say you can’t put those two sentences together in the sentence. Liberalism is after-all antithetical to dictatorship. It is about the individual and his power and his rights. The hallmarks of liberalism include Voltaire, Locke and a whole bunch of others. The United … Continue reading
Genocide: How could they kill their own so effortlessly?
The month of April has become widely associated as “Genocide Prevention/Awareness Month,” marking the anniversary of six major genocides taking place during the 20th century: Armenia, the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur. The term “genocide” was coined by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-born holocaust survivor and lawyer who dedicated his life to advocating for a … Continue reading
Pope Shenouda III and the Coptic Church: Sensitive Questions
Pope Shenouda III, born as Nazir Ga’yid, passed away and left his faithful on Saturday 17th 2012. I have observed the three day mourning period in respect with Church custom and refrained from posting about this. Now that it is over I intend to go back to the topic which interests me greatly and is … Continue reading
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