tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71574575223557168242009-07-10T15:28:43.095-04:00A blog about Islam, Muslims, and America by Omer Subhani.Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.comBlogger410125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-73185997093892131182009-07-10T15:09:00.003-04:002009-07-10T15:28:43.107-04:00

From one of the greatest political scientists in American history. Zinn comments on the legacy of Robert McNamara, the deceased former Secretary of Defense under JFK and LBJ.Well, assessing the legacy … It seems to me one things which we should be thinking about, is that McNamara represented all of those superficial qualities of brightness and intelligence and education that are so revered in our

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-86196650097418051172009-07-09T13:34:00.003-04:002009-07-09T14:16:32.418-04:00

I am sure if you are a Pakistani American and you know Pakistani uncles and aunties in your local community who use the internet and email that you have eventually received an email from them telling you about how Starbucks is funneling money to support the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories (the IDF has a never ending supply of lattes), or how Apple was building a replica of the

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-21353708455221501482009-07-08T11:38:00.003-04:002009-07-08T11:55:48.422-04:00

What's happening in China? I have found two articles (one from the Left and one from the Right) discussing the Uyghur protests in China. The grievances of the Uyghurs seems legitimate and deserves more attention, but since they are Muslims, it seems they may not get the attention they deserve from our press. They definitely won't get love from the far-Right, who can't possibly seem to fathom the

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-56651031795452567082009-06-19T10:30:00.003-04:002009-06-19T10:45:01.798-04:00

Uri Avnery, the activist of activists in Israel for peace, has written a strait forward article on Benjamin Netanyahu's speech regarding a Palestinian state. Basically, Bibi is playing the same old Israeli game of saying Israel wants peace, but then making proposals they know the Palestinians and Arab states will not accept, such as a demilitarized state, no refugee negotiations, etc.The point of

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-72662468852398190332009-06-17T20:40:00.003-04:002009-06-17T20:49:19.254-04:00

The astute Glenn Greenwald points out the hypocrisy of the right wing leadership. Sometimes they want just want to kill everyone within the nation they despise without hesitation, and at other times those very people they would have succumb to nuclear annihilation are their newest friends and allies.In addition, I will stay out of the Iran election issue. I don't know a thing about the issue and

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-22990515891963046302009-06-10T15:54:00.003-04:002009-06-10T16:00:21.932-04:00

Thought those "Obama is a secret Muslim" smears were over? Think again.Daniel Luban, writing on Jim Lobe's Blog, comments on Frank Gaffney's moronic piece in the Washington Times. Also, as serious as Robert Spencer and other anti-Islam bloggers are about their jobs, how can they associate themselves with someone like Pam Geller? LGF's Charles Johnson already dismissed her as a crackpot, but I am

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-35065533434247311832009-06-06T11:59:00.003-04:002009-06-06T12:04:37.174-04:00

A friend of my blog, Ebad, pointed out to me in the comments section of my post below that the verse Obama quoted was probably Surah 33, verse 70, which reads: "O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and (always) say a word directed to the Right" (Yusuf Ali's translation).This verse seems to be more in line with what Obama quoted, "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth," than what Spencer cited

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-21261190610116562522009-06-06T01:28:00.004-04:002009-06-06T11:59:38.986-04:00

Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch is arguing that Obama quoted a verse of the Qur'an out of context. He says this:He quoted one Qur'an verse in connection with speaking of our shared interests as human beings: As the Holy Koran tells us, "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth." That is what I will try to do – to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-90989668129082793652009-06-05T15:14:00.004-04:002009-06-05T15:19:35.266-04:00

Wajahat Ali has a good take on the speech, on what it was and what it was not.Obama's speech, which was meticulously and strategically crafted as if penned by a chess master, had to simultaneously appease millions humiliated and dejected by a hypocritical and brutal U.S. foreign policy, and also justify U.S. objectives without appearing imperialistic or apologetic.Indeed, many in the right wing

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-69054436709045038882009-06-05T00:19:00.003-04:002009-06-05T00:27:23.863-04:00

I finally came around for a new title to my blog. It's a play on words. The famous sufi book, Disciplining the Soul, by Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali is one of forty books he wrote for his Ihya Uloom al-Din, the Revival of the Religious Sciences, and is probably my most favorite sufi text.As many of you know, my blog has pretty much become a defense of Islamic tradition against anti-Islam bloggers

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-16970797609184516022009-06-04T23:00:00.002-04:002009-06-04T23:32:31.935-04:00

I have been away for a while. But I have been keeping up with responses for Jihad Watch's usual assortment of ridicule and smears for Islam and Muslims.A few weeks ago, Ali Sina, Robert Spencer's friend and fellow co-author for a book they wrote, said the following:The problem with the good teachings of Muhammad is that they are reserved for fellow Muslims. When the hadith says “None of you [

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-725133028143920872009-05-23T23:15:00.002-04:002009-05-23T23:30:14.159-04:00

One has to wonder about someone, Robert Spencer, who is so relentless in his pursuit to "expose" the abuse of women in Islamic nations, when the women in his own nation are continuously abused right under his own nose. Sure, it fits in well with his whole "Jihad" theme, but more to the point, it strengthens the suspicion that he only cares about this issue because it makes Islam and Muslims look

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-11535400777352712962009-05-14T21:56:00.004-04:002009-05-14T23:49:55.894-04:00

The man is, in my estimation, the next generation Noam Chomsky. He is articulate, speaks with the support of facts and evidence, and is plain and simple in his evaluations of American domestic and foreign policy. Here, he discusses how Obama's decision not to release incriminating photographs of detainee abuse will do nothing to suppress anti-American sentiment worldwide, but will only inflame

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-88715312402216256882009-05-08T07:03:00.003-04:002009-05-08T07:06:43.472-04:00

A great new web site dedicated to fighting domestic violence: mmada.org. Here is their mission statement:Established February 2009. // deploy if (typeof(theTemplate) != 'undefined' && theTemplate.hasFlashNavigation == "true") { try { if (window == window.top || parent.document.location.href.indexOf("main.html") == -1) { document.body.style.backgroundColor='#' +

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-39494399829313446802009-05-07T17:03:00.003-04:002009-05-07T18:10:47.948-04:00

Does Islamic law justify suicide bombings? It's a difficult question to answer. But the folks at Jihad Watch, specifically Raymond Ibrahim, have made a sweeping statement that modern Muslim jurists have agreed that suicide bombings are legitimate under Islamic law.Wow.Here is what Ibrahim said:Says Mullah Omar's spokesman: “They sacrificed some people, friends of Muhammad, for the sake of Islam.

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-27014306967222502142009-05-07T14:41:00.004-04:002009-05-07T14:48:31.190-04:00

At least that is what it is sounding like. Vice President Joe Biden was at the AIPAC conference yesterday and pretty much told the hawkish crowd that it's time to stop mulling around and time to start getting on the peace train. Well, more or less.Here's a good take from Jim Lobe's Blog on what's occurring on the insides of AIPAC: The hardliners have clearly decided that directly criticizing

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-35434467495992607292009-05-06T13:52:00.001-04:002009-05-06T13:53:43.110-04:00

I'm trying to think up a new blog name. Something that captures what I do on my blog on a daily basis. A new blog name will come up sooner or later.

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-6630532181393646032009-05-06T13:26:00.005-04:002009-05-06T13:29:47.144-04:00

When did Islam require a uniform for people? Maybe someone can ask the Taliban how they derive their legal ideas. More to the point: this is lunacy.PESHAWAR: Hospitals in Peshawar have received threatening letters from local militants warning their doctors against wearing western clothing to work, DawnNews reported. Doctors from two of Peshawar’s major hospitals, Hayatabad Medical Complex and

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-73267904334309908382009-05-04T18:32:00.004-04:002009-05-04T18:35:12.630-04:00

Maybe Obama should pick someone who is not the typical candidate. A good article from CNN.com by Sherrilyn Ifill:I sometimes marvel that I probably couldn't get hired at my law school today.Fifteen years ago I was a young civil rights lawyer with a strong litigation record and a few good ideas about the relationship between racial diversity on courts and principled decision-making who wanted to

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-8872393282637467022009-05-02T23:21:00.006-04:002009-05-03T19:32:41.030-04:00

Here is what the Jihad Watch Director says about Geert Wilders:I've already explained, in this post, that Wilders's call to ban the Qur'an is simply a call for consistency: his native Netherlands bans Mein Kampf as hate speech, and yet pays no attention to the manifest power of the Qur'an to incite to violence. The Netherlands should either stop banning books altogether or be consistent about

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-68166097386521199432009-04-30T17:26:00.004-04:002009-04-30T19:46:36.562-04:00

What does this mean? That Geert Wilders and his supporters in the U.S. and abroad are even less mainstream than they think they are. Even the ADL, with all of its fanatical support for the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians, won't go so far as to join the ranks of Wilders' supporters. They seem to realize how ridiculous and hypocritical Wilders' call is for defending his right to free speech

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-20607126684114255042009-04-29T22:58:00.002-04:002009-04-29T23:06:30.370-04:00

From a man who knows the country very well:Readers have written me asking what I think of the rash of almost apocalyptic pronouncements on the security situation in Pakistan issuing from the New York Times, The Telegraph, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in recent days.And Stephen Walt also is asking why there are such varying assessments of Pakistan's security prospects. He suggests that

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-83299511865893083302009-04-29T22:46:00.004-04:002009-04-29T22:57:20.157-04:00

The folks at Jihad Watch have commented on the Egyptian decision to eradicate all pigs because of the possibility, at least in their minds, of the swine flu spreading to or in Egypt.Now, isn't their website dedicated to discussing matters pertaining to jihad?I guess not, and that is only one blog post amongst many others in the past few years that has shown the steady shift away from monitoring

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-59781371396065876682009-04-29T11:25:00.003-04:002009-04-29T11:56:08.202-04:00

Jihad Watch loves to quote the verse of the Qur'an I explained in the post below as an example of how Islam teaches the hatred of Jews. They quoted it again today. But in light of the exegesis about that verse it becomes clear that the verse in question, from Surah 5, verse 82, refers specifically to the Jews living at the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him."Strongest among men in enmity to

Omer Subhanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07486315267639349378omer.subhani@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157457522355716824.post-39479734020677977762009-04-28T01:23:00.004-04:002009-04-28T08:20:28.173-04:00

Sorry to burst the bubble of some anti-Muslim folks out there, but the Qur'an does not teach the hatred of Jews. I quote Robert Spencer quite a bit, but that is because he is at the forefront of the movement that is essentially against Islam and Muslims. Spencer says the following regarding Islam and Jews:Ahmedinejad's Jew-hatred is common throughout the Islamic world: This is fueled by the fact

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