Give Dialogue with Mainstream Muslims a Chance

Oct 17

Written Sep 11, 2006 A version of this commentary was published today in the Orlando Sentinel. Sept. 11, 2001, was undoubtedly a great tragedy. On this fifth anniversary it is time for us collectively to look forward to ensure this never happens again. However, instead of focusing on the somber lessons learned from that ill-fated day, President Bush opened the new...

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American Muslims and ‘Integration’

Oct 17

Written April 13, 2006 At a recent historic meeting in Vienna, European Muslim religious leaders, or Imams, exhorted Islamic communities to better integrate and participate effectively in all aspects of European society. They also urged European governments to give Muslims the opportunity to become full participants in their respective societies. “Integration...

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A Sensible Way to Describe Terrorists

Oct 17

Written May 14, 2006 http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/051706/opl_3063216.shtml The European Union will soon distribute new guidelines to its 25-member nations that recommend using “nonemotive lexicon for discussing radicalization.” Officials say that the guidelines, which are not legally binding, will ask European governments to shun the...

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Islamophobia: The Ministry of Jerry Vines

Apr 13

JACKSONVILLE TIMES UNIONhttp://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/012906/opl_vessays.shtmlLast modified Sun., January 29, 2006 – 03:39 AMOriginally created Sunday, January 29, 2006 The announcement that Rev. Jerry Vines is stepping down from the helm of First Baptist Church has elicited mixed reactions within the American Muslim community. While...

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Danish Cartoons: The drawings transgress all bounds of decency

Apr 13

PRESS-ENTERPRISE.COM 10:07 PM PST on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 The worldwide flap over a series of cartoons published in a Danish newspaper was avoidable had all sides approached the issue wisely. A Danish newspaper published cartoons that depicted Islam’s most revered personality, Prophet Muhammad, in a light that was inaccurate, derogatory and...

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Work harder to see the other side

Apr 12

DALLAS MORNING NEWS, PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, FREDERICKSBURG.COM AND OTHERS. http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/032006/03302006/175209 WASHINGTON–The recent hyste ria surrounding the approval of a Dubai firm to manage parts of several American ports demonstrates how fear of Islam, or “Islamophobia,” can overpower rational discourse and harm our...

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