Geeking out at SXSW Interactive - There is no better place to mingle with other geeks than at South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive, one of the largest Internet-focused conferences in the country, where we presented a panel discussion on "Online Extremism - And The Muslims Who Fight It"  (March 20, 2008)
Like “Groundhog Day” - What happens when you get 200 academics, activists, policy wonks, politicians, and journalists - all with opinions across the spectrum - into a room to try to determine the best course of action to improve the relationship between the US and the Muslim world? Unfortunately, not much.  (February 24, 2008)
|
altmuslim review 027 - This month, we have a special report from the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar. Also, an interview with Dalia Mogahed, co-author of the forthcoming book "What a Billion Muslims Really Think" (March 7, 2008)
altmuslim review 026 - The US presidential race is in full swing, and we discuss Muslim involvement in the campaigns and our attempts at a block vote. Also, a perspective from recently elected San Carlos city councilmember Omar Ahmad. (January 29, 2008)
|
|
Recent and upcoming talks and offsite articles by altmuslim contributors
Shahed will be participating in a panel discussion, Sourcing Islam, at the Religion Newswriters Association conference in Washington, DC (September 20, 2008)
Zahed will be a guest on BBC Radio 4's " Sunday" programme speaking about religious podcasting (May 4, 2008)
Rafia and Shahed will be guests on South Africa's Channel Islam, speaking about interpreting Islam in the modern world (March 28 & April 4, 2008)
Shahed will be speaking at the CAMP International Leadership Summit in Princeton, NJ (March 29, 2008)
Shahed will be a guest on Radio Tahrir, airing on WBAI 99.5 FM in New York, speaking about the Muslim block vote (April 1, 2008)
Shahed will be appearing on The Agenda with Steve Paikin for a recap of altmuslim's SXSW panel "Online Extremism" (March 26, 2008)
altmuslim is hosting a panel discussion at 2008 SXSW Interactive, "Online Extremism (And The Muslims Who Fight It)" (March 9, 2008)
Count blessings, then tally taxes - Hesham Hassaballa, Chicago Tribune (February 24, 2008)
'Busharraf' gets the people's message - Irfan Yusuf, New Zealand Herald (February 22, 2008)
Shahed will be participating in the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar (February 17-19, 2008)
Sharia an unlikely threat - Irfan Yusuf, stuff.co.nz (February 13, 2008)
Converts' dangerous pull towards extremism - Irfan Yusuf, Sydney Morning Herald (February 7, 2008)
Safiyyah will be appearing on The Agenda with Steve Paikin for a debate on "Today's Young Muslim Women" (February 1, 2008)
Sidelining the loud-mouthed cultural warriors - Irfan Yusuf, Canberra Times (January 10, 2008)
Safiyyah will be guest writing at the TVO website offering commentary on the two-part TV series Britz (February 2008)
Fault lines of a nation - Irfan Yusuf, The Age (December 31, 2007)
Is there room at the inn for a Muslim holiday in America? - Shahed Amanullah, Chicago Tribune (December 23, 2007)
Can Pakistan's non-violent past save its future? - Shahed Amanullah, Beliefnet.com (December 28, 2007)
Not your father's hajj - Shahed Amanullah, Beliefnet.com (December 17, 2007)
Shahed will be speaking at the MPAC Annual Convention in Long Beach, CA about Muslims and new media (December 15, 2007)
|
|
Media appearances and analysis featuring altmuslim editors
Why the silence? - "Both reactionary religion and militant secularism are on the rise, with both displaying a rigid certainty and a desire for power that will do nothing to benefit society. In this context, it is vital that people with open-minded faith speak up and demonstrate alternatives. [altmuslim.com has] set many good examples in this regard." (January 8, 2008)
Does the US tolerate anti-Muslim speech? - "You see more hostility towards Muslims now than you did the year after 9/11," says Shahed Amanullah, editor of a Muslim web-zine, AltMuslim.com. He and other observers point to America's failure to capture Osama bin Laden, the continuing difficulties in Iraq and Afghanistan, and news of terrorist plots overseas as reasons why many Americans feel hostile towards Muslims. (December 7, 2007)
In the great Berkeley free speech tradition - [Amanullah] claims no personal agenda other than concerned dad. “I want my children to grow up in a country where they, as Muslims, feel valued,” he says, “and where their religion doesn’t contradict their nationality.” (November 9, 2007)
Shaping the debate on Muslims - The publication [altmuslim.com] promotes critical analysis, discussion, and debate within the Muslim community in the West while also showcasing commentary for non-Muslims who want a sense of the dialogue going on among Western Muslims. (October 19, 2007)
Blogging Where Speech Isn’t Free (.mp3) - Many nations have no tradition of free speech, and in those contexts, blogging can be extremely dangerous. How can those bloggers protect themselves, and how can we help them? (Panel discussion at SXSW Interactive, Austin, Texas, March 11, 2007) Audio available here. (July 9, 2007)
|
|
We are proud to share content, resources, and strategy with the following media partners:
|
|
|
Irfan Yusuf
|  |
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Irfan Yusuf
Sydney, Australia
In addition to being an associate editor of altmuslim, Irfan Yusuf is also a regular contributor to Crikey.com.au, NewMatilda.com and Malaysiakini.com. He also is a regular speaker and has delivered seminars for organisations such as the Australian Homeland Security Research Centre and the Institute of Public Administration of Australia. Irfan joined altmuslim.com as Associate Editor in 2006. Irfan is also a regular media commentator on a variety of social, political, human rights, media and cultural issues. He has appeared on local and national radio and TV in Australia and New Zealand. Irfan's opinion pieces and book reviews have been published in over 15 national, metropolitan and regional newspapers in Australia, New Zealand and Brunei. His writings can be seen online at Planet Irf and Madhab Irfy. |  |
 |
|
 |
 |  |
Book "Still Moments"
Moments of clarity
By Irfan Yusuf, April 16, 2008 Still Moments, a short memoir by Dr. Zighen Aym, thoughtfully explores the contrasts and commonalities between experiences in his native Algeria and his adopted America. ( 0 comments)
|
 |  |
Former Indonesian President Suharto
The authoritarian liberator
By Irfan Yusuf, January 31, 2008 The man who ruled over the world’s largest Islamic nation for over 30 years certainly was not perfect. But today Indonesians enjoy freedoms which their co-religionists elsewhere yearn for. ( 3 comments)
|
 |  |
Looking for extremism
Fighting jihadists with inkjet printers
By Irfan Yusuf, December 16, 2007 You don’t need dodgy receipts to prove dodgy books are sold by certain dodgy Muslims. Likewise, we have no need for dodgy conservative thinktanks using dodgy excuses to hide their dodgy sectarian prejudices. ( 9 comments)
|
 |  |
Controversy in Sudan
Sudan’s ready teddy
By Irfan Yusuf, December 05, 2007 After two decades of civil war, and having the largest population of internal refugees of any country on earth, you'd think Sudanese Muslims have far more pressing issues to worry about than the name of a teddy bear.
( 4 comments)
|
 |  |
Remembering "Crazy" John Ilhan
Merging faith and business
By Irfan Yusuf, November 01, 2007 For many Australians, coverage of "Crazy" John Ilhan's funeral at a prominent mosque will be the first time they will learn that the man behind one of Australia's most successful business brands was a practising Muslim.
( 5 comments)
|
 |  |
Heroes of 9/11
Clearing Salman’s name
By Irfan Yusuf, September 11, 2007 Six years after September 11, 2001, we would do well to remember a particular victim, one who was portrayed as a terrorist before his name was cleared. ( 1 comments)
|
 |  |
India-Pakistan Partition
Lines on a map
By Irfan Yusuf, August 14, 2007 Sixty years after the partition that created India and Pakistan, Irfan Yusuf explores why some of the barriers between nations never really kept people apart. ( 15 comments)
|
 |  |
Rushdie Knighthood
Flippant thoughts on Sir Salman
By Irfan Yusuf, June 24, 2007 Perhaps those Muslims who waste their time and energy banning books and threatening authors have finally realised this only makes these authors damned rich! ( 11 comments)
|
 |  |
Islam in Australia
Animal Farm Islam
By Irfan Yusuf, May 20, 2007 Clearly all Muslims are moderate, but some are more extremely moderate (or moderately extreme) than others. ( 2 comments)
|
 |  |
Radio talk shows
Why Don Imus should move to Australia
By Irfan Yusuf, April 22, 2007 A sensitivity against racism in the US has created a backlash against "shock jocks" such as Don Imus. The same racism against Lebanese and Middle Eastern minorities in Australia goes unpunished. ( 2 comments)
|
 |  |
The Hilali affair
Has Mufti Day ended down under? (Part III)
By Irfan Yusuf, April 11, 2007 The ethno-religious dynamic among Australian Muslims, along with politics, has compounded the potential removal of controversial imam Sheikh Taj el-din Al Hilaly ( 16 comments)
|
 |  |
Professor Raphael Israeli
An Israeli Hilaly?
By Irfan Yusuf, March 01, 2007 The inappropriate comments of Australian mufti Sheik Hilaly have been mirrored by a visiting Israeli professor, Professor Raphael Israeli. So where's the balanced reaction? ( 19 comments)
|
 |  |
Australia's Sheikh Hilaly
The sheik must go
By Irfan Yusuf, January 12, 2007 Disparaging non-Muslim Australians as "convicts" was the latest in a string of inexplicable comments. Australia's Sheik Hilaly must now surely resign or be sacked. ( 3 comments)
|
 |  |
Sheikh Hilaly Controversy
Has Mufti Day ended down under? (Part II)
By Irfan Yusuf, November 24, 2006 Irfan Yusuf provides a detailed background for the controversy surrounding Australian imam Tajeddine Hilaly, whose remarks about women have caused an uproar. ( 8 comments)
|
 |  |
Sheikh Hilaly Controversy
Has Mufti Day ended down under? (Part I)
By Irfan Yusuf, November 01, 2006 Irfan Yusuf provides a detailed background for the controversy surrounding Australian imam Tajeddine Hilaly, whose remarks about women have caused an uproar. ( 2 comments)
|
 |  |
Pope Benedict Controversy
Papal free speech
By Irfan Yusuf, September 19, 2006 From time to time, Christian and Muslim leaders talk about each other's faiths. That's religion. And that's life. At least it should be. ( 9 comments)
|
 |  |
Indonesia Earthquake
Indonesia’s city of soul mourns
By Irfan Yusuf, May 30, 2006 Irfan Yusuf explores the history of the Jogja region of Indonesia, which is reeling from a major earthquake that has taken over 5,000 lives. ( 0 comments)
|
 |  |
Interfaith Relations
What Muslims can learn from Easter
By Irfan Yusuf, April 14, 2006 Easter is about Christ, a great man who saw the inherent worth of all human beings - even tax collectors and sex workers and lepers, those whom the rest of society wrote off. ( 22 comments)
|
 |  |
Non-Muslim minorities
Whatever happened to “no compulsion in religion”?
By Irfan Yusuf, March 26, 2006 If Muslim minorities do not stand up for the rights of non-Muslims in Muslim-majority states, their occasional claims to being oppressed minorities themselves will not be taken seriously. ( 0 comments)
|
![]() |  |
Interfaith Relations
Why Christmas unites Christians and Muslims
By Irfan Yusuf, December 23, 2005 Christmas should remind us that, despite minor cultural and theological differences, the things that unite us are more numerous than those which divide us. ( 9 comments)
|
 |  |
Tolerance
Saint Aslam
By Irfan Yusuf, September 21, 2005 People damned by society are the truly oppressed. When they pray against you, watch out. But when they wish you well, expect to find peace and joy. ( 2 comments)
|
![]() |  |
Terrorism
If a bomb hits Sydney…
By Irfan Yusuf, July 20, 2005 Let's start searching our souls and correcting our attitudes. Let's get our house in order. Because if we don't, and if a bomb hits Sydney, we are doomed. ( 0 comments)
|
 |  |
Australia's Sheikh Hilaly
Winning hearts at the heart of controversy
By Irfan Yusuf, June 15, 2005 Despite his past faults, Australia's Sheikh Tajeddine el-Hilali should be commended for his act of courage in helping facilitate the release of Douglas Wood. ( 0 comments)
|
 |  |
Inspiration
Ihya uloom al-FatAlbert
By Irfan Yusuf, May 08, 2005 Fat Albert said something that reminded me of a verse in the Qur'an. He said that loving someone is inherently wonderful, even if the person is not physically with you. ( 0 comments)
|
 |  |
Psychiatry and Islam
Depression is not weak faith
By Irfan Yusuf, April 10, 2005 Depression is not being given the attention it deserves in Muslim communities. Indeed, many of our scholars dismiss depression as simply weak faith. ( 7 comments)
|
|
|