Irfan Yusuf
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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. | |
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 | | | Fear of Muslims | |
Muslim-phobia has gone beyond a joke By Irfan Yusuf, April 30, 2010 Muslims know of Muhammad as a man who happily forgave the men and women who murdered his followers, even the woman who chewed the liver of his uncle slain on the battlefield. So why are ludicrous threats taken so seriously.  ( 37 comments) |
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 | | | Book "Stranger to History" | |
An ambitious cultural journey loses its way By Irfan Yusuf, October 5, 2009 Aatish Taseer's book, " Stranger to History," covers detailed portraits of scenery from his travels in Turkey, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, but limits encounters only with people to the devout and chauvinistic or the irreligious and resentful. ( 2 comments) |
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 | | | Iran Elections | |
Repressive Islamic rule loses its lustre By Irfan Yusuf, June 15, 2009 Iranian Muslim youth aren't the only ones disillusioned with theocratic politics. Many young Muslims in the West like myself, once attracted to political Islam, have now become disillusioned by it. At the same time, we feel disenchanted with Western attempts to manipulate it, then demonise it when it suits. ( 20 comments) |
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 | | | Clash of civilizations | |
The great faction fiction By Irfan Yusuf, January 9, 2009 Neither the West nor Islam can be seen as a cultural monolith. Those of us sitting on the fence should never have to choose between one or the other. ( 29 comments) |
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 | | | Author Imran Ahmed | |
An unimagined life By Irfan Yusuf, June 6, 2008 Associate editor Irfan Yusuf catches up with Unimagined author Imran Ahmad at the Sydney Writer's Festival to discuss identity and the generation gap for a Muslim growing up in the West ( 3 comments) |
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 | | | Guantanamo Detentions | |
Winning few friends in the Muslim world By Irfan Yusuf, May 18, 2008 The mistreatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay continues to be a powerful recruiting argument used by anti-Western and anti-democratic forces in the Muslim world. ( 7 comments) |
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 | | | 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. ( No comments) |
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 | | | 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) |
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 | | | 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) |
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 | | | Controversy in Sudan | |
Sudan’s ready teddy By Irfan Yusuf, December 5, 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) |
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 | | | Remembering "Crazy" John Ilhan | |
Merging faith and business By Irfan Yusuf, November 1, 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) |
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 | | | 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 comment) |
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 | | | 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) |
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 | | | 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) |
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 | | | 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) |
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 | | | 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) |
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 | | | 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) |
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 | | | Professor Raphael Israeli | |
An Israeli Hilaly? By Irfan Yusuf, March 1, 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) |
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 | | | 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) |
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| | | 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) |
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| | | Sheikh Hilaly Controversy | |
Has Mufti Day ended down under? (Part I) By Irfan Yusuf, November 1, 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) |
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 | | | 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) |
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 | | | 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. ( No comments) |
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 | | | 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) |
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 | | | 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. ( No comments) |
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![]() | | | 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) |
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 | | | 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) |
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![]() | | | 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. ( No comments) |
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 | | | 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. ( No comments) |
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 | | | Inspiration | |
Ihya uloom al-FatAlbert By Irfan Yusuf, May 8, 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. ( No comments) |
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 | | | 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) |
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altmuslim this week - august 23, 2010 - This week, is there a connection between the heated rhetoric over Park51 and increased hate crimes against Muslims? Also, parallel struggles against anti-Muslim protests in Bradford, England and the innovation (and integration) on display in the 30 Mosques, 30 States and 30 Nights, 30 Grants projects.
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How Miss USA will push the secret Muslim agenda - A leaked memo confirms a nefarious plot to infiltrate America using the one weapon we can't resist: Total hotness. (May 17, 2010)
South Park: The controversy continues - In a special for Salon.com, our Associate Editor Wajahat Ali offers his take on the controversy over South Park. If you think South Park's Muslim brouhaha was messy, you should see what's going on in the neighboring town of East Park. (April 28, 2010)
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altmuslim review 033 - We're baaaaack! We speak about the ongoing controversy over Park51 and what means for the future of lower Manhattan. Also, a discussion with Farhad Chowdhury of the M100 Foundation, which seeks to change the way Muslims pay zakat (August 13, 2010)
altmuslim review 032 - Muslim writers everywhere! We speak about the new wave of Western Muslim literature and interview two authors with recently released books. Our own Irfan Yusuf talks about his memoir, Once Were Radicals and Reza Aslan tells us more about his second book, How to Win a Cosmic War (June 11, 2009)
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Recent and upcoming talks and offsite articles by altmuslim contributors
It's the occupation, stupid, Wajahat Ali, Salon.com, June 4, 2010
Sex and the City 2's stunning Muslim clichés, Wajahat Ali, Salon.com, May 28, 2010
Draw Muhammad Day: Collectively Punishing Muslim Americans, Shahed Amanullah, Huffington Post, May 25, 2010
Shahed will be a guest on the BBC World Service's World, Have Your Say discussing the proposed French ban on niqab (and fines for husbands who compel their wives to wear them) on May 18, 2010.
Even Controversial Views Should Be Protected by Freedom of Speech, Asma Uddin, The Huffington Post, May 7, 2010.
What I understand about Faisal Shahzad, Wajahat Ali, Salon.com, May 6, 2010
No freak out about South Park, Zahed Amanullah, The Guardian, Comment is Free, April 23, 2010.
Shahed will be a guest on the BBC World Service's World, Have Your Say discussing the South Park controversy along with Zarqa Nawaz (Little Mosque on the Prairie) and other guests on April 22, 2010.
Shahed will be a guest on NPR's State of Belief discussing Barack Obama's outreach to the Muslim world, April 17, 2010.
Zahed will be attending a panel discussion entitled " Are Islam and Free Speech Compatible?" in London, England on Friday, March 26, 2010 sponsored by The City Circle. He will be accompanied by Riazat Butt (The Guardian), Hamid Khan (Consultant in Offender and Youth Development), Abu Muntasir (JIMAS), and Dr Usama Hasan.
'Jihad Jane': not the usual suspect, Wajahat Ali, The Guardian, Comment is Free, March 18, 2010.
Al-Awlaki, a new public enemy, Zahed Amanullah, The Guardian, Comment is Free, December 30, 2009.
Islamophonic: Review of the year, Riazat Butt, Zahed Amanullah and David Shariatmadari, Cif Belief (The Guardian), December 18, 2009.
Fort Hood has enough victims already, Wajahat Ali, Comment is Free (The Guardian), November 6, 2009
The pitfalls of filming Muhammad, Shahed Amanullah, The Guardian, Comment is Free, November 4, 2009.
Children of Dust (published by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins), the first book by longtime altmuslim.com contributor Ali Eteraz, is released in the US, Canada, and the UK on October 13, 2009.
Shahed will be attending the m100 Sansoucci Colloquium in Potsdam, Germany, September 14-16, 2009. He will be moderating a panel discussion on the Danish cartoon crisis with Denis MacShane MP, Jasim Al-Azzawi (Al Jazeera English), and Flemming Rose (Jyllands Posten).
Associate Editor Wajahat Ali's play "The Domestic Crusaders" is having its premiere at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City, NY, September 11, 2009. The play will continue through Sunday, October 11, 2009.
Shahed will be moderating or participating in three panel discussions at the Islamic Society of North America's annual convention, including Muslim Journalists: The View from the Inside, Supporting Social Entrepreneurs and Civic Leaders, and Blogistan: Muslim Americans on the Web in Washington, DC, July 3-6, 2009.
State-sponsored Sufism, Ali Eteraz, Foreign Policy, June 10, 2009.
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Media appearances and analysis featuring altmuslim editors
Helping U.S. reach out to young Muslims worldwide - Soon after Farah Pandith was named last year as the State Department's first special representative to Muslim communities, she sat down with the editor of an independent Muslim website for her first official interview. Altmuslim.com, a forum for opinion and analysis about current issues facing Muslims, was a fitting choice. Pandith has said a strong focus of her work is to reach out to younger Muslims around the world, often those most likely to use the Internet for news and networking. (June 5, 2010)
Censorship is in the ascendant - Zahed Amanullah, associate editor of altmuslim.com, has argued in a national newspaper blog that, since the warning came from an unrepresentative group, the media interest was not justified. As for events of the past – the fatwa on Salman Rushdie, the Danish cartoons, the murder of van Gogh – they were "three incidents over a 20-year period from amongst 1.6 billion people. These things do happen. But we all need a bit of perspective." (April 30, 2010)
Muslims say new security rules unfair, ineffective - ''Muslims are doing their duty. Muslim parents are being attentive. It's the TSA that's not being attentive. It's the TSA that's not doing its duty," said Shahed Amanullah, an editor at the Web site altmuslim.com. "There's nothing more that Muslims can do than turn in their own families." (January 7, 2010)
US Muslims & media… Lost love - "We have a big problem; it’s that other people are shaping the story about us," Shahed Amanullah, editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com, told IslamOnline.net. (December 16, 2009)
Moves to Seize Mosques Spark Outrage - "I'm extremely skeptical that the link between these mosques and this organization is so strong as to merit the seizing of a considerable amount of assets that do a lot of good for the Muslim community," says Shahed Amanullah, a prominent Muslim blogger based in Austin. "The government better be prepared to make a very good case, because this is unprecedented." (November 17, 2009)
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