No compulsion in opinion
Today is May 16, 2008 | 11 Jumada al-Awwal 1429  
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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)

CONTRIBUTORS
PODCASTS
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)

ELSEWHERE
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)

IN THE NEWS
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)

CONTENT PARTNERS
Islamica Magazine

Beliefnet

Q-News

Illume Media

The American Muslim
Muqtedar Khan
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Muqtedar Khan
Dr. Muqtedar Khan currently serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delaware, and is a non-resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He earned his Ph.D. in International Relations, Political Philosophy, and Islamic Political Thought from Georgetown University in May 2000. Dr. Khan is also associated with the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy and the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. He has been the President, Vice President and General Secretary of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists. He is the author of American Muslims: Bridging Faith and Freedom (Amana, 2002) and Jihad for Jerusalem: Identity and Strategy in International Relations (Praeger, 2004). His forthcoming books are titled Beyond Jihad and Crusade: Rethinking US policy in the Muslim World (Brookings Institution, 2006) and Islam, Democracy and Political Theory (Lexington Books, 2005).

Dr. Khan frequently comments on BBC, CNN, FOX and VOA TV, NPR and other radio and TV networks. His political commentaries appear regularly in newspapers in over 20 countries. He has also lectured in North America, East Asia, Middle East and Europe. Dr. Khan writes a regular Weblog called Globalog. His articles on Islam and American Muslims can be read at Ijtihad and his commentaries on global politics can be read at Glocaleye.
zabihah.com

ARTICLES BY MUQTEDAR KHAN

Interfaith dialogue
The imam and the rabbi
In one evening, we did not solve the great problems that plague US-Islamic or Jewish-Muslim relations. But Jews and Muslims who were there went home a bit more hopeful. (2 comments)

Crisis in Pakistan
A coup within a coup
Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency both derails the latest effort to usher in democracy and brings Pakistan's political stability to the tipping point, emboldening the Islamist opposition in the process. (7 comments)

US/Muslim world relations
The US-Pakistan tango
The tangled relationship between Washington and Islamabad has its roots in shortsighted strategies on both sides. But it's still better to be strong allies than adversaries. (9 comments)

Islamic Reform
America’s gift: A new tradition in Islamic thinking
American foreign policy may have perpetrated many injustices against Muslims, but its gifts of allowing Islamic thinking to re-emerge and thrive is indeed priceless. (49 comments)

War in Iraq
To “save democracy”, Bush’s war will target Shias too
With his speech last night, President Bush has all but declared war on Shias. One can only hope he knows what he is getting us all into. (1 comments)

Terminology
Agreeing on a definition of Islamophobia
American Muslims must work with our government to challenge anti-Islamic discourse and correct some of the misunderstandings that the government itself may be harboring. (13 comments)

Muslim Taxicab Controversy
Should Muslims be allowed to impose Islam on others?
Can we and should we demand freedom to practice Islam, and then turn around and use these same freedoms to impose anachronistic understandings of Islam on others? (14 comments)

US Elections
Democracy restored, but no shift in values
While it is clear that voters have rejected Republican hubris, crony politics and power mania, it is not obvious what they have voted for, except change. (3 comments)

Islam in the West
Islam in Oxford
The Muslim population of Oxford is a good example of a well-integrated Muslim community in the West. Other European Muslim communities would do well to follow their lead. (9 comments)

War in Iraq
There is a third way
So far there are two plans for Iraq: staying the course and scheduling an early withdrawal. In my opinion, neither plan truly safeguard's America's security. (21 comments)

Lebanon Crisis
Is the US part of the problem?
All major US goals in the region - democracy promotion, support for moderates, winning hearts and minds, undermining support for radicalism - will be buried under Lebanon's debris. (2 comments)

Middle East Crisis
America fails to defend its interests
An escalation of violence between Israel, Hezbollah, and Hamas serves no one's interests, not even Israel's or Americas. And yet, Arabs and Muslims continue to suffer. (48 comments)

Islam in Germany
Mosques with foreign flags
With Islamophobia on the rise in most western countries, in your face displays of allegiance to foreign nations can only be described as spectacularly stupid. (49 comments)

Islamic thought
Two theories of Ijtihad
Muslim societies today have to distinguish between Islam and culture, retain their Islamic essence and reform dysfunctional cultural habits that hinder development. (1 comments)

Palestinian Elections
In Hamas victory, an opportunity for change
What can be a more spectacular advertisement for the idea that democracy makes politicians out of terrorists than the electoral victory of Hamas in the recent Palestinian elections? (1 comments)

Foreign policy
President Bush and the season of failures
The Bush administration's signature style has been its supreme self-confidence marked by a hubristic refusal to acknowledge any mistakes ever. (8 comments)

Islam in the West
Between integration and discrimination
While discrimination against Muslims in America has certainly risen after 9/11, it looked insignificant compared to what Muslims in Belgium face routinely. (6 comments)

Fighting extremism
Karen Hughes & American Muslims
US policies must change, and if she can communicate that this change is genuine and not cosmetic, then we will see some positive progress. (3 comments)

Qur'an desecration
Far worse than Abu Ghraib
It will take more than a retraction and another empty "Pentagon enquiry" to ameliorate the anger towards the US that is now felt widely in the Muslim world. (11 comments)

The politics of headscarves
Epistemological hijab
The Hijab has become a site for the cultural struggle between Islam and modernity and between contemporary and traditional interpretations of Islam. (4 comments)

India/Pakistan Relations
Are Pakistanis less prejudiced than Indians?
Indian movies, the electoral discourses, and Indian media are proliferated with articles about Pakistan's hand behind everything from Godhra to Kashmir. (36 comments)

Narendra Modi's US Visit
American Business & genocide linked again?
Perhaps "Hotel Gujarat", a film about genocide in India, will open with a shot of Narendra Modi being honored by the Asian American Hotel Owners association. (1 comments)

Islam In The West
The threat of internal extremism
The struggle for acceptance of Islam and Muslims in the West cannot be divorced from the acceptance of the West within its Muslim communities. (1 comments)

Terror In Darfur
Can American Muslims do something?
It began with the indiscriminate use of violence against civilians. Now some Muslims are determined to unleash their venom against other Muslims too. (1 comments)

Muslim/Christian Relations
The public face of Christian evangelical bigotry
Last week, I noticed a really offensive bumper sticker on a car in front of me. It said, "Kill them all, Let Allah sort them out." (3 comments)

Terrorism and al-Qaeda
Memo to Osama bin Laden: Go to hell
Islam was sent as a mercy to humanity, yet Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda has made it the currency of hate and violence. (0 comments)



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