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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE GUIDE positions, quotes, and insider notes |
DEMOCRAT |
REPUBLICAN |
THIRD PARTY |
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Ron Paul
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CONGRESSMAN (TX)
Ron Paul
In the 2008 elections, Congressman Ron Paul is the proverbial (Libertarian) square peg in the (Republican) round hole. Although serving in Congress as a Republican for various Texas districts since 1976, Paul ran for President on the Libertarian ticket in 1988 (and lost, obviously). Although a social conservative, his strong views against an intrusive Federal government have given him a cult following, raising a record $6 million in a 24 hour period via Internet grassroots support. Many Muslims have lauded his (small-c) conservatism on social issues as well as his sympathetic views on Iraq, Palestine, and against the PATRIOT Act. Unfortunately, this interest hasn't translated into support at the polls, with Paul trailing McCain, Huckabee, and Romney in early primaries.
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OPPOSES special interests like AIPAC - "I oppose certain groups having more of an influence than others," explains Dr. Paul, "and since one of the main purposes of AIPAC is to lobby for generous taxpayer support of Israel, that portion of their influence will end under my administration."
SUPPORTS the elimination of the FBI and DHS - "Before 9/11, we were spending $40 billion a year, and the FBI was producing numerous information about people being trained on airplanes, to fly them but not land them. And they totally ignored them. So it's the inefficiency of the bureaucracy that is the problem. So, increasing this with the Department of Homeland Security and spending more money doesn't absolve us of the problem. Yes, we have every right in the world to know something about intelligence gathering. But we have to have intelligent people interpreting this information."
OPPOSES the use of the term "Islamic fascism" - "It's a false term to make people think we're fighting Hitler," explains Dr. Paul. "It's war propaganda designed to generate fear so that the war has to be spread."
OPPOSES abortion - "As an O.B. doctor of thirty years, and having delivered 4,000 babies, I can assure you life begins at conception. I am legally responsible for the unborn, no matter what I do, so there's a legal life there. The unborn has inheritance rights, and if there's an injury or a killing, there is a legal entity. There is no doubt about it."
SUPPORTS free-market solutions to the health care crisis - "It's time to rethink the whole system. The rise of HMOs has created a harmful collusion between politicians, drug companies, and organized medicine that raises the price of health care by stifling competition between providers. And all this in favor of moving us towards universal health care! I believe strongly that patients are better served by having an element of choice in the matter, which is why I support letting the free-market determine health care costs. This won't happen, however, until we unravel the HMO web and change the tax code to allow individuals to fully deduct health care costs from their taxes, as employers can."
OPPOSES war with Iran - "You're not allowed to go to war without a declaration of war. Now, as far as fleeting enemies go, yes, if there's an imminent attack on us, we'd never had that happen in 220 years. The thought that the Iranians could pose an imminent attack on the U.S. is preposterous. There's no way. This is just continual war propaganda, preparing this nation to go to war and spread this war, not only in Iraq but into Iran, unconstitutionally."
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Muslim Observer endorses Ron Paul - One of the few sizable Muslim publications in the US, the Michigan-based Muslim Observer, formally endorsed Ron Paul for President on January 14, 2008, just before the Michigan primary. "The Muslim community in Michigan has a unique opportunity to beat the pundits by voting as a block for Ron Paul as the Republican candidate," declared the Observer.
Just what do you mean by that? - Dr. Paul is about as hardline against illegal immigration as they come, but this ad - where he pledges "no more student visas from terrorist nations" - leaves some Muslim supporters scratching their heads. Just which nations is he talking about? Does this mean that tens of thousands of Muslim students should be sent packing?
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Khalil Bendib, cartoonist (Berkeley, CA) - "Both Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul have come out clearly in favor of withdrawing our troops immediately - no excuses, no permanent bases in Iraq - and both are seriously questioning our government's atrocious policy in Israel-Palestine."
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OPPOSES the war in Iraq and calls for a full withdrawal of US troops - "Many of the same voices who then demanded that the Clinton Administration attack Iraq are now demanding that the Bush Administration attack Iraq. It is unfortunate that these individuals are using the tragedy of September 11, 2001 as cover to force their long-standing desire to see an American invasion of Iraq. Despite all of the information to which I have access, I remain very skeptical that the nation of Iraq poses a serious and immanent terrorist threat to the United States... I think we should come home as quickly as possible. There were a lot of - a lot of false information on the reasons we went in there, and there's no good reason to stay right now. They say that the main reason for staying now, after given numerous reasons, we're supposed to stay now, because if we leave there will be chaos. My argument is there's plenty of chaos right there now, and a lot of Americans are being killed. And it was never in our national security interest to go over there."
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