Bradford, England

  A-a-a-assalamu aleikum. If you thought I was going to sneeze and somehow infect you with swine flu by e-mail, you're not alone. As cases linked to the dreaded pandemic has surged across the world, with the World Health Organisation now claiming that the spread of the virus is "unstoppable." In Egypt, the first death attributed to swine flu has just occurred - and this despite the cull of pigs, over the objections of Coptic Christian farmers, in the (erroneous) assumption that the spread of the virus would be stopped. The economic effect could be enormous - Britain faces a 7.5% contraction of its economy and up to 65,000 deaths in the latest outbreak (a normal flu season kills some 3,000). In Jakarta, Indonesia, some 4,000 students were quarantined when up to 80 of them were found to have suspected infections. One Shiite cleric has already issued a fatwa (the answer to everything Islamic) declaring that Muslims could skip the hajj over flu concerns. Saudi and international health experts have already recommended that children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with chronic diseases stay away from hajj this year. A silver lining? Sales of Domino's Pizza, whose deliveries now include its first halal-only outlet in Birmingham, England, report increased profits of 25% as customers begin to prefer delivered food over eating out.

In August, we'll have a slightly reduced schedule for the holiday season and as we develop our 3.0 version of the site, with improvements made based on your feedback. We'll also look at Muslim summer camps (which a few of us will be taking our kids to) and how they really impact the next generation. Elsewhere in America, the global organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir, which advocates for a worldwide caliphate, has appeared in Chicago with its first US conference entitled "The Fall of Capitalism and the Rise of Islam," attracting 800 supporters. Banned in Germany, Russia, Pakistan and other countries (either for anti-Semitism or for threatening the existing political order), the group has made inroads in 40 countries, including Denmark, Australia, and the UK (their now de-facto headquarters) and had notably attracted 100,000 supporters to a Jakarta stadium. In the US, however, the group remains marginal at best, with almost no public profile - until now. Though accused of terrorism, the group has maintained its desire for non-violence (until gaining power, perhaps) and has subsequently avoided being banned in the US (their conference centered around the failure of capitalism and how Islamic systems would be more successful). Still, the small gathering was shocking for American observers (Muslim and non-Muslim) who had before only heard of the group being active in the heart of Europe. In the end, Hizb-ut-Tahrir remains an Islamic political party that you can never vote for and, once attaining power, you can never vote out. Their small numbers, both in the Muslim world and the West, may make their goals unattainable, but that won't stop the fireworks.

Finally, Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan remains one of the Western world's most influential Islamic scholars, sought by academic institutions such as Britain's prestigious Oxford University, where he recently taught. In 2004, just before he was to move his family to Indiana to begin teaching at the University of Notre Dame (he had visited America numerous times before), his visa was suddenly revoked without warning or reason. Subsequent attempts at a visa were denied on the grounds that Ramadan donated money to a Swiss charity between 1998 and 2002 that passed money through Hamas, a designated terrorist organization by the US. At the time, Ramadan noted that the Swiss charity was linked to Hamas in 2003 and stated, "how should I reasonably have known of their activities before the U.S. government itself knew?" The American Civil Liberties Union took up the case, on the grounds that Ramadan was excluded by the Bush administration on ideological grounds. After Obama's inauguration, hopes were still dimmed as the decision to exclude Ramadan was not challenged by the new administration - seemingly on the grounds of a technicality. But this week, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals finally overturned the ruling barring him from entry to the United States, arguing that Ramadan (and the American institutions that wanted to work with him) were denied due process, and the right to demonstrate his innocence to the charges made against him. It also repudiated the initial view of the Obama administration in upholding the finality of the decisions of consular officials. As an admirer of Ramadan and as a guest on Ramadan's Press TV show "Islam & Life" last November, I was impressed by his ability not to let his visa denials alter his nuanced understanding of the American landscape or of the unique position of American Muslims to capitalize on it. Though the legal process is not over for Ramadan, his influence may soon be felt again in American academia for the benefit of us all.

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