Glenn Beck is an American problem and has nothing to do with countries or people even remotely related to the ’stans’. Septics should create their own derogatory suffixes…
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thabet
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thabet
I suggest some of you who have an interest in this sort of thing head over to Midwinterspring’s latest post.
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johnpi
In Malaysia, some other words are reserved exclusively for Muslims by law.
In the case of the Catholic newspaper Herald, it is barred from using three other words: Kaabah (Islam’s holiest shrine in Mecca), Solat (prayer) and Baitullah (House of God).
Father Lawrence Andrew, the weekly paper’s editor, told The Straits Times yesterday that the four words were listed in the guidelines issued to the Herald in 2007. The Cabinet decided on the prohibited words in 1986.
The Herald does not use the three latter words, but ran into problems with the Home Ministry for using “Allah” to refer to the Christian God in its Malay-language publications.
Last month, the High Court set aside the government ban on the use of “Allah” by non-Muslims. The court decision outraged many Muslims and was followed by a series of arson attacks on churches.
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thabet
Taliban ‘increases fourfold’ according to US report:
Are these all ‘ideological Taliban’? No:
Some of the major insurgent groups, including one responsible for a spate of recent American casualties, actually opposed the Taliban’s harsh Islamic government in Afghanistan during the 1990s, according to the reports, described by US officials under the condition they not be identified.
“Ninety percent is a tribal, localized insurgency,’’ said one US intelligence official in Washington who helped draft the assessments. “Ten percent are hardcore ideologues fighting for the Taliban.”
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thabet
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thabet
Back in 2005, Atif Imtiaz wrotes a series of essays (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). It’s a very rich series of essays, and while he talks about Muslims in the UK, I think his point about the communicating with others would of interest to all:
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thabet
Yahya has a review of a couple of books on Islamophobia, which also examine the definition of the term.
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thabet
Via Chris Dillow is this very interesting, but unsurprising, paper:
In a complete tangent the use of the word ‘luck’ always reminds me how people perceive events differently, or use different language to identify the same process and outcome. What is ‘luck’ is to someone struggling for a job during a recession in the study above, will probably be identified as God’s Will by a Muslim, or a Christian.
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thabet
Ramadan, Ramezan, Ramzan, Ramadhan.
Anymore?
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thabet
The White House comes up with new metrics to gauge the success of its
War on TerrorOverseas Contingency Operations:Administration officials are conducting what one called a “test run” of the metrics, comparing current numbers in a range of categories — including newly trained Afghan army recruits, Pakistani counterinsurgency missions and on-time delivery of promised U.S. resources — with baselines set earlier in the year. The results will be used to fine-tune the list before it is presented to Congress by Sept. 24.
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thabet
I’m not really surprised Natalie Hanman fails to provide a clear conclusion in her post on the ‘meaning’ of terrorism. It’s not her fault — the word, or more correctly the use of the word, is fraught with contradictions.
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thabet
Language is an important element in propaganda wars:
While the Taliban try to discredit the local governments and their allies by calling them “infidels”, “invaders”, “traitors”, “collaborators”, “corrupters”, “puppet regime” and “traitor government”.
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thabet
‘Angloamerican hegemony’:
The report, Higher Education and Collaboration in a Global Context, claims that by working together, Anglo-American universities could aid the development of a “global civil society”.
It reiterates the need for a “special relationship” between the two countries and recommends mergers between UK and US universities.
The report concludes that the “challenge ahead is to focus on ways of extending the UK/US model to third locations”.
However, some in the academic community believe the document smacks of imperialism. They also claim that it attempts to undermine the aims of the Bologna Process, which places the UK at the heart of the European sector.
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thabet
Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in Britain’s prisons:
A breakdown of the numbers. Interesting that a large number of people identify themselves as ‘no religion’ as opposed to ‘atheist’.
No religion 26,626
Church of England 23,039
Roman Catholic 14,296
Muslim 9,795
Buddhist 1,737
Sikh 648
Atheist 570
Agnostic 514
Hindu 434
Pagan 366
Rastafarian 340
Jehovah’s Witness 230
Jewish 220
Scientology 3
Source: Ministry of Justice -
thabet
How odd that those who have spent years denouncing anyone who links foreign policy to terrorism, now link the rise of the far right to the ‘bad’ behaviour of ethnic minorities.
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thabet
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thabet
Language Log discusses an account of a British missionary in China and his observations of the language and literacy of Muslims he met.
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thabet
Maybe someone should tell Brenden Brogan that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades is not ‘Islamist’ and are one of the armed factions maintained by Fatah. Then again, since Fatah is (loosely) on the political left, this is probably more evidence of The Left-Islamist Conspiracy Against Western Civilisation to right-wingers like Brogan.
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thabet
Defining ‘religion’ and ‘race’:
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thabet
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thabet
I don’t understand what this discussion at The Spittoon blog, on Muslim views and beliefs regarding other religions, especially the People of the Book, has to do with ‘Islamist doublespeak‘.
I don’t object to the author being highly critical of Muslim doctrines and beliefs (Muslims can, and do, respond in kind if they so wish), but I don’t see why or how every Muslim who happens to believe his (or hers!) is the True Religion, as opposed to some other set of beliefs, is an ‘Islamist’. Might as well dump the label if that is the case.
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thabet
Very good discussion by Joshua Kucera on the use of the word ‘regime’ by those reporting international affairs.
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thabet
Terrorism:
Villagers near the border of two volatile provinces, Ghazni and Paktika, tell CBS News’ Sami Yousafzai that aircraft dropped the leaflets during the past several days.
Military spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias confirmed that the leaflets were produced at Bagram Air Base, the primary U.S. installation in Afghanistan, and distributed in the region. She told CBS News correspondent Mandy Clark, however, that they were distributed by hand, not aircraft.
The papers show on one side an image of a soldier with his head bowed so that his face is not visible (above). A message in the local Pashtun language over the image says, “If you do not free the American soldier, then…”
Then again “they” are “harbouring terrorists” and probably deserve it.
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thabet
Turkey recognises genocide… in China:
“There are atrocities there, hundreds of people have been killed and 1,000 hurt. We have difficulty understanding how China’s leadership can remain a spectator in the face of these events.”
Unsurprisingly, the Chinese aren’t happy.
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thabet
Basically, when people talk about ‘Africa’ they mean sub-Saharan Africa (cf mediaeval Islamic terminology).
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thabet
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thabet
The state’s need to define the boundaries of ‘religion’ and ‘race’:
A London school, the [Jewish Free School], rejected a boy whose mother’s conversion to Judaism it did not recognise.
Faith schools may discriminate on religious grounds but the Court of Appeal held that this involved a test of ethnicity – which is unlawful.
More commentary from Simon Rocker and Ruth Gledhill.
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thabet
Mehdi Hassan has a straightforward article at the New Statesman on the lack of coverage of far-right terrorists have received in the media:
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thabet
I don’t need to make up a headline for this picture:
(Via a reader.)
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thabet
No public statement from Barack Obama on these examples of state violence:
- Israeli forces conducted 25 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
