Why it (Still) Makes Little Sense to Call ISIS Islamic
A member of ISIS poses in a fighter jet similar to those used in the Prophet’s time. By Haroon Moghul, Religion Dispatches, August 24, 2015 Last week, The…
Author: tabsir
Halal Bacon
If you are strict about halal foods or kosher foods, pork is probably not on your normal grocery shopping list. But there is something about the taste of…
Tunisia after the terror attacks
by Rachid Ghannouchi © Qantara.de 2015 Translated from the German by Nina Coon A battle for freedom and dignity In the wake of the attacks on Sousse and…
Sociology of the Arab Spring
For those interested in the issue, the recently published July issue of International Sociology (30:4) is devoted to the Arab uprisings. It includes articles on the relations of…
Egypt and the Puppet Regime
Politics rules the news cycle on Islam and the Middle East. Given the colonial history of the region, there have been numerous puppet leaders installed or allowed to…
Mountains of Central Asia Digital Dataset
This Mountains of Central Asia Digital Dataset (MCADD) consists of a collection of books, journals and maps related broadly to the Himalayas and its outlying attached ranges including…
Anthropology and the Representation of Migrations from Afghanistan
by M. Jamil Hanafi [This is a paper that was originally published under the title of “Anthropology and the Representation of Recent Migrations from Afghanistan,” as it appeared…
Voltaire on Tolerance
The author of Candide knew that this was not the best of all possible worlds. But Voltaire has sound advice about the importance of tolerance, written over two…
Abou Naddara Collection website
Welcome to the Abou Naddara Collection website! This website offers the complete newspapers published by the Egyptian nationalist James Sanua (يعقوب صنوع, 1839-1912) from 1878 to 1910. In…
Bin Laden’s Bookshelf
In case you were wondering what kinds of books Bin Laden was reading, at least in his Pakistan compound before his demise, the U.S. Government has provided a…
Commentary Hell
We moderns devour news as if it were a staple food. Gone are the days when one sat down for coffee in the morning with a daily newspaper.…
Islamic Africa: New Brill Journal
Islamic Africa is a peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary, academic journal published online and in print. Incorporating the journal Sudanic Africa, Islamic Africa publishes original research concerning I…
Defeating Da’ash
Check out the blog post by Eric Davis of Rutgers University on the need to take out Da’ash now.
If faith comes from Yemen…
For my post at Mena Tigningen, click here.
The Archaeology of Star Wars
Heritagedaily.com, November 11, 2013. “These are not the ruins you’re looking for!” In 2012 Italian photographer Rä di Martino spent more than a year wandering the desert towns…
Open Access to Middle East Journals and Newspapers
For anyone doing research on the Middle East for the past two centuries, there is an incredible archive online. Details below: Alphabetical List of Open Access Historical Newspapers…
An Impish Desire for Imperial Déjà Vu
An Impish Desire for Imperial Déjà Vu Daniel Martin Varisco, MENA Tidningen, May 27, 2015 A recent online commentary by Robert Kaplan for Foreign Policy displays the provocative…
The Bridge over Islamophobia
John Esposito at the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in the Walsh School of Foreign Service has just provided a unique website to chart the pace of islamophobia…
Bedouin Women with Cameras…
“Photography has brought us closer, it’s enabled us to find a common language.” Photo by Ilan Assayag The reality exposed by Bedouin women armed with cameras Mothers and…
A funny thing happened on the way to the Islamic State
Newsweek has an interesting article by Christiane Gruber, an associate professor and director of graduate studies at the University of Michigan, about Muslim cartoons against ISIS. Check it…
Clausewitz Updated and downsized
There is a nicely done satire by Sean McFate on how to take over a small country. Check it out here. Note: Only the rich may apply.