Last month, the Organization of the Islamic Conference held an Extraordinary Summit in Makkah to discuss urgent issues facing the Ummah. Unlikely though it may seem, ZAFAR BANGASH, the director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, hopes that some good may come of it...
When Saudi king Fahd died on August 1, the kingdom made a fine show of an orderly succession. Nonetheless, his successor, Abdullah, faces enormous challenges and uncertainties. NASR SALEM reports.
In recent months the world's richest countries, led by the US and Britain, have been claiming noisily that they plan to have the world's poorest regions, particularly Africa, lifted out of poverty; they also intend to improve human rights there, they say.
1The election of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad as president of Iran in June shocked Western governments, apparently misled by their own propaganda that suggested that Iranians had turned against the Islamic State. ZAFAR BANGASH, director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, explains why Iranians elected him, and the threats Iran now faces.
The principal task of the UN Security Council – established under the founding charter of the UN as one of the UN's main organs – is supposedly to promote international peace and security in every part of the world. Yet it is undoubtedly more notable for its failures than for its achievements since its first official meeting, which took place on January 10, 1946.
A year after the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was voted out of power in India, thousands of Muslims remain incarcerated under the terms of the country’s notorious anti-terrorist legislation. ZAWAHIR SIDDIQUE discusses the plight of Abdul Nasar Madani, an Islamic movement leader jailed since 1998.
Since his release last year after spending six-years in a Malaysian prison, Anwar Ibrahim has become a darling of the West for his promotion of an understanding of Islam that is regarded as ‘moderate’ and West-friendly. ABDAR RAHMAN KOYA in Kuala Lumpur reports.
In a region that is crying out for political change, two key countries are beginning 2005 with elections. Palestinians elected a new president on January 9, while Iraqis are due to elect a National Assembly on January 30 (after Crescent goes to press).
So powerful is the West’s propaganda that mere mention of the word “warlord” immediately conjures up images of a bearded thug terrorizing hapless civilians in Afghanistan. Just as terrorism has been made synonymous with Muslim activism, so warlordism has become the exclusive preserve of the Afghans.
Islamic Iran’s relations with international organizations such as the UN have been among the most criticised elements of its foreign policy...
After the fall of Baghdad and occupation of Iraq by the Anglo-American forces, Iraq was exposed to an unprecedented state of chaos, looting and lack of security...
As the al-Aqsa Intifada in Palestine enters its fifth year, debate has been renewed about the Oslo Accord and its subsequent negotiations that eventually failed in Camp David-2 and in Taba (Egypt) in 2000...
China’s growing status as a new superpower and its role in the US-led “war against terrorism” have left Chinese Muslims to the dubious mercies of Beijing...
Three British Muslimahs made headlines last month when they were arrested by the Israeli authorities in Jerusalem and accused of involvement in terrorism, before being cleared...
Three British Muslimahs made headlines last month when they were arrested by the Israeli authorities in Jerusalem and accused of involvement in terrorism, before being cleared...
Three groups of people have always operated in tandem with the crusading policies of Western governments: Churches, so-called aid-workers, and soldiers of fortune, the last more aptly described as criminals and terrorists doing their governments’ dirty work...
The US’s claim to be bringing freedom and progress to Iraq is often justified by comparisons with its administration of Japan at the end of the second world war...
In the years since the Bush administration intensified its war on Islamic movements opposing its hegemony, it has focused considerable attention on salafi groups in Yemen...
Recent US policies towards Muslims and the Muslim world, and particularly their treatment of Muslim prisoners in Iraq, Guantanamo and elsewhere, reveal a deep fear and contempt of Muslims...
Images of American troops committing appalling atrocities against Iraqi captives at the Abu Ghraib have causes outrage around the world and sparked a massive damage limitation campaign in Washington. ZAFAR BANGASH discusses the implications of the revelations...
