tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102495302011-12-21T16:39:11.736-05:00Commentaries by Louay Safi on Islamic affairs and issues relating to human rights, social and political reforms, American Muslims, globalization, democracy, and world peace. <br><br> Reader's comments reflect the opinions of their authors alone and are not necessarily those of Louay Safi. Comments containing abusive language maybe edited or removed.<br>Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.comBlogger461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-75908404744876630892011-06-10T13:09:00.004-04:002011-06-10T13:12:17.070-04:00

The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), an organization created to fight discrimination against Arab Americans and defend their civil liberties and human rights, has decided to disinvite a Syrian composer and pianist because he chose to present a piece expressing hope for freedom in his homeland, Syria. Ben Smith of Politico uncovered this saga in an article published in June 8

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-3674174647305183482011-05-15T14:02:00.012-04:002011-05-16T05:57:14.842-04:00

Once again the news coming from Syria is full of pains, disappointments, and hopes. The people of Syria continue their protests against widespread corruption and the lack of freedom and democracy, and they do that at great risk. “Give me freedom or give me death” once proclaimed by Patrick Henry in a speech at the Virginia Convention is repeated daily by Syrian protesters in action rather than in

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-61599717895400613612011-04-08T17:31:00.000-04:002011-04-08T17:31:03.521-04:00

It is now official; Glenn Beck is pushed out of the door by Fox News. While many people are curious about the reasons for Fox management decision to drop Beck and cancel his crazy and fervently charged show, I’ve always wondered why anyone would watch him and listen to his outlandish claims, preposterous accusations, and sensational agitation. Beck made a career by channeling right wing anger

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-82449652343283649192011-02-02T08:14:00.005-05:002011-02-03T08:01:33.375-05:00

After treading cautiously for several days, Hosni Mubarak, the embattled president of Egypt, came out today swinging. In a televised address on the Egyptian Television, Mubarak promised political reform and an official investigation of widespread corruption, and he insisted to do that himself with the help of the same people who are responsible for harboring corruption in the first place. To add

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-50368528464754368352011-01-27T19:33:00.001-05:002011-01-28T07:36:39.476-05:00

Has Barak Obama concluded that the state of world is no more relevant to the State of the Union? This question came to my mind as I listened on Tuesday to President Obama concluding his State of the Union remarks without making one reference to the Middle East agenda he spelled out in his Cairo speech in 2009.  Obama came to office with a robust foreign policy agenda centered on reengaging

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-9868689709789544872011-01-26T22:17:00.005-05:002011-01-28T23:27:18.958-05:00

The wind of democratic change that struck Ben Ali’s police state in Tunisia is shifting eastward towards Egypt. After decades of corruption and mismanagement, which characterizes the post-colonial Arab regimes in general, the people of Tunisia broke down the glass ceiling that has for long hidden their voices and forced them into a submissive posture. Ben Ali justified his plan to force his

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-22425669517120685132010-10-22T08:39:00.007-04:002010-10-24T19:16:52.489-04:00

Did NPR hastily fire Juan Williams over his remarks on Fox News about getting “worried” and “nervous” when he sees people in "Muslim garb" on airplanes, as many of his defenders have argued? Williams asserted in a statement he published today on Fox News website that he was not a bigot and denied that his statement is bigoted.  Listening to his overall exchange with Bill O’Reilly one can agree

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-86028651372596503442010-08-19T00:33:00.003-04:002010-10-22T20:16:11.688-04:00

The “Ground Zero Mosque” controversy is gradually developing into a national hysteria threatening to shack the image, and potentially the reality, of the United State as an open society and a beacon of freedom and civil liberties. The campaign against the proposed mosque in lower Manhattan has already dwarfed the one mobilized early last year by European far right parties to ban Swiss Muslims

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-6747867774420878062010-01-09T22:51:00.001-05:002010-10-29T23:05:13.028-04:00

In recent years, the debate over teaching the account of human creation provided by religious texts has intensified in the U.S. Some Christians insist that schools teach “creationism” side by side with the theory of evolution. Most recently this call has been echoed by several Muslim writers, most notably the prolific Turkish scholar Harun Yahya. The call for embracing the theory of creationism

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-79841045180141576962009-12-02T23:14:00.000-05:002010-10-29T23:19:15.455-04:00

The Swiss news agency ATS reported today that the ban on the construction of minarets has been approved by 57% of the voters who supported this draconian measure. The referendum that proposed the ban was backed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP).  It is a sad moment for all people who cherish religious freedom to see a discriminatory law receive wide popular support in the country that

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-84502392273480043162009-10-02T23:10:00.000-04:002010-10-29T23:22:52.341-04:00

Muslim bashing is the new cottage industry with its own industrial barons and a wide web of fear mongering bloggers ready on a moment notice to echo the noise generated at the industry’s hate mills. The buzz word at the anti-Muslim network and its far-right bloggers this weekend was my recent visit to Fort Hood. The reporting was not on the content of my presentation or the purpose of my visit,

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-79610235542129317452009-09-28T20:54:00.004-04:002010-10-22T20:17:46.342-04:00

The Far Right Exploits Rifaq Bary's Case to Distort Islam The Center for Security Policy (CSP) published recently an article on Rifqa Bary who converted to Christianity and ran away from her family with the help of an evangelical group based in Florida. The article, titled “Florida Department of Law Enforcement Earns an F,” provides yet another example of CSP’s practice of using half truth and

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-3902571401786996352008-12-29T17:14:00.009-05:002010-10-22T20:18:53.079-04:00

Israel pounded Gaza strip in retaliation for rockets fired at its Southern borders, killing over 280 Palestinians and wounding hundreds more, over half of whom were civilians, and bringing destruction to the already deteriorating Palestinian infrastructure. Israel used F16 bombers against an essentially defenseless population. The greatest weapon in the Palestinian arsenal is inaccurate makeshift

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-41352918593958873212008-07-06T20:03:00.014-04:002010-10-22T20:19:51.723-04:00

Politics is a central aspect of social organization as it represents the activities that aim at coordinating the interests and concerns of citizens. Politics presupposes an agreement on a set of rules to ensure representation of citizens in decision making and governance, and to facilitate peaceful transition of power. In most functional democracies, elected officials are replaced whenever they

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-54817259416415051412008-04-26T22:36:00.011-04:002010-10-22T20:20:20.389-04:00

The conflict in Palestine threatens to destabilize world politics and embolden fundamentalist demands for religiously exclusive political states. The principle of rule of law has suffered immensely under the climate of fear that followed the terrorist attacks on the American homeland on September 11, 2001. Extremists in both the East and the West are working hard to deepen the divide, and turn a

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-18992045667656891362008-02-14T22:17:00.011-05:002010-10-22T20:21:04.737-04:00

Extreme voices in the three religions that claim the monotheist heritage of Prophet Abraham--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--are busy sowing the seeds of confrontation and hate. They have recently taken the advantage of the politically rooted tensions between western and Middle Eastern countries to develop misunderstanding and mistrust among the followers of these religions. Quoting

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-53474185142234930962008-02-10T23:42:00.005-05:002010-10-22T20:21:33.657-04:00

Hijab, the head cover Muslim women wear in keeping with their religious traditions, has become in modern times a politically charged issue in several Muslim countries, and more recently in Europe. In the early eighties, Iran imposed hijab on its female citizens, while Syria banned it from schools during the same period. Syria gradually came to term with hijab, as the number of Syrian women who

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-71886504732190657942008-02-06T23:15:00.001-05:002010-10-22T20:22:28.887-04:00

Civil liberties are always precious for free people, but particularly so during times of turbulence when the future seems uncertain and society struggles to gain its balance and move in the right direction. These are, sadly, times when opportunists try to advance their fortune without regard to other people's rights, bigots hide behind the language of patriotism, and freedom is curtailed in the

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-52874022702912000252008-01-25T23:07:00.003-05:002010-10-22T20:23:43.221-04:00

The Palestinians of Gaza have been under a tight blockade since June 2007 when Hamas consolidated its control over Gaza's security. The blockade, aims at forcing Hamas out of power, has been strongly supported by the Bush administration, and reluctantly by the Mubarak's government in Egypt. After Israel decided to tighten the blockade last week, by cutting the supply of fuel used to generate

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-2710097967707651262007-10-08T10:54:00.000-04:002008-02-07T08:20:59.956-05:00

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King Jr.Amnesty International has embarked on a campaign to close Guantanamo detention facilities, adding an important voice to the rising demands to end Guantanamo disgrace. For years, Americans have been reluctant to criticize the Bush administration's efforts to keep the detention of terrorism suspects outside the purview of

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-66853705463655273712007-07-01T18:19:00.000-04:002008-02-07T08:30:59.763-05:00

What would an investigative reporter turned director of a private intelligence operation, who is increasingly obsessed with proving that mainstream Muslim American organizations are radical, do when he fails to find evidence to support his obsession? Human decency and ethical conduct dictate that he give up his obsession and admit that he was wrong. Steve Emerson, the director of the shadowy

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-27863229576942133862007-04-17T20:41:00.000-04:002008-02-07T08:43:02.126-05:00

Building Moderate Muslim Networks is RAND Corporation's second attempt at devising a strategy to help prevent "some Muslim societies [from] falling back even further into patterns of intolerance and violence." And to do that RAND reassigns Caryl Benard, the author of the first report Civil Democratic Islam, to join three more scholars for preparing its new report. The present report makes little

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-84592249058457067282007-03-28T00:05:00.005-04:002008-02-23T08:46:20.738-05:00

President Bush reacting to the unearthing of the alleged bombing plot over the Atlantic August 10 remarked: "This nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation."On Aug. 7, during a press conference from his ranch in Texas, he said terrorists "try to spread their jihadist message - a message I call ... Islamic radicalism,

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-19834548070375268352006-12-01T11:19:00.002-05:002008-02-23T08:56:01.506-05:00

This article is a condensed summary of a more elaborate paper on the question. click here to view the full version.] Blaming Islam for the lack of democratic and scientific developments in Muslim countries is not a new idea but an old enterprise, rooted in the nineteenth and twentieth century European Orientalism. The late Edward Said succeeded, in the 1980s, in unmasking Orientalist notions

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1163355680040455072006-11-12T13:01:00.001-05:002008-02-23T08:58:35.339-05:00

[This article is a condensed summary of a scholarly paper entitled "Reading, Sighting, and Calculating." Please click here to view the full paper]The Fiqh Council of North America's ruling in favor of using astronomical calculations for determining the beginning of the Muslim lunar month provoked a strong response, and the American Muslim community continues to be divided over this issue.

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1158517465203949792006-09-17T14:08:00.003-04:002008-02-23T09:11:54.105-05:00

The recent election of Ingrid Mattson to the presidency of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) was received with great enthusiasm by the North American Muslim community and the public at large. Her election was seen as a sign of maturation, and as a vindication of Islam's respect of women's rights and contemporary Muslims' ability to overcome cultural traditions and rise to the level of

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1147118001859669282006-05-08T14:59:00.000-04:002008-01-26T00:25:47.063-05:00

It took a long time before democracy found support in Muslim societies, and continues to be seen today by many in the Muslim world as an alien political system. With few exceptions, Muslim populations have shown little enthusiasm for democratic reforms, even when political leaders and elites are increasingly willing to advocate such reforms. Most recently, Islamists have joined in calling for

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1143760794125972682006-03-30T18:04:00.000-05:002008-02-03T13:21:12.910-05:00

[This article is a summary of a longer paper, whose url is provided below]The issue of apostasy under Islamic Law (shari'ah) brought recently to public attention in the widely publicized case of the conversion of an Afghan citizen raises troubling questions regarding freedom of religion and interfaith relations. The Afghan state's prosecution of an Afghan man who converted to Christianity in 1990

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1139470115507529422006-02-09T01:28:00.000-05:002008-02-03T13:22:22.514-05:00

Freedom of speech is central to both democratic government and human dignity. A society whose people are unable to speak freely and criticize established powers and traditions is doomed to stagnation and servitude. In the absence of critical voices to point out corruption and mismanagement, national wealth would be plundered by those who are trusted to protect public interests. And in the absence

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1135823625139974202005-12-28T20:46:00.002-05:002008-02-06T21:10:07.918-05:00

The Far Right has finally found a clever way to arrest America’s march towards asserting its foundational principles of equality, religious freedom, and the rule of law. Their strategy is to transform the war on terror into a war against Islam and use security needs to subvert constitutional protection.The Far Right draws its ranks from the fringes of the Christian Right and the neoconservatives,

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1128472321738813122005-10-04T19:29:00.000-05:002008-01-12T00:54:21.951-05:00

Ramadan is the month of fasting for Muslims the world over. Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk for the duration of Ramadan. For some, fasting may appear as a form of deprivation and of bodily exertion. On one level, abstaining from sensual needs and pleasures is indeed a physical experience. But those who stop at the physical aspects of fasting miss

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1126077912215701722005-09-07T02:15:00.000-05:002006-11-25T20:46:45.991-05:00

Three militant neocon pundits spoke vehemently against the Bush administration’s gesture to include American Muslim leaders in discussions on how to deal with the rising tide of anti-Americanism and to restore the level of trust and support the United States enjoyed prior to the missteps the administration took under the neocons’ urging.Frank Gaffney issued a warning to Karen Hughes, the newly

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1122832933521180562005-07-31T12:59:00.000-05:002008-01-12T00:56:19.254-05:00

London terrorist bombings elicited familiar response: Islamic organizations and Muslim communities in Europe and North America condemned the terrorist attacks and stressed the dissonance between the deplorable acts of the terrorists and the humane principles of Islam. Tony Blair paid tribute to the intrinsically peaceful teaching of Islam and reminded his countrymen that the British Muslims are

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1120016593924561872005-06-28T22:34:00.000-05:002008-01-12T00:58:26.156-05:00

The Islamic Social Services Association and Woman in Islam have released a guide underlining a set of principles rooted in Islamic sources that outlines the rights of Muslim women to have full access to the masjid, and calling on Muslim leaders to privilege Islamic principles and values over cultural habits and traditions. The guide is entitled “Women Friendly Mosques and Community Centers:

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1116826521832825022005-05-24T00:32:00.002-05:002008-03-16T18:11:13.997-04:00

Under a tremendous pressure from the White House, the Newsweek finally retracted its story on the desecration of the Qur'an at Guantanamo prison, and apologized for being sloppy in verifying sources. Rather than convincing the world that the interrogators at Guantanamo are innocent of the charges of abusing Islam's holy book, the Newsweek's retraction reinforced the perception that US media is

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1116276407137390402005-05-16T19:00:00.000-05:002008-01-12T01:01:26.694-05:00

Anti-Americanism and Islamophobia share a common denominator: they both serve as a strategic weapon in the war of ideas between Muslim and Western extremists and bigots. On one level, anti-Americanism and Islamophobia stem from ignorance, deception, and misrepresentation. On a deeper level, however, they stem from a very basic human instinct: the will to power unrestrained and undisciplined by

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1114956041444531032005-05-03T18:00:00.000-05:002008-01-12T01:02:36.724-05:00

A moderate is one who is given to moderation in views and practices, and who avoids extravagance and excesses. Moderation is considered a virtue in both ancient philosophy and revealed religions. Greek philosophers regarded moderation as one of four fundamental moral virtues. The Qur’an, which acknowledges the Torah and the Gospel, directs Muslims to seek moderation in religious practices and

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1113847511408191422005-04-18T13:04:00.000-05:002008-01-12T01:15:54.364-05:00

The Progressive Muslim Union (PMU)’s drive to realign Islam to progressive values has stirred a controversy that was felt beyond the American shores. While the immediate questions of the controversy evolved around the right of women to lead a mixed-gender prayer, the discussion revealed deeper and profounder issues and concerns. At the core of the debate lies the old question of understanding

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1110425554892523792005-03-09T22:27:00.000-05:002006-11-25T21:03:59.260-05:00

The masjid, better known in North America as the Islamic center, is the center of spiritual, social, educational, and, most recently, political activities of the American Muslim community. The masjid is also the place where Muslims of diverse cultural and ideological backgrounds meet and interact. The diversity of interpretations of Islamic sources and practices has created tensions, particularly

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1109107643305543542005-02-22T16:24:00.000-05:002008-01-26T00:26:34.981-05:00

The Bush Administration has made education reform in Muslim societies a key demand, and has earmarked considerable sums of money to fund democratic education. The substantial funds allocated to democratic education in Muslim countries have attracted many organizations involved in democratic training in South American and East Europe. The decision to spend money on democratic education signals a

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1107984460275830912005-02-09T16:25:00.000-05:002008-01-12T01:24:42.766-05:00

How would the Christian or Jewish communities feel if a research group of some repute visits a dozen of churches or synagogues, finds few books out of several thousands that includes questionable statements about people of other faiths, and then produces a report entitled “Hate Ideology Fills American Churches and Synagogues?” I am sure Christians and Jews would be outraged by such a sloppy and

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1107790461760087472005-02-07T10:31:00.002-05:002008-02-22T23:45:00.935-05:00

The democratization process in Nigeria, ushered with the demise of Gen. Abacha in 1998, brought with it new demands for the implementation of shari'ah (Islamic Law). By 1999. several Northern Nigerian states announced plans to adopt shari'ah code. The announcements created an uproar and civil strife, and resulted in fatal clashes between Muslims and Christians.The issue of the implementation of

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1106946414686843092005-01-28T16:05:00.000-05:002008-01-12T01:33:33.534-05:00

A patriot is "one who loves, supports, and defends one's country." A bigot, on the other hand, is "one who is strongly partial to one's own group religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ," says the American Heritage dictionary. The difference between the two is obvious and enormous: Patriotism is borne out of love and generosity towards the country to which a person

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1106420044915304582005-01-22T13:46:00.000-05:002008-01-12T01:34:27.160-05:00

When calamity afflicts people they often ask: why? When the Indian Ocean Tsunami disaster caused death and destruction, people asked why? "Why did you do this, God?" was the title of an article dispatched by Reuter on December 30, 2004."This is an expression of God's great ire with the world," said Israeli chief rabbi Shlomo Amar. "The world is being punished for wrongdoing -- be it people's

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1106154445955737482005-01-19T11:35:00.000-05:002006-08-31T00:27:54.486-04:00

We all have perspectives on the world. Our vantage points-- determined by our social, communal, ethnic, and religious affiliations--influence our views and our perspectives. Our perspectives can be a source of enrichment or devastation. When we respect individuality and recognize each other, our varying vantage points make us see things better, and arrive at better answers and solutions. But when

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10249530.post-1106141923559102002005-01-18T08:36:00.000-05:002006-09-01T04:43:35.273-04:00

It does not take much effort to see that cases of aggression, abuse, and exploitation often emanate from a single pattern: Dividing people into categories, and using the notion of "we are better than them" to justify aggression, exploitation, and violation of human dignity. Tyrants, racists, and bigots always make sure before they embarked on a campaign of exploitation and abuse that the victims

Louay Safihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697713468354474433noreply@blogger.com1