August 10, 2014 In recent years I have been a faithful participant in two major events of the North American Muslim calendar. As a regular attendee at these annual gatherings, I wish to express my warmest thanks to the institutions, and to the women and men who made them the success they undoubtedly were. This…
August 14, 2014 When the extremist group Isis (now known as Islamic State or IS) declared a caliphate taking in parts of Syria and Iraq it reignited a debate over the role of an Islamic state. For many a caliphate is a political leadership, others a spiritual figurehead, and for some a combination of the…
August 13, 2014 Because moderate Christians and Muslims are so pleasant people believe that religion is good, decent, ordinary churchgoers have helped enable religious fundamentalists to become suicide bombers by being “so nice” that people do not question their faiths, Richard Dawkins has argued. Dawkins, the evolutionary scientist and outspoken atheist, said moderate Christian and…
August 13, 2014 A woman accused of trying to smuggle 20,000 euros (£15,800) in her underwear to a Briton fighting in Syria has been found not guilty of funding terrorism. Nawal Msaad, 27, from north London, was stopped at Heathrow Airport as she prepared to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, on 16 January. Amal…
August 7, 2014 A Briton who claims he is fighting alongside militants in Syria has said he also recently went to Iraq to be at the “forefront” of the conflict there. The man, who calls himself Abu Abdullah, said he had been involved in fighting in the Iraqi city of Ramadi. It is the first…
