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In a blog post yesterday I quoted from a study of school textbooks in an Arab country and invited readers to guess which country it was talking about. The textbook in question was aimed at 14-15 year-olds and it informed them:
"Islam accepts only two choices for pagans: that they convert… Read more
Here's a little puzzle for readers. Can you work out which Arab country the the writer is talking about in the passage below? Its school textbooks for 14-15 year-olds say that pagans should be killed if they don't convert to Islam:
"It is tucked away in the ninth grade [textbook] under the… Read more
With two weeks to go, the "Arabs Without God" book translation project on Kickstarter is now 32% funded. Many thanks to those who have pledged contributions.
The purpose of the fundraising is to cover the cost of translating the book into Arabic. The Arabic version will then be posted on the… Read more
Suppose for a moment that Islam had not become the dominant faith in the Middle East and that instead most of its people were Mandaeans or Yazidis, Zoroastrians, Samaritans, Copts, Kalashas or Druze.
Had it happened, the Middle East would be a somewhat different place, both politically and… Read more
Many displaced Iraqis seeking shelter in camps have found they cannot leave to get warm blankets, medicine or extra food. The camps lie in what are known as Iraq’s “disputed territories”.
By Ibrahim Saleh in Diyala, via Niqash
Ali al-Bayati brought his family to the Bahari… Read more
In the article below, reposted from the Muftah website, Douglas Garrison echoes what I have been saying in recent blog posts regarding the importance of not talking about "true" Islam or "good" Islam versus "bad" Islam.
There is a well-established trend among western… Read more
Over the last few months I have written a lot about the problem of ISIS and what to do about it (most of the articles are here). I have been pointing out that the military campaign doesn't address the underlying question of ISIS-type ideologies, and so even if ISIS is defeated militarily similar… Read more
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While the British Foreign Office, the British ambassador and a British MEP have been tweeting enthusiastically about Bahrain's latest… Read more
The British embassy in Bahrain was busy yesterday putting a positive spin on the tiny Gulf kingdom's controversial elections.
One tweet posted in Arabic by the British Foreign Office showed ambassador Iain Lindsay at a polling station, accompanied by the US ambassador, and… Read more
Bahrain's ruling family is holding parliamentary and local government elections today but they are unlikely to do anything to resolve the kingdom's political crisis.
The main opposition group, al-Wefaq, is boycotting the polls, along with several other groups – mainly on the grounds that… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
