From The Economist, a series of articles on Iran: An uncompromising Iran and an uncomprehending America may be stumbling to war. From Forward, the next American president to try a hand at fostering Arab democracy would do well to heed the lessons of the Bush administration’s many mistakes. Here are 10 preliminary thoughts on the lessons to be learned. The Fundamentalist Moderate: Religious scholar Javed Ahmad Ghamidi has become a popular figure in Pakistan for his strict reading of the Koran — which, he says, dictates against gender discrimination, terrorist jihad, and other favorites of modern Islamists.
A review of The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In by Hugh Kennedy and Armies of God: Islam and Empire on the Nile, 1869-99 - The First Jihad of the Modern Era by Dominic Green. The Islamic Optimist: A review of In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad, To Be a European Muslim, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, and Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity by Tariq Ramadan; The Heirs of the Prophet Muhammad and the Roots of the Sunni-Shia Schism by Barnaby Rogerson. A review of Muslim Identity and Islam: Misinterpreted in The Contemporary World by M. G. Hussain. A review of In the Words of Our Enemies by Jed Babbin.
The antiwar, anti-abortion, anti-drug-enforcement-administration, anti-Medicare candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul: The most radical congressman in America is a Republican from Texas. And he’s running for president. Paul the apostate: Is this would-be president brave or crazy? Would voters elect a president who believes in the Book of Mormon? What about one who venerates Muhammad, or Buddha? (and a graphic). Todd Gitlin on Nader's dead end: When the Democrats enlarged their tent to include leftist activists, Ralph Nader was left in the cold. MoveOn.org's issue-driven primary may not end up naming a winner, but it's shaping up to be more substantive, thoughtful and participatory than the actual presidential primary. What will the outcome of the 2008 election mean for the Supreme Court? Why one outcome could change the Court profoundly; the other, not at all.
