Copyright 1980-2008 Daniel Pipes Fri, 09 May 2008 00:50:41 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Columns by Daniel Pipes on Militant Islam, the Middle East, and U.S. foreign policy. http://www.danielpipes.org MeqMef@aol.com (Daniel Pipes) webmaster@danielpipes.org en-us Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5552 Tue, 6 May 2008 09:00:00 EST Two religiously-identified new states emerged from the shards of the British empire in the aftermath of World War II. Israel, of course, was one; the other was Pakistan. They make an interesting, if infrequently-compared pair. Pakistan's experience with widespread poverty, near-constant internal turmoil, and external tensions, culminating in its current status as near-rogue state, suggests the perils that Israel avoided, with its stable, liberal political culture, dynamic economy, cutting- Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5544 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST As Barack Obama's candidacy comes under increasing scrutiny, his account of his religious upbringing deserves careful attention for what it tells us about the candidate's integrity. Obama asserted in December, "I've always been a Christian," and he has adamantly denied ever having been a Muslim. "The only connection I've had to Islam is that my grandfather on my father's side came from that country [Kenya]. But I've never practiced Islam." In February, he claimed: "I have never been a Muslim. … Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5517 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST There's an impression that Muslims suffer disproportionately from the rule of dictators, tyrants, unelected presidents, kings, emirs, and various other strongmen – and it's accurate. A careful analysis by Frederic L. Pryor of Swarthmore College in the Middle East Quarterly ("Are Muslim Countries Less Democratic?") concludes that "In all but the poorest countries, Islam is associated with fewer political rights." The fact that majority- Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5516 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST The future of Europe is in play. Will it turn into "Eurabia," a part of the Muslim world? Will it remain the distinct cultural unit it has been over the last millennium? Or might there be some creative synthesis of the two civilizations? The answer has vast importance. Europe may constitute a mere 7 percent of the world's landmass but for five hundred years, 1450-1950, for good and ill, it was the global engine of change. Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5503 Thu, 3 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST [JP title: "A movie and a conversion: Europe begins to resist?"] Some analysts of Islam in Western Europe argue that the continent cannot escape its Eurabian fate; that the trend lines of the past half-century will continue until Muslims become a majority population and Islamic law (the Shari‘a) reigns. I disagree, arguing that there is another route the continent might take, one of resistance to Islamification and a reassertion of traditional ways. Indigenous Europeans – Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5487 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:00:00 EST [J.P. title: "The power of ‘soft' versus violent Islamism"] This cartoon of Muhammad by Kurt Westergaard, published on September 30, 2005, along with eleven others, garnered the most attention and anger. Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5475 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 09:00:00 EST Westerners opposed to the application of the Islamic law (the Shari‘a) watch with dismay as it goes from strength to strength in their countries – harems increasingly accepted, a church leader endorsing Islamic law, a judge referring to the Koran, clandestine Muslim courts meting out justice. What can be done to stop the progress of this medieval legal system so deeply at odds with modern life, one that oppresses women and turns non-Muslims into second-class citizens? Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5462 Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:00:00 EST Beneath the deceptively placid surface of everyday life, the British population is engaged in a momentous encounter with Islam. Three developments of the past week, each of them culminating years' long trends – and not just some odd occurrence – exemplify changes now underway. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith describes terrorism as "anti-Islamic." First, the UK government has decided that terrorism by Muslims in the name of Islam is actually unrelated to Islam, or is even anti-Islamic. Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5441 Thu, 7 Feb 2008 09:00:00 EST "Listen to me carefully," President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt instructed an interviewer on Jan. 30. "Gaza is not part of Egypt, nor will it ever be …. I hear talk of a proposal to turn the Strip into an extension of the Sinai peninsula, of offloading responsibility for it onto Egypt" but Mubarak dismissed this as "nothing but a dream." Egyptian security seals the border wall in Rafah on Feb. 3, 2008, with metal spikes. (AP Photo / Adel Hana) Hardly a dream. Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5426 Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:00:00 EST Startling developments in Gaza highlight the need for a change in Western policy toward this troubled territory of 1.3 million persons. Gaza's contemporary history began in 1948, when Egyptian forces overran the British-controlled area and Cairo sponsored the nominal "All-Palestine Government" while de facto ruling the territory as a protectorate. Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5412 Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:00:00 EST Why is the Middle East so at odds with modern life, laggard in everything from literacy to standard of living, from military prowess to political development? Philip Carl Salzman's "Culture and Conflict in the Middle East," from Prometheus Books. A profound new book by Philip Carl Salzman, professor at McGill University, with the deceptively plain title Culture and Conflict in the Middle East (Prometheus), offers a bold and original interpretation of Middle Eastern problems. Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5386 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:00:00 EST [JP title: "Middle East report card"] George W. Bush's policies toward the Middle East and Islam will loom large when historians judge his presidency. On the occasion of his concluding his 8-day, 6-country trip to the Middle East and entering his final year in office, I offer some provisional assessments. His hallmark has been a readiness to break with long-established bipartisan positions and adopt stunningly new policies, and by late 2005 he had laid out his novel approach in four major areas. Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5373 Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:00:00 EST [FPM title differs slightly] The Palestinian "right of return" entered the lexicon of American policymakers in December 2006, when the Iraq Study Group Report urged the U.S. government to support Israel-Palestinian negotiations that addresses what it termed a "key final status issue." That recommendation came as a mild shock, given that the "right of return" Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5355 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:00:00 EST Liberal fascism sounds like an oxymoron – or a term for conservatives to insult liberals. Actually, it was coined by a socialist writer, none other than the respected and influential left-winger H.G. Wells, who in 1931 called on fellow progressives to become "liberal fascists" and "enlightened Nazis." Really. His words, indeed, fit a much larger pattern of fusing socialism with fascism: Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5354 Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:00:00 EST In a recent analysis, "Was Barack Obama a Muslim?" I surveyed available evidence and found it suggests "Obama was born a Muslim to a non-practicing Muslim father and for some years had a reasonably Muslim upbringing under the auspices of his Indonesian step-father." In response, David Brock's organization, Media Matters for America (MMfA), which calls itself a "