In the public sphere, leaders of the opposition groups to the Not-At-Ground-Zero-Muslim-Center can’t seem to decide on an argument. They have thrown everything and the kitchen sink at us in the way of fabricated reasons.

Americans have a right to assemble and worship freely in this country, period. It’s not only a founding principle of this nation, but a main justification for its founding. It is why many White Christians flooded to this country in the first place.

The knives are out for Helen Thomas.
There is more outrage in this country over some bumbling comments she recently made than over the murder of a US citizen and eight others by our ally, Israel, on the high seas. Never mind the fact that she has apologized while Israel still refuses to apologize.
Judging by any [...]

Israel is often dubbed “the Jewish State” by its supporters, so it is not out of left field to question whether its actions should be taken as a reflection of Jewish values. That is a question ultimately for Jews to answer.
Personally, as a Muslim whose own faith values are often undermined by the misdeeds of [...]

Why must a Muslim person’s faith come up the moment that person breaks through the mainstream in any conceivable way – regardless of relevance or context?
And why does it invariably end up linking that person through multiple degrees of separation to terrorism?
The fact that even a Miss USA could not be spared this exercise in [...]

Times Square, New York:
It is clear that this was a terrorist plot,” said US Attorney General Eric Holder of the recent New York Times Square incident in which a young Pakistani-American attempted but failed to detonate a second grade home-made bomb.
Some reports suggest that Faisal Shahzad, a happily married 30-year-old father of two with a [...]

From the archives, a 2006 debate over the Muhammad cartoons between me and Ahmed Rehab, who now heads the Chicago Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who was not happy with my column headlined, Standing up for message behind cartoons,” writes Zorn on his Tribune blog.

The latest Muhammad cartoon controversy, courtesy of Comedy Central’s South Park, seems somewhat contrived.

The controversy surrounding Tariq Ramadan is based on hype spurned by the usual detractors for whom every significant Muslim voice is a foreign fifth column, feigning moderation, and secretly plotting to destroy Western civilization.

After winning the last two African Cup of Nations in 2006 in Egypt and again in 2008 in Ghana, Egypt entered this year’s competition facing plenty of skepticism. Many doubted that any team could pull off three championship wins in a row, particularly when missing their best players: Mido, Amr Zaki, Mohamed Barakat, and Mohamed Abou Treika.

There is a new anti-smoking medicine out there. I first tried it during a business trip in Scotland. It works as follows: you gurgle with it before you smoke, it washes out and purifies your taste buds such that if you try to pop in a cigarette in the next 24 hours, you cannot help but cringe at the unbearably bitter taste of the toxins contained therein.

Now, whether you can actually taste them or not, these toxins are always there when you smoke, doing their number on your lungs, blood, skin, teeth, hair, etc. Smokers may think they are better of not tasting the toxins; but then again, if they could always taste them, they would realize the reality of what they are getting into, the reality of feeding on poison. Who would continue to smoke if the act of smoking itself was an unbearable experience and not a seemingly pleasant and rewarding one? Who would smoke if the act of smoking actually felt as repulsive as its effect?

This guy seemed to have left every clue short of raise his hand and proclaim, “arrest me, I am a terrorist!”

2010-01-07-umar_farouk.jpg Can someone explain to me how he managed to purchase a one way ticket, pay for it in cash, board the plane with no luggage, have his own father report him as a radicalized threat to a CIA base in Nigeria, be denied a visa to the UK where he previously lived and worked, and on top of that be on an active US terror watch list for two years, yet still not be flagged by the system as a security threat?

And can someone explain to me how after those six glaring red flags were missed - not to mention the explosive material in his underwear - the debate today is not about why and how they were missed, but about whether he could have been flagged for being of a certain skin color, hair texture, place of birth, faith, or namesake?

The racial profiling argument is lazy and unimaginative; most of all it is irresponsible because it evades the real problem starring us in the face: a fatal breakdown in communication between our intelligence units. Ironically, this is a problem so troubling that an entire new department, the National Homeland Security Department, was created with the sole mission to address it.

Nestle. The United Nations. Rolex. Secure Banking. Toblerone. Yodeling. William Tell. Cowbells. Neutrality. Rousseau. Alpine Skiing. Heidi.

These are a few of the things — mostly pretty — that come to mind when you say “Switzerland.”

But now thanks to a recent popular vote on a controversial referendum, things like “intolerance,” “paranoia,” and “limitations on freedom of religion” have joined the merry list.

Hate crimes are their own class of crime for a very good reason: The enhanced classification and punishment deters people from criminally acting out on their bigotry. It is the government’s obligation to its citizens to take a no-tolerance position on such crimes.

Amal Abusumayah, a 28-year-old American mother of four young girls, was going about her usual shopping when she was randomly treated to a dose of derogatory comments about her faith and ethnic heritage; the offending woman, later identified as 54-year-old Valerie Kenney, referenced Fort Hood. Amal tried to ignore the comments and proceeded to check out at the counter when she felt a sharp pull on her hijab — or headscarf.

I have been disappointed with the generally negative coverage of the Chicago 2016 Olympics bid by the Chicago Tribune. The Tribune oddly seems to see the glass one-quarter empty rather than three-quarters full. The Tribune ought to report on some of the amazing Chicago stories that take place daily as a result of the bid.

Are we doing Islam justice by merely engaging in rituals while failing to allow them to transform our characters and our outlook on life? Can we go on placing emphasis on reading and memorizing the Quran while failing to place the same emphasis on understanding it and allowing its teachings to permeate us and elevate us to a higher standard of humanity? Can we continue to engage in the same petty conflicts and egotistical exploits of those who seek personal gain, evoking Islam and Allah only so far as that seems to validate and legitimize our unholy pursuits? Yes, there certainly is a problem out there, and we Muslims need to be the first to acknowledge it. The solution rests on our shoulders: a humble rediscovery of Islam and a re-prioritization of our approach to our faith.

Pundits often portray Islam as a crazy, murderous cult. Because they rely on the public’s ignorance of Islamic history, culture and contemporary affairs, they do not have to be bothered about their simpleton views being irreconcilable with 1,400 years of solid civilization by Muslims from China to Spain, or with the fact that 7 million American Muslims live among their neighbors in this country as proud, upright citizens.

According to the police, Professor Gates greeted the cops with a “belligerent” attitude, refusing to show them identification when asked, and refusing to step outside when asked. He was angry, rude and offensive. He eventually showed them his Harvard ID and eventually stepped outside where he was arrested for disorderly conduct and taken to the Cambridge police station. Professor Gates contends that while he was testy, he did show them two pieces of ID when asked: his Harvard ID and his driver’s license. He claims that the cops had it in for him, that he was a victim of racial profiling.

It is no secret that Islam and Muslims remain largely misunderstood in the West, including the United States. This is baffling considering that one study after another reveals that American Muslims are largely integrated on a number of levels in American life. There remain two virgin areas that are crucial to our full integration and in which we are still largely viewed as foreign objects.

Spencer postures himself as an “Islamic Scholar.” But unlike most people we tend to call “scholars,” Spencer did not burden himself with the traditional scholarly route that puts an emphasis on objectivity and academic rigor. It never ceases to amaze me how the likes of Robert Spencer and Michael Savage who gleefully spout off anti-Muslim propaganda touting the freedom of speech card, suddenly feel threatened and victimized when Muslims use their own freedom of speech to respond. Spencer has a right to speak, Savage has a right to speak, and so does CAIR.

Mr. Sarkozy’s rationale for the ban is not centered on public security concerns, but on what the burka symbolizes to him. “The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience,” he opined. Is there a real difference between France or Turkey forcing women to remove their veils, and Saudi Arabia or Iran forcing them to keep them on? Well there is one baffling difference: we hypocritically label the former as liberation, and the latter as oppression. That is a double standard that sacrifices the integrity of the principle for the benefit of arbitrary cultural determinism.

It seems that Netanyahu just wanted to utter the words peace and two-state as a decoy to grab headlines and avoid the undesirable appearance that Israel is belligerent in the face of US demands to move forward. His conditions include but are not limited to: no right of return for Palestinian refugees forcibly uprooted from their ancestral homes, no compromise over Jerusalem including Arab-majority East Jerusalem, no dismantling or freezing of Israeli illegal settlements in the Occupied West Bank, no sovereign control for the new Palestinian state over its own borders and ports, no Palestinian right of defense (he uses the fancy buzz word, “demilitarized”), and no democratically elected party that Israel does not approve.

Islam is not a set of empty rituals; Islam teaches us to think outside the box to rediscover ourselves and to realize an immutable path to contentment. The Qur’an is indeed the ultimate psychology handbook. In enjoining us to reflect inwards vis-à-vis the concept of wealth – “if you try to count the blessings of God, you will not be able to calculate them” – the Qur’an revolutionizes the very process of how we assess our wealth portfolios. Since God’s blessings are infinite, everyone is wealthy if they only knew it.

President Obama has so far exhibited unprecedented ambition on the part of a sitting US president to recalibrate the precepts of America’s relationship with Muslims around the world. My hope is that this means venturing beyond oil, conflict resolution and counter terrorism initiatives and into beginning to understand the genuine challenges and aspirations of most citizens in Muslim-majority countries.

Ahmed Rehab appears to accept the mainstream Muslim perspective of President Barack Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world as being “genuine”. He reasons that President Obama is “the first American president to have had significant experiences in the Muslim world”. “I believe that, unlike previous presidents, he is not limited, despite himself, to the notion that Muslims strictly represent the “other” and is able to appreciate the humanity and nuance in Muslim life,” Rehab told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Say what you will about the recently exposed Bronx Terror Plot, but please, do not go about weaving fantasy scenarios of how Islam is somehow to blame for criminalizing the terror suspects who were already career criminals long before their conversions — and who displayed only a rudimentary understanding of Islam thereafter.

What have the Al Zawahiris of the world who claim to fight in defense of Islam actually done for Muslims or Islam? What have they done to educate the illiterate, feed the hungry, heal the diseased, or boost the quality of life anywhere in the Muslim world?

Instead of guilt-tripping, an alternative approach, one that I would argue is truer to the spirit of Islam, is conscience-building. This necessitates a return to intellectual stimulation, a cornerstone of the bygone golden ages that seems to have virtually vanished from Islamic early education the world over, only to be replaced by a cacophony of anxious teachers and parents dishing blind - if well-intended - orders and admonishments.

When leaders like Mark Kirk come up with ridiculous evasions about comprehensive immigration reform, it is not because they are stupid. And I am willing to believe it is not even because they are racist. It is because they have no real solutions.

Islam is culturally neutral in that it is compatible to any culture on the planet. It is a global faith, not a regional faith. It is ill-advised to marry Islam to the Middle-East while divorcing it from the West, Japan, the Caribbean islands, or anywhere else in the world. Islam in its pure form is foreign to none, and native to all.

Will the Obama revolution bring about a significant change in America’s political culture on the ground, from divisiveness and negativity, to constructive dialogue and reasonable debate? Will the air of hope and unity, for example, knock the wind out of the sails of hate radio?

The recent tentative cease-fire may have halted Israel’s military thrashing of Gaza, but it does not constitute an end to its humanitarian crisis and the ongoing illegal and immoral occupation, the root causes of the conflict. Powerbrokers, the media and the public should remember that what needs to be done next is no less important than the cease-fire itself.

What will it take for our media to join much of the world in calling out the blatant human rights abuses committed by the Israeli military machine against the Palestinian people? Why do the media not hold Israel accountable for its brutal transgressions against civilians? Aren’t journalists supposed to act as a check against government excesses? If they turn a blind eye or act to whitewash human rights abuses, are they then not morally complicit?

Have you ever wondered why some countries are modern and prosperous while others remain poor and stagnant? There are obviously many factors to consider; but what is the defining pattern, the tipping point? In other words, what are the ingredients that are present without exception in developed nations, and missing without exception in developing nations?

I think I speak for a good chunk of Chicagoland’s large Muslim community when I applaud Rahm Emanuel for doing the right thing by apologizing for his father’s disparaging comments about Arabs.

What exactly is today’s Conservative movement trying to preserve? If it is family values, then why is it so seemingly anti-Muslim and anti-Latino, two groups that have a strong tradition of family values? If it is our national security, then why has America’s neoconservative leadership alienated much of the world, and dragged us into a misguided and poorly-planned war, leaving us less safe?

Did “Christians” at large have to distance themselves from Koresh and Phelps? Did the Pope for example? Did Mandela? Did Oprah? Why is it that when commentators like you discuss Christianity you are able to recognize the diversity within it and the latitude of pluralism in its adherents but can only view Muslims as a monolith?

I would have loved to hear McCain say: “No, ma’am, he is not an Arab or is he Muslim – and let’s not use ethnic or religious identity to determine who is American - that’s un-American.” This would have exhibited the courageous moral leadership and remind all Americans that bigotry and identity politics have no place in our democracy.

Obsession exploits Americans’ unfamiliarity with Islam and Muslims to suggest that deviant groups are somehow representative of the majority. It scours the Muslim world for bizarre incidents and falsely projects them as the accepted norm. While the Muslim world has its share of fanatics, they comprise a tiny fraction of the population and are highly at odds with mainstream societies.

“Obsession” is not an honest critique of violent radicalism. Instead, it is a propaganda piece that seeks to cast a wide net of suspicion against Muslims by blurring the line between violent radicalism and mainstream Islam. As such, it does not call on credible experts and reputable scholars but resorts to shady characters like “former-terrorist” Walid Shoebat, who has made such outlandish statements as: “Islam is not the religion of God Islam is the devil.”

The American Muslim community mourns the passing of a historic figure who was crucial in the development of Muslim life in America. The Honorable Imam Warith Deen Mohammed was an African-American Muslim spiritual leader, reformer, educator, civil rights advocate, interfaith activist, and an international goodwill ambassador. He died Tuesday. Many will honor “America’s Imam” with services and tributes as the American Muslim community bids farewell to W.D.

The Asbahi affair is the latest episode in a long list of anti-Muslim blunders that have tainted the 2008 presidential campaign. It makes for a case study that offers ample insight into the nature of today’s Islamophobia. Typically, the cycle begins with allegations of questionable associations leveled against the subject from a dubious Internet source.

This is a victory for the anti-pluralist forces who lurk in the anarchic shadows of the internet where they are at liberty to churn false allegations and conspiracy theories against a vulnerable American Muslim community. They wish to block its efforts to become politically involved alongside America’s other diverse communities, and instead wish to project it as a fifth column growing in our midst.

How could a chirpy TV host with such edible title credits as “30 Minute Meals” and “Tasty Travels” one day awaken to find herself in the middle of a terrorism-related media blitz — all because of a Dunkin’ Donuts ad, no less?

Luttwak makes the bizarre claim that U.S. presidential hopeful Barrack Obama is an apostate according to Islamic law and concludes that, if elected, Muslims will either seek his head or look the other way when it is sought. If Luttwak’s rendition of Obama’s biography is a little off, then his understanding of Islamic law is downright inaccurate, and his survey of Muslim beliefs and attitudes grossly simplistic.

I am not drawn to Obama for any other reason but his political outlook, one that brings me hope that we can move beyond divisiveness and polarization and toward a new unity for the common good. So it is not that I am offended as a Muslim that Obama would not want to be one; I couldn’t care less. I am casting a vote for the next president of the United States, not the next imam of my mosque.

Amadou was shot and killed on the Hyde Park campus of the University of Chicago early Monday morning. This was just weeks after he had successfully defended his Ph.D thesis in Chemistry at the top-rated university. Amadou’s story is the best and worst of what we have to offer. In our top institutions, we afforded Amadou a ticket to the top. And in our unsafe inner-city streets, we afforded him his demise.

The case against the foundation was particularly worrisome because of its dubious legal arguments. While the government acknowledged that every penny the foundation raised went to peaceful charitable relief, it argued that by providing legitimate charity to needy Palestinians, the foundation was intentionally freeing up Hamas’ charitable funds for terrorist activity. The government’s evidence to substantiate this ludicrous argument ranged from mention of the word “Hamas” by the defendants to textbook guilt by association.

Daniel Pipes is as much a scholar on Islam and Muslims as David Duke is a scholar on Judaism and Jews. He does not seem to know where scholarship ends and where political advocacy begins. He does not initiate his research by asking questions for which he seeks answers, but by providing answers for which he cherry-picks evidence.