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Arrests Made in Murders of Atheist Bloggers in Bangladesh, But Int’l Response to Violence Remains Anemic

…Bangladesh was Rukhsana Hasib, a young secular Muslim whose father—an East Pakistan military officer—was killed by West Pakistani forces. Hasib has recounted with chilling detail the days and weeks in which Bengalis were rounded up by West Pakistani forces and tortured, raped, killed, or disappeared. The Pakistani authorities also worked closely with a radical Islamist group known as Jamaat-e-Islami to exact vigilante punishment—in the form of rap…

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Feared Taliban Leader Killed, But Military Strategy is Not the Answer in Afghanistan

…estroy. Like the North Vietnamese, many Afghan activists—and an increasing number of Pakistanis—are motivated to fight against the American presence because of their love of freedom. They see the US military, like the Soviet forces before them, as a foreign occupying power. The Taliban, as draconian as they may be, are seen as enemies of the enemy: us. It is the US military presence, paradoxically, that is uniting the Taliban and marshaling wide p…

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Glenn Beck’s Cheap Grace

…way from the hard work of repentance, who tickle our ears with promises of cheap grace, and offer a vision of the cross of Jesus that has nothing to say to the crosses, and lynching trees, of history. But, if we do, we will be settling for the gospel of Caesar, not the good news of Jesus Christ. Perhaps it is time to put down the chalk, stop drawing pyrotechnical conspiracy theories that play into our worst fears and listen, instead, for the diffi…

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Google’s Benevolent Interfaith Big Tent

…aring the story, she returns home, opens Google India, and tracks down the phone number for the sweet shop her grandfather mentioned. Within seconds, she has called the store on her smart phone, and Yusuf’s grandson—who answers—has likewise opened Google to research visas for a reunion too long denied. We can understand the implications of this storyline by putting it into conversation with its longer historical context. The logic of the plot—that…

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Herman Cain Doesn’t Know his Afghan from his Uzbek

…hanistan. Uzbekistan is once again very important to the United States. As Pakistan becomes a more unwilling ally, and sending supplies through Pakistani access points to Afghanistan becomes a more difficult and dangerous proposition, the Obama administration has been making overtures to Uzbekistan. If it helps things any, think of central Asia as another corner of the Muslim world that resembles the Arab world politically. In a very depressing wa…

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No, Sunni and Shia Muslims Have Not Been Fighting Forever

…was founded by an Ismaili Shia leader. Two, in fact. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s ‘Great Leader’ and kind of its George Washington, was born into a minority sect within what was already a Shia minority. The Pakistan Movement also received significant funding from the head of the Ismaili Shia community, the Aga Khan. But the intellectual force, and the emotional appeals on which the Movement rested, were provided by a Sunni Muslim, Muhammad Iqb…

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Turkey and Egypt: Islam’s Future?

…er the past few decades, offering models. Who wants to practice Islam like Pakistan, considering where Pakistan as a nation is? Is Saudi Arabia’s vision of a Muslim society actually compelling?  But in the last few years, there’s been a new player that combines religious activism, global reach, historical authenticity, and a national model that is genuinely impressive. I’ve spent the last few days meeting folks from a number of civil society organ…

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A Meditation on Shopping and Desire

…We have an unprecedented access to cheap goods, yet we must recognize that cheap goods are cheaply made. I am not speaking of quality, I am speaking of cheap labor. We must recognize that through the act of shopping, whether it is for an article of clothing, a toy, a pint of strawberries, or even our morning cup of coffee, we participate in a global economy that values profit over people. Disposable goods are made by disposable people, faceless in…

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Are Evangelical Films Destined to Leave Secular Audiences Behind?

…e success either. The opening weekend saw sales of more than $6 million in tickets. That’s the kind of number that will inspire others to try and figure out the formula for the faith-and-family blockbuster. Yet, with the cost of the film reportedly exceeding $30 million, it’s an open question whether or not the Left Behind reboot will get a second installment. The marketing problem of evangelical movies is still, stubbornly, a problem. The general…

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When I Have Fears The Middle East May Cease To Be

…try that still does not know how to answer this devastating question: Is a Pakistani an Indian? The circumstances of Pakistan’s birth were far more uncomfortable than most. It was traumatic, violent, and remains a repressed memory in many respects—what else would you do with hundreds of thousands dead in mass slaughter, as neighbors turned on one another? This is how borders are made real: in blood. I look at Pakistan and I sigh. I wish so much be…

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