"The Muslim Brotherhood's tragic flaw is chauvinism. The chauvinists have this militant devotion to and glorification of their own group, party or ethnicity. They views their ideology as the 'most puritanical' of other beliefs and thoughts. There is (...)
"The recent government designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a 'terrorist' organisation will only force the group to go back underground to survive as it used to be throughout its history. It will further cast the Brotherhood in the eyes of (...)
"I only hope that the authorities would prove their mettle in tracking down the real culprits behind the grisly attacks that shocked Egypt in recent days. Only the wise would help put out the flames of a civil war, nip it in the bud and single out (...)
"Egypt's hardcore problem is that every political faction wants to create a country of its own. They cannot see beyond their self-centred goals and are driven by killing, vaulting ambitions. They build a mental, imaginary homeland in which they live (...)
"The academic experts whose speciality is Islam have generally treated the religion and its various cultures within an invented or culturally determined ideological framework filled with passion, defensive prejudice, sometimes even revulsion; (...)
"There are those scholars, who interpret religion the way it suits them best and act as if they knew the unknown. They issue fatwas that authorise killing while being oblivious to the fact that scholars should refrain from politicising their fatwas, (...)
"The ageing politicians despite their affiliations must take the blame for most of the disasters that happened in Egypt over the past three years. It is high time the youths reunited, let bygones be bygones and sent these octogenarians to retirement (...)
Scrutinising the works of Orientalists and writers known for their animosity towards Islam, late American-Palestinian writer and philosopher Edward Said says in one of the chapters in his book Covering Islam:
"They constantly allude of (...)
"After almost three years of urban warfare, the Syria uprising has mutated and produced unintended consequences. It has been hijacked by religious hardliners, criminal warlords and regional rivalries. The early hopes and dreams of millions of (...)
"Washington does not disagree with Islam. Turkey, to wit, is a Muslim country and coexists with the west. It is also a member in the NATO. Saudi Arabia, which is a Muslim country, has ever been America's chief ally in the region for 60 or 70 years. (...)
"The Muslim Brotherhood experience in ruling Egypt has squandered the January Revolution's dream of building a democratic contemporary state. A well deserved state that the whole region anticipates as a model and exemplar. I know, like many other (...)
The Egyptian revolution was "like most things which appear too good to be true," author Hany Ghoraba, wrote in his recently published book. "As recently as a decade ago it was a common saying that achieving true democracy in Egypt would be akin to a (...)
"If the masses are to choose between the 'mullah' Erdogan and the 'general' Sisi, who are going to vote for in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings? Are they going to choose the ruler who exploits religion, politicises it and mixes it with legal (...)
"Eventually Al Jazeera abused that credibility and trust and turned from a pillar of free expression into a propaganda network serving the Qatari ambition for a bigger political role in the region. Accordingly the network initiated a policy to (...)
"Armed robberies, organised crime, assaults on banks and money transport vehicles, grand theft auto, murders, massive riots, kidnappings, ransoms, arson, biker-gangs and vandalism. To add insult to injury, on 1st February 2012 a massive massacre was (...)
"No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than (...)
"Senior Egyptian police officers were acquitted, and other parties were held responsible the thugs, Muslim Brotherhood militias, Hamas and Hizbullah. That is why I have stated that the security agencies do not merely make history but they rather (...)
"It's out of our hands.....we have had no other option!" Phrases you would hear nowadays from an intellectual or a politician defending murder and injustice. Such phrases are, in effect, the refrain of a helpless prostitute or an arrested burglar. (...)
The United States weighed the Israeli threats of military action against Iran to defend its national security, and the potential benefits of US-Iran deal. During the five rounds of talks, the US favoured the benefits of the latter. Hence, the (...)
All religions, in essence, call for freedom, justice, truth, and philanthropy. We need religion, as we are born with this strong spiritual affection (similar to maternal affection). We should express this affection to be psychologically healthy. (...)
"Early estimates that the 2001 conflict in Afghanistan had dealt a crippling blow to al-Qaeda and marked the beginning of the end for the organisation have proven to be overly optimistic and insufficiently to have considered the adaptive resilient (...)
"Deradicalization programs need to be balanced, with effective, pragmatic, and ideological components that continue after the prisoners have been released. It's clear that prison-based rehabilitation programs cannot rely solely on religious debates (...)
"The media exaggeration in speaking about the presence of Da'ish in Egypt serves the policy of demonizing the Islamists and creating fears of them. Da'ish provides a model which amply serves this policy. Further, the crimes Da'ish commits against (...)
"It is true that Da'ish military strength is under suspicion and its rapid progress this summer is surrounded by many question marks. Solving the problem of Da'ish requires political dismantlement of its tribal incubators before attacking it (...)
Since the anti-terror measures the Saudi government enacted earlier this year, the Saudi media has been launching a campaign to demonize Islamist activism.
This underscores the ruling family's unease over its inability to curb the influence of (...)