Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem
By Ray Hanania Author and Muslim feminist rights voice Asra Nomani discusses the fight to confront growing extremism in the Muslim and the Arab World, and the more important battle to strengthen the voices of moderate. Nomani, the author of several books on her life as a Muslim woman, talks about the need to understand how…
Read More “Asra Nomani details her fight against extremism” »
By Ray Hanania The decision by Israel’s Arab political parties to create a “joint list” in the upcoming March 17 Israeli Knesset elections has put the spotlight on Israel’s historic contradictions claiming on one hand to be a “Democracy” but in reality embracing racist and discriminatory practices. In the past, the majority of Arab Israeli…
Read More “Arab election unity puts spotlight on Israeli racism & discrimination” »
By Ali Rizk The latest developments in the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel leave little room for doubt that a full scale war between the two enemies is highly unlikely. As we move ahead the issue to keep an eye on will be the intelligence/assassination war and how recent events may alter Israeli assassination…
Rabbis for Human Rights protests Israel’s collective punishment By Ray Hanania Rabbis for Human Rights, the only rabbinical based human rights organization in Israel, issued a statement this week calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the practice of punishing families and relatives of individuals accused of violent crimes by destroying their homes….
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By Ray Hanania Longtime American Arab activists Warren and Amal David are touring the country to promote their newest online venture, ArabAmerica.com. At a luncheon they hosted in Saturday at Fattoush Restaurant in Chicago’s Southwest Suburbs, the heart of Chicagoland’s Arab American community, the David’s presented their community news and information website to a gathering of 40…
Read More “Warren and Amal David bring America to the Arabs” »
Muslim prisoner Mohamedou Ould Slahi offers a poignant story of an innocent man who faces torture by American soldiers at Gitmo with an inspiring sense of humor. His book “Guantanamo Diary” is a must read for Americans, Muslims, Christians and Jews. By Ray Hanania Most Americans are familiar with the story of Anne Frank, the…
Read More “Muslim Prisoner Details Torture at American Gulag in New Book” »
By Eileen Fleming On Tuesday Amnesty International emailed this update and action request in support of a free Mordechai Vanunu: Once again, the Israel High Court of Justice (HCJ) has rejected Vanunu’s petition against restrictions on his freedom of movement, association and expression, in their decision dated 25 January 2015. In summary, the judges basically…
Read More “Amnesty International Calls for Action to Free Vanunu” »
The truth is that President Al-Sisi of Egypt can move his nation forward both as a strongman and as a hero of the Arab Spring by learning the lessons of past failures of Democracy in the Middle East and understanding that George Orwell’s book 1984 cast tyranny in the wrong way. By Ray Hanania In the…
Read More “Egypt and the need to overcome Radical Islam, a 1984 re-do” »
By Abdennour Toumi Ankara – Turkey — The recent attacks in Paris are but one act in a series of serious threats posed by “homegrown” radicalism from young immigrant Muslim dissenters. This menace has forced Western domestic intelligence to deal with a case that demands vigilant law enforcement on one hand and a general review of Muslim…
Read More “Edjteehad in the West: fighting Islamic extremism” »
By Sheikha Al Dosary Nothing makes me sicker to my stomach than reading false accusations of any nation that aren’t based on facts, especially when it’s done by a so-called “fair and balanced” media. For the past week, I have been investigating the coverage of President Obama’s visit to Saudi Arabia, which was dominated by…
Read More “Setting the record straight: Saudi women’s oppression” »
By Ray Hanania Ever since al-Jazeera (AlJazeera, Al Jazeera) launched as a mouthpiece for the Government of Qatar in 1996, Arab governments have been slowly assessing the power of an in-house and controlled news media. Although al-Jazeera (“The Island”) claims to be objective the Qatar-based government run news channel has drifted far away from professional…
Read More “Arab governments investing heavily in Satellite TV News” »
By Eileen Fleming John Boehner’s latest boner –meaning a clumsy or stupid mistake- was inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint Session of Congress two weeks before the Israeli elections in March. Boehner’s invite inserted Bibi into the middle of the dispute between the President and Republicans over Iran’s nuclear program which…
Read More “Boehner’s Boner Bibi’s Toast Vanunu’s Freedom Soon or Later” »
By Ray Hanania While the Middle East and issues related to Arab countries dominate the attention of Americans through news media and national security, most Americans are avoiding travel to Middle East countries. A recent study by Hotels.com shows that of the top 50 destinations where Americans are traveling, only one Arab Middle East destination, Dubai in…
Read More “Americans shun Middle East as travel destination” »
By Ray Hanania I used to watch beauty pageants purely for entertainment. But in recent years, they’ve become the focus of a cultural debate between the Arab world, and the rest. The Miss Universe Pageant was held Sunday in Doral, Florida in the United States. It featured 88 female contestants competing in categories involving their…
By Abdennour Toumi On Monday, according to local sources of Kurdish media, fighters of the YPG entered the city of Kobani, united with the forces of the Kurdish Alliance, and now together they control 90% of the town and its environs. The city of Kobani has been seen as a major testing-ground for the Kurdish…
Read More “Kurds celebrate Kobani victory with musicfest in Seruç, Turkey” »
The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU), a leader in global payment services, today announced its association with one of the Arab world’s most popular pop stars – Amr Diab, as a Brand Ambassador. As an Arab star with a strong international following, Amr Diab will now represent Western Union and its quick, convenient and reliable money transfer services, offered across…
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By Ray Hanania Well, one Arab-Israeli war won’t be fought this year, but there will be much debate over the messages in the controversial film American Sniper, the story of an American soldier during the illegal war in Iraq. Unlike in several past broadcasts of the Academy Awards, no Oscars have been nominated this year…
By Ray Hanania Last year during the Academy Awards, Oscar hostess Ellen DeGeneres ordered Big Mama’s & Papa’s Pizzeria (BMPP) pizza delivered to the show and then walked through the audience with the delivery driver, sharing slices with stars such as Harrison Ford, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The humor drew big laughs at the Oscars…
Read More “Pizza franchise featured at 2014 Oscars makes Middle East debut” »