Putin Inviting Erdogan to Crimea Will Earn Him Soft Power Points in the “Ummah”

Putin Inviting Erdogan to Crimea Will Earn Him Soft Power Points in the “Ummah”

President Putin invited his Turkish counterpart to the opening of the Central Mosque in Crimea. The offer was made over the weekend when the Russian leader visited the peninsula to commemorate the fifth year of its historic reunification with the Motherland, during which time he said in response to the idea publicly raised by the…

Trump Supporters in Denial over New Zealand Massacre

Trump Supporters in Denial over New Zealand Massacre

US President Donald Trump condemned the New Zealand massacre of 50 people by a self-declared white fascist as “horrible”. In an ambiguous choice of words, Trump said he sent his “warmest [sic] sympathies” to the victims of the mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch. He also seemed to downplay white supremacy violence as a problem. With…

The Christchurch Shooting and the Normalization of Anti-Muslim Terrorism

The Christchurch Shooting and the Normalization of Anti-Muslim Terrorism

What is without question the worst mass shooting in New Zealand’s history took place on Friday when shooters, 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant among them, opened fire at two Christchurch mosques. Four, including Tarrant, have been arrested for the heinous act, which claimed at least 49 innocent lives. Tarrant was responsible for killing more than 40…

Christchurch, Birmingham, and the Power of Islamic Victimhood

Christchurch, Birmingham, and the Power of Islamic Victimhood

It’s the massacre heard ‘round the world! Leaders react across the globe! Religious bigotry and hate must be rooted out! Oh wait, not this one. This is just another Muslim massacre of Christian villagers in Nigeria. Ho-hum, nothing to see here folks. Just move along now… Ah, here’s the right one! In the initial hours following the fatal shooting of…

25 Years On, Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilisations’ Theory has been Refuted

25 Years On, Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilisations’ Theory has been Refuted

Almost exactly 25 years ago, Foreign Affairs magazine published by far the most influential academic treatise of the modern era: Samuel Huntington’s “The Clash of Civilisations”. This article helped to shape the world and launch wars. But how does it read 25 years later? Ultimately, it has been academically worthless – a moral abomination and an intellectual…