Facing Disaster: The Muslim Rohingya of Myanmar

Facing Disaster: The Muslim Rohingya of Myanmar

The plight of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority from Myanmar, mirrors the struggle of the Palestinians, the Sahrawi and other oppressed Muslim groups which have suffered from decades of relentless state-backed persecution Farouk’s restrained manner contrasted unsettlingly with the slow creep of tears along the fringes of his cheeks. A fine-featured, skeletal middle-aged man, (his…

Rohingya Insurgency Heralds Wider War in Myanmar

Rohingya Insurgency Heralds Wider War in Myanmar

Since Rohingya militant attacks on Myanmar border police last October and the a retaliatory security force crackdown, an uneasy lull has descended over northern Rakhine State. Major military-led “area clearance operations” have given way to occasional arrests of suspected militants. On February 9, an earlier 11 hour evening to early morning curfew was reduced to…

Why Do So Many Americans Fear Muslims? Decades of Denial About America’s Role in the World.

Why Do So Many Americans Fear Muslims? Decades of Denial About America’s Role in the World.

There’s been lots of attention-grabbing opposition to Trump’s “Muslim ban” executive order, from demonstrations to court orders. But polls make it clear public opinion is much more mixed. Standard phone polls show small majorities opposed, while web and automated polls find small majorities continue to support it. What surprises me about the poll results isn’t that lots of Americans like…

Muslims and Conspiracy Theory

Muslims and Conspiracy Theory

The impression the media portrays is that “conspiracy theory” is rife in the Islamic world. But that’s because the media’s job is to defend the fantasy of the Emperor’s New Clothes. To the media, the truth that Zionist interests effectively define American foreign policy or 9/11 being an inside job are “conspiracy theories.” While there…

‘Hundreds of Rohingyas’ Killed in Myanmar Crackdown

‘Hundreds of Rohingyas’ Killed in Myanmar Crackdown

Myanmar’s security forces have committed mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya Muslims and burned down villages since October in a campaign that likely amounts to crimes against humanity and possibly ethnic cleansing, according to the United Nations. “The ‘area clearance operations’ have likely resulted in hundreds of deaths,” a report from the UN’s human…