avari | haroon moghul

The Latest on Libya: The War on Qaddafi, Gaddafi, or Whatever

Some reflections on the Libyan revolution, published by ReligionDispatches:

It is perhaps not too horrific to imagine that, if America were Libya, we would still be ruled by Richard Nixon. What exactly Qaddafi wants out of his country is unclear. It is not just money, power, and vanity. In a sane world, he would be classified insane, and some kind of universal healthcare would provide for his comfort in a mental hospital. He has refused any official title, going by “Brother Leader” and "Guide of the Revolution" and other such vacuous and pretentious false humilities; in his decades in power, he's been busy producing a new flag (the only monochromatic flag in the world), writing an incoherent work of philosophy–the Green book, green like the flag–and producing a new kind of state. It is, officially, the Great Socialist Libyan Arab State of the Masses, which is supposedly ruled by local councils and has no hierarchical leadership.

 

Muhammad Jibreel Du'a Before Mubarak Falls

This prayer (du'a) was led by the famous Muhammad Jibreel in Maydan Tahrir, only hours before Mubarak resigned.  Amazing to see the energy and size of the crowd, and worth listening through.  This was on Al Jazeera (Arabic).

Bahrain deploys army after raid - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Bahrain deploys army after raid - Middle East - Al Jazeera English.

Egypt's Political Future: What Muslim Democracies Are Going to Look Like

Interview for Radio Tahrir: After Mubarak, What Could and Should Be Next?

Last night, I was on Radio Tahrir. I talked about how Obama was shrewd enough to perceive America's declined role, what's so amazing about Egyptians, when Mubarak lost control of the country, and whether the Egyptians should go after Mubarak and his assets.  I'm on at 18:20. 

Upcoming Engagements: Park Avenue Christian and Adelphi University

I'm teaching an Introduction to Islam course at Park Avenue Christian Church (85th and Park) beginning this Tuesday, February 15th, for four Tuesdays beginning at 6:30pm.  To register (and pay), please visit this previous post and find all the details.

I'm speaking on the Egyptian Revolution at Adelphi University on Tuesday, February 15th, at 3pm.  That's in the Student Union, Room 313, on the main campus in Garden City (Long Island).  Here are transportation options -- Garden City's just east of Queens, and you can get there using the Grand Central Parkway or Cross Island.

Mubarak is a Racist Orientalist: On The Huffington Post #Jan25

Check out the Revolutionary Fashion Police:

Egypt is one of the oldest nations on earth, and yet Mubarak would have us believe that if he goes, the whole country goes down. Mubarak tells us that Egyptians are not ready for democracy, that their culture requires a strong hand, but somehow he and his cronies have exempted themselves from Egyptian culture, for which reason they can take charge of it. They are in fact the greatest Orientalists, the deepest racists, self-hating despots whose reign is the literal embodiment of a Pharaonic inferiority complex.

And now, in their distance first from the people and then from the world, the revolution escapes them. It refuses the categories they assumed.

 

So Amazing - Great Video of the Revolution

Muslim-Christian Harmony in Egypt?

Wael Ghonim's 'Bring it On' Interview on CNN

Beating up Anderson Cooper didn't help Mubarak any. Now to face a young Google executive telling Omer Suleiman, Egypt's horrendously corrupt and dictatorial vice-president, that he is unafraid of death, is another huge blow to a broken regime. He's articulate, he's clearly endorsing Express Polos, and he's committed to a cause that anyone in the West would find hard to dismiss.