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The Center for Islamic Pluralism, with active branches in the U.S., UK, and Germany, as well as correspondents throughout the Islamic world, calls for immediate and substantial protest against a physical attack on the Harabati Sufi complex in Tetovo/a, Macedonia, on May 4, 2008.
According to members of the Harabati community, a historic site that symbolizes the city of Tetovo/a, a mob of Albanian-speaking Wahhabi radicals attacked a central building in the complex, stealing the cashbox and committing other violent depredations. A close associate of CIP, Dervish Abdylmutalib Beqiri, was alone in the building when the attack occurred.
Continuing open aggression against Ahl-ul-beyt in Europe by the Wahhabi fanatics represents a serious terrorist threat to the entire region, in addition to an abominable act of cultural and religious desecration.
Once again, the Center for Islamic Pluralism calls on all Muslim and non-Muslim friends and supporters to send immediate protests regarding this situation to the U.S. Embassy in Macedonia and to the Macedonian authorities.
E-mails should read as follows:
E-mails should be addressed to:
U.S. Embassy Skopje, Republic of Macedonia EmbSkoWebM@mt.net.mk
H.E. Branko Crvenkovski, President of the Republic of Macedonia (website - www.president.gov.mk)
Stephen Suleyman Schwartz
Executive Director
Center for Islamic Pluralism
Washington/London/Koln |
| Schwartz on Bahraini and Bosnian Jewish Diplomats |
| Things are calm, time to talk by Salim Mansur |
| Schwartz - Security or Freedom First? (American Behavioral Scientist - PDF 50K) |
| Awaiting China’s implosion by Salim Mansur |
| The Third Jihad - When radical Muslims distort Islam by Stephen Schwartz |
A pamphlet was being distributed at a celebration of the Prophet Mohammad's birthday in East London last month, instructing Muslims not to vote for Boris Johnson as he is not good for Islam and to support Ken Livingstone.
The Muslims backing Anas Altikriti's campaign to relect Ken Livingstone are mainly members of radical groups, such as the Deobandi school, the missionary group Tablighi Jamaat and Saudi-based Wahhabi movement. They are also members of the Muslim Council of Britain, the umbrella group for mosques in the UK. Based on the Mayor's wild past remarks, they believe he can give them everything they want such as the 12,000 capacity "mega-mosque" in West Ham and will wecolme radical scholars back to the UK such as al-Qaradawi.
Tablighi Jamaat's belief in separate schooling for their own followers and that sharia law should be implemented in the UK on a wider scale are dangerous for social cohesion in this country. Under their influence Islamic women stand to lose freedom by being coerced into wearing the veil and forced marriages. To show he is serious about the effects of radicalisation and wanting to reject separatism in London, Livingstone should publicly distance themselves from these figures.
Dr Irfan Al Alawi
International Director
Center for Islamic Pluralism
[Note: This important statement appeared only in print editions of the London Evening Standard] |
| A Kosovar Defends Schwartz 2006-2008 |
| The view from Bali by Salim Mansur |
| Radical Muslim doctors and what they mean for the NHS
by Irfan Al-Alawi, International Director (London), Stephen Schwartz, Executive Director (Washington, DC) -
Centre for Islamic Pluralism |
Dr. Irfan Al-Alawi, International Director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism and executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, was interviewed by BBC Radio in the UK on April 10, 2008, regarding the auction of sacred treasure from Mecca and Medina.
The broadcast may be heard here: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/newshour.shtml |
| TUCC this one in your pocket by Salim Mansur |
| Schwartz -- 2004 Briefing on Uighurs, The Weekly Standard |
| Center for Islamic Pluralism Executive Director Stephen Schwartz will be featured on the Frank Pastore Show on KKLA radio in Los Angeles, 99.5 AM, Thursday, April 3, at 455 PM PDT, 755 PM EDT, discussing Saudi Arabia and its support for radical Islam. The show may be accessed on the internet at http://www.frankpastore.com/ |
The World Uyghur Congress and several Uyghur organizations based in Turkey will hold a peaceful demonstration in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet Square beginning at 12:00 pm on Thursday, April 3. The event is scheduled to coincide with a 2008 Olympic torch relay ceremony that will take place in the square at 2:00 pm. Participants will be protesting the repressive policies of the People’s Republic of China in Tibet and East Turkestan (designated as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Chinese) and calling for improved human rights conditions and democratic reform in the two regions.
Uyghurs and Tibetans have suffered for decades under a regime that seeks to forcibly assimilate their unique cultures. The Chinese government’s fierce repression of religious expression, intolerance for any expression of discontent, discriminatory economic policies, and support for the movement of huge numbers of migrants link East Turkestan and Tibet and have led to tremendous social tensions in both regions.
WHAT:Peaceful protest at the Olympic torch relay ceremony in Istanbul
WHO:World Uyghur Congress and Turkish-based Uyghur Organizations
WHEN:Thursday April 3, 2008
Begins at 12:00 pm
Olympic torch relay ceremony at 2:00 pm
WHERE:Sultanahmet Square, Istanbul, near the Blue Mosque |
| UAA urges PRC to adhere to international legal norms |
| Saudi King Calls For Interfaith Dialogue by Stephen Suleyman Schwartz |
| Mecca Bucks - Why Wahhabis invited Starbucks to Islam’s holiest city
by Zvika Krieger, The New Republic |
| Recognition Without Power - a report from independent Kosovo
by Stephen Schwartz |
CIP has received the following information on the situation:
For many years the Government of Iran has used every possible strategy to create crises by dividing the Iranian people on the pretext of beliefs, religion and regional culture. These actions are carried out in defiance of basic international human rights with respect to freedom of conscience and religion, and also violate Islamic law. Almost every day Iran's government denies its citizens' human rights. Such crimes have included attacks on mosques and Quranic schools affiliated with Sunni Muslims in Tehran, assaults and arrests in Sanandaj and other major cities, and demolition and arson attacks against Husseiniyat (Shia prayer houses) used by Sufis in Qom and Boroujerd.
Iranian security forces are once again preparing an attack and demolition of a Husseiniya, this time in the town of Karaj. The Husseiniya is the home of the Gonabadi-Nimatullahi Sufi teacher Yusuf Mardani. The repression of the Gonabadi-Nimatullahi Sufis is part of a growing anti-Sufi campaign in Iran
CIP suggests sending the following e-mail statement to:
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ottawa, Canada, at iranemb@salamiran.org
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, at matbuat@mfa.gov.ir
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| Schwartz on Choosing Islam, Jewcy, March 13, 2008 |
| Al-Alawi on London Tablighi Mega-Mosque, The Christian Choice |
| CIP WahhabiWatch #31: Urgent Call for Protest Against Wahhabi Aggression in Macedonia, March 11, 2008 |
| CIP Issues Complete Text of 2008 Report: “Scientific Training and Radical Islam" (PDF download 1MB) |
Stephen Suleyman Schwartz
Executive Director
Center for Islamic Pluralism
Washington, DC, USA
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| 'We don't need this Olympics mosque' - Katharine Barney |
| Meet Sada Cumber - Bush's appointment to the Organization of the Islamic Conference by Stephen Schwartz |
| Malaysian Government's "Explanation" of Ban on Schwartz's TWO FACES OF ISLAM |
| Dutch film to slam Islam |
| International Director Irfan Al-Alawi on Rowan Williams and Sharia | German language version |
| Scientific Training and Radical Islam by Stephen Schwartz |
Notwithstanding hysterical propaganda in the west about Islamist radicalism among Albanians, the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh noted today that the Kosova Republic will not officially attend the Organization of Islamic Conference’s Summit in Dakar next month. It may attend as a guest, if Senegal invites it. Senegal has a democratic government and is also known for the absence of radical Islam and dominating influence of West African Sufism. Because the OIC represents governments and not religious clerics or communities, its Bosnian observer representative is a Sephardi Jew, foreign minister Sven Alkalaj.
Center for Islamic Pluralism |
| CIP Executive Director Stephen Schwartz will discuss Kosovo on the Lars Larson radio talk show at 8.15pm Eastern time, Friday, February 22, 2008. The Lars Larson program is carried by numerous radio stations and may be heard live on the net at www.larslarson.com |
| "Heroic" Serbs Storm U.S. Embassy in Belgrade | Kosovo: Serbs Lie, People Die by Stephen Suleyman Schwartz |
| Kosova touts ‘Islam Lite’ by WILLIAM J. KOLE - French language version |
| Kosovo Recognition - the right decision by Stephen Schwartz |
| Rowan Williams misunderstands Islam by Stephen Schwartz |
| Pakistan needs more than elections. Only a new political class will do by Stephen Schwartz |
CIP Media Alert - CIP Executive Director Schwartz on KKLA-AM radio Los Angeles, February 14, 2008
Center for Islamic Pluralism Executive Director Stephen Schwartz will be featured on the Frank Pastore Show at KKLA radio in Los Angeles, 99.5 AM, on Thursday, February 14, at 5.30 pm PST, 8.30 PM EST, discussing Saudi Arabia and the Wahhabi ban on Valentine's Day celebrations, including display of the color red. The show may be accessed on the internet at www.frankpastore.com |
CIP Media Alert - Al-Alawi on UK sharia debate and Saudi cultural vandalism, February, 2008
To CIP Correspondents:
International Director Irfan Ahmed Al-Alawi has spoken on UK radio discussing the proposal by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams for accommodation with Islamic sharia law in Britain. On Monday 11 February he was featured on BBC Radio live during the evening, UK time.
Because these shows are not archived for internet listening after they are broadcast, CIP will post transcripts of them when they become available.
Dr Al-Alawi, however, will be interviewed for two hours on South African radio CII Broadcasting on Friday, 22 February, at 6pm UK time. The program, entitled "The Intellectual Challenge," may be accessed here: www.ciinetwork.net/broadcasting/schedule.htm |
| How law and faith war broke out |
| Manley provides political cover by Salim Mansur |
| An Islamic Leo XIII? by George Weigel |
| Ashura Greetings! CIP Meets with State Department-Sponsored Azerbaijan Visitors |
| MANASTIRI: CITY OF GHOSTS by Stephen Schwartz |
The Center for Islamic Pluralism (CIP) is proud to announce the inauguration of a new website based in Germany, developed in the German language with a perspective for inclusion of texts in Turkish and Kurdish. The website, www.islamicpluralism.de, is based on a close cooperation between CIP and the Alevi youth movement in Germany. The site editor is a German Alevi author, Ali Sirin |
| Book reviews 1/2/2008 - Stephen Schwartz |
| Schwartz's TWO FACES OF ISLAM Banned in Malaysia! January 30, 2008 |
| International Director Irfan Al-Alawi on Qaradawi visit to UK |
| Sapping freedom inside job? by Salim Mansur |
| Middle East indebted to Bush by Salim Mansur |
| Assassination and Revolution - A Pakistan Scenario? by Stephen Schwartz |
| Sleepwalking into enslavement by Melanie Phillips |
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MEDIA ALERT! On Thursday, December 27, 2007, CIP Executive Director Stephen Schwartz appeared on "Extension 720 With Milt Rosenberg," WGN AM Radio (720), at 10:15 PM Central Standard Time (Chicago time), discussing the crime. WGN is a superstation with a wide audience and its programs may be heard over the internet at http://wgnradio.com/ |
| Benazir Bhutto - TERROR'S NEW THEATER by STEPHEN SCHWARTZ |
| Benazir Bhutto - Bhutto's murder is no surprise - gunned down for challenging the life-denying status quo in a nation she sought to govern for the better
by Salim Mansur |
| Theologian finds peace path by Salim Mansur |
| Sharing Blake at Christmas - Salim Mansur |
Given the coincidence of Kurban Bajram this year with the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on December 4-12, and the Christian feast of Christmas on December 25, CIP notes the common monotheism of these observances. Hanukkah recalls the triumph of Jewish faith over pagan tyranny and the cleansing of the Hebrew temple. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, a herald of renewed faith in one Creator. Kurban Bajram commemorates the submission of Abraham, the common ancestor, to the will of God.
We hope the essential aspirations of the three Abrahamic faiths will be redeemed by mutual respect, sincere dialogue, and cooperation among all believers in the year to come!
Center for Islamic Pluralism
Washington, DC, USA
London, UK
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| REALITY CHECH by STEPHEN SCHWARTZ |
Center for Islamic Pluralism Executive Director Stephen Suleyman Schwartz has expressed support for the decision of Saudi King Abdullah to vacate the arbitrary sanctions ordered against the still-unidentified "woman from Qatif," a Saudi Shia rape victim threatened with 200 strokes of a metal rod and jail time. Schwartz described Abdullah's action as part of a slow but progressive process of change in the Saudi kingdom, on the talk show "The World Tonight with Rob Breakenridge," broadcast on radio station CHQR, AM770, Calgary, Alberta, on December 17, 2007.
As a night-time AM broadcaster in the Canadian prairie region, CHQR has a very wide listener audience in North America. |
| Bigotry, terror masked as faith by Salim Mansur |
Millions of people make a pilgrimage to Mecca every year to wash away their sins, but muddying the waters of this spiritual experience is a (205 million sterling) luxury timeshare development looming over the House of Allah.
As they make a journey of a lifetime many are only going for commercial purposes rather than performing a religious ritual.
Dr. Irfan Al-Alawi, International Director of the Centre for Islamic Pluralism. a historian of the two holy cities and an expert on Saudi Arabia, will discuss the changing attitudes of Muslims towards the Hajj, and how a mockery is being made out of the sprit of Hajj. The programme will air on Sunday, 16 December at 0700 hrs GMT on BBC Radio 3
This is the radio link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/sunday/ |
| Questionable Intelligence on Iran by Salim Mansur |
The programme may be accessed here, under the heading "Danny Kelly"
(moderator)
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| Euro-Imperialists: What Sarko and Putin Have in Common
by Stephen Schwartz |
| CIP Executive Director Schwartz, International Director Al-Alawi on Brutalization of Saudi Rape Victim(s) |
| The Crime of Qatif - Saudi justice: whipping a rape victim by Stephen Schwartz and Irfan Al-Alawi |
Today, Sunday, November 25, the Saudi daily Al-Watan (The Nation) quoted Prince Meqran bin Abdul-Aziz as stating that 5,400 [five thousand four hundred] Al-Qaida internet sites are in operation, hosted by 14 Western companies. Meqran stated that efforts to block any of the sites have been completely unsuccessful. Meqran is head of the Saudi intelligence services.
Meqran is a half-brother aligned with the Sudairi group of princes, the nucleus of pro-Wahhabi resistance to the reform efforts of King Abdullah. Meqran has an extremely negative reputation among Saudi subjects because of his actions as emir [governor] of Medina. His actions in that position included ordering 300 lashes each for a dozen teenage members of the Shia minority after they protested against hate speech against their beliefs by their teacher in a Saudi school |
| Here We Go Again by Salim Mansur |
Alevi secretary-general Aslan Erkan commented, "We are happy and proud of this outcome. The Alevis are still not recognized in Turkey. Everybody is aware that Alevis are victims of discrimination in Turkey, if they put forward their beliefs."
The Alevi movement seeks recognition as a faith community in Turkey. Unlike Sunni Muslims, the Alevis in Turkey are heterodox, combining Shia traditions, Sufism, and the Turkish spiritual legacy. They do not receive funding or other support from the authorities. The Turkish government does not support the construction of cem houses, the meeting halls for Alevi spiritual observances, or provide any other assistance to the group.
Alevis in Turkey have also been subjected to physical attacks, including a reprehensible incident of mass murder at Sivas in 1993. The Turkish government designates Alevism as a cultural, rather than a religious, phenomenon. The Danish and German status of Alevis is significant in promoting the self-esteem of Alevis.
CIP coordinates with the Alevi movement in Germany on issues of Western European assimilation of Muslims, minority rights within Islam, and women's status -- on all of which the Alevis are notably progressive.
Stephen Suleyman Schwartz
Executive Director
Center for Islamic Pluralism
Washington, DC, USA
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| New articles in Spanish - click here |
| Choosing from shades of grey by Salim Mansur |
Center for Islamic Pluralism Executive Director Stephen Suleyman Schwartz, and a CIP researcher on women's issues in the Islamic world, met in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2007, with Dilsa Demirbag-Sten, a columnist with the Swedish daily Expressen. Ms. Demirbag-Sten is of Kurdish ethnic background and is an expert on honor killings, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and other atrocities committed against women under the pretext of Islamic custom. She commented "honor killing happens all the time in Western Europe," adding, "the problem with the Muslim clerics is less one of open justification of such practices as a refusal to condemn them."
Ms. Demirbag-Sten is visiting the United States as a guest of the Department of State |
| Center for Islamic Pluralism international director Irfan Al-Alawi is quoted on the notorious East London Mosque in this special report on Radical Islam in Europe produced by Congressional Quarterly Global Researcher, based in Washington, DC (PDF file) |
| Pakistan Bourgeois Breakthrough? by Stephen Schwartz |
| Pakistan's sorry state by Salim Mansur -- for the Toronto Sun |
The Centre for Islamic Pluralism strenuously protests the threat against Councillor Alan Craig and calls on the government ministers and authorities to prevent dissemination of such incitement on the net.
Dr. Irfan Al-Alawi |
International Director |
Centre for Islamic Pluralism |
London
Background: Alan Craig has been a prominent opponent of the Tablighi Jamaat megamosque project in London. News coverage of the internet threat against him is accessible here:
www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=491977&in_page_id=1770 |
| Op-ed: Musharraf's Last Act? Pervez out of order - Pakistani strongman suspends constitution
by Hassan Abbas |
| Schwartz cited in "Saudi Arabia is hub of world terror" The Sunday Times |
| Get tough on suicide bombings by Salim Mansur |
| CIP WahhabiWatch #30: Saudi Internet Threat Following October 22 Protest at Saudi Embassy in Washington, October 31, 2007 |
| Egyptian man executed over alleged Saudi Qur'an desecration - November 2, 2007 |
Iraqi daily Al-Sabah on Anti-Wahhabi Protest at Saudi Embassy in DC, October 24, 2007
www.alsabaah.com/paper.php?source=akbar&mlf=interpage&sid=51177
The Iraqi daily Al-Sabah is one of a range of media in the Arab world that covered the anti-Wahhabi demonstration at the Royal Saudi Embassy on October 22, 2007. In a report appearing October 24, Al-Sabah quoted Nizar Haidar of the Iraqi Information Center, who said that Iraqi representatives are preparing a letter to the Saudi government protesting against fatwas by Wahhabi clerics calling for the destruction of Shia holy sites in Iraq.
The Center for Islamic Pluralism has a cooperative relationship with Al-Sabah, in the defense of its journalistic freedom, supporting protection of its enterprise against terrorism, and developing proposals for publication of anti-extremist documentation in Arabic and English |
| Saudi reigns - the Saudis are in the global saddle by
Stephen Schwartz and Irfan Al-Alawi |
CIP International Director Irfan Al-Alawi joined Dr. Mai Yamani on BBC today in responding to criticism by Saudi King Abdullah, directed toward Britain about antiterrorism, prior to the royal visit to the UK, October 29, 2007.
We are proud that International Director Al-Alawi and Dr. Yamani together presented an extremely direct and necessary exposure of Saudi Wahhabism to a major audience.
The BBC program is accessible at www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/fivelive_aod.shtml?fivelive/mayo_mon
Listeners should use the 15 minute and 1 minute advance buttons to locate Drs. Yamani and Al-Alawi at 19:45:00 |
| Paying a Call on the Saudi Embassy |
The struggle for reform continues - by Stephen Schwartz |
Coverage of the October 22 protest at the Royal Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC, by the Sinclair Broadcast Group is posted at www.washingtonnewsroom.tv
Click the link for "Washington Newsroom" reports and then the icon titled "Friend or Foe?" |
October 22, 2007
Click here for a video of the rally - http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/254528.aspx
A coalition of American Muslims is protesting against Saudi Arabia's brand of radical Islam. The group called Al-Baqee -- is named after a holy site desecrated by Wahhabi Muslims. They're mad at Saudi preaching, spending, and recruiting that backs terrorist acts. They're especially angry about calls by Saudi clerics to destroy Islamic holy shrines in Iraq and Syria.
"Basically, we're protesting the Kingdom's harboring of terrorist elements and an ideology of hatred that they've been kind of storing within their Kingdom that is the basis for terrorism worldwide," Adil Rizvi said.
The fierce fighting between Shia and Sunni Muslims turned much worse in Iraq after one of its holiest shrines was bombed by terrorists last year. |
 
Al-Baqee.org protest at the Saudi Embassy, Washington, October 22, 2007
Pictures by Geoffrey Cain - click for larger images |
Center for Islamic Pluralism Executive Director Stephen Schwartz will appear on "Extension 720 With Milt Rosenberg," WGN AM Radio (720), between 9 pm and 11 pm. Central Daylight Time (Chicago time) on Friday, October 19, 2007, discussing terrorism in Pakistan.
WGN is a superstation with a wide audience and its programs may be heard over the internet at http://wgnradio.com/ |
| The Kingdom Breaks Through the (Smoke) Screen by Stephen Schwartz |
Dutch media state that the subversion of NMO was a product of a policy decision by an official media monitoring agency, the Commissaariat voor de Media (CvdM), which dictated that NMO be combined with the "orthodox" Dutch Islamic Broadcast Organization (NIO) so that Muslims would have a single broadcast service in the Netherlands.
NMO was previously run by Dutch members of the Alevi movement, which emphasizes Shia and Sufi as well as Turkish ethnic traditions. It also included representatives of the Ahmadiyya sect. Alevi and Ahmadi personnel have been expelled from NMO.
The broadcast service now has three questionable directors, including Yahia Bouyafa, who is viewed as an associate of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Abdelmajid Kayoun of the Al-Farouq mosque in Utrecht, the imam of which was deported from the Netherlands.
CIP actively supports the rights of Alevis in Turkey as well as in Europe, and publicly advocates for the freedom of journalists in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Balkans. CIP Executive Director Stephen Suleyman Schwartz, a journalist and former media trade union officer, commented, "the European systems of state media monitoring have failed when compared to the American system of media freedom, and their involvement in Muslim countries and Islamic issues has so far been counter-productive."
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| Best beware of this elephant by Salim Mansur |
| How stupid is this idea? by Salim Mansur |
| The Saffron Revolution - bloody but hopeful days in Burma by Stephen Schwartz |
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The Center for Islamic Pluralism is pleased to announce the co-publication of Executive Director Stephen Suleyman Schwartz's The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role in Terrorism in the Indonesian language. The book, titled Dua Wajah Islam: Moderatisme vs. Fundamentalisme dalam Wacana Global, has appeared with a preface by the former Indonesian president, KH. Abdurrahman Wahid. The edition was copublished with Libforall, The Wahid Institute and Blantika.
An event related to this publication will be held in Washington, DC, USA after the conclusion of the Holy Month of Ramadan. Copies of the Indonesian edition will also be made available on request to CIP
See the cover of the Indonesian edition - click here |
| Dr Irfan al Alawi, International Director for the Centre of Islamic Pluralism on the proposed London mega mosque |
| Bin Laden Looks for an Exit Strategy by Stephen Schwartz |
| Terror on Campus -
The NYPD reports
by Candace de Russy |
| Muslim group behind ‘mega-mosque’ seeks to convert all Britain by Andrew Norfolk |
| Al Qaeda's New Look -
Lessons learned from Germany's foiled terror plot by Stephen Schwartz |
| Barbarians kill as West drifts by Salim Mansur |
| Saudi Arabia's Koran Kops - the religious police run amok
by Stephen Schwartz |
| Schwartz Quoted on Wahhabi Control of American Islam |
| Daniel Pipes on Saudi Confiscation of Foreign Travellers' Religious Items |
| The Saudi Connection - In Iraq and elsewhere, terrorism thrives with Saudi support
by Stephen Schwartz |
| Turkey Votes by Stephen Schwartz |
| Moderate Islam and Its Muslim Enemies by Stephen Schwartz |
The sister maintains a network of women's centers in northern England. Issues discussed at the meeting included male domination in the Muslim community, hijab, health, depression, and domestic violence.
The encounter took place under the auspices of the U.S. State Department International Visitors' Program.
CIP is investigating options for a program on Muslim women's issues. |
| Who Is Responsible for the Mess in Mesopotamia? by Stephen Schwartz |
| Muslim Victims of Islamist Violence in Turkey by Ali Sirin |
| Stephen Schwartz's Jewcy Summer Book - The Zohar in Muslim and Christian Spain |
Correction to Article of July 7, 2007 in The Spectator [London]
Sir
We wish to correct an error we made in our article ‘For the Islamist doctor, terror is healing’ (7 July). Abdullah Azzam, the mentor of Osama bin Laden, was not a physician. Rather, he was a teacher of Islamic law. We regret the error, which does not, however, affect the essential arguments of our article or our study, ‘Scientific Training and Radical Islam’.
Stephen Schwartz and Irfan Al-Alawi
Centre for Islamic Pluralism, Washington and London |
Selamaleykum
Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim
The Center for Islamic Pluralism joins the religious community and leadership of Bosnian Muslims in requesting imams and Muslims throughout the world to commemorate the terrorist attack against Bosnians at Srebrenica in July 1995. The Bosnian ulema have called for a pledge of "never again" in Friday khutbat [sermons] this week. They have also requested that such actions be carried out in a calm and dignified manner.
We join them in these sentiments and requests.
Center for Islamic Pluralism
Washington
London
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| Schwartz, Al-Alawi on radical doctors, The Daily Telegraph [London], July 7, 2007 |
| The making of a new terror - Jamie Doward, Mark Townsend and Henry McDonald in Ireland |
| The Crisis of the Wahhabi Regime
by Stephen Schwartz and Irfan al-Alawi |
| For the Islamist doctor, terror is healing by Stephen Schwartz and Irfan Al-Alawi |
| Target UK - Britain is the frontline for violent jihadism in Western Europe by Stephen Schwartz |
The Center for Islamic Pluralism (CIP) joins with others in protesting the judgment of a Turkish court on June 26, 2007, reaffirming state limitations on the religious status of the Orthodox Christian Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomaeus I, who resides in Istanbul. The Turkish authorities have curbed the freedom of movement and other activities of the Ecumenical Patriarch in ministering to Orthodox believers outside Turkey. The Turkish government insists that the Patriarch function only as a local religious official of Turkish nationality, subject to harsh state regulation. In so doing, the Turkish government denies the Ecumenical nature of the Patriarchate.
This policy, with other Turkish restrictions on Orthodox Christian religious life, represents one of several significant failures by the Turkish government in recognizing the rights of religious minorities – Muslim as well as non-Muslim – within its borders. Turkish media also engage in demagogic propaganda alleging that the Ecumenical Patriarch seeks to undermine the Turkish Republic.
CIP calls on the Turkish regime to bring its policies in line with European democratic standards in the treatment of all religious minorities, including Alevi Muslims, Greek Orthodox Christians, Armenians, and Jews.
CIP is an organization of Muslims committed to moderate theology and practice, with affiliated members and correspondents in the U.S., Europe, and across the Muslim world.
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| The Walter Duranty of Saudi Arabia by Stephen Schwartz |
| CIP Protests Saudi and Pakistani Requirement of Radical Covering for Muslim Women on Hajj Pilgrimage |
| Partition Iraq? No - by Stephen Schwartz |
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CIP Condemns Bombing of Samarra Shrine in Iraq, June 13, 2007
The Center for Islamic Pluralism strenuously protests the bombing of the Askariyya Shrine in Iraq and expresses its full solidarity with the embattled Shia Muslims of that country.
Stephen Suleyman Schwartz-
Executive Director
Center for Islamic Pluralism -
Washington, DC - London |
| Schwartz, "The Next Battle for Kosovo," The Daily Standard, June 11, 2007 | Spanish version |
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Center for Islamic Pluralism (CIP) June 7, 2007
A Bosnian supporter of my book The Two Faces of Islam wrote to me about the Saudi-funded Wahhabis there -
"I used to gaze into their faces, and believe me they are more than ready to kill us: ordinary Bosnian Hanafi Muslims. I clearly see it as I see this day. The only thing that prevents them from conducting that is the state, law enforcement and their small number which guarantees them complete disappearance if they commence such an adventure ...
"They will kill us first. I have no doubt about that. I can show that their fascism (which is easy to establish) is primarily directed towards Muslims, as you can clearly follow up throughout the Muslim world wherever they have sizable followings ...
"We are their first and last targets; accepting Islam you transformed yourself into their target."
Photo by Talgat Dairbek -
Schwartz at the tomb complex of Hojja Ahmet Yesevi, 2005 |
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CIP recommends a new book from RFE/RL on Al-Qaida in Bosnia-Hercegovina, June 4, 2007
The Center for Islamic Pluralism is pleased to take note of, and recommend, a new book published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 'Al-Kai'da u Bosni i Hercegovini' by Vlado Azinović. The volume, issued in Sarajevo and Prague, is presently available only in the Bosnjak language, but would be a useful publication if translated into English. The text may be downloaded at www.slobodnaevropa.org/al_kaida/index.html
Mr. Azinović included extensive interview material from CIP Executive Director Stephen Schwartz in this book, which is both timely and authoritative |
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| Schwartz on Borat and Kazakhstan |
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The Sheikh Al–Islam Fil-Balad Al-Haram Al-Sharif (click image to enlarge) |
![Salaat ul-janaza [Funeral service] of Sayyid Muhammad ibn Alawi Al Maliki](images/funeral_wee.jpg) |
Salaat ul-janaza [Funeral service] of Sayyid Muhammad ibn Alawi Al Maliki, The Grand Mosque in Mecca, October 2004
(click image to enlarge)
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