We Need All Hands On Deck to Have a Fighting Chance As an undergraduate, I admired many faculty members at the university where I was a student, even some who never taught me, most notably Professor Noam Chomsky. He was (and is) a most renowned linguist in the United States and he took courageous stands against the Vietnam War and in…

Is Religion the Ultimate Weapon of Autocracy? — There is little doubt that many Muslim majority countries have been and are in crisis — with a landscape today that exudes injustice, oppression, corruption, irrational economic and social policies and hopelessness. …

Why Muslim Countries Falter and How They Could Shine — We are happy to announce that the 2022 Islamicity Indices are now available: http://islamicity-index.org/wp/latest-indices-2022/ Along with the list of updated data sources in an Appendix 2022 and the details underlying the Islamicity Indices 2022 (xlsx): http://islamicity-index.org/wp/links-downloads/ While there are ups and downs in the performance (scores) of individual countries from…

American Presidents Fail with Foreign Foes and Allies Alike Failures with Similar Presidential Roots You would think that American presidents with their “expert” advisors along with their “think tanks” would make impeccable decisions in dealing with foreign leaders. Just look at dealings with Saddam Hussein, Vladimir Putin, Mohammad bin Salman…

Islamicity Indices — Focus Blame on Rulers and Muslims For Failure of Muslim Countries — About 15 years ago, I was shocked by what I kept hearing — Islam is the problem for the dire state of Muslim countries, oppressive rule, injustice, corruption, terror, backwardness and on and on. The dismal state of Muslim countries has been a fact for decades. A “celebrated” academic even…

While the mistreatment of Palestinians in Israel, in the occupied West Bank, in Gaza and Jerusalem, is a major reason for anti-Semitism in the world today, anti-Semitism has a long history that has stretched over many centuries and has differing manifestations around the world. The suffering of Palestinians needs no…

The World Is Watching! — “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” Who uttered these words? Nelson Mandela — who suffered, was wise to forgive his oppressors and who cared for the plight of others and suffered along with their suffering. Today, there is oppression and suffering…

The World Must Come Together and Push Back! — The reasons to reject sanctions need little explanation. Sanctions rarely achieve their goal, this is especially the case if the target is a significant exporter of strategic goods in short supply, such as rare metals, oil or gas. Many sanctions once targeted are maintained for years to give them more…

Weaponized, Selfish and Stifling Debate America brands itself as a capitalist country and is proud of it, while often labeling those who espouse a more equitable and caring society as anti-capitalist or socialist — designations that carry a negative anti-American message in the United States. …