THE CASE OF KHALED MUDALLAL
Khaled Al- Mudallal is one of hundreds of students trapped in Gaza and at risk of losing his place at university. The Let Khaled Study Campaign, www.letkhaledstudy.co.uk is picking up momentum at his university in the UK. His cause is...

Documentary-in-progress on U.S. soldiers refusing to fight in Iraq
strong>Alternavision Films, based in Los Angeles, has launched the production of a new documentary. Joan Sekler and Bill Haugse, the producers/directors of this film will reveal how U.S. soldiers are refusingto fight in Iraq. Some soldiers have already been to Iraq and refuse to deploy again and some have refused to deploy for the first time. Some are facing courtmartials and prison. They have publicly stated that the war in Iraq is illegal and immoral. Some have filed for conscientious objector status and many others have gone AWOL. Over 1,000 active duty soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries have signed an on-line Appeal to Congress to stop the war and bring the troops home.

It's Time for Jewish Dissenters to Challenge Israeli Policies
I grew up Jewish in Beirut. Although I left nearly 40 years ago, my memories of Lebanon -- vibrant and multicultural -- have stayed with me. And so, my wife and I had started talking about taking a trip there. I would show her the neighborhood where I grew up, the beaches where I swam in the warm Mediterranean waters and the small mountain hotel we loved to stay at in the summer. I would also show her my school, where Jewish, Christian and Muslim children learned and grew together. After the past few weeks, we may never be able to take this trip. Israeli bombings have killed more than 700 Lebanese civilians. Hundreds of thousands -- more than one-fifth of the population -- have become refugees, uprooted from their homes. Lebanon's civilian infrastructure has been systematically destroyed.

Black History Is Our History
Muslims in this country can learn a great deal about themselves and their future in America by understanding the struggle of African Americans and lessons of Black History.

Why We Are Launching a Progressive Muslim Union
We stand for the idea that to be a Muslim is not simply to follow an unquestioned corpus of laws, or to subscribe to a narrow reading of the faith, but rather is an act of self-identification with a great spiritual, philosophical and civilizational tradition. We embrace the simple proposition that you are a Muslim if you say you are a Muslim -- for whatever reason or set of reasons -- and that no one is entitled to question or undermine this identity.

What a Difference a Day Makes
Do not be depressed. There is work to do. There is light to make.

America Is the Greatest... Schizophrenic Mind
Americans love to talk about how great America is. I heard someone on TV last night saying how "The people were talking and they showed up to vote. That's what makes America so great." Is it just me, or has America actually gone a bit loopy?

Globalizing Dissent: Arundhati Roy in Seattle
Praising the American people for coming out in protest to the Iraq war in huge numbers, Roy stressed the importance of confronting the threat of empire-building.

This Is What Democracy Looks Like: Joining a Quarter of a Million Marchers in New York to Welcome the Republicans
I was among the quarter of a million people marching in New York City on the eve of the Republican Convention, the largest demonstration at a political convention in the history of the United States.

WakeUp America: The UFPJ March in Pictures
By Ahmed Nassef Today's United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) March in New York City stretched for dozens of city blocks and joined hundreds of thousands of Americans who came together to protest the Bush Administration's policies. Browse through...

Philadelphia Jews and Muslims Walk for Peace
They pleaded for an end to war, and to stop bloodshed and violence. They told us to live in peace and harmony, the way God intended for us all. These proclamations were the ‘common ground’ that indeed, helped develop this interfaith effort. It was what this assembly of Muslims, Jews, and Christians undertook by playing a proactive role in our commitment to peace.

Drawing Caterpillar Out of Its Corporate Cocoon: Company Should Examine Its Role in Mideast Violence
Caterpillar bulldozers are not given to Israel as construction equipment but explicitly as weapons.

It is a just war, or is it just a war?
It is a just war, or is it just a war?

Sellouts or Saviors: Saving “Progressive” Muslims from Themselves
There are clear limitations to Progressive Islam as experienced in North America, and specifically in the United States. But there are also important strengths and prospects that need to be understood, and valued.

Hug Jews for a Free Palestine
We are Bay Area Jews, and we want no more blood and injustice in our name. We are not behind occupation or oppression. I support this cause because I believe in justice. Judaism doesn’t support ethnic cleansing. We want the Palestinians, the people who lived on that land much longer and more recently than us, to have the same right of return that we do.

What Shirin Ebadi’s Nobel Means to Progressive Muslims
It is going to inspire the silent majority of Muslims worldwide who simply want to live lives of quiet dignity. Where there are oppressive forces from both inside Muslim society and outside of it now we have a paragon of resistance to look up to. And how I relish the fact that this Muslim recipient is a woman, a strong mother of two children, a judge, and an activist. How many stereotypes about being a Muslim and a woman, an Iranian and a woman, she shatters through the very grace of her being!

Israel May Be Our Demise: Why Democrats Are So Far to the Right on Israel
So what Middle-East direction shall the US take if progressives decide to unite and dump Bush? It’s becoming more and more apparent that Democrats won’t endorse any populist platform like that of Dennis Kucinich or Al Sharpton. If Democratic constituents won’t endorse real progressive candidates, then their party is certainly doomed. Unfortunately, it may signal the demise of our peace and security as well. The largest threats to our security stem from fundamentalism bred in the Middle East; with a direct link to the US backing of Israel.

Bulldozing the Roadmap: Caterpillar Sales to Israel Violate Conditions of US Aid
Since 1967, human rights workers estimate that Caterpillar bulldozers have made more than 50,000 Palestinians homeless, destroying homes that pave the way for new settlements and Israel's 400 kilometer long Wall, to which the US government has also expressed opposition. The equipment used to demolish Palestinian homes is not actually purchased by Israel - it's purchased by the US taxpayer and sent to Israel.

Progressive Music for Progressive Muslims? How Radiohead and Others Are Blurring the Line Between Music and Politics
But as bad as things seem to get, there always remains a glimmer of hope. There are still quite a few bands out there that are saying something that matters, creating what can actually be termed “art.” Art which makes you think, reflect, question, sometimes even hope and dream.

Why I Am Leaving This Country: Daniel Pipes and the Failure of Democracy in America
Continuing to teach in the US is no longer an option for me, particularly since I will have no chance to clear my name before Congress. So I am moving to Canada in a few days where I will apply for citizenship and try to rebuild my 20-year university career in a functioning democracy.

Hug Joan Sekler
During the whole controversy, the media was concentrating on the hanging chads and butterfly ballots. But that was never part of the Republican plan in Florida. The real story is how they systematically suppressed the African American vote.

Happy 4th of July: According to Frederick Douglass
This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice. I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today?

Howard Dean: Sharon's Man?
Although often portrayed as progressive, former Vermont governor and Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean falls short on several issues important to progressives, with the Middle East being one of the more glaring.

Muslims, Islam, and AIDS: Thoughts on the 2nd International Muslim Religious Leaders Consultation on HIV/AIDS
Amina Wadud (left) greeting conference participants By Farid Esack All narratives are influenced by the narrator. To a large extent my own account of the Second International Muslim Religious Leaders Consultation on HIV/AIDS, held in Kuala Lumpur May 19-23, and...

The View from Lahore: What Pakistanis Think of Iraq's Liberation
“But war is not some kind of harmless video game,” insists Mohsin, a computer science student (and an enthusiastic video game player himself). Referring to General William Wallace’s statement early in the war-‘The enemy we are fighting is different from the one we had war gamed against’- he says, “Personally I would have liked George Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney to be embedded with journalists in the front lines to get a taste of what it feels like to be on the receiving of an artillery barrage rather than miles away in the comfort of the White House enjoying live television coverage”.

African Americans Say No to War; Rep. Maxine Waters Condemns Perle’s, Cheney’s War-Profiteering, Bush’s Cuts on Education, Vets, Healthcare
Although they make up one-third of troops serving in the U.S. military services, a recent Gallup poll showed that two thirds of African Americans oppose the war in Iraq. But the black community has not played a prominent role in the anti-war movement, until now.

Peace Activists Arrested for Civil Disobedience at Weapons Manufacturer Raytheon Systems
By Pat McDonnell Twair Photos By Samir Twair In their second act of street theater protesting the pending war on Iraq, 12 Southern Californians were arrested March 11 as they blocked a major intersection in front of the Raytheon...

Not Your Father's Peace Rally: 17 Million Smart-assy Marchers Hip Hopping to Funky Beats Can't Be Wrong
We had the world to heal, and a war to stop. My two words of kindness were going to speak of unity and love in the language of some other long forgotten Islamic empire. The loonies had better bring their dancing shoes.

What First Amendment? Judge Denies Permit for Anti-War March; NYC Grants Permit Only for Stationary Rally at UN
By Mariam Aziz Protesters gathered on a cold, snowy day at Manhattan's Federal Plaza in rejuvenated attempts to obtain a permit for February 15th's anti-war march. Yesterday, however, Federal Judge Barbara Jones ruled that the City of New York could...