Mustafa Malik
India's lesson for Lebanon
- Mustafa Malik
- Sep 7,2020
India and Pakistan could have been spared catastrophes by power-sharing systems they rejected. The Lebanese should hold on to the one they have.
I NORMALLY CAN’T stand Boris Johnson because of his demagoguery and conservative political creed. But last week Emmanuel Macron made me appreciate the British prime minister, for the first time.
The French president was in Beirut, on his second trip since last month’s massive explosion in the Lebanese capital. He warned politicians there that they had “the last chance for [their] political system,” which is based on sharing political power and interests among the country’s half a dozen religious-political factions.
Defeating the Taliban is a pipe dream
- Mustafa Malik
- Sep 7,2020
SF Gate
May 17, 2009
A friend called from Lahore, Pakistan, and asked if I could put up his family in my home in the Washington suburbs.
“Most welcome!” I said. “When are you all coming?”
“As soon as Pakistan begins to collapse!” replied Abdul Wahid Qureshi, a retired college professor.
Qureshi was responding, facetiously, to David Kilcullen‘s forecast that Pakistan would “collapse” within “one to six months” from an “extremist takeover” of its institutions. Kilcullen served as the top adviser to Gen. David Petraeus, chief of the U.S. Central Command.
Muslim Youths in the West: Carving Out a ‘Third Space’
- Mustafa Malik
- June 30, 2008
Council for Research in Values and Philosophy
Chapter X in the 2008 publication entitled: ‘Communication across Cultures: The Hermeneutics of Cultures and Religions in a Global Age’
Chapter X
Islam’s Emerging ‘Third Space’ in the West
Whether a full-blown “clash of civilization” is inevitable between Islam and the West, a culture clash in the West between Muslim and local communities has been simmering for a while. It began with the influx of large numbers of Muslim refugees in North America and Western Europe in the mid-twentieth century. And it has deepened after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on American targets, carried out by a group of Muslims riled by U.S. “hegemonic” policies in the Muslim world.
A Woman’s Head Scarf, a Continent’s Discomfort
- Mustafa Malik
- March 13, 2005
The Washington Post
March 13, 2005
Ten days ago, a 31-year-old Moroccan-born immigrant to Belgium quit her job at a prepared foods factory in the small town of Ledegem. Her decision was the result of several months of intimidation, beginning in November when her employer, Rik Remmery, received an anonymous letter. It claimed to be his “death warrant” unless he fired his “fundamentalist” Muslim employee — or made sure that she removed her head scarf.
A few days later, a second letter arrived, repeating the threat. Another came, putting a $326,000 bounty on Remmery’s head. When a further envelope showed up containing a bullet, Remmery and his wife became truly worried. Although they had stood by Naima Amzil, their employee decided to ditch her head scarf while she worked. It was a wrenching decision for her. “A piece of me has been taken away,” she cried.
Whose war is it now?
- Mustafa Malik
- December 23, 2004
Boston Globe
December 23, 2004
WASHINGTON – A TIGER killed a fawn and began munching on it, according to a popular Bangladeshi folk tale. A hungry bear jumped on the tiger to snatch the carcass away. The two fought until both lay mortally wounded, unable to move. A fox, which was watching the fight from a bush, scampered to the dead fawn and feasted to its heart’s content.
The United States overthrew Saddam Hussein only to be overwhelmed by a Sunni Arab insurgency. But Sunni Arabs, being a minority, can’t come to power through the Jan. 30 elections. This is why most of them are boycotting the vote. A pro-Iranian electoral alliance of the Shi’ite majority is predicted to win a majority of parliamentary seats and form the government. The Iranians are helping the alliance with money and volunteers, ignoring President Bush’s warnings against “meddling in the internal affairs of Iraq.”
