By Singgih Nugroho US President Barack Obama’s November visit to Bali in November 2011 to attend the 19th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia Summits was his second official visit to Indonesia in his role as president. In November 2010 he gave a speech at the University of Indonesia in which he [...]

By Jon Pahl What’s so scary about sharia, or Islamic legal principles? According to a recent decision from a US Federal Appellate Court – one level below the Supreme Court – not much. The recent decision of the 10th Circuit Court effectively blocks implementation of Oklahoma Law 755, also called the “Save Our State” measure. [...]

By Natalia Simanovsky The Israeli government and security establishment are viewing the sweeping changes in the Middle East and North African region with apprehension. While it is human nature to fear the unknown, the recent developments represent a window of opportunity for reshaping the region. That is not to say that the dangers facing Israel [...]

By Marzuki Hasan In November 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially added Indonesia’s Saman Gayo, a sitting dance from the Gayo Lues district of Aceh, to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Urgent Need of Safeguarding. While other “intangible” Indonesian cultural traditions — including batik textiles and wayang [...]

By Frank Fredericks New York – In the 19 November 2011 issue of The Economist, the cover story, called “The magic of diasporas” outlines the benefits of mass immigration, particularly to the West. However the changing demographics in major metropolises can also be a highly destabilising force. This is especially true in the United States [...]

By Rabbi Gideon D. Sylvester Jerusalem – Across the world, people were outraged by the news that mosques in Israel had been desecrated and racist graffiti scrawled across their walls. Israeli Jews felt ashamed. We asked ourselves: do the perpetrators have any understanding of Jewish history and theology, – which clearly teach respect for every [...]

By Nida’ Tuma A Facebook page with nearly 2,000 members has recently attracted the attention of the Palestinian public and media. “Puzzled young women” is becoming an important arena in the debate on women’s rights in the Palestinian territories, a debate which previously lacked one essential element: dialogue with proponents of a more traditional role [...]

By Dr. Natana J. DeLong-Bas Protestors gathered in mid-December at Lowe’s Home Improvement stores, criticising the US retail chain’s recent decision to pull its advertisements from a show on the television station TLC, All-American Muslim. Lowe’s decision came following complaints by the Florida Family Association – a conservative evangelical Christian group that aims to “educate [...]

By Lisa Schirch Bonn’s Beethoven Hall usually hosts violin, cello and bass players. From December 2-3 the stage supported Afghan engineers, university professors, media professionals and leaders from human rights, women’s rights and Afghan NGOs harmonising their voices at the Afghan Civil Society Forum. These Afghan calls for a just peace contrasted with tragic news [...]

By Nasser Al-Sarami As I write this article, a television screen in my office at Al Arabiya broadcasts images of brave Egyptians lining up, in the face of intimidation and uncertainty, to elect a new parliament. It’s a spectacle I wouldn’t have imagined only a year ago – but it’s also consistent with the unprecedented [...]

By Radwan Masmoudi The October 23 elections in Tunisia were as important and as historic as the revolution itself. I saw with my own eyes masses of people crying from joy and pride as they cast their votes in the decision on who would represent them in the National Constituent Assembly (NCA), feeling the dignity [...]

By Mohamed El-Sayed As millions of Egyptians turned to polling stations to take part in the first of three phases of the historic parliamentary elections, it was clear that a new era had dawned. For the first time in six decades, Egyptians are freely casting their votes in democratic elections. Regardless of minor irregularities that [...]