by Raymond Ibrahim*

In light of ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s ongoing trial, Western readers may be surprised to learn who some of Mubarak’s staunchest defenders are: Salafi Muslims, that is, those Muslims who practice the 7^th century Islam of Muhammad, often referred to as “radicals.”

Sheikh Mahmoud Amer, leader of Ansar al-Sunna in Damanhur, recently appeared on the Egyptian news program Life Today arguing that, according to Sharia, it is illegal to try Mubarak, whose dealings with Israel — specifically the charge that he sold gas to it at cheap rates — were similar to prophet Muhammad’s dealing with infidel enemies. I translate the most relevant excerpt:

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by Raymond Ibrahim*

In his manifesto, Anders Breivik, the perpetrator of the Norway massacre, in which 80 people were killed and many wounded, mentioned the Crusades and aspects of it as they had been an inspirational factor to him. Predictably, Western elites — especially through the mainstream media — have begun a new round of moral, cultural, and historical relativism, some even conflating the terrorist with former President Bush, who once used the word “crusade.”

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by Daniel Pipes*

Scandinavia may look idyllic from a distance, what with royal families and prime ministers almost without security, but it has endured its fair share of violence, from the assassinations of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme and foreign minister Anna Lindh to two school massacres in one year in Finland, one killing eight, the other ten. Anders Behring Breivik’s rampage, in other words, was hardly unprecedented.

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by Daniel Pipes*

Push back in the university. The past century has seen institutions of higher learning dominated first by liberals and then by leftists. While this chokehold continues and perhaps even increases with the vast numbers of online universities out there now, there are also signs of decay as the academic left stumbles and finds itself increasingly criticized, even ridiculed.

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By Gary Gerofsky

With Iran about to produce one or more nuclear bombs; Syria in chaos with little Hitler Assad killing his own people to keep Syria in the hands of his family; Yemen about to go to Al Qaeda and tribes that would coddle terrorists; Egypt to become a Muslim Brotherhood mega state more interested in war than peace; “Fatas” (the Fatah-Hamas alliance) waiting for Obama to deliver them their “contiguous” state at Israel’s expense and without any preconditions; a nuclear Pakistan controlled by Taliban-ISI* command; Lebanon virtually in the hands of Iran’s Hezbollah; Iraq breaking up with major portions going to Iran; and Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states wanting to become nuclear to go on the offensive against Iran or Israel or both, I suggest that the world get behind Israel in a big way before it is too late. (*The ISI — Inter-Services Intelligence — is Pakistan’s national intelligence service.)

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By Gary Gerofsky

September is quickly approaching and the Palestinians are looking forward to being rewarded with state recognition for years of terrorism that has kept them in the news for half a century. In this light, I thought it might be interesting to think of the world in a new way. Instead of legitimate states with representative forms of government, the new paradigm might possibly be a horrifying breakdown of lawful and orderly nations into smaller, lawless territories. The UN will head the initiative to create and recognize these anarchic regions. Instead of being resolved, disputes will be promoted by the UN, now a world agency mandated to play one against another in order to create a sustainable balance of terror. Any group that can assemble the men and arms to produce the necessary violence will find themselves eventually heading up new territories or countries.

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by Gary Gerofsky

Let’s make it simple by calling the Fatah — Hamas marriage “Fatas” for the sake of brevity. Fatas is no peace movement and does not follow the teachings of Ghandi nor Martin Luther King.

And yet recent headlines from the left and emanating from would-be conquerors in the Palestinian camp would have us believe otherwise, read: Israel fears Palestinian nonviolence, Here comes your non-violent resistance, Non-Violent Resistance.

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by Janet Doerflinger*

How well did Middle East studies professors at American universities interpret the Egyptian uprising, particularly the risk of the Muslim Brotherhood gaining power? Among fifteen prominent professors who commented publicly on the uprising before and immediately after Mubarak’s ouster, fully thirteen believed that overthrowing Mubarak would lead to democracy in Egypt and that the Muslim Brotherhood would play a constructive role. Instead of explaining the Brotherhood’s Islamist agenda to the American public, they naively discounted it.

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by Daniel Pipes*

I predicted a few weeks ago that Arab upheavals might inspire Palestinians to shift “away from warfare and terrorism in favor of non-violent political action. That could include massive non-violent demonstrations such as marching on Israeli towns, borders, and checkpoints.”

Right on cue, on what Palestinians call “Nakba Day,” a rejection of Israel’s gaining independence on May 15, 1948, mass activity took place in a coordinated and unprecedented fashion today. A New York Times headline aptly summarizes events: “Israel Clashes with Protesters on Four Borders,” being those of Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and Gaza.

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By Gary Gerofsky

If one did not go looking for truth regarding history and geography in the shifting sands of Middle Eastern borders, one would think that nation states such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan and the Gulf States had ancient histories. Not so — the modern history and the ancient history of these Middle Eastern countries must be viewed in context and independently because certain states were carved out by colonialists and so their ancient tribal history does not equitably conform to modern nation-states with fixed borders. Some of those borders are still a matter of dispute.

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By Gary Gerofsky

Ayn Rand wrote a book which I read long ago called The Virtue of Selfishness which makes clear that altruism has many flaws and that acting in one’s own self-interest benefits not only the individual but, in the end, all society. I was intrigued by the book because it convincingly broke some sacrosanct ethical guidelines that had been drilled into my own moral conscience. Unnaturally and selflessly sacrificing one’s own beliefs and interests to benefit others can sometimes backfire and do damage to both the individual, those whom the person is trying to help and those who are part of his/her life.

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by Raymond Ibrahim*

With the killing of Osama bin Laden, we return to the age old question: which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Or, in our context, which came first — the jihadist vision or the jihadist? The ideology or the ideologue?

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by Phyllis Chesler

The information is in and I don’t like it one bit. On the other hand, if one remains flexible, realistic, and calm and persists in telling the truth, one may also prevail.

I am talking about the hoops one has to jump through in order to be heard on any subject having to do with Islam.

I am not talking about the Danish Mohammed cartoon controversy, the criminal trials of the heroically determined Dutchman, Geert Wilders, or the unexpectedly great Austrian, Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff. I am not even talking about Lars Hedegaard of the Danish Free Speech Society, who was put on trial for making “racist” statements about Muslims, Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, or Lars Vilks, the Swedish cartoonist, who has required 24-hour protection. I am not even talking about the high-profile and world-class beauty, Aayan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-Dutch-American feminist anti-Islamist.

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by Raymond Ibrahim*

President Obama’s recent explanation for militarily engaging Libya is yet another example of how U.S. leaders increasingly rationalize their policies via sentimental and idealistic platitudes, rather than reality or the long view — or just plain common sense.

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A briefing by Dirk Vandewalle*

On March 11, before the United States and its allies launched attacks against Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, Dirk Vandewalle, a professor in the department of government at Dartmouth College and author of A History of Modern Libya, spoke to the Middle East Forum via conference call, explaining why it is not in U.S. interest to engage Libya militarily.

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