Muslim Issues

By Reva Bhalla Something extraordinary, albeit not unexpected, is happening in the Persian Gulf region. The United States, lacking a coherent strategy to deal with Iran and too distracted to develop one, is struggling to navigate Iraq’s fractious political landscape in search of a deal that would allow Washington to keep a meaningful military presence in the country beyond the end-of-2011 deadline …

; OSLO (Reuters) – Norway, host of the 1993 Palestinian-Israeli peace accords, said on Monday it was "perfectly legitimate" for Palestinians to take their case for statehood to the United Nations for voting in September. "We will consider very carefully the proposed text that's to be put forward by the Palestinians in the coming weeks," said Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr …

Two of the foreign ships experienced similar forms of sabotage, creating allegations of Israeli responsibility.     The reports that two of the foreign flagged ships planning to be part of the ten vessel Freedom Flotilla II experienced similar forms of disabling sabotage creates strong circumstantial evidence of Israeli responsibility. It stretches the imagination to suppose that a sophisticated cutting …

  When the Prophet (PBUH) could forgive a person of unquestionable antagonism towards Islam, why can the ulema of Pakistan not let off a poor village woman who is not a known enemy of our religion and whose guilt has not been established beyond doubt?   The brutal assassination of Salmaan Taseer, the outspoken governor of Punjab, is an ominous indication that Pakistan …

Interim leader's speech fails to convince protesters blocking off Cairo bureaucratic headquarters and road to Suez canal   Egyptian protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Photograph: Mohamed Hossam/AFP/Getty Images     Protests have brought Egypt's administrative and commercial nerve centres to a standstill , as government attempts to stem a growing wave of opposition to military rule succeeded only in galvanising …

KABUL, Afghanistan — Canada has formally ended its combat mission in Afghanistan after years of being on the front lines of the fight against Taliban insurgents in the south. Canada is the sixth largest troop-contributing nation, behind the U.S. and European countries. While 2,850 Canadian combat troops are going home, 950 others have started streaming into the country to help train Afghan security …