Is Islam Compatible with Democracy?

According to Larry Diamond a democracy theorist, Islam is compatible with democracy. Islam can co-exist with democracy, and there are certain factors that are not at all related to Islam that makes the Arab world and most Middle Eastern countries continue to be undemocratic. Diamond’s theory argues that the fate of democracy was not driven by historical events or even structural forces but by the passion and zeal of individual people. “It is a consequence of struggle, strategy, ingenuity, vision, courage that makes democracy work. Whether Islamic or non Islamic democracy will prevail if the citizens, aspire for democracy and freedom and show genuine commitment, talent, nerve and the obvious passion for freedom and liberty. He refers to the people’s commitment to politics  as the main factor that brings democracy to a nation and there is a certain reason why it does not occur in the Muslim world, particularly the oil rich nations of the Arab world, that has nothing to do with Islam…..

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IAEA report shows Iran’s legitimacy

The Islamic Republic of Iran says IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei’s latest report demonstrates legitimacy of Iran’s nuclear program.

“ElBaradei’s latest report revealed Iran’s legitimacy, transparency and honesty,” said Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi in an exclusive interview with the country’s channel two on Thursday night. “Like the previous reports, the report confirms that there has been no deviation in Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities,” he added. Qashqavi pointed out that the US continues to… FULL TEXT

IAEA report shows Iran’s legitimacy

The Islamic Republic of Iran says IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei’s latest report demonstrates legitimacy of Iran’s nuclear program.

“ElBaradei’s latest report revealed Iran’s legitimacy, transparency and honesty,” said Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi in an exclusive interview with the country’s channel two on Thursday night. “Like the previous reports, the report confirms that there has been no deviation in Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities,” he added. Qashqavi pointed out that the US continues to… FULL TEXT

The role of Saudi Arabia in Islamic world and Middle East

     Saudi Arabia has a unique role in Islamic world and the Islamic world requires a powerful active Saudi Arabia to solve its severe difficulties.
    Firstly, Saudi Arabia is ideologically the main base of Islam where the holy cities of Mecca and Medina are located there. So many Islamic nations have a respectful toward Saudi Arabia.
    Secondly, in the geographical aspect, Saudi Arabia is the Widest Islamic country located at the heart of Islamic nations. And it has land or water borders to at least 14 Islamic nations.
    Thirdly and Economically, Saudi Arabia is the wealthiest Islamic country in the world. The ownership of large proportion of world oil deposits and besides the large outcome of religious traffic has placed Saudi Arabia among the wealthiest countries in the world.
    All these factors have risen up the role of Saudi Arabia. It means that the governors of this country should appreciate these valuable gifts and try to close Islamic nations together to make a powerful union. Saudi Arabia should activate its diplomacy to solve main problems of Islamic world like the problems of Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Sudan.
     I doubt if one says Saudi Arabia has played its full role as an elder brother for Islamic nations up to now. A quick look at Islamic world in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Afghanistan reveals the fact that unfortunately Saudi Arabia has not only neglected its high role but also it had worked as a crisis builder for those nations which forgets democratic rules and stands in the way of democratic justice and human rights.

Reform movements in Middle East

The young generation living in Middle East nations thinks and lives differently from their traditional fathers and mothers. They can hardly tolerate traditional customs, rules and values of their governing rulers which have never been updated. They criticize traditions and customs and even some religious beliefs.
Yet the young generation does not want to pay the price of revolutions. They prefer to go forward in a safe and democratic way. But there are some great hindrances which block the way. First, the modern dictators who feel their power at risk. Second, the United States of America which supports these dictators in different ways. The common characteristic of Mideast dictators is their close relationship to United States of America. Regretfully In Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Persian Golf, all Arab dictator rulers have a close relationship to US and are supported by west.
On the other side none of reform movements in the Middle East are supported by west or US. This is the common characteristic of these democratic movements.

Where Arab Votes Could be Crucial

Arab-Americans are throwing their support behind Barack Obama. And in a tight nationwide race, according to a poll released in Washington today, the votes of Arab-Americans could give a boost in the key swings states like Michigan to Obama over John McCain. It’s not the “ethnic vote” you might imagine, however. Arab-Americans are voting the pocket book issues like most other Americans are. They’re not voting in a bloc because of Middle East-related issues.

The Zogby International poll for the Arab-American Institute shows that during the Bush presidency Arab-Americans have swung more decisively behind the Democratic Party in general. The respondents overall gave Bush a 76% negative job approval rating, with even those identifying themselves as Republicans registering only a 63%-37% positive-negative rating for the incumbent president. Compared to the year Bush was elected in 2000, when the Democratic-Republican ID breakdown was almost even at 40%-38%, Arab-Americans now identify with the Democratic Party by a margin of more than 2-1. Forty-six percent called themselves Democrats, while only 20% said they were Republicans.

In a two-way race, Obama beats McCain 54% to 33%, but Obama’s advantage slips if independent Ralph Nader, who is of Lebanese ancestry, and Libertarian Bob Barr, are in the contest: Obama 46%, McCain 32%, Nader 6% and Barr 1%. Nader bites into Obama’s support

Khatami condemns ill-temperedness in the name of religion

Bad manners under the guise of religion is the gravest of treacheries to religion and humanity, former president Mohammad Khatami said here yesterday.Underscoring the importance of good-manners in religious leaders, he added: “Islam focuses both on spirituality and material life. The great importance Islam attaches to the spiritual aspects of life never means the human and instinctive facets should be crushed; they should be complementary to each other.”“God and mankind are in a horizontal relationship to one another,” Khatami asserted. Denouncing certain wrong interpretations of the Holy Koran, head of the international Center for Dialogue among Civilizations pointed out: “Such erroneous judgments which call into question the divinity and authenticity of the glorious Koran abound through the history of Islam.”

Khatami assessed the falsehoods, mendacities and incapabilities ascribed to the holy Koran by “those societies who claim they are aspirants and followers of the Holy Book” as yet another oppression committed against the Muslim holy book.Khatami was addressing an award ceremony dubbed: “Morality and Worship in the World of Art and Research”.

Islam and the Evolution theory

Emre Kizilkaya
My fellow countrymen who imitate Evangelical Christians to wrongly argue that the Evolution is an anti-Islamic concept still make me angry, especially after the latest news from Britain. I, as a practising Muslim who fasts in these Ramadan days, strongly support Charles Darwin’s theory, because it just make sense. At the same time, I reject the subjective interpretations of some atheist fanatics (some of them are scientists), but it has got nothing to do with the theory itself.
The contradictions are between the Darwinian interpretation of the scientific evidences and the dogmatic interpretation of some of the Biblical verses, including the ones about the creation of the Earth in seven days. On the other hand, the Quran is totally compatible with the Theory of Evolution, as this theory doesn’t explain the origins of life, but it theorizes how the different forms of species may have been evolved…

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Persian carpet the old art of Iran

The art of carpet weaving existed in Iran in ancient times, according to evidences and in the opinion of scientists. An example of such evidences is the 2500-year-old Pazyryk carpet dating back to 500 B.C., during the Achaemenid period.
The first documented evidence on the existence of Persian carpets came from Chinese texts dating back to the Sassanid period (224 – 641 CE).

This art underwent many changes in various eras of the Iranian history to an extent that it passed an upward trend before the Islamic era until the Mongols invasion of Iran. After the invasion, the art began to grow again during the reign of the Mongol dynasties of Timurid and Ilkhanid.
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Istanbul the Cultural Capitals of Europe in 2010

Istanbul is one of many world cities that turn to culture to establish a place on the world map. It is also the site of a unique debate on European integration entwined with the memory of earlier Orientalist representations. The selection of Istanbul as one of the Cultural Capitals of Europe in 2010 highlights the social and spatial tensions of staging cities and imagining citizens as consumers of culture.
Taking this spectacle in the making as a departure point, this conference brings new research on technologies of government, carried out in the disciplines of architecture, planning, sociology, geography, and anthropology, together with humanistic studies on the production and consumption of literature, art, and film. The panels focus on Architectures of Exclusion, Spaces of Nostalgia, the Cinematic City, Art in the City, and Cultures of Spectacle. FULL TEXT