Sep 3, 2010
- Sep 2, 2010
By Aisha Toor
Is the hardliners’ response to flood relief in Pakistan fueled by a sense of pious obligation or is it an opportunity for them to gain more recruits? The concept of charity is a major motivational factor within all religious traditions, not just Islam. The flooding occurred during the holy month of Ramadan-when charitable deeds are of particular significance- and charities, including those linked with militant groups, are raising large amounts of money to help the Pakistani flood victims.
- Aug 23, 2010
By Aisha ToorDue to the implications of the recent Pakistan floods I will be tracking various elements of the humanitarian response in the upcoming weeks. Please feel free to comment or make suggestions for future posts!
- Aug 18, 2010
By Aisha Toor
Hello! My name is Aisha Toor, and I will be interning with the CSIS Post Conflict Reconstruction (PCR) Project this fall.
- Aug 5, 2010
By Michele Hong
As preliminary results of a national referendum for a new Kenyan constitution began to trickle in this afternoon, a newspaper’s massive headline summed up the outcome and indicated the end of the country's decades-long wait: “YES IT IS.”
- Jul 29, 2010
By Michele Hong
In a Thai color war of red versus yellow, the latter squeezed to the top in Sunday’s parliamentary by-election — but was this merely a battle in a larger war?
- Jul 21, 2010
By Michele Hong
“If it can be done in Afghanistan, it can be done anywhere.”
The Web site of the Mobile Mini Circus for Children (MMCC) puts forth this one sentence to describe the non-profit’s mission since it was founded in 2002: to revive cultural expression and laughter in a war-torn country. And if that involves a couple of unicycles and a handful of juggling balls along the way, all the better.
- Jul 19, 2010
By Sagal Abshir
The first time I heard K'naan's "Waving Flag," I was in a hip New York shoe-store-turned-music-venue in February 2009, crowded up against the young and restless downtown crowd. He played the song a cappella, and his voice rose above the crowd, his words touching me deeply. Somehow, he managed to articulate the hope, the nationalism, the tragedy, the irony, the nostalgia — the same qualities I heard in my parents' voices as they tried to describe to their inquisitive daughters what had been great about Somalia, how it had gone wrong, and how the hope lay in the next generation.
- Jul 13, 2010
By Michele Hong
While Israel admitted to flawed planning during its May raid of a Turkish flotilla today, its leaders were notably unapologetic about the incident, which, while rallying domestic support for the military, has unintentionally caused quite the opposite effect internationally. The report and current Israeli attitude leaves us to wonder if the country will similarly halt the latest attempt to deliver aid to Gaza — a Libyan ship currently en route to the strip.
- Jul 9, 2010
By Mehlaqa Samdani
As the Pakistani government tries to shape the future in Afghanistan by facilitating talks between the Haqqani network and the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, its own citizens continue to bear the brunt of terrorist violence. This morning's devastating attack on a local government office in Mohmand, which killed around 50 people, was reportedly aimed "directly at the civilian authorities who are supposed to be helping ordinary people resist the Taliban." It comes just weeks after two brutal attacks in Lahore.
- Jun 22, 2010
By Michele Hong
Every year, the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report for Saudi Arabia begins more or less with the same words: “Freedom of religion is neither recognized nor protected under Saudi law and is severely restricted in practice.”
