Suddenly, Britain seems to be developing into a cultural and religious battleground.
Hard on the heels of Jack Straw's criticism of the Muslim full-face veil, local government minister Phil Woolas has said that Aishah Azmi, the Dewsbury teaching assistant who insists on wearing such a veil in her primary school classroom, should be sacked.
Five Years Later: The Terrorists' 2001 Victory Over "Infidels." By Sally Bishai (09/11/2006)
Most people past the age of 13 can probably remember where they were and what they were doing on September 11th, 2001. And if people remember the tragedies as they occurred (as well as their own reactions), they might also remember the inconveniences that began soon after the acts of Twin Terror:
June 19th marked the first day of the Fourth International Coptic Conference. The event was attended by many great thinkers and writers, both "Middle Eastern" and American, both "Coptic" and not.
In fact, one of the discussions swirling about during the coffee breaks was “What is a Copt, anyway?”
The decision by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s government to try two senior judges for blowing the whistle on vote rigging in last autumn’s parliamentary elections has rocked the country. Massive crowds have gathered to support the judges – and have caught Mubarak’s regime completely unaware.
Complacency is a CRIME By Sally Bishai (06/12/2006)
Having grown up in the States, I have more than a passing familiarity with the Law and Order-brand legal jargon that has broken and entered into American pop culture and committed assault and battery on the English language. I could probably arrest, book, and try a murder suspect (as well as prove—beyond a shadow of a doubt—guilt, via forensic something-or-other), despite the fact that I’ve never actually had even three seconds of real-life criminology training (or been arrested). But today’s lesson is nothing to do with The Practice or Jerry Orbach.