"The Geopolitics of Emotion: How Cultures of Fear, Humiliation and Hope are Reshaping the World" (Anchor Books, 2009) I have read this remarkable work by one of France's leading scholars, Dominique Moïsi, 5 years ago. It remains as one of the best books on contemporary global politics in my collection. But nothing quite struck me of how spot-on his views were, until recently; namely the Syrian refugee crisis, the rise of the far-right anti-immigrant parties across Europe, the global appeal of the IS terrorist group, the rise and the populism of the xenophobic Republican Donald Trump in America and most recently the British fear and anger behind #Brexit. To Moïsi, the three major global civilisations are represented by three important emotions; West; America and Europe (fear), Islamic (humiliation) and, India, China, East Asia and Africa (hope). It is grossly insufficient to only be focusing on Trump's racism and his personality alone without understanding...

“Shock the world into focus …get people to start asking hard questions …remind the world we still have freedom of speech … expose the truth … [and] force the world into action.” Showing no sign of backing down under growing pressure, the Florida church planning to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of 9/11 offered “five more reasons” for doing so on Tuesday. It also took a swipe at critics, including “U.S. generals,” over freedom of speech. An issue that has been simmering for two months sparked a fresh media frenzy following General David Petraeus’ warning Monday that the planned Quran-burning by the Gainesville-based Dove World Outreach Center could endanger American troops in Afghanistan and be used to incite violence around the world. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday evening commented to a mostly Muslim audience on Dove World pastor Terry Jones’ “plans to burn the Holy Quran on September 11.” [ Read more ] So there you have it.. When freedom of speech is bein...

This, in my view, is one of the best responses on the 'Allah' issue. Taken from TheStar's Saturday Business section on Dr Chandra Muzaffar . The crux of the matter is to understand the underlying concerns of both Muslims and Christians, which sadly is very much lacking in our society today. Resolving the problem isn't just about taking sides. It is not just a matter of whether or not you agree with the term Allah. The problems and solutions are far more complicated and delicate than that. Read on.. How best can Malaysia resolve the “Allah” controversy and find a win-win solution? Suzannah Ayub, Raub It is important for both sides to be honest and truthful about the underlying issues that surround the controversy. Christians and other non-Muslims in Malaysia should acknowledge the simple truth that for the last 1,400 years, the term “Allah” has been shaped by Islamic theology. This is why in any dictionary or encyclopedia, Allah is defined as “the Islamic concept of God”...

Last Wednesday I was fortunate to have the opportunity to listen to Nora Eggen, a Norwegian Muslim presently a guest researcher at IAIS, who gave an informative talk on the Muslim community in Norway. Below is an excerpts from my article in Klik4Malaysia . ...Historically, Eggen revealed that the interaction between the Norwegian and the Muslim world started as early as in the 13th century, when an envoy from a Muslim sultanate in the Middle East was sent to Norway. She also relates another occasion when the King of Sweden, King Karl XII was given refuge in Istanbul by Sultan Ahmed III (Sultan of the Ottoman Empire), after losing a battle against the Russians. As a result of Karl XII's long stay in Ottoman land, he has brought along new beverages such as coffee into the Scandinavian lands. Also, several Ottoman-Turkish words were introduced into the Norwegian language through Karl XII's encounter with the Ottomans. However, it was not until the late second half of the 20th cent...