14 Dec 2019 | Politics

It is not just the state of Myanmar that is on trial, but our collective humanity

On December 10, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) trial of Myanmar’s genocide against Rohingya Muslims got underway, de facto state leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi sat steely eyed, impassive. The Gambia, representing a coalition of 52 Muslim majority countries, called on the Court to invoke the 1948 Genocide Convention against Myanmar. Under the Convention, which was ratified by Myanmar in 1956, states can be held accountable for failing to prevent genocide, or failure to hold perpetrators of genocide accountable.  read the complete article

19 Nov 2019 | Politics

Factsheet: Cronulla Riots

IMPACT: The Cronulla riots in December 2005 marked one of the most significant race riots in Australian history. Anglo-Australian youth targeted individuals of Middle Eastern background while displaying and voicing racist, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim rhetoric. ... read the complete article

12 Nov 2019 | Politics

Myanmar Sued for Rohingya Genocide at World Court

On November 11, 2019, the African nation of Gambia filed an official lawsuit with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague requesting that the World Court condemn Myanmar’s government for violating the 1948 Genocide Convention with its ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya Muslim people.  read the complete article

20 May 2019 | Individuals

Criminalizing Ramadan: Illiberal tendencies in Western democracies

Ramadan has long turned into a political object in Western politics. When Madeleine Albright first started to organize iftar (fast-breaking) dinners at the White House during the Clinton era, many Western governments in Europe started to follow her newly introduced tradition. Congratulating Muslims on the advent of Ramadan has become a political ritual for leaders of Western governments to show respect not only to the followers of the second largest religion in the world, but also to a growing and contested religious minority in their own lands. read the complete article