[Originally published in Washington Post]

Muslims, both here and abroad, are investing their collective faith in Obama as a modern political Superman who will transform U.S. foreign policy from the abrasive "Us vs. Them" ideology of President Bush to an engaging, constructive dialogue. But as Obama begins to assemble...

The best move of the year (so far) wears its Dickensian spirit and soaring optimism shamelessly and proudly on its tattered, slumdog sleeves.

Danny Boyle's cinematic triumph demands and requires the audience to immediately believe in destiny. One that has already written the fated union of two slumdog lovers, Jamal...

Dear John McCain, Sarah Palin, the RNC, Charlie Black, the corrosive spirit of Lee Atwater, Rove-ian politics, Sean Hannity, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Elizabeth Hasselback, Joe the Plumber and other respected members of your respected ilk:

Please stop. Just stop. Enough. No more. Is this how you really want to...

[In honor of the end of the Bush Administration, I share with you this piece from 2004 written after the invasion of Iraq. Starring Hall of Famers Bush II, Colin Powell and Ashcroft.]

Characters:
[G.B] (Kind of hyper, a little dumb, like Yosemite Sam)

[C.P] (Kind of calm...

Comedian and actor Aasif Mandvi speaks to us about life at The Daily Show, life after Sakina's Restaurant, and why Muslims shouldn't complain about negative portrayals in Hollywood if they don't get involved.

So how does it feel to be, unofficially and involuntarily, the media ambassador for all things Muslim...

After being treated as political kryptonite and depicted as enraged Orcs for the past seven years, Muslims and Arabs -- the media's modern day Morlocks -- temporarily emerged as human beings thanks to Colin Powell's Obama endorsement on Sunday.

The former US secretary of state partially redeemed his tarnished legacy...

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/islamsadvance/2008/10/todays_boo_radley_muslim_ameri.html

The emerging Muslim American electorate resembles the unpopular prom date that is used for a ride, but upon arrival is quickly abandoned to save face and maintain popularity. Meanwhile, the jilted date waits in the parking lot, observing the festivities from outside and hoping she'll be invited for a...

In honor of the dishonorable smearing of Obama, Arabs and Muslims [note: Arabs only comprise 20% of the Muslim world, and many Arabs are actually Christians], the incessant request of many concerned pundits demanding perennial affirmation of patriotism from anyone deemed "foreign," and a paranoid American environment where anything darker...

Oliver Stone's fascinating and entertaining portrait of W. depicts George W. Bush as the prodigal son whose desire for paternal validation breeds a paralyzing insecurity that simultaneously drives and suffocates his ambitions.

Stone and company at times veer dangerously close to parody in their depiction of the Magnificent 7 [Bush,...

The Republicans "October surprise" predictably unveiled itself last week as a virulent smear campaign of racially-tinged, fear-mongering insinuation. In a desperate attempt to deflect attention from an economic crisis and a faltering campaign, John McCain and Sarah Palin have begun shamelessly using Obama's "blackness" and alleged "Muslimy-ness" to suggest the...

A country once callously shrugged off as India's "lesser" neighbor now commands global attention and scrutiny as the next, crucial battleground in the never ending "war on terror." Both Senator McCain and Senator Obama discussed Pakistan in last week's Presidential debates as they detailed their policy initiatives for pacifying the...

[Originally published in The Guardian]

As part of her "Meet the Ineffectual World Leaders" parade to miraculously understand the complexities of modern day geo-politics in less than 40 days, Sarah Palin had a lively interaction with recently elected Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in New York. Zardari, the Suge Knight...

When Naomi Klein published her latest book, The Shock Doctrine last year (recently out in paperback), she sought to illustrate the theory that the free market policies of economist Milton Friedman were pushed through in countries such as Chile and Iraq while their citizens were in shock from disaster...

[Originally published at Altmuslim.com]

In the midst of a historic and heated Presidential election, Howard Dean, the opinionated and passionate chairman of the Democratic National Committee, sat for this exclusive interview to make his case for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party.

We discuss Democratic "cultural values," the legacy...

An interview with Constitutional Law Scholar Erwin Chemerinsky on Abortion, the 2nd Amendment, The War on Terror and Guantanamo Bay

In a landmark election season hailed as historic for the inclusion of an African American and a woman as official party candidates, scarce discussion has arisen over the future of...

McCain and company unveiled a ghoulish and predictable narrative from their crypt this week: a boilerplate and intellectually vapid narrative catering to base, knee-jerk emotions. One that also shamelessly and hypocritically plays the divisive, "Culture War" card to elicit orgasmic glee from a Convention audience so White that I had...

Sarah Palin, a good looking, former beauty queen, hockey mom who reads "Guns 'N Ammo," was announced as John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate yesterday. "Tina Fey with an AK-47" exploded on the international political scene shocking everyone - except those of us who predicted it last week - as...

Traitor: one who betrays another's trust or is false to an obligation or duty
Traitor: one who betrays another's trust or is false to an obligation or duty

Like the protagonist of the movie, Traitor exists with conflicting loyalties and a fleeting
sense of fidelity to its honorable...

Barack Obama, that presidential coquette who teased the world by not announcing his running mate for nearly two months, finally unveiled his vanilla, vice presidential bride, thus ultimately opting for a marriage of blandness, predictability and conciliation. Obama's choice of Joe Biden, the 65 year-old Senator from Delaware, now officially...

Pakistan, the United States volatile mistress in its continued "War on Terror," grew more tempestuous and unpredictable this week with the sudden and unexpected resignation of our former "ally" and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf due to impeachment pressure initiated by the new coalition government.

Musharraf and Pakistan's legacy in...