Author, BeliefNet's City of Brass blog
Author of the City of Brass blog on Beliefnet.com, and Hartwell Foundation Fellow, researching Magnetic Resonance Imaging, at the University of Wisconsin
PROFILE
Aziz Poonawalla
Guest
FROM Aziz Poonawalla
Which Way, L.A.?
The 'Mosque at Ground Zero' and Religious Freedom In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Temecula, California, plans for Islamic mosques have generated heated opposition . But the objections are different from those being raised in lower Manhattan, where a mosque is planned as part of a larger Islamic center two blocks from Ground Zero.
To the Point
The 'Mosque at Ground Zero' and Religious Freedom The furor over what's called "the mosque" near Ground Zero centers on part of a $100 million project called Cordoba House . Opponents, including some high-profile Christian and Jewish groups, call it "insensitive" to the families of people who died on September 11. Elsewhere in the country, opposition to new mosques began with concerns about traffic and parking, but lately it's focused on the Muslim religion itself. Islam has been called a "cult" that encourages terrorist bombers and is accused of secret plans to bring Shariah law to America. That's raised concerns about the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. Is a basic American principle at risk at a time of uncertainty over economics and immigration?
Which Way, L.A.?
'Home-based Terrorism:' Politics and Reality Are American Muslims being radicalized? Is any substantial number likely to go overseas for training and then return to commit terrorist actions on American soil? That's a continuing fear of terrorist experts.
To the Point
'Home-based Terrorism:' Politics and Reality A series of recent incidents led Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to warn that “home-based terrorism” is a threat the US “must confront.” American citizens -- including Muslims born in the US — are accused of planning some terrorist actions and actually being involved in others. How serious is the threat and how should it be confronted? Are American Muslims being radicalized? Is any substantial number likely to go overseas for training and then return to commit terrorist actions on American soil? Do Muslims have a special responsibility to combat it? What does it have to do with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Does the Obama Administration exaggerate to gain support for military action?
Recommended
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.