Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Toluwa Olusegun LAGOS, Jun 24, 2011 (IPS) – The sectarian crisis and recent violence by extremist groups, like the Jun. 16 bomb blast on the Nigerian Police Headquarters, are borne out of anger at prevailing economic conditions rather than religion, analysts say. The latest spate of violence [...]
EGYPT: Political Punch with a Religious Thrust
May 26, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, May 26, 2011 (IPS) – More than three months since the fall of the Mubarak regime, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood movement is well on its way to forming its first official political party since its inception in 1928. But while the [...]
OP-ED: The Sacred and the Secular – Promoting Muslim Democracy
May 26, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Asef Bayat* CHICAGO, May 26, 2011 (IPS) – The presence of religion in public space challenges our ideas about the roles of faith in our lives and politics. Over the last centuries, proponents of secularisation have claimed that as societies modernise, the role of religion in public [...]
OP-ED: Iran’s Greatest Spiritual Leader
May 23, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Melody Moezzi* ATLANTA, Georgia, May 23, 2011 (IPS) – Iran’s officially recognised "spiritual leader" today may be Ayatollah Khamenei, but for hundreds of years before the current establishment of mullahs and ayatollahs, Iranians of all creeds have looked to another spiritual leader: Jalal ad- Din Rumi. While [...]
NIGERIA: Uneasy Finale to General Elections
April 26, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Mustapha Muhammad KANO, Apr 25 (IPS) – Nigerians will return to the polls Tuesday to elect state legislators and governors. Government at this level plays a key role in delivering services and infrastructure, but in northern states the choice of credible leaders could be overshadowed by lingering [...]
ECUADOR: Catholics Demand Removal of Far-Right Bishop
March 26, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Gonzalo Ortiz NUEVA LOJA, Ecuador, Mar 25, 2011 (IPS) – The appointment of an ultra-conservative priest as apostolic administrator of the diocese of Sucumbíos, in northeastern Ecuador, triggered open rebellion among a large proportion of the area’s Catholics, with the support of civil society organisations and even [...]
Muslim Brotherhood Goes Mainstream in Egypt
March 20, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Mar 20, 2011 (IPS) – Egyptians voted in a nationwide referendum yesterday on proposed amendments to the constitutional articles that govern the electoral process. But regardless of the outcome, political analysts are certain that the Muslim Brotherhood, outlawed throughout the [...]
BAHRAIN: ON THE SECTARIAN RAZOR’S EDGE
March 16, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy B.RAMAN Bahrain, a Shia majority State ruled by a Sunni family, is on the sectarian razor’s edge following the entry of about 2000 troops from the member-States of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) into Bahrain in the early hours of the morning of March 14,2011, to guard the banking district [...]
LIBYA: Religious Leaders Hold Out Against Gaddafi
March 13, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Mike Elkin BENGHAZI, Libya, Mar 13, 2011 (IPS) – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi claims Al-Qaeda and other Muslim extremists are behind the recent rebellion to oust him from power. Salem Geber, the most well-known cleric in Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city, says this explanation is not only wrong, [...]
U.S. Hearing on ‘Radical Islam’ Opens
March 11, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Correspondents * WASHINGTON, Mar 11, 2011 (IPS/Al Jazeera) – Al-Qaeda is targeting Muslim Americans for recruits to terrorism and the community must do more to combat radicalisation, a U.S. politician has said as he opened hearings in Washington that have been criticised as a witch hunt. Peter [...]
