American Islamic Websites

I found a few websites that I like, so here they are:


My Fellow American - This website is devoted to showing how Muslims in America are just as American as anyone else. (Facebook)


Islamophobia Today - This site is a project of Americans Against Islamophobia.  It discusses news and blog stories that have an anti-Muslim bias.

Some Israelis Understand

There's a blogger on Haaretz who has a very good post this week.  It's called Confessions of an Israeli anti-settler bigot.  I highly recommend reading it.  Yet another reason to hate the government and not necessarily the people.

The Risks of Blogging

Blogging can be a risky business in some countries. You've seen the link to Fouad al-Farhan on this blog, and luckily, he was released. Many are not. The BBC has an article about the increase of blogging and arrests for blogging.

Free Fouad - Fouad Freed!

A friend sent me this article from the Christian Science Monitor on Sunday, but I didn't get a chance to post it. Here's the BBC article.

Fouad has been freed!!!!!! I'm very excited about this. Officially, I think the government was near or just past the time where they could hold him without charges. That doesn't mean he still couldn't end up in jail, but for now he's at home with his family. I hope this hasn't scared him away from blogging. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next week or two.

Free Fouad

I missed a lot over the holidays. Bhutto was assassinated & Pakistan is imploding; attacks in Iraq, Algeria; problems with Turkey and Kurdistan; it never seems to end. But the focus of my current post is the Saudi blogger Fouad al-Farhan. He's been arrested and is being held without charges, as far as I can tell. His main crime seems to be criticizing the wrong people in his blog. Check out the links to find out more. The publicity this is getting can't hurt his chances.

Links: Fouad's Blog, Free Fouad, BBC article, Crossroads Arabia.

New Direction

I got the idea to start this blog after last year's MESA meeting. There was a panel on bloggers, and how there haven't really been any new MESA bloggers. The president then (Juan Cole) basically challenged us to start blogs, and I took that challenge. Unfortunately, mine seems to be a case of 'if someone blogged in the woods and no one was there to read it, would it really matter?' That started me thinking and I've come up with some new goals for 2008. First of all, I intend to start doing more analysis on the news, not just acting as a news aggregate. Secondly, I'm going to try to increase my readership. I read a number of blogs so I intend to start commenting more, when appropriate, to try and get the Ali Gator name out there and more read. For those of you who do read the blog, thank you for your support and tell your friends!

New Blog

A friend recently sent me the link to a new Middle East blog called Whippersnap. I prefer to call it "The Middle East for Dummies" or "The High School Guide to the Middle East." It's very amusing, and generally correct. There are a few things they got wrong, but hey, compared to conservative blogs they're a hell of a lot better. This blog is also easy to understand, speaking plain English and using good comparisons. So check it out!

Egyptian Blogger Gets 4 Years

A blogger in Egypt has received a 4-year jail term for his efforts. Apparently calling Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak a dictator is a bad thing. This is why some of us blog anonymously. Some bloggers live in places where they could actually go to jail for expressing their thoughts. Others, like me, simply don't want to have to deal with anti-Muslim right-winger harassment.