Baithak World May 17: Firing on Ramadan over Fourest's shoulders, Robert Fisk, Headlines, Brodner, Real News

The most compelling case against Ramadan has been painstakingly built by the Arabic-speaking investigative journalist and feminist Caroline Fourest. The author of a number of works on the fundamentalist trends in the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Fourest has analysed the 100 cassettes of Ramadan’s speeches and preachings, his 15 books and his hundreds of magazine articles and interviews. Her book Brother Tariq: the Doublespeak of Tariq Ramadan was published four years ago in France, but is only now being published in English by the Social Affairs Unit. And it presents a radical critique of a man she accuses of hypocrisy, cant and contradictory postures.

For a start, far from being a reformer, she claims that he actually espouses a version of fundamentalist political theology formulated by his grandfather, Hassan al-Banna, founder of the militantly fundamentalist Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood, whose credo is: “God is our goal, the Prophet our model, the Koran our law, holy war our way and martyrdom our desire.” Doug Ireland examines the reputation of Tariq Ramadan, the man widely hailed as the saviour of Islam

I am not sure what was the worse part of this week. Living in Lebanon? Or reading the outrageous words of George Bush? Several times, I have asked myself this question: have words lost their meaning? Robert Fisk: So just where does the madness end?

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Brodner's Cartoon du Jour: George Bush Illustration and Text By Steve Brodner

Did you catch yesterday's especially idiotic speech in Israel by The Bush calling Obama an appeaser, comparing him to Neville Chamberlain, for advocating diplomacy with Iran? Bush, who made Iran much stronger in the Mideast by destroying its enemy, Iraq, should talk. He is the Iraq civil war's, Iran's nuclear program's, and international jihad's warm, moist host.

Doonesbury@SLATE
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Paul Jay presents RealNews

Did Bush attack Obama in Israel? President George W. Bush compares those who would talk with Iran to Nazi appeasers view

Palestinians commemorate al-Nakba--the catastrophe Clashes mark Palestinian day of remembrance; President Bush delivers speech to Israeli Knesset view

Pakistan border bombed Damadola struck by 2-drone missiles; US suspected to be behind bombing view