Arif Maftuhin

From the "day one" of the cease fire in Lebanon, I have been so amazed by what happen since. We had been already amazed by the military capability of Hezbollah. Surviving 34 days of war is unimaginable. Well the spectacle of Hezbollah's military victory has not been over yet, but Hezbollah has moved fast again after the war. The beginning days of the cease-fire show another spectacle that none of any political pandits have ever predicted before. Most analysis were focused on whether or not Hezbollah can be disarmed. None thought or predicted that Hezbollah would take a humanitarian respond after the war. As you see in the pictures, Hezbollah members, men and women, clean the roads, collecting the data of destructed houses, and, more than any people expected, Hezbollah distributed money for those who need to rebuild their houses, with amount equal to $12,000! So, is it a terrorist organization? Yes it is but only in the sense that what Hezbollah did militarily really has t...

Finally I have an opportunity to ask this question in my foreign policy class. The class will finish this week and we have evaluated almost all main US foreign policies from 1900 to 2006. As long as what have been presented in the class, I conclude that my professor, in framing the US foreign policy, is a liberal who believe that there is certain ideal value driving the US foreign policies. To make my conclusion justifiable, I put my questions in this way: does America really want a democratic Middle east? Is there any group of Americans that are really sincere and honest in promoting democracy? Why, instead of boycotting, US did not congratulate and just hug Hamas as a friend who had won the democratically election? What's wrong with making Hamas and Hezbollah friends? "Well," my professor said, "I hope that this class can give you a feature that it is democracy and freedom that have been always important part of our foreign policy. The fact that sometimes we show a...

Hey, I need to clarify firstly that I use "extremism" to avoid the now more political language, "fundamentalism". So, what I mean is a view that hold religious teachings beyond their appropriate context. It can be the case when you focus your religiosity on your God, such too many praying or too many fasting; or it is also true when you use your religious belief beyond yourself, to judge other people with your religious belief; or thinking about other people in your religious line of thinking. For that last point (italic) I am going to make notes now; but I am not talking about my fellow Islamists; but rather their enemy: this guy in the picture and all his-men. I don't deny that there is a threat from Islamic extremism. On the contrary, I agree but I want to include a more broader sense of "religious extremism", not only "Islamic extremism". Well, let's put this perspective on the Israel-Lebanon case. What did really detonate this war? T...

Is there anything we can do for the Middle East? Many, one of them is going to the street for rally and march. After Jumah Prayer today, I followed the crowd, hundreds of Muslims, for peace rally from Northgate Masjid, walking down 5 blocks to Northgate Mall and walking back to the masjid. What I love about America is that even though it was a rally by Muslims for the sake of their Muslim brothers and sisters in Lebanon and Palestine, many other Americans joined Muslims in the rally. Some were eighty years old ladies as old as my grandma, walking slowly but eagerly, supporting our Muslim cause. That was really encouraging. Surely, they must have various intentions in their minds: some maybe are democrats who want to win Muslim voters' hearts, some are really American dovish who see war as an American form of imperialism, whatever their intentions, it doesn't matter though. The thing is that we stand together to stop the war. And exactly it also doesn't mean that all America...