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Obama's Connection to Sirhan Sirhan

From the perspective of a Middle East & Islam specialist, the just-concluding U.S. presidential election is extraordinary for the outsized role of one's subject area. Consider some of the topics:

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By Daniel Pipes  |  Sun, 2 Nov 2008  |  Permalink  |  Comments (63)

How to Catch Sleepers - Confirmed

A chapter titled "Catching Some Sleepers" was the only previously-unpublished section of my book, Militant Islam Reaches America (New York: W.W. Norton, 2002, paperback 2003), pp. 145-55, 293-94. It argues for the importance of sleeper cells and then lists 42 tell-tale signs suggesting how to identify sleepers. Until now, I had not posted it on the internet.

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By Daniel Pipes  |  Sun, 2 Nov 2008  |  Permalink  |  Comments (3)

Might the Global Financial Crisis Impede Iranian Nuclear Plans?

Nimrod Raphaeli of MEMRI argues in "Plummeting Oil Prices – Iran's Options" that the rapid drop in oil prices due to the global financial crisis has particularly severe implications for Iran, where the government has not saved up for a rainy day (its stabilization fund is estimated about US$7 billion, a fraction of what other oil-exporting states have salted away).

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By Daniel Pipes  |  Thu, 30 Oct 2008  |  Permalink  |  Comments (5)

More on the Links between Obama and Saddam Hussein

Supplementary information not used in my article today, "Obama's Mansion, Saddam's Money":

(1) John A. Shaw, "From Baghdad to Chicago: Rezko and the Auchi empire," offers much information on Auchi.

(2) WorldNetDaily.com published an unsigned article, "Did Saddam bagman help Obama purchase mansion? Photo confirms Rezko financier in bed with late Iraqi tyrant," that asserts many new points salient to the Barack Obama-Saddam Hussein connection. Concerning Auchi, it asserts that:

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By Daniel Pipes  |  Wed, 29 Oct 2008  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)

More on the Links between Obama and Extremist Islam

A reader points out that Sutton has apparently retracted his statement about a connection between Barack Obama and Khalid Al-Mansour that I referred to in my column today, "Obama Would Fail Security Clearance." On Sep. 6, shortly after Sutton's statement attracted attention, Kevin Wardally, a " a spokesman for Sutton's family," e-mailed to Ben Smith of Politico a statement:

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By Daniel Pipes  |  Tue, 21 Oct 2008  |  Permalink  |  Comments (34)

I Win Apologies, Retractions, and Corrections

Writing about the Middle East and Islam is a rough business, one where my critics sometimes go over the line into factual misrepresentation. I on occasion – in particular, when factual mistakes are involved – take the time to point this out. Here's a running log, in reverse chronological order, of the apologies, retractions, and corrections as I extract them.

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By Daniel Pipes  |  Wed, 17 Sep 2008  |  Permalink  |  Comments (18)

"Allahu Akbar" = "Peace Will Prevail"?

So besotted are some pro-Israel "peaceniks" that they let no obstacle get in the way of their kumbaya. Eliyahu McLean provides a first-hand report on 800 "lovers of Jerusalem" who gathered on June 24, 2008 at two of the city's walled gates to celebrate the second "Big Hug of Jerusalem." His account, published in several Jewish newspapers, reads like a self-parody:

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By Daniel Pipes  |  Wed, 3 Sep 2008  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)

Bibliography – My Writings on Barack Obama's Early Years as a Muslim

I have written a series of articles on Obama's Muslim childhood which I list here in chronological order, for convenience sake:

• "Was Barack Obama a Muslim?" FrontPageMag.com, December 24, 2007. Raises questions about Obama's childhood religion and considers its implications for the campaign and the presidency.
• "Confirmed: Barack Obama Practiced Islam." FrontPageMag.com, January 7, 2008. Replies to a critique of the previous article by "Media Matters for America."
• "Barack Obama's Muslim Childhood." Jerusalem Post, May 1, 2008. Pulls together existing information on Obama's childhood religion.
• "Barack Obama through Muslim Eyes," FrontPageMag.com, August 25, 2008. Reviews the confused Muslim reactions to Obama's religion.

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By Daniel Pipes  |  Mon, 25 Aug 2008  |  Permalink  |  Comments (18)

Bagels in Dubai?

Pictures of the very first Airbus 380 flying from Dubai to New York City show a smiling attendant at the first class bar. Yes, a Persian Gulf airline serves alcohol. But what's really of interest is the plump bagel sitting on the right side of the counter, under a glass top. Bagels are, of course, the Jewish ethnic food that legend holds goes back to 1683 and the defeat of the Turkish army at Vienna. How curious to find them on a maiden A380 voyage of Emirates airline. Incidentally, those bagels are a relative bargain, with a one-way first-class Dubai-New York ticket costing just shy of US$7,000. (August 15, 2008)

"Der Spiegel" published this picture to illustrate its story on the maiden Airbus 380 flight from Dubai to New York.

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By Daniel Pipes  |  Fri, 15 Aug 2008  |  Permalink  |  Comments (31)

Extra! Leading New York Publisher Spikes Book Dealing with Islam!

Random House, a unit of Bertelsmann AG, has announced that is has canceled publication of a novel, The Jewel of Medina, by Sherry Jones, that was to be published on August 12. The novel concerns the child wife Aisha of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Random House made no bones about its reasons in doing so, with Deputy Publisher Thomas Perry stating that Random House received "cautionary advice not only that the publication of this book might be offensive to some in the Muslim community, but also that it could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment." Therefore, he went on, "In this instance we decided, after much deliberation, to postpone publication for the safety of the author, employees of Random House, booksellers and anyone else who would be involved in distribution and sale of the novel." Perry indicated that Jones is now free to shop her manuscript elsewhere.

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By Daniel Pipes  |  Thu, 7 Aug 2008  |  Permalink  |  Comments (37)

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All materials written by Daniel Pipes on this site ©1979-2008 Daniel Pipes. Email: meqmef@aol.com