Painters, gardeners, designers, administrative faculty and students have been working feverishly. A new “cover look” is being prepared for the University of Cairo. Today, everything is expected to look better, brighter, happier. 

A few months before his death in October 2004, the famous French philosopher Jacques Derrida called for "deconstructing the European intellectual construction of Islam."

During a visit to the United States that preceded President Barack Obama's visit to Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, chief advisor to Turkey's prime minister, stated that "Our approach and principles are almost the same, very similar to the US on issues such as the Middle East, Caucasus, Balkans and energy security.

The Religious Challenge As a monotheistic religion, Islam defines itself as the last of the three great Abrahamic faith traditions. The Qur'ân and hadîth (the two canonical sources of Islam) and the later scholarly traditions reveal an acute awareness of Judaism and Christianity.

The birth pangs of a new human geography and geographic imagination are being felt across the Middle East. As the ethnic and sectarian models of cultural and political identities are being questioned, new patterns of cultural affinity and association are emerging with a new sense of shared history and common geography.         

In a rather unprecedented cry of outrage, Prince Turki al-Faisal, one of the most prominent figures of the Saudi state, put it bluntly: If the US under the new Obama administration does not change its policy toward Israel and Palestine, the Saudis will no longer maintain their “special relationship” with the US (“Saudi Arabia’s patience is running out,” Financial Times, Jan. 23, 2009). Quoting from the Saudi king that his peace plan, called “the Arab peace initiative,” is still on the table, the prince added that “it would not remain there for long.” 

Today is President Barack Obama's third day in the White House. I have no idea what he will be doing today or if he has figured out the layout of his home and office for the next four years; but I know that his task of meeting expectations is already weighing heavily on his shoulders.

I get this question all the time: how does Turkey do it? In international relations, Turkey wants to be a member of the European Union, continue its partnership with the US, have good relations with Russia and Iran, be fully involved in Iraq and the larger Middle East, increase its presence in the Balkans and central Asia and open up to Africa and Latin America. Domestically, Turkey wants to strengthen its democracy, improve its human rights record, continue its economic development, find a solution to the Kurdish problem and ease the tensions between religion and the Turkish state.  

There is a discrepancy and even contradiction between Turkey's foreign policy activism and the polarization of its domestic politics. While the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) keeps surprising everyone with its bold and decisive foreign policy moves, it is losing its grip on the domestic pulse.   

Writing forty years ago in the "Journal of Contemporary History" Andrew Mango, the prominent British historian of modern Turkey, noted Turkey's potential new role in the Middle East as a "middle-power." He observed that "Turkey is socially and technologically the most advanced country of the Muslim Middle East.

On Oct. 11, a historic letter was sent out to the world’s Christian community. The letter was signed by 138 leading Muslim scholars and academics across the world. Titled “A Common Word Between Us and You,” it was addressed to Christian leaders of various denominations including Pope Benedict XVI, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and President of the Lutheran World Federation Mark S. Hanson, World Methodist Council General Secretary Rev. George H. Freeman, Baptist World Alliance President Rev. David Coffey, World Alliance of Reformed Churches General Secretary Rev. Setri Nyomi and other Christian figures in leadership positions. The letter was also addressed to all Christians of the world. The full text of the letter, the list of signatories, recipients, responses and media reports can be found on the official Web site www.acommonword.com  

As I write these words in the garden of the Cordoba Mosque in Spain, the centuries-old memory of Andalusia goes through my mind. Andalusia was the scene of the remarkable experience that medieval Spanish scholars called “convivencia,” or coexistence. Embracing diversity as a constructive challenge of fulfillment was the hallmark of Islamic Spain and the Andalusian culture embodied this spirit in the widest sense of the term.

According to the US News & World Report (Sept. 27), President Bush uses the words “Islamic terrorist” with a clear agenda: the words “extremism,” “radical” and “Muslim” do not have the same dramatic tone as “Islamist terrorist.” The report says that while Bush has lightened up on using the word “Islamic” before terrorists, the advisers said in the background that the word should always be used because Americans believe that “Islamists” are those who act on terrorist threats. Words to avoid are “Muslim,” “extremist” and “radicals.”

According to Louise Arbour, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, bigotry and prejudice against Muslims is increasing in Europe. Arbour made a call to all governments to take action against racism and discrimination towards Muslim communities. Arbour’s remarks are based on a recent study by Doudou Diene of Senegal.