Sikander Hayat's America

Only hours after news broke that a suspect in a mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., had a Muslim name, the well-practiced organizations that represent American Muslims to the broader public kicked into action, as they routinely do after each terrorist attack attributed to Muslim extremists. They issued news releases condemning the attacks as inhuman and un-Islamic, posted expressions of grief on Facebook and held news conferences in which Muslim leaders stood flanked by American flags alongside clergy of other faiths and law enforcement officials. “Groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda,” Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said at a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, “are trying to divide our society and to terrorize us. Our message to them is we will not be terrorized and we will not be intimidated,” either by the terrorists or, he said, “by hatemongers who exploit the fear and hysteria that results from incidents like this.” But the messa

When I was writing this piece for Layali Webzine, I was asked by one of its editors on whether or not I was afraid as a Muslim American in the wake of so many tragedies around the world. I had to take a second to think about it. It wasn't a simple yes or no answer. I looked back at the 27 years of being Muslim in America and being able to practice my faith in this country, my country. I thought of the many times I was able to pray in public without fear. The day I chose to wear the hijab in fourth grade, despite my parents' hesitation, I knew I would be supported by loving neighbors, classmates and friends. My faith has always been the foundation of my identity. My character. My style. The hijab has never been just a piece of fabric on my head, but it was and still is me. Read the full story here.  HOME

AMERICA faces another bitter and almost certainly fruitless debate about gun control, violent crime, the assimilation of Muslims and even the sincerity of politicians’ public prayers, following a mass shooting in San Bernardino, a working-class city deep in the California desert, 60 miles east of Los Angeles, on December 2nd. The attacks left 14 people dead and wounded at least 17, making it the nation’s deadliest mass shooting since the massacre almost three years ago at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. The shooting began around 11am, after two attackers entered a holiday party for county health workers in black masks and tactical gear. After a car chase in the afternoon, the police killed both suspects. Read the Full story here  HOME

There are more than 300 million people in America, yet the same two families keep popping up when it comes to picking a president. The possibility of a Bush-Clinton matchup in 2016 is increasingly plausible. After months of hints and speculation, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush last week said he's actively exploring a bid for the Republican nomination. And while Hillary Rodham Clinton hasn't revealed her intentions, she's seen as the odds-on favorite for the Democratic nomination. Between them, the two potential rivals have three presidents and a U.S. senator in the branches of their family trees. And three governors, as well. Why are these two families so dominant in modern politics? It turns out that even though Americans profess to reject dynasties, in politics they're quite comfortable with familiar names. And a famous name can bring a candidate instant brand recognition, important fund-raising connections and a ready network of political contacts. It

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — I SPENT this semester teaching creative writing at Lehigh University. I’ve been a soldier, a police officer and an interrogator. So hearing students call me “Professor” and assigning homework was a significant change of pace. But the course’s title, Writing War, kept me from straying too far from the memories that have haunted me over the last decade. I am grateful to Lehigh for the opportunity to teach the course. The school’s willingness to put a veteran in the classroom is the very thing this country needs to be doing in order to collectively process what the last 13 years of war have wrought. But teaching a class about war reminded me daily that I am no college professor. I was an interrogator at Abu Ghraib. I tortured. Continue reading the main story RELATED IN  OPINION Editorial: The Senate Report on the C.I.A.’s Torture and Lies DEC. 9, 2014 Here Come the Torture Apologists DEC. 9, 2014 Torture and Responsibility DEC. 9, 2014 Op

RIOTS are rarely so widely anticipated. By 8pm on November 24th, when the prosecutor in Ferguson, Missouri, announced the grand jury’s decision not to charge a police officer with a crime for shooting an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, cops in riot gear were already in place and barriers surrounded municipal buildings. Mr Brown’s parents and Barack Obama called for calm. Yet soon America’s TV screens were full of burning police cars, crowds coughing on tear gas, and young black men throwing bricks and smashing shops. America’s history of racial injustice looked as potent as ever. That would be the wrong conclusion to draw. Looking back at the riots in Los Angeles in 1992 that followed the acquittal of four white police officers who had savagely beaten a black motorist, Rodney King, a lot has changed. America has a black president. The LA riots, which left 53 dead, happened in one of America’s great cities, and sparked violence in others. This time the focus was a struggling

Earlier this month the Pentagon released a devastating assessment of its own management of the nation’s nuclear arsenal. The report, authored by two widely respected former four-star officers, judged that America’s  nuclear weapons  complex — particularly the personnel who operate and maintain it — is near its breaking point, worn down by years of neglect, lack of funding and unnecessarily invasive and inquisitorial screening of employees. This malaise has been exacerbated by bouts of apathy and even hostility on the part of prominent voices in and out of government: The prevalent attitude is that there are more important national security priorities and, among some, that nukes are useless and should be left to rust. The situation is considerably worse than we thought — even worse than in 2007 when it was revealed that the Air Force had inadvertently transported six live nuclear weapons from North Dakota to Louisiana. Last week a senior Pentagon official claimed in a background br